2013 Fairytale Designer Collection

[ImNotBad]

I was thinking maybe they would do a Series 2 of Designer couples also - but the second series would be Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Pocahontas and Princess and the Frog? I don't think that line is as strong as this firs one. I'd have swapped out Tangled and put maybe Pocahontas in there this time around so each series would be more balanced. Series two seems to be the weaker, if they were to do that.
I don't think I'll be buying any, but I'm very curious to see how this set is going to look, but now if people like a certain doll they have no choice but to pay more and buy two dolls this way. People were having a hard time with $80 for the villains, which eventually went WAY down. So this move by Disney kind of surprises me.

 

[Mali]

What I am really curious about is the edition size of each couple. That will help me decide if I need to pre-order them as a set or try to just get the ones I want most, individually.

 

[Katdianee]

Maybe they're holding off on Aurora and others for a series 2 because it's Sleeping Beauty's 55th anniversary next year? Just a thought... It kinda bums me that they're holding off on two of my favorites (Aurora and Cinderella), but I'm looking forward to Jasmine & Aladdin and Snow White & Prince.

 

[ElysionsPrincess]

What if they did Anna and her man (Hans or Kristoph), instead of Pocahontas or Mulan and theirs? Its plausible. They could potentially make a Merida too, alone, just to be funny. I think that a second round of couples is possible, and very genius to even think of.

 

[kupo1121]

This is a good point, but I don't think the female doll will be in the exact same designer dress they had in the first round. I'm fairly certain they would have changed the dress.

Oh, the dresses will definitely be different. Why would people invest in 2 of the same doll for 5 of the princesses. What my problem is is that Designer Ariel, Rapunzel, Belle, Jasmine, and Snow White are all now no longer unique. There is nothing that special about them being all dressed up in an a dress that is made to look modern and like a runway yet inspired by them. There are 2 out now of each of them so why not make 10 of them? They'd all sell well and people could choose their favorite, but there is no longer anything special and unique about having a Designer Ariel doll since there is another that is just like it, but with a different dress. That's all ^_^ they'll still be pretty pieces to look at though.

My theory about the fact that they only choose 5 couples out of the 10, and that they left aside Cinderella and Aurora, 2 of the most popular princess, is that this collection will be divided in 2. Next year they might release the remaining 5 couples. Also another thing that makes me believe this, is the price. Do you imagine people spending $1,300 + tax (and in most cases + shipping) to get the whole set of 10?! I could imagine the numerous complains to Disney Store. So if we think about it that way, it's a smart move, and leaving Aurora and Cinderella for the 2nd part will help promote and launch popularity with Mulan, Pocahontas and Tiana. Well that's just my theory.

As ImNotBad said, this makes a lot of sense, but let's face the facts, they got rid of 3 of the 4 biggest princesses out right now (minus Merida who doesn't have a prince). The most popular princesses at the moment are Rapunzel, Ariel, Belle, and probably Aurora. The 3 biggest are Rapunzel, who's in right now, and Ariel and Belle, the 2 most popular of all time. They should have took 1 of the 3 and put them in next year's set to hype up that release. I cannot see them skipping out on Anna and whomever she ends up with either so I have a strong feeling next year might be Aurora, Anna, Cinderella, Tiana, and then Mulan.

 

[Polaris]

As ImNotBad said, this makes a lot of sense, but let's face the facts, they got rid of 3 of the 4 biggest princesses out right now (minus Merida who doesn't have a prince). The most popular princesses at the moment are Rapunzel, Ariel, Belle, and probably Aurora. The 3 biggest are Rapunzel, who's in right now, and Ariel and Belle, the 2 most popular of all time. They should have took 1 of the 3 and put them in next year's set to hype up that release. I cannot see them skipping out on Anna and whomever she ends up with either so I have a strong feeling next year might be Aurora, Anna, Cinderella, Tiana, and then Mulan.

You missed Cinderella, I am pretty sure Cinderella is one of the more popular princesses arguably moreso than Belle, she seems to have been a long time favorite from what I have seen and a favorite for both young and old.

This news of the next set just raises so many questions:
1) Will the Princes have rooted hair? If so will all the guys have longer hair than normal, like what happened with Calhoun?
2) Will they increase the size of the cases? If so by how much as the cases will be super bulky and take up so much space.
3) What outfit will they deck the princesses in? They have called it another designer line but what sort of designer line will it be? I would imagine the Princes would match/compliment the princesses so the idea of wedding/ball gown doesnt sound like a bad idea. But then again this will mean it will take up more space within the case.
4) Why is there no Merida designer type doll being made yet? This is the most bizarre. I would have thought Disney would have tried to find an excuse to include Merida in the line this year especially since she is the newest addition to the line. It's odd because they added her to the line but the hype around her coronation is not as big as it was for Rapunzel, it's just bizarre. I wonder if it has to do with the backlash in the reaction to Merida's princess look.
5) If they were to do a 2nd series why did they choose these as the first five? My guess is it really comes down to the Princes and that is why/how they chose the five. Snow White as she is the first princess, Belle as I am assuming that they will do Beast in his Beast form to avoid to avoid the rooted hair issue? But then again I have no idea how they plan to do that. Jasmine because Aladdin is probably one of the more popular male Disney characters and I believe that for both Ariel and Rapunzel it is because their partners are more memorable than any of the other princesses. This is just my theory and I could be totally wrong but by the look of things they have chosen the more popular couples because lets face it whilst Aurora and Cinderella are popular princesses their counterparts are not as well known as many of the others. I know this theory does not work for Snow but I am guessing she is just there to represent the fact that she is the first princess, so she represents the older generation princesses.
6) How will the D23 Snow White be different to the more common one? Will she have a completely different dress or like the D23 Cinderella the same layout but a different color?

It is also true that they had to just pick 5 because releasing all 10 would have been too costly and bulky for people that purchase the entire set.

I will be honest if there is going to be a second set of this series I would be disappointed as I really would have rather preferred different characters to come out next year during an off expo year. So the heroine line that has been brought up before would be perfect.

But as a lot of people have mentioned it will be interesting to see what these will look like as that would determine the demand for these.

 

[OnceUponADream]

My theory about the fact that they only choose 5 couples out of the 10, and that they left aside Cinderella and Aurora, 2 of the most popular princess, is that this collection will be divided in 2. Next year they might release the remaining 5 couples. Also another thing that makes me believe this, is the price. Do you imagine people spending $1,300 + tax (and in most cases + shipping) to get the whole set of 10?! I could imagine the numerous complains to Disney Store. So if we think about it that way, it's a smart move, and leaving Aurora and Cinderella for the 2nd part will help promote and launch popularity with Mulan, Pocahontas and Tiana. Well that's just my theory.

I do think that cost is probably why they are only going with 5 (plus the D23 set). As it is now, this will be the most expensive of the three Designer collections for anyone buying all of them. In 2011, pre-tax total for 10 dolls was roughly $600 in the US. In 2012, pre-tax total was approximately $480 for 6 dolls. Now, for 5 couple sets, those so inclined will be shelling out $650 pre-tax.

Something tells me though that they will not have a second line like this next year. All of this has to be planned out way in advance, and I am not convinced at that price point (among other issues) that these are going to be fast sellers, and I doubt Disney is either. More importantly than that, considering that they are putting arguably all of the most popular princesses in this line, save for Cindi and Aurora, I think this will be a one and done type collection.

All that aside... I am not sure what to make of all of this. I love the line in theory, and they covered all of my favorite princesses except for Mulan and Pocahontas. But in practice, I am not too sure about this. The cost is one thing, and then my mind immediately goes to just how big are these display cases going to be? I don't really have the room for the dolls I do have (we have all of the 2011 and 2012 lines), so where in the world I am going to put potentially doubly wide cases is something I am going to have to think about.

As long as they look nice, I can possibly see myself only getting Ariel/Eric and Rapunzel/Flynn, since Eric and Flynn are my two favorite princes. Depending on money, case sizes, and appearances, I would want Jasmine/Aladdin and Belle/Beast as well. Snow White/Prince, I would have to be wowed by to get.

 

[Carrots901]

Designer Couples?...really.Hmm,let me see if I can go take time out of my day to go about drowning my hopes and dreams of ever aquiring a designer heroines line down the toilet.I'm growing tired of seeing new incarnations of the same princesses over and over again,when Disney has SO many charecters to work with,it's crazy.Yet unfortunately monetary gains plays the superior role here,again,and disney aims to market the same popular charecters,again.Exactly how many of the same princess does Disney think I need.The first run of the Designer princesses were already so gorgeous and had such fabulous designs,why go ahead and make more of the same charecter?For the boys?They've already released box sets of each Princesses Wedding day alongside her Prince(which was gorgeous on its own)I really want to empty out my bank account and give you all my money DISNEY!yet you keep offering me stuff I already have!Argh!

 

[TinkerTigg]

This year, I am slightly tempted to see the Belle and Beast dolls. I doubt they would, but a physically accurate Beast doll would be really awesome in this theme. The whole combo of super pretty and delicate mixed with a big and (loveable) beast, love it. If it is him as a human...just gotta see how they do it.
But, gotta admit, it would be the Tiana and Naveen that I'd probably buy with little to no hesitation.

 

[LordTremaine]

The designer couples set sounds pretty interesting. I probably won't be buying them, unless A.) I REALLY love a set or B.) this goes the route of the Designer villains and the prices drop drastically. I was lucky to get 5 of the designer villains on sale and I nabbed a Maleficent for a reasonable prince on eBay. Still I am really excited to see what they look like.

The choices don't really surprise me. Flynn, Beast, Eric and Aladdin are pretty much the most popular/well known princes. And Ariel, Belle, Rapunzel and Jasmine are all very popular princesses. I am surprised they chose Snow and her man over Cindy/Charming and Aurora/Phillip because Cindy's prince is the one known as "Prince Charming" and Phillip is generally considered the first Disney prince to have an actual personality. Still Snow being the first princess is probably what got her the spot. Honestly though I have always preferred her prince over Phillip and Charming. His design always appealed to me more and his voice................gorgeous! Cindy's prince is the worst Disney prince imo and Phillip I like but I just have always found the Prince more appealing.

Can't wait to see what they look like

 

[auroradawn]

Why is there no Merida designer type doll being made yet? This is the most bizarre. I would have thought Disney would have tried to find an excuse to include Merida in the line this year especially since she is the newest addition to the line. It's odd because they added her to the line but the hype around her coronation is not as big as it was for Rapunzel, it's just bizarre. I wonder if it has to do with the backlash in the reaction to Merida's princess look.

I think it has to do with either the backlash over her princess makeover or maybe even the fact that the Meri/Elin set is STILL up on Disneystore even being an LE2500. And there were also instances where the LE7000 Adventure Merida popped back up online too.
So maybe Brave isn't performing (doll sales wise) quite as well as anticipated, and/or compounded with the fact that after the redesign fiasco they are hesitant to put her in something "designer." She has no prince, so obviously she could not be considered for the new DFDC. Honestly I would have preferred them make a Heroines line or the like, but it seems like that might not happen anytime soon.

 

[Polaris]

I think it has to do with either the backlash over her princess makeover or maybe even the fact that the Meri/Elin set is STILL up on Disneystore even being an LE2500. And there were also instances where the LE7000 Adventure Merida popped back up online too.
So maybe Brave isn't performing (doll sales wise) quite as well as anticipated, and/or compounded with the fact that after the redesign fiasco they are hesitant to put her in something "designer." She has no prince, so obviously she could not be considered for the new DFDC. Honestly I would have preferred them make a Heroines line or the like, but it seems like that might not happen anytime soon.

That is a great point and I do agree that it would have most likely have to do with the poor reaction towards Merida lately and also the possibility of the weaker sales. But I think it's too late for Disney to back out of including her in the princess line.

I also agree that a heroines line would have been so much more welcomed due to the fact that they are new characters in the designer style. As we already have a Belle, Rapunzel, Jasmine, Snow and Ariel designer doll but at the same time I can see why disney did it. I am still hoping for a heroines-type line for next years release.

 

[HugsxNxKisses(X0X0)]

Well, after getting chastised for giving her a makeover like they did, why wouldn't they feel reluctant? She would be better suited for a Heroines line that will most likely never come and ironically for the least feminine princess, she CERTAINLY has the most dolls! Mattel and Disney Store kinda over did it with her if you ask me and now her re-design with glitter, what next? And BTW, if Disney wanted slim villains in their Designer Line, I don't see why they just did a Vanessa to begin with, unless Disney was trying to be pseudo-edgy with false-plus sized models. And as for the Queen of Hearts, Madam Mim had a legit transformation thing so she probably could have been a better substitute but as said before obscure characters don't always work so bleh. Disney always leaves us thinking they could have done a lot better when you think about it.

 

[Skittlegirltokyo]

What's wrong with making a lot of dolls for Merida? :/ People like her. Mulan isn't a girly girl (Or pocahontas for that matter, who wasn't in BORN into gowns or jewelry) either but they put her into a designer doll. And many other luxurious gowns. I think it would be safe to put her into a designer line, either with the "heroine" title or princess. which she is a true blood princess. The line that is coming out this year was most likely created last year and if Merida is to be in any line it won't be until next year. It doesn't have to be rushed. Also, if her sales did plummet (which i don't believe they did) they wouldn't be making a Fergus doll. I don't think the reason that the LE box set hasn't sold out yet is because no one likes her, I think its because of the price. Which , even if they did do eli/mer separate, you still would've paid $200 for them both. Also for the first LE Merida, they made a really high LE number, unlike Cinderella and others. Wedding Rapunzel still sells for retail price on ebay, and she too had a high LE#. There was a Merida/Angus gift set that kept selling out and took me a good few months before I finally got my hands on it so obviously she is popular or they wouldn't of taken the plunge to include in their main princess line. About the whole "new look". Who didn't see it coming? It's Disney and Disney will be Disney lol Give them time to adjust to a tomboy princess lol They'll get there, just like how the rest of society is adjusting.

 

[Polaris]

What's wrong with making a lot of dolls for Merida? :/ People like her. Mulan isn't a girly girl (Or pocahontas for that matter, who wasn't in BORN into gowns or jewelry) either but they put her into a designer doll. And many other luxurious gowns. I think it would be safe to put her into a designer line, either with the "heroine" title or princess. which she is a true blood princess. The line that is coming out this year was most likely created last year and if Merida is to be in any line it won't be until next year. It doesn't have to be rushed. Also, if her sales did plummet (which i don't believe they did) they wouldn't be making a Fergus doll. I don't think the reason that the LE box set hasn't sold out yet is because no one likes her, I think its because of the price. Which , even if they did do eli/mer separate, you still would've paid $200 for them both. Also for the first LE Merida, they made a really high LE number, unlike Cinderella and others. Wedding Rapunzel still sells for retail price on ebay, and she too had a high LE#. There was a Merida/Angus gift set that kept selling out and took me a good few months before I finally got my hands on it so obviously she is popular or they wouldn't of taken the plunge to include in their main princess line. About the whole "new look". Who didn't see it coming? It's Disney and Disney will be Disney lol Give them time to adjust to a tomboy princess lol They'll get there, just like how the rest of society is adjusting.

Uhh once again I think you might have misinterpreted what people have said. I believe you are right in that they take over a year to plan the next line release however they also knew Merida was going to be a princess. So it wouldn't have been difficult to adjust or change the line if they really wanted her in there. They included Rapunzel in the initial designer line and her movie came out late 2010 even though the dolls came in 2011. (Note that Brave came out Jun2012 so the gap between her movie and the dolls is greater than rapunzels). I think what people are saying is that they are surprised that she was not included in this years line and as a result were trying to figure out why it may be the case. It might not be right or the reason why but it was just our opinions based on the news and the market etc.

 

[TinkerTigg]

You know, she could have been included in this collection as a solo doll and representing the "I don't need a man to be complete" theme and then scrapped due to the redesign backlash. Who knows, we could have killed her off for this season.

 

[Skittlegirltokyo]

Uhh once again I think you might have misinterpreted what people have said. I believe you are right in that they take over a year to plan the next line release however they also knew Merida was going to be a princess. So it wouldn't have been difficult to adjust or change the line if they really wanted her in there. They included Rapunzel in the initial designer line and her movie came out late 2010 even though the dolls came in 2011. (Note that Brave came out Jun2012 so the gap between her movie and the dolls is greater than rapunzels). I think what people are saying is that they are surprised that she was not included in this years line and as a result were trying to figure out why it may be the case. It might not be right or the reason why but it was just our opinions based on the news and the market etc.

well if they skipped her then skipped for this line. There's always next year. I don't think there's some big meaning behind it other than, this is what they wanted this years line to be and maybe next year it will be Merida. That's what I'm saying. That's my opinion.

And as much a I love it that she "don't need no man" I think it would just upset more people than not if they put her in this new line. Idk.

 

[Polaris]

well if they skipped her then skipped for this line. There's always next year. I don't think there's some big meaning behind it other than, this is what they wanted this years line to be and maybe next year it will be Merida. That's what I'm saying. That's my opinion.

And as much a I love it that she "don't need no man" I think it would just upset more people than not if they put her in this new line. Idk.

I agree that they could always release her in next years line but what I was trying to point out was that people were shocked by the fact that she wasn't released in this years line and that this years line did the princesses again with couples. We were told a few months ago that this year would have to do with couples but that was all speculation. Also this is Merida's year of coronation just like Rapunzel's back in 2011 and they made such a huge deal of it, even to the point that they included her in the designer line.

So really it was just a matter of shock that she wasn't included (note that being said it is also the case that we were not expecting a couple set, as clearly Merida would not fit in this set) as a lot of people expected Disney to really sell Merida due to her coronation being this year. It didn't really have anything to do with her not having a partner or not having dolls made.

 

[Brii59]

Merida not being included is NOT shocking

 

[Quasimodo]

Wasn't Merida's makeover backlash like last month? I'm sure these dolls have already been in the works since last year. I remember reading somewhere that the process is over a year long. That would mean they had no intention of including her regardless of backlash or poor sales of the LE set.

I'm sure they considered many concepts before deciding on couples, and I'm sure that decision had a lot to do with the designs presented to whatever team made that decision.

This set will be amazing. It'll have to be if they're already repeating 5 characters in the line. And who knows? Maybe they've heard about the desire for a heroines line and that'll be next year's concept. I mean, if this set does well, that is. I hope the villains set doesn't sink this project--especially when that set was SOOOO good!

 

[jennisney]

I hope next year they release a Poca

 

[Rasputin]

Called it back on Apr 28th! Couples!

 

[starry_solo]

Called it back on Apr 28th! Couples!

Psychic!

 

[Rasputin]

Psychic!

Not really. That is what our DS Manager told us what he heard it was going to be.

 

[Polaris]

Merida not being included is NOT shocking

Fair enough, I just thought that because it was Merida's coronation this year they would have done something to commemorate that event similar to what they had done with Rapunzel. I understand that the planning for these dolls take a year as pointed out by some members but don't forget the time gap between Rapunzel's movie release and the release of the first designer line was a lot shorter than the gap between Merida's movie release and this designer line. So if they wanted to include her in a designer set they could have this year. I don't think it's shocking she is not in the couple set but I think it's shocking that disney went down the route of couples which meant that they have completely left Merida out. Maybe they wanted to test it out? Because couple sets in the past have not done so well. Buzz and Woody and Merida and Elinor.

Not really. That is what our DS Manager told us what he heard it was going to be.

i remember that being mentioned on here but can't remember who did bring it up but you are right it had something to do with couples. I guess when you brought it up there was still a lot of speculation therefore I for one was still unsure about it as it did sound a little far fetched due to the fact that they would be making male dolls as well. But thanks for the heads up in advance even if I was a little skeptical of it back then.

Also I had thought couples would be unlikely due to the fact that they would have wanted to include Merida in this years line up. But I guess not, I just found it interesting how much little hype they have been giving Merida over the past few weeks/months. Just that during 2011 there was so much going on about Rapunzel (not just in terms of merch but news and park activity etc). And I guess not releasing anything special for Merida this year is sort of solidifying that fact. Who knows they may have something up their sleeves but nothing that I am aware of yet.

regardless I think this next set if done well should sell pretty well and I can't wait to see pictures. I'm pretty sure we should be hearing something soon officially from Disney about both the LE Ariel and the new designer set as it is nearing that time of year when we are sort of expecting them to release them for sale/pre-order.