Jakks Pacific MiWorld Dairy Queen Playset and Shop Girl Review

Here's a post that's been waiting in draft for a couple of months (along with scads of others). ;)  Jaaks Pacific has a new-ish line called "miWorld", with the tag line "real world made mini".  This line has miniature replicas of actual stores and restaurants that can be connected together to make a mini mall.  I thought the concept was really neat.  When I saw the Dairy Queen set (labeled as one of the "Starter Sets" on the Jaaks Pacific website) at my local Walmart for $14.99, I decided to give it a try. :)

The set comes in a colorful box and shows a few of the miniature treats in the bubble window on the front.

Here's a closer look at a few of the details on the front of the box:

Side of the box.

Back of the box.

A closer look at the details on the back:

The other side of the box...

...with a closer look at the details.  As you can see, there is also the option to bring a virtual miWorld to life online ( I haven't tried this yet).

Bottom of the box...

...with a few more details.

Here's what it looks like when you open the box.  All of the pieces and parts are in protective plastic.

Here are the little treats that were showing through the front of the box.

This is everything out of the box, still in the plastic.

The walls already have the pictures on them.  This store has two walls, one small support beam, and the floor piece.

It also comes with an instruction sheet.  The instructions are easy to follow.  I was able to figure out what I was doing with little difficulty.

The other side shows how to put the table together.

Here are the mini cardboard packages for the fries and the hot dog.  Unfortunately, there are no instructions for these.  It wasn't until I googled pictures of them that I was able to figure out exactly how to fold them. :}

There is a sheet of labels for the counter, the cash register/computer, the table, and several of the treats.

The "flooring" is a piece of cardstock-type paper that fits over the floor.

There is a small cardboard sign for the counter.

It has a folded stand in the back to help it stay up.

Here are the plastic accessories as they first appear:  a table in three pieces, a single booth, and a front counter.

Here are all of the accessories before their labels are attached, as they come in the package.

Here are the treats that were visible through the front of the box, free from their plastic.  Don't they look yummy enough to eat? ;)

After I got everything deboxed, I started putting it together.  

The floor cardstock fits just right on top of the plastic floor piece.

Next, the wall pieces attach on the sides.

There is a small piece of plastic that fits on two little pegs on the top corner of the walls.

This keeps the walls together and gives them extra strength.

The next piece to go in is the skinny wall beam.  When you get the other sets, you can attach the other stores next to this one and also on top of it.

The table goes together easily.

Next, it's time to put on all of the labels.  They are clearly marked so you know where they belong:

The counter looks much better with its label on...

...as does the cash register.

The Orange Julius drinks get a label...

...as well as the Blizzards.

There are also labels for the tray...

...and the table.

After I got done putting things together and got all of the labels on, I started figuring out these puzzle pieces.  I forgot to take individual pictures of them after I got them folded, but all it took was looking online a bit and I was able to figure them out. :)

The miWorld line includes two different "Shop Girl" figure packs.  There is a blonde in pants and this one, a brunette in a dress.  Both include a mint green plastic apron that snaps on the front of the figure.  Each of them retail for $2.99. 

Back of the package.

Side view.

The bottom of the package.

She has a cute face.

The soft packaging has a harder clear plastic shell inside which holds the doll in place.

Her apron.

Here she is free from her packaging. 

I love her face paint, although the eyes on mine are pretty crooked. :}  

The doll's posability is very limited.  She can move her arms forward, but not backward.  Her hair gets in the way.

She can turn her head very slightly to each side.

She can also rotate at the waist.  Her legs and feet do not move.  She also cannot sit.

When you put her apron on, she can no longer move her waist.

The shop girl from the front...

...and the back.

Once I got all of the pieces and parts together, it was really fun to get everything set up.  I love how it really looks like a little mini Dairy Queen.

Shop Girl (I think I might name her Sophie) behind the counter with some of the yummy DQ treats.

A closer look at the table.  I love how it even has little ketchup and mustard bottles. :)

Sophie can also take her apron off and be a customer.  This playset would work best with both shop girl figures so one could be the cashier and one could be the customer.  Of course, neither one can sit down, so that makes it impossible for Sophie to sit in the booth and enjoy her goodies.  

This made me wonder what other little dolls might be compatible with this set.

I started out by trying a couple of the Madame Alexander McDonald's dolls.

They work pretty well with the set, though they are perhaps a little oversized.

Cathy is able to sit nicely in the booth.

Next, I tried my mini AG Saige doll.  She ended up being a little big for this scale.

I didn't take a picture of her sitting in the booth because it was way too small for her.  She couldn't even stay seated.

I also tried a Chelsea doll (Barbie's little sister, fka Kelly). 

If you think of her as a doll and don't worry about her supposed age, she works pretty well.

However, she had a similar problem to my mini AG dolls.  I couldn't get her to sit in the booth.  It was too shallow for her.

I thought that my mini Blythe worked well with this scale.

She was able to sit nicely in the booth.

Next, I tried a mini Lalaloopsy.  She's a little small for the scale of the shop if she's supposed to be an adult, but she'd work nicely as a little kid...or a rag doll the size of a child, as she's supposed to be. ;)

She looks really cute in the booth.  The food's a little big for her, but there are worse problems to deal with in life. ;)

The dolls that worked pretty well, surprisingly, were my mini Tangled Ever After Eugene and Rapunzel dolls.

It's just too bad that there was only one booth so poor Eugene had to stand.  Don't they look like they made a quick stop at Dairy Queen on the way to their honeymoon or something? ;)

One of the best things about this set is that it is very easy to disassemble when playtime is done.  I was able to get everything into a gallon Ziploc bag...

...and then it all fit back into the original box.  In a house with limited space, a feature like this is always appreciated. :)

I think Jaaks Pacific has come up with a great idea with these cute little shops.  It's fun to get replicas of actual places you can shop as a human.  So far, there are three different "Starter Sets" (including this one) for $14.99 each, two "Deluxe Sets" for $29.99 each, two "Shop Girl" figures for $2.99 each, and several "Collector Packs" with little extras for the shops, retailing at $2.99 each.  

Because of the varied prices, the individual items work for a variety of budgets.  The pieces are fairly sturdy and nicely detailed, and they can come apart easily for storage.  I'm giving this set a 5 out of 5.  Because I only got one set, I can't say how well the individual sets link together.  However, when I was doing more research on this, I came across Ashley's great review at "Confessions of a Doll Collector's Daughter".  Be sure to check it out if you'd like to see a few more of the sets and how they work together. :)

I'm looking forward to seeing how the line expands in the future. :)  Which of the shops is your favorite?

P.S.  I will be implementing a more detailed rating system on my review posts beginning in June. :)