I am the wife of an AFOL, Adult Fan of Lego. So, being that I am an Adult Fan of Disney, I guess that makes me an AFOD?! What a great match; two people who like to build, collect and decorate touches in our home to these things we enjoy: Lego and Disney. Somewhere, we meet in the middle: a Disney Lego collection, of course! I would love to share with you how Lego and Disney make a beautiful marriage.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
History of Disney and Lego
While they first met many decades ago (decade unknown), with Lego creating a wooden Pluto pull toy sometime in the 1930’s or 1940’s, Lego and Disney really began their courtship in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. Duplo, Legos for small children began to be included Disney sets. Childish, we say!
As an AFOL and an AFOD, that’s not what interests us; the 2012 partnership of Disney and Star Wars began the passionate relationship between Disney and Lego and adults who can really enjoy both.
In the mid 2000’s, a blooming, meaningful long term commitment was successful with Pixar (i.e. Toy Story sets), Star Wars sequels and trilogy, live-action Lego Disney sets, Marvel, minifigures and princesses, to name a few. Lego and Disney blended a foundation of the love of building and learning through play that has kept their relationship strong and long lasting.
Ole and Walt
It is the companies’ originators who created the success and magic: Ole Kirk Kristiansen and Walt Disney. Their shared commonalities included high quality stories, characters in which imagination has no bounds, and big and limitless dreaming. They withstood success and failures but leaned on what interested their families. They valued the whole family, the multi-generations that come together to bond through their products. It is the adult fans of Lego and Disney who love that nostalgia but also look forward to the future.
The Best Lego Sets for a Disney Fan
If you love Star Wars, of course you will love Star Wars Lego sets. But a fan of Walt Disney parks will really fall in love with the classics, ones that represent the parks themselves. Our top three favorites at home are the Disney Castle, Train and Station and black and white Steamboat Willie set.
Cinderella’s Castle is unique, represents the parks and is complicated to build, but is also beautiful and detailed to look at when completed. Cinderella’s Castle (circa 2016) comes with five minifigures and 4,000 pieces. In fact, there are several Disney Lego Castle sets for all different ages, prices or interests, including a Frozen Castle!
Disney Lego Train and Station represents the parks, specifically most similar to Disneyland, as well as Steamboat Willie (a creation of Lego Ideas collection). Steamboat Willie, in black and white form, is a wonderful representation of the birth of Walt Disney’s company in 1928.
What the Future Holds for this Beautiful Marriage
I hope to look forward to seeing a Lego version of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle as well as Lego sets of attractions in the parks. Lands in the Disney parks would also be something very exciting to look forward to. Currently, the Lego Ideas department is an area of Lego where the fans, with enough votes, create some of these ideas, and with enough support, they come to fruition in Lego form. We are hoping to see these ideas come to life; could possibly the Haunted Mansion and Hundred Acre Wood be next?!
Also coming soon, we can enjoy watching television together as Disney Plus brings AFODS and AFOLS together to watch the Lego Star Wars Holiday Special.
Shopping at Disney Springs in Orlando is now a breeze as my AFOL enthusiast husband enjoys his visits to the Lego Store while this AFOD shops at World of Disney!
Are you a AFOD and AFOL? I would love to hear what Disney Lego sets you enjoy building!