When Eva was born I went out and bought a ton of rubber duckies for the bath. Granted it would be months before she was at all able to play with them but none-the-less I was going to be prepared. Well, she’s four now and while she enjoys the duckies still she has discovered so many more toys. Tops on her list has to be the Disney Princesses with Ariel being one of her all time favorites. So, when we received a Swimming Ariel doll to try out Eva was very excited.

Ariel is the main character from The Little Mermaid and as such she spends much of her time in the movie in the water as a mermaid. Many of the dolls for Ariel do have her fins but they are not for the bathtub. This one, however, is. The doll has an articulated tail that flips up and down to propel Ariel through the water. She has a seashell on her waist that when wound in a clockwise motion winds up the swimming mechanism. Position her hands over her head and her hair in the middle of her back and she’ll be swimming pretty well in no time at all.

It took me a few readings of the instructions (or rather once to read and pay attention) to get the doll swimming the right way. You have to wind the seashell till it clicks in order for it to get the maximum propulsion power. Also putting the hair in the middle of the back keeps Ariel moving straight. It is a fun gimmick for your Little Mermaid fans and Eva did have fun playing with Ariel in the tub. The swimming motion is okay, not great , but then again it is all about the imagination and playability factor for the kids.

Eva had a fun tub experience with Ariel. I would suggest one thing if you were to buy this toy. Make sure you can hang it up to dry out between tubby times. You wouldn’t want your Ariel to turn into Ursula would you?

Recommended Age: 3+
Retail price: Approx $19.99
Manufacturer: Mattel

Disclosure: I received this toy for review purposes. The opinions about it are 100% my own. And of course I asked Eva what she thought.