Super Mario

Big Urchin Beach Ride Expansion Set

A sunny beach level with the best character lineup of its wave and one very fiddly party trick.

Brick Rated Score

3.6/5

Set 71400 · 2022

Pieces536

Minifigsn/a

Year2022

Set number71400

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The verdict

This is one of the roomier Super Mario expansions, and the beach theme gives it a warmth a lot of the plainer level sets never had.

You get Yellow Yoshi plus a whole cast of sea critters, and the palm tree and bridge really do read as a proper little seaside stage. The catch is the headline dolphin ride, which is genuinely temperamental and left a lot of builders muttering. I'd still reach for it, but go in knowing the spinning feature is the weak link, not the star.

Best for: Super Mario players who already own a Starter Course and want more characters and a bigger playable level

The full review

What it is

The thing that won me over here was not the box art, it was how the finished level actually sits together. Most Super Mario expansions are one idea stretched thin, but the Big Urchin Beach Ride gives you a real little seaside scene: a palm tree with a Super Star Block wedged up top, a plank bridge over the water, a springboard for dives, and that looping roller coaster track for the dolphin. Yellow Yoshi is the charmer of the set, and having a Big Urchin, two Cheep Cheeps and a dolphin in one box means the stage feels populated rather than empty. For a 536 piece set it does a lot of world building.

The catch

I'll be straight with you about the part everyone talks about. The marquee feature is standing Mario on the dolphin's back and whipping the circular track around the palm tree fast enough to shake the star block loose and knock the Urchin over. On paper it is lovely. In practice it is the most temperamental play feature in the wave. Reviewer after reviewer hit the same wall: Mario slides off the dolphin, or you simply cannot generate the speed to make the whole thing work, and you end up spinning it in frustration. It is the kind of mechanism that looks brilliant in the promo clip and tests your patience on the carpet. At the original 59.99 that stings a little, because the flagship interaction is the shakiest bit.

Who it's for

So who lands where on this one. If you already own a Starter Course and you are building out a collection, this is an easy yes: the character count alone justifies it, and the bridge and springboard give you plenty that does work smoothly. Kids who love the scanning and coin collecting will get a lot of mileage even if the dolphin trick stays finicky. The people I would steer away are anyone hoping this is a standalone display piece, or anyone buying purely for that spinning ride, because that is exactly the feature most likely to disappoint. Treat the dolphin as a bonus rather than the main event and you will enjoy it far more.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build itself is gentle and quick, about an hour of relaxed clicking, which suits a set aimed at seven and up. There is no engineering puzzle to solve here, but there is variety: you assemble the palm tree, thread the curved coaster track, and put together the little bridge with its hidden lever that launches the Cheep Cheeps when you press the middle plank. That bridge is the sleeper hit of the build, a simple mechanism that lands every time, and it is more fun to put together than the finicky dolphin rig it shares the box with.

The value lives in the figures and the sandy palette. Yellow Yoshi is the standout piece and a genuinely nice character to add to the shelf, and the Big Urchin, twin Cheep Cheeps and dolphin round out one of the better creature rosters in the expansion line. Tan and coral coloured elements, plus the curved coaster rails, are handy in beach and playground MOCs later on. Part-out value sits a touch above the retail price on BrickLink, so you are not overpaying for the plastic. Just know most of what you are buying is characters and scenery, not rare printed or brand new molds.

Fun facts

01The set packs five interactive Super Mario figures: Yellow Yoshi, a Big Urchin, two Cheep Cheeps and a rideable dolphin, though LEGO Mario or Luigi is sold separately.
02It launched in January 2022 at 59.99 dollars and retired at the end of that same year, giving it a short single-year run on shelves.
03You cannot actually play the level on its own: it requires a Starter Course (71360 or 71387) with the electronic Mario or Luigi figure to read the level's action bricks.