Friends

Mermaid Roller Coaster Ride

A working coaster wrapped around a spinning mermaid pool, and those mermaids are the whole reason to buy it.

Brick Rated Score

3.9/5

Set 42703 · 2026

Pieces874

Minifigs5

Year2026

Set number42703

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

This is a Friends set that knows exactly what it wants to be: a bright, busy little theme park corner where a real coaster car loops past mermaids twirling in a rotating pool.

The two mermaids, Serina and Azuria, are the reason I kept coming back to it, because the printing and the clear tail tips are genuinely lovely. It is on the pricey side for the part count, and the coaster itself is short, so temper your expectations there. If you love the mermaid theme or build with a kid who does, it charms you immediately.

Best for: Friends fans and mermaid-loving kids who want a play feature, not a display piece

The full review

What it is

The Mermaid Roller Coaster Ride is one of those summer 2026 Friends sets that leans fully into theme-park fantasy, and it does the leaning well. You build a working coaster car that runs a loop of track, and at the center sits a rotating pool where two mermaids spin and perform. The first thing that got me was the mermaids themselves. Serina and Azuria have opalescent hair that catches the light, printed torsos and tail pieces, and tail ends molded in clear plastic, which is the first time LEGO has done that detail. They even come with tiny microphones, because the whole conceit is that they are putting on a show. It is a genuinely sweet idea, and for the target audience it is going to land instantly.

The catch

I will be straight with you about the value, though. At $109.99 for 874 pieces, you are paying more per part than Friends sets usually ask, and a fair chunk of those pieces disappear into the supporting frame and the pool base rather than the parts you actually notice. The coaster loop is also on the short side, so the ride experience is quick, more of a satisfying whirl than a proper white-knuckle circuit. If you came expecting the scale of the big amusement park roller coasters, this is a smaller, cozier thing. That is not a flaw exactly, but it is worth knowing before you hand over your money, because the box art makes it look grander than the finished footprint really is.

Who it's for

So who is this actually for? If you or the kid you build with adores mermaids, or you are already collecting the 2026 Friends theme-park sets and want the whole park to grow, this slots in beautifully and the play value is real. The rotating pool and rolling car mean it does not just sit there looking pretty, which matters a lot for younger builders. If you are chasing engineering cleverness or the best possible cost per brick, this is not the set that wins you over, and you would do better with one of the larger coasters. But taken on its own warm, playful terms, it is a lovely little corner of an amusement park, and the mermaids alone almost justify it.

The parts story

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

Building it is a relaxed, friendly experience aimed squarely at the 8-and-up crowd, so there are no fiendish techniques to wrestle with. You spend your time laying down the pool base, assembling the rotation mechanism, clipping together the coaster track, and dressing the whole thing with theme-park detail like the ticket booth and park map. It flows nicely and never drags, though adult builders should know it is gentle rather than challenging.

The standout parts are all in the mermaids. Serina and Azuria carry beautifully printed torsos and tail pieces, opalescent hair molds, and tail tips cast in transparent plastic, a detail collectors flagged as brand new. The set also brings some fresh coaster track elements that Friends coasters had not used before, which makes the ride path more interesting than older versions. Add the swappable dual-expression head on Autumn and you get a nice little haul of printed and specialized pieces, even if the bulk of the 874 parts is ordinary structural fare.

Fun facts

01The mermaids' tail ends are molded in clear plastic, which reviewers noted is the first time LEGO has produced that detail on a mermaid tail.
02Both mermaids, Serina and Azuria, come with microphones because the play concept is that they perform a show in the spinning pool.
03One of the minidolls, Autumn, has a swappable dual-expression head that switches between a relaxed and an excited face.
04The set was designed by LEGO's Tom Gerardin and released 1 June 2026 in the UK, EU and Australia, with North America following on 1 August 2026.