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We made kids review the Barbie Dreamhouse at MOA

Is the Barbie Dreamhouse really dreamy? We let kids tell us. "That's a lotta pink," one seven-year-old visitor said.

February 14, 2014 at 8:11PM

2:30

(Shari L. Gross/Shari L. Gross)

With his head popped back like a Pez dispenser, 7-year-old Louis Bustos stared up the heel of a pink stiletto twice his height.

"That's a lotta pink," he said.

Avery Hagedorn, 5, searched the vast doll collection hoping to spot her favorite — "Wedding Barbie." And with one swipe of eye shadow, Ameya Morrow, 4, was transformed into the lead singer of her imaginary band.

This is life inside the Barbie Dreamhouse Experience.

To appraise the Barbie-ness of the Mall of America's latest attraction, we went to the experts in these matters. Kids. Precisely: Louis, Avery and Ameya.

What would you tell your friends about the Barbie Dreamhouse?

Ameya: "I would like to tell them everything."

Louis: "I would tell my two best friends that we were right — Ken did have a grass skirt and Barbie had a coconut bra."

Avery: "There was no real Barbie here. It was weird."

What was the best part?

Ameya: "I like dressing up and I liked the kitchen, too, because you can make stuff — like popcorn."

Louis: "Wait, popcorn?"

Avery: "Dressing up, but I wish they would've had Barbie's wedding dress."

How much do you think it costs to visit the Dreamhouse?

Ameya: "$50."

Louis: "$40,000."

Avery: "$14."

What did you think of Barbie's wardrobe?

Louis: "Wanna know why I didn't want to dress up?"

Avery: "Because you're too shy?"

Louis: "No, just 'cause I didn't want to. … I'm a little shy sometimes."

How many Barbies do you have?

Ameya: "1,000. I play with all of them. My favorite is my Monster High doll."

Louis: "Monster High? That's not even a real Barbie. It's kind of related. I totally shouldn't say this, but zero … I feel like I have soap in my eye, but I have no certain idea."

Avery: "I have 10 Barbies. Wedding Barbie is my favorite, because I really like her dress."

In square feet, how big is the Dreamhouse?

Ameya: "26."

Louis: "25."

Avery: "100."

What didn't you like about the Dreamhouse?

Ameya: "I didn't like that I was a little shy on stage."

Louis: "I didn't like the clothes because they were too fancy."

Avery: "Why didn't we see real Barbie? My mom told me we would."

If you could take one thing home from the Dreamhouse, what would it be?

Ameya: "Makeup. Or, the whole Dreamhouse. No, wait. The costumes, because they're so fancy, and I have fancy stuff at home. There is one dress that's really beautiful."

Louis: "I would take the whole runway home and all the clothes. Have you ever seen 'Project Runway'?"

Avery: "I would take all of the microphones home. Actually, no. I would take one Barbie home."

Aimee Blanchette • 612-673-1715

Backstage Ameya Morrow, 4, played dress-up before hitting the stage at Barbie Dreamhouse Experience, the 30,000-square-foot attraction at Mall of America. (The Minnesota Star Tribune)