The latest brick-built LEGO Disney character splits focus between Winnie the Pooh and his honey pot, leading to a rather diminished final model.
43300 Winnie the Pooh is filled with a surprising amount of neat little references and surprises for a brick-built character of this size, but while the included honey pot and extra details give the set a lot of charm, they come at a price, both literally and figuratively, as this set is both more expensive and noticeably smaller than sets like 43247 Young Simba the Lion King Cub and 43269 101 Dalmatians.
43300 Winnie the Pooh
Release: Mar 1, 2026
Retiring: Dec 31, 2027
Price: £139.99 / $149.99 / €149.99
Pieces: 1,399
Minifigures: 1 (plus Eeyore)
It seems that large, detailed brick-built Disney characters are something of an annual tradition at this point. In 2024 the LEGO Group gave us 43247 Young Simba the Lion King Cub, an almost life-size and incredibly accurate recreation of the star of Disney’s The Lion King.
Last year, it was the turn of 43269 101 Dalmatians, a similarly-sized set that cleverly comes with instructions to create a selection of slightly different characters in a few easily interchangeable poses, and the tacit encouragement that anyone who wants to can also go off-piste and create their own custom Dalmatian pup.
Now it’s Winnie the Pooh’s turn, as the character celebrates a centenary of sorts. 2026 is the 100th anniversary of the publication of the original Winnie the Pooh children’s book by AA Milne (illustrated by EH Shepard), although how much this milestone can be attributed to the Disney version of the character is doubtful, given that the first Winnie the Pooh cartoon didn’t arrive in cinemas until 1966.
(If one wishes to be technical, the first Winnie the Pooh story by Milne was published on Christmas Eve 1925, making last year his centenary, and the character even predates this as he also appeared in the book of poetry When We Were Very Young, albeit without a name, in 1924. Being this pedantic, though, really goes against the spirit of the character, who when presented with this correction would likely close his eyes, nod, then suggest that it’s nearly luncheon time.)
Winnie the Pooh has graced LEGO before – in fact, the character was among the earliest of the LEGO Group’s experiments with licensed sets, having appeared in DUPLO form all the way back in 1999. In 2021, Pooh Bear and friends got their very own LEGO Ideas set, along with minifigures, and this creates an interesting extra wrinkle to the new brick-built anniversary set.
Unlike 43247 Young Simba the Lion King Cub and 43269 101 Dalmatians, 43300 Winnie the Pooh comes with more than just a brick-built character. This set also includes a large honey pot, which opens up Polly Pocket-style to reveal a small scene that’s just big enough to hold a pair of characters – a returning Pooh minifigure and a custom moulded Eeyore.
On the one hand, these inclusions are very welcome. The honey pot is nicely detailed on the outside – the buzzing bees and dripping yellow honey are particularly nice touches – and given that the LEGO Group already had a Pooh minifigure designed it would seem a pity to waste it and not bring it back for this new set.
This does come with a compromise, though. Minifigures cost money, and honey pots require LEGO elements. These feel like they’ve been taken out of the brick-built Winnie the Pooh. Despite the fact that it has only 46 elements fewer than 43247 Young Simba the Lion King Cub, Pooh Bear is significantly smaller than Simba. Admittedly, some of the elements used in his construction – especially around his famously rotund tummy – are quite large, and do a good job of creating Bear’s signature shape. It’s hard not to feel, though, that this Pooh looks somewhat diminished compared to these other large brick-built Disney sets.
With that smaller size comes a compromise in detail as well, especially around the face. Getting any cartoon character’s facial features right is always one of the biggest challenges for these sets, but both Simba and 43269 101 Dalmatians Puppy achieve this incredibly well. Alas, there’s just something a little off about Pooh’s face. His eyes in particular look a little too small and beady – Pooh’s eyes aren’t exactly as large and expressive as some Disney characters, but even so, using a single 1x1 round tile here feels like an imperfect solution.
It almost feels like this set would have been better split in two: one set solely devoted to the brick-built Pooh Bear, and another set for the honey pot and the included characters. This would have allowed for easier access to anyone who just wants to play with a Pooh minifigure and pop him in a little foldaway scene, while allowing the brick-built bear full room to shine and potentially grow a little in size.
This is not to say that the brick-built Pooh is unimpressive – in fact, he’s literally fun-filled. There are some surprising secrets hidden away in this set. Lift up the top of Pooh’s head and you’ll discover… nothing. It’s a fun little joke to give Pooh a literal empty head, along with a sticker that reminds him to 'Think, think, think…'. Similarly, behind Pooh’s chest is a sticker showing many of his friends either marching or walking or recreating the cover of Abbey Road – it’s up to you to choose your own interpretation. There are also stickers hidden on the inside of Pooh’s honey pot home, as well as stickers to create the word ‘hunny’ on the outside of the pot.
These are cute, but they’re still stickers. For some fans, the inclusion of these stickers – especially inside the honey pot in lieu of any actual detail for the scene – will feel like a cop-out.
43300 Winnie the Pooh is a fun set. There’s a lot of charm here, and the inclusion of some fun hidden features, a delightful honey pot and a pair of characters adds a lot of extra fun to what might otherwise be a static display set. There is a trade-off to be had here, though, and especially when one considers that this set costs more than both previous large brick-built Disney character sets in spite of a notably smaller piece count, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Pooh has been a bit short-changed.
LEGO 43300 Winnie the Pooh and 43305 Piglet’s Birthday Fun comparison
In previous years, the LEGO Group has accompanied its large brick-built Disney character with a smaller version of the same, aimed at a younger audience. This time around, the company has opted for a different approach, as the smaller set is not a miniature brick-built Pooh, but rather Pooh’s eternal companion Piglet.
Like Pooh,
The similarities between the two Lion King and 101 Dalmatians sets meant that choosing between them came down to price and size as much as personal preference for one design over another. With these two sets, it’s harder to really choose, because frankly, Piglet finds he simply can’t manage without Pooh, and vice-versa.
As nice as it is to have a Piglet set, the lack of a cheaper, smaller Pooh is unfortunate as it means that any younger LEGO fan who wants that Edward Bear minifigure without shelling out a lot of money is out of luck. Yes, you could get
Our honest opinion: 43300 Winnie the Pooh is charming and full of whimsy, but with so much of the set diverted to a separate honey pot, it almost feels like two sets have been combined into one.
This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.
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How many minifigures come with LEGO Disney 43300 Winnie the Pooh?
43300 Winnie the Pooh contains a single Winnie the Pooh minifigure, which comes complete with a brand new printed torso featuring a white bib over his standard red shirt. In addition to this, the set also comes with a single moulded element for Eeyore, which while technically not a minifigure, is made at minifigure scale.
How long does it take to build LEGO Disney 43300 Winnie the Pooh?
43300 Winnie the Pooh takes around two hours to build. It is a straightforward and simple build that shouldn't be too taxing for less experienced LEGO builders.
How many pieces are in LEGO Disney 43300 Winnie the Pooh?
43300 Winnie the Pooh contains 1,399 pieces. Most of these are used to construct Pooh Bear himself, but a sizeable portion of the piece count is used up on Pooh’s honey pot.
How much does LEGO 43300 Winnie the Pooh cost?
43300 Winnie the Pooh costs £139.99 in the UK, $149.99 in the US and €149.99 in parts of the EU.
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