This was a surprise gift for my 3 boys from their grandparents, so when we saw the 2 huge boxes sitting on our porch, I have to say that we weren't so excited about having to put it together, but  just with my husband and I, it went up very quickly and quite easily . We were also concerned about the size, but we couldn't be happier, as the 17'x 15' oval fits very well in our yard and is the perfect size for 3 very active boys and their friends. Our one recommendation would be to make the foam padding on the metal posts thicker and more durable, I can already see that we're going to have to replace them in the near future. I can see our family enjoying this for many years to come.