This is probably a moot point since we bought this toy almost two years ago, but every time I see this toy it bugs me and I want to TELL THE WORLD! Or, the three people who read this blog...just to warn you in case there is still one hanging out on the shelf at your local Target.
So here it goes. I hate this toy. This toy? Yes. This toy.
But it's cute, right? Backyardigans, a pirate ship, a tub toy! What's not to love? The design, that's what.
First of all, everything deck-up comes apart. Handy for storage I suppose. But it comes apart too easily and doesn't go back together easily. (Not for toddlers, anyway.) That means the mast and sail, which Gabe could never "fix" himself, were a constant source of frustration, and eventually (fortunately) got lost/thrown away.
But here's the worst, most horrible-terrible-no-good part. The first time we put it in the bath tub, The bottom cavity filled with water. Maybe this is required for it to maintain proper buoyancy. I dunno. The problem is, the bottom cavity is the only part that DOESN'T come apart! It's SCREWED TOGETHER! With (now rusty) metal screws!!!
That means, this toy is filled with nasty, moldy, two-year-old water and it can't be cleaned without the use of a tiny screwdriver!!! (And my OCD hasn't taken me that far. Yet.) It's amazing I haven't tossed the dumb thing! (But we have a dirth of tub toys so it's gotten lucky.)
And THAT is all I will say about that.
Moving on.
A toy we love:
We got this toy a few years ago from my in-laws. The toy pictured below is actually the next generation design so not exactly like the one we have. (But ours is still kicking, sooo...props for quality!)
Basically, the genius of this toy is that it contains a suped-up hair dryer. A little motor blows air through the toy which pops the balls out the top. Then they fall back down and roll down the ramp for another spin. Oh yeah. And it plays music.
Now, you may think the motor noise/song combination would get annoying. But the popping balls are so mesmerizing, you forget the noise and just stare. And when I say "you" I mean "YOU", me, and children of all ages. Everyone loves staring at this toy. Babies through big kids.
Yes, bigger kids are always dropping matchbox cars, blocks and other toys into the Ball Popper to see if they pop out. They don't, but it's easy to pop the ramp off, and dump out the offending toy if it happens to get stuck.
When our Ball Popper bites the dust, I'll buy another one. For the kids, of course!
TWO THUMBS UP!!!
I'm glad I have a place where I can get these things off my chest! Gotta love blogging!
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2 comments:
I am so with you! The ball popper is FANTASTIC! We just bought it for Christmas from Amazon.com (the fastest way to get things through the APO to us in Mexico) and I think I have more fun with it than the 2 younger kids do. I put a piece of clear packing tape over the speaker because the music startled the baby too much and it was perfect! My 3 year old loves to experiment with how the air flow affects the balls. Even my older 2 boys like to see if they can get a regular pattern going. We have had our share of "other" toys making their way into the tubes but you are right, they are easy to get out! Great review!
Hmm, we have both those toys as well! I do love the ball popper. In fact just a few minutes ago I fished out a toy banana. The pirate ship actually didn't make the move with us, but I am pretty sure the water all came out each time it filled up. Maybe you got a dud? Anyway, it was fun while it lasted but my little lego nut just wasn't interested anymore.
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