Disney Mickey's Musical Mat Review

Review of Mickey's Music Mat Keyboard

Manufacturer's Recommended Age: 3+
My Recommended Age: 1-4
I paid: $9.99 (at Walgreens before Christmas)
Overall Recommended? Yes, with caveats (see below)
You Need to Know: It's much smaller than pictured; takes 3 AA batteries (not included)

  

We got our 17-month-old this Mickey keyboard mat for Christmas, and it's been a lot of fun for her! But - let me say, I think the picture on the box (in the above link) is misleading and makes the toy keyboard appear bigger than it actually is. See my picture below, where I included my (average-size female) hand for size perspective. The mat actually measures approx. 31 1/2" by 14". Reading reviews on other sites, a lot of buyers are understandably upset about the misrepresentation. However, I only paid $9.99 for it, and also bought it for a young toddler, so it didn't bother me.

The box says it's for Ages 3+, but I'm sure that's just choking-hazard related, as they probably have to be extra careful that toddlers don't pry open the battery compartment and eat them or something (it takes 3 AA batteries, not included). There's really no reason at all that a 1-3 year old couldn't play with this! My toddler daughter can easily unfold it and turn it on and off (by pushing a simple button) on her own. I'm sure 2-3 year olds could enjoy it too, but due to its small size, it might be harder for older kids to step on just one key at a time.

The mat is made of a plasticy vinyl, with the battery compartment/speaker attached at the top. There are both free play (playing your own music by stepping on the keys) and memory (copying their tune, kind of like Simon) and it can also play a few pre-set tunes on its own. It seems to work fine on most floor surfaces (we tried it on hardwood, carpet an tile). It's very lightweight and folds up easily into thirds, although the battery compartment is heavy and unwieldy when folding.

My little one enjoys stomping on the keys to make music, and that's about it. It was definitely worth $10 for us, but do be aware of the size if you're considering purchasing it.

REAL LIFE PICS:

PROS:

• easy to operate
• lightweight
• fun for little Mickey fans
• can wipe down to clean

CONS:

• size (particularly the misrepresentation) and the small key size 
• the placement of the battery box isn't ideal in terms of folding/storage. I'd also have appreciated a velcro strap or some way to secure it when folded up
• as you can see from my pic below, it's a bit of a magnet for dust/crumbs!

RECOMMENDED? Yes, I would recommend it, especially for young Mickey fans, and if you can find it for around $10-$15. 

Little People Belle's Klip-Klop Cottage Review

Review of Belle's Cottage Little People Playset

Manufacturer's Recommended Age: 36 months - 8 years
My Recommended Age: 1+ (with supervision; choking hazard)
I paid: Gifted to us
Overall Recommended? Yes!
You Need to Know: This is a great choice for a Little People/Disney Princess fan!

My one-year-old got this from a relative for Christmas this year. She's been into Little People lately - she's not quite to the stage of acting out stories with them or anything, but likes to put them in things, drive them around in toy cars, etc. At first I thought, oh - another Little People house. We've had a few over the years, and I'd eventually donated them when my older girls outgrew them. I kind of figured you'd seen one you've seen them all. 

However, this has one very unique feature that's made it tons of fun for her. Once we unpacked it (it did need to be put together, but it was pretty simple,) she literally played with it for an hour straight (unheard of!). That's the "klip-klop" function. See the little Belle & horse figure in the above picture? When you set it at the top of one of the three ridged ramps, it will klip-klop its way on down. It's not electric or anything - it's just made in a way that the downward force makes it go. It really is pretty cool :) 

Klip-klopping aside, this is nice and sturdy, unlike some other playsets we've bought recently (ahem....MLP castles). It may lack some of the bells and whistles of other Little People houses (we used to have one with a doorbell and flushing toilet,) but it's a cute and functional Little People playset, with the unique addition of the moving horse/Belle figure. It also has a water wheel that my little one likes to spin and a little gate to open and close. 

REAL LIFE PICS:

the horse finishing up klip-klopping down the smallest ramp

the inside has some cute decals   

PROS:

• Easy to put together
• Sturdy
• The klip-klopping horse is a neat feature
• colorful & cute 

CONS:

• I noticed that crumbs/dirt/dust gets trapped in the "ridges" of the ramps very easily and can't be wiped clean as easily as a smooth surface. 
• I wish they would have blended the two half of the horse together a little better - you can barely see the crease in Belle, but there's a line (almost a gap) running smack dab down the middle of the horse. I don't know if this is a design or quality control problem, and it's not a big deal at ALL, but just mentioning it...

RECOMMENDED? Yes, I would recommend this if you're looking for a Little People playset, in particular, for a toddler/preschooler who's into Belle, Disney, horses, or even fairy tales in general. 

Wubble Review

Ah, the Wubble Bubble Ball...."Looks Like a Bubble, Plays Like a Ball!" Who hasn't seen the commercial?

The Amazon reviews are terrible! I won't be quite as harsh.

My older girls each got one of these from a family member for Christmas. They each came with their own pump, and we took them out to pump them up that day. This part went fine - you just have to lube up the "spout" on the pump really well to get it to go all of the way in the valve, and then make sure it stays while the pump is running. It took about 5 minutes to get them fully blown up (although we kept them a bit smaller than the maximum 3-foot diameter). Once blown up they're a very thin, translucent, almost rubbery plastic. I wouldn't exactly say they "look like a bubble," but I see what they were going for...

Then the girls went outside to play with them, and one of them hit a bush and immediately popped. MAJOR bummer! None of us thought these were indestructible (and the instructions even say as much,) but to have it pop within the first minute of playtime....no fun at all. Reading through the Amazon reviews, we were far from the only ones to have this happen.

Once the one popped, my other daughter didn't want to keep playing with hers because she was worried hers would pop, so we deflated it to be able to bring it home. Meanwhile, I looked through the paperwork that came with the Wubble and found out that for $6.99 (shipping + handling) I could send in a piece of the ball and receive a "free" replacement. The relative who had bought the balls felt bad and offered to get her another one from the store, though.

We did end up finding a replacement, for $12.99 (and not including the pump) from a local big-box store. Then both Wubbles sat, for a couple of weeks, in their boxes. One rainy day I asked my girls if they wanted to blow them up and they said yes. So we did, and they tentatively rolled them around a bit, very nervous about popping them. The pictures below are from this day, and you can see that the Wubble isn't blown up anywhere near it's full capacity - we had read that keeping them smaller made them more durable (and less fun, but my daughters insisted). Ten minutes later they didn't really know what to do with them....they didn't want to take them outside (after the bush incident,) and I wasn't going to let them throw them around inside the house (and even then, they were nervous about what they could hit and pop). We left them blown up though and they've been sitting in the corners of their rooms ever since.

I will say, my little one (18 months) thought it was pretty cool to see a ball taller than her! I think she had the most fun rolling them around.

So, the stats:

PRICE: On Amazon for around $23 right now, with the pump. Found for much less in the store, without the pump.

REAL LIFE PICS:

PROS:

• neat concept
• easy to blow up

CONS:

• not durable at all
• not a whole lot you can do with them

RECOMMENDED:  Eh.....I can't really. Maybe if you find one really cheap, it could be kind of a neat novelty gift for a younger kid (but then again, they're not exactly known for their gentleness...)
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Dora's Unicorn Trail Playhut Review

Hello! For my inagaural post, I'll be sharing thoughts on one of my littlest one's (age 18 months) favorite Christmas presents - the Dora Unicorn Trail Playhut & ball pit.

Dora was more of a "thing" when my older girls were little, and I didn't even think my toddler had ever seen the show when I picked this up at a local discount store. It was a good deal though, and I had been thinking of getting her some type of playhut/tent, since she loves hanging out in her older sister's play tent (which I'll review in a later post!)

Well, it was a major hit! I planned on keeping this in her bedroom, but she plays with it so much that I haven't moved it from the living room. One of her favorite games is to hide inside and ask "Is?" - which means she wants us to say "where is she??" and then find her :) She also loves to put balls through the holes on the front by Unicorno's head. Anyway, here's the breakdown:

PRICE: I paid $25, it's currently $24.95 on Amazon (see link below)

REAL LIFE PICS:

front view of the tent portion

view from the back

The front section (ball pit) - it did come with
around 5 more balls that what are pictured here, but
as you can see, you should still plan on buying more 
if you want to use it as a true ball pit. 

looking inside from the open top
(there's also no floor on the tent)

close up of the fabric, showing the small hole in
side wall,and some scratch marks from our cat

the other side (opposite the plain green side)

PROS:

• relatively inexpensive (compared to similar products)
• extremely easy to set-up and collapse
• you can fold up the back part and just have the ball pit area in use (to save space)
• some unique features for a play tent, with the two separate sections, crawl-through doors on the sides, and holes for tossing balls through

CONS:

• made with a very thin, light material (not nylon), it's not the sturdiest or most durable - our cat regularly knocks it over (if unoccupied) and we already have a small hole in one wall
• it does not come with enough balls to constitute a ball pit

RECOMMENDED?   Yes! Despite those few cons, I would still recommend this for the 3 & under age group. Older kids could technically fit in it, but they might prefer something larger and more durable.