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.