Pretend Play Reviews

My parent's bought this for my daughter for christmas. In the package it is pretty loud but when you took it out the packaging and pulled the tab it got so quiet that you can barely even hear it. Also about 3 weeks after she got this, the flip part on the phone broke right off!

The fact that the volume is barely audible when you take it out of the package is so ridiculous!!!! Don't waste your time and money!

I too bought this phone, and when I took the packaging off, the volume was barely audible! the instructions inside said that was not an error, that is how it is supposed to be. Well then maybe they shouldn't have it so the volume is so loud when it is in the packaging! Obviously, you need the volume up to sell the damn toy, why turn it down? My daughter rarely plays with this phone. I wouldn't recommend it, if not solely for the false advertising!

I was expecting to pay much more for my 2 year old daughter's first play kitchen. This one is perfect, its not a big bulk of junk that takes up space. I did remove the legs, and it is much more stable. As for the oven door it is a bit rigid, however all the more lesson to teach her to hold the unit for stability and open the door. She's an expert! Also it doesn't come with a thousand pieces, its just the right amount. Perfect value for the money,

This kitchen is pretty tight. We love the little sound effects that the play burner makes when you place the skillet, kettle, or pot on it. I find the voice suggesting what would be good to make or what works best with a particular cooking utensil to be very educational. Of course even if my daughter cooks the pie in the skillet (istead of in the oven), the sizzling sound effects still come on and the voice doesn't scream at you telling you no you cant cook the pie on the skillet which is what some of other reviews might persuade you to believe. My daughter still does whatever she wants. When you first turn the kitchen on it suggests, "First let's wash our hands" which I think is very educational. Even though my babygirl pays the voice no mind and does what she wants on the kitchen. The phone is one of the most enjoyable yet the least-mentioned accessory included in this set. It talks to her (and will just a few minutes after she gets off of it) call her and ring like a regular phone awaiting her answering it. It says hello and asks if the tea is ready or asking 'you cooked breakfast' and says things like 'great i'll be right over'. My daughter loves playing with the phone. Sometimes she even overcooks her food becuase she is having so much fun on the phone. Our daughter is short, so we removed the four stilts that you assemble on the bottom of it. Doing that actually made everything not only more accessible but also much more durable as well. Once you have all the screws in durability is really not an issue. We really did not expect this to be as great a toy as it has proven to be especially due to the other kitchens costing so much more than this one did. One thing to note is the door is a little 'stubborn' on opening and closing at times but nonetheless it does stay on and is more durable than some of the previous ratings suggested. This toy is not at all 'bossy' as some people's ratings and comments led us to previously believe either. It is really your point of view if you interpret it as being bossy. It just suggests "how about some potatoes" or "let's boil some carrots, carrots are good for you." So actually it just helps suggest new things for a child to cook once they have already finished cooking what they put on the stove or in the oven. Our daughter could care less when the kitchen tells her "the food on the stove is ready" or after she still leaves it cooking, it telling her "uh-oh the food is going to be overcooked - let's cook something else on the stove." One thing we were pleasantly surprised to find also is that it teaches manners and being tidy. It firsts asks you to wash your hands, then when it suggests using your spoon or spatula or salt or pepper and then thanks you for returning the item(s) to the proper place(s). It actually taught her to shake salt and pepper on the food for taste which is new to her since she does not see us putting salt or pepper in the food as we cook. She could not be happier with this toy. She puts the salt and pepper right back too. She calls the tea "coffee" (even though the toy calls it tea). She makes us drink "coffee" with her (she sees her dad drinking coffee all the time and even calls the hot chocolate we make her 'coffee' as well). She comes and serves us the food she cooks and even made me an early mothers' day breakfast this evening and carried over the eggs and ham and "coffee" for me to eat and then came and gave me the cookie as dessert. I do not know of any other kitchen set that teaches as much in the way of manners or tidiness as this one did. It was well worth the money (which is something we can unfortunately not say about many toys, since most have such a minimal amount of workmanship or creativity or durability in them). We found this to be a solid wonderful toy that was this biggest highlight of our daughter's second birthday.

Bought this toy for my daughter's 2nd birthday and she HATED it. Every time it told her to wash her hands, cook some carrots, etc. she'd run away crying "Mommy, I don't want to wash hands!" The actual cooking sounds are very cool but what toddler wants to be bossed around? We took it back after 2 days and are looking for a new kitchen.

This swing appeared easier to use than a traditional swing for 3-5 year olds, but in practice it was more difficult. It is both slippery, so the child slips off, and unsteady, so the seat moves or swings out from underneath the child. A traditional flexible swing seat works better for us.

I was very excited about this swing because it was reasonably priced. When we installed it however, it was very slippery and was difficult for our kids to stay on. It heats up in the summer, and when the kids were using it, the bottom nut fell off and our youngest fell off in midair! It is molded plastic which does not allow for different body sizes very easily.
I would recommend changes to this swing.

Our kids love this swing and choose it over all other swings when given a choice. I bought one Hedstrom Comfort Swing last spring to try it out and left up the other sling-type swing that came with our swingset to compare. What a mistake. All of my kids and all of their friends go straight for the Hedstrom Comfort Swing and fight over who gets to sit in it as compared to the sling-style swing/glider etc. They hate the sling swings now. The Hedstrom Comfort Swing seems to be more comfortable for them because it doesn't dig into their behinds and hips like the sling swings and it also seems to be easier for them to pump now that they've started learning to swing on their own. It is a little harder for kids to balance on than the sling swings because it doesn't comform to their bodies, however, once they got the hang of it, they seemed to have no trouble at all. I can't say that we ever had a problem with its being too slick. My only concern with the item is that Amazon lists it as suitable only for kids up to six, though they don't explain why. Amazon, if you are listening, can you explain why you give a shorter age range than the manufacturer? Anyway, I'm sick of my kids fighting and all wanting this swing. I'm going to buy a second one and throw the old sling swing in the trash.

The springs on this toy are extremely tight, making it very difficult for babies and toddlers to operate. Althouhg it is nice to see dinosaurs instead of all the other familiar characters, all of the other pop-up boxes I've seen "reward" the child by popping up with much less hand strength required.

I purchased this toy for my son's 1st birthday. I looked high and low for a pop up toy that didn't sing long annoying songs, or have lights, noises, etc. We have plenty of those toys. I wanted a simple, yet entertaining and educational toy. And that's what I found with this one. My son loves to work the buttons to make the dinosaurs pop. Even my 3 year old likes to play with it too. She helps him by pushing the tops back down. The entire toy is very sturdy. Others have mentioned that the tops break off, but I even tried to break it with my hand and couldnt, you'd need a hammer! Best of all, it doesnt need batteries!

once you get this toy in your hands you can see the cheap construction--the buttons don't work smoothly and the egg-tops are easy to pull off: just the right size for my toddler to pop in his mouth! i chucked this one right in the garbage....

I was especially disappointed with this toy because I specifically e-mailed toysrus to inquire whether this toy had
a vacuum cleaner with it as I had read the other reviews and they
indicated that there was a vacuum cleaner that really worked.
My e-mail replies from toyrus on two separate occasions,
firmly stated that there was a working vacuum cleaner as part of this toy. When it arrived there was no vacuum cleaner at all.
As far as what was on the toy, my granddaughter does play with it

a bit but I did find that the top of the trolley does come apart
easily

The vaccum feature on this toy does actually vaccum/suck up the included teeny-tiny styrofoam balls. It does take going over the balls several times in order to vaccum them all up, which can be a little time comsuming & frustrating. I strongly suggest using the vaccum on a vinyl or tile floor, because vaccuming the balls up off of carpeting is very difficult to do! All components of this toy are relatively well made. However, they are not made out of heavy-duty plastic/vinyl, but in my personal opinion, are not 'extremely' cheaply made either! The cart/trolley does have to be assembled, which is not difficult to do. The mop is not very thick or absorbent, so use water "very" sparingly if allowing your child to mop with it! Everything does store on the cart/trolley, which is a plus. Both my 4 yr. old and my 7 yr. old daughters have enjoyed playing with this item. It is an okay toy, especially if your child/children have big imaginations and love to play house or help mommy clean.

I have to agree with the 1st rating. My 3 year old daughter was not that interested in it considering every time she'd try to move it the top came off. She was mostly interested in the sweeper which does actually sweep up little stuff.
The cart doesn't appeal to her, she has more fun with the broom & dust pan. She likes to clean up after everyone. So it has it's perks but the durability of the cart is poor!

This is a nice garden set that my 3 year old carries around with ease. The pieces are easy to handle for his little hands when he is helping daddy around the yard. The set is more for pretend than for actual digging. The pieces fit nicely in the tote that is similar to my garden set.

I cannot believe I paid [money] for an item that is falsely advertised. This pouch looks to be pretty large, even the picture of the little girl you use makes it look bigger...all in all this item was the size of my two fists put together, what a waste of time AND money! Now I have to go out and buy something for Easter regardless as I am returning this waste of time to you. Even the tool that are included are so small I am not sure WHO would enjoy this product. All in ALL I am VERY dissapointed in this product...I will not recommmend this to ANYONE EVER.

This is a great little present for the spring time....but it says 3 and up - it should be under 3! It's quite babyish!

I bought this toy (with out reading the reviews first) for my home day care. I was so disappointed once I started puting this together. It is flimsy and fragile for such a large toy. You can not pull open the door or close it without the whole toy falling over. Had I seen this in the store, I would surely have not spent the money on it. It looks much bigger and better quality on-line then it truely is. If I could return it, I would, however all the stickers are in place and my daughter used the chalk to write on the chalk boards. Live and learn. I will never buy anything like this again with out first reading the reviews. Many of them say the same thing. It's cheaply made, and I too, am suprised fisher-price has put their name on such a shabby product.

We bought this toy as a Christmas present for our 2 year old daughter. We are extremely disappointed with the quality and durability of it. Pieces are constantly falling off of it and it falls over on the kids when they attempt to play with it, (which is rare if ever!). Save your money!!!

This was a gift for Christmas for my 18-month old daughter. It looked so cute in the catalog! I was VERY dissapointed when we opened the box and saw how flimsy and cheaply made it is. We had to be super careful while putting it together as not to break it. It is extremely unstable and has to be propped against a wall so that it doesn't tip over (and I am certain break!). Immediatly my niece sat on the flower and snapped it in two. There aren't any replacement parts either.
Fisher-Price has put their name on the product but it certainly doesn't live up to the name!

My daughter just turned 4 and loves my little Ponies. She got this as a gift (despite the reviews) and hasn't played with it since we put it together, which was time consuming oh and the stickers, c'mon why aren't they prelabeled? She takes her ponies and plays with them in her durable doll house.
Something on this castle falls apart as soon as you touch it. It's a cute idea, just very poorly made.

My 3 yo has been dying for this castle for her ponies...we used it as major bribe for potty training...We opened up and went through the nightmarish installation process...could you add any more stickers? But the worst part is that the whole thing falls apart constantly! The stupid balloon landing turrets on the top have NO attachment so they fall off when you barely bump it or try to play...the elevator sticks...the frames around the windows fall off...the balloon falls apart...the front walkway and back staircase fall off...the spinning dance floor covers up the door music heart so you cannot operate the music with the dance floor on...the dance floor does not work in the turrets as stated since it is just too awkward to spin...the crown will not stay together...I should have read the reviews on toysrus.com before buying it since any were bad, but I never dreamed it would be so bad...Does Hasbro care nothing about who they are creating these toys for? My daughter loves her ponies and I have had fun collecting them for her...it is sad that the castle is such a disgrace...but my Daughter is happy to have it, would cry if I returned it and I guess I will have to glue down as many of the pieces as I can...(...)

Okay I have read all the other reviews, and much of it is true, it was a pain to put on all the stickers, the elevator doesn't move very well, and you are better off if you glue on some of the pieces, and definitely pitch the crown thing. But all that being said, I am so glad that Santa brought this for my daughter. She is still playing with it almost daily. And nothing has broken either. Yes some things needed to be glued on to stay but big deal, they didn't break they just came off and after a little super glue they are fine. The castle is so much fun, the way it plays music and lights up when a pony crosses the entrance is great. And I think the baby pony was the highlight of Christmas for my daughter. So my point is, yes it is a bit of a pain to set up for parents, but not as bad as some make it sound and it is worht it. Also save your pony-points (www.mylittlepony.com) and send for the mat of Ponyville. It has a spot for the castle, the cafe and the salon, it is really cute. We have the whole thing set up on her playtable (a train table basically)

The box says Polly Pocket can "race her friends down the slide". Yeah sure. You have to push her down the slide which falls apart as she goes down. My sweet 5 year old wasted her birthday money on this and is so disappointed.

This is our first polly pocket toy in our home. So this is new for us. It is a fun looking toy with MANY tiny parts to keep track of. My 3.5 yr old daughter really likes it...even her brother has been caught playing with it.

However, I have to agree with the others that the slide is hard to assemble. Firstly, the directions are not correctly pictured which makes it hard. But once it was assembled, and pushed in REALLY hard and TIGHT...it actually did stay together for US.

Some things that broke the day we bought them were: the bathing suit broke a strap when my daughter tried to get it off. The hat strap (elastic chin strap) broke. The rubber clothing is definetely NOT durable, and VERY hard for a child to dress her. If you don't mind helping every time your child feels like changing the outfit, this may not be an issue for you.

One thing I would have liked to see: another doll. Polly has to swim alone with a seal...she needs a friend esp. if your child wants to play with another child. The seal goes well down the slide, but Polly does not slip down the slide with her rubber bathing suits on...they are too sticky.

Polly's hair changes color but you have to use refrigerated water. We just used water that came from the ice dispenser on our fridge and it worked...which my daughter found cool.

Okay but here is another point. It is only $12-13. I don't consider this an expensive toy that will get passed down to my kid's kids...but it will be fun for a couple seasons, you DO get what you pay for in this case.

My neighbor is 7 years old, and she recieved this castle as a gift. Her mom sat down for 10-20 minutes trying to assemble it. As she finished, we walked out the door, and the pieces fell apart right in my hands. Polly can't even succesfully slide down into the pool with or without the toys. It's not durable, it's not exactly fun, and I don't think it's educational. One of my least favorite Polly toys.

My husband and I bought this for his daughter for Christmas and was very disappointed. The microphone gives back a lot of interference, no matter how far away you are from the machine. There is not much to the songs and the words for them stop after a couple seconds. Which is not karaoke. The "radio" version of it is very repetitive. My stepdaughter got over it very fast. The only good thing about it is that it hasn't broke yet, but it has been on her shelf for a while!

This was a gift for my four and a half year old daughter. She LOVES this toy. The sound quality is not that great, but she loves the songs and loves to sing as loud as she can.

For the price, I think it is a great toy for a "Diva in training".

Unlike many of the other reviews my little 3 year old girl loves this thing. She sings on it everyday and has memorized most of the words to the songs. It isnt the best sounding thing I've ever heard, but what do you expect for $20.