By: Chelsea, from the YouTube Channel: MommysTrying
Snort! OINK!
Peppa Pig, the British show we have all learned to love on the Nick Jr channel. Well, at least in my house. To me, it’s one of the best (we also love “Hey Duggee”) simplistic shows for children teaching basic life principles. So, when my husband saw an interactive Peppa Pig themed toy he bought it without hesitation. But, after a 3 month span of my little one (L.O.) playing with it she doesn’t really think much of it and I’ll tell you why……
The Toy Itself
- This toy looks like a train is pulling 3 different floats and you can control the direction of the train by using a star shaped control wand
- Comes with 7 pieces: the control wand, the train, the 3 interchangeable floats, and the Peppa and George figures
- Rated for children aged 2 and up
- There are slots in the train and the 3 floats where you can place the Peppa and George figures in
- When the figurines are all connected it’s about 18’’ long and about 5 lbs all together
- Made up of plastic
- Wheels are actual rubber
- You can spot or wipe it clean it
- It does come with batteries both in the train and the wand, so 6 AAAs all together (2 in the wand, 4 AAAs in the train)
Playtime
- My daughter likes to drop this toy, specifically the train, and surprisingly it still works right after a fall!
- This toy was marketed for a child to control the direction of the train by using a control wand
- Unfortunately this feature rarely works and the train will curve to the side unexpectedly when you have it on the “straight” setting
- Start training yourself to turn this toy off after every use
- There are certain parts that don’t work very well at all……which is explained below
Looking at the pieces individually
The Peppa and George figures
- You can move their heads, arms, and legs to have them stand or sit
- It is very difficult to fit these figures into the slots, whether they’re in a seated or standing position
- The figures don’t even snap into place and, if they do they’ll fall out within minutes
- If the parent is struggling to place the figures into place how could the toddler, which this toy is designed for, do it themselves?
- The Peppa figure does seems to fit and stay in a little better than the George one though but, you’re lucky if they even stay in there
The Train
- The steam on the train moves up and down
- There’s a musical note button on one side of the train that makes noise when pressed
- Looking at the bottom of the train:
- There’s a small plastic tab where you have the option of directing the train straight, to the left, or to the right
- The wheels are actual rubber
- There’s an on, off, and try me play mode
- The manufacturer even made a point to place a label on the bottom of the train saying “turn off toy after each use to preserve battery life”
- I wanted to see just how long it’d take before the batteries die. So, I left both the wand and the train on, without my daughter playing with it, and it lasted for about 4 days. So, it has a very short battery lifespan.
The Dinosaur and Swing Floats
- Both rock forwards and backwards
The Horse Carousal
- This piece is meant to rotate but rarely does
- My husband who has worked as a mechanic in both the automotive and industrial field took it apart and said:
- This piece was so sloppily made that the gear set inside isn’t held in place well enough to keep everything smooth and consistent
- There’s a decent sized weight inside which is likely supposed to give the rubber tires more grip against the floor, but even the extra weight pushing down on the wheels can’t make up for the shoddy construction inside
- Even after lubricating the mechanism inside it showed zero improvement
- The train actually moves faster without this piece attached making it the worst piece out of the entire toy set (you can see this on my YouTube review video)
The Control Wand
- Has one control button on the front side
- You do have to hold the button down to make the train move continuously
- So, my almost 2 year old daughter doesn’t quite understand that concept yet which makes it a little frustrating for her
- If you hold the button down for less than 2 seconds the train will move for about 1.5 seconds
- It has about 8 different lines and iconic Peppa music from the show
Manufacture’s Recommendations
AKA If you complain to the company about this toy this the generic answer you will get:
- Turn the toy off to conserve battery life
- Use it on a flat surface making sure you have a clear path between the wand and the train,
- Moved for 1 second on carpet
- Stops immediately if it tries to go on a different surface like a kitchen mat or a floor transition
- The maximum range of the control wand is about 4 feet
So, just keep those things in mind when you’re playing with it.
Overall Takeaway
- I think this toy is good as individual pieces if you were looking for a Peppa Pig themed toy set but it doesn’t work very well as an actual toy train
- Each figurine is very durable since they’ll still work if dropped (I also showed this on my YouTube video review)
- You’d be lucky if you can even fit the small Peppa and George figures into place
- You’ll go through a lot of batteries (or recharge a lot of rechargeable batteries in my case) and you have to remember to turn the train and wand off after. every. single. use.
- The train doesn’t follow the input from the star controller since it will end up turning randomly
For my family, my daughter was just ecstatic to see the characters she watches on t.v. were in toy form. She actually plays with each piece separately and that works for us. But, knowing what I know now I don’t think I would have spent the $18 (on Amazon) for this.
But, that’s just an opinion from a Mommy trying out different toys. Have you found a Peppa Pig themed toy that seems to work better than this “Magical Parade”? I’d love to hear any recommendations.
Thanks for reading and I hope this information helps you in making a decision to purchase this particular toy or not!
*The Amazon link is an affiliate link so I will earn a small bonus if you use the link.
