Name:Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash Track Set

Manufacturer: Mattel

Price:  $39.99

Length of Ownership: 3 weeks

Rating: 4 stars

Toy Review: Okay, here we go again, another Hot Wheels review.  Well let’s face it people, when it comes to little boys, Hot Wheels is the epitome of toy greatness.  So yes, this is another Hot Wheels Toy Review, but gosh darn it, its a really good one.

Tre has loved all of his older brothers Hot Wheels race tracks, so recently we’ve been branching out and buying him some of his own, at 4 years old, we weren’t quite sure how well the new tracks would go over, but we were pleasantly surprised at how quickly he took the it and mastered the technique required to operate his new Criss Cross Crash Speed Track, which is one of the more complex tracks that Hot Wheels offers.

The basic premise of the toy is four separate loops that all come to a 4way intersection in the middle of the track.  This is a motorized track so the action is pretty much guaranteed to be nonstop.  I’ve dealt with my fair share of race car tracks in the past and the biggest complaint with motorized ones, is that the tracks wobble and its impossible to keep the cars going for more than a few sections.  I’m hear to tell you first hand that when it comes to the Criss Cross Speed track, that is definitely not the case.  Once the cars get going, the keep moving until a crash occurs, for the most part.  It is quite refreshing to have a toy that allows a 4 year old to operate it flawlessly while keeping a 7 year old entertained as well.

So now that we know you can actually get a car on the track and keep it there, I know you’re wondering about the crashes?  That’s where things get just a tad bit tricky.  The cars are moving at such high speeds on the track that it can be a little difficult to add subsequent cars to the race.  This was a huge concern for me when Tre first started playing with this toy.  However, after a few short play sessions, he has actually mastered the timing to add cars, and has successfully added up to 4 at a time in some instances.  This is an added bonus in my book because it further develops his fine motor skills and timing recognition.  Something I’m quite sure Mattel wasn’t aiming for, but kudos to them for the success.

Now for the bad, as you can see, this toy didn’t get a 5 star rating.  That’s because as much as Tre (and I) love this toy, I do have a few concerns.  As with most Hot Wheels tracks, this one doesn’t work well with all cars, some perform better than others, while some cars don’t perform at all.  They lack the structure and weight to handle the curves.  It’s not a big deal if you have a wide variety of cars to chose from, but for those who do not, I can see it being a problem.  In addition, the nature of the crashes sometimes cause the cars to fly off of the track at an alarming speed and for a curious pre-schooler who likes to get in close to monitor the action, I can foresee a potentially serious injury occurring.  Lastly, this thing is a beast on batteries, 4 D batteries are required and you’ll definitely know when they start to lose juice.  We’re on our second set in 3 weeks, but hey, Tre loves this thing and plays with it constantly, so maybe it’s the user and not the product in this case.

The Verdict: This toy is Tre tested and Daddy approved.  But it now!!!

Name: Hot Wheels 4 Lane Raceway

Manufacturer: Mattel

Price: $22.98

Length of Ownership: 2 months

Rating: 4 stars

Toy Review:

Hot Wheels are to little boys what Barbie is to little girls.  Everyone knows, that Barbie is nothing without her dream house and accessories, same holds true for Hot Wheels cars.  What good is a car without a good track to race it on?  That’s why today’s toy review is on the Hot Wheels 4 Lane Elimination Race Track.

This new and improved track is a redesign of an earlier version that we had for Ty.  I must admit, they corrected all of the issues that we had with the previous race track and added a few extra bells and whistles to the 4 Lane Elimination Race Track.  For starters, this track is actually pretty durable, we’ve all had race tracks in the past that couldn’t hold their weight in water, well Hot Wheels got the formula correct this time and produced a product that can stand up to the normal (if you can call it that) wear and tear of a toddler.  It also features a foldaway design, which comes in handy for storage and transportation, that’s definitely a plus in my book.

Functionality wise, this thing is simple to operate and gets the job done without much complication (contrary to our video review below, lol).  Your toddler, pre-schooler, and school age child will all be able to handle this race track with no problem at all and be provided with hours of entertainment in the process.  Any toy that can span 3 separate age groups is definitely a winner.  The basic principle behind each and every race is 4 cars start at the beginning and only 1 is left at the finish line.  Throughout the race, cars are eliminated based on their position in the race.  There are several eject pods located throughout the track which fling cars that are lagging behind off of the track.  This is a cool concept, but the race is over so quickly, it is a bit difficult to take it all in.  It would have been nice to toggle this option on and off somehow.  That would add a bit more variety to races, instead of always having only one car finish the race, another variation could be to see which car travels the farthest after the race.

Overall, this is a great toy, which took a previous design and improved on it tremendously.  It’s an inexpensive accessory that will extend the life of your child’s Hot Wheel cars collection.  If your little guy loves cars like mine does, I’d definitely recommend picking this one up.

This toy is Tre tested and Daddy Approved! Buy It Now!!!

Name: Little Tikes Auto Pitch Batting Trainer

Manufacturer: Little Tikes

Price: $27.99

Length of Ownership: 3 months

Rating: 5 stars

Toy Review: This toy is phenomenal!!! With an opening statement like that, I better have some evidence to back it up right?  Well, just look at the video, Tre’s enthusiasm shows bright and clear, and trust me folks, that wasn’t an act for the camera.  We’ve had this toy since Christmas and he has literally played with it every day with the same level of excitement shown in the video.  He loves it and I love Little Tikes for producing it, since we’ve had such a great time playing with it together.

Let’s get into a few specifics; as you can see, the auto pitcher is a 2in1 Tball set.  It acts as a standalone Tee, and once your child is ready to move up to the big leagues, it transforms into a pitching device, GENIUS!!!  It comes equipped with 5 balls as well as a plastic bat, all of the equipment required to train the next Barry Bonds comes packed with this set. 

The standard Tball portion acts as advertised, really no bells and whistles here, but it gets the job done.  Where Little Tikes really shines is when the toy is switched over to auto pitch mode, a transition that is seamless by the way.  In auto pitch mode, the pitcher gives a countdown in the form of beeps to let your child know that the ball is about to come out.  After the last beep, the ball flies into the air and your kid can swing their little hearts out.  The speed is just right for a up and coming toddler and the height is perfect. What more could you ask for? 

This toy is Tre tested and Daddy Approved! Buy It Now!!!

Name: Little Tikes Super Chef Kitchen

Manufacturer: Little Tikes

Price: $79.99

Length of Ownership: 3 weeks

Rating: 4.5 stars

Toy Review: Kids love to imitate their parents actions, so I knew that this toy would be a hit the moment we purchased it.  Tre enjoys “helping” Fefe while she prepares dinner, so a kitchen of his own would be perfect for him.  We selected the Super Chef Kitchen for several reasons, and it appears that we made the right choice.

The first thing that attracted me to this kitchen was its height.  I wanted to ensure that whatever we purchased wouldn’t be outgrown in a few months.  This kitchen is the perfect size for a 3 year old, the upper portion is just the right height, so that they can open and close the cabinets, etc, but they are not towering over it, which is a plus.

Secondly, I looked at the features; if I was going to buy a kitchen to replicate Fefe’s cooking activities; it needed to have a vast variety of kitchen applications.  The Super Chef Kitchen has just that: variety, and tons of it.  It comes equipped with a refrigerator (with water/ice maker), an oven, stovetop, microwave, cabinet,  a faucet, as well as countertop space.  I’d say that covers the major activities that take place in our kitchen on a daily basis.  This kitchen also features a few sound effects to enhance your cooking experience; it makes bubble sounds for washing dishes and frying noises to mimic cooking on the stovetop.

So far this thing sounds great, but you may be wondering if kids will really enjoy it.  My answer to you is YES.  Tre loves this kitchen; he “cooks” on it daily, and is constantly coming up with new ideas to further his enjoyment of this toy.  Now don’t get me wrong, he’s not the greatest chef in the world: he drops food on the floor, serves you french fries in a coffee cup, etc. but he has a ball trying and that’s all that matters.

If you notice, I gave this toy 4.5 stars, but from the sound of this review, you’d think it’d be a 5 for sure.  The only complaint is that it does not come with many accessories.  Sure they throw in a pot, pan, and a few plates, but that’s not enough to run a full fledged kitchen.  What are the kids suppose to cook, imaginary food?  We went out and purchased a food accessory and kitchen accessory pack which provided Tre with 100 pieces of food and about 50 kitchen utensils.  I believe it was a wise investment ($30) as it has enhanced his play experience tenfold.

Name: <Bubble Gum Playland Ball Pit

Manufacturer: Moose Mountain Marketing Inc.

Price: $65.00

Length of Ownership: 7 months

Rating: 3 stars

As the video shows, Tre does not operate this toy properly. Even still, he loves it.  He’ll spend hours on hours playing in this ball pit.  Even when the inflated spiral was punctured, he still enjoyed it.  That’s the reason it gets 3 stars.  There is a motion triggered music sensor included which provide some thrills and the fact that you can throw balls into the top and watch them spiral down and come out at the bottom is also pretty cool.  However there are some unfortunate negatives to this toy that I’d like to discuss.  The recommended age is 2-5yrs old, but Tre clearly had outgrown the ball pit at age 2.  He was diving into it and hanging from the top rim after only a few days of cautions play.  Since this isn’t the intended use, the product is prone to flip over in these situations, which can get quite frightening.  Also, cleaning up the balls that often become scattered around the house can get to be a pain.  For the most part, the item is fairly durable, but don’t be surprised if roughhousing causes you to spring a leak.

Tre demonstrates how NOT to use this toy

 Name: Vtech – Baby’s Learning Laptop