Pixar Cars Spiral Speedway - Simple But Fun
Written: Sep 26 '07 (Updated Sep 27 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: My 2 year old is obsessed with it. Sturdy and cute.
Cons: Really only 1 way to play with it. Only the included cars work on the track.
The Bottom Line: It's cute and my son adores it, but there's really only 1 way to play with it, and only the included cars work on the track.
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Fisher-Price Disney/Pixar CARS Spiral Speedway |
My youngest son is a real fanatic when it comes to Pixar's Cars movie. I had taken my sons to Toys 'R Us so each of them could pick out one toy as a treat for good behavior. My eldest is entering quite a picky stage, so we must have walked over the entire store two or three times looking for "the perfect toy", but my 2½ year old knew exactly what he wanted the moment he laid eyes upon the Disney/Pixar Cars Spiral Speedway. I figured he would change his mind as we saw more of what the store had to offer, but he stuck by his decision as he proceeded to lug the Spiral Speedway with him while following my older son all over the store. After showing so much dedication, I did indeed purchase the Spiral Speedway for my little guy.
Product Description:
The Disney/Pixar Cars Spiral Speedway mainly consists of two spiral racetracks. At the top of each track is a slot for holding a race car. When you press down on a lever at the front of the track the slots tilt forward, releasing the two cars to go racing down the track. Each of the two spiraling tracks end in front of the toy, so the two cars come shooting past the little checkered flag out onto the floor.
The Spiral Speedway is roughly 15 inches high, 15 inches across, and 8 inches front-to-back. The entire toy is made of a slightly soft, smooth plastic that has proved to be quite sturdy, and the cars zip down the smooth track with ease.
There are two slots on the base of the toy for storing the cars (although my son prefers storing them in the slots on the top of the toy instead). There is also a built-in handle at the top of the toy, complete with the logo from the Cars movie.
There are 2 race cars included. The cars are "Lightening McQueen" and "The King" from the movie Cars. Both are good, slightly simplified renditions of their movie counterparts. Both cars are quite small, measuring just a tad over 2 inches long each. They are made of a lightweight plastic. Most of their decorations are stickers rather than paint.
The toy also has sound effects. When your child presses down on the lever to send the cars down the race track, tire-squealing and engine revving sounds will play followed by one of two phrases from the movies. Either Lightening McQueen will say, "Speed... I am Speed" or The King will say, "You're one gutsy racer."
The manufacturer recommends this toy for children ages 3 and up. The toy requires 2 "AA" batteries (included), however the batteries are only required for the sounds (the cars will roll down the track just fine without batteries). There is no assembly required.
Our Thoughts and Experiences:
To be honest, this isn't a toy I would normally buy for my son. There's really only one thing you can do with it -- load the cars into the top of the toy, then release them to go spiraling down. I just didn't see where a toy with such limited play potential would hold my son's interest for long. We've had the toy for over a month now, and my son still really enjoys playing with it, so I'm pleasantly surprised. I guess there's just something really thrilling to him about watching the cars spiral down. I appreciate the fact that it is very simple to operate -- there's nothing complicated that might frustrate the littlest racers.
My 2½ year old has had a number of "cute" moments with his Spiral Speedway, the first of which was him carrying the toy around Toys 'R Us. In its packaging the toy was nearly half as big as my son, but it was light enough that he could carry it by himself, and carry it he did. He refused to let it go, having staked his claim on it and wanting to make sure we actually purchased the darn thing. The other fairly cute thing he does is say the phrases along with the toy. There's nothing quite like hearing a two year old say, "Speed... I am speed." with as much seriousness as he can muster. It's hard to keep a straight face when he does it.
I like the fact that both of the cars included with the race track are "good guys" from the movie -- Lightening McQueen and The King. That way it doesn't really matter who wins -- either way a good, worthy car won the race. If it had been the "bad guy" car, Chick Hicks, then kids might have felt bad if Chick won on the spiral race track.
On the down side, none of our other cars will go down the track properly. The two included cars are very short -- all of our die-cast Cars cars (with the exception of Luigi and Guido) are far too long and get wedged in the tight corners of the spiral track. None of our Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars will work either -- they are all too long and the track's turns are too tight for them. I think that's my biggest complaint about this toy -- I wish some of the other cars in my son's massive collection would work on this toy too.
Speaking of the cars, our King always seems to beat our Lightening McQueen in the races. It doesn't matter which side we load them on, the King is just a faster race car for us. My son doesn't seem to notice or care, but it could be problematic if you had two kids who really wanted to race each other with this toy, yet you have one car that always wins.
Other minor issues are the fact that there's no master on/off switch (it might be nice to be able to turn off the sounds sometimes), nor is there a volume control (however the volume is at a fairly reasonable level). I also think that, at $19.99, the price tag is a bit steep for what is really a rather simple toy.
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Easy enough for young ones to operate
+) It's fun to watch the cars race down the spiral tracks
+) 2 cars included (Lightening McQueen and The King)
+) Plays phrases from the movie
+) Built in handle for easy transport
+) Slots on the base of the toy for car storage
+) Lightweight enough for young ones to carry it around unassisted
+) Made from a sturdy plastic and doesn't fall apart with rough play
Cons:
-) Other cars (Matchbox, Hot Wheels, Cars die cast) don't really work well on the track
-) There isn't much variety to the play possibilities
-) No master on/off switch
-) No volume control (but the volume is okay)
-) Lots of stickers (rather than paint) for decoration
-) Only 2 phrases for sound effects, so it does get tedious
-) Doesn't fold down for storage and is rather bulky
-) One car seems to win much more than the other
Final Thoughts:
I have been pleasantly surprised by how much my son enjoys playing with his Disney/Pixar Cars Spiral Speedway. He seems endlessly amused by watching the cars race down the spiral tracks. Still, I feel that there are a few too many flaws and that the play possibilities are too limited for me to recommend it very highly.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 19.99
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Epinions.com ID:
mizgnomer
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Location: Tennessee
Reviews written: 306
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About Me:
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you're crunchy and taste good with ketchup
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