The longest lasting infant toy
Written: Aug 02 '09 (Updated Aug 05 '09)
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Pros: long life span, sturdy, durable, many options
Cons: background comes off, no interactive mode for older kids
The Bottom Line: A great toy that really grows with baby
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| mom2emma's Full Review: Fisher-Price Classical Chorus Gym Music B0846 |
I received this through Freecycle when my daughter was a toddler. It was missing the gym pieces but he was older so didn't need them. However Fisher Price has a wonderful, easy to use website for ordering replacement parts so I did. These came in handy when my son was born. We started out using this in the opposite order. Meaning we used it for an older child first. I had it set up for a toddler to stand at. My daughter LOVED playing the piano. After my son started using it in the gym mode she would lay under it to play the piano. When he was older and sitting I got the cutest videos of him singing along and playing. Now it is on a 3rd child since we have owned it.
This toy is very versatile. The piano portion can adjust to multiple angles. The legs adjust to 2 different heights. It has 3 settings for stages and 2 different music choice settings. It has 5 brightly colored piano keys with matching light up stars above them. A backdrop behind that is shimmery so offers a bit of reflection to the lights as well. It has a rattling, a spinning and a plain star that can hand down from it as well as 2 more stars that hang from the sides of it.
As a gym you have the legs set to tall and have the piano facing outwards not up. It has 3 toys that hang down from hinged pieces that come from behind the piano. When you bat at one it can activate the sound and lights. The 2 additional stars on the sides don't really do anything and seem more like a waste of plastic. In the baby mode it plays a whole song when you bat it or press a button (which a bigger baby can reach from underneath). You have a choice between an instrumental music mode or a more la la la type singing setting in each of the 3 modes.
Next mode is for sitters, you have the legs set to short and the piano angled up to play. If you use the next mode choice for this it plays a short portion of the song and to continue the song they have to hit another key.
Lastly is for standers by just adjusting the legs to the high position. If you use the next mode to this as well it is played key by key.
The legs are easy to adjust, you just push a button to remove the smaller portion, flip it over and reinsert. To adjust the top you just twist the giant screw like plastic pieces on the sides. No tools required. It has the button to chose the 3 modes as well as off plus a volume control on the back. On the piano you can chose between the 2 types of music. It requires 3 C batteries which do require a screwdriver to insert. The batteries have a good life span. The toy is stable enough to lean on or pull up on though it does slide on carpetting so may end up as a push toy. Since this was used by 1 or 2 kids before we even recieved it and then our 3 I would certainly call it durable. Though the background part can be pulled off, it snaps back on and isn't even really "needed".
This easily entertains a 2 or 3 year old. It would do even older if it had a "follow the lights" or some other similar learn to play/interactive type mode. Babies love it as well, it entertained my youngest daughter then (and now) better than anything we owned. My son was encouraged to practice his sitting up with this. However there are lights and sounds which can be a lot more stimulating than a traditional floor gym. Though my daughter always preferred this, my son was overwhelmed by it as a tiny baby so we did not use it then for him.
It is quite dissappointing that they got rid of such a great toy. If you can find it used I would snatch it up.
Recommended:
Yes
Type of Toy: Baby Toy
Age Range of Child: 0 to 12 Months
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Epinions.com ID:
mom2emma
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Location: sc
Reviews written: 298
Trusted by: 29 members
About Me:
Shop and researchaholic to all baby and children's products.
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