First present
This was the first present that I bought for my son for Christmas. For the first (and last) time ever I got up before the crack of dawn on Black Friday and went to Kohls because there were going to be some awesome deals on toys. I had seen this one in my Fisher Price catalog, but didn't know if it would be there. To my surprise it was there, marked from $40 down to $20 and had several exclusive pieces because it was being sold by Kohls. Even though I had to carry this (and other presents) for over an hour to check out (they were not organized at all and didn't have enough help)... I think it was worth it because of how much my son has loved this set!

So, what is it?
This is a little playscene of a worksite. (It measures 15.5" x 4" x 11" tall.) It includes a gas station area, a TNT blaster area, a work station, and a break area. The set also comes with a dump truck, a shovel, and two people (Eddie and Max). However, since I got this at Kohls it came with an additional person (Roberto), a hammer, and a jack hammer. The set also came with a little people DVD.

Is this another noisy toy?
Not really. There are two things that make noise with this toy. The TNT box makes an explosion sound when the lever is pressed down and the crane makes a VRRRRRRhhh sound when you turn the crane with the handle. The noises aren't very loud or bothersome and add to the fun of this toy.

Areas of play
The crane is fun because you can move the crane an entire 360 degrees. There are different slots you can move the boulder into that have red release levers to get the boulder to drop. The gas pump is fun, because the lever can fit into a hole on the dump truck and you can pretend you are filling the dump truck up with gas.

The boulders can be put on the TNT area part of the mountain and blasted off... this is great and something different to do as part of the set.

Finally, break area is great for the guys to sit or for the dump truck to pass through. This set seems complete with plenty of areas to play in.

Age recommendation
This set is part of the imagination series by Fisher Price Little People. The imagination series is recommended for children ages 2-5. However, my 19 month old can do everything with this set and loves to play with this. His age has not held him back at all playing with this toy.

Our experience
My son does very well with this toy. He plays with this toy just about everyday and always runs to it as soon as he sees it. He likes to move the crane, put the boulders down the crane into the slots where the boulders can pass through. He explores all the areas of this toy and appears to practice an area over and over again until he has mastered it.

The boulders are always fun to pick up and run away with for a bit banging them together. But, he always returns with them ready to put them through the slots again.

My son likes to move the dump truck around- sometimes with a driver and a boulder in the back, and sometimes he tosses them aside and just moves the truck around. He usually circles the worksite with the truck and then brings it back it to load it up again.

The three pieces of equipment are fun for my son too. He has figured out how to get the equipment in the guys hands and how to take it out. He has also figured out how to put the equipment in the red door to store the equipment when he is done playing too.

My husband just loves to play with this toy with our son and they always have a good time together when this toy comes out. My hubby shows our son how to sit and stand the guys as well as shows my son where to put them. Sometimes he gets my son laughing getting the TNT going and shooting the boulders off the mountain. My son can press the button, but they don't go very far because he presses the button over and over again.

Overall
This is a great buy and has been a lot of fun for all of us in our home. This is a quality toy that can put up with a lot of play and still looks brand new. Of course, the fact that my son loves it and plays with it a ton... well, to me that is priceless!

For more information:
www.fisher-price.com

Special thanks to Dianapinions and her Little Write off!

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 20
Type of Toy: Playscene