Round Round Get Around with our Ramps Around Garage
Written: Jul 26 '03 (Updated Jun 26 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very detailed. Lots to do. Tons of fun!
Cons: Takes up a lot of floor-space
The Bottom Line: Lots to do. Two fun ramps. Garage-oriented sounds. Tons of fun!
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| mizgnomer's Full Review: Fisher-Price Little People Ramps Around Garage |
My boy loves Little People, both the toys and videos. We wanted to be sure he got a new, fun set for his 2nd birthday. I was thrilled when my parents told me they were getting him the Little People Ramps Around Garage, complete with yet another Little People video. It was definitely one of his favorite gifts at his big party.
Product Description:
The Little People Ramps Around Garage is yet another addition to Fisher Price's long line of fun play sets for kids. The garage basically consists of two levels (a gray bottom floor and a yellow top floor) and an elevator. The set is split right down the middle and hinged, providing different ways for you to access the play space. Each floor measures roughly 11˝ inches by 8 inches (meaning when the floors are put together the long-way it measures 23 inches wide, not counting the ramps).
Each floor has cute details molded into the plastic. The bottom floor consists mostly of car wash facilities and a diagnostic center. The top floor includes arrows to lead your little driver to the various ramps, as well as a newsstand and gas station.
Things to Do:
The Ramps: - Everyone has the most fun with the two colorful ramps. The first one is a bright blue ramp that is a straight shot from the upper level to the ground. It is straight and quite steep, so your car can achieve quite an impressive velocity in no time. There is a little gate at the top of the ramp to add to the play ideas. The other ramp is red and does a complete 360° turn on its way from the 2nd floor down to the ground. This ramp is a bit wider than the other, and has a raised dividing line down the middle (probably to help keep the cars from flying off the ramp). Just before the red ramp is a button in the floor that causes one of a variety of sounds to play (a horn honking, an engine revving, an engine starting then driving away, or some combination of those 3 sounds).
The Elevator: - The elevator is yellow with a green floor/handle and a red roof. You can drive through the elevator on the bottom floor to get through to the car-wash area, or you can take it up to the 2nd floor (where the elevator's floor tips forward to dump your car out onto the "street"). The handle is large and easy for a toddler to manipulate. The red roof also serves as a helicopter landing pad, with additional cute details (tools, screws, and whatnot) molded in.
News Stand: On the top floor is a news stand. The stand's wares are displayed via a decorative sticker, and include magazines and snacks, accompanied by a cute orange cat. Next to the stand are a pay telephone and a gas pump. There is a hose and nozzle on the gas pump -- the nozzle fits into the little gas-cap notch found on most Fisher Price cars. Push down on the phone to hear it ring. Push down on the gas pump to hear a "ding ding" noise (like old gas stations had to let the attendants know you had driven up) or a "glub glub glub" sound (representing a gas tank being filled).
Car Wash: One entire half of the lower floor is dedicated to a car wash. One entry/exit takes you through the car wash-proper -- complete with cloth strips that hang down to give your toy cars a good scrub (with a button on the top floor you can push to move the cloth strips a bit). There is another entry-exit point for more car-cleaning fun, with a car-vacuum and a ramp for your Little People character to stand on for better car-cleaning access. There are cute details molded into the floor, including puddles of water and bubbles.
Diagnostic Center: There is also a green diagnostic center on the lower level. With both molded in details and a decorative sticker, it looks impressive with lots of diagnostic tools and gauges. There is a large orange button in the floor of the ramp to the center. Some of the sounds that play when the button is pressed include a "sick engine" sound, repair sounds, a horn honking, and a healthy engine sound.
Also Included...
The set comes with 2 Little People. Eddie (the blond kid with his ever-present frog Freddie) we've seen in other sets, but this time he comes in mechanic's garb with a red baseball cap (worn sideways, of course). Also included is Jack the mechanic.
You also get 2 cars. One is a large-ish, dark blue tow truck, complete with a black crane/hook in back. The other is a smaller, orange car (we assume this is the one that has been taken to the garage for repairs). You can hook the orange car onto the tow truck's hook.
It also comes with 2 lengths of fence (it seems as though just about every Little People play set comes with those fence-lengths these days). They are completely interchangeable with the fences in the other sets. These look like construction-zone type fences -- they are yellow with warning lights molded in.
Last but not least, a Little People video is also included. It's volume 4, "Discovering Things That Go". It has 5 short stories involving the Little People kids, done with claymation-style animation. My boy really loves them.
Other Information:
There is indeed some assembly required, but it isn't very difficult. You will need a Phillips-head screwdriver. The instructions are well-written and very easy to follow. I did the assembly myself, with no assistance from the burly husband, and had no problems. There is also a sheet of 10 stickers to add that final touch of decoration. I usually don't like putting stickers on toys (they always end up crooked or with wrinkles) but the ones with this set are all fairly small and not at all difficult to apply.
There is an on/off switch on the underside of the top floor, however if your child is not actively playing with the toy it goes into "sleep mode" automatically.
The Little People Ramps Around Garage requires 3 "AA" batteries (not included). Fisher Price recommends the toy for children age 12 months to 5 years.
Our Experiences:
My boy loves Little People toys anyway, but the Little People Ramps Around Garage is his current favorite. The ramps are simply irresistible. The red winding one is particularly fun. With its raised divider, you can race two matchbox cars down it side-by-side. My boy also has fun sliding the Little People characters down it (because they manage to stay upright for the entire trip, twirling like spinning tops as they go down). I like the fact that he is willing to try sending just about anything (whether it has wheels or not) down that ramp. I also like the fact that the winding ramp is very sturdy. It has a support mid-way down that keeps it strong and stable, regardless of what might be running down it.
When configured long-ways, there is ample room on the upper level for my boy to have fun with multiple cars at once. He has fun putting multiple vehicles up there and letting them knock into each other.
My little guy is just starting to get into imaginative play, and I have fun watching him do just that with this set. Although there are quite a few sounds that can be triggered, he often provides his own "vroom vroom" sounds, and yells out "beep beep" when he needs a horn noise. My favorite is his high-pitched "whoooo" as a car goes rolling down a ramp. He has also started moving the Little People characters around like they are walking, which I hadn't really seen him do before. I'm glad this set gives him so many opportunities to use his imagination.
The toy is quite sturdy and well-constructed. I've managed to keep my little tyke from standing on the 2nd floor so far, but he leans on it and bashes it frequently while he plays, and it still looks great. Made of a thick, durable plastic, it appears to be quite easy to clean as well (we've only had one incident with a blue crayon so far, and it still looks great).
Any complaints? Well, it is awfully big. I like the fact that it is large enough to provide a large play area for my child, but hate it when it comes time to put it up and get it out of everyone's way. It has quite a large footprint, no matter how you configure it. I'm extremely impressed with the level of detail, and love the extra touches like the little tools and bolts molded into the plastic, but think that if Fisher Price were really going the extra mile they would not only mold in the cute extras but also color them differently (so instead of red nuts and bolts on a red floor, they would have gray/silver nuts and bolts on a red floor). My last complaint has to do with the videos. My son loves them (he comes up to me asking to "Watch People"), but they often make me cringe, mostly because I see them as big advertisements for their other Little People toys. I do think that it is somewhat cool for my kid to see his toys participating in stories on the television, but realize that it is going to make him want the other toys he sees in the video as well.
Quickie Summary:
Pros:
+) Hinged floors allow for multiple play-access and/or storage options.
+) 2 colorful, fun ramps (a straight one and a curvy/winding one)
+) Lots of fun sounds to encourage play
+) Lots of entry/exit points to drive cars through
+) Many activities (diagnostic center, car wash, news stand, etc)
+) Includes 2 characters and 2 cars
+) A Little People animated video is also included (approximately 30 minutes long)
+) On/Off switch
+) Sturdy and easy to clean
Cons:
-) Takes up a lot of floor-space
-) The video is a thinly veiled advertisement for other Little People toys
Final Thoughts:
The Little People Ramps Around Garage is definitely one of my favorites from my boy's birthday haul this year (and I think it is one of his favorites too). Clearly Fisher Price really knows what they are doing when it comes to their Little People line of toys. The garage is very cute and well detailed, with tons of activities to keep the little ones entertained.
Fisher Price Ramps Around Garage Site:
http://www.fisherprice.com/us/littlepeople/products/default.asp?section=CIT&id=21951&fstProd=0
My other Little People Reviews:
Little People Lil' Kingdom Castle
Little People Sir Lance-a-Little
Little People Watchful Woodsman
Little People Fun Park
Little People Christmas on Main Street
Little People Fun Sounds Playground
Little People RumblIn' Grumblin' Dump Truck
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): ?? Gift
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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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