brooklynsmum's Full Review: Littlest Pet Shop Get Better Center Playset
My oldest daughter recently turned six and this play set was the highlight of her day. Surprisingly enough for such an animal lover, it was the first Littlest Pet Shop set to enter our house. It was also the first time that a gift from Mom and Dad earned the honored title of favorite birthday gift, an honor which usually goes to the grandparents. Maybe it’s the animal lover in her, or more likely it’s the wannabe veterinarian in her, but the Get Better Center set has received more play since her birthday than all of her other gifts combined.
THE GET BETTER CENTER Littlest Pet Shop is a line of toys made by Hasbro. They consist of head bobbin’ plastic animals and all the accessories needed to care for them. The Get Better Center is the place to go when all those animals get sick. The center itself is dominantly pink with two doors that unfold to reveal the play area inside. I find that it more difficult to properly close the doors on this set than to close the folding doors on our Little People or Loving Family sets. This is likely due to the plastic notches on the bottom that need to click into place in order to keep the doors shut. My girls don’t seem to mind though – they just don’t bother closing them all the way! When closed the center measures approximately 10” wide by 9” tall. When opened it increases to 17” wide.
ASSEMBLY
It’s always nice when there is no assembly required, as is the case with this set. Of course that means that you must get the stuff outside the box first. This is no small task. I have opened many tightly wrapped packages in the six years since my first child was born, but I have never experienced something so difficult to get into as I did when opening this. It took my husband and me more than ten minutes to get everything out. Even the cardboard sample animal pictures were tightly held down with itty bitty clear elastic bands (which I swear are made from the toughest materials available, since they do not break). Just when we thought we were done, we’d find something sticking again and have to go hunting for the clear bands. One wire was wound inside one of the pieces through tiny little holes that seem to serve no purpose other than to house this wire and frustrate normally calm people to the point of near meltdowns.
THE PIECES
Like most play sets, the Get Better Center shows a picture on the box of many head bobbin’ animals being treated at the center, but in reality only three of these are included. Included with the set is a:
Magic Motion Kitty & Bed - A yellow magic motion kitty with big green eyes fits on her included little bed. The kitty is made of a different type of plastic than the other animals, more like the hard plastic used on the building itself, while the others have a softer plastic more like Little People. I had to write this review to discover that the magic motion feature requires two AA batteries, which of course are not included. Of course if I had actually opened the instruction sheet that came securely taped inside the box, I would have known that. I initially just thought it was lame. The kitty has little magnets on her paws and a little hole on her belly. Her bed has corresponding magnets and a little peg that matches the hole in her belly. She also has a pink bottle that, when placed near her mouth, causes her to stick her little pink tongue in and out drinking the milk. Of course this is if you actually take the time to unscrew the bottom of the bed and insert two batteries. If not, your kitty, when given the bottle, will end up with a bottle magically stuck to her head. Her tongue does move in and out, but only if you manually bob her head up and down and this has nothing to do with her bed or her bottle. My girls have no idea that ours is supposed to work any differently and happily bob her head up and down for her. Of course a review must be thorough, so after searching the house for batteries, finding two sitting on the desk right in front of me, then searching for a Phillips screwdriver that is small enough to work, unscrewing the bottom, placing the required 2 AA batteries inside, and double checking to make sure that they are placed the correct way, I can now tell you that – my batteries are dead. Maybe this is for the best, since I don’t enjoy replacing batteries in toys anyway.
Puppy with X-Ray table - The puppy also has a magnet on his paw which matches up to a paw print on the X-Ray machine. There is a flower on the side of the table that slides, pulling the puppy magically to the x-ray lamp at the end of the table. When he reaches the end, a plastic x-ray pops up revealing that this puppy has a broken leg. It’s a good thing he comes with a white cast which can be slipped on and off his back paw. He also comes with one of those collar cones to keep him from biting at his cast! This also easily slips on and off.
Gecko - This one is my favorite. He also has a magnet on his paw and can activate the x-ray machine, but the best part is his disappearing spots. If you hold him long enough, his spots magically disappear signaling that he’s all better. My daughter is quite warm blooded by nature and has no problem making his spots disappear, but I have to hold him for several minutes before they vanish for me. I just tell her that she has the magic touch with animals!
Other accessories are also included. There is a basket that attaches to a hook in the ceiling. This serves as the weigh scale. Place an animal in the basket and the arrow at the top of the building will move, indicating that pet’s weight. Under the scale there is a removable drawer that houses a clipboard, a syringe, and a medicine bottle. There is also a stethoscope which is too large to fit inside the drawer, but which can fit on the shelf attached to the wall. Also attached to the wall is an examining table by a large window. Underneath the examining table is a pet door that actually flaps open and closed. I also find tiny bandages stuck to the bottoms of my feet thanks to the sticker sheet of pink bandages included. In addition, there is supposedly a blue bench, but I have searched the house for it to no avail (between the batteries and the bench, this review is taking an entire morning to write!). I’m guessing it is somewhere lost in the shuffle of a six year old’s birthday mess. Now if only all this stuff actually fit inside the Get Better Center
STORAGE & PORTABILITY
The lack of storage kept me from giving this set a full five stars. There is a built in carrying handle at the top suggesting that this set is meant to be portable. Unfortunately, not everything fits inside. Since not all small accessories fit inside the drawer, my guess is that these will soon come tumbling out of the windows and disappear into the mess that is the playroom. The animals can fit inside, but can also come tumbling out the large windows, but there is no possible way to fit the kitty bed and the x-ray machine inside. Trust me, I made it my mission to fit it all in and it cannot be done. The x-ray machine slides into place next to the shelf, but the bed simply cannot be stuffed in if you plan to close both doors. To me, this makes the portability feature useless. I like toys that can contain all the pieces if for no other reason than to keep me from having to find yet another storage container for littlest pet shop accessories. Still, I can’t deny that my kids both love playing with this set and I am starting to wonder with this new found attraction to these head bobbin’ creatures, if I won’t have to start looking for additional storage for all those sets sold separately anyway.
MY RECOMMENDATION
I am pleased with the value of this set for the money we paid. The set retails for around $20US, but after spending $24.99CAD, I discovered that it can even be found here for under $20CAD. Add on sets are also quite affordable for the number of pieces included.
The age recommendation on this toy is 4 and up, but my three year old adores it as well. It seems quite durable considering all the play it has received, but keep in mind that it does contain tiny pieces that could present a choking hazard to very small children. For me, watching my oldest daughter play out her dream of becoming a veterinarian is completely worth this purchase and I’m sure she would give it a full five stars. If only everything fit inside, closing easily and neatly I would certainly share her opinion.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 24.99 CAD Type of Toy: Playscene
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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