I grew up playing in a sandbox–it was right next to the hose which meant that floods were a great part of the fun. My two older brothers always seemed to tell the best stories–that required swift action that often resulted in mud! My mother’s only complaint about our adventures was that a good number of her good spoons ended up in the mix.
So when we both saw Step 2 ‘s new Water Quarry – that included vehicles, water and sand…we were very excited. (Of course there is a self-aware moment that most people probably don’t get as excited as we do when we see a new toy–but that’s part of the job description.)
One of our testers is here with the toy set up–but not yet in use.
You can see that there are lots of play possibilities here–the roadway, the ramps, the digger…all seem good. Both families that took a whirl with this toy had almost the same reaction. It’s wonderfully messy and right on target in terms of play for the 2-4 year old crowd. If you don’t like mess-this toy is not for you. (No judgement here…but if you’re not happy with a lot of water, mud, etc….you know certain toys are not going to be a good choice to bring home.)
Both families wanted this toy to work–the kids initially loved the concept and enjoyed exploring both portions of the toy. They liked pouring water down the ramps. One parent also commented that she liked that the red piece fits like a lid so you could close up the toy from the elements.
However….they both reported the same problems with the design…the green roadways do not stay flush with the red road–so the cars get stuck at each point. The bigger ramp also fell off from time to time.They also wish the lower section was higher up so the kids could get to the sand without kneeling…(I would have just sat in the container).
At $99, both families felt that while this was fun–it needed some tweaking before they would recommend it to others. We agree–the concept is fresh, fun and right on target for the age group…we hope the company will address these design issues for their next sand toy!
