Fisher-Price Baby Playzone: Pull Up Ball Blast
by Fisher Price
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Our Price: $95.00 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Fisher-Price Baby Playzone: Pull Up Ball Blast
Customer Review: Far from a blast
Summary: 2 Stars
This toy was totally frustrating to put together. The tracks didn't match up properly and wouldn't lie smoothly, causing the balls to get stuck mid-way down the chute. I spent 45 minutes trying to assemble, and my husband spent another 25 minutes and it's still not fitting together smoothly. But sometimes the balls make their way all the way down. Too bad the balls pop out the same hole every time.
My 9 month old figured out pretty quickly that he can push the balls through the steering wheel to set off a little music, but it never really held his interest. Probably because the ball comes out the same hole every time, it plays the same short clip of music every single time, and the music stops pretty quickly, he gets bored by this and moves back over to his fisher price kick and whirl carnival, which he much prefers.
Since he doesn't yet know how to put the balls back up top once they come down, he can't really play with this too much by himself. Once the balls come down, he's really just left with a few flashing lights, boring music, and a little spinning circle on top, and that doesn't hold his interest for long.
Save your money for something baby can pull up on that's more stable and interactive, like the fisher price peek a blocks Incrediblock. I resisted getting that for awhile because it was large and pricey, but I just found one on sale half price and my son adores it!!! Because it is big (a large, heavy sqaure block 1-1/2 feet on each side), it is very sturdy to pull up on and lots of fun. Plus you can store blocks and other toys in it.
Bottom line--skip the ball blast
Customer Review: Best for Babies Almost Walking and Up
Summary: 5 Stars
We bought this for my son when he was 10.5 mos. and it was perfect for his age. He had already learned to pull up, was very steady on his feet, and could stand briefly. Here is how the ball blast works: Balls are placed in the center spinner. A large blue smiley button on the top is pushed which activates the spinner and sends the balls over to one of 3 slots. A baby must push the balls through the slots which activates a neat little tune. My son always seems so pleased with himself when he hears this tune! One alternative is that babies can avoid pushing the smiley button and simply push the balls through the slots. This toy is fun, sturdy (on my carpet), durable, interactive, and helps a baby to develop problem-solving skills. I wish there more toys out there like this. After my son (now almost 1 year) learned how the ball blast works, he now experiments with dropping all sorts of different toys down the slots and slide to see what will happen. Many of the problems that other reviews have complained about (such as the ball blast toppling over and sliding) can be avoided by purchasing only the model included in the picture above, only using this toy on carpet, and waiting until your baby is fairly steady on his feet before allowing him to use it. This is not a reliable toy that can be used for babies to practice pulling up, especially larger babies. The Leap Frog activity table is an ideal alternative for practicing pulling up. I absolutely recommend the ball blast. My son's cousins, ages 20 mos - 3 years enjoy it as well.Customer Review: FUN but you need an engineering degree to assemble it!
Summary: 4 Stars
My 10 month old daughter got this as a gift for Christmas. She was very excited when she saw the lights and the spinning circles through the box. Putting it together was an absolute nightmare. I am an intelligent and handy person but I spent 90 minutes on it and couldn't get the pieces to connect! It actually drove me to tears, I was so frustrated. I finally assumed that the center pole was defective and exchanged it. Well, I had the same problem with the second one! The spiral ramp is in three pieces and they are almost impossible to connect. After another 30 minutes I got it, but it doesn't look as smooth and seamless as the picture on the box. The baby doesn't care, but it will always bother me.
Despite that, she seems to really like the toy so far. It is a great height for her to stand with and she enjoys holding the ball. She hasn't quite gotten the hang of dropping the balls in, but she will with practice. The music and lights are fun and upbeat and it makes her smile and laugh. There aren't many things that get her to pull to standing from the floor, but this toy makes her want to stand. The base is pretty wide so it doesn't teeter at all. If you have the Stride to Ride walker as well, you will start finding the little balls everywhere (both toys come with the same set of little balls).
Conceptually and educationally it is what I expected from Fisher Price, but the assembly situation was disappointing. Have patience and maybe it won't take you as long as it took me.
Customer Review: Fun, But Safety Might Be A Concern!
Summary: 3 Stars
My son received this toy as a Christmas present and is fascinated by the balls twirling around their track and he giggles like a loon when the music comes on (I was thrilled to hear something other than "Three Blind Mice", "Alouette" or "Frere Jacques"!!) Unfortunately, I am concerned about the safety of this toy, as my son is still in the pulling-up stage and this toy seems very unstable. While some people with carpeted floors might not have this problem, our house has all hardwood floors, so there is nothing for the base of the toy to grip on to -- just smooth plastic -- and it just slides across the floor. The simple addition of rubber feet would have solved this problem. Also, when my son first began to pull up with this toy, he nearly toppled the thing over onto himself, as it's not weighted at all on the bottom, nor is the base large enough to compensate for its height and the fact that 18-pound babies are going to be pulling themselves up on it.
Further, like other reviewers, I was a little frustrated by the assembly process. Trying to snap the yellow track pieces together was next to impossible (they still don't seem to fit quite right) and having to contend with lots of little screws was maddening.
So, despite the fact that my son enjoys the music and the flashing lights, I'm pretty uncomfortable with the safety aspects of this toy and am more than a little disappointed, as I've come to highly regard Fisher-Price's products.
Customer Review: Better for babies who are sturdy standers
Summary: 4 Stars
My 8-month old son got 3 of these for Christmas. I found it a little difficult to get it put together properly (and I love assembling toys), but my father-in-law put his together easily. The music and lights are cute, but they sometimes don't activate when you push the balls through the holes. Most importantly, you must pay close attention to your child if he/she is just beginning to pull to standing. This toy can be pulled over fairly easily by my son, who is around 18 lbs. Additionally, our toy seems to send all the balls out the same hole, which is usually the one opposite to where my son is standing, so he doesn't see that the balls come out the bottom when you drop them in the top. I like the concept around this toy, but I think it needs to be designed better.My update...I decided to re-evaluate my review based on what my 11-month-old thinks of this toy now. I don't worry about it tipping anymore because he needs minimal help to stand up. He seems to love this toy, he plays with it everyday. Sometimes the balls do roll back into the base when he tries to pick them up, but he justs peeks in the hole and pulls them out. Nice way to teach a cause-an-effect. While the Ball Blast could be easier to put together, I do appreciate this toy more. Parents just need to be careful if their baby is just starting to stand; I believe this toy is more appropriate (and fun) for skilled standers.