Customer Reviews

Barbie Puppy Swim School Pool

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Once you take scissors to the 1/2 a million clear rubber bands that hold this doll and dogs to the cardboard packaging, your frustration is only beginning. Putting the pool together is a pain in the butt! However, it was all worth it to see my daughter enjoying the aftermath when it was finally assembled.

They don't make Barbies like they used to, though. I have a Barbie doll from the 1980's that's made much more durably than this one!

My daughter wanted this toy very badly for her 8th birthday. She was excited when she got it and couldn't wait to get it out of the box. That is downfall number one. I understand the need to prevent theft but it took about 15 minutes just to get it out of the packaging. Once it was out of the packaging it took another 15-20 minutes to get the pool assembled. If this pool isn't filled with water it has a tendency to fall apart making it difficult to move without having to reassemble here or there. Once filled with water, if you keep it in one spot, it holds up pretty well. I kept wondering why they used pieces of pink plastic that you had to methodically slide through a series of plastic loops and then hook together instead of just using a top ring that you fill with air (sort of like the common "pop up" pools people use). After all was said and done, my daughter played with this toy for a total of 4 hours. Then she took it apart and had more fun "making things" with the plastic pieces. When I asked her if she wanted me to put it back together so she could fill the pool up and play she declined. She hasn't asked for it to be put together again since.

I was surprised at all that came with the set. The barbie has bendable joints which are great and has a switch in back to move her arms and throw the ball. The big dog actually swims (pool has to be pretty full for it to swim right), and one of the little dogs squirts. The diving board lets you push and make the dogs dive. The other little dog, ball, and float all have magnets in them and the dogs nose does also to push them around, this was a fun surprise for my daughters. It is easy set up/take down and the pool seems to be a durable material. Both my 5 year old and my 3 year old daughters love playing with it. as to be expected things get pretty wet playing with it, the dog and barbie retain water when they get pulled out.

This is a toy that my 4 year old daughter asked for this Christmas. I picked it up at the store, and the price was just "fair." It should have been a bit cheaper considering the product issues, and it doesn't seem like it is made very well.

When I got the toy, I thought the pool would be a blow up pool. A blow up pool seems more practical than what they have put together, and it would have been more durable.

OUT OF THE BOX: The Barbie is great, she has movable joints (more than just a regular Barbie). Dogs are adorable, and my daughter loved those. One is plastic while the other is "squishy." The Barbie and dogs would make great bath toys. The plastic larger dog also swims when you move it's tail. (No batteries required for this product). The pool at first looks like it will be easy to put together.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER: The instructions for assembling the pool were difficult, and what you have to do to put it together is even more difficult. You basically put the top rim of the pool "Inside the plastic," and have to try and click the pieces together in a not so easy way. In my opinion, the rim of the pool should have been attached already. When I saw that the pool had only three "flimsy" legs to hold it up, that worried me. I knew right away it would not be stable, because the legs themselves are not stable to begin with. And..... A pool needs SOMETHING to hold it up.

WATER IN THE POOL: When putting the water in the pool, the plastic is so flimsy that I thought for sure it was going to break from the weight of the water. Luckily, it did not break while putting the water in it. Since there is no bottom support for the pool, it does make it difficult to do anything while holding the pool (such as turning off the water faucet) because you can't take your hands off of it for a second (and it is HEAVY from the lack of support). NOTE FOR PARENTS: A little water in the pool is better than a lot of water in the pool. When my daughter was playing with it, the legs didn't hold up very well and a HUGE PUDDLE of water ended up on the kitchen floor. So the pool itself is not very durable.

PLAY TIME: When the pool isn't leaking (just put very little water in it to prevent leaking), my daughter has a great time with the toy. She loves playing with water, and she loves the idea of being able to put her Barbies in their own little "water bath." The diving board for the dog is really cute, my daughter likes that, and she likes to pretend Barbie is using the diving board too. While she has a lot of fun with this, she doesn't play with it for very long.

ISSUE MY DAUGHTER HAD: When storing her pool in her room, it tends to fall apart very easy. So she loses the legs to the pool, and the diving board/basketball hoop. She personally told me she didn't like it "alot" because it falls apart, and she doesn't know why. She will say, "I didn't take it apart, it just comes apart by itself."

OVERALL: It has potential for being a good toy if they find a better way to make the pool. I still like the blow up idea. I would not pay much for this toy since (in my opinion) your paying for the barbie and dogs, and not really the pool. The pool would not be worth buying if it was by itself. Barbie and dogs are a great product, like most of the dolls are.

CONS:

Difficult to put pool together.

Difficult to keep pool together.

Weight of the water is too much for the flimsy plastic of the pool.

Have to use with caution (less water/keeping it together).

Poorly made/non-durable plastic.

PROS:

Fun for kids when you get the right amount of water in it.

Barbie is made well, bendable joints.

Large dog is cute, wags tail.

Squishy dog is also cute.

Barbie and Dogs would make great bath toys.

My 5 yr old daughter has a passion for anything dog related so of course this toy was at the top of her Christmas list and all she could talk about. I'd read reviews, most of which were not good, and just couldn't make myself buy it for what the price tag said. However she still got it from her godfather and so we set it up, luckily by the kitchen sink. Not long into playing with it, it got bumped as she was playing and one of the support legs came out and all the water dumped out. She was pretty disappointed. However, I then took some clear packaging tape and securely taped over each support leg of the pool, taping it to the side of the pool (so we can't collapse it now) and we haven't had an issue since, the legs can't go anywhere so no more spills. Since our tape fix it's a great toy now, that's why I gave it the 4 stars--it is easily fixable. We haven't had any other issues, diving board works great, in fact it's hard to take apart (since some people say theirs falls apart when played with). I guess the one thing that could now be sturdier is the basketball hoop, it does fall off kind of easily, but my daughter doesn't play with that part really anyway.

I'm sorry, the idea is nice, but this is a piece of junk. A huge pain to put together, then you have to constantly put it BACK together while it's being played with. My girls played with it twice and after the frustration and tears, it went into the trash after the second time. They still play with the doll and dogs but the pool is gone.

My 7 year old loves this. Although she is a huge Barbie fan, so she likes anything with Barbie on it.

Overall this is a nice toy. I personally wish it were a little more study.

Puppies, Barbie and water play. What's not to like? This is one of the first toys chosen to be played with Christmas morning. Unfortunately, there was a tear in the plastic pool right out of the box. The tear was on a seem and was easily fixed with duct tape.

is very nice as everything he does mattel, but dogs are very easily off the legs, parts of the pool are not very strong and it is difficult to assemble for a 5 year old girl

My cousin received this barbie as a gift for her birthday and she loved it.

She needed the assistance from an adult to put the pool together but it was an easy thing to do by reading the instructions.

Once the pool was ready she played with it for hours and she loved the puppy actually swimming around and jumping from the trampoline.

For any kid loving barbies and puppies this is definitely a great gift to receive.