Dora the Explorer Dora's Talking Kitchen w/ Bonus Chef Dora Doll

by Nick Jr.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 19 pounds
• ASIN: B000B652R4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,385 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #90 in Toys & Games > Pretend Play > Kitchen Toys > Real-Food Appliances
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Product Description

Editorial Review

Ask anyone who’s ever set foot in a kitchen and attempted to prepare a meal: cooking can be an adventure. So it stands to reason that Dora the Explorer, everyone’s favorite bilingual adventurer, has an adventurous kitchen. This entertaining and comprehensive set features a stove, sink, range, musical radio, whirring blender and refrigerator to store items not in use. 28 different food and utensil items are also included. There are also some delightful features not found in regular kitchens including a touch screen that plays out food-based excursions and challenges young chefs to take part (find the tomatoes in the garden for instance). This is an exciting twist on the traditional play kitchen and is a great way to help kids learn and possibly encourage a love of cooking. The Toys R Us exclusive doll is a soft cuddly 12" Dora Doll dressed in cute chef’s hat. --Charlie Williams

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for the imaginative Dora Fan...but don't expect realistic features, November 19, 2005

By 

Mom-of-3 (Venice, FL USA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dora the Explorer Dora's Talking Kitchen w/ Bonus Chef Dora Doll (Toy)

This review is long, but specific. I bought this kitchen for my daughter's 6th birthday, despite my better judgement, and I do not regret it! I always educate myself and read reviews of any large toy purchase and I was extremely hesitant on this one. I wanted to buy a better, more realistic kitchen more suited to my daughter's age (and my inner-child with whom my daughter insists on playing 'Restaurant')but she insisted she wanted the Dora kitchen. She has been playing with it non-stop!

I agree that there are many, many better kitchens out there. This one has some MAJOR cons:

First, this thing is tiny. Having said that, though, I must say that my just-turned-six year old (44 inches tall) actually can stand and cook without feeling awkward...the sink actually reaches her WAIST!!! It's perfect height, but it's the width that stinks! There really is no counter space to speak of. Second, the area underneath the sink--fridge and oven--is sorely lacking. It's just two plastic shelves behind the doors that, to my disappointment, are connected without a break between the two appliances! So what you put in the 'fridge' and what you put in the 'oven' are not at all seperated, making any realistic aspect go out the window. It also makes it hard to 'bake' with conviction while seeing a piece of butter and some lettuce 2 inches away!

Basically, any features of a 'real' kitchen are almost non-exsistent. The sink is tiny, the blender is just a flat-ish composite on the backboard, the telephone design is absolutely LAUGHABLE (it's so archaic that my 20 month-old balks at it) and the whole setup, basically, is very primitive. The only thing I must disagree with other reviewer(s) about is the durability. While it is just plastic and the hinges to the oven and fridge are basic snap-ins, it is way more durable than some of the other kitchens we've owned. This kitchen has a ton a metal screws (it's not a snap-together toy) holding it all together (I know because I had to build it). I have not had any instability whatsoever in this kitchen. It's quite heavy from my kids' point of view and there has not been any tipping of any of 'food' while sitting on the teeny-tiny counterspace when the doors below are open or shut. Okay, those are the cons. Here is the big PRO that has made me feel good about my decision: DORA, DORA, DORA!!!! This thing has sounds galore. No, not realistic cooking sounds, but Dora and character sounds. When you pick up the ugly phone, it could be Abuela asking what you are cooking or Boots, for that matter. AT that point, nobody cares what the phone looks like. The recipe cards are so awesome--each recipe card is fashioned after a mapped-out adventure like in the show and when you put one in the Map, the kitchen recognizes the recipe and Dora shouts out what we're making, the ingredients, and where to find them, just like in the show. You can also PRESS the pictures on the map and Dora tells you what it is and where to find it! (I guess it's a touchpad underneath that recognizes which card is which). The blender has various responses to the button being pushed...Boots seems to appear on this one often: "What's for Dinner?" "mmmm..." As in my daughter's talking Dora dollhouse, there is also a radio that plays that really cool dance music. My 20 month-old goes nuts with this one...dances her chubby little tushie off!

Overall, this is not a good kitchen for a serious mini-chef who wants realistic features and any sort of cooking space. This is, however, perfect for a Dora fan who just wants to have fun with her Explorer friends. It's super bright, it's pretty, it basically cheers up the whole bedroom! I remember we had a kitchen before that always looked like a big plastic toy kitchen with messy parts all over it. It didn't look neat at all. This one looks like a nice, pretty toy (actually, like a nice piece of decor!) and makes her bedroom look better; this kitchen never looks cluttered....it's way too whimsical!!!

The bottom line: It's great for a Dora fan who is more into using her/his imagination and having some light-duty cooking play than realistic cooking play.

I personally would have loved a super-realistic kitchen with a microwave and all the bells and whistles--but it's my daughter's toy, not mine (I hate being a grown-up sometimes!), and she LOVES IT! The best part is, my youngest can relate to it. She loves Dora too and is having a world of fun. She is too young to grasp the concept of 'realistic' anything so this kitchen actually worked out better for me because it satisfies both of my girls. Maybe in a year or so the six year-old will want to move up in the world of cooking and the baby will take it over. For now, though, for such a big Dora fan as my little girl, this kitchen is PERFECT and I wouldn't trade it for the best, most realistic kitchen in the world.

39 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hours of cooking fun, October 30, 2005

By 

Lisa Carroll "Mom2MeganMaddie&Kyle" (Great Falls, MT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dora the Explorer Dora's Talking Kitchen w/ Bonus Chef Dora Doll (Toy)

I bought this for my daughter who is 4 and she has enjoyed it so much. We bought the accesories that go with it and the taco set had a dora apron with it which has been a big hit while playing with the kitchen. She loves the phone and talking to the characters on it. I would sugest this for any Dora loving child!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DORA THE EXPLORA, November 14, 2005

By 

jill (kentucky) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Dora the Explorer Dora's Talking Kitchen w/ Bonus Chef Dora Doll (Toy)

I bought this for my twin daughers and they have enjoyed it so much. We even bought assecories that go with it. They love how it talks and plays music.