Customer Reviews

Fisher-Price Baby Playzone Kick and Whirl Carnival

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(43)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(46)
1 star:		(83)

 

 

I bought the toy too. And like the others I wanted to return it as soon as possible! I thought it was broken or something, but ITS JUST FINE. My son is 3 months old and he had a little trouble at first getting the thing to go, but then he got it! He kept kicking it, and it would work. All of the bad reviews, I think, are unfair.

I'm keeping mine now, and maybe the problem is that they put too low of an age group on the toy. Maybe like 3 months and up would be good. I also can't wait until he's old enough to play with the ball part.

The toy is triggered by movement, so if a kid touches it (with enough force) it will go off. My little guy just had to kick a little harder.

My gripes would be...

...that it takes a long time to put together, and the screws don't exactly go in like butter.

...Also, the toy frustrates my boy a little when he doesn't kick it hard enough, and he's waiting for the music.

...It's not heavy enough of a toy to stay in one spot. So if he is pushing instead of kicking, he can easily push the toy out of his reach....no more entertainment.

...The batteries aren't the easiest to change - with like 8 screws to unscrew and a not so easy way to PRY the top off of the battery case.

I like that...

...He can lat there and play with it and then fall asleep because he's worked out.

...He actually has to do something to get rewarded for his movement - not just a tiny tap, but a real movement.

...There are two toys in one - it'll be good for a long time of use.

...He likes the music and movenment of the toys, and they interest him because they look colorful and shapley.

I would probably read the other reviews and never buy this product, but I tried it, like it, and am keeping it. Like I said, it took a little while, but he actually likes it and I have no problem with keeping it.

Good luck!

What prevents me from giving this 5 stars is the fact that the toys, I believe, hang too high for most babies to kick while on their back. When our daughter was 3-4 months old, she loved laying on her back, kicking at the items hanging from the set, and watching the balls spin while listening to the music. Unfortunately, she had to make many attempts before getting a hit.

Once a child is able to sit up comfortably, this toy becomes much more useful and effective. Our girl now can hit the toys and watch the colors spin, while also pulling at the balls. Even though she's able to move around and explore, this toy can still keep her attention for several minutes at a time. I doubt she'd play with it for more than 10-15 minutes in a row, but I'm also not sure that I want a baby spending more than that much time staring at anything.

One other negative - This product doesn't store easily, as it's rather tall. A minor quibble, but one that might be important if space is a consideration.

I don't understand you people. It seems to me that you expect a lot more out of a simple child's game. Everything works perfectly on ours.A lot of you complained about it being to loud...what did you expect from a product called the kick and whirl carnival? Some said it sounded to much like a carnival...and again what were you expecting the kick and whirl carnival to sound like!come on. another person said that she figured her 5mo old was trying to kick it away from them... what does a baby try to do to a KICK and whirl carnival. give me a break great product...love it.thank you

Very disappointed as this product labels itself as being "Kick-activated". The carnival is activated by an on/off switch, and runs constantly in either on position. The kicking base does not have anything inside that would connect it to the carnival balls and therefore is just a pretty kicking surface. The toys are just for batting, they do not activate the carnival if moved/kicked. I purchased 2 of these for my 4 month twins and promptly returned them. Very disappointed.

My four year old had something as a baby that would twirl and spin the harder he kicked. I will try to find that product instead.

We purchased this toy today, and I am SO upset that after a 15 minute set up, I am going to be breaking it down to return. Our 3 month old played with a 'kick gym' at her cousins house and absolutely loved it, so we purchased this for her today and it is so hard to get to turn on. I thought by the little feel on it, it meant that when she kicked the feet it would turn on, like on the Playskool gyms. It doesn't. It only turns on if you kick it hard enough to shake the whole gym. Even the hanging down toys don't move very well, so they don't help to get the toy on much either. Then, to top it all off, when she finally does kick hard enough to start it up (she is VERY strong, and yet was only able to achieve kicking hard enough once) it plays music for about 5 minutes before it stops, so they don't learn that the music is starting because they are kicking it because it is too long before they have to do it again. I would not recommend this toy to anyone. Go for a playskool.

January 30, 2005

7:20 pm

Aidan was playing with the K n W in his room, and all of a sudden I heard an ear piercing scream. I ran into his room to find that Aidan's foot was stuck in the shoot where the balls fall down. His foot was lodged all the way through this time, and turned 180 degrees around!

I pulled and pushed, trying to maneuver his foot out of the hole, all the while Aidan is screaming and crying in pain. After about five long minutes of trying, I finally had to put Aidan down (as much as I hated to leave him there) and run to the phone to call 911. By this time I was very upset and crying myself- the foot was not coming out!!!

My husband Patrick arrived home about 2 minutes after I got off the phone (from dialing 911). Patrick gave him a blessing quickly to ensure that everything would go well. After Patrick himself tried to get Aidan's foot out of the hole, Patrick told me to run downstairs to get the electric drill to try to take apart the toy.

Patrick removed some of the screws from the toy in the area where Aidan's foot was lodged. Aidan was still crying and screaming in pain. Even after the toy was dismantled from the base, Aidan's foot would still not come out! Right about this time, the fire department arrived.

The two men also helped to get Aidan's foot out. They managed to turn it somewhat around so that it wasn't at such a bad angle. Aidan was still screaming. After about 3 minutes of trying to get the foot out, one of the men cut off Aidan's sleeper at the leg. They pulled the sleeper out from under his foot. Right about this time, the paramedics arrived. They watched as the fire department men continued to try to get the foot out. After about another two minutes of maneuvering Aidan's foot, while Aidan was still crying, they finally were able to free it.

Aidan's whole bottom half of his left leg is now bruised and swollen. The paramedics said it was not broken, but advised that we "watch" the foot, and if the swelling gets worse or there is continued pain, we should take Aidan to the doctor and have an x ray done. Aidan will not walk because of the pain in his leg and foot.

At about 8:05 p.m. Aidan went to sleep for the night because he was exhausted from the whole episode.

We are going to look at his leg throughout the night and in the morning to see if it will need further medical attention.

1/31/05 We have decided to take Aidan into the doctor because of this incident.

I just got this toy for my ten month old son. He loves the lights and music and enjoys pulling himself up with it. The problem is the whirl toys that attach to the chutes. They are hard to put on (they are to wide for the pegs) and will not stay on. As soon as my son tries to even spin the whirler it completely falls off. Another problem with this toy is it is motion activated. When you walk within two feet of this toy the sound and lights go on. Not fun when it's midnight and you are carrying a sleeping infant! I would not purchase this toy for a friend.

I bought the toy for my very active daughter when she was 2 months old. She would kick and kick her feet, so I thought this toy would be perfect.
At first I was disappointed because the kick part doesn't really matter, the baby can kick the toy anywhere and it will go off. It was a bit much for my baby at first, so it sat in our living room not being played with for several weeks, but then we tried it again and she loves it! I have to prop up the back of the toy on a pillow so it doesn't slide across the room, but it keeps her entertained and happy, so who cares!
And it came with batteries, wich is a plus! Our friends brought their 10 month old over and he loved playing with the Kick and Whirl too.
I wish the toys were easier to reach for my daugther, but she'll enjoy playing with the toy when she can sit up too.

Overall, I'm glad we bought the toy.

I bought this for my 6 month old daughter. The toy slides all over the floor if she kicks at it which is what the child is supposed to do with the toy. Also the music plays constantly. It is not activated by the child kicking or pulling at the toys. Also when the child is lying under the toy with her feet against the base it puts the hanging toys out of her grasp so all she can do it lay there and stare at the toy. I am returning this. Fisher Price must not have tested this product out on real children before selling it.

I was so relieved to see that other reviewers felt the same way as I. I was so excited when I purchased this toy because my 3 month old loves to kick! What a joke! The "kickpad" is nothing but a hard plastic lid that is not electronically connected to anything-how then do they suggest that it is "kick activated?" I'm returning mine as well. It slides all over the floor and doesn't work as promised. If only there had been a negative rating...I would have used it.