Customer Reviews

Playhut Playhut Dora The Explorer Le Hideaway

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought a similar "disney princess" version of this for my twin nieces, and decided to open it and check it out before wrapping it... Boy am I glad I did!

The material is almost like paper, kinda like those "real cloth" baby wipes-and I know that it won't hold up over time. I wanted to avoid getting a play tent with plastic poles because they tend to break, but trading down from durable nylon to this is ridiculous! Also, it has no floor, making it useless outdoors and says in teeny-tiny print that it shouldn't be outdoors for extended periods. (Probably so the paper doesn't catch on fire!)

This tent thrilled my daughter when she was 2. Now she is nearly four and it still exists. That's about all you can say for it. In addition to other parents' complaints about it not being roomy enough and not affording any space for a small child to lay down in, I'd like to say that this tent 1) does not fold back into it's convenient-looking circular storage size ever again--when you remove it from the package and set it up, say goodbye to the promised small-sized storage AND 2)the fabric is itchy, chintzy, cheap, stuffy and hot, sheds white fiber matts, and rips terribly. My little girl stumbled through the doorway and ripped holes there, and though that could be pardonable, there are holes everywhere in this thing and I hate the sight of it. I would certainly never buy it had I known. Beyond that, I hate that she wants me to get in it with her. Not only is there no room, but no adult can continue to survive on the limited air and stuffy conditions. Now imagine, when you're not in there, how breathable and comfortable is it really. My child had more fun making castles and cottages out of large IKEA boxes with me; after a few weeks we recycled them. Cheap and much more creative fun.

My 2 year old got this Dora tent for Christmas last year. I hide it on her all the time. She only plays with it for a few minutes unless she takes it out to sleep in. My daughter is only in the 50th percentile for weight and height and therefore is the average height for a 2 year old but when she wants to sleep in it, inevitably either her head or her feet stick out because the tent is too small or she ends up sleeping in an uncomfortable ball. I hate that there is no bottom but that is also the only way that air is let in unless you leave the door open which to her defeats the purpose altogether. She is very excited everytime she sees it but she quickly becomes frustrated with it falling down and not staying in one place.

My 2 year old loves Dora! We had a much bigger Wiggles "tent" in her room but it was just too big so we purchased this smaller Dora one for her. It's the perfect space saver and folds flat in seconds. She loves playing in it. HOWEVER as soon as she moves, the tent moves with her...when climbing out of it she pulls it half across the room. It would be better if it had a bottom sewn onto it so it would stay in place. Other than that it would be perfect.

My 18 month old daughter loves Dora and was so excited when we brought home this new tent. I had to take it back! Not at all durable. Fliped over as soon as she entered the tent. It does not stand on its own. It's a hazard!...

I would not recommend this toy to anybody. My daughter loves Dora so that's why I got it for her but it's not very durable at all. The least little pressure on the bottom edges and it just bends in that direction. She's had it for a couple weeks now and it won't even stand up by itself anymore. It is not worth the money.

We actually first bought the other Dora playtent that's available - "5 in 1 slumber tent" and it was not sturdy at all. We couldn't even really get it to stand on it's own. While this is not made of a thick durable fabric and it does not have a floor, our kids love it and I'm satisfued with the purchase. It's easy to pull out and pop up - it takes up little floor space and they love being in it. I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old. They do knock it over at times, but my 3 year old can put it back up very easily. We simply fold it flat and slide it behind the couch for storage. It's fun and easy and I would definitely recommend it for the price!

Others have complained that the frame gets bent or twisted. This happened to us, and it was just a matter of it being a little twisted in the fabric, so my husband just twisted it back into shape. Took a few seconds. It does tip over fairly easily, but we bought this for indoor use, and that hasn't bothered me too much. Sometimes it annoys me, but sometimes, everything annoys me. We also have one of those long tunnels, and we tuck it into the play house, so they have to crawl through the tunnel to get inside.

Most of the reviews have a similar theme, great product but not exactly intuitive to fold up and put away. This should help:

How to fold - http://playhut.com/fold_instructions.php

The Dora hut is similar to the Screen Room 200-500 series for written directions but the video only shows how to put it up. For taking it down watch the "Hideaway Adventure" video and watch closely a few times. It's much smaller but folds the exact same way.

Here's the link to that video - http://playhut.com/images/fold/0bf7634b04a5fb7763f45c10fb847973hideaway-folding.wmv

Worst case scenario -

Toll Free: 888-PLAYHUT

I agree with all of the other reviews about this tent and its durability, however my daughter absolutely loves it. First the three plastic sticks that come with the tent to hold it open broke and warped pretty quick. I went to Home Depot and bought three wooden dowels for 79 cents each and cut them to the correct length and it works great. My daughter uses this mostly inside and it is fine, when outside the wind and everything else did move it around. I bought a 4 pack of plastic tent stakes from target for about $1 and put one in each corner to hold it in place, works great. I think we paid $19 for this at Target and it definitely seems worth the amount of enjoyment my daughter gets. If you are expecting a $200 high quality camping tent, you will probably be disappointed.