Customer Reviews

Spinmaster Moon Sand Castle Play Set

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I can summarize this review very quickly. This is a very cool product; well packaged and thought out but you don't get nearly enough sand. You can't make the castle pictured with the amount they give you (not even close). You can't even make enought to make a small castle enclosure wall. I'm hoping you can buy tubs of the sand separately.

My husband and I saw the commercials for the Moon Sand products and got very excited because our daughter loves to play in her sand box when the weather is warm. We thought it would be fun to play with it indoors when it's cold outside. What a mistake! We bought the farm set and the castle set and just threw them both in the garbage this morning. In all fairness, the consistency of the product is pretty cool but there's not much of it. It's kind of like a cross between sand and playdoh or clay. That's also part of the problem. It will stick together when you mold it but unlike playdoh it is very fragile and comes apart easily, getting scattered EVERYWHERE, sticking to EVERYTHING. It's in our carpet, on the kid's clothes, in my tile grout, and I'm sure some other places I've yet to discover. The included molds are nearly impossible for a child to use and the sand gets stuck in all of the nooks and crannies. I had to use an old toothbrush to get all of the sand out of them.

After using this product I have a new found appreciation for playdoh. It may get hard after awhile, but it is cheap, clean, and consistently reliable.

I have found "Delta Sand" a much better alternative. Can be purchased in kits from small to classroom size and just tubs alone. Stuff is incredible to play with and will keep them going for years. (used for play sand and heated for sculpture work).

Can be found in many creative learning catalogs well worth it.

I've never been compelled to write a review before, but the horror of this toy has driven me to it. What a shocking mess! From the moment we opened the package of sand, there were pieces of sticky sand all over me, the table, the floor, the children's clothing, the bottoms of our feet. Plus, molding the sand into neat shapes is no mean feat. Definitely way above the capabilities and patience of a 3 year old, because you have to pack the sand just so and then very carefully work the thing out of the molds. After 10 minutes of frustrating play, it then took me about an hour to vacuum the house, wash our feet and hands, change our clothes, pour myself a drink, clean the mold (using a toothpick to get the gunk out of the nooks and crannies), and then put the stupid stuff away. I'm throwing it away, as the thought of every bringing it out again makes me break into a cold sweat. I would definitely recommend passing this toy over and sticking with playdoh. At least a kid can play with it independently, its non-toxic, and the cleanup doesn't leave you in a foul mood for the rest of the day. Maybe it is fun for kids over the age of 10 who are playing with it in a dirt-floored hut.

I bought several tubs of Moon Sand for my son last week at WalMart, and we both really like it. I can't speak specifically about this kit, but the substance itself is pretty cool. It's like crumbly, packable, finely shredded foam of some sort. Not grainy like sand, but not as "doughy" as clay. Somewhere in between.

Worst feature: It's messy (to a 4-year-old, this is probably an attractive feature!) It wants to escape whatever container we're using to control it. I gave my son an old jelly roll tray (cookie sheet with a lip around it) and today my 13x9 Pyrex baking dish, but still quite a bit spills over the sides while he plays. It sticks to clothes and feet, so it's hard to keep it from getting tracked around the house.

Best feature: it doesn't dry out. Occasionally I'll forget to put his PlayDoh away promptly, resulting in petrified PlayDoh. No Moon Sand fossils- we've left it out overnight in the tray to come back to it the next morning, and the consistency was just as soft.

After seeing the commercials, my kids (ages 6,4,3) HAD to have moon sand. Despite the high price, I gave in thinking it would be similar to Play-doh which they play with for hours at a time. Instead they were bored within 10 minutes, and I had hours worth of clean-up! It is just sandy enough to get everywhere, yet sticky enough to want to stay in every little crack and crevice. It was impossible to remove it from any of the molds that it came with, unless it was dug out. Save yourself the time, money and frustration and avoid Moon Sand!

My child was desperate for this toy for Christmas. After one use, we packed it up and returned it! The sand wouldn't come out of the molds, you couldn't shape it, it was not fun at all. It was a big diappointment. Stick with Play-doh would be my advice.

My 6 year old and I got the sand castle set and it is extremely fun to play with. The texture is unreal. It is very plyable and can hold a detailed shape. It does clean very nicely. I especially like the "sandbox" with the castle set. This makes play and cleanup much easier. It is just awesome!

Okay, I'll say first off that it is a very interesting dough and the kids LOVE IT! Let me tell you the things I wanted to know before purchasing. Definitely purchase one of the Play sets with the blow up mat, not just the Sand refills!! Here is my reason's why... I read through review after review before purchasing the Moon Sand, trying to figure out whether it was worth it or not. The Majority of customers had great reviews for it. But I just wanted to test it out and not spend a lot of money, so I purchased the refill container instead of one of the Play sets, Mistake #1. Though the lid of the container does have some shapes on it to mold with, YOU NEED THE MOLDS IN THE PLAY SETS to maximize the fun (Play Dough Molds, don't allow the Moon Sand to slip out even after beating them on the counter tops!) Mistake #2-The blow-up mat included with the Play sets is a MUST! Luckily I had my son play with the Sand at the kitchen table on the tile floor, with in two minutes (maybe less) half the sand was crumbled under the table. Had it been on carpet it would have been lost to the vacuum as it was hard enough trying to gather it up off the tile, it would be impossible to pick up off the carpet. If your child will be playing with it at a table on carpet I recommend one of those food mats you put down under the highchairs. That way it would catch the sand and can be easily picked up and reused. In order for the Sand to mold it has to be firmly pressed, lightly holding it will cause it to crumble. For the younger guys I'd recommend sticking with Play Dough, it is easier to mold and not so many headaches. But the Sand would be great for 4+ kids. I'm not one to mind messes, but this product is MESSY not in the dirty sense, but in terms of it getting everywhere. True it does not stick or stain, the poor stuff barely sticks to itself if not firmly packed. Maybe for Easter He'll get a Moon Sand play set, but till then we are going to stick with the play dough, I don't mind the occasionally carpet clean up :-)

I saw the commercial on tv and decided to buy it for my four year old son. First of all it is COOL!!!! My son loves it and adding water adds a whole new effect. It can be messy, but it A LOT better than sand. It is going to be messy, but that is the fun of being a child.
If mees is a factor, you may want to but a dirt devil cordless broom, which will pick up the moon sand.
This would make an excellent Christmas gift. I would recommend to put one of those mats underneath to prevent slipping.