V Tech Go Go Smart Wheels Airport Playset Review and Giveaway!

So, I'm not sure, but I'm thinking that this is the first time I've ever done a giveaway on the blog for a toy!  So excited =D.  Especially when it's such a cool toy!

So, what is the toy?  Well, it's none other than the VTech Go Go Smart Wheels Airport Playset.

Photo Source:  Amazon.com

What is the VTech Go Go Smart Wheels Airport Playset?  Well, let me give you the description straight from the V-Tech site...

"Welcome to the Go! Go! Smart Wheels™ Airport Playset by VTech®. Watch the airplane (included) or other Go! Go! Smart Wheels™ vehicles (each sold separately) interact with the airport's six SmartPoint™ locations teaching letters, sounds, music and more. Strengthen fine motor skills and enhance pretend play as you 'fly' the airplane around the cloud platform and along the tracks visiting the fuel station and other role-play elements along the way. The learning fun never ends with over 120 responses that include educational phrases, music and fun sound effects! The tracks can be reconfigured or connected to other Go! Go! Smart Wheels™ playsets (each sold separately) to encourage your child’s creativity. It's miles of learning fun!"

 My opinions of the toy (and more importantly my kids)?  Well, let me break down my experience for you.

The box got delivered to me at my front door and as I walked I heard weird noises coming from inside the box.  Sure enough when I opened said box the toy immediately started talking to me and didn't want to stop.  To say that I was worried that I'd have yet another possessed toy that wouldn't stop making noises until it was accidentally destroyed maliciously was a vast understatement.  You know...those toys that suddenly start freaking out in the middle of the night, make you jump through the roof and make you think of old 80's horror movies?  Yeah, I was worried I had one of those toys.

Luckily, thank the Good Lord, that wasn't the case.  Turns out the airplane that comes with the playset had gotten it's "demo" button jammed up under the box somehow and so every time the box made a small movement the toy would go off.  As soon as I removed the airplane from the box the creepy, "possessed toy" feature stopped.  I then flipped the toy around and discovered the off switch, which is always a beautiful feature for a parent to find, so at least I don't have to worry about the toy becoming possessed later and start going crazy in the middle of the night when batteries start draining.

So, anyway, I then set up the track, with some help from my enthusiastic daughter, and waited to see what would happen.  Honestly, I figured that my daughter would be the only one that would play with the toy.  You would not believe the amount of toys I've bought for my son in the hopes that he'd like them only to find out that he wanted nothing to do with them.  So, I wasn't holding out a lot of hope that my autistic little boy would go for this one.

And boy, was I surprised when he actually picked up that airplane, worked it around the track and laughed as it made noises and such!  And the novelty hasn't really worn off for him.  This is a kid that I can keep
engaged with a toy for...oh...I'd say for about a minute tops (unless said toy IS a top or something that spins), so I was shocked and ecstatic when he played with this toy for three minutes at a pop!

I have found that the toy has a great way to encourage my son to use his fine motor skills,which is always a plus, as he moves the airplane around the track.   And the cause and effect with the sounds the toy makes area always a plus as Alvah loves cause and effect toys, so that helps keep him focused for a bit longer.  I'm looking forward to getting a few more of the playsets soon so I can connect them together and see if a bigger playset will appeal to him as much as the one playset does.

Okay, so now for pros and cons.  So, to break down on pros....

1. This toy is easy to clean.  Which yes, that is a definitely good thing when you have a kid that spits as one of his favorite stims.
2. The toy is easy to take apart and put back together.   My six year old daughter has done it a couple of times when she decided to play with it in different areas.
3. Nice and chunky construction so I'm not concerned about Alvah sticking it in his mouth and wrecking it (oral motor issues).

Cons of the toy that I could find are:

1.  Like so many toys today due to the interlocking track and the ability to connect to other playsets, there are parts in this to you have to deal with.  So, this is another "need to put it in a bin when not in use" toy for us around here.  At least the parts are easily recognized, so hopefully they won't get lost.
2. The playset only comes with one vehicle, which has created some sibling rivalry issues between the kids on a couple of occasions.  Not that big of a deal as I'm hoping to get more playsets pretty soon, but I wanted to put that in there as an additional warning for you all as if you have multiple kiddos you will probably want to get a few more vehicles to avoid fights or make sure you tell kids that they'll have to take turns.

So, there you are folks!  Want to buy one of these babies?  Well you can get them through, The VTech Site and Amazon.com.

Want to try your hand at winning one instead?  Well, okay!

We will be giving away one VTech Go Go Smart Wheels Airport Playset to one lucky reader!  To enter is simple and you can do it two ways (and yes you can do both).

1.  Leave a comment after this post.
2.  Leave a comment on Facebook after the comment launching this giveaway (I'll also post reminders on Facebook as well).

In all cases please leave your e-mail so that I can contact you if you win or be sure to check Facebook regularly so you'll be able to get back to me if you win!

Also as an aside if the blog or Facebook don't get along with you or you don't like to use them you can also e-mail your entry by e-mailing me at alaskanbargainhunter@gmail.com.  This is a one time entry method, however, so no it's not a way to get a third entry.

The giveaway will run from today, Monday Sept. 16th and run through Monday Sept. 23rd.  On Tuesday, Sept. 24th I'll pick a winner via Random.org.  The winner will then have forty eight hours to get back to me or I'll be forced to pick a new winner.  This giveaway is open to legal residents of the US only.

Good luck and enjoy!

Disclaimer:  I received a VTech Go Go Smart Wheels Airport Playset for purposes of this review from VTech Toys.  VTech Go Go Smart Wheels Airport Playset provided to winner of the giveaway provided by VTech toys.  In short, I was compensated for this post, but the opinions on the toy are 100% mine.