I’m so jealous. Kids have the coolest toys these days – way better than anything we had “back in my day.” When I was younger, all I had was a hose to play with on hot sunny days. The “cool kids” had blow up pools or that crazy yellow waterslide. Today, kids have pools with sprinkler systems built in or huge bounce houses with slides into a pool.
Living so close to the beach, I have this crazy ongoing notion that my son doesn’t need outdoor toys. We live in beautiful southern California and all we have to do is walk a couple blocks down the street and we’re at the beach. In an ideal world where I have time to spend hours at the beach every day, this “idea” would work out just perfectly fine. Unfortunately, I rarely have time to even leave the house, much less spend play days at the beach. So when I spotted the Little Tikes Sandy Lagoon Waterpark online, I just *knew* I Whistler needed it.
After about 15 minutes of setup, we ready ready to dive right in. Honestly, I had planned on putting it together so that I could have some much needed time to sit and work. After a rainy couple of days, this weekend ended up being really nice so I also saw this as an opportunity to send Whistler to go outside and play. What really ended up happening was an impromptu Mommy and Whistler Sunday Funday. We were having so much fun playing, that I didn’t even realize I had spent more than an hour outside crouched over the table. (we won’t talk about my back and knees being the first indicators of this…)
Whistler absolutely loves the Sandy Lagoon Waterpark. So much more so than I imagined he would. More than just a toy to splash in the water, it’s like bringing the fun of the beach right into our back yard. Even after I went inside, Whistler stayed for another 2 hours racing Scuba Steve and Silly Sally down the twin waterslides, launching them off diving boards and burying them under mounds of sand. Even though the characters have their own floating inner tubes, it seems my son always has much bigger plans for them, like swimming with whales or rescuing imaginary penguins.
The table holds a whopping four gallons of water, which is nice because it means it won’t all be spilled or splashed out within a half hour of play. The other side of the table offers an area that can hold up to 50lbs of sand (not included). Even though the beach is just down the street, I took Whistler to a pet store across the way to pick out some super soft fine white sand that reminds me of the Caribbean. I only got a 10lb bag which is plenty to play with, but I think we will go pick up 10-20lbs more tomorrow. *TIP* If you check out the aquarium section of your local pet store, your little one can pick out fun colors of sand for about $2.50/5lbs.
While it doesn’t come with sand or water (duh), the Little Tike Sandy Lagoon Waterpark does come with
- 1 Cup
- 1 Shovel/Rake
- 2 Characters
- 2 Inner tubes
- Plastic table top (used to cover the sand area, we also store the accessories under here)
I love that the Sandy Lagoon Waterpark keeps my son occupied for hours. This is especially nice when we are in the backyard grilling or when its just time to get off the iPad. Unlike a kiddy pool or sprinkler, this activity table has so much integrated creativity to keep kids busy and side tracked with any additional story lines they can dream up. Plus, while they play they’re promoting hand eye coordination and social play. Even though Whistler tends to get fairly wet while playing, I can easily see him being able to play with this even on cooler days because it’s so much fun.
Whistler pretty much summed it all up with the statement he made when I took this picture.
“Mom, this is the best toy EVER!!”
…and I totally agree!
I would love to see you review the http://www.littletikes.com/kids-toys/castle-adventures-sandbox
I love the 6-in-1 Towncenter Playhouse
I like the Sand & Sea™ Play Table
I like the 6-in-1 Towncenter Playhouse. Thanks!!
I think the patio bbq set looks fun. Thanks for the chance.