Vtech - Smartville Alphabet Train Station Reviews

• Loaded with Stimulating Goodies!

  
  By A38JTCWO9I2Y0X on 2006-11-25
  We bought this for our son when he was around 9 months old. He's a little over 12 months now and it is still his favorite toy - even after all the goodies he got for his birthday! I always loved trains myself and thought this would be something we would both enjoy together. I was a little disappointed at first because there are no actual train cars and the included engine seems more of an afterthought. My son, however, was elated with the toy. He quickly learned how to place the figures on the pedestal to hear about what they are called and what sounds they make. The two modes (Learning & Discovery) can be easily toggled back and forth offering quite a bit of stimulation and the LED display really grabs his attention. It is extremely durable as my son likes to pull and push it, turn it upside down and bend it in ways you would expect it to break. I couldn't recommend it more...
  
  

• Not Leapfrog...

  
  By A1Y56TCZBXPN92 on 2007-01-09
  For some reason I thought that the train was motorized and would travel around the track but unfortunately, that is not the case. The child needs to push it by hand. While doing this, music will start to play and then some of the ABC buttons on the track will go off arbitrarily. It's rather confusing and not very rewarding. The track is not well designed as the child needs to lean over or sit on the track to reach the buttons. I bought this hoping to reinforce alphabet learning but this toy does not deliver. The only way to hear the letters is to press the buttons on the track but the stickers are not very interesting and so get ignored. It seems the most functional part of the toy is identifying the animals yet the animals are rather abstract looking. This toy is very disappointing and not very educational.
  
  

• Badly Designed

  
  By A1EF8X62GWMRE0 on 2007-01-04
  My 17 month old received this toy as a Christmas gift.
  He was eager to play, but unfortunately, the toy is designed so that in order to play with the train station, the toddler must sit on and/or kick the train tracks. The toy's babble resulting from the toddler inadvertently activating the alphabet train track is annoying at best. At worst it prevents the toddler from realizing and enjoying the features he is actually activating.
  Another design flaw is in the folding action of the toy. I imagine they were going for better storage ability, but the train station can easily tip forward onto the toddler as he is trying to play. Not much fun.
  The animals resemblance to the creatures they are meant to represent may be a little too abstract (our toddler could not recognize any of them and he's an animal nut).
  I do not recommend this toy.
  
  

• My 1 year old son loves it

  
  By AJ9U1GW6G07AF on 2007-01-30
  I bought this for my 1 year old son for Christmas. When I opened it up, I thought that he wouldn't enjoy it yet. Boy was I wrong! This is by far his favorite toy. If it's put away, he walks over to it for me to put it out for him. He loves the smaller parts, walking around with them and putting them in his mouth. He quickly figured out how to put the parts into the circular spaces where they belong, so that the toy gives a response. He also likes looking at the display that lights up according to which buttons are pushed.
  
  The one thing I don't like about this toy is that although it conveniently folds up to put it away, my son has figured out where the hinges are and constantly tries folding it up himself, or tiping over the building part. I'm afraid at some point he might end up hurting himself. Also, the tote bag is so great, he wants to play with the empty bag. I keep it hidden when it's empty. I would also appreciate being able to adjust the volume, like with other toys.
  
  

• awsome toy

  
  By A161UJ11HHYTKS on 2006-12-01
  My son received this for his second birthday and can't stop playing with it. He is starting to learn the alphabet and numbers and this has helped. He also loves cars and trains so this has helped him learn in a fun way.
  
  
• Track is in the way...
  By AZ87V09K9CHHN on 2007-03-07
  We bought this for our 12-month old who loves the station and characters, but he must sit inside the track to use the toy. I try to position his legs and feet so they don't touch the track, but as he moves around enjoying the toy, he ends up either sitting on, or pressing the track with his legs and feet, setting off a myriad of confusing random noises. For example, when he places the polar bear on the hot spot it should say, "I'm a polar bear" but his foot will hit the v/w/x on the track so he hears, "I'm a polar van beep beep wagon x-ray zap zap!" Even when he is older, I imagine it would be difficult to reach around or across the track to play with the station, as the track occupies a huge parcel of space in front of it. The track needs to be moved to the side away from the front of the station.
  
  Other than that, he LOVES the animal noises and enjoys repeating the sounds that "growl" GRRRrrrr! Another favourite activity of his is sliding the on off button back and forth... this should be moved to the back out of the way, but I am glad it seems to be durable enough to withstand. He enjoys pressing the piano keys and LOVES moving the clock hand all around the clock as a pleasant voice announces the time. Which reminds me of another great feature about this toy... the recorded voice is very pleasant. I had forgotten about the train until I read the other reviews as we cast ours aside from the beginning. It is useless and cheap. Quite surprising because the characters are sturdy, chunky and adorable. The train is the only part of the toy that is not well made, and I feel that as a train station, the train should be at least as nice as the other accessories.
  
  Overall, a good toy, but the position of the track is such a disappointment. I give it 3 stars because of the enjoyment my son gets from playing with the animals, the clock, piano, and the pleasant voice that teaches as he plays.
  
  
• Suprised the train doesn't move.
  By AEJE8XX562M1I on 2007-01-10
  I thought great, a little train toy for my daughter. I was surprised to learn it doesn't move. My daughter is almost 3 and really doesn't have too much interest in it. MY younger daughter 11 months doesn't either. I would say it you buy it, don't spend much money on it.
  
  
• Better for older than 1 year
  By A2OCSM0ATUG3CR on 2007-01-10
  My daughter got this for Christmas, right before she turned one year old. At this age, she loves the animal figurines, chews on them (has ruined many of the stickers on some of them already) and carries them around. She also likes the station and the sounds it makes, especially the piano keys. Like many other younger children, she just sits on the train track in front of the station so it keeps talking to her because she is sitting on the buttons for the letters of the alphabet and has no idea what the voice is talking about or why it is talking.
  
  I really wish the train track would disconnect from the station so we could put it away and not have to listen to it until our daughter is old enough to understand that part of it. If it gets really annoying, I might just let her keep the animals out and put the track/station away for a few months.
  
  Since she received this as a gift, it wasn't really my choice and now that we are using it, I almost wish I would have tried to figure out what store it came from and returned it. I'm sure when she is older, it will be more appropriate and we will appreciate having it.
  
  
• who designed this thing?!
  By A30OOTM84KOCNH on 2007-01-12
  a small child can't easily put the animals in their slot without simultaneously stepping on the talking letters resulting in noisy mayhem. and one of the animal slots isn't easy to reach even for the little hands. this toy would better split up or side by side or for kids with long arms!
  
  
• Alphabet Train
  By A3HHBQWEUTFWKS on 2007-01-16
  I bought the alphabet train station for my neice, who is two years old. She loved it the minute she tore off the wrapping paper. I could barely pry her away from the box in order to set up the train for her. After I finally was able to remove it from the package, she enjoyed playing with the many different animals that came with the set and also pressing the different buttons on the track. It was one of her favorite gifts at the party.
  
  
• Great Toy!!!
  By A3GK5RECM7PFLV on 2007-03-23
  After seeing my neice play with this toy I decided to buy it for my 9 month old. This toy is wonderful. It has a lot functions that kids can enjoy. My nine month old loves playing with it. She taps, bangs the letters and plays with the clock. She loves the little animals and tries to chew on them occasionally. She might not be ready to talk or pronounce a lot of the sounds, but it is a good start. Overall, this toy is great and is loads of fun for the kids.
  
  
  
• Poor Design
  By A1MX257B3BFJEK on 2007-01-06
  This would be a great toy if the train track wasn't set up right in front of the station. Our 18 month old loves to play with all the cool features on the station but has to sit on the track to reach it. Wish there was a way to turn off the track. Right now all you hear is a bunch of noises because the track buttons are going off plus what he is pushing on the station.
  Caution with older kids that can not reach the station they may break the train track by sitting on it or walking on it to get to the station.
  
  
• My son loves it
  By A3R8W0YCF3QNY3 on 2007-01-10
  This is the kind of toy they don't get tired of. My son is 18 month and got this for christmas, he uses it everyday, loves to change the figures and hear what they say, it is fun and practical to store.
  
  Very good buy
  
  
• Smartville train
  By A18PDNRU6WHDCP on 2007-01-10
  The animals are neat! The station is pretty cool. The set up requires the child to sit in the middle of the track or on the track to play with the station. I can't figure out why they made the station so detailed and then threw in a really cheap and flimsy train. The train doesn't really fit the track and tends to derail.
  
  
• The Best Educational Toy I Have Seen
  By AGJNE4G5QUW04 on 2007-01-27
  As a mother of a two year old and a teacher, I am totally impressed with this toy. The feature I love is that it actually flashes the letter when the ABC song is played. In addition, it comes with a bag for storage and 18 animals. I love it, love it, love it!
  
  
• Review of Alphabet Train Station
  By A1ASPBMBEHR6U3 on 2007-03-05
  This item was purchased for a 16 month old boy. It immediately became his favorite toy. He's still playing with it after 3 months and learning things with it every day.
  
  
• Vtech does it again...Great toy!
  By A3MCAMDNTPE7UG on 2007-06-01
  We received this train for my son's 1st birthday. I have to say my first reaction was "wow, it is going to take me forever to get that thing out of the box with so many pieces!" However, Vtech does it right! It required NO assembly. There were minimal twist ties and it was ready to play with in a matter of 2 minutes! Both of my boys (1 and 3) love this toy! It is right in line with the rest of the vtech line: Sensational. We love vtech. They make smart toys that are easy to use, durable, and lots of fun. This is by far our favorite of the vtech choices. We might be making a future purchase of the treehouse. It looks great, too. Thanks vtech. You will not be disappointed with this product.
  
  
• Too big and can be confusing to a toddler...
  By A2YFAHRCIBKQ5Q on 2007-11-15
  My son received this a few months ago for his first birthday. He played with it for a very short time and now it sits in the closet unused. He still plays with the little animals that came with it though, but that is all. First, we have hard floors throughout our home and this toy just slides all over the place when he is using it. If he happens to stand on the track (which he often does, since to get to the station part of the toy you practically have to sit or stand on the track...), it slips right out from under him. I always have to make sure it is sitting on a rug while he is paying with it. And like another reviewer mentioned, when he tries to put the anmials on their little stations, he ends up sitting on the track buttons and instead of the toy saying that "I am a tiger" it tells him "quilt" because he happens to hit the Q button on the track. I think this would only be confusing later on when he is beginning to learn his anmials and/or numbers. Also, the track is just too big and takes up a lot of floor space. Luckily, it does fold up for easier storage. Overall, this is not something I would recommend to anyone. I would suggest looking around for another set that is a little better.
  
  
• Great but BIG Design Flaw
  By AYXWHL3MDVG76 on 2007-12-16
  This was given to my son for his first birthday and he loved the little animals. Over time he has started playing with the other features of the toy.
  
  Big design flaw: you cannot turn the track off when playing with the rest of the toy so every time he goes to put an animal on a perch to hear information, if he hits a letter on the track that overrides the other narrative. Unless you have the room to put this in the middle of the floor, which we don't have, there is really no way to play with the clock and the perches without landing on the track and setting off a letter of song.
  
  It is really annoying and is the main reason I only gave three stars.
  
  
• Delighted Grammy
  By A27VPCVBMNCJRN on 2007-01-09
  I bought this for Christmas for my 14month old grandson and he seems to be enjoying it. There are enough "things to do" to keep him busy for quite a while. I also bought him the "Smartville" post office and he can play with them together because all of the parts are interchangeable. I would highly recommend this toy.
  
  
• It was defective
  By A3OC2U3JTMK0RA on 2007-01-12
  The concept of the learning tool looked good, however it was defective and after being opened by our grand daughter at Christmas (the box torn etc.) sending it back became a problem.
  
  
• Lots of fun for an older tot
  By A14R4PWB2UY2NE on 2007-01-16
  This train set has a lot of nice features and lots to do. Gave it to a friend's child for christmas. He's a very bright inquisitive 12 month old, but I feel this train set was a little too busy for him. 18+ months may be more appropriate.
  
  
• Great toy - but takes up a lot of space
  By A511RMZ0AGL2K on 2007-02-14
  I bought my 18 month old the entire set. Silly me. I don't have a lot of floor space, so it takes up a great deal of the floor space. I had tried putting it on the coffee table, but my daughter couldn't reach the entire thing, so back to the floor it went.
  
  It's very educational. She is slow in speaking, so this is an educational way of getting her to talk.
  
  
• Fun toy
  By A312ATTTC6C6GC on 2007-10-12
  We got this toy at a pretty good price and the kids love it. We have a 2 1/2 year old and an 18 month old, and although its made for the younger child, they both love it. There are lots of songs, and instruction about each letter. For some reason it come with a ton of little animals, which they have enjoyed playing with too. As long as you don't mind a somewhat noisy toy, its great.
  
  
• Perfect gift!
  By A2USIBGM81YAOL on 2007-11-04
  I purchased this item for my niece she is one year old and it provides hours of fun for her. I would recommend this item to anyone buying a present for a child under five years of age!
  
  
• Good but could be designed better
  By ASZL7Q65PLBYA on 2007-11-05
  Like many other people have said before me its a great learning toy but the design of the track is flawed. When my son ,who is 16 months, loves to play with this toy and all of its animals, but while he is trying to place the animals in the designated spots he keeps stepping on the track. The track is very narrow so if he tries to sit in the middle of it he hits the buttons on the track so its hard for him to hear what the toy has to say about a certain animal that he want to know about. Example: He takes a penguin and tries to place it on the train station, when he gets it in the spot the station says something about the animal but he steps on the "L" pm the track and all he hears is it saying "Leaf"
  
  
• Great deal for my 2 year old.
  By A5DHIFSSOA1B2 on 2007-11-08
  My son is 2 and he loves this. Pushing the animals and shapes in certain places causes sounds, words, or letters. Biggest complaint was the train wasn't motorized, but my son loves to push the train around himself. It's a good product and we got it in the Gold Chest, so it was a killer price! Would recommend it to any kid 2-4. Under 2 might have issues with the track location.
  
  
• Gotta buy this one!
  By A4H4UJCTNDRHO on 2007-12-02
  This set was purchased for my 16 month old son. He is almost two now and still plays with this set everyday. It has taught him at least 20 different animal names and sounds they make. We haven't had to replace the batteries yet either(which makes me very happy!) I would highly recommend this set for ages 12 mo. to 3 years. Well worth every cent!
  
  
• Satisfactory.
  By A83WVTF2Q9HVC on 2008-01-07
  I purchased this item for 19.99 during the Christmas sales.
  
  Pros: It has several different animals to play with and when the animals are put in a certain spot it states a few facts about each. When pushing sqaures on the track children can learn their letters and their sounds.
  
  Cons: As mentioned before, the track is attached to the station and my child has to sit in the middle of the track to access the clock, piano keys, etc.
  
  Overall: For what it is, it is not a bad product. The train doesn't move, but it is more about the music and letters. I bought this as an early "first" alphabet train. When our child is older I plan to purchase the Leap Frog train. I have seen several children use the LeapFrog train and they all love it.
  
  Bottom line: Option 1 - buy for younger child and know that product has limitations, then upgrade at a later date to the Leap Frog Train. Option 2 - Hold out until baby is a bit older and buy Leap Frog.
  
  
• He loves it!
  By AH2DUWL9QVLP5 on 2008-01-10
  My 2 year old loves it! He drags it everywhere. I am only worried because the track folds out and I am worried he will break it. So far so good though. Another happy customer!
  
  

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