desertcart.com: UTEX 3 in 1 Pop Up Play Tent with Tunnel, Ball
Pit for Kids, Boys, Girls, Babies and Toddlers, Indoor/Outdoor
Playhouse : Toys & Games
Review: Get it!! - It’s the perfect gift for a 1 year old. We
have bought this toy 4 different times and every time we give it
as a gift, it’s instantly loved and used for many years by the
toddlers! Good quality, so easy to collapse and set back up and
good for indoor and outdoor use.
Review: Mommy-of-the-Year Award can be yours too for less than
$40 - Just as an intro, I had read a bunch of reviews on this
play tent (and many comparable ones,) and they all seem to have
many happy customers, with a couple of folks mainly unhappy with
general quality/sturdiness. I figured- what they heck- this toy
isn’t meant to last like a house, and if it gives my kids even a
couple of uses of fun before it shreds, it’s worth it as an
experience, being cheaper than say, a trip to a local jungle gym
or trampoline/bounce place. That being said - it is surprisingly
durable! My kids have been jumping, crawling, and completely
abusing this play tent and I simply don’t see where the negative
reviews in that regard come from. Perhaps the seller/manufacturer
improved the quality since then. So here’s how it all went down:
The package arrived, and it was a complete surprise for my kids.
No occasion, or reason, except for perhaps the fact that their
mother spends too much time browsing desertcart suggestions. As I
withdrew the slim, circular pouch from the box, I breathed a sigh
of relief as I realized that this would not be responsible for
the displacement of an important appliance or necessary item(s)
in its stead - it is way thinner and smaller as folded than you
would believe. I have very limited closet space, and I actually
now store it hung on a hanger in a closet- it’s no thicker than
the kid’s spring jacket hanging next to it. And as I opened up
the package and proceeded to assemble the tent, my three-year-old
literally jumped up and down with excitement and cackled with
glee. His entire being physically quivered from the unrestrained
joy that this larger-than-his-life, colorful, climbable
monstrosity brought to him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so
excited. And all my doubts melted away - sheesh - if I could
bring such sheer bliss for $33 to everyone that easily, I’d start
a national organization with this play tent featuring in its
mission statement. I first propped up the three pieces
separately, and it was all I could do to keep the kids from
scampering through them before being able to connect them to each
other. (It was really simple, by the way. No instructor
necessary.) And then, I let ‘em loose. They spent close to three
hours doing EVERYTHING in this play tent. They crawled through it
a gajillion times. They sat at opposite ends, and rolled a ball
through the tunnel to each other. The played hide and seek, and
chased each other in and out. They brought books in, and read
quietly inside for a bit. They brought play food into the units,
and set themselves up a kitchen. They took linen off their beds,
and set themselves up camping. I surmise that any given activity
is just waaay more fun inside the tent than outside. I’m
beginning to question traditionally held beliefs regarding
livability and space. Maybe all we need is a little colorful
pop-up tent with someone to share it with to make us happy?
Anyhow, this one’s a real hit. I ordered a package of 200 balls
separately for a second level of excitement, but really - it’s
not necessary. This tent is very entertaining for the kids and
inspires a lot of imagination - after they’re done with all the
physical activity involved with crawling through it/climbing over
it, etc. And folding it up, as packaged (and as stated before) -
it’s a pleasure how little space this takes up. The actual
disassembly/twisting the three pieces back into shape takes a bit
of maneuvering, but once I got the warpy hang of it, it’s not
that difficult. All in all, given my kids’ reaction, this is
probably my best desertcart purchase yet.
