Review Step 2 50"s Diner
About.com Rating
Kids love to play pretend, and as a mom I love giving them the toys that will take that need for pretend play and run with it. A toy kitchen is one of the great toys to help keep their imagination moving as they play pretend. Step2 has created a really great product for this purpose. The Step2 50's Diner combines pretend play with cooperative play in this dual sided diner and kitchen.
Features
The diner features basic kitchen features like a sink, oven, storage, and stove-top.
The kitchen also has some not so basic kitchen features like the deep fryer, ice cream box, and griddle. But what sets this kitchen apart from other play kitchens on the market is the eat in booth on the flip side of the kitchen. If you have more than one child, this might be a must-have feature for you. Two kids can be eat while one to two more cook and serve. It also comes with 54 pieces of play food and accessories including ice cream, hot dogs, fries, hamburgers, pies, coffee, plates, and a little table top jukebox.
Assembly
Assembly was a little on the tough side at first until we brought out the power tools. No, you will not need a saw but having a drill on hand will help immensely. To be fair, I have found this to be true with almost every "some assembly required" toy that we have put together. If you can pre-drill the holes, it will go very quick. Use a credit card or something similar when putting the stickers on to make sure you don't get air bubbles under the stickers. Once those stickers are on, they are incredibly hard to take off if you make a mistake.
The Good
I absolutely loved the features of this kitchen. I liked that different types of cooking can be done. Frying, baking, stove top, and desserts can all be whipped up for a waiting customer. The tabletop jukebox is a cute touch. I also like that it is not attached to the kitchen itself so if the noise level is just a little much for Mommy, I can just put the jukebox away for a little while. I also like that the type of accessories are unique like the ice cream with whip cream and even a cherry on top. It also came with two coffee mugs and carafe, which you don't find very often.
The Bad
There is, honestly, not a lot of negatives I can say about this little diner. The booth is on the small side, however, my seven year old son still fits in it. The little fridge below the ice cream box is oddly angled so it does not hold as much as I wish it would. The only other negative for some might be the cost. At around $150.00, this may be a pricy kitchen. However, the price is comparable to other larger play kitchens.
Is It Worth It?
Simply put: Yes it is definitely worth buying. Step 2 got this kitchen right. The accessories the kitchen comes with added to the ease at which multiple children can play with it at the same time makes the Step2 50's Diner worth buying.
Kids love to play pretend, and as a mom I love giving them the toys that will take that need for pretend play and run with it. A toy kitchen is one of the great toys to help keep their imagination moving as they play pretend. Step2 has created a really great product for this purpose. The Step2 50's Diner combines pretend play with cooperative play in this dual sided diner and kitchen.
Features
The diner features basic kitchen features like a sink, oven, storage, and stove-top.
The kitchen also has some not so basic kitchen features like the deep fryer, ice cream box, and griddle. But what sets this kitchen apart from other play kitchens on the market is the eat in booth on the flip side of the kitchen. If you have more than one child, this might be a must-have feature for you. Two kids can be eat while one to two more cook and serve. It also comes with 54 pieces of play food and accessories including ice cream, hot dogs, fries, hamburgers, pies, coffee, plates, and a little table top jukebox.
Assembly
Assembly was a little on the tough side at first until we brought out the power tools. No, you will not need a saw but having a drill on hand will help immensely. To be fair, I have found this to be true with almost every "some assembly required" toy that we have put together. If you can pre-drill the holes, it will go very quick. Use a credit card or something similar when putting the stickers on to make sure you don't get air bubbles under the stickers. Once those stickers are on, they are incredibly hard to take off if you make a mistake.
The Good
I absolutely loved the features of this kitchen. I liked that different types of cooking can be done. Frying, baking, stove top, and desserts can all be whipped up for a waiting customer. The tabletop jukebox is a cute touch. I also like that it is not attached to the kitchen itself so if the noise level is just a little much for Mommy, I can just put the jukebox away for a little while. I also like that the type of accessories are unique like the ice cream with whip cream and even a cherry on top. It also came with two coffee mugs and carafe, which you don't find very often.
The Bad
There is, honestly, not a lot of negatives I can say about this little diner. The booth is on the small side, however, my seven year old son still fits in it. The little fridge below the ice cream box is oddly angled so it does not hold as much as I wish it would. The only other negative for some might be the cost. At around $150.00, this may be a pricy kitchen. However, the price is comparable to other larger play kitchens.
Is It Worth It?
Simply put: Yes it is definitely worth buying. Step 2 got this kitchen right. The accessories the kitchen comes with added to the ease at which multiple children can play with it at the same time makes the Step2 50's Diner worth buying.
