One of Sophie’s birthday presents was the VTech Toot Toot Drivers Train Station which has been a big hit in our house. Admittedly Sophie has mostly enjoyed taking apart the track that has been so carefully constructed and wandering off with pieces of track or the train but Jessica has loved playing with the train and helping it go around the track when Sophie is having her nap.
The set comes with 32 pieces of track and there is an instruction sheet which gives several suggestions for various track layouts (although we tend to just experiment rather than following these). There is the train station which has buttons to press to hear welcome messages in four different languages (English, French, Spanish and German), a ramp (with a tunnel) and supports to allow for an elevated section of track and a spiral track for the train to come back down again.
The mechanised train (powered by 3 AAA batteries which are provided) will travel around the track by itself when the button on the funnel is pressed although it needs help via a crank handle to get the train up the straight ramp and Jessica enjoyed doing this. There are various sections of track with smart points and the train responds in various ways when travelling across these. There are barriers to lift, road block pieces, a warehouse unit which has a hatch for emptying cargo (a ball) on to the wagon which comes with the train (the train pauses here for a few seconds to allow time to lift the hatch and empty the cargo). Jessica enjoyed all the different responses the train made across various pieces of the track and playing with all the different features kept her amused for ages.
The track will also connect to other Toot Toot Drivers playsets and you can use other vehicles from the range on the tracks too (we have a non-motorised cement mixer which both Jessica and Sophie enjoy pushing along the track too!)
The VTech Toot Toot Drivers Train Station has a recommended retail price of £49.99 although we bought ours on Amazon for £36.33 so definitely worth shopping around to find the best price. We’ve been really happy with it – it is well made and the price is reasonable for the quality of the product. I would definitely recommend this as a Christmas present for a toddler. It is marketed as being suitable for ages 1 -5. Sophie has just turned 1 and whilst she enjoys taking the track apart and occasionally pushing a train along the track, I think she is a little young to fully enjoy this although it is quite safe for her to play with as there are no really small parts. Jessica at 3 gets much more enjoyment out of it at the moment but I can see this being a toy that will keep them entertained for a long time – after all, hubby at 35 seems to have as much fun playing with it as the girls do!
The VTech Toot Toot Drivers Train Station was purchased as a birthday gift for my daughter. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
We have the Toot Toot garage which Little Man had for Christmas last year, and it’s still going strong and is well-made. They are a nice range x
I’m quite tempted to get the Toot Toot Garage for Jessica as she really loves cars and has had a lot of fun with the train set x
Ohh I’ve heard about this before…..It looks and sounds like so much fun!
It definitely has been lots of fun 🙂
We bought the Toot Toot Drivers Garage for Archie’s birthday this October & will definitely be adding to it for Christmas. A great review!
Thank you – am looking at the drivers garage as a potential Christmas present too! 🙂
Ooh I’m so tempted by this! And yes, my husband and I would also enjoy tucking in and playing with it too… maybe more so than our one year old! I love the look of the garage as well, decisions! From what you’ve said, I think it might be better for us as a 2nd birthday present as like Sophie, Sam mainly enjoys pulling things apart! Great to see it in action and hear how it works and is enjoyed, thank you!
I think for Sophie it would have been better a little later on as she doesn’t really want to play with it much at the moment other than to take it apart which frustrates her sister no end! I’m glad that Jessica at least is enjoying it at the moment and no doubt once Sophie is a little older, they will enjoy playing with it together soon. Thanks for your comment and hope the review has helped you with deciding on Christmas presents! 🙂
I have been looking for ideas for Molly’s first birthday in February and have looked at these as a possible choice. We love the animals but didn’t know how it would be out of the box. Looks like it is a big hit.
It is definitely a big hit although more so with my 3 year old than with my 1 year old at the moment – I think my little one will appreciate more when she is a little bit older.
Love the look of this, though think my little guy would take it apart too! #triedtested
It’s great fun, my girls both love it 🙂