FP Ball Blast or Playskool Ball Popper

[hwin708]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000058A39/qid=1098514555/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_1/002-8029377-6498402?v=glance&s=toys&n=507846
OR
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00007G39I/qid=1098514588/sr=8-1/ref=pd_csp_1/002-8029377-6498402?v=glance&s=toys&n=507846

I wanted to get one of these for DS's 1st BDay. Both have good reviews. Now I want to hear from the experts! Good or bad, please let me know if you have these and what you like/hate.
TIA!

[Chelsey333]

My sil has the ball blast and it has always been a huge hit with all the little kids. She used to watch my ds when he was around a year old and he loved it. The ball popper I bought for my niece. My sil said that her daughter tries to hold her self up on it and it isn't that sturdy. I got the impression that she didn't like it much bec of that. Her little girl is about 1. Hope that helps.

[boys2enough]

Hi, we have the ball popper and love it. At least I LOVE it. I love playing with it and watching the balls going around and around. I think it is a ingenious design. I know some reviewers on Amazon found the music annoying. Maybe I am strange, I am not bothered by the music and find the "continuous motion" of the balls soothing. :) Btw, my kids love it too. lol.

Like any other ball toys though, you may find yourself picking up and collecting the balls more often than you'd like. And yes, when my DS2 was younger, he would just grab the orange part and took it apart, then we had to plop it back again. But he did that with our Tomy ball toys as well. It

HTH some.

Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/pnoodles.gif

[fauve01]

DD has the ball blast and it is a blast! she loves it! i got it when TRU was having a buy one fisher price thing get a second one free. well the second thing i wanted i couldn't get so i ended up with the ball blast. DD was too young for it at the time and i thought 'what a waste; this toy is stupid'. well i ate my words on that! DD grew into it shortly ater we got it and LOVES IT!! in the beginning when DD was pulling up on everything, i stuck one side of the base under the couch so it wouldn't topple over; it's not strong enough when they are just learning, but it was great for pulling up when she got good at it. the music is sometimes annoying to me (sounds like a basketball game), but DD dances her booty off to it. the balls are great to chew, and now that she's older she really likes carrying the balls around the house. All DD's friends love this toy too. we have never played with the other toy, so i don't know about that. HTH!

Anne + DD 10-03

[hwin708]

Thanks for the reviews!
I appears to still be a bit of a tie, though it probably means they're both excellent products that do basically the same thing.
Ah well, I think there was a price difference of about a dollar at Walmart, LOL!

[nigele]

We actually have both. The ball popper is much more fun but it is really loud!

[hwin708]

Ooooh....Sounds like we have a tie-breaker!
Thanks

[nigele]

Oh, I should add that I'm retiring the Ball Blast to the attic - DS doesn't seem too interested in it anymore!

[parkersmama]

I personally prefer this one from Tomy:

http://store1.yimg.com/I/kidsurplus_1817_79273125

It's not overly sturdy, though, so no pulling up on it. But, both my boys loved it and now Amy Grace does, too.

Here's a link:
http://www.kidsurplus.com/tom1266.html


ETA: For some reason the pic isn't showing up but it's there if you click on the link for the picture.

[TaChapm]

Ball Popper all the way! We have both and Jackson hated the ball blast but still loves the ball popper a year later. IMO one of the best things about it it that some of the balls scatter and he loves to chase them down and go watch them pop back up. We ended up giving out ball blast away because he never played with it. It was a big waste of money!

Tara
Mommy to Jackson 11-10-02

http://lilypie.com/baby2/021110/1/5/1/-6/.png

[Oregonmother]

Love the ball popper DS received it as a gift for his 1st B-day and has played with it everyday since. We have a Ball blast as grandma's house and DS doesn't enjoy it nearly as much as the Ball Popper

[Java]

We have both. The Blast is great for pulling up and standing. However, DS takes the balls and throws them instead of hitting them to go down the slide so he sort of misses the whole point of the toy.

He LOVES the Popper - we're talking belly laughs and screeching. However, as someone said, it's not sturdy enough to support standers so you have to watch them.

If I could do it again, I would just go with the Popper and purchase something else instead of the Blast.

[mharling]

Lane received both as gifts last Christmas. While he has enjoyed them both, the popper has much more staying power. The ball blast has already been retired. I personally really like the popper. The music *can* be a bit much, but I'm really not sure if it would be as fun without it.

My 2-year old niece has this too. Even her 9-year old brother and his friends played with it at his birthday party. My vote is popper all the way!! :)

Mary
Lane - April 2003
Little sister on the way!!! March 2!

[hellosmiletoday]

The FP one wasnt rated to well in http://www.toyportfolio.com

Can't judge from experience though!

Mommy to baby girl 5.8.04

[Java]

OK, so literally 10 minutes after I posted the fact that DS doesn't "get" the whole Blast concept (smacking the balls down the slide) he started banging the HECK of it and was having, well, a BLAST!

He was at it for 15 minutes (would have gone on longer if it wasn't bedtime) and really worked up a sweat.

So I have to revise my review and give both the Blast and Popper 2 hearty thumbs up!

[boys2enough]

Sorry for hijacking this thread. I know I am slow: I didn't realize you are expecting until I saw your signature. How wonderful! A Girl! Oh, you know I am jealous. lol. Now you can shop for girls' clothes at Hanna! :)

Here is for a healthy smooth wonderful pregnancy!


Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/pnoodles.gif

[westchicagomom]

Okay Lin - you definitely need a vacation from your new job and your boys. Stress is starting to affect your memory I think.... Mary announced her pregnancy at the snack-trap get together at your house!

Although maybe you were busy making us that delicious lunch when she did so. :)