As Lauren showed by recently sharing her ideas for a Pirate & Princess Disney Junior party, the success of Disney Junior has propelled new characters into the main stream. You don’t have to wait till Halloween to see kids dressed as Sofia and Jake strolling through the parks. I guess this shouldn’t be surprising as “Sofia the First” and “Jake and the Never Land Pirates” rank among the top preschool programs in Kids 2-5, with “Sofia the First” ranking as the #1 series overall in Girls 2-5.
During the days of Playhouse Disney, toys were somewhat hard to come by. Thankfully, now there are some neat Disney Junior toys out in the marketplace to meet demand. What akes these toys neat is that they encourage imaginative play that brings the Disney Junior experience beyond the television set.
Let’s look at some of those products. We will start with Fisher-Price’s Battle at Shipwreck Falls playset. This set comes with 2 battling figures that are activated by set itself. Jake and the Mummy can battle on all three levels of the toy. From the crow’s nets to the deck, to the brig, there are fun interactive elements such as a trap door. The centerpiece skull light’s up and talks as your kid’s play with the set. The toy even comes with a treasure chest full of pirate treasure.
One of the nice things about this toy is that it comes ready to go. With batteries included, there is very little set up needed as it comes out of the box. This is a refreshing point as many toys can feature infuriating setups. Also, you should note, that they toy is bigger than it looks as is constructed well. Durability is important, and this one passes the test of one kid and two dogs.
Another fun toy is the Bucky Submarine. This toy can transform from Jake’s ship Bucky, to a submarine. As you pull up the periscope, 4 fins pop out from the hull and 2 side barrel propellers fold out from the captain’s quarters. A rudder fin also slides out from the stern. The toy includes a Jake figure as well as an octopus. There are also projectiles you can launch so Jake can defend his treasure. In case you were wondering, Jake hides his treasure in a secret compartment within Bucky. The steering wheel actually turns. In addition, you can mount Jake onto the periscope so he turns as he scans the ocean.
If your child is more of a princess than a pirate, there are also several neat Sofia the First toys that have hit the market. We had the chance to play with the Amber 5-inch doll. Amber became sisters with Sofia when Amber’s mom married Sofia’s mom. While Sofia is new to royalty, her stepsister has been a princess from birth. This doll is dressed in the green and yellow gown she wore the day she and Sofia became sisters. It is nice to see a toy that is accurate to the character it is based on, as a child will be the first to point out when the toymaker has taken liberties.
We also played with the 2-in-1 Costume Surpirse Swan Dress doll, this toy transforms Sofia from an every-day dress into a Swan masquerade outfit. The toy also includes a glitter eye mask and wand to complete the transformation. What I love about this toy is that the transformation is pretty painless. I remember having such challenges transforming toys when I was younger, so it was nice to see toys that make that transformation a playful exercise and not a test of engineering.
So what have I learned about Jake and Sofia? Well based on the demand these toys had at the offices of LaughingPlace, I realized the shows are quite popular. If you are looking for any birthday presents or Christmas gifts for young kids this year, I encourage you to pick up Disney Junior toys. Not only are the characters popular, the toys are well made and are enjoyable in their own right. I know children franchises can come and go so it can be hard to stay on top of what is popular when picking out gifts. I promise you, Jake and Sofia are safe bets.
If you and your kids haven’t watched Disney Junior lately, you have a great chance coming up. “Jake and the Never Land Pirates” will premiere a new episode at 830am on Friday. September 19. In the episode, Jake and his crew must convince Captain Hook to help his old enemy Queen Coralie, who has been cast under a magical sleeping spell. The voice of Queen Coralie may sound familiar as she is voiced by Leigh-Allyn Baker from “Good Luck Charlie”