Em and the Possibilities There are no guarantees in life…only the possibilities

In this review I had mentioned that our Deluxe Canyon Road Train & Track Table was significantly worse for the wear.

I made a phone call (the 800 number for customer service is OH so helpfully engraved into the bottom of the table) and mentioned that the decal system had completely failed, and that we were missing 3 bridges due to the fastener system being not-so-permanent. The customer service agent was friendly, polite, and recommended that I fill out a feedback form on their website so they’d have it in “writing”.

Today, in the mail, I received not only 3 replacement bridges and a complete new set of decals, BUT!!!!! it was all free of charge.

They didn’t even ask for shipping.

I am in no way, shape, or form paid by ANYONE to review these things.

Although I briefly experimented with advertising here, I ultimately decided that it’s not something I want to keep up with.

This thing was a “top 5 preschool toy for 2005″ on The Today Show, so I got the boys one for Christmas 2005. The Today Show kept hammering and hammering on how frequently the kids played with it in testing; that it was constantly played with. The *first* thing I’d like to point out is that “constantly played with” is a relative thing here. The product was placed in a daycare/testing situation. Okay. So? So, it wasn’t right there in front of the kids all day long. They went home, the train table stayed at the testing center.

While this is indeed an awesome piece of kids furniture, it has some cons that really need to be addressed in future editions of the table.

• Decals. Okay, they’re great for the scenery. The roads/train tracks, however, are a totally different matter. Say you have a curious 3 yr old that finds a corner or bubble and picks at it, tearing the decal. Say you ALSO have a 5 yr old that likes to drive SUPERRRRRRR FAST!!!! on the roads. Now, let’s have the super-fast 5 yr old hit that tear in the decal with his car – further tearing the decal (it’s now completely ripped in half, and curling up, fouling the vehicle wheels with stickiness).
• The bridges. The joints between the road and bridges are a mess, and whoever thought of “tacking” the bridges down with those fasteners should be straitjacketed and left in my livingroom to watch my son YANK the bridge up off the table and then get upset because those @&3%#() fasteners won’t let him put the bridge back the way he wants it done.
• The lid. Nothing more than a piece of particle board with a “whiteboard” covering on one side, cut to “sink” into the tabletop, and a fingerhole in the middle to facilitate lifting. It has held up reasonably well to being climbed/jumped/stomped on. They didn’t carry the idea far enough in my little world. If you can put a whiteboard coat on one side, why not put a coat of magnetic chalkboard paint on the other?
• They don’t specify that the SMALLER “Thomas”-type trains fit. (Okay, so that’s more of an annoyance. Still…)

Okay, Em – so what did they get RIGHT on this thing?

• It’s the perfect height for the boys to play with.
• They love it so much they fight over it (Okay, so maybe that should be in the “cons” list LOL).
• If you avoid using or otherwise remove the fasteners from the bridges, there’s a GREAT engineering lesson in there. (If a train is moving superfast, and a curved bridge is where a straight bridge should be, what will happen?)
• This table is STURDY. I came out of the kitchen one day to see both boys standing AND JUMPING on the table. While this obviously isn’t recommended by the company, it’s important to note that this table isn’t likely to collapse under “off label” use/abuse. Do not try this at home. Your Mileage may vary. Batteries not included. Heh.

Despite the cons, I’m glad this table made its way into our home.

Addendum, Nov 21, 2006: The Decals have left the building. I repeat – the decals have left the building. The ripped/curled decal I mentioned earlier? Yeah, Daniel tried to “fix” it. I’ll spare you the window-shattering shriek that came along shortly after. It took a few minutes, but ALL the decals have now been pulled off (even the “scenery” ones). The table isn’t quite as pretty, but we can live with that.

The bridges also have that “stressed plastic” white crease along the tab/fastener part from being repeatedly yanked and replaced. The “one way” fasteners are long gone – I had to take them off to keep the bridges from being broken. This makes for a MUCH less sturdy driving track.

Addendum II, January 19, 2007: Step2 now has my undying adoration. They replaced the decals, bridges AND fasteners at no charge.

**Disclaimer: I am not in any way/shape/form being recompensed by Step2 for my review of this oh-so-awesome table.

For $2.65, I’ll make my own at home, thankyouverymuch.

WAAAAAY to sweet, not enough bitter. I swear I let Mom taste it and she accused me of putting warm Hershey’s syrup in a cup.

I did mix what was left of the Chantico in with my morning coffee the next day and we had a winner. The coffee turned a cup of sweet ickyness into a pleasant coffee experience.

Holly did a wonderful thing – she sent me the 20 flavor sampler box of JBz for Valentine’s Day. Since it combines my all-time favorite snacks (Jelly Belly flavors with chocolate centers), I was ecstatic. Unfortunately, not all Jelly Belly flavors combine well with chocolate. The flavors do best when you chomp down, mixing the flavor with the chocolate, a definite thumbs down for me since I like to suck the outer shell off and let the chocolate melt on my tongue.

The scoring is simple – 1 to 4.

Raspberry – 3 3/4
One of my favorite chocolate combinations, I had high expectations. Fortunately, I wasn’t disappointed. The Raspberry flavoring balances almost perfectly with the chocolate, leaving me drooling and wishing for more.

Orange Juice – 2
Another classic pairing, yet there wasn’t quite enough orange flavor to stand up to the chocolate. There were a few seconds where I could taste orange, but then the chocolate bulldozed it over.

Blueberry – 2
Absolutely nothing to write home about.

Buttered Popcorn – 2 1/2
An odd combo, the two flavors never quite melded in my mouth. I got the strong popcorn flavor, then the strong chocolate flavor. It was unsettling to say the least.

Cotton Candy – 2 1/2
Didn’t taste a whole lot like my favorite spun confection, but still balanced well with the chocolate.

Juicy Pear – 3
Believe it or not, the pear flavoring overpowered the chocolate. Stick with the JellyBelly on this one.

Tutti-Fruitti – 2
Tasted a lot like the Cotton Candy. Another nondescript flavor.

Honey Graham Cracker – 3
Wow! It really DID taste like a honey graham, combining well with the chocolate and ooh do I wish I had more. It started and ended with good solid flavor.

Sizzling Cinnamon – 2 3/4
Good cinnamon flavor, good chocolate, but they didn’t mix well together in the end.

Cappuccino – 4
YUMMO! Good strong coffee flavor, combining well with the chocolate. The chocolate flavor stayed in the background on this one, reminding me of a mocha.

Ice Blue Mint – 3 1/2
Another solid flavor all the way through. I could have used a bit more mint flavoring, though.

Toasted Marshmallow – 2
I chomped into this one thinking I’d taste 1/2 of a smore, but alas…. the marshmallow flavoring is sadly lacking. All I tasted was sweet, and then chocolate. No marshmallow!

Apricot – 3 1/2
Another two-stage flavor, but this one works. Good strong apricot flavor that fades so the chocolate can take over.

Strawberry Cheesecake – 1 1/2
Not very much Strawberry, and even less cheesecake. Unfortunate, too.

Grape – 1
WTF??!!?? You don’t even taste the chocolate in this one. Grape flavoring sledgehammers you at the start, and stays with you for a good 30-45 seconds after you swallow.

Top Banana – 3 1/2
Sundae anyone? The banana flavoring was a bit more subtle than I like, but the overall flavor was good.

Very Cherry – 1 1/2
It just doesn’t work. There’s not a lot of cherry to start with, and it just messes all the way around with the chocolate flavor.

Licorice – 2
The black licorice flavoring is good, but it doesn’t combine well with chocolate. Stick with the jellybean.

Green Apple – 1 1/2
I never got that solid tart green apple flavoring. It started off blah and ended even worse.

Coconut – 2 1/2
You’d think that this would be a can’t miss combo, but it does. The coconut flavor isn’t very strong and gets lost in the chocolate.

Summary:

Although a great idea, the mediocre to poor flavor combinations drag down the truly excellent ones. It looks like the Jelly Belly company took the top 20 best selling jellybean flavors and wrapped them around an M&M. For what you get, ANY price is really too much to pay. Send this one back to R&D and try again.