Little Tyke

Walt Disney must be smiling

I had one of the best moments I could ask for yesterday as I overheard two young children playing on the balcony of the house across the road from me. A boy and a girl, probably five or six were discussing “Walter Disneyland “, the man who owns Disneyland. The young girl declared quite knowingly, that only people who owned Disneyland, like Walter could go.
The young boy, as self assured as she was , said he was quite sure Mickey owned it too.

If Disney wants to know if today’s children were still aware of Walt- the answer is yes, at least in my neighborhood.

Being an avid and loyal fan of Disney my entire life, it filled me with joy to know that kids of today were still as fascinated with the magic of Disney as I was.
I personally don’t think it is the same, as Walt was the heart of it all- but his dream lives on…

Don’t be jerk! Get a tickle me elmo

Starting today, Walmart.com ( http://www.walmart.com) will be the first retail site to make the highly anticipated T.M.X., 10th Anniversary Tickle Me Elmo, available for pre-sell. This first-to-market pre-sell option is exclusive to Walmart.com for two weeks and will continue until Elmo arrives on shelves in September. That’s six months before Elmo makes his grand entrance onto shelves — an exclusive early opportunity for fans to avoid the no-holds-barred frenzy that’s sure to accompany the doll’s general availability in September, just in time for the holidays.

The mystery continues — not only will there be no photo of T.M.X. online — no one other than a very few of Tickle Me Elmo’s best friends have even gotten a glimpse of his super-secret new look — and no one will until then! First introduced in 1996, Tickle Me Elmo immediately became a furry, red, runaway hit, selling in excess of one million pieces in that first year. Now, 10 years later, Elmo-mania is about to begin again. “With the 10th Anniversary Tickle Me Elmo, the Elmo-ification of America will continue,” says Scott McCall, vice president and divisional merchandising manager with Wal-Mart (WMT : Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. “Those lucky enough to buy T.M.X. sight- unseen during Walmart.com’s two-week exclusive sale will be thrilled when he arrives in the mail in September. They won’t be sorry!” “T.M.X. is the most incredible Elmo toy we’ve ever created,” says David Allmark, general manager, Fisher-Price Friends. “It’s thrilling to be able to bring the Sesame Street sensation to a whole new generation of children in such an exciting and innovative new toy — one that we’re sure will tickle America’s funny bone, yet again, and again.” About Fisher-Price Fisher-Price, Inc., a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc. (MAT : Mattel, Inc.and located in East Aurora, New York, is the leading brand of infant and preschool toys in the world.

The Company has a 75-year legacy of high-quality toys that enhance early childhood development. Its often-emulated Play Laboratory was the first child research center of its kind in the toy industry, allowing researchers to observe the way children play and how play benefits their development. Some of the Company’s best-known “classic” brands include Little People(R), Power Wheels(R) and View-Master(R). Fisher-Price is also a leading developer of baby gear products (nursery monitors, infant swings, high chairs) as well as a wide array of character-based toys inspired by high quality children’s programming such as Sesame Street(R), Dora the Explorer(TM) and Winnie the Pooh. The Company’s web site, at http://www.fisher-price.com, provides valuable information and resources to parents.

Sneek look at the latest Little Tike toys

Every year the designers at Little Tikes have to come up with new toy designs for the upcoming season which generally starts in February.

I managed to grab a sneek look at some of the latest designs that will hit the stores very soon.

The first toy i manged to get a look at was the Little Tikes crashing waves toy:

This is an inflatable toy that will be great for summer BBQ’s or kids parties. Little Tikes are looking to push more inflatable toys for this upcoming summer. I personally really like the look of this new toys and will likely purchase it for my childs upcoming birthday in May.

The Next new little Tikes toy i grabbed a sneek shot at was the Little Tikes fold away playground:

This toy looks like it’s aimed at toddlers and would be a perfect toy to take down to the beach. Obviously it folds away and therefore differentiates itself from many of the other toy playgrounds on the market. I am very excited to see such a toy like this to hit the market.

The final toy I grabbed a sneek shot was the Little Tikes 6 in 1 town centre.

This new toy comes with a gas station (which can actually be used with the classic Cozy Coupe car. It also come with a shop, cafe/restaurant, kitchen and gym! My kids have seen this and they are very excited… could make a great Christmas gift.