My Pirate Adventure Begins
So yesterday, I decided it was finally time. My little one has been nuts about pirates lately, singing sea shanties constantly. Saw a bunch of these “underwater” pirate toys online and thought, why not try them out myself? Grabbed my notepad and dove right in. Literally.
Setting the Stage
First things first, filled up my biggest plastic tub in the kitchen. Yeah, the sink is for amateurs; we needed serious water volume! Grabbed the 5 sets I wanted to test:
- This treasure chest thing that supposedly opened up under water
- A full pirate ship with a tiny flag, looked pretty cool
- Some divers and pirates figures
- A shark sub that was supposed to swim by itself
- And this weird squid launcher thing, honestly wasn’t sure about that one
Made sure everything was charged (those self-swimming toys always need it!). Kiddo bounced around the kitchen like a crazy person waiting for it. Patience was zero.
Dump ‘Em In & See What Happens
Okay, moment of truth! Took each set outta its packaging – and wow, some of those twist-ties were annoying, needed scissors for two boxes. Tossed the pirate ship in first. Splash! It floated nice and high. Kid grabbed the diver figure immediately and made him climb the mast. Good start.
The Good Stuff
That treasure chest surprised me! You push it under the water, let go, and boom! The lid flies open with air bubbles everywhere, little plastic coins kinda spill out. Kiddo yelled “ARRR TREASURE!” and nearly stuck his whole head in the tub. Winner. The little divers were good too; their little flippers actually moved pretty well when you pushed them under.
The Not-So-Good Stuff
Now, the “self-swimming” shark sub? Total dud. It kinda just… sat there. Buzzzzzz sound, moved maybe two inches, bumped the tub side, spun around. That was it. Bit of a letdown. Kid poked it twice and moved on. Then the squid launcher… yeah. You load this rubber squid thing, pull back, launch it. It flies, skims the water surface, goes nowhere near the “underwater action” and knocks over one of the pirate figures. Kid thought it was hilarious chaos. My kitchen floor got soaked.
Playtime Chaos & Final Thoughts
Kiddo went nuts mixing all the sets. Pirate ship attacked the treasure chest divers. Shark sub eventually got dragged around on a string. Water everywhere, obviously. Took about, I dunno, half an hour before attention started wandering.
Here’s My Quick Ranking
- Treasure Chest: Absolute hit. Simple, cool effect, lots of replay.
- Pirate Ship: Solid base for all the stories. Floated great.
- Diver Figures: Good quality, played with them loads.
- Squid Launcher: Soggy disaster, but kid laughed. More mess than fun.
- Shark Sub: Just didn’t work. Skip this one.
Overall, worth the mess? Yeah, for that treasure chest alone. Kept the kiddo busy and sparked his imagination big time. Would I do it again? Only if we move the tub to the bathroom first! My socks were wet for hours. Remember, it’s all fun until mom steps on a plastic coin! Pirate adventure complete.