May I have this dance Cinderella? (Tomy Cinderella Aquadraw)

Member Name: mumto3

Product:	Tomy Cinderella Aquadraw
Date:	02/03/09 (372 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No mess- easy to set up- portable - works as if by magic!

Disadvantages: The tune!

My daughter recently celebrated her 5th birthday and as a gift we bought her a Disney Cinderella Aquadraw playmat.

I had been looking at the Aquadraw mats for a long time and had asked for the travel version for my youngest son for Christmas. While in Woolworths before Christmas I saw the Disney Princess version of the mat with 20% off in their closing down sale. I paid £19.99 for the Princess mat but I think they usually retail at anything up to £29.99.

Luckily no-one bought the travel mat for my youngest son so when my daughter opened the Cinderella mat on her birthday it was a new and exciting toy for all three of my children. I have two sons who like to play with the mat and they aren't bothered that it is pink and has princesses on it.

The mat is quite big when it is laid out and measures approximately 100cm x 90cm. The edge is pink and decorated with ribbons and glass slippers and birds and the centre is white. You get a writing pen and a star patterned roller with the mat. Both the pen and the roller need to be filled with water before you start. You also receive a figurine of Cinderella and Prince Charming in a dancing pose. Cinderella needs 2 x AA batteries which fit into the base, you will need a screwdriver to insert the batteries. You do not get any batteries with the mat so remember to buy some if this is intended as a gift.

Once you have inserted the batteries and filled your pens with water you are ready to play. The mat is made up of two layers. The bottom layer is pink in this case and the top layer is white. When you apply water to the top layer of the mat the pink colour from the bottom layer shows through as if by magic! You can draw pictures with the pen and draw a track with the roller. The dancing figures are activated with an on/off switch and when placed onto the mat they follow the wet areas and appear to dance around. If you have drawn tracks and pictures onto the mat the figures will sometimes follow your picture instead of the track. If they reach the end of a soaked area they spin around until the sensor picks up another wet area and then they go in that direction. All the time the figurine is repeatedly playing a short tune. Once the water dries out your picture is gone and the mat is clear for you to start again. I find it is best to leave it to dry unfolded as it can take a while to dry if you pack it away.

My daughter really enjoys playing with the princess Aquadraw and has used it frequently since her Birthday last month. I am glad I didn't pay £30 for it because this seems far too expensive to me. You can get it cheaper if you shop around or if you buy a different version of the Aquadraw mat. My younger children are 3 and 1 year old and although they are both boys they also enjoy the Aquadraw.

Aquadraw mats are available from Toy R Us, Argos and many toy stores. They come in travel versions and a multicoloured version. I think there is a Thomas the Tank Engine version like the Cinderella one but obvioulsy for boys. In this version a train follows a track around the mat.

There is no mess, no paint, and no fuss with this toy. It is easy to store and dry and there aren't loads of pieces that can be lost or broken. It is quick to set up and keeps them amused until there are no white bits left. The tune does get a bit annoying after a while but there are so many toys that make noise these days that you soon don't notice it!

I would recommend the Aquadraw Princess mat to anyone with a little princess who likes to draw!

Summary: A great toy to keep them entertained