Ocean Wonders Musical Aquarium Crib Attachment
by Fisher-Price
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Our Price: $94.98 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $26.98 (click here) Category: Baby Product See more product details |
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Baby Products Reviews of Ocean Wonders Musical Aquarium Crib Attachment
Customer Review: Didn't meet my expections...
Summary: 3 Stars
I really wanted to like this toy. I typically like Fisher Price toys the best because I think they are very well thought out and great quality. While the quality of this toy is nice, in my mind it has some downfalls to it. Here is my list of Pros & Cons for the Ocean Wonders Aquarium.
Pros:
-Attractive, fish are cute, gender neutral (doesn't look like it belongs solely in a boy only or girl only room), nice colors.
-The music is soothing, not harsh, and the volume is fully adjustable. Many toys have a low and high volume setting, this toy has a dial.
-My son (7.5 months old) lit up when he saw it in his crib and sat in front of it to play. He is a rough boy and even though he tried his best to tug it away from the side, it remained snug on the rail.
-Easy for baby to start and re-start in ANY mode.
Cons:
-The 10 minutes of play (which is crucial for my baby to fall asleep to) is ONLY the lights and music, NO swimming, NO bubbles. If you want the fish to move and/or the bubbles, that setting only plays for 5 minutes. Nine out of ten times that is not enough time for my baby to fall asleep, he has another toy of this sort and the main thing he likes is watching the fish while falling asleep(more about this toy below). If I just wanted music for him to fall asleep to, I would play a CD. So...
>Setting 1 - Music only, plays TEN minutes
>Setting 2 - Music and lights, plays TEN minutes
>Setting 3 - Music, lights, bubbles, swimming fish, plays only for FIVE minutes.
-The battery pack mounts outside of the crib. This sticks out past the crib 2-3 inches. Since the backside of our crib is solid, not slatted, the toy has to mount on the front side of the crib. Not only is it unattractive, but easy to brush up against or bump into. Also pushes down on crib bumper which is also just unattractive, but not a danger that I'm aware of.
-The motor is very loud. I thought his other toy like this was loud, but this one has it beat. Altough I put fresh batteries in, it made a sound like "reeereeewrrrreee" as if the motor was struggling to move the fish. On the lower volume setting the motor drowns out the music.
Had I known these things, I probably wouldn't have bought the toy, however, since I did, I will probably remove it from the crib and put it on the floor for him to play with.
Here is the toy I like a little better. It is the Baby Einstein Neptune Soothing Sea Aquarium. It is not perfect and also has some downfalls to it, but the feature that we need - TWELVE! minutes of music, lights, and swimming fish - it has. I like the looks of this toy much better and my son enjoys playing with Neptunes head and feet, but the buttons aren't as easy to play with and baby can only start/re-start the music if it is in 'Play' mode. If you had it in 'On' mode (which is the mode that plays for 12 minutes) for baby to fall asleep to, and didn't switch it back to 'Play' mode (which you'd only be able to do if you quietly sneak in and switch it while he's asleep), then baby can't turn on the music. The OWA is much easier to re-start by baby. This makes no difference for a very young baby, but one that wants to play after waking will not like that. Despite the fact that I like the Baby Einstein better, I would still only give it a three star rating just as I have done for the OWA because I don't feel like it is the perfect crib toy for baby & parents.
Customer Review: This toy brought out the worst in me - HATE AND ANGER!!
Summary: 2 Stars
I cannot believe a TOY could make me this mad. I actually had to wait a few days to write this review so I could calm down and not use expletives.
So I bought this two months ago, after watching how much a friend's daughter - who has a different model than this new one! - loves her aquarium. I tried to install it on my daughter's crib and halfway through had to ask my husband for help. It is absolutely ridiculous how this is supposed to attach to a crib! FIRST there are plastic belts attached to the aquarium that you have to wrap around the crib slots - they are tough to get to snap together but I thought, OK, that's fine, its for the safety of the child, whatever, I can get over that part. THEN there is a separate, large battery pack that attaches to the aquarium after you have it wrapped on the crib. So my first thought is, I have to take this battery pack apart every time the three D batteries die? Are you kidding? But OK, it is for my daughter and I cannot be lazy, be a good mom I tell myself, and get over it. So I'm trying to get the battery pack to attach and find that there are four hidden screws under the batteries that are *way* deep inside the battery compartment that I have to somehow line up correctly to screw the battery pack to the aquarium so that it stays together. I couldn't get the screws in so my husband did it. Awful engineering, I tell myself, but it is for my daughter so get over it. That night, I put our daughter to bed and turn the aquarium on, falsely thinking its going to be "soothing," as described. Obnoxious is a better description! It's loud and awkward and my daughter was laughing and playing with it all night. So two hours later I decide enough is enough and I try to take the aquarium off her crib. I couldn't get the stupid screws out of the battery pack! If I could have broke it off her crib, I would have, I was so frustrated at this point. The screwdriver has to go so deep into the holes where the screws are hidden that you can't see what you are doing. So its late, my daughter is laughing at me thinking I'm playing with her when really I'm trying not to curse the stupid aquarium out, and my husband is steering clear because I'm on the floor sweating trying to get the plastic belts unsnapped to get the aquarium OFF and get my daughter to bed! Finally, it all comes apart. My daughter is in bed, the ridiculous toy is under her crib, its parts everywhere and I think I'm going to toss it out the window.
It gets better. The fool that I am, I must have forgot how mad I was because yesterday I decided to be a nice mom and put her toy back up for her since she's starting to move around her crib and give her something nice to look at and do while she's in her crib. It will sound dramatic, but I'm not exaggerating: I went through the exact same exercise as I did the first time I put this aquarium up and had it in pieces on the floor again an hour later. That's twice I cursed out a toy - but no more, I'm done with it!
So I have better things to do than write a long detailed description about my adventures with a toy but I needed to vent. This new aquarium is absurd and its assembly is unreasonable. I'm looking on eBay for an older version without the loud noises and flashing lights and most importantly without the dreadful battery pack. My advice: do the same thing if you are thinking of buying this and save yourself a fight with an aquarium.
Customer Review: Very disappointing
Summary: 2 Stars
We bought the original, first generation Ocean Wonders Aquarium, and received this one as a gift. For starters, we weren't impressed with the larger, clunky size of this newer version or the fact that the battery compartment is a separate compartment that you have to screw onto the main body from outside of the crib -- that feature really limited where we could attach it to the crib. Because of the way the battery compartment attaches, we had to attach it to the headboard, which puts it up too high. Maybe it was just the one that we got, but when we first turned it on, it blew a few bubbles, and it's never blown any more bubbles since. The sea creatures "swim" around merry-go-round style, temporarily disappearing behind the background scenery as they go around. The movement seems even less realistic that the first version. They go around kind of slow and jerky. I agree with some others that the lighting is too bright, but it doesn't seem to bother our daughter. And while the volume control is a dial, it still seems like the volume is either too loud or too soft. The 2 "activity" knobs are very boring. Our daughter has never even bothered with them. The red knob spins around and has a little face on it to make it look like a crab. The other knob is a spinner ball similar to some cat toys. The activity knobs on the older version are more interesting -- when you spin the ball, the clam opens & closes his mouth & when you pull the switch down and let it go again, the star spins. The lighting on the older version is not as bright and the volume control dial seems to work better. Although we have both the 1st generation Ocean Wonders and this one attached to her crib, our daughter has always preferred the older version. We've had to replace the 1st generation Ocean Wonders Aquarium twice, as the motor does wear out eventually (after approx. a year of daily/nightly use), but it's the one she turns on first when she wakes up in the middle of the night and wants some familiar comfort, and she always tells us when it needs new batteries (she's 2 1/2 now). The first version is hard to find now, but it's definitely better than this one. Even if you can find a new, never removed from the box version of the 1st generation Ocean Wonders Aquarium, it might not work properly due to years of sitting with lack of use, but I still can't recommend this 2nd generation Ocean Wonders Aquarium. Maybe try the 3rd generation version instead. Or if you have a now defunct 1st generation Ocean Wonders Aquarium, get another one if you can find it -- you can use the defunct one for spare parts, gear belts & such.Customer Review: Great product and great gift!
Summary: 5 Stars
I should have written my review much sooner because we've been using this crib toy for about 20 months now and both the parents and baby love it!
Pay close attention to the "Product Description" of the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Musical Aquarium Crib Attachment, which states: "It Measures 13.38" x 4.5" x 11" and fits most standard cribs."
None of the 4-in-1 sleep systems or convertible style cribs are what is considered a "standard crib" for this definition. [...]
This will not fit cribs that have a really wide top rail, or what I call the "sleigh-type" rail (see D. Lovely's customer image). The rail that is shown in the manufacturer's picture is narrow similar to what the "standard" or "traditional" cribs have.
For those who have had trouble installing it, what about trying to attach it at the head or foot of the crib instead? That is where we installed ours because it seemed more logical than the sides of the crib in order for the baby to look at it and play with it, even though ours would fit on either of the head/foot or side rails.
Also take note that there are screws for both attaching the battery box to the toy itself and screws for the battery box cover. It seems some people did not find all of the screws or did not have the instructions, etc.
I really like the fact that the battery box unscrews from the toy itself in order to replace the batteries; it's much more convenient than having to remove the entire thing from the crib to reach the battery compartment. With this newer model (produced in 2005 and discontinued in 2007) it plays 4 songs or 2 sound effects for 10 minutes and has 3 modes of play with lights, movement, bubbles, and music. It even has two little toys - a rolling crab and a starfish in a ball for babies to roll and play with. For $30 (original retail price), I think it does quite a bit and has worked wonderfully for us. My child can now even turn it on and change the modes and music without mommy or daddy's help.
Customer Review: I love this version
Summary: 5 Stars
I have the "old" version (not the famous one that projects, but the rectangular one) for my first baby... she still uses it so I went and bought one for my son, but then I was intrigued by the moving fish, it seems so much more interesting!
I went and bought this version despite the bad reviews on here because I have nothing else to do, and because I've noticed my son LOVES to look at stuff like this, he enjoys crib toys nad mobiles more than SHE ever did.
There is nothing wrong with this one, either on its own or compared to the older one. The music sounds better, and the songs are different to me. The lights and bubble mode is great! I don't have a loud motor/bubbler, at least not as loud as my daughter's but it might change with age, who knows.
It was very easy to set up and I love how it's set up. If you follow the directions you will be fine. First you attach it to the crib with the straps, then tie the little ropey thing to a slat, and then you take the battery pack, open it, push those little black screws "in," plug it in, and then take an eyeglass screwdriver or one with a thin shaft, and you have to screw it to the toy through the slats. If you are complaining that it falls off that means you didn't screw it in. Then put the batteries in and screw the door closed and you're done. I love this because now I don't have to take the whole thing off just to change the batteries, and god knows those plastic straps are a pain to do!
The fish moving in this one are really cute, they go around in a little parade. Visually appealing, not so simple. Sure it's not a soother in that aspect but you can turn it off and use music only. The "toys" on it do leave much to be desired, but I'm not a baby. I do know my daughter can entertain herself for hours just spinning the little ball on the old one. Think of it as baby tv.