Hatchimals WOW – REVIEW | AD

Christmas is coming and of course Spinmaster have to launch another awesome product in time, or should I say WOW product? Hatchimals WOW are the newest Hatchimals product to hit the market and we were so excited to test one out. My eldest as per usual had seen some videos on YouTube and was telling me exactly how we would be hatching this exciting creature! I was hoping that Hatchimals WOW would have the “WOW” factor, as my daughter told me amazing things about it’s neck growing tall and that it can be rehatched!

We are already huge Hatchimals fans in our house, after reviewing the Hatchimals Hatchibabies last Christmas. We also love the Hatchimals Pixies and Hatchimals CollEGGtibles too. Spinmaster seem to come up with something fabulous every Christmas, as was the Luvabella and Luvabeau interactive dolls the previous Christmas, which captured both my girls’ imaginations.

What would we think about Hatchimals WOW?

Hatchimals WOW Review

Before I even write the full review I am writing this here so it is seen early on.

Hatchimal WOW Not Working

The product has to be on a FLAT SURFACE or it doesn’t work. We spent ages playing with it on our carpet and it just would not do anything. I continually had purple eyes, which I believe is cuddle mode. We couldn’t get it to record our voices, we couldn’t get it to grow or feed with the fruit. We changed the batteries to a new set, as it is recommended after the first hatching and it still wasn’t doing anything. By chance we tried it on a table and after some follow-up advice IT WORKED!

A carpet is not flat enough. We used a table or worktop, so please bear this in mind or you may have some very disappointed kids. Trust me I was disappointed at the time! Another key point I’m writing early is don’t pick the Hatchimal up by it’s neck!

Right onto the full review.

More About Hatchimals WOW The Llalacorn

Hatchimals WOW boasts the largest and first-ever re-hatchable Hatchimals egg and contains a Llalacorn, which is part unicorn, part llama (how cute is that?), Hatchimals WOW is also the first Hatchimal to express its emotions through movement. The feature that my eldest was so excited for is it’s neck!! It can magically grow up to 32 inches (81.3 centimetres) tall or shrink down on its own. Hatchimals WOW is taller than my little man! Literally..

Inside the largest Hatchimals egg ever, you could hatch a pink or purple Hatchimals WOW in only 5 minutes! Then, extend the egg play and hatch again and again. I love this idea, as the magic isn’t over. Each time Llalacorn wakes up, she’ll be in 1 of 10 surprise moods!

The new Hatchimals WOW features over 250 sounds and reactions; so much to discover. She shrinks down when she’s held; chases her accessory up and down; sings along to music; grows tall to reach the high note and more!

Each Hatchimals WOW Includes: 1 Hatchimals WOW, 1 Re-Hatchable Egg, 1 Confetti Fruit Accessory, 1 Instruction Guide.

• Size H30.8cm.
• Batteries required: 4 x AA (included).
• 2 assorted characters to collect – 1 supplied.
• For ages 5 years and over and is not suitable for children under 3 years old.

It has an on-off switch underneath.

Hatching The Hatchimal WOW

The hatching of the Hatchimals WOW was quite quick and I have to say a little underwhelming. You can re-hatch it and it come back in a different mood which is original, however. You can tell the mood by its eye colour. For example, green it feels sick, blue it’s sad and needs comfort or teal, is chatty. My eldest did manage to do this BUT we both said we preferred the hatching process with the Hatchimals Hatchibabies.

The Hatching Process

You take the egg out of the box, and don’t forget the fruit which is hidden away in the corner of the box. Take the wrapper off the egg but not the wrapping around the middle of it.  There is some in-Egg play but it did seem quick! You can tap the egg and it will tap back, which is one of my favourite aspects. Yellow-eyes is when your Hatchimal is happy and playful. You can tilt it backwards and back to normal and to play but it’s eyes will go green (dizzy) and you need to hold upright and comfort. You can cuddle the egg and tilt backwards and the eyes go pink but if too long it will go to sleep with white eyes. There are a lot of features, as you can tell!

It can get hiccups with orange eyes or go cold with blue eyes but we didn’t see this before it hatched! The Hatchimal suddenly has rainbow eyes and you hear “ready to hatch music”. You then have to remove the ribbon band and it will hatch if upright. The top of the egg pops off and it sings “Happy Birthday”.

You can then remove the Hatchimal from the egg base and start to play! You can see on the picture below it is moving, as my eldest was removing it from it’s egg base.

Playing With the Product

How to Make The Hatchimal Grow

There are so many things you can do with your Hatchimals WOW. There is a comprehensive list in the instructions and I will highlight some of the things we managed to do, after we had figured out the Hatchimal needs to be on a flat surface.

The thing you want to do the most (well we did) is make it grow! There are various ways we had success with!

Quick touches to the belly. You tickle until the Hatchimal reaches the top and may get hiccups (orange eyes). You have to make a loud sound to scare the hiccups away and yellow eyes return.

You can do it with the fruit, by holding it against the Hatchimal’s head. It will chase the fruit upwards and back down, if you hold against its belly. However, we struggled to do this but have a read of the instructions.

Another way is to touch on of the toes three times. It should sink down and then if you tap the toes again it should grow. Stop tapping and it will sink. Again we struggled to do this but like anything, takes some practice.

Your Hatchimal will sneeze. It rises and says “ahh ahh!” If you touch their forehead it will move down. If it reaches the top will do a big sneeze, if hits the bottom, the sneeze goes away.

You can play Peek-a-Boo by putting the egg on top of its head.

Recording your voice is fun and we did manage this. You hold both of the Hatchimals feet and the eyes go a teal colour. Say what you want to say and let go of the feet. You can make your recording be on repeat on pitch up depending on holding toes or touching the forehead or belly.

Your Hatchimal will get scared with blue eyes, if you are quiet for a bit and then make a loud sound with your voice for two seconds to scare it. You just have to pet the back of its head to calm it down.

If you pet the of your Hatchimals head it may say “I love you” and coo. This is very cute.

Our Thoughts

Pros and Cons

The Pros and Cons of course can help you make a decision about whether or not you think this is the toy for your child, this Christmas.

PROS

– You can re-hatch the egg, which means the excitement continues and you can do this as many times as you want.

– The neck growing is brilliant and very funny. My little baby boy was fascinated and we all screamed the first time! This does give you the “WOW”.

– As the egg can re-hatch, there is much less waste. I found with previous Hatchimals product, the egg goes everywhere and it is a lot of plastic waste. The pink egg is re-usable and actually fun to play with in another context!

– It’s very cute and kids who love to care for something, will love it. Cuddling and playing with it.

– It’s a good sized product. All kids love something that is big and can actually grow as big as them!

– It’s really interactive and once figured out, is really good fun. It’s also good to play with your child for some time together.

CONS

– As I wrote right at the start, it has to be on a FLAT SURFACE. We spent AGES trying to get it work at the start, until given a tip! A flat surface is not a carpet, it is a table.

– The Hatching process was a little underwhelming, as discussed. I remember we were so excited with previous Hatchimals products, as it slowly hatched but this time it was quickly and not as fun.

– You can’t cuddle it and be close to it when you are playing with it, as it has to be on a flat surface.

– The instructions are so hard to decipher. As they cater for all languages, you have to wade through a lot, to find what you are looking for. Also they are complex! For example when recording your voice, there are so many things you can do and kids will need help with this.

– The price. As with most interactive products, it is not cheap, retailing at around £70. Even though it re-hatches, it is still a surprise toy and the novelty may wear off. Bear that in mind and make sure your child really wants one.

– My girls needed help with understanding how to work the product. I had to show them and my eldest is 6. Bear this in mind and you do need to read the instructions or perhaps watch a video for help.

Overall I have to say, I was a little disappointed with the Hatchimals WOW, in comparison to the Hatchimals Hatchibabies we reviewed last year. Even though it re-hatches there are a couple of niggles, such as it doesn’t work on carpet or when you are holding it and the hatching process is not as fun.

BUT it is an original product and you can have a lot of laughs when it is working. Kids will be WOWed. Just have a read of reviews and really decide if worth it for your child.

This year we have also tested out the fab Owleez flying Owl from Spinmaster, which is another fab toy for Christmas. You can read more in our review.

Disclosure – we were provided with this product in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.