Amazon.com Review:
The Fisher Price Dragon World Fortress will transport your child to a fantasy realm of magic, knights, and dragons. Designed for ages 3 and up, this play set features flashing lights, sound effects, and accessories that can provide hours of imaginative role-playing. Standout features include a moving guard dragon, a cannon that shoots projectiles, and a secret lever that will make the castle "come to life."

Dragon World Fortress Ages: 3+ Requires: 3 "AA" batteries (included)

What We Think Fun factor: Durability: Ease of assembly: Educational factor: The Good: Exciting fantasy theme that encourages imagination and role-playing. The Challenging: A bit top-heavy; could be easy to tip over. In a Nutshell: A large, well-designed play set that encourages creativity and role-playing.

A Medieval Adventure
At approximately two feet in height, Dragon World Fortress is filled with enough interactive features to keep active imaginations occupied. The play set comes with two knight figures, each with their own detachable sword, shield and armor. With these figures your child can pivot "activation points" on the play set, which can reveal hidden staircases and open the front gate.

Knights who dare to enter the Dragon World Fortress face many dangers. Pulling a lever on the back of the castle will cause the green guard dragon to lunge forward and attack intruders. The lever also triggers thunder sound effects and causes the entire castle to light up. There is also a cannon that fires plastic projectiles, and a rolling boulder that can be used to defend the staircases.

The fortress is constructed in solid, sturdy plastic. Parents, be aware that it is fairly easy to topple over due to its vertical design. However, this problem is remedied by folding out the hidden set of stairs underneath the castle, giving it the stability needed for rougher play.

Encourages Imagination
Dragon World Fortress channels a spirit of medieval adventure. It is full of movable objects and sounds, but still leaves plenty of room for constructive, imaginative play. The play set provides children with the tools needed for an immersive, imaginative experience.

What's in the Box
Fortress, two knight figures, two flags, two boulders, one bed, and one cannon with projectile.

The Dragon World Fortress has plenty of interactive parts, including a firing cannon. View larger.

The fortress is filled with adventure, peril, and booby traps at every turn. View larger.

Use the special "activation points" to open secret passageways and play back sounds. View larger.

Product Description:
Meet Spike, the dinosaur that kids bring to life at the touch of a button. He walks, he stands on his hind legs, he blinks, his mouth opens and closes, and his spikes even light up. You make it all happen with the easy-to-use remote control! Spike also makes lots of fun sounds, too. He growls, snorts, roars and more. Requires 3 "AA" alkaline batteries, not included. Also uses rechargeable 9.6 Volt NiMH battery, included (a retail value)! Spike stands 27" tall.
Amazon.com Review:
The pre-historic world comes roaring to life with the Spike the Ultra Dinosaur, an Imaginext toy from Fisher-Price. Flashing lights, blinking eyes, and grunting dino speak make this big, green remote-control dinosaur a fun companion for adventurous play. Rugged and curious, Spike has a quirky personality that will draw children ages three through 10 into an exciting world of their own imagining.

Spike stands on his hind legs, waves his tail, and roars. View larger.

Big, illustrated buttons make the remote control kid-friendly. View larger.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Dynamic remote-control dinosaur with lights and sound effects The Bad: Large size makes traveling with Spike tricky In a Nutshell: An awesome new friend for imaginative kids At a Glance Ages: 3 to 10 Requires: 3 AA batteries

A Fearsome New Friend
This awesome oversized, plastic dinosaur stands 27 inches tall, with textured green skin, a yellow underbelly, gnarly teeth, and plenty of serious spines--enough to make any young dino-enthusiast swoon. Before Spike is ready to roam the Earth, you'll need to snap his legs and tail into place. These pieces are color coded to prevent confusion, and the instruction booklet offers a nice illustration. Make sure all three connection points on each front leg are securely attached, otherwise he'll struggle to walk.

You'll also want to fully charge the included NiMH rechargeable battery before kids get their hands on this dinosaur, a process which may take up to four hours. With all the use Spike will be getting, you'll enjoy the long life of this power solution. The convenient wireless remote requires three AA batteries (not included) for operation.

Innovative and Easy to Control
As soon as you turn him on, spikes on this long-necked dinosaur's back and tail light up, and he starts blinking his eyes. Big, kid-friendly buttons on the durable remote control let you make Spike walk forward, turn left or right, and swing his neck around. At first he can be a little tricky to maneuver, but with just a few moments of practice, he becomes incredibly easy to control.

Holding down any one of the four middle buttons unleashes a new action. Pick between having him stand on his hind legs, swinging his neck around while unleashing a huge roar, or hanging his head low. Another button controls the motion of his jaw. Practice combining movements to snatch up the plastic boulders off the ground or toss them in the air (a skill we never perfected). There's even a mystery button that lets Spike pick any motion he wants to perform. Press it again and again to get a sense of his playful nature. Two modes let you pick between having continuous background music accompany play or just hearing occasional growls, snorts, and roars.

Durable and Adventurous
The well-crafted Spike was still going strong, even after our vigorous testing. We crashed him into table legs trying to make him crawl over obstacles that were just too high, and even though he might not have been happy about the way we dropped the remote control repeatedly, he kept right on doing all those dinosaur things that make him a fun addition to any family. While this ultra dinosaur held up well in the face of vigorous use, he could succumb to the rough reality of enthusiastic play and be damaged by children sitting on him or pulling apart his otherwise sturdy joints.

Spike's large size makes him a great outdoor playmate, but be sure to warn kids that, since he is battery-operated, he shouldn't play in streams or jump in puddles. Cooperative kids will love putting their heads together to think up new places for their friend dinosaur to explore. The height and length that make Spike so much fun may make it hard for smaller children to carry him around, especially if they are headed to a far off relative's house. While this dinosaur is recommended as a companion for children three through 10, even adults are likely to be charmed by Spike's fun-loving personality.

What's in the Box
Dinosaur, remote control, 9.6V NiMH rechargeable battery, battery charger, two plastic rocks, and a plastic bone.