Disney Imagicademy Mickey's Rocket Builder

By Disney Publishing Worldwide
Price $29.99
Age 3-8 yrs.

This is an awfully fun toy, whether or not kids choose to access the free app-enhanced play. It has a miniature Mickey at the helm who talks, hums, and engages children in play, and 21 colorful pieces that can be swapped out and reshuffled to create custom rocket ships with over 1,000 unique combinations. This makes for some dexterous, creative fun. Variously-shaped wings, boosters, nose cones, and landing gear form configurations so colorful and imaginative they might have sprung from the pages of a Disney app. Speaking of apps, the free Mickey's Magical Math World app detects the toy and generates a virtual version that looks just like the one kids create in the real world. Swap out a green circular wing for a blue rectangular one and, bingo, the same thing happens to the virtual version. It's a sweet bit of magic that kids never tire of seeing. The app contains numerous Rocket Builder-related fun and games that teach shapes, counting, and physical manipulation. The real-world toy also has buttons on the cab that generate playful sound effects and let kids pick up tiny aliens along the way.