Dora Links School Playset Review

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I know there are people who are down on Dora Links.

Let me say this... even with the difficulty downloading Dora Links, it is WAY worth the trouble!

This is THE present at Chrstmas and the one that gets played with over and over again. I don't mind shelling out the cash if the toy gets played with constantly, and this one does.

Here are some tips if you are looking to buy Dora or in this case, accessories for Dora Links:

This product (the school) is as integral to the website navigation as the Dora Links is herself. You hook the locker that comes in this item up to your computer with a USB cable (not included but it is a standard cable... the same cable that we received in my other daughter's present, a leapfrog product... I think it is the same USB cable that you hook cameras up to your computer also) and this allows Dora to explore the school. The Dora Links doll allows you to explore the town. To have full navigation you plug both the locker in this playset and the Dora Links doll up to your computer at the same time.

You do not have to have this product to play with Dora Links, just like technically you don't have to have the Dora Links to play with other Dora Explorer Girls add ons but it really doesn't make as much sense when you are playing with the things... all the add ons are like individual activities if you don't buy the key components (that allow for the exploration of the city/beach/park and the school).

If you are downloading the Dora Links do it from the website (doralinks dot com) not from the cd that comes with the Dora Links doll. We could not get the cd to work and I see a lot of other people couldn't either so don't waste your time.

It takes a while to load, even on high speed internet so be prepared for this to take a good portion of the hour. If you don't waste your time with the cd some of this time will be alleviated. Do the downloading before you give the gift as is mentioned in some other reviews on Dora Links. Again, it is worth the trouble and if you have trouble with the downloading, I say it is worth it to pay someone else to download it if you must. (My daughter is a kindergartener and she is having an awesome time with her Dora Links, school, art room, cafeteria, Dora Friends, and the fashions that come with the whole Dora Links collection. My second grader loves playing with her also.)

DON'T chintz on buying the Dora Links doll... there are two Dora dolls in this collection and the more expensive doll is the Dora doll you want in order to explore the town/beach/park. The other Dora doll is like buying one of the friends... you are just going to be able to unlock two activities if you buy that doll (this is the only part of the dora collection that my daughter doesn't have, so I am deducing this from looking at the map when she plays it and seeing what she can't "unlock")

The dolls are of VERY high quality... the hair on the friends are so nice! The fashions that you buy as add ons to the collection are of very high quality. Worth the money!

My daughter is a kindergartener and is one who likes to play with dollhouses... this seems to be the "next step" for her in that type of play. Because the girls have this Puerto Verde "life" online I see her playing more with the dolls than her Barbies because of that interaction. (Similar to seeing her play more with her Webkinz stuffed animals than I do typical stuffed animals.)

Lastly, if you don't want to buy the addons (like some people have complained about on the Dora Links dolls reviews) you might want to skip the whole doll purchase. Your daughter will see the areas of the website that she can't get into (there will be a locked icon showing when you go to click on that part of the website) and there might be some disappointment. Like I said earlier, my daughter has everything but two of the outfits (the ones that are target exclusives) and one of the friends (we are waiting for it to arrive from Amazon) and the other Dora and I played it for more than an hour and I didn't get quite through all the activities on the website (and this didn't include the mysteries that you solve because my daughter hasn't played with the mysteries yet so I didn't want to explore them before she did). There is a TON of stuff and lots of variety of the website if you buy the components of the collection... well worth the money invested especially since she plays with the dolls quite a bit on their own in addition to playing online.

(P.S. We have dialup internet and she can still play... I had to take my hard drive to someone's house to download the initial Dora setup... then when I downloaded the updates (new mysteries, etc) I installed an internet download manager so that if the download got disconnected because of the dial-up internet that we use I didn't have start back at square one. You are hooked up to the internet when you play on the computer but I notice no problems with playing with this with a dial-up connection. I think it would be next to impossible to download the innitial set-up without doing it with a high speed connection.)

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I really didn't find many reviews for the school itself, so I thought I'd write one.

Fist let me say that I agree with the previous viewer. The school is almost as much an integral part of this as the Dora doll herself. It unlocks the 2 main hallways, homeroom, homeroom puzzle game and 3 mysteries. If you are going to invest in the school then you will also need the other rooms other wise most of it is locked. Currently, they have the art room and cafeteria. My daughter loves the pizza game. It looks like there will be at least 2 more rooms available soon. The library and the music room. So yes..mattel will continue to bleed us dry with add-ons.

Initially we could not get the school to work. My locker was not being recognized. After talking to mattel consumer service...we came to the conclusion that it was defective.

In addition to the code, you must plug the locker up to your computer as well. A USB cord is required and is not provided with this purchase. It is a standard USB plug like the one you received with the actual Dora doll. Do NOT however use the one for the Dora doll. According to mattel this will cause confusion with the software and will not allow the locker driver to be recognized and the software to download.

You also must plug in BOTH the doll and the locker at the same time for it to work properly. Although Mattel told me no, they were wrong because you need the doll for Dora and to utilize the other parts of the town.

Once we were aware of all of this and exchanged our school for a new one, we had no issues and it works fine.

My daughter is 3 and pretty computer savvy for her age. She does however need help with some of the activities. We currently have everything except for the Target exclusive items, which looks like it unlocks the last 4 things. Personally..yes, my daughter loves it, but I do not necessarily think it was worth the total price. I believe all of the pieces cost us roughly around two hundred and fifty dollars. Each item seems to only unlock 1 or 2 things for the most part and I just feel that mattel could have given us a lot more for the money. I hope for additions without having to dish out more money, but I know that won't happen.

At this point I feel the Barbie Dream Town home we bought her for half the price plus free remote control car was a better value.

I expected something like webkinz where you buy the main item and it would unlock most of the world and keep your child happy. This is just not so. Like the other reviewer said, if you don't plan on investing in all or most of the other accessories then this is probably not the set for you as your child will probably become frustrated at all the locked locations.

I do have to say that dolls themselves are beautiful and well made. My daughter loves all of them and sleeps with them ALL...everynight. They are a bit heavy, but I don't think that matters much.

The school on the other hand is a bit flimsy and I don't think she will play with the set that much. With the exception of the locker we left everything tied in the box. It makes for a cute playroom and gives it a bit more stability.

I hope this will help someone!

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Copied from comments on another review, since they pertain to WHY/HOW we went through so much to get it working:

Our problems began 1/18/10 the code for the school was acknowledged as entered, but it just won't recognize the physical locker being plugged in (it connects via USB, just like the Dora Links doll. A little frustrated after having spent the money, got the school, unpacked it all (and it made me long for Amazon's "frustration free packaging!"), entered the code to set it up . . . and the school is still 'locked' online. Bummer. Alas, their customer service department is closed for MLK (which I respect, it's just tough to explain to my daughter why she'll just have to wait to play with such a large portion of her birthday present!).

She's loving the doll, and the physical school (she's really enjoying playing with the desk, etc, and so far it looks like it will hold up well), and the components of the online world she can explore. I just know that the school will add so much to the whole thing . . . once we can get it working!

Update since I spoke with CS today (1/19/10): Still not working. Replaced the batteries (even though the 'old' set was working for the audio, just in case). Tried the reset button (on the top of the back of the locker). Shut down and restarted the software, to no avail. We were able to tell that the code is in (tried re-entering it and got a message that it's already active) and that the component is hooked up (through our XP control panel, it recognizes and shows the device as active), but the school still shows as 'locked' for us. Apparently it is being escalated and they'll call me back within 48hrs. Hopefully we can get it working, because she's REALLY loving the doll and online world!

Update 1/22/10: After a bit of phone tag w/ CS (they called yesterday, I wasn't able to call back til today), they took some more info about my computer and are emailing me a return label to send the locker back to them. Apparently their engineers want to look at it and determine the source of the problem. I'm not entirely clear on whether they will immediately send out a new replacement (certainly my preference, seeing as we've had this now for over a week already and haven't been able to use it yet), or whether they will wait to determine the problem, fix it, and then send it back. The CS folks have been *incredibly* nice, but I'll admit I'm getting annoyed at all the delays it's a $20 toy that we'll be waiting weeks to actually play with!

Update 2/11/10: So, the mailing label arrived via email on 1/25/10, and it was shipped back 1/30/10 (couldn't get to the USPO til then, as I needed to go to the PO to get an official stamp from them that I had in fact given it to them for shipment). Called CS today and learning that they had received it 2/4/10. However, they apparently open packages by date received (makes sense) and they are currently "on 1/22/10" which means it will be several more days til they get to my package. At that time, the CS rep said they will send out a new School Set to replace ours.

Granted 5 days of delay are my fault, since it took me that long to get to the USPO (couldn't just drop it off or have it picked up), but all said and done we're looking at well over a month without a toy that we've already paid for and that my daughter has been waiting to play with (as patiently as a child can!).

Update 2/15/10: Got an email from FP today telling me that my request had "been received and is being processed." And that I "will receive an additional email, including shipment information and an estimated delivery timeframe, once your order has shipped."

Update 2/23/10: The good news is: I finally received the replacement school yesterday. The BAD news is: it does NOT seem to want to work either. I've reset it, replaced the batteries, verified that the USB port is recognizing the HID (ie. the computer knows it's plugged in), re-entered the code (only to be told it's already there) . . . and yet, the school remains locked and unplayable. This is feeling more and more ridiculous with each passing week!!! I will call customer service (again), but they're not yet open for today . . ..

And, for the final update now that it's finally up and working! After MUCH messing with the locker, and lots of back and forths with FP and our Fios service, it still didn't seem to work . . . until I gave it one more shot, and it 'miraculously' worked. Hadn't done anything different, but sort of like 'reboot' it seemed to do the trick (no matter how illogical it may have been). It's worked for weeks now w/o problem (the software has done another 'update' once when we signed on, so maybe that rectified something?). Anyway, the school is now unlocked and my daughter is LOVING it.

The accessories do add up but keep an eye out for sales. We got the doll on an Amazon Lightning Deal, and the school and 2 school sets (cafeteria and art room) locally on clearance sales (after Christmas). The other accessories are often on sale locally too (the small accessory sets for 5, outfits for 8, the 'friend' dolls for 15, etc). There are also other sets still to be released a library and dance studio 'room' as well as other outfits (ballet and charity ball). As much as she's enjoying playing with it, I can easily see this being an ongoing holiday/birthday idea.

Honest reviews on Dora Links School Playset

Bought it for my pre-schooler who is about to start kindergarten and she loves it! Well made. Worth the money.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Dora Links School Playset

My daughter (6 yr. old) received this for Christmas. It is great for her to pretend play with her Dora Links doll and Dora's friend Emma. She has only had it a few days, but should last a long time. I found the contrustion and materials to be of high quality. Be prepared to spend a good amount of time removing it from the packaging though!