Fisher-Price Imaginext Spike the Ultra Dinosaur

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 $25 retail value)! Spike stands 27" tall.

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.

This toy was the only thing my 6yr old daughter asked for from santa and I was skeptical but she is very happy with it! I think the price is crazy and would have rather spent the money on a nintendo DS but she wanted this. It is really huge and loud. It really isn't easy to pick things up with his mouth either. Overall no matter what I think my daughter loves Spike!!!

We love this product. I say "we" because we play with it as much as our 2-year old. He rushes to turn him on first thing every morning. Sometimes when we wake Spike from sleep mode via the remote, he crows like a rooster. Has anyone else seen this? I have never found a mention of it online. Wondering what other fun secrets he has in store for us? Highly recommended.

What a fun toy! Spike joined our family on Christmas morning and was an instant hit! He's much louder than I had expected, but the sound effects are awesome! He was played with non-stop for the first two days, but has sat-out the last day or so ... 'not sure why, although my son has been caught up in his other presents. I'd say that Spike is definitely worth the money, though. He's so original!

We purchased Spike for our 3 1/2 year old grandson; it was a big hit for two days until the mouth wouldn't open. We exchanged Spike for a new one - the battery would only charge for less than a minute. Back to the store for a third Spike; this one works - for now. Spike is very impressive and enjoyed by our grandson, but we would appreciate more reliability from Fisher Price.Fisher-Price Imaginext Spike the Ultra Dinosaur

Spike was a Christmas gift. If he worked right, he'd be great fun. We are having the same problem others have of Spike only responding to the remote once or twice before having to be woken up by pushing the button on his back. Not FP's fault, but the remote also sets off my talking smoke/CO detector. My 4 year old is very disappointed. Spike is going back and I'm trying to talk him into getting something else. A $100+ toy should not have these widespread problems out of the box.