You see them in every toy section. Surprise box toys/collectibles. I’ve wondered just how worth the cost some of these toys are so I decided to check out a few of them to find out.
When looking at the options, I went on quality, overall value, eco-friendliness, child-friendliness, and collectability.
Here are the ones I decided to check out:
- Doorables Multi Peek by Disney
- Ryan’s Super Spy World Console
- Love, Diana
- Monopoly Surprise Tokens
- Cutetitos
Doorables Multi Peek by Disney
I have high hopes for this one because I’m a Disney dork. What I’m expecting is storytelling, quality items, and collectability. The cost of a multi peek series set is $11 retail, so on average you’re paying $2 or less per figure depending on how many you get in the pack (it varies between five and seven). 4/5 for value.
This one is rated for ages five and up. This is not something you can hand to your five-year-old and let them have fun with by themselves because it requires scissors to open the individual bags. 3/5 for child-friendliness.
I found the actual figures to be cute and just the right size for what they are. I also liked how I could go on Facebook and join collectors groups to trade my doubles. There are easy-to-find, rare, and ultra-rare Doorables figures. Each series has a set number of different ones to collect. 5/5 for collectibility.
When you open the door you are greeted by a purple plastic bag with a figure in it. This is the only part of these figures that I did not like. There is already a plastic and cardboard casing you have to open to get to them and now you have to open a plastic bag on top of it? Considering Disney just went to 100% cardboard boxes for their dolls, you’d think they could do the same for the Doorables. 2/5 for eco-friendliness.
I found these on Amazon and at Target.
Ryan’s Super Spy World Golden Console
I’m not sure what to expect of this one. On the packaging itself, it tells you the type of items included, and first looks do not have me impressed.
This one is rated for ages 3 and up. Depending on the maturity of your three-year-old, I disagree with that. There are some tiny pieces in this box. 3/5 for child-friendliness.
The quality of the items inside ranges from good to the dollar store. A three-year-old might find the contents fun. 3/5 for quality.
You get a guaranteed 13 items so at a retail price of $25 that puts each item at around $2 each. Not bad considering, like I said, the quality of the items you get. Maybe because this is aimed at such a low age range they figured they could get away with simpler and cheaper items? 2/4 for value.
The box is cardboard and there are no plastic bags to open so they get a 5/5 for eco-friendliness.
There is no collectibility for this one but there is not meant to be one so I’m skipping that score for this one.
This product is available on Amazon.
Love, Diana Mystery Music Trunk
Because I don’t have young kids, this is another one I’m in the dark about. All I know is the toy line is based on a young YouTuber and there are non-surprise items in her toy line.
The mystery music trunk promises 17 surprises including a wand key, Diana figure, a charm bracelet, charms, a tiara, a ring, pretend lipstick, a tutu, and stickers. The quality of the items was better than Ryan’s World but not sure I would pay the retail price of $49.99 for it. Especially since the trunk will not hold anything but what it comes with. It’s good quality though. 4/5 for quality.
On average you are paying around $3 per item. Of all the boxes I’ve checked out so far, this one has the highest cost but the highest number of prizes. They lose a point for the lack of trading value. If you get doubles, it’s off to the donation pile they will go. 3/5 for value.
The trunk itself is plastic but some of the surprises are also wrapped in plastic bags. Like the Doorables, this seems overkill and could frustrate their demographic. I don’t see the trunk as something that can hold other items easily so you are limited in its use, which is surprising with how big it is. 3/5 for eco-friendliness.
This one frustrated me and I’m an adult. The instructions to open the trunk are printed on a “music sheet” on the underside of the cardboard cover. This could frustrate some younger kids who can’t read. And if the child locks the key inside the trunk (like I did by mistake), it takes some effort to open it up again. There’s also the issue of the plastic bags that some of the surprises are in so scissors are required to open the bags. Again, not small child-friendly. 2/5 for child-friendliness.
There is no collectibility for this one but there is not meant to be one so I’m skipping that score for this product.
You can purchase this product at Target.
Monopoly Token Box and Chest
Monopoly is a game many families will know. And some will have had the same arguments I had with my own over who got what token at the start of the game.
The cost of the mystery chest is $9.99 at Walmart and gets you at least 10 pieces, most of them are metal. That brings it to $1 per piece. I received some tokens, some coins, a metal piece of $100,000, and some houses in my chest. In my box, I received five pieces varying in tokens to coins and the cost of the box retails at around $6. 5/5 for value.
The tokens are cute and with most of the pieces being metal they are of good quality. 5/5 for quality.
There are pieces that are common, rare, and ultra-rare, but there are no Facebook groups that are dedicated to the trading of duplicate pieces. You would need to buddy up with someone else collecting on your own to trade with. 3/5 for collectibility.
Each box is wrapped in cardboard that you then have to penetrate to get to a plastic bag to rip open. I find the plastic bag to be overkill. The chest you at least have a container to keep your tokens in and if you’re going to collect these things it’s a great place to start. They do, however, do the plastic bags inside of the chest as well. Bummer. 3/5 for eco-friendliness.
Honestly, I don’t see a parent giving this one to a child who is not old enough to play the game. It is more of an adult thing than a kid’s, because of that, no score on child-friendliness.
You can purchase this product at Walmart.
Cutetitos
Cutetitos are stuffed animals wrapped like burritos. There are four different animals in each series to collect. There is one common, one rare, and two ultra-rare to find. They have cutie mark like emblems on their butts that smell of a sweet scent that goes along with their character. I’d put the age range here at around three years old. They average about $9.99 per pack (one plushie per pack). 5/5 for value.
They are soft and smell sweet. Even as an adult, these appealed to me a little. I can see a child being smitten with them. 5/5 for quality.
You won’t see any trading groups for these and there are only four different characters you can get so you are more likely to end up with doubles than the other surprise toys I’ve mentioned so far. Their cuteness makes up for that though. Some kids might like to trade these among themselves. 3/5 for collectability.
There is hardly any waste in these with only a plastic bag and then a piece of paper wrapping the head of the plushie so you can’t decipher what you get in the store prior to purchase. 4/5 for eco-friendliness.
The plastic bag the plushie is in is notched and easy to open. The paper around the plushie’s head is easy to remove. Just hand this one to your child, with maybe a little bit of a head start on ripping it open, and they will be happy to play. 5/5 for child-friendliness.
You can purchase this product at Target.
Conclusion: Who Ranks Out On Top?
Of all the toys, Disney’s Doorables is by far my favorite. I like how I can go on Facebook and join groups to sell or trade my extras for others that I want. My second favorite in terms of score would be the Cutetitos because they are cute, smell good, and are eco-friendly. Monopoly is a fun one if you play the game a lot and want a unique token to play with or to take your own token to a friend’s house to play. Ryan’s Super Spy World and Love, Diana just didn’t do it for me overall. They mean well but the quality of what you get for the price is not quite there.
Disclaimer: GeekMom received review samples.
