Early Learning Centre HappyLand Double Decker Bus

I love Happyland. They are like Fisher Price's Little People but slightly more diverse. Many of their sets are themed, such as the set released to coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and can be put together to create a whole, wide wotrld of imaginative play! And they work pretty much aside Little People so you can, if you want (and we do), play with both sets alongside each other.

This Double Decker open top bus is just one of several similar sets that can be bought at the lower end of the price spectrum. We didn't buy this for my daughter, it was a present from my Dad who was born and grew up in London, but I believe from looking at other peoples reviews and hunting online that it was priced at around £16 so very reasonable indeed!

The bus is a good size and very well representitive of the traditional, now-iconic open-top Double-Decker red London bus. It even comes with Union Jack stickers along the side and a big number 10 at the front!

It holds 12 Happyland characters including the driver, who all slot into perfectly aligned holes especially designed to hold them in place and stop them all falling about when the vehicle is in motion. Entrance to the bus is obtained by way of an open door at the back of the vehicle exactly like on a real London Bus and not only that but the top section lifts out easily to make putting your little people in the lower deck a lot more easier! This is a great idea and one that makes life a whole lot easier though it can be a bit tricky for my daughter to slot it in just right and sometimes I do have to help her!

Thanks to two AA batteries, the bus also makes a variety of sounds. Pressing on the steering wheel makes either a Vroom-Vroom noise for the engine, a Ding-Ding noise for the bell or a Honk-Honk for the bus horn to get jay-walking Happy-landers out of the way quicker!

My daughter loves this and it is a great accompaniment to the other Happyland and Little People toys she already owns! She loves driving the bus along her road mat and picking up passengers almost as much as she enjoys telling them they will have to wait for the next bus as this one is full!

And the other good thing about this set....so far, the Happylanders haven't discovered the joys of Industrial Strike Action so when we play, the bus is ALWAYS on time!

Honestly, I am not sure who has more fun with this...me or my daughter and it is one Happy Land set that is well worth the money