Journey Girls Scooter: Take Two

A "New" Scooter

When the Australian line released in 2017 a new and improved "Adventure Scooter" was also released.  This is the second scooter released by Journey Girls, the first being released in 2014 with the London line.  There are some improvements with the new Adventure Scooter, but there are also some new set backs.  At $40 on Amazon, the scooter is $10 more than Our Generation brand.  Let's take a look at the new scooter.

One of the first things I noticed was the colors.  Although both are blue and pink, the new scooter's blue is more vibrant, closer to aqua blue, while the old scooter's blue was more baby blue.  Besides the pink, which is close to the same on both, there is also purple on the new scooter.   For an added splash of color a pet basket on the back of the scooter is a nice yellow.

This new scooter is a completely different design.  The 2014 scooter is more of a vintage design, compared to the 2017 scooter that has a new Vespa feel.  The body of the scooter is aqua blue, with a pink accent along the edges.

One large working headlight sits atop the beautifully curved front of the scooter; the Journey Girls logo ("JG" in a circle) plastered in the middle of it.

Attached to the headlight's post are the purple handlebars and side view mirrors.

Reflective silver stickers mimic mirrors on the bright pink mirrors.

Another neat little new feature is a pocket.   It's not a huge pocket, but it can hold sunglasses and a small hand purse.  With this little pocket and the pet basket in the back, there is good storage, especially compared to the 2014 scooter.  When the handle bars are turned, the small front wheel turns with with it, but no blinkers.

Both the small front wheel and the larger, wider back wheel have a plastic gray rim and black rubber tires.

Giving the wheel weight, the rubber not only looks cool, but helps with stability of the scooter.  Which can be a challenge.  The 2014 scooter had tiny "training wheels" on the underside to help stabilize it, partly because both wheels were thin like the front wheel on this scooter.  In this iteration, Journey Girls has taken a cue from Our Generation and made the rear wheel much wider.  It is not as wide (and weird looking) as the Our Generation scooters, and it is rounded on the edges, making it less stable.

I found it a challenge to balance the scooter, not impossible, but definitely difficult, especially if the doll moves at all.  It would be wonderful to have a kick stand to prop the scooter up on when not driving it.

Covering 3/4 of the back wheel, the purple fender matches the handle bars.  "JG" is embossed in the fender along with a checkered line.

On top of the fender are gray "metal" tubes holding up the pet basket.  There is a stamped woven pattern similar to a picnic basket.

If you open the basket, which can be done by pushing in the latch on the front of the basket (made difficult by the seat of the scooter), there is a black cloth seat belt for your pet.

The seat belt is long enough to fit around most pets, but not all.

Of course, most of the pets that are too big for the seat belt are also too big for the basket.

A pink seat, similar to the one on the 2014 scooter, fits the Journey Girls well, as it is skinny.  The seat position as well as the larger flair of the front and foot rails makes it easier for most of the Journey Girls dolls to stay sitting.

Two issues with staying seated: one there is nothing that helps the doll stay on the seat besides the pressure of her feet on the foot rail.  The old scooter had a clear attachment that helped the doll stay in place.   I didn't love this piece, but would like to see a seat belt maybe.  Two: Some of the Journey Girls, especially the ones released from New York on, have had horrible leg spread, making it near impossible to get them to sit on the scooter.

Bianca's feet do not touch the scooter or barely touch the scooter when she sits correctly. Add that to the fact that the handlebars are positioned in a way that the doll has to lean forward a little to touch them.

This puts the doll in a constant state of stress, making sitting difficult (again for some of the dolls more than others).

While I am on the topic of the handle bars...it is a challenge to get the doll to hold on to the handle bar.  Both hands are more vertical, making it impossible to hold the handlebar.

The best that I could do was have the hand on the end of the handlebar.  I noticed in the official photos of  scooter Kelsey only has one hand on the handle bars and they are turned a little to make it easier for her to grab.  Not the end of the world, but it is a little frustrating.

Unlike the 2014 scooter, this scooter's gauges have a raised outside and then a sticker in the middle.

Push the gauge cluster and the lights turn on as well as the sound of a revving engine.

Unfortunately the new scooter does not have turn signals, but the "Journey Girls" on the foot sill lights up...which is pretty cool.

If you want to personalize your scooter, put the included stickers on in any fashion you would like.  They do not stay on forever, but in some ways that is okay. 

It means that you can redesign your scooter a different way.

Every scooter rider needs to stay safe, so a helmet is included with the scooter.  The pink, sparkly, helmet has a blue visor that matches the scooter.

A purple strap with velcro on it holds the helmet in place.  The helmet fits well with the dolls hair straight down...no ponytails, buns, or up do's.

Rating

All ratings are out of 10

Playability 8 - As with the 2014 scooter, this scooter has an issue with stability.  Most of the time that is not going to matter, but with no way to attache the doll to the scooter and a scooter that isn't steady on it's own, fall are going to happen.  At least there is a helmet.  I really like the design of this scooter over the older one.  However, the dolls legs still aren't held on the scooter and she really can't hold the handlebars with both hands.   The lights are really neat.   And the sounds are fun.  It's an upgrade from the last one, but it's not perfect.

Value 8 - The scooter is better made than the Our Generation scooters and has some great features.   It is a little more expensive, but not by much.  Good value for a fun vehicle.

Quality 9 - Made with a thicker plastic than the Our Generation scooter, the Journey Girl scooter feels really well made.  The details on the scooter like the pink edges and the "Journey Girls" etched into the foot rails are great touches.  I'm not sure that the scooter will stand up to rough play.  It feels like it should, but the mirrors and the pet basket may be susceptible to breaking.

Overall 8 - Even though this scooter has a few issues (mostly with fitting the doll on it, which is partly an issue with the Journey Girl dolls) overall it is really nice.   The colors are fun.  The design is much better than the older version.  The addition of the pet basket is really nice. Although they got rid of the working turn signals, the large headlight looks great and the sill lights are downright awesome.  Amazon has "Adventure Scooter" for $39.99 which qualifies for free shipping.  A good deal for a great scooter.

Journey Girls Australian Jeep

A Great 4x4, But Not Perfect

When the Journey Girls were first released in 2010 a 4x4 vehicle was also released.  However it was only available for 1 year.  With the Australian line in 2017, Toys R Us saw it as a perfect time to reintroduce a new and improved 4x4 Jeep.   Now available on Amazon, the Journey Girls Jeep retails for $59.99.  Higher than the Our Generation version (at $34.99), but much lower than anything that American Girl has released, the Journey Girls Jeep looks like it is a good value.  Let's take a look!

The Journey Girls Jeep (technically a 4x4 vehicle, since Jeep is a brand name) comes in a big box, with photos of the Journey Girls out driving through the outback.  I like that the box does not have clear plastic in the window, however it does make it so that you want to grab the box by the cardboard opening.

If you do that and pull too quickly, you will rip the top of the box.   Open the end by cutting the pieces of tape, slide the inner cardboard, with the vehicle attached, out to get to the under neath of the vehicle.

Here you will find some black flat  pieces of plastic.  Turn them until the Jeep comes loose.  They are small plastic screws that take about 10 turns to get loose.

To open the doors you will have to take the clear plastic rubber bands off and then pull the purple plastic tabs out of the bottom of the Jeep.

If you don't take the tabs out you will not be able to open the doors.  Fold out the mirrors and your Jeep is ready to go!

Like most of the vehicles made for 18" dolls, the Journey Girl Jeep is made of molded plastic. This isn't a bad thing depending on how the molded plastic is used.  For instance, there are many great details molded into the Jeep, including fabric stitching, radio dials, and door details.

Unfortunately none of those details are interactive and they are all the same color as the main plastic pieces.  Feeling flimsier than the Our Generation 4x4, the Journey Girls 4x4 has only one layer of plastic making up most of the body.  The Our Generation has two layers for much of the vehicle; an outside layer (the actual vehicle mold) and then an inside layer (the inside of the doors, the radio, floor, etc.).  One place that is double layered is the doors of the Journey Girls Jeep, which makes them stronger. 

Unfortunately the frame where they are attached is not, and is weak.  When Toys R Us stores were still around I saw many of the Jeeps doors broken off in the stores.  Partly because of this design, but mostly because kids wanted to try to open the doors (which they can try to do since there is no plastic in the opening) without first removing the tabs (which were hidden by the box).  The doors will NOT open with those tabs still in them, hence the weakest point is the hinge.

I have had no issues with the door or the hinge and love that the door opens so far.  Even though it doesn't feel as strong as the Our Generations hinge, it seems to be okay.

Big black hollow plastic wheels keep the Jeep going.  They have aggressive looking off-road tread and silver, gray rims with "jg" stamped in the middle.

Unlike most other plastic 18" vehicles, which have their wheels attached to a wire rod axel, these wheels turn on independent plastic axels housed in a hollow shaft.

To me, it looks like the axel may be molded on the wheel, but it is hard to tell.  It's an interesting design.  The plastic pieces rub together, creating friction, making it impossible for the Jeep to roll on its own after being pushed.

You will continually have to push the Jeep to get it to roll. With a wire axel there is less friction so the vehicle can be pushed and it will roll on its own for awhile.  It's not a horrible problem, but it does change you some kids will play with it.  They won't be able to sit apart from each other and push it back and forth.

All of the molded under carriage is the same lavender color, as well as the bumpers, "spare tire", grille, seats, and light accents.  With details like a drive-train, exhaust, and axles, the undercarriage is pretty detailed, especially since most of us will not be looking at the undercarriage. 

An iconic piece of a vehicle is the front grille.  The Journey Girls Jeep has a vertical line grille similar to the life-size version, but not identical.

There are lavender accents around the headlamps and the lower fog lamps, which are attached to the bumper.  "JG2010" is embossed on the front bumper where the license plate is located.  The only strange part about this is that the back license plate is a sticker rather than being embossed.  On the back of the Jeep a "spare tire" hangs on the back of the trunk. 

A lavender tire cover embossed with "journeygirls" is made of molded hollow plastic.

Which is fine, except for the fact that from the inside of the Jeep you can see that it is hollow.  It should have a back on it, but that is a very minor issue. Also on the back of the Jeep are two brake lights made of clear red plastic.  I wish that the headlights, fog-lights and brake lights actually lite up, but that is a wish list item, not something that is wrong with the vehicle.

The majority of the vehicle is molded pink plastic, including all of the body and the windshield. 

There is no clear plastic in the windshield, which is strange and awesome.  Strange, because most of the 18" doll vehicles have a windshield.  Awesome, because it makes it much easier to photograph (no glare) and it makes it easier to move the dolls around in the seats.   One downside is that it makes the windshield frame plastic weaker since it is hollow and does not have the structure of the clear plastic.  With all that said, I appreciate it for photographing.

The cage of the Jeep is bright pink plastic.  Again an open mold rather than closed or solid, which means it is not as sturdy. 

The foldable sideview mirrors are also the same bright pink, with silver stickers that mimic mirrors.

And finally the steering wheel is the same pink.  An interesting component to the steering wheel is it's size.  It is small for the size of the Jeep, which also makes it challenging to get the dolls to hold on to it.   There are thicker areas of the wheel at 3 and 9 so that the doll's hands can stay on, but they do pop off sometimes. 

If the steering wheel was just a little bigger it would make it easier for the doll to hold on to.  However, if it was bigger, it would be even more of a challenge to get the dolls in (well maybe...if the wheel wasn't so low on the dash it would still work).  With the steering wheel where it is now and it's size it is a challenge to put a doll in on that side.    I found it easier to put the doll in the passenger side, then slide her over to the driver's side.  To get the 2nd doll in you have to angle her a little to the side, but it's not horrible. Their feet do get stuck on some of the relief features of the undercarriage.

Stitching molded into the purple plastic seats give the illusion of material.  They look very nice and the dolls sit pretty well in them. 

Foot/leg space is an issue, as the wheel wells crowd the dolls leg and the Journey Girls dolls want to sit spread eagle.   This combination makes the dolls slouch down in the seats and stare up at the clouds.   By tilting the heads down it helps to give the illusion they are sitting correctly, but it's not perfect. 

If it wasn't for the blue seat belts the dolls would slide down and sit goofy.  One of the things that is awesome about the Journey Girls Jeep is that it is wide.  Wider than the Our Generation Jeep for sure.   This means the dolls aren't crammed into the seats, they have some space to sit.  Even though Journey Girls got the width right, the height is off.  The windshield cuts right through the top of the dolls heads.

If you put a hat on one of the dolls, it will stick out the cage of the Jeep.  Just an inch higher and the dolls would have fit better.  It's kind of a strange design.

A great feature that the Our Generation Jeeps do not have is a trunk.  Behind the seats there is a small area to put items the girls might need as they cruise around.

Like their swim suits, towels, snorkel, swim fins,  cooler (although that doesn't fit all the way down), or their paddle board, since it won't fit on the roof.

I feel like most Ferrari's have more trunk space, but...it's not bad.  At least the Jeep has a place to store things.  It would be awesome if it was an inch longer.

Another great feature is the seatbelts.  It's great to be able to show kids how to be safe.  Having their dolls mimic safe behavior is a great way to learn.  The blue plastic straps are simple.

There is a side release buckle at the end that is pushed into the floor of the Jeep (near the center console).

To release, depress the sides of the buckle...which is easier said than done with two dolls in the Jeep.  A little bit of a challenge, but not bad.

All ratings are out of 10

Playability 6 – This is a fun vehicle to put dolls in and drive around.  It's okay to get the dolls in and out of the seats as long as you know the tricks.  Once the dolls are in and the seatbelts fastened it's fun to push the Jeep around.   It's awesome to be able to open the doors and turn the steering wheel.  I love that it has some trunk space, even if it's not a lot.  There are a few quality issues that bring the score down (see below).

Value 7 – Compared to Our Generations two different 4x4 vehicles the Journey Girls Jeep fits right in the middle.  I really like the wide design of the Journey Girls Jeep, the fact that it has a nice little trunk, and it has seatbelts.  These are all things that make it better than the $35 Our Generation 4x4.  However, the plastic axels, the cheaper feel to the plastic and the fact that I can't use the roof, make it come in below the similarly priced $60 4x4.  And the Our Generation 4x4 is much stronger, has lights and a radio, and comes with a surfboard.  The one thing it doesn't have is the Journey Girls Jeep's width.  Still, it's not a bad price for a good product.

Quality 6 – There are a few issues with the quality.  The Jeep seems sturdy enough that if a child pushed down on it as they were pushing it, the frame could handle it. It's not as sturdy as other 18" 4x4's due to the open tubes of the cage, but it seems okay.  Unfortunately the plastic axels can not handle the weight of a child pushing down.  The already challenging to push vehicle is near impossible to push with weight on it.  Depending on how your child plays with the Jeep, this may not be a big deal.  Another concern is the door hinges.  As mentioned, I didn't have any issues with them, but I don't play with the Jeep as a child does.  They are definitely a weak point on the Jeep.

Overall 7 – I like the Jeep.  It's got a lot of good qualities and it's a fair price.  There are some concerns about the quality of the vehicle, but since I don't play with the it the same way a child would, the concerns are minimal to me.  The width of the Jeep is awesome.  It's so nice to have a vehicle where both dolls fit next to each other comfortably (mostly).  It is hard to not compare it to other companies products and see some if its short comings.  If Our Generation only had the $35 4x4, the Journey Girls Jeep would be the clear choice (even with the cost difference).  But they have a great vehicle at the same price and it has a lot of great features.  Is it better than the Journey Girls Jeep?  In many ways "yes"; but I still prefer the Journey Girls Jeep because of its width and the way it looks because of the width.  If Amazon ever puts it on sale or has a deal, buy it immediately.  If they never put it on sale, it is still worth the $60...just know its short comings.