VTech Toot-Toots Coming...?

So, as I have already mentioned, we are pretty Toot-Toot obsessed here and I admit to being oddly fascinated with them. I don't know if it's the fact that I used to work in a toy store or the fact that I'm always on the lookout for what kiddo might find interesting but I seem to be spending quite a bit of time trying to stay in the Toot-Toot loop. Unfortunately, this has led to quite a bit of frustration on my end as VTech doesn't seem to keep us informed very well. To make matters worse, some stores get exclusivity and things release at completely different times in different countries. Either way, VTech's web site doesn't provide us with much information at all. Soooooo, in an effort to stay in the loop and help out any other parents that might be interested, I figured I'd mention them here on my blog. I have quite a few friends whose kids are also into these toys so why not?

Last year, I discovered early on that VTech was releasing a chicken coop. I found this to be very odd given that prior to that, we only had the Animal Treehouse and Zoo so this didn't seem to fit at all. Clearly, there had to be a farm on the way and with Easter not being so far away, it seemed like a logical step. I was correct about the farm and the line just kept expanding from there, though I don't quite remember if I was correct about the Easter release. Another surprise I had was discovering news about a mega Amusement Park set while watching an annual toy convention. As far as I was aware, there had been absolutely no news about this on VTech's web site so I immediately took the liberty of contacting them to inquire about it. It was this way that I found out about store exclusivity. 

Why would VTech be so quiet about such an awesome playset? Look at that thing! It's awesome! We did choose to pass on that one ourselves as it is simply too  huge to fit in our happy little home but still, it looks so great!

Looking at VTech's website, it is clear that there is only a limited selection of the available playsets and vehicles/animals listed there. I am not sure why there isn't a page that shows all that exists, especially since you technically pick your location when first accessing the site... I find the lack of information rather odd. If a position would ever open to start maintaining that, I'd jump at the opportunity. With the amount of Toot-Toot spoiling we do, I could use the salary. :P While on that subject, it is interesting to know that the toys will be different depending on your location. Things like colors, selection, and little details will be different. For example, I saw that the farm on Amazon US comes with a grain silo which is not included in the one from Amazon UK. A quirky, but one which I personally find to be quite interesting, detail is the fact that dutch vehicles are named as well as have the generic noun printed on them, whereas Toot-Toots from the UK only have a generic noun. More specifically, our Toot-Toot Taxi is Dutch and he is called Thijs, not just 'taxi'. The french ones are also named. In our family, we have the great advantage of buying them in Dutch, English, and French so it gives us quite a few possibilities. I am not sure why the UK ones aren't named as I would think the children enjoy this detail. I assume maybe it is because English is so international that they decided it was best to sell them the same everywhere but I am not sure if that is truly the reason. I find it a bit sad for them really... I will have to add this to my list of questions for the day I will meet a Toot-Toot rep. ;) 

Aaaaanywho, onto the fun stuff! New Releases! Yes, that's what I was trying to get to. As I said, I already ordered the Puck lookalike which Amazon UK listed as being released on January 1st, 2016. Amazon contacted me yesterday to let me know that there was a delay in their reception of the stock and that they'd contact me again once they knew more. All of the new releases in that category are now being listed as 'Temporarily Out of Stock' on their site so it is a bit unknown as to when they will release but I did some digging and they seem to be available elsewhere so let's see what I've dug up so far on Amazon UK...

In the Toot-Toot Drivers series, I have spotted these 4 little guys:

The french version comes with bins, unlike the listings I have seen for the english one. This is an example of how products differ depending on location and why I spend so much time looking into what is made since we are a multilingual family and have access to several options...

In the Animals series, we have these adorable lil guys joining the collection:

Kiddo insists this one is Puck and this little guy has been the reason we ended up with some Toot-Toot animals in the house. 

I think the biggest thing to notice is that these are all domestic animals so part of a 'pet' series which is entirely new as we've had exotic zoo/wild animals and farm animals only so far. Also, I believe it's the first time we actually have 'furry' animals. With this in mind, it was easy for me to start asking where the bunny is. I did some more digging...

Ah, there he is! ;) 

And then we have an entirely new line which I have not seen before. It seems to be called Splash World and clearly a line specially designed for bath time fun. These are going to work both in the water and on land so I wonder if they have any plans for integrating them into the Drivers series.

These guys have been spotted:

With the exception of the bunny, these were all listed on Amazon UK being released January 1st, 2016. Like I said, they have all had their listings revised to 'temporarily out of stock' as they were not received and I am expecting news on that soon since I have already pre-ordered the dog. I have seen the rabbit listed on sites in both the UK and the US so I imagine the 'pet' series will be available in both places soon if not already available in the US. I have seen absolutely none of these on any of the dutch sites and have no idea when they would release as we tend to get the releases quite a bit later, perhaps 6 months or so.

Aha!

Some further digging and I have found something more concrete, finally!

http://www.vtech-jouets.com/tut-tut-animo-domestiques-assortis.html

There we go, an official VTech source citing the 'pet' series as being available in February 2016. This is the french version, of course, but I expect the english one to come out sooner if not around the same time. Seeing how this is a pet series and it doesn't quite seem to fit in with the other existing playsets, I am assuming we'll also be seeing the addition of either a pet store or vet clinic. I'm not sure what the design would look like but, since they've released a hospital in their VTech Smart Friends line (not compatible with VTech Toot-Toot nor Animal series as the Friends line is bigger), I wouldn't be surprised to see something similar show up for our newest cuties. ;)

While digging for more info, I also came across this guy.

I have only seem this fun hot rod (also available in red) listed in North America. I have not come across a hot rod in Europe at all yet. I wonder if it's something that will come or if it's exclusive there...

Anywho, that's all I've got for now! I'll be keeping an eye out on the various toy conventions to see what else I might spot. Shame that VTech makes me go through so much to uncover their secrets! ;)

Have you spotted a new fun addition for your little one?