This looked like it was the most fun, so I got it for my not-quite-yet 2 year old daughter. She absolutely loves it! We spent hours playing with the toys it came with. I keep it inside, as the weather has been less than friendly and I don't want her wandering off in my not-yet-kid-friendly backyard. I have a small area rug with a somewhat waterproof backing under it, and a couple towels on top of the rug, so little water gets on the carpet. I also put the bucket away to limit the amount of water she can pour out. It comes with a little life raft and a boat, as well as two little sailors who for some reason strike a bizarre pose with their hands. There are two little ladles, one with two holes and one like a sieve, so she can scoop up water and watch it drain out. There's an anchor on a pulley, a slide, a steering wheel, and two sideways paddle wheel type things that can either move water around, or be removed and handed to daddy because their very existence offends her for some reason. I left it full of water for three days, and no water leaked out. It's also pretty stable, though empty my daughter was able to tip it over. Note that although this wasn't what I'd call dirty, it wasn't something you'd want to drink water out of. I say this because my daughter tried drinking water out of it. She's still getting the hang of drinking out of containers that aren't bottles or sippy cups, so most of the water went on her clothes, the floor, and of course her diaper. She also tried her hand at plunging her face into the water. You really want to clean this properly before putting it to work. I would recommend a gentle sanitizer spray, wiping the surfaces down that can be wiped down, and a thorough rinse. Because of the above, and the quality of most of this water table, is why I only took off one star. Assembly is required, and I managed to break part of the slide because the parts didn't quite fit. I got it on there, and nobody will notice what's broken (the tabs underneath) but I wasn't pleased. I am very good at putting these things together, and IKEA furniture is a snap, so it wasn't my goof. The drain plug was kind of a bear to put in, but it works great. The cannon is a water squirt gun, which is cool. What's not cool is, if you fill the table with water to the recommended level, the hose for the squirt gun doesn't get submerged, and it won't stay adjusted. While I could easily replace the hose, the button for the squirt gun requires quite a bit of force, more than squirt guns designed for the appropriate age group, and it was actually enough to dislodge it from its mount. In fact, my daughter pulled it off in two minutes, and since she keeps doing that I just left it off. Granted, this table is designed for older children, but it's not like she's got bulging Hulk-like muscles, nor has she displayed any superpowers. The water cannon is kind of a waste. The mast assembly in the middle has a hand operated water pump. It sends water up to the top, where it flows down over cool little paddles and such. The pump is a joke as well. Like the cannon, if the water is at the recommended level, the pump doesn't work. I did fill it quite a bit higher, and it worked, but poorly. Again, I am aware this is for older children, so I made allowances for the strength needed to operate it, as well as its inconvenient location. Still, when using it, about half of the water pumped comes up at the pump plunger itself, instead of going up the mast. That's when it finally starts pumping, as it took half a dozen quick, forceful pumps to make anything happen. The moment you stop pumping, the last drops are coming from the top, so you can't enjoy the waterfall show. I don't expect seals to be tight...this is a toy, after all, and it should last several years, but they could have done MUCH better on this. So much energy is spent pumping the water that there's no time to watch where it goes or what its doing. I'm probably going to end up putting a small, battery operated pump in there. Even with these shortcomings, I still think this is a great toy at a reasonable price. Just don't let your enthusiasm get out of control when you think of the water cannon or the mast pump.
