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Adventure Toys & Teachers' Supplies
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 10 am - 6 pm
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
16 reviews for Adventure Toys & Teachers' Supplies
16 reviews in English
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Review from Michelle W.
Los Altos, CA
3/30/2011
You will probably not find a bargain here- although there have been times I did. But...you will probably find what you're looking for and a staff that knows that they're talking about.
I work near here- I work with kids. This is almost always my first stop when I'm looking for something specific. The staff almost always knows what I'm talking about and if they have it. If they don't have it they make good suggestions for alternative. The extra dollar or so I spend over the big box store is well worth the time I save and knowledge I gain. -
Review from Sophia Y.
San Francisco, CA
12/1/2010
can't believe I haven't written this place up yet. It's LOVELY. larger than you think.
has a wide selection. has HABA and Usborne. HABA is a european toy maker that has great quality wooden toys. just watch out, the cloth things are made in china, but all else should be safe b/c of Euro standards
Usborne is THE best book/sticker series!!
they have the books and they have sticker things by Usborne. I haven't explored everything here. but lots to see and great stuff
and free gift wrapping!! who does that anymore? I guess the bookstores and toystores... -
Review from Molly N.
Sunnyvale, CA
10/23/2011
The toy selection is fantastic - way, way better than any crap you're going to find at Toys R Us or Target or Wal-Mart - but the teacher supplies are lacking! There's pretty much just a bunch of crappy Kumon books for drilling small children on math facts and letter knowledge. That's not teaching. I'll return here for toys in the future...but I will go to Morrison for teacher supplies.
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Review from Ken K.
10/6/2008
I spent a good decade and a half growing up in a culture-starved country that loved to emulate the best of the West and its surrounding neighbors (and in many ways blatant copying and cloning), and the toy shops of yesteryear while quickly fading from memory and already out of existence, were absolutely nothing like Adventure Toys in Los Altos.
Instead of going back to basics like what Adventure Toys does, the ones I grew up with overstreched one or two dimensions of the alternate and unrealistic (yet heaps of fun) imagination, and flooded the senses with imported metal. No I don't mean Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, Venom, Judas Priest, Angel Wtich, or Swedish band Cat Rapes Dog. The key word of the 80s with the coolest import toys was
DIE CAST METAL
Aka robots from the 70s and 80s era of Japanese animation (when it was cool and all about the science fiction, and of course, robots). I'm talking about the robots that transform (not Transformers), had cool weapons like flying ejaculatory....FISTS and missiles that shot from any imagineable orifice (robot I mean).
This video clip at 3:34 might demonstrate an example
http://www.youtube.com...
If it was shown on TV, dubbed for the local market and imported from Japan, it did also make its way in 3D form and prepackaged with a huge markup at the toy shop. Star Wars 5" figures were but a minor distraction. I suppose the only cool thing about these Japanese toy robots made by the likes of Takatoku or Bandai, was that they were produced in significantly less quantities back in the day, were of higher quality as a result, and were mostly abused or thrown away by their owners (the kids). Some us did roundhouse kicking to the Godzilla toy, or threw Ultraman and Astroboy out the window thinking they could fly in real life while watching gravity kick its butt. And maybe someone spray painted a Gundam model black and blue, set fire to it, to make it look like it was a war damaged robot.
Now try finding one of these types of old school toys on ebay or Kimono My House in Emeryville now, they are literally worth their weight in gold if in like new condition, while grown men weep (for throwing away and physically abusing toys that are now worth a bundle).
But looking back, what good did these robots do, other than re-act out what was seen on the cartoons? Same can be said with the original Kenner Star Wars figures (that are now also worth a small fortune).
Heaps of fun, but oh well, a good mind is a terrible thing to waste.
And here's where Adventure Toys comes in. They offer a niche of product that caters to the development of young minds, which is something that parents of today pay a lot more attention to than 20+ years ago. Rather than stretching the limits of alternate imagination, the store offer things that are a lot more grounded, like perhaps a plastic tool kit set, doctor kit, kitchen kit with plastic fruit and knife as a way of real life simulation, and of course numerous puzzles and "thinker" type toys. This might also be a great place to stock up on exploration type home based preschool learning material and toys, if you have something like that. No die cast metal robots here. -
Review from Nathalie V.
San Jose, CA
11/30/2010 4 photos
I've walked past Adventures Toys & Teachers' Supplies a few times, but this last time something caught my eye and I decided to pop in. Wow, hello toy galore! They carry toys that brought me back to my childhood, and toys that made me think "I can't wait until I have kids so I can get these things!" For a non-chain business, they are situated on a fairly large lot. This place is a great alternative to Toys R Us, Target, KB Toys, Pottery Barn Kids.
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Review from Sophi N.
Sunnyvale, CA
12/27/2009
I went here to buy some presents for my boyfriend's nieces just a few days before Christmas. I'm not exactly rollin' in dough, but I managed to put together some really nice gifts here, I think, and the girls seem to like them!
They layout isn't exactly intuitive, so I asked an employee for some gift suggestions to point me in the right direction. He ended up kind of just taking me on a tour around the store pointing out some popular products. He must have spent 10 minutes with me. It was great to have such attentive service!
It seems like some of the items are really marked up while others are not. In the end, though, I walked out with two fantastic and age-appropriate coloring books, oil pastels, a wooden puzzle toy, a sticker game book, and a toy keyboard for 39 dollars. Maybe one other thing too, can't remember.
So, it's not cheap, but the toys are high-quality and wonderful, the staff is knowledgeable, and it's local! -
Review from Christy Y.
Los Altos, CA
10/27/2006
They renovated the store! How lovely it is. The service is still top rate, but the organization and the selection is a bit difficult for me to find that one special thing. It somehow was easier at the crammed jammed store. Any Mom who has NO time for herself, needs this store. So if you need a great toy go here and skip the Tar-Marts.
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Review from Christine L.
Los Altos, CA
5/15/2008
This place has a huge selection of wooden toys (Thomas, Plan Toys), educational games and materials like the Kumon series. They wrap for free so great for harried moms who are on the way to a kid birthday with kids in tow. I've purchased several birthday presents here. My only complaint - no public restroom. I have a four year old so it bugs to have to leave the store to visit the potty fairy. Pretty please?????
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Review from k j.
Mountain View, CA
12/3/2009
Customer service sucks. The woman working there were rude and not accommodating when I forgot my coupon today. I find way better deals for toys online and only go when I really need something immediately.
Not a positive experience. -
Review from Kristine D.
Mountain View, CA
2/14/2008
Newly remodeled, Adventure Toys is inviting and fun. You will have a lot of trouble keeping yourself from spending a fortune in here. There are so many great things to choose from around every corner and aisle. We visited often. It never disappoints and everyone but my wallet emerges a little weighted down by some cool purchase.
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Review from Da J.
Chicago, IL
6/12/2007
I'm not really in the market for kids toys (THANK GOD). I did expect them to carry a kids optics kit (like, with prisms, polarizers, etc), but they didn't have them. So don't expect this place to have a great selection of "Teacher's supplies". I also didn't find a small set of paints - everything they have here is, well, geared towards people with small children (plural).
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Review from Taylor S.
San Jose, CA
6/17/2009
This place is awesome. They have a great selection of 'educational' toys and plush. The only thing keeping them from 5 stars is that they're so expensive. I saw a xylophone there for 28 dollars that I bought on amazon for 12, and with shipping came to 18. I understand they're a small business in a high rent area, but sheesh.
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Review from Christina P.
Los Altos, CA
2/22/2009
This place is great for birthday gifts, board games, and arts&crafts. It has a good location in downtown Los Altos. Some things they sell are stuffed animals, puppets art, science kits, make your own soda, make your own bubble gum, and make your own make your own ice cream! Fun place to go when your in Los Altos.
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Review from K K.
CA
8/5/2008
I had been shopping at Adventure Toys for all my kiddie birthday presents so when it came time to buy my son a trike for his birthday I immediately thought of this store. We paid almost $200 for the trike plus assembly. When my son got on to use it we found out that the petals weren't working. I brought the trike back to the store and had the WORST experience. The sales people did not care about my problem, the owner was belligerent when I spoke w her on the phone, and sure enough - after they finally looked into my problem they finally admitted that they had sold me a defective trike. I will NEVER shop there again. UGH. Not worth it.
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Review from Leigh O.
Sunnyvale, CA
6/24/2009
What a great toy shop! IThey have a wide variety of educational toys for all ages. I found a nice selection of puppets and classic baby toys for my eight-month-old son at reasonable prices. I bought three simple toys for under $16. The clerk was very helpful and had some good advice on picking toys for my little one.
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Review from Melinda G.
San Jose, CA
Updated - 6/29/2010
Although JOHN w. was quite rude to me in his review of Adventure Toys, because I at first wrote "woman of color" instead of the possibly more acceptable to him, "hispanic female"--sorry John w, I have now changed that amongst a few other things to make it less objectionable to you, I will make it a point to go in again and see what happens. But, JOHN w., make no mistake, I did receive bad service when I went there. Maybe I should not have offered up the notion that it was race related and just said, DON'T GO THERE ANYONE, THE SERVICE SUCKS. THEY IGNORE SOME PEOPLE FOR NO REASON AT ALL, WHILE THEY HELP OTHER PEOPLE AROUND THEM AT LENGTH. EXPECT TO WAIT 5 MINUTES AT THE REGISTER WHILE WORKERS HOBNOB WITH THEIR FRIENDS ON THE PHONE, THEN ANOTHER 5 OR MORE WHILE THAT WORKER GOES ON TO HELP OTHER CUSTOMERS (THAT WERE NOT IN LINE) WITHOUT TELLING YOU THEY'LL BE RIGHT WITH YOU OR ASKING ANOTHER WORKER TO HELP YOU. JOHN w., You have always received excellent customer service... that doesn't really refute the possibility of racism, now does it? I wrote the review because I was ignored while waiting in line at that store. That is a fact. That was my experience. You gotta problem with it?
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/16/2010
Racism or just bad customer service today? So, I (hispanic female) was up at the register waiting… Read more »
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