My Life versus Our Generation Food DollTruck Review

Our curiosity has got the best of my daughters and I.  We have been long time lovers of the Our Generation doll ice cream truck.  When the My Life brand came out with a food truck we were curious…what was the size, what accessories did it have, what was the quality, how much did it cost, and what was the play value?  Well…our wait is over.  We did a side by side comparison of the My Life doll Food truck with the Our Generation Ice Cream Truck.  We will share comparison photos and our personal opinions.

The My Life truck is pink and the Our Generation truck is blue.  (The Our Generation truck is also available in a light pink.)    The OG truck took longer to unpack simply because it came with more accessories.

The My Life doll food truck can be found at WalMart for $99.00.  You can find this truck here: https://www.walmart.com/ip/My-Life-As-18-Food-Truck/54510110

The Our Generation ice cream truck can be found at Target for $109.99.  I found my when on sale for $99.  You can find this truck here: http://www.target.com/p/-/A-47986277

Above are the ML accessories.  This is a 42 piece set including: 1 food truck, 2 round suckers, 2 pretzels, 2 hot dogs & 2 buns, 2 tacos, 2 hamburgers, 2 french fries / onion ring combos, 1 cola bottle, 1 orange soda bottle, 2 hot cocoa cups, 3 water bottles, 2 BBQ Skewers, 1 ketchup bottle, 1 mustard bottle, 1 spatula, 1 ice cream scooper, 2 banana splits, 2 donut sticks, 3 ice cream scoops, 3 ice cream cones, 3 churros, 1 piece of chalk, 1 money sheet, and 1 sticker sheet.

If you remove the sticker sheet from the picture it doesn’t seem like a lot of accessories.

Above are the OG accessories.  This is a 127 piece set including: 1 ice-cream truck, 4 trays, 2 fridge racks, 1 deep fryer with basket, 2 stools, 4 chalk sticks, 1 bell, 1 napkin holder, 6 paper bills, 3 coins, 2 ice-cream holders, 1 popsicle holder, 3 containers, 3 cups, 3 donut trays, 4 serving spoons, 1 ice-cream scooper, 1 jar with 6 straws, 1 set of prongs, 3 syrup bottles, 2 shakers, 8 ice-cream cones, 3 slushies, 6 sundaes, 2 cyclones, 2 cookie sandwiches, 3 pretzels, 6 ice -cream trays, 28 popsicles, 9 doughnuts, 1 ice-cream and waffle cone, 1 soft ice-cream in a cup, 3 soft ice-cream cones, 2 ice-cubes, 2 milkshakes with whipped cream, 4 ice-cream cones with paper cups, and 1 large sundae.

Here is a closer look at a the ML food and OG food items that were similar.  The OG does have a better size and paint finish.  We did like to dollar bills in the ML set better; we didn’t care for the cartoon image on the OG money.

I found both trucks to be similar in size.  The My Life truck measures 25 L x 19.5 H x 12.5 W inches .  The Our Generation truck measures  24 L x 20 H x 12 W inches.   Both trucks were fairly equal in weight (when compared when lifted.)

Both trucks have driver and passenger side review mirrors that can tilt inward.  We thought the mirrors on the OG truck were more realistic.

Both dashboards have a steering wheel that turns.  The OG dashboard had buttons that control the head-back-side lights, windshield wipers, and music.  The OG glove box opened for storage.  The OG dashboard is better.  The OG truck plays a few cute ice cream truck tunes.  The ML truck does not play music.

The ML head and back lights do not light up.  The OG head and back lights all light up (and not pictured side lights).  The OG truck also has working wipers.  The OG truck had better lights and wipers.

The ML truck had a bench seat.  This will seat 2 dolls, but very snuggly.  My daughters and myself had difficulty getting a doll behind the wheel of the ML truck.  It is a very tight fit for an 18 inch doll.  A My Life doll was pictured in the My Life truck.  The space is so tight at the dolls arms are to the window and not near the wheel.  The OG truck has a pedestal seat.  A doll sits a bit high on the seat, but is seated.  The doll fits the OG steering wheel nicely.  The OG seating is better.

ML truck had a flip up chalkboard.  The OG chalkboard is located on the side of the truck.  The ML board often fell over with play.  During one episode of play a doll was brushed up against the OG board and got chalk on her outfit.  Overall the OG chalkboard was better.

Below are top views of the doll food trucks opened.  We had to make sure not to display any food items in the ML truck until it was opened.  The ML truck required a nice tug to open and slide back the halves of the truck; this tugging causes all items in truck to fall.  I thought this type of opening was a really nice concept, but the execution was poor; my youngest required a bit of help getting the ML truck open.  The OG truck opens by lifting the roof up and over; it then becomes a patio.  The patio did lay flush with the floor.  The OG truck opened smoothly and without difficulty; my youngest could open this without help from me.  The top opening is much larger in the OG truck than the ML truck.  This opening does allow for more play ability.  Overall, the opening is better in the OG truck.

Below are pictures of the ML truck with features of its own.  The ML is decorated in stickers.  On the passenger front side is a sticker showing a pop machine and on the driver’s side is a cocoa machine.  These images are cute, but my daughters wondered why they would be on a food truck…”why doesn’t the customer buy the drinks from the person working the truck?”   In the inside center wall is a sticker with an image of a refrigerator/pantry.  The fridge sticker was bright and colorful, but instead I wish there was shelving for more food items.

As a parent and family medicine clinician, I hate toys with stickers.  For one, stickers show a lot of wear.  Two, toys with stickers get pretty tattered if and when you need to sanitize a toy.  It never fails, friends come over to play and you get a dreaded phone call that someone now has a high fever or is throwing up.  Immediately I go to work washing toys….and yes…those sticker edges get soggy.  Three, when kids share toys they will never agree on which sticker goes where!

One feature we liked in the ML truck was the ice chest / cooler under the hood.  From a design standpoint I think this was a bit of wasted space.  ML could have bumped out the drivers area to create a much roomier seating area.

Below are side pictures of the OG windows.  Both window areas are very open for serving up ice cream.  No stickers are part of the accessories!  All accessories can be removed from the truck.  This a  HUGE bonus for the OG truck because you could turn this truck into other types of trucks.  For example a taco truck, flower delivery truck, roaming library, rolling vet clinic and so on.  Here is a taco truck that I created:  http://brandyshappyhome.com/doll-taco-truck/

Below are pictures of the ML truck from inside.  It has cute hooks,  There are shelves and one cabinet.

Below are images of the inside of the OG truck.  The OG truck has shelving, fridge, warming oven, deep fryer, none of which are stickers.  There is more storage space in the OG truck.

Below are images of a ML doll in a ML truck and an OG doll in the OG truck.  Both dolls are similar in size…yes the ML doll does have fluffier hair, both overall you can tell the OG truck has more room for play.

THINGS  TO  MENTION (pros & cons)  :   We loved that the ML truck offered other food items than ice cream.  It was clever to have one window for sweet treats and the other for savory  delights.  The ML ice cream container opens to store the scoops of ice cream; this is so cute, but when opened fully the lid snapped/broke off.   🙁  We loved that the ML bottled water had a handle for the doll to appear as if they could hold the bottle themselves.  The retractable awning is a cute touch, but often got in the way with play.  We loved the ML ice cream scooper; although it was a bit big, it was pretty neat to have the ice cream fit into the scoop and then be able to snap the ice cream down onto the cone.

THINGS  TO  MENTION (pros & cons)  :  We loved the OG snow cones and popsicles and their holders!  We also adored the OG tiny sprinkles!  The OG straw holder is a really cute touch.  We loved the OG bell…just wished it really dinged!  Nothing from the OG truck broke or had play issues during out testing trials.

Overall, we found that the Our Generation ice cream truck has better accessories, construction, play ability,  and price point.  For the quality and accessories that you get the OG truck is worth the $10 extra dollars.  Be advised both sets have very small accessories that could be a choking hazard.   My older daughter felt that the ML truck might be better for much younger doll lovers such as age 3 or 4; with the OG truck being better for girls aged 5 and up.

* This post was not sponsored by My Life or Our Generation.