I agree, big potty works better. Mine was trained like that at her daycare, where they have this specially built platform so they can easily get on and off, and even have the sinks instaled at just the right height. The fact that they went in groups  seems to have made it a lot easier (they could also go as they felt the urge). I am so greatful for that!!!!

She did have a little potty at home, but not a fancy one, it looked like a normal toilet only tiny.

The one REALLY big problem with those super fancy potties is the fact that they have lots of nooks and crannies for all the lovely little "mishaps" that occur when you have a toddler learning to go potty. Many times those little cracks and corners are not easy to clean out either. As a result they get "residue" that grows bacteria and STINK! I truly believe in the K.I.S.S. method when it comes to potty chairs. We did both a potty chair and the ring. My son was afraid for the longest time that he was going to fall in despite the fact that it was impossible with the ring on the toilet so he loved the little potty chair. My daughter has sensory disorder and is terrified of any flushing toilets, normal sized or even the special small ones you find in some places for children, it's all about the sound. She won't even sit on them since so many of the public toilets now have sensors and will trigger with any movement. So yup, potty chair all the way, it's worth it to just finally get her out of diapers!

I cringe every time I see a potty chair decked out to look like a toy. Potty training isn't a game, it's necessary for life. Know how I made potty training easy? I kept it simple. I let my boys know 'this is what big boys do'. I bought a Prince Lionheart pottyPOD (yes, I did spend that much, because it was the only one I could find that didn't have all the bells and whistles). My oldest was potty trained at 18 months and my youngest is now 18 months and we're working on it.

I realize that every child is different and things aren't going to work the same for every one of them, but I think parents see potty training as automatically a hardship, before they've even started, so when they do start they overcomplicate it unnecessarily.

Mine was intimidated by the big potty, so a smaller potty chair worked for us.  Of the ones listed though, the Bjorn was the only one I would ever consider.  We had that one at my mom's house.  At home we had one that was an A-frame to start, then converted to an on-the-big-toilet step and seat combo, which works really well.  (I got that one from onestepahead.com, and it was worth every penny.)  My daughter is about 2.5, and she can got to the bathroom completely on her own with that potty.  The other option I love is the Church/Next Steps seat I got at the big box hardware store.  The kids seat attaches to the lid magnetically, and the "adult" seat is a normal toilet seat.

We were the same as someone else said.. only had a potty because the bathroom is upstairs with tricky stairs - it was the "downstairs bathroom" for the little guy.

I started potty training around14-16 months, we started on the potty, but as soon as they were able to sit on the toilet, using a stool, I took out the potty. Had no trouble, they would go to the bathrooms at the store if we were out. I used a cheap simple one from target, it works and they're gonna poop in it, why waste money unnecessarily?