Little Tykes Swing Along Castle

I have been offered an older model the the Little Tykes Swing Along Castle:

http://www.littletikes.com/Toys/Toys...roduct_ID=2362

The person asked $75 for it. Is that a good price for a used Little Tykes Toddler swingset? I thought She could bring it down more but I have no idea.

Also, DS is 1 year old. How long will he really use this toy? It says 1-4 years but a 4 year old would probably want to go down a bigger kid slide by then.

Any suggestions or feedback on this swing set would be great.
TIA

I don't have it, but I wanted to say....have you seen this model IRL? TRU often carries it. It is really, really, really small. Really small. Maybe it will work for you and your DC, but my advice would be to take a look at one IRL first if you can. THe slide seriously always looks about two feet long total to me.

I'd be more inclined to invest my 75 dollars toward something that will last longer. I can't picture a child beyond 2 using this IMO at all.

ETA: My son recently turned 2, and is on the more cautious side in general (isn't yet a big daredevil), and he definitely prefers bigger slides already. We were looking at climbers tonight at TRU and they have a foldable slide that is only about $75 or 80 but the slide is much longer (5 ft or so). Your DS wouldn't be safe climbing up it yet, but as long as you are supervising and helping him with it, something along those lines would probably IMO be a better investment. YOu can buy a toddler swing for about $20 most places. You could hang it from a porch, under a deck, from a tree, etc.

I think you are right! That slide is very very small. I bought the whale slide from her today and it's cute but DS's bottom barely fits in it. And he has a small bottom and the slope of the slide isn't long enough but it's safe for him to climb on for a while.

I'm going to show it to DH in a few minutes and see what he says. I really want a wooden playset and I priced them out at Cedarworks but my dream swingset was $6K. YIKES!!!! I have to lower my expections.

I hear you on the swingsets :) DH is in graduate school now after working a "real" job for a few years...so our budget is somewhat tight. We've debated back and forth on a big wooden swingset but have decided to hold off. I think our current plan (this could change at any minute) is actually to buy a metal swingset w/ slide and maybe add a climber if we feel DS is missing out ;) I keep looking at the wooden ones but I worry DS is still too small at 2 for me to feel safe w/ him on a giant one (without spending the huge $$ for a cedarworks with platforms). The less expensive wooden ones are usually still treated wood, and even w/o arsenic in the lumber I'm still not happy w/ the treated wood.

We've been struggling to decide, but after hemming and hawing I think we're going to go w/ a simple metal set, treat it as disposable since if it doesn't work out we haven't lost any great amount of money, and we won't have to move it if we relocate once DH is finished school in a few years.

It has been such a tough decision for us LOL.

Good luck with things :) I'm sure your DS will love whatever fun equipment he ends up with...we are the ones that obsess :)

We need a coop for Cedarworks! Ha Ha!

I hear you on the investment part. We are trying to save save save right now and I need to think more affordably when it comes to swingsets etc...

I grew up w/ a metal swingset and it was great. My BIL built a wooden swingset himself and ordered the swing and kite. He lives Raliegh and we live in Austin. Too bad. He's so talented w/the tools.

I think I am going to try to convience DH to build a playhouse instead of a swingset. This way we could store toys in the playhouse. Then I'll have an excuse to get a wooden kitchen etc.. Which would be safer for a toddler than a larger swingset.

Ahhhhh Decisions-Decisions! :-)

They're normally $125 so I don't think the used one for $75 is a bargain. I had this and didn't like it at all. It's tiny. The slide is very short and the swing is tough to get kids into and has a very limited range of motion. You'd be better of tying one of those $25 swings to a tree.

I wouldn't pay $75 for it. My DS got it new at his 1st bday and he used it maybe for a year. He rarely uses it now. He does sometimes get on the top of the slide and use the steering wheel and telescope, but he never uses that slide (prefers a bigger one) or the swing (which broke after about 1.5 yrs.

Jackson had one and loved it. I had it inside our playroom and a big swingset outside. The slide on it is a fast slide. Much faster than our large Little Tikes slide. I liked that he could go and sit in the swing and push himself with his feet. It doesn't swing very high at all but he liked resting in it. He also loved the wheel and telescope. I think $75 is a little high for one esp. if it had been used outside. I sold ours for $60 and it had always been used inside. With baby #2 coming along it might be a good investment. I kept our Kangaroo Climber since Tyler will be able to use it for awhile.

Tara
Mommy to Jackson 11-10-02
Tyler William 6-9-05
OMG!!! Baby #3 Due September 5, 2006!

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