Fisher-Price Castles: Imaginext vs. Little People L'il Kingdom

[jhamman]

Hello!

I'm shopping for a castle for 3 1/2 yr old DS.
As he gets older & shows interest (and as we have more room),
we might branch out into the large beautiful wooden castles,
but for right now I'd like to test the waters
with a smaller ("starter") castle.

The FP castles I've found online both seem to be aimed at
the under-5 crowd, but without seeing them in person,
I'm having a hard time deciding which to buy.

Am I right in assuming the LP castle is definitely for
younger children? And the Imaginext is for older kids?
Does the Imaginext castle have any figures other than knights?

I'm more interested in DS using the castle for story-telling
and gentler modes of play; I'm afraid the Imaginext knights
look too much like "action figures" that are only good for
fighting, if that makes sense.

I guess the LP castle seems like it might be a bit too young
for DS, and the Imaginext castle seems a bit too old for him.
If anyone has either of these FP castles, I would love to hear
the age ranges of the children who enjoyed them.

(Or, if I'm overlooking another castle that DS might enjoy,
please let me know!).

As always, many thanks!
jhamman

[SnuggleBuggles]

We have both. I think your observations are right. The Imaginext one is more for action kind of story play (the knights come with swords and such). The LP one is just your basic Little People set (very cute though). The Imaginext castle is better, imo, because it just has more features. It's bigger so there is more to do. But, he liked the LP one too. It's a tough call! Long term he will probably play with the Imaginext one longer than the LP set but you know him best. I just know that most of our LP stuff is in storage now that ds is 5.

You never know how a toy will be played with. It wasn't till ds got older that the knights had battles. Otherwise they just had adventures. I'm sure some kids could make LP figures fight. You just never know. :) You can also take their weapons away. The castle was from Santa and Santa sets up the present the night before. Perfect time to "lose" the swords. ;)

If you decide to go with the Imaginext one TRU sells a set with a few bonus pieces for the same price as other places.

GL!!

Beth

[fauve01]

i think the PP is right--you just never know. DD got the little people castle for her 3rd birthday and she plays with it still, every day. she turned 4 in october. she doesn't play so much with the figures that came with it, but she lines up all her other guys (ponies and princesses) and they all line up to go in the castle and they "play" in various rooms. she does use the furniture that came with the castle, and sometimes the figures that came with it.

anne + dd 10-03