Castle/dragons/knights for almost 5yo?

[beltm]

So for the holidays DS who will be almost five has asked for ghost pirates (playmobil) and dragons and a castle. There seem to be a number of castle sets out there and I am looking for recommendations. I would like this to have some staying power, plus DS2 is on the way so it would be nice if it lasted through both kids (I don't mind getting a better quality/more expensive one if it will hold up better/longer). Imaginext has the new eagle talon castle or something like that but I think playmobil may last longer age wise. Playmobil has a dragons castle and also a knights castle which I suppose we could add on some dragons to it. I see Melissa and Doug and papo also have castles that work with papo, schleich or safari/toob figures, so that would be another route to go. DS is not a rough kid and done not abuse his toys (can't speak for his baby brother though). The playmobil ones seem expensive (although this would either be the big Xmas day gift or for his fifth bay a coule of months later), but they come with tons of characters and accessories. Seem of the other castles cost less but then I have to buy sets of figures, dragons, accessories, etc and wonder if cost wise they equal out. Really looking for a good quality castle with figures/accessories that will lend for some nice imaginary play. dS could play for hours with his imaginext figures, trnsformers, Dino's, etc, so imaginary play is moreso his thing than building. Thanks for the help!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'd go with imaginext over Playmobil. I think it skews older. We gave gotten a lot of play out of our imaginext.

[beltm]

I'd go with imaginext over Playmobil. I think it skews older. We gave gotten a lot of play out of our imaginext.



We love our imaginext too! When do you think age wise they outgrow imaginext?

[SnuggleBuggles]

We love our imaginext too! When do you think age wise they outgrow imaginext?

7-8yo? My 10yo still uses them some.

[kristac]

Being that there's a baby brother in the picture I might go imaginext over playmobil. Less tiny pieces...

[MommyAllison]

DS has Imaginext castle, dragons, knights, etc. and he loves them. DD1 and her friends (some of whom have the Playmobil equivalents) love them as well, so I think there is definite longevity.

[toby]

Just to confuse you, I vote for Playmobil! DS has played with his castle every day for the past 4 years (he is turning 8). It is expensive, but very well made and it will be something that we will save to hand down to future generations (!) In the beginning I just put away some of the smaller pieces. Also, I tried to round it out a bit by getting more figures and accessories on ebay... a bed for the king and queen, dining room table/chairs, some women!!

This is what we have:
http://www.amazon.com/PLAYMOBIL%C2%AE-4865-Playmobil-Knights-Castle/dp/B003AQBWCG/ref=sr_1_5?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1347820678&sr=1-5&keywords=playmobil+castle


p.s. We ended up buying the red dragon separately somewhere along the line.

pps. If you do get Playmobil, I would put it together ahead of time...it is very time consuming, DC can't really help and it is stressful when they are saying "Wheeeeen will you be done?!!" every 2 seconds.

[beltm]

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=13356492

So I just found this! Stil playmobil but not huge with a zillion pieces! If I add a couple sets of knights and a couple of dragons I think it may be perfect! Ds needs help with all of the little pieces and is more interested in the figures. The imaginext eagle talon set looks cool too so it's between that and this, although I feel like a slightly older kid (8-10) may get more use out of the playmobil. The other playmobil knights castles look awesome, but huge and with a ton of pieces. The playmobil dragon sets look cool but not as castleish if ykwim, more dungeonish? Ds is really interested in the dragons, not the accessories, so I think the smaller castle with a few dragons may be the way to go. This is new so no reviews anywhere yet. Not sure which one I'll go with but this looks like a good option! Thanks for the input ladies!

[KDsMommy]

Oh that small(ish) Playmobil castle looks really cool, my DS would love that!

I picked up an Imaginext castle and figures at a garage sale one day for $5! It lives at my parents house and DS loves it as much as he loves all of his Imaginext toys.