Best FP Little People Play Set?

[brubeck]

Last year for my daughter's first birthday she received the Fisher Price Little People Amusement Park set. This is the same set that many people got through Pampers Points. Since her birthday was in November and then Christmas came soon afterwards (ie: a deluge of new toys) and the age range on this toy started at 18 months, we put it away.

At 20 months we opened it up for her and she loves it! She especially enjoys putting the people in the cars and letting the cars roll on the tracks, plus she likes turning the merry go round and the ferris wheel. I have a bunch of Little People toys from when I was a child that I would like to pass on to her, but they are the old ones (round style, mostly wooden) that have the smaller people and therefore smaller holes in the vehicles, etc. I guess these are choking hazards before age 3? That's the only reason I can think of that FP changed them.

So to make an already long story shorter, her birthday is coming up again in about 2 months and I was thinking of getting her more Little People stuff to add on so she can mix and match. However there are so many different sets out there and they all seem so expensive!!! I thought the airport one looked especially good. Can you buy big bunches of people and vehicles like you could with the Little People when I was a kid?

Any recommendations from people who have them as to which ones are the best?

[hellollama]

My son has the farm set and he plays with the zoo set at grandma's house. I like both of them because when you put the animals in their stalls/cages they make animal noises. My son is a late talker so I like to hear him imitate the animal noises when he plays with them. My son loves the farm set and so do I. I don't know that the Little People line is as extensive as it once was, but FP does offer some small sets that coordinate with the big ones.

[suzska]

I don't know what I can add since Evan isn't playing with these yet. A local discount department store is going out of business, so I bought the Police Car, Race Car, Helicopter, and the Traffic Cop set on clearance. Then I decided it needed to be a "Little People" Christmas this year. I had Little People coupons from Fisher-Price (sign up at their website), so I bought the Farm, and three of the "expansion" sets (tractor, trailer, etc.) to go with it (couldn't find the 4th with the horse stall). I really like the Farm (I had to take it out the box to check it out and put it back until Christmas.) I also got the Zoo train. I'm hoping someone else (grandparents, uncles) buys him the other Zoo parts. My brother also got a bunch of the vehicles on clearance (Fire Truck, Dump Truck, Garbage Truck, Tow Truck, Floaty Boat). I actually made an Excel file listing what I know to exist and what people have bought him so far. :-) My brother is looking for the Discovery City, but I haven't seen it in any stores around here. The Airport is his second choice.

It doesn't seem like you can buy "bunches" of people and cars, but you can pick up the "extras" for $5 to $12 per.

I saw the Fun Sounds (?) Train at Target (I don't think it's listed on Fisher-Price's site), and I thought it was neat because you can actually hook up the fence parts from the Farm to one side, and the House to the other--then the Little People can ride the train from the "city" to the "country." The sets I got to go with the Farm have additional fence pieces so you can hook everything together. The Zoo and Zoo Animals have fence parts that do the same thing. I also like the House, but wish Fisher-Price didn't make it so "girly" with the pink trim, but I may still get it for my son (or me?) someday.

If you haven't already, try reading some reviews at Amazon to get an idea of what you might like. Of course, as with most things, people either seem to love them or hate them. There are also special holiday sets only available (as far as I know) through Fisher-Price (saw them in their online store).

[elaine_l]

I like the Little People too. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that you can buy just a passel of people and cars, though I did pick some up at the used baby store to expand her selection. There are many excellent reviews on Amazon. Oddly, the Fisher-Price site does not seem to have the whole line represented.

I do like the Discovery City - many good sounds, and the road is pretty neat.

Hope you like firefighters -- in LP land every 4th person or so is a firefighter, and they're mostly blonde and female. ;)

I still think it's weird that the new LP have hands!

[AngelaS]

My dd is getting the Noah's ark set (and additional animal sets) from MIL for her first birthday. Then she's getting the zoo and zoo train set from us! We're gonna have animals EVERYWHERE!

My 5 yo has the house, town, complete circus set, amusement park, and farm. They are SO fun!

Those old Fisher Price sets are VALUABLE!! I had about 6 sets from when I was a child (late 70s) and resold three of my sets for more than $200! I love eBay... :D

[Melanie]

My son loves the Amusment park, that you have, and the Farm. Also the animal train & big trucks are also a favorite.

Mommy to Jonah

[T Garcia]

My dd at 20m loves the farm, the dollhouse and the amusement park. My 3 yr old dd still loves to play with the amusement park - with her matchbox cars! The gas station was also a hit but not for long.

[lukkykatt]

We have quite a few, but it seems that the favorite of every child who comes to our house is the Discovery City. When you push one of the buttons, it does sing a song though, so be forewarned - it has never bothered me though.

I saw that FP has a mat with roads etc. to use with their playsets - I only saw it in a picture, but I wanted to take a look at in in person. Also, DH has his old airport at his parents' house, which the kids love. I was wondering if the new one is comparable.

[KUvsOU]

We have an older version of the Farm and the Discovery City, which my son loves. By older version, we have a version without sound. For Christmas, we have bought him the LP Fun Sound Rescue, Little People Beeps the Bus and a set of the LP Take Along Travelers.

I know that you can buy replacements pieces from FP for LP sets. I did this for his farm and ended up with some animals and items his set wouldn't have included originally. I also had some animals I needed to replace as the dog had chewed up a few.

Shawna
Mom of Cade 6/16/02

[Sue and Boo]

I bought my 2 yo daughter the noah's ark, which she loves, and it came with an offer for the play mat for $4.99. So I sent away for it - I'll post if it's any good.

The ark also came with a free video, "Big Discoveries". I was afraid it would be one long commercial, but it's actually pretty good. In fact there are no commercials or previews at the beginning, a big plus IMO for a kid's video. It has 5 five-minute stories featuring claymation Little People. I let my daughter watch one or two of them before naptime or bedtime. The ark came with an offer for additional videos for only $3.99 each, so I ordered a couple more.