Childrens Toys and Accessories

Imaginarium Train Set

We recently purchased an Imaginarium Classic Train Table with Roundhouse Wooden Train Set by Toys R Us for $159.99 (+ tax).

I have been looking around the town and on internet to purchase a reasonably priced Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends train table and trains, but it’s SO overpriced (even if you buy it on sale)!

My youngest is a boy and he LOVES trains – he says “play choo-choo” every single time we go to our local Barnes and Noble store.

Unfortunately, he doesn’t play or share well with others – he’s gotten so used to his older sibling’s generosity to share that he thinks everything is his.

So … between getting sick and tired of going to our local B&N and my son screaming “mine,” we decided to buy a train table.

I have seen Imaginarium wooden train table and trains before in the store, but I felt I SHOULD get him Thomas product – honestly, I felt I was cheating him out of something if I bought him something less than Thomas trains.

Luckily some sanity kicked in … why in the heck am I going to spend hundreds of dollars on wooden trains; especially when they had problems with their Chinese manufacturers using lead paints on Thomas trains!!!!

I think I made a wise decision buying the generic train table and train rather than the brand name.

Here is the breakdown of reasons why I went generic vs named brand.

With Imaginarium brand you get:
23 feet track
fueling station
airport tunnel
bridge
crane
tunnel
roundhouse
turntable
playboard
train table,
4- people
4- street sings
7- trees
4- street lamps
Helicopter
1- truck
1- car
8- train cars
12- pieces of cargo

I did some math, and if you ONLY get the tracks, bridge, crane, roundhouse, helicopter, 8 train cars, and table you are going to pay about $487 – this is without consider the taxes and other accessories Thomas and Friends offer.

I just can’t believe how much these companies are extorting parents!!

I have to say even thought the Imaginarium product was reasonably priced and there are many pieces included in the package I do have some disappointment.

I have most of the pieces glued onto the board (it’s only $150 and if I have to replace it in couple of years I am not going to cry over it) since my little man moves everything and disassembles everything – I am not about to put tracks down 100 times a day – you know what I mean?

The plastic bridge was quite hard to glue onto the board since it doesn’t have a large surface area to glue it down to the board.

Also the drawers get stuck sometimes, but I guess I can fix it by using some candles on the board.

Other than that I am quite happy with the purchase, and I have not given my dogs away when they ate some train pieces (tress and signs).

Can you imagine if your dogs ate Thomas and Friends pieces?

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We have been looking for a decent wood swing set for couple of years.  As you probably already know these playsets are very expensive; especially those Rainbow Play Systems and Cedar-Works swing sets.

If you already have Rainbow or Cedar-Works swing sets than I congrats you – you can afford it, but most of us can’t.

Rainbow and Cedar-Works swing systems have been in business for over 20 years, and Cedar-Works have won numerous awards including Parents’ Choice Award, Oppenheim toy Portfolio Best Toy Award, and etc.

However, most of us working people (or families with one income) have to sacrifice known brand names to realistic substitutes.

Swing Set

So, we went to Sam’s Club and picked out Woodridge Wooden Swing Set with Slide for $1,100.00 (without tax) – our local Sam’s Club had an awesome sale – YEAH for US!!!

Of course, before we bought the item I did an extensive research on this product: i.e. reading reviews, price comparisons, construction information, dimensions, other available substitute, and etc.

After thinking through what I have learned I was still hesitant about buying this swing set – it’s still $1,100.00!!!!  I just can’t believe outdoor play equipments are SO expensive!

But, in the end we went with Sam’s Club swing set over Toys R Us swing sets and Lowe’s swing sets.

If you read reviews on Sam’s swing set you might come across many comments about difficulty putting the item together.

My husband and I are not handy people what-so-ever, so before I bought the set I talked with a gentleman who put the swing set for the store – he was an employee of the stores.

His rate was reasonable, $400, and it was worth every penny!!!  Also, you can hire commercial contractors to put the swing set together as well — they might just cost little more, but you will have the companies work warranties for their jobs though.

Pulling Hair Out

If you break your time down to put the swing set for yourself it would have cost you more money (than $400), and have gotten TONS of headaches.

Also, to ensure stability to the structure itself I asked the “handy man” to put extra support (including the support system that came with the swing set) by putting 4×4 post timber followed by putting it concrete under the balcony area.

If you decide to buy this system I think it would be very wise to put extra support for your kids, and their friend’s kids (and you) – I want to ensure safety for myself.

We have enjoyed the swing set for over 8 months, and I think it was a great buy!

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