Do you have a wooden garage for your ds/dd?

[Ellaroo]

• am looking for recommendations. We have just had one sent from Letterbox (made by Le Van toys, I think) but found that the way they had put the ramps (inside the garage) made them really inaccessible, so are back to square one. Without being able to let ds test-drive it as it's a christmas present we're not sure what to get. Has anyone got this garage and found it to be good (and ramps not a problem), or have any recommendations for others?

Thanks

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DS has one of the wooden ELC garages and to be honest he's never really liked it or played with in much because you can't roll the cars all the way down the ramps. What he'd really like is a plastic garage with a curly ramp like at our car park - he would play with that for hours I think.

Does it have to be wooden? If it's for environmental reasons would a second-hand plastic one be acceptable?

Why can't you roll the cars all the way down the ramps on the ELC one?

No, it's not really for environmental reasons....more because I just like the way the wooden ones look! Ds would probably love a plastic one - which is why we thought the letterbox one looked good initially - because it has curvy plastic ramps, but the rest is made of wood. \link{http://www.letterbox.co.uk/BIG_MULTI_LEVEL_GARAGE_WITH_LIFT_code_7312.html} - its not as roomy as it looks and can't see how a child would get a car to go up the ramps or play with things on the bottom two levels.

...as you can see - I am good at doing links!

What I meant is that he doesn't want to "drive" them down himself - he wants to let go & watch them whizz to the bottom. The ELC ramps are at right angles (and the cars slide off the sides anyway).

We went for the wooden garage and cars etc because it all looks nice and he got bought loads but as soon as people started buying him metal cars he only wanted to play with them.

I'll have a look at the letterbox one..... back in a minute.

I think it looks pretty good. The lift is much better than the ELC one as it looks open (DS spent most time filling his lift with all his cars which then had to be wiggled out).

I'm not sure the lack of room is a problem as boys seem to like lying down to play anyway so will be more on eye level.

The trouble is however much thought you put in to trying to get the right toy, there's no guarantee they'll play with it. Last year we spent loads on a fancy digger which he's hardly played with, whereas he got a crappy plastic pinball game for a few pence at a charity sale last week and it's his favourite ever toy!

yes, you're probably right. I do love the way it looks - just wonder if a child would have to have spaghetti arms to be able to get a car from the bottom of the ramp to the top!

I doubt cars will ever go up the ramps when there's the option of whizzing them down!

ANd if you like how it looks, remember you're going to be looking at it a lot more than your lo ever plays with it.....(yes, I'm just dreading the day when DS gets into all those weird alien, power rangers, bionacles (?)figures...)

Yes, that's probably true - why bother going up the ramp when they can just be plonked on top? It only took me an hour to flatpack it together and 1/2 an hour to package up...but now I'm thinking maybe I ought to get it out for one more look..

I just don't understand the alieny/bionic things and feel utterly confused when looking through the pirate and safari pages in the elc catalogue.

Has anyone else got any recommendations...before I spend an hour rebuilding something imperfect! thank you . Anyone got the huge plastic blue garage from ELC - what do you think of it?

We have the wooden elc one. Dd (4.5) plays with it for hours. We have the ELC road track which attaches to the garage. She uses matchbox cars. But she can work the lift and uses her imagination - the cars have names and argue over parking spaces.

Ds (21 mo) also plays with it for hours, shooting the cars down the ramps. We had to tape the ramps onto the garage to stop him pulling them off all the time. And he does just fill the lift shaft up with cars. But it takes 15 minutes to do that and 2 minutes for me to get them out so I think its worth it.

The garage is strong enough for a toddler to stand on, too, which the plastic ones don't tend to be.

look at this one in your local woolworths. Picture is missing from online (at least on my PC)

thank you so much for all the links - the gltc one is quite amazing (although would worry that there is nothing to hold the cars on the platforms which could lead to much frustration) but despite that looks lovely.

Fruitful - do you not find the cars fall off the ramps with the wooden elc one then?

Hi Ellaroo, made a decision yet? I probably should have added that my ds was only 2 when we got him the ELC garage so that might be why he had trouble with the ramps. Probably should have tapped them on too..

No, am paralysed by indecision!!! Dh is getting quite irritated by this now ('it's only a bloody garage, just pick one' were his exact words when I asked him about it last night, but have convinced myself that ds needs it to be perfect in every way to have maximum likelihood of playing with it)- am rapidly reaching the end of my seven days to return the wretched thing though (can't imagine how much the postage is going to be on sending it back!).

FWIW I've just ordered the same one from Letterbox. I think it looks pretty good and sturdy and my ds will love watching them roll......and the lift, hey, a lift AND a petrol pump!

By the way, if you return it thats good news for me, I'm on a list.....

DS was bought the letterbox one by grandparents for his 3rd birthday and he loves it.He doesnt have a problem with the ramps etc as they stick out a bit at the back.He plays with it all no problems and DD[11mths] also plays or sits on it..

Nemoinapeartree! Thank you so you much. Positive endorsement by someone who already owns it is just what I need! (sorry frumpygrumpy, feel guilty now - don't Amazon do it too?). Have become completely over-obsessed with garage picking (how does this happen? - it starts with a few minutes of happily browsing the catalogues and ends with frantic internet trawling until the small hours when really I would be far better tucked up with magazine and a glass of wine!), but feel now that I may think of Nemoinapeartree's one being happily played with and sat upon and can now relax until Christmas, knowing that at least one other boy in the UK likes it. Dh will be eternally grateful.

ellaroo he doesnt just like it he loves it..he plays with it everyday and thinks it is the bees knees and as I say DD is also quite partial to it..lol

Horay! Thank you!!! So happy now !

No problem, ellaroo, they say it will definitely be in before christmas and I'm glad its popular.

Anyway, I can always give him the wooden pirate ship I didn't order . Minimarvellous confused the code for a bead kit (for DD1) with the code for a pirate ship. Wondered why my bill was so much bigger......

DH made one. It's very basic (plywood square on top of plywood rectangle on four legs (or is it stilts?) with a ramp), but especially ds plays loads and loads with it.

Oops, sorry, didn't read far enough. You've found one already...