Janie Grace Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I tend to eschew the plastic stuff in favor of wooden things, science kits, musical instruments, books… except for the tried-and-true Legos, Playmobil, etc. However, this past summer, we visited friends who have Imaginext. I honestly did not understand the attraction but my 3yo played with it CONSTANTLY. I was in Kohl's today, it was 50% off (I think) and I had a 30% off coupon and well… I went a little nuts (for me). Bought him three pirate sets, along with a couple of little pirate guys (the little $5 things -- thinking stocking stuffers). His birthday is in January, so I thought we could make this a Christmas/birthday thing. Now I'm home and wondering what in the world I have done. Is this just junk that's going to be lost under the bed and forgotten? What's the merit of Imaginext (except, of course, my kid thinking it's awesome while at his friend's house… which could be all I need to know)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 My husband bought my older girls a rescue heroes set when they were little. They played with it some, but not as much as he had hoped. This was a gift that he picked out, thinking they would love it. For some reason I kept the set stored in the garage and when DS was about two or three DH pulled out the set and played with him. Since then my son has played so much with them that my hs has bought several other sets, such as the dinosaurs and pirates, which he plays with in the tub. A couple of months ago a boy down the street gave DS his Batman set and also the space station because he had outgrown them. We keep the pirate set in the bathroom, the rescue heroes in the game room, batman in the makeshift play area downstairs, and the batman set in the closet for now until he shows an interest. The space station sits on a shelf in his room. I take it down when he asks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 My 4 yo LOVES it! We have the Batcave, Gotham City Jail, Green Lantern base, Samauri Castle, Space police station, Space police base, shuttle and launch pad, dino bones site, fire station, and pirate ship. We have almost every superhero and ninja that they offer. He plays with them for at least two hours every day and they are indestructible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie Laurie Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 I tend to be a toy snob myself. :) I love Waldorf toys, wooden toys that feel so much nicer to hold, imaginative toys that are open-ended, science, and building toys. But my youngest loves Little People so sometimes plastic, ordinary toys can get a lot of play time too. It sounds like the Imaginext stuff will get lots of play time, since your ds played with it a lot before. And if he likes it and it sparks his imagination, then why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 My 4 yo LOVES it! We have the Batcave, Gotham City Jail, Green Lantern base, Samauri Castle, Space police station, Space police base, shuttle and launch pad, dino bones site, fire station, and pirate ship. We have almost every superhero and ninja that they offer. He plays with them for at least two hours every day and they are indestructible! Wow, there are a lot of choices! I only saw the Batman stuff, pirate stuff and one dino set. Ds would LOVE the space ones. It's nice to hear that he plays with them for a long time and they are sturdy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janie Grace Posted November 10, 2013 Author Share Posted November 10, 2013 I tend to be a toy snob myself. :) I love Waldorf toys, wooden toys that feel so much nicer to hold, imaginative toys that are open-ended, science, and building toys. But my youngest loves Little People so sometimes plastic, ordinary toys can get a lot of play time too. It sounds like the Imaginext stuff will get lots of play time, since your ds played with it a lot before. And if he likes it and it sparks his imagination, then why not? Haha ~ yup, toy snob is pretty apt. But when I think about it, a lot my childhood favorites weren't "quality" toys. I loved My Little Ponies and Barbies, stuffed animals, even GI Joe with a boy friend… anything that sparked imagination, like you said. I liked to create characters, and this ds is like that too. Hmmm… I think I have my answer. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSOchristie Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 That's what Jackson does, he builds these elaborate playscapes and plot lines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 My kids love them. They are most requested when boy friends are coming over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delighted3 Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 We have the bat cave and my son loved it till he outgrew it, but now we get it out when we have little kids come to visit and it is always played with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 We bought the castle, 2 different dragons, a catapult, a battering ram, and assorted knight sets for my son last year when he was newly 3. Kmart was having an amazing sale and DH couldn't resist. A year later it is still one of the most played-with toys we have. I love Little People sets, and he plays with them some, but he drools over the Imaginext sets. All the 3-6 year-old boys (and a good portion of the girls) who come over head head straight for it. We don't keep batteries in the castle, however, because it can get loud/repetitive/annoying. DS can entertain himself imaginatively for quite a while with them. So far I've resisted the urge to get pirates, but my resolve may crumble once the baby is old enough to inherit the Little People from him. He wants the superheros or Monsters U sets too, but DH and I want to avoid another movie tie-in toy since he is already obsessed enough with Disney Cars and Planes. ETA: He also has the space shuttle, but since it is only one set without add-ons it doesn't get as much use. Of course he is adamantly opposed to getting rid of it, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 They were popular with my boys back in the day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 We are also those who did almost exclusively wooden or otherwise classic toys when the kids were babies/toddlers, but now, we've got plastic everywhere. Imaginext is some of the very most popular here. We have some pirates, super heros, castle, and star wars. My general guidelines for toys now are that I don't want toys that play *for* them (we still have almost nothing with buttons or batteries) and I don't want cheap plastic junk that is going to fall apart immediately. But the higher quality plastic toys that still encourage imaginative play are all OK in my book! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia7278 Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Amazon usually has a good selection as does KMart. We have an assortment of their stuff, mostly the space stuff. My son LOVES it and plays for hours and hours. We started buying the stuff two years ago when he was 5 and we're still building on his collection b/c he really enjoys it. We try to watch for sales after holidays then put stuff away until the next birthday/holiday. Right now the batcave is hiding under my bed waiting for Christmas and I suspect his eyes will pop out of his head and he'll try to smuggle the whole darn thing (it's big too) to bed. I really think the potential of these toys is equal to playmobil products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 My kids love Imaginext. They mix and match the sets. It hasn't damaged their creativity, and it may have enhanced it a bit. Like all other toys, they go through phases of playing with it or not playing with it. We throw it all in a big bin and don't worry about keeping the sets boxed up separately. In our house, simple cleanup increases the likelihood that it will get put away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfirmath Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 My son got the Fire Station for his 3rd birthday and that has been the Imaginext set that has been played with/loved on the most. The aircraft carrier we got for Christmas when he was 4 is a dud and going on Craigslist this holiday season The castle last year, while not played with as much, he still wants to keep around. It is currently stored out of his reach but where he can see it -- and it gets brought down when folks come to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmyboys Posted November 11, 2013 Share Posted November 11, 2013 I, personally, would put imaginext in the same category as lego and playmobil. My 3yr old plays with imaginext toys in his room almost every day for 90 minutes during rest time with no problem. He picks them every day. All my kids love them. Some of ours are 5 years old and still in good shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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