Customer Reviews

Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Folding Princess Castle

5 star:		(162)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 0:59 Mins

Here's a brief review of the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Wooden Folding Castle. The castle itself is sturdy and surprisingly detailed in its construction. Its so beautiful and my 4.5 year-old preschooler absolutely adores it. Since it doesn't come with any accessories [there is furniture which is sold separately I believe, but we elected not to purchase them as we have plenty of dolls and odds and ends to furnish the castle with]. I did purchase a dragon, a knight, a fairy on a horse, and a catapult as some fun accessories. On the whole, this is a well-made product which I intend to keep for years to come.

FINALLY! A castle for girls DIMENSIONS: 18" W x 15"deep closed and 26"high (Including the flag) and an incredible 36" or 3 FEET long when unfolded. Bigger than my daughter's dollhouse, this princess castle is enormous, and folds out to be even bigger, it is natural wood with very pretty screened (not hand painted but still very nice) flowery decorations. We try to buy all wood toys (some painted some not) and this was, while not unadorned, a very beautiful alternative to the nauseatingly pink and plastic princess castles out there. The roof and turrets are pink accented with gold, a very nice and pretty touch. The quality is excellent, as are all Melissa & Doug items. Don't even hesitate to get this one - your daughter will absolutely love it. When you consider how unique it is, how beautiful and well-made it is, how BIG IT IS, and how now your daughter can have a castle to rival that of your son's, it is well worth it. This is actually bigger than my son's blue castle. My two play with theirs together and the hours of imagination and cooperative play with all the different story lines (his knights and her princesses) is just endless. May 2008: UPDATE: over a year later and this castle is still is perfect shape after hours and hours of play. The ONLY caveat would be the flag - it is held on by a magnet, which does make sense since if it had been glued on it would have broken off by now, but it gets lost easily and the castle looks so much prettier with the flag on. To contradict myself, being able to take it off easily lets my children act out "capture the flag" storyline. I just have to move heaven and earth to find it when misplaced. I cannot believe how much this product has come down in price. I paid over [...] for this when it was first released. Now, with a lower price and Amazon Prime free shipping, you can't go wrong. As a commenter pointed out, it is small inside for furniture, but, this is not really a dollhouse after all. Add the fantasy/princess figures, a unicorn for the unicorn stable and your children will be all set. UPDATE JANUARY 2009 I just purchased the M&D matching princess furniture. The castle has held up to much playing and still looks brand new. After the Tinkerbell movie, it became a fairy castle. The Papo fairy and princess doll figures, Tales and Legends I think, fit perfectly, too. The Disney princess figurines (the mini ones, favorite moments) are a good size also. I am still very happy with this purchase and daughter is still playing happily with it. Our local upscale toystore has this for just under a hundred dollars. Amazon's price is still the best around.

We were searching for a doll house, and all seemed to be plastic junk, made for barbie size, boring, or very expensive. This was a great find (and at a great price). Warning: the Melissa and Doug doll house furniture are really too big for this. SOLUTION: The Playmobil stuff, Royal Bedroom #4253 by Playmobil for instance, is PERFECT. They have several rooms meant to extend the Playmobil castle that fit nicely as additions to this castle (we have the kitchen Royal Kitchen). All the playmobil stuff goes in a box, the castle folds shut, and the whole thing can go in the closet when my daughter is not playing with it. Yippie!

MY 3 YEAR OLD "PRINCESS" GOT THIS FROM SANTA. SHE LOVES ANYTHING PRINCESS SO SHE LOVED THIS. SHE IS NOW 4 AND PLAYS W/THIS OFTEN. I ONLY GAVE IT FOUR STARS DUE TO THE FACT THAT SEVERAL OF THE ROOMS ARE UNACCESSIBLE. THEY SHOULD HAVE MADE THE OPENINGS LARGER SO THEY WOULD BE MORE PLAY ORIENTED. I ALSO ORDERED THE MELISSA AND DOUG ROYAL PEOPLE SET. THIS WAS A MISTAKE. THE HORSES WOULD NOT EVEN STAND UP AND THE WHOLE SET ENDED UP IN MY YARDSALE STUFF. I ENDED UP ORDERING A KING, 2 PRINCESS AND 2 PRINCES AND 3 KNIGHTS FROM PLAYMOBIL. THE PLAYMOBIL PEOPLE ARE THE PERFECT SIZE AND I HIGHT RECOMMEND ORDERING THEM OVER THE MELISSA AND DOUG. I ALSO ORDERD THE PLAYMOBIL ROYAL BEDROOM, A DRAGON, AND A THRONE. PLAYMOBIL FURNITURE IS ALSO THE PERFECT FIT. ALSO POLLY POCKETS WORK REALLY GOOD W/THIS CASTLE

The castle is very cute and girly. I bought some play mobile furniture as suggested by another reviewer and some of the items are too big to get into the room openings. My daughter is just about three and cannot get the furniture in and out; most of the items sit out infront of the castle. I wish that I had purchased a different house with more spacious rooms (or several usable rooms). It is large, well made, and pretty; however it is not practical for the pretend play that I had in mind when I made this purchase. Most of the space available will not hold the play mobile sets (which are small) and just don't serve any purpose.

My two daughters (4 and 2 1/2) both love playing with this. I bought Disney Princess figurines to go with it. It also looks nice in the room when they're not playing with it. Very good quality. I'm sure it will last a very long time. Sometimes the flag, which attaches with magnets, falls off, but that's no big deal.

The castle has provided hours upon hours of enjoyment. My girls are 3 and 5, and use their imagination and play Princesses all of the time (there is even a dungeon, with sliding doors, for their evil dragon). I am so impressed with the quality of this castle and all of the little rooms and alcoves - it fits the Disney Princesses (the Polly Pocket type) perfectly. I purchased some furniture by Fisher Price - "Loving Family" and it is just the right size for furnishing the rooms. I looked at so many plastic castles, but am so glad we purchased this one instead. It's so important for children to develop creativity and use their imaginations and this castle is just great for creative play, plus you can't go wrong the durability and quality that Melissa and Doug use to make toys - did I mention it is absolutely adorable! When they get to the Barbie stage I'm afraid the rooms in this castle might be too small, but I plan on keeping it for them to pass down to their children someday. This is an outstanding toy for little girls who love the little Disney Princesses, and for parents who are looking for a durable toy that fosters imaginative growth.

We got the Melissa and Doug Deluxe Wooden Castle for our daughter's 4-year-old birthday. Her birthday hasn't come yet, but I've been playing with the castle! Cons: You'll never find a carriage small enough to fit through the drawbridge, which I wanted. I can't really think of any others. Pros: The castle is huge, but the right size. It has a lot of nooks, crannies, and stairs. That's where all the people "hang out." The rooms are proportionate to the size of the castle, and I think of a good size. We purchased the Playmobil Royal Bedroom, which fits in the bottom room, the nursery, which fits in the upper room, the bathroom, which fits in the area to the right of the upper room, and the king w/ throne and black panther, which look great on the ground in front of the castle (everything doesn't have to be Disney, and if it's generic she can use her imagination more, in my opinion.) Like I said, I've played with it. I had to wrap it so I would quit playing with it! She loves her little people farm and Dora house. I have no reason to believe she won't love this, as well. We're going to pick up the Disney Princess figurines that we don't have yet from the Dollar Tree to make sure she has enough figures (all of the Playmobil products come with people. The carriage, which we got, as well, comes with 6 figurines and 2 horses. (Needless to say, I like Playmobil as well as I like Melissa and Doug!) The castle itself is very sturdy and beautiful. You can see most of what I have written about in the picture I posted.

Update: We gave it to her this morning for her 4th birthday, and she played with it literally all day, barely taking time out to eat. I played with her in the morning, then by herself for much of the day, then grandma in the evening. Her favorite "toy" to go with it were the Dollar Tree Disney princesses. She liked the playmobil bed (see my other reviews), and the carriage and horses(ditto) very much. She also liked having the baby and cradle that came with the nursery. Definitely a hit.

I bought this for Xmas 2010 so cannot say yet whether or not it will be a hit (although I can't imagine how she could not love it). But, BIG WARNING TO ANYONE ELSE PLANNING TO BUY THIS! It arrived with "FOLDING WOODEN PRINCESS CASTLE" emblazoned on all sides of the cardboard box that it arrived in. Thankfully, my 4 yr old is not reading yet to a level that she recognized the words. But, if you're getting this for a little girl that can read, you will want to send this to a friend's house, a relative's house, or your work.

This wooden castle has many great features, including the draw bridge and "jail" door and towers. The detail on the wood is not hand painted, but looks great anyway. It's a much better castle than most of the plastic castles on the market (in the same size range). This is a Christmas gift, so my daughter (3 years) hasn't used it yet, but I know it will keep her occupied with her Disney pricess figurines that fit perfectly. I only wish there were more options for furniture and figurines to purchase for the castle. I've only managed to find a couple of figurines, which is why I only gave it 4 stars.