OT: Recommendation for Wooden Playset like Rainbow

[EnchantedPrincess]

We are looking to purchase a wooden playset for our kids and were going to buy a Rainbow Play system...but found out today that they have pulled out of the market in the Houston area, so we are looking for something of similar quality. Does anyone have any recommendation? We would like something that will last for years, and our kids can grow into.

 

[perpetualplanner]

We had a CedarWorks swingset/playset for our boys. It lasted about 12 years and was still in decent shape when we took it down last year. We were very happy with it. We put it together ourselves and it was very easy - and remained very sturdy.

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Thanks..I will check out cedarworks swingset.

 

[janey99]

I recommend woodplay.com. They have tons of options, and the sets are a bit more architectural and not in garish colors, which was important to us.

Jane

 

[tanyaandallie]

What? They pulled out of the market in Houston? Why? WOW!! Kid Structures has had them forever! I just checked their site and you are right, they are gone from the website. What on earth will keep Kid Structures in business now? I wonder if they are going out of business. That is all they had at their beltway location.

 

[Smithfam7]

Yeah, I think I heard that Rainbow was going out of business about 2 weeks ago.
The systems they have at Sam's Club are nice. We got one from the same manufacturer (sorry, I don't remember their name off the top of my head) from Toys'R'Us last year, and it is extremely sturdy.

 

[Jenjulia]

Rainbow is not going out of business. They just installed a new set at the White House. I live in the same city as their headquarters.

Rainbow is changing some of their distribution this year. They are available for order from some big box stores such as Toys R Us, etc...I think they figure that the bigger stores get more customers than the smaller distributors. You should be able to order one online if you really want a Rainbow. I think the Rainbow set that was on the front page of the TRU ad we just got in the mail was $1600 but I don't know if that was with installation.

If you are interested in a Rainbow Play System, I'd recommend visiting their website (www.RainbowPlay.com) and giving their 1-800 number a call. (1-800-Rainbow).

Hope that Helps!!

They are beautiful sets but are expensive. I wish we could afford one. We have a Swing-N-Slide one. Not as pretty but definately much cheaper.

 

[tanyaandallie]

We LOVE our Rainbow. You can also look at Play Nation. We looked at some of their sets when we were looking.

 

[shoney]

I am not sure of the name brand...purchased it from Wood Kingdom on Long Island...but it is the vinyl sided one...no work involved...looks brand new and it is 4 years old.

We purchased a wood set from costco (top of the line at the time) and it was a pain in the butt to keep looking good. We just included it with the sale of our old house because we didn't want to move it.

I'm so glad we spent a few bucks extra up front the next time.

It is something to think about....

 

[Liverlips]

Ordered one from Gorilla Playsets and have been happy with it.

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Thanks everyone for the recommendations.

What? They pulled out of the market in Houston? Why? WOW!! Kid Structures has had them forever! I just checked their site and you are right, they are gone from the website. What on earth will keep Kid Structures in business now? I wonder if they are going out of business. That is all they had at their beltway location.

I talked to the guy from Kid Structures last weekend, had him come out to measure our yard on Tuesday and we were ready to place an order this weekend. He called this morning to say that they just found out yesterday they will no longer be carrying rainbow...BUT they will have a line of their own that has been in the works for a while now. Hmm...makes me wonder? Did rainbow really pull out of the market, or Kids Play decided to not carry Rainbow anymore and concentrate on their own line? Who knows...he tried to sell me their own line..says it is exactly like the rainbow system but about 25-30% cheaper but they don't have anything on display yet.

I recommend woodplay.com. They have tons of options, and the sets are a bit more architectural and not in garish colors, which was important to us.

Jane

Thank you so much...I checked out their website, and really like what I see!

Never heard of gorilla playset before..will check that out as well.

I am not too keen on the Sam's Club or the Toysrus playset..I have had a few friends who bought them and said that they don't last...I am hoping to only buy one set!

 

[alyssa810]

There were no rainbow sellers in our area anymore but we just ordered the Durango from Creative Playthings. We also checked out stuff at Backyard Adventures; my understanding is that they are similar quality, and that the rainbow stuff was maybe a little pricier(?) not that creative playthings or backyard adventures are cheap....anyway, I've talked to friends who've had both and they've all been pleased with their sets.

 

[deva]

Not sure if you have Ultrabuilt in your area. We narrowed it down to the UB and Rainbow and went with the UB as you could get more for your $$$. Also the model we got has a very large fort with fencing around (except for openings where slide/ladder etc. are.) I was a little nervous about the Rainbow clubhouse being all open on both ends. I envisioned someone tumbling out of there.

 

[Jumba17]

Check out Backyard Adventures - www.backyardadventures.com

Very comparable to Rainbow sets. We love ours! I looked quickly at their website and there are dealers in the Houston area.

 

[El&Asmom]

We just got ours from Costco. I think they sell them online as well.
Dh has been spending all his spare hours setting it up this past week. We'll see how much longer it takes to finish.

 

[mom2princessj]

We got a really nice one a few years ago from Sam's club and love it! I'm not sure what the brand is but I know they sometimes show them online. Very sturdy and reminded me alot of the rainbow at a much lower cost. Good luck

 

[EnchantedPrincess]

Thank you everyone...we decided on a woodplay playset!! They were so easy to work with, and the playset was also very customizable.