Wonderful
I recieved the train set and set up in the preschool class during the summer. The children loved and we played together while talking.

Poorly fitting track makes this difficult to use
I am shocked at all the glowing reviews for this train set. I bought this to supplement my son's Thomas sets, since Thomas is so expensive.

The tracks with this set are very shoddy. They don't stay together well at all. My son would get constantly frustrated with how the tracks fell apart. I bought the Suretrack clips and even with them on every single join, the tracks are still wobbly. The Thomas tracks stay together much better.

I was willing to accept this, because Thomas tracks are so much more expensive until I bought Kidkraft Limited Edition Waterfall Mountain Train Table and Train Set W/drawers. This is a full-size train table and train set for 0. The tracks that came with this set are just as good as the Thomas tracks for staying together. They aren't as pretty or detailed as the Thomas tracks, but they are equally functional. If this cheap set can work as well as Thomas tracks there is no excuse for this M&D set not to.

I unfortunately bought this set ahead of time by a few months so am unable to return it, which is what I really want to do. Sometimes a cheap item isn't worth what you pay for it. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative to Thomas trains I'd go with on of the Kidcraft sets before this one. I'm using a couple of the connector/splitter pieces of this set in our train set-up but almost the whole set just sits unused in our garage because the quality just isn't there. It isn't worth it to have my son whining every minute because Thomas keeps derailing off the M&D tracks.

I found this toy's low price tag was totally offset by the need to purchase Sureclips at +shipping. Go with a more expensive set that actually holds together. It doesn't have to be the super-expensive Thomas set.

Wonderful product
We bought this for my son's 2nd birthday. He was so excited to open it and put it together. This is definately a toy that will last a long time. His 7 year old cousin has fun playing with him and so do his grandparents. It's a great toy for all ages. At first he knocked the bridges over a lot but he learned to be more careful and we learned to only make bridges sometimes. He is 32 months now and makes a playable track by himself and plays without needing our help. His tracks are incomplete but he makes a more elaborate one each time. We didn't get a table because we don't have the space and it's nice to put it away when he isn't palying with it.

hope you have patience...
We got this for my 2yo. It took my husband and I over an hour to put it together. Many of the pieces just did not fit. I was a good thing we had some other Brio and Thomas tracks to substitute. And don't even bother trying to follow the diagram tht comes with it. It's not even close. It was such a pain that once we got it assembled, we decided to glue it to the train table because I didn't EVER want to do that again. Also, the quality of the trains are not as good as the Thomas ones. However, at , it was much more affordable than Thomas. That being said, both my 2 and 4 year old LOVE it and play with it for hours.

great train set for the $, a few construction issues
My son absolutely LOVES his wooden train sets (he started with the 2 starter sets {Thomas the Tank Engine and Imaginarium}) so we wanted to add to his collection and looked into many expansion sets before deciding on this set. for many reasons we love this set: first of all, this set is a great set for the cost!!! and is compatible with his other train sets. Secondly, we love that this set comes with so many actual train tracks pieces and structures, other sets were mostly trees and signs. The quality and quantity of items that come with this set is amazing and we would definately purchase this set again.
But with that said, there are a few construction issues that when compared to other sets; this wooden train set is slightly inferior. First the bridge is not the best design, no matter how you try to support it (we gave up using their wooden supports and use the Imaginarium plastic supports instead)the bridge consistantly collapses. Secondly the wooden supports, don't stay in place and cause the train tracks to fall off, so we no longer use them and just place the majority of the track on the floor; using the wooden supports more for blocks than anything else.
Besides the bridge and supports, I am extremely pleased with this wooden train set and would definately recommend it to others!

Great wooden kitchen
Wow! This is a beautiful kitchen! It's going to be so much fun for our 2 1/2 year old and upcoming baby sister. We got this kitchen on Thursday and my husband put it together last night. Like one of the reviewers stated, it took my husband about an hour and a half to fully assemble it. The directions are very good and everything fit together like it was suppose to. What my husband would of liked were washer underneath the faucet and the sink handles to keep the paint from wearing off. (he's going to get them today, and put them on)
This kitchen will last for years of fun for the little ones. The colors are primary so would work great for a boy or a girl

Made of MDF - NOT WOOD - BUYER BEWARE
We bought this item per the information on Amazon - that it is made of solid wood. We have been using it for a while and it still has a smell to it, especially when the doors are left open. I called Melissa and Doug today and was told that it is MDF, not solid wood, hence the smell (I'm very sensitive to MDF/Particle Board). Amazon WILL NOT stand by it's information and help me since it's past the return policy. It really stinks that a company as big as Amazon will not stand by the information it provides on it's products... who knows what you're really getting, especially when it's painted over and not apparent to the naked eye!

Great Product for the Price!
I bought this kitchen for my girls for Christmas, age 1 and 4 years. It was intended more for the four year old because she loves to cook and has most of the Melissa and Doug food sets already (which she loves!) but I was suprised at how much my one year old loved it also. We have had it for four months and am pleased at how it has been able to hold up against my daughters, and 3 year old nephew, opening and slamming the doors.
I read a lot of reviews about how difficult it is to put together, but if you know anything about following directions and using a screw driver it really isn't that bad. It took my husband about 2 hours total and there was no yelling involved :)

I was a little disappointed when we realized the kit was missing a piece, since we had counted all of the pieces when it first arrived. But upon further glance we had an extra of one we didn't need and were missing another. A little panic set in since Christmas was in four days. We called the Melissa and Doug company first thing Monday morning and the new piece arrived Wednesday with no arguing or hassel. Just in time to be ready for Christmas morning. It was a bummer that all the pieces were not in the kit, but the customer service was EXCELLENT and things worked out great. It is impossible to expect that there will be no mistakes in life, but it is how people fix those situations that really makes a difference!!

I have been very happy with the MANY Melissa and Doug products that my girls own and the kitchen is proving to be no different! They love it and it will most likely be an item that we keep around for the grandkids too!!

Great Product, but NOT solid wood as stated
I purchased this kitchen from a local toy store for my daughter's second birthday. She absolutely LOVES it! The design and bold colors make it attractive. The refrigerator and oven are deep enough to put plenty of accessories in, unlike some other toy kitchens I looked at. I love the safety features--rounded corners and plastic door latches that keep the refrigerator and oven doors from closing tightly and pinching little fingers. I have no complaints about this kitchen, but I would like to point out that the product description on amazon says that it is solid wood and "doesn't include a single piece of press board" but this is not true. The one I purchased was from a display in a toy store, therefore already assembled. When I got home I noticed a small hole in the top of it that apparently happened in the store. When looking in the hole, you can tell that it IS made of press board, but very thick and heavy-weight, so still very sturdy and durable.

Absolutely PERFECT!!
This kitchen is so WONDERFUL! We bought it as a Christmas present for our 1 1/2 and 3 year old. They LOVE it. In addition to their enthusiasm for it, we love it too! It is SO WELL MADE! The assembly was so easy, with EVERY part labeled and instructions that a child could follow, we had it all together in an hour and a half with no stress AT ALL!!! All the parts are made from solid wood, not particle board and the attention to detail with the design is impressive. The knobs of the stove even tilt up slightly like on a real stove. There are so many cute details. It was worth every single penny!!! It has provided hours and hours of fun for my kids :-)

My 4 and 2yos love these!
Great purchase. We've built a town for Polly Pocket and friends. :) The 2yo like to build and tear down... my 4yo plays and plays and plays. It's great!

Also, I imagine that later on we will want another set, but this quantity is enough for now. We combine them with a smaller set of unit blocks (16 pieces) and it's enough for us.

Love them!
We've had these blocks nearly a year, and they are a huge hit with both of my kids! They are slightly heavy if you were to try and carry the entire box of them around the house, but the wooden box they come in is great for storage, and sturdy also. My only 'complaint' is that with the kids getting older (and 3 of them!) we may need to purchase another set sometime. They are super durable too...highly recommend them!

Great for all ages
I purchased these blocks for my Sons birthday. I had a homemade set when I was young so I was concerned about the quality and durability of the wood. After inspection I was very impressed with the quality and these were even better! I think Dad(me)might have just as much fun with these as son ;-)

We love these blocks!
These were a gift for my son who enjoys building with any kind of blocks. These are very nice blocks that stack easily. The box is heavy they are stored in, but you have to expect that since the blocks are so large. Overall, we love these blocks and would recommend them to anyone who has a child who likes to build.

Mom of twins
I was happy with this product over all. The design on it and none of the blocks were rough or had any edges that felt like it might come apart and leave slivers in the skin. That was my main concern besides my boys throwing them at each other. I have twins that are two years of age and they love these blocks. I felt the price was decent for the quality and quantity plus i couldnt find anything like this in stores, I had been searching for anything they could build with that wasnt small enough to put in there mouths and the huge lego sets come with like 6 large pieces and to buy two of them would be pricey and the pieces wouldnt be enough to satisfy my two boys cause they would fight over them. So over all i personally love this item and it comes in handy for me cause there is enough for the two of my boys to play with together and it helps them learn to balance and stack pieces as they grow cause this kind of toy can stick with them over the years unlike many others.