Richard Scarry’s Busytown Fire Station and Roadway Playsets {Holiday Gift Guide} + Giveaway CLOSED

Both of my boys are very familiar with the BusyTown Mysteries series. What started as a short video we had given to us a couple of years ago and forgotten has now more recently grown into a  favorite series of them both, especially my 5 year old Lucian. Because we stream movies and shows from Netflix on our XBox 360, we’ve had access to a full 52 episodes and over the last several months we’ve watch every single episode. We’ve also enjoyed several BusyTown books by Richard Scarry before bed.

But one thing the boys haven’t had are any BusyTown toys. Honestly,  I didn’t even know they existed! So when I’m offered the chance to check out the BusyTown Fire Station Playset and Roadway Starter Playset first hand I jumped on it.

I gave each of the boys their own playset after they helped clean up their toys and the living room. The excitement certainly was built up and I even quickly wrapped them in some brown paper. The boys were so thrilled when they finally opened them up. They couldn’t believe they had BusyTown toys! Since they also hadn’t seen them in stores they didn’t realize they existed either.

They had a blast playing with the sets on a lazy weekend afternoon. The best part? They played together! Lucian actually kept carrying them all over the house and took his fire station set to bed. Because of the way the track fits together it is easy to move them without the road falling apart which is a very nice feature.

Roadway Starter Set: Curiosities are everywhere in Busytown! This Richard Scarry’s Busytown Roadway Starter Playset, a fun character and vehicle play system, encourages social interaction between kids as they explore and play in their own Busytown world. With 8 roadway pieces included, this Busytown Roadway Starter Set makes a complete oval track layout and connects with most wooden track systems! Includes Lowly Worm in his classic Apple Car, along with a bookstore, traffic sign and signal. Discover the fun of Busytown with this Roadway Starter Set. ($19.99)

Fire Station Playset: This Richard Scarry’s Busytown Fire Station Playset, a fun character and vehicle play system, encourages social interaction between kids as they explore and play in their own Busytown world. Includes: 8 roadway pieces that form a complete oval track layout ass well as the fire station with Fireman Pig and his own fire truck! With a press of a button, you can launch the fire truck into action, open the fire station doors and turn the roof panels into stairs. ($24.99)

We love the sturdy feeling of this set and even though I would normally prefer something made of wood, this set does not feel cheap in the least and will last. Another nice feature is that other small vehicles easily fit on the roadway.

What the boys did find frustrating (understandably so) was the limited amount of track. The two sets shown didn’t work real well together to make a single big set because of a lack of straight pieces. And since all the curved pieces could only be used one way rather than flipped over, it was limiting in how we could build the roadway.

We also had some issues with one of the doors on the First Station which didn’t fit as well as the other side and kept coming off. Lucian removed both doors entirely which helped. I also wish that the two stars of the show, Huckle and Sally were included in one of the playsets. While these are available for purchase separately, many are currently out of stock. Overall we thing this these are great toys for a great value. But I would highly recommend rounding out the set with the BusyTown Town Hall which contains even more track and would allow the sets to fit in even better together. This playset opens up and offers lots of variety for different styles of play whether your child is more interested in driving vehicles or playing with figures within the hall. ($39.99)

CATEGORY: Gifts for Boys, Gifts for Girls

PRODUCT: Richard Scarry’s BusyTown Fire Station Playset and Roadway Starter Playset

AGES: 3+

BUY IT: The Fire Station Playset retails for $24.99 and the Roadway Starter PlaySet for $19.99.  Look for them at Toys ‘R Us in stores and online!