A couple of weeks ago, we were at the craft store {real shocker, I know} when Grace took an interest in the castles.

The craft store that we frequent has a section of toys from companies like Melissa & Doug and Thomas the Train. Anyway, Grace was really admiring the castles, so when the opportunity arose to review a Melissa & Doug castle, I jumped.

After several miscommunications regarding the product or products that we’d be reviewing, the Fold & Go Castlearrived.

As soon as I opened the box, Grace adored her tower.

Grace has a great imagination, and she has a Daddy with a great imagination. They spent an hour that first night guarding the castle from intruders and weaving crazy tales.

Their favorite room is the dungeon. What does that tell you?

Someone is always in the dungeon.

Why is the king stuck in between the walls of the castle? And why is the horse looking down at him from above?

With all of her Christmas loot, the castle took a back burner for a couple of weeks.

Then Joe filled the her treasure chest with treasure (previously known as shiny, new pennies), and the infatuation began anew.

The king uses his loot to play hopscotch. Sometimes, he lines them up and counts them.

The king is in his counting house, counting out his money…

With all that loot inside, the knights have to sit atop their steeds, just inside the door. They are ready for anything…

… like a giant who comes to look for plunder.

If they aren’t quick enough, the giant may just reach in through a window and steal it.

What I Like About the Fold & Go Castle

Grace loves it. Isn’t that the most important thing?

The Fold & Go Castle is a nice size. It’s big enough for Grace to play with, but it’s small enough to fold together and sit in line with her Little People Busy Day House. When the castle is folded in half, the two are about the same size.

I love the colors. There is an all-pink option, but we went for the more gender-neutral choice. It is classic-looking and appropriate for boys or girls.

A mostly-empty castle leaves the door wide open for creative play.

The drawbridge opens and closes. It’s really cool when it works properly (see below). Also, it’s held together with a rope and not hinges. It seems like the rope will last a long time.

What I Don’t Like About the Fold & Go Castle

The wood is very, very soft. I scratched the castle opening the package. Aside from that scratch, it looks great, but I wonder how it will wear in the hands of a 2-year-old.

The drawbridge is held on by a rope. Through normal play, the drawbridge came ajar and wouldn’t shut properly. I figured out how to fix it, but fixing it was a pain. It happened once; I don’t know if it was a one-time fluke or if it will be a frequent thing.

The people and furniture that come with the castle are too big for it. It seems like they were designed for a much larger castle.  Having said that, however, Grace doesn’t seem to mind. She plays with them and has a good time.

I think the castle should come with more people. There is an option to buy more people, but the only set available includes the 4 people that come with the castle in the first place. Grace was happy to use her Little People in the castle, so we’re going to leave it at that.

The Bottom Line

Every toy has drawbacks. Because I think Melissa & Doug values customers’ opinions, I wanted to point out what I believe to be easily fixable concerns regarding the Fold & Go castle.

Overall, however, I do think it’s a good product. Grace adores it, and I especially like its classic, retro feel. I think all kids (older ones, especially), like to pretend play with a castle and the royals who live there.

Fold & Go Castle Giveaway

Melissa & Doug offered to give one lucky Feels like Home reader a Fold & Go Castle just like the one we reviewed.

To enter: Visit the Melissa & Doug store and choose your favorite product. Come back here and report it in the comments.

For extra entries: You can earn extra entries for the following:

1. Follow Melissa & Doug on Twitter and report it in the comments.
2. Tweet about this giveaway and leave the URL for the Tweet in the comments. You may do this daily.
3. Sign up for the Melissa & Doug newsletter and report it in a comment.
4. Post my button on your sidebar. Report the URL for your site in a comment.
5. Subscribe to Feels Like Home and report it in a comment.

Good luck! I’ll use Random.org to choose a winner some time after 11:59 pm on February 16. 2010. The winner was comment #50; she has been notified by email.

We received the Fold & Go Castle from Shopatron, on behalf of Melissa & Doug, in order to evaluate before posting. Shopatron also provided the Fold & Go Castle for the giveaway.