Question

My kids are almost 3 and 5. debating a rainbow or woodplay swing set/slide/clubhouse combo. the park is close so we never needed but with everything shut down thinking might be good to have. My kids are rough on things and 90th percentile so i want something quality that will be durable and someone to help consult in location, set and installation. I don’t have the ability to self install. I’m interested in opinions on the following: - until what age did your kids play with a similar type set? - Do you think it’s valuable to get at their age and will get longevity from it? - experience with rainbow vs woodplay (installed by Woodridge fence) Thanks!  

Answer 1

Get them out on it every day- our kids have had since they were 4, 2 , and new baby and still have our Rainbow they play on now almost 11, 13 and 15- we just painted over it and gave it a face lift ( my husband replaced rotten wood parts) kids and I painted, waiting for fabric to sew a new canopy- we have a Rainbow play set-

Comments

@midsection thank you!  

Answer 2

We love our wood play! My daughter is 5. My 15 year old step daughter still goes out to swing. We got the higher deck level so the swings would be higher. We are adding the rock wall and disc swing this year. We love Stu at Woodland Fence!  

Comments

Was just going to suggest Woodland Fence! Cheaper than Rainbow but great quality

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@cilicia yes!  

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@algae thank you! Did they come out and help assess location and set?  

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@sextan yes, they are very thorough.  

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Yes they did. Made sure it would work where we wanted it

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@sextan Rainbow will come out to check your yard too. I really didn't find much of a price difference between the two companies, at least for the sets we were considering.  

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@tailrace9407 thank you!  

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@sextan No problem. Both companies have very similar models. I'd recommend requesting catalogs and pricing info to get a feel for what you're interested in. When I was talking to Rainbow about two weeks ago, they were about 3-4 weeks out for installing some models and 5-6 for others, so that might be a factor for you too.  

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@tailrace9407 thank you for this!  

Answer 3

We got our Rainbow when my oldest was 2. My boys are now 9 and 5 and use it almost daily, year round!  

Comments

@catchpenny294 thank you!  

Answer 4

My daughter played with her swingset until we moved after 5th grade. She loved to swing and we bought one that had kind of "playhouse" type feel under the slide. So when she was older and less interested in the slide, she and her friends sat under there all the time. (We got the one from costco. less than rainbow, but sturdy and long lasting. )

Comments

@odie0 thank you!  

Answer 5

Love our Rainbow. My oldest is 19 and my youngest 3. We bought ours 14 years ago. We did hire Rainbow to come out and power wash it and restrain in about 3 years ago. Other than that, we’ve not had to replace or fix a thing. Kids love it.  

Comments

@emlynne21 thank you! How much was it to restain through them? Hadn’t thought of that.  

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My husband said he thinks it was about $350. Totally worth paying someone else to mess with it.  

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We double checked $850. Still worth it.  

Answer 6

Or a trampoline.  

Comments

@pineda14 Yes to this too.  

Answer 7

We have a rainbow and it’s 7 years old. Holds up amazing and they install! My kids are 1, 4, 6, 7 and they play on it all the time!  

Answer 8

We just went through this process and had a rainbow clubhouse installed 2 weeks ago after swearing I would never put one in. My boys are 1 and 3 and also tall. We went with the elevated deck level to optimize longer use as they boys got older and I was initially concerned that it would be too tall for this age. But, not a problem - my 3 year mastered the rock wall day one and my one year old manages the slide well. Rainbow was able to install much quicker than Woodland so again that might be a driving factor for you.  

Comments

@fridlund thank you! Super helpful! I tried calling woodland and number not working, I may just go rainbow route as sooner than later ideal!  

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@sextan Woodland has some playsets set up outside and since no one was there they encouraged me to bring my kids to try them out which I did. I really wanted to give them our business but the time element factored in. Also, we went with the penthouse option and Rainbows was much bigger (I can stand all the way up) and Woodlands was very small and they didn’t recommend. Good luck!  

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@fridlund which one did you get? I really want tall enough they can grow into. Would you mind sharing a pic?  

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@sextan we did the rainbow clubhouse package IV loaded.  

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@fridlund that looks awesome!  

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@sextan thanks. We’re very pleased. My 3 year old will take his books out and just read in his “sunroom”  

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@fridlund love it!  

Answer 9

We just got a used Rainbow play set for my 7 & almost 5 year olds (we have a third on the way). We purchased the used one from a family in our neighborhood. We had Rainbow move it & they replaced some pieces that were rotted. The one we got was about 15 years old, but had been taken care of. It cost us only about 1/3 of what a brand new one would be & that included replacing rotted wood, moving it & installing it at our house. We had a great experience with them & would definitely recommend going this route if you’re looking to save $$.  

Comments

This is the one way have. It’s big, but that’s why we wanted a Rainbow so my older kiddo could still stand up in the clubhouse & use all the pieces.  

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@cesium Clark Thorn that looks awesome!