Melissa & Doug Service Station Parking Garage | 2021 Toy Review
Description: The Melissa & Doug Service Station Parking Garage is a compact wooden two-level carry-all service station and parking garage. This service station enables imaginative vehicle play with sliding garage doors that open and close and a working carwash with a gas pump. Just push and pull the lever to make the elevator go up and down. The “Service” sign at the top doubles as a built-in handle.
The Baby Penguin’s Toy Review consists of 5 standardized criteria categories:
Sustainability, Playability, Durability, Longevity, and Versatility.
(Click each category for a detailed description of why it’s important)
Each criteria category has 3 subcategories and can score up to 5 Baby Penguins per category if it’s Outstanding!
Outstanding = 
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Poor =
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1. Sustainability:
A. Product:
- All wooden parking garage with only a few small plastic components such as elevator lift, and car wash slide.
- Fabric pieces for the car wash.
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B. Packaging:
- Recyclable cardboard base with shrink-wrapped plastic around the item.
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C. Origin/Company:
- Melissa & Doug implement all the industry and regulatory best practices for materials including wood.
- To learn more about their mission check out their website HERE.
- Only their stationary line of products is FSC certified.
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2. Playability:
A. Open-ended:
- Wooden cars with a gas pump and shoestring hose, service station garage, elevator, and ramps.
- A car wash makes this compact parking garage very open-ended for scenarios and roleplay.
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B. Active Parent engagement:
- Parents can find a quick play moment with their child as there is no setup or clean-up with this parking garage.
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C. Playtime:
- Kids will find this “small world” play realistic and fun and can incorporate other toys with the garage for extended play.
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3. Durability:
A. Craftmanship:
- This is the best-crafted, well-made Melissa & Doug product we have owned in 17 years.
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B. Quality:
- The garage is made with unpainted wood so there is no chipping like other Melissa & Doug products we have had.
- Solid structure that is very well made.
- Cars are made of solid wood and are painted.
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C. Price/Value:
- This is a great price for the value.
- Most wooden parking garages have mediocre reviews due to quality and structure issues.
- This is a solid buy for the quality, compactness, and portability.
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4. Longevity:
A. Landfill or Heirloom:
- The parking garage is definitely Heirloom quality as this is a classic toy packed with quality-made features.
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B. Lifespan of Toy (Age Range):
- 3 to 7-year-olds at my house enjoy this toy, making it have a lifespan of about 4 years.
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C. Multi-age Families:
- Perfect for families with kids ages 3 years+.
- Great for the family play area as it is easy to clean up and store.
- Multiple kids can play at once without frustration.
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5. Versatility:
A. Combined with other toys:
- Easily combinable with other small wooden cars or wooden railroad tracks and accessories.
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B. Creativity Function:
- Vehicle play hones visual-spatial planning making this a learning toy as well as a creative one.
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C. Storage:
- A compact garage with a wooden handle makes for easy storage on a shelf and is easily transported to play on the go.
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Final Review for Melissa & Doug Service Station Parking Garage:
Overall, I recommend the Melissa & Doug Service Station Parking Garage as my top pick overall for parking garages. This is based on craftsmanship, quality, mostly all wooden components, and compactness. This parking garage has many more features than most large parking garages for triple the price tag. The Melissa & Doug parking garage is the perfect answer to the minimalist toy shelf/playroom as it doesn’t take up space, and it has a lot of play value for its size. This simple garage will encourage your child to pretend role play and have a hands-on imaginative play. If you really enjoy this garage, please check out our review on Melissa & Doug Wooden Puzzles HERE.
