Thomas the Train, PlanToys, or Geotrax??

[Sweetpea972]

My DH 3rd birthday is coming up and I'm wondering which train set to get him. We have quite a few of the Plantoys trains/cars and road/train tracks as he got those as gifts last year. Now that he's more into trains, this set just doesn't seem as exciting as the thomas sets and geotrax. Wondering if you think it's worth investing in the thomas trains (family will be doing most of the buying), if I should just continue with Plantoys (add a turntable, roundhouse) or look into Geotrax. What would you do if you were me? I also have a 5 yo DD. And how long do boys play with this before they move onto other things? Thanks!!

[MontrealMum]

I don't know anything about Geotrax, though many other parents here do!

But I just want to say that the Thomas wooden pieces are the same scale as the Plan Toys ones (we have Thomas trains and Plan cars/trucks). In fact, we had a Plan Toys cement mixer driving down the railway just this afternoon!

I don't know how long interest lasts, it probably depends somewhat on the child too, but I really like that many of the brands are interchangeable in terms of scale.

[WatchingThemGrow]

This sounds silly but makes perfect sense... On Sunday mornings, we Tivo a Thomas episode. At some point during the week, the DC watch it (they are 2 and 3.) Immediately after and for the next day, they roll-play the scenes from the show, and they narrate what is going on with each train. It is really interesting to observe. At other times, I hear them creating their own storylines, naming trains that don't appear in the shows, etc. For those reasons, I really think it is worth getting the Thomas set, esp. if you can get them at AC Moore for 1/2 price.

[jerigirl]

I would go with Thomas or Plan if you already have some Plan stuff. The Geotrax stuff is totally independpent and IMO pretty limited. I usually buy generic (or non-Thomas) wooden track and then concetrate my money on the Thomas trains and accessories.

[nupe]

I have two boys, 2yo and 5yo. We started out with Thomas/Brio with DS1, mostly non battery trains, only a few battery trains. I like the interactive factor of the thomas type trains, and the walking around the train table pushing them thing.We have Thomas set up on the main floor, with a train table. BTW I don't love the table because it limits the track layout, but it is nice to store track in the roll out bins underneath.

We have mostly thomas and only 2 geotrax sets, which is more than enough in my opinon. We got some Geotrax as a present, and it is popular too, mostly because of the remote control. Geotrax in the play area on the lower level, on the foam tiles. So we can leave Thomas and Geotrax set up, and they don't get mixed up.

They go back and forth about which is their favorite.

[KrisM]

We have both and I like the wooden tracks and more than GeoTrax. We have a mix of Thomas and other types of tracks. DS1 played with them fairly often until age 5 or so. And, now he enjoys setting up the tracks for DS2.

[SnuggleBuggles]

None of us really like our wooden trains around here. They get very limited play. Geotrax is what is popular here. Not only do my kids love it but every playdate we have ever had here (till the kids were like 7yo and even some after!) has seen at least 1 person playing Geotrax. It's so fun. I love that you can come up with so many cool track layouts, there are lots of fun buildings and add ons. The lower price per track/ accessory is very appealing too. I just hate paying so much for Thomas though we own a fair amount. Geotrax is big which is the downside for us but we have space for it (if not I would buy smaller sets).

There are wooden train table set ups at lots of places so I figure it's nice to have something different at home. Not many of our friends have Geotrax so it's unique in our circle. Hence why young and old have been found building.

Beth

[KrisM]

Originally Posted by SnuggleBuggles

None of us really like our wooden trains around here. They get very limited play. Geotrax is what is popular here. Not only do my kids love it but every playdate we have ever had here (till the kids were like 7yo and even some after!) has seen at least 1 person playing Geotrax. It's so fun. I love that you can come up with so many cool track layouts, there are lots of fun buildings and add ons. The lower price per track/ accessory is very appealing too. I just hate paying so much for Thomas though we own a fair amount. Geotrax is big which is the downside for us but we have space for it (if not I would buy smaller sets).

There are wooden train table set ups at lots of places so I figure it's nice to have something different at home. Not many of our friends have Geotrax so it's unique in our circle. Hence why young and old have been found building.

Beth

That's funny because ours is the opposite experience. DS has always found Geotrax harder to build, since they have to line up exactly. There is some flex in the wood, so if you're off 1/8 inch, you can connect, whereas the Geotrax you need to reconfigure.

We only have 2 Geotrax sets and I found them much more expensive than Thomas knock-offs.

The storage is what gets me, too. We have probably 4 times as much wooden track as Geotrax and it takes up less space.

[kristac]

We love Geotrax here. We have had them since DS1 was 20 months and he is now 5 and they still get daily play. They are by far our best toy investment. I agree they take up alot of space. Our bonus room is our "train room" and I expect it to stay that way for quite a few more years to come (I also have an almost 3 year old and a 5 month old.) I have found them less frustrating for younger children to assemble but with a 3 year old that is probably not an issue. Another thing my kids like about them is that they have people you can put inside- thomas scale does not. They like playing with the cargo and sometimes using other toys/small animals/etc as cargo.

[MontrealMum]

I just wanted to add that in terms of Thomas stuff, the TRU Imaginarium store brand track is much cheaper and fits easily with regular Thomas, M&D, and Plan. Brio is the same scale too. I did buy some Ikea as well, but it's sometimes a bit of a tight fit getting their tabs into the other brands' slots. I can do it, but DS needs help to put them together or muscle them apart.