Is A Day out with Thomas

[kijip]

worth it? It would be $80 for my family (with the Grandparents) and we would need to go early for day of event tix as advance tix are sold out. How much fun is it actually, bearing in mind that I have a 3 year old who is a little Thomas obsessed. It is less than 30 minutes from my house. I reckon that if we decided to give it a try, we would send someone bright and early in the morning and then have them call if the others should drive out with Toby. I would hate to get there and have toby see the train and then have to go home for lack of ticket availbility. Thoughts from other train on the brain kids' mamas?

[LD92599]

We just did this on Sunday. My honest take is that you can pretty much go w/o paying anything, see everything, "see" Thomas, etc. My DS was so excited just to SEE Thomas and once you're on the train the kids (depending on age of course!) don't know it's Thomas.

With that said, it was definitely fun and something I want to do again in the future, but early in the AM.

Also, the place we went is a big railroad town, so they had a RR museum across the street, another train ride (45 minutes long), shops, etc.

Laura
Will is three...and doesn't sleep :-(

[img]http://b4.lilypie.com/vEOmm4.png

Use a Mac? Interested in learning more about them? Join us!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BBB-MacUsers/

[brittone2]

My DS loves trains, but doesn't know much about Thomas specifically.

I have read a few posts in the past on the Day Out thing, and my impression is that it really really varies depending on location. Some people had a great time and enjoyed it a lot with their kids. A few mamas have said they were NOT impressed.

I remember an old post where someone mentioned it was like being held captive with all of the merchandise. They had several train tables set up and tons and tons of merchandise for sale, which became a major focus. I don't think they are all like that, but I remember someone posting that was sort of their experience.

Is there any chance you could find out from someone who has BTDT in your area? I think it really might vary depending on location how they run it. There is a Day Out with Thomas thing coming up somewhat nearby me fairly soon. We're skipping it for this year, and I'm not sure if I'll do it in the future unless I can find out more how they run it in this area.

I hope you have fun whatever you decide. I'm sure it would be fun no matter what, but how much fun probably depends on how they run it in your area, kwim?

Edited to add these two links, which might help. It seems like most people had a great experience
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=36771&mode=full
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=37&topic_id=256790&mode=full

[spanannie]

I was not impressed. DS liked it, but I don't think it was one of his most memorable moments. It was quickly forgotten.

I made the mistake of taking DD (1 at the time) and DS...oh, was I crazy!

[hez]

Good find on the old threads, Beth! My comments are already in the 2nd link.

I agree it's good to ask the folks in your area about it. One other thought about what else made it fun for us was the number of coworkers we saw there with their kiddos randomly. Just nice to see folks socially and let the kids meet.

[urquie]

i was driving through snoqualmie last year when this was going on. it looked really fun. if you are interested, a woman in my neighborhood mom's group recently posted an email that she has some tickets for sale for july 16th.

eta: she only has three tx left for 1:30pm

you might find this link helpful for seeing what the tickets get you into...

http://www.trainmuseum.org/dowt/thomas_main.htm

[JElaineB]

I guess YMMV, but we went last fall and DS enjoyed it. Admisson was free, the only thing that cost was the actual train ride (and the merchandise!) They took pics too of DS sitting in front of Thomas, but we didn't buy any of them (we took our own though that I think came out fine). We also got a pic of DS and Sir Topham Hat. I would kind of agree that riding on the train itself was not really a "must". The ride was honestly not that thrilling, even for DS who hadn't been on a train before. His favorite parts were sliding down the bouncy slide, and getting a Henry tatoo on his arm.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[pampamz]

We went last summer w/DS who was 3 (and DD who was 2 weeks!). My honest opinion? It was NUTS, hot, expensive and we left w/a DS in a fit of tears and that was AFTER we spent $30 bucks on merchandise.

We had a 10am pre-booked seat on the train and still had to stand in a huge line, the train-ride was kind of a letdown (tinny Thomas songs being played and that was about it for excitement).

They had one table set up with trains on it, some longer tables for crafts but of course all the kids wanted to play with the trains (read: TODDLER WARS).

There was way too much merchandise out for sale and of course you had to buy something lest a even more grumpy child.

We'll never do it again, and DS has more fun memories of riding on the subways or real trains. Just MHO!!

p.s. our DOWT had no picnic tables or chairs to eat and I had to nurse DD sitting on the ground with people everywhere. Good thing I had no modesty when it came to that!

[Momof3Labs]

at our local dowt, you pay admission including the train ride to get on the property. if you could get in free, i'd be more inclined to go!

[jvorhis]

I would have to say yes if you have a Thomas crazed child like my daughter. We went last year to Strasburg, near Lancaster PA. We went in September and it was crowded and it was hot. We did take my parents since my dad is into trains too. It was nice to have the extra hands. Emma was just two at the time and thought that it was the coolest thing to ride on Thomas. We are planning on going back again this year - we all had a really nice day. My only warning is that the trains are loud, some kids were crying next to us because they were scared.

[Lynnie]

I don't know if I'd want to take the grandparents to make it cost $80 - I might just take Toby, spend an hour or so, and then meet grandparents somewhere else. I took both kids over the winter, and we had to pay to get in, and while they enjoyed seeing the giant thomas train, the 2 year old was going nuts on the train ride, wanting to get down and run around, and even the 4 year old got a little bored with it.

They did enjoy playing all the games and things that were in the field surrounding the train station. DS1 played 4 games of mini golf, and DS2 danced to the music and they both had corn on the cob and chicken.

FWIW, I didn't end up buying anything other than a balloon (and I will admit, mommy wanted it) and they were ok with it, BUT, they had a ton of merchandise and it could've gotten ugly.

[TaChapm]

We went last September and Jackson LOVED it! He was not a huge Thomas fan but became one after. We did not have tickets so we got there first thing in the morning and bought standby tickets and were in line for the first train. They told us we would for sure get on and we did no problem. I think it would be more difficult later in the day.

My DH did nothing but complain about having to be in the car at 6 am (we were an hour away) and the cost but the first time Thomas rounded the corner with a toot toot it was all worth it. The look on Jackson's face was priceless and 100% worth it! DH is a hard sell but he enjoyed the day and was glad we did it.

There are so many free activities to do that make it fun even if you don't do the train ride.

Tara
Mommy to Jackson 11-10-02
Tyler William 6-9-05
OMG!!! It's a GIRL!! Due September 5, 2006!

http://b4.lilypie.com/gzWfm8.png

http://b1.lilypie.com/kLMem8.png

http://bd.lilypie.com/UEZ3m8.png

[kath68]

Funny you should post this -- we were debating last night whether we wanted to take Charlie to the one in Felton, CA.

Anyone been to that one, specifically? It will be quite a trek for us, so if parking is miserable and the crowds are a pain, and there isn't a good place to sit, and it is all about merchandise, well, I might take a pass.

But, if my Thomas-crazed (or, rather, Gordon-crazed), train-lovin' two-year old will really get a kick out of it, I will put up with the insanity. And take loads of pics.

Thanks for the insight!

ETA: Yikes -- I just went to order tix, and they are close to sold out already. So I went ahead and bought some for us for Aug. 6. Yippee!

[amp]

Never been yet, but just bought tickets.

DS is not really all that into Thomas, but is totally into trains. There is no way we could go w/o paying to ride the train. Riding the train IS the draw for us, not Thomas or any of the other little things to do. I'm betting he won't want to do most of those and will be totally focused on getting on that train, just as he is everytime we go to the zoo and they have the little ride on train! I am hoping it's worthwhile.

[HannaAddict]

We thought about it too but decided it would probably be just too crazy for a just turned two year old and didn't want to deal with all the other people. We are going to do a different train adventure though, they have a mini steam railroad in Port Orchard that does rides every other Saturday. I will find the link. The trains are small but real operating steam engines I guess and I think it might be fun. My son liked the little train at Stanley Park in Vancouver BC, FWIW. If you do go, let us know how it turns out and if it is worth it for next year.

Kimberly

[writermama]

I haven't been to one, but I got into a conversation with a woman who had taken her two kids to one in PA. This is her advice:

Go early. It gets hot and crowded. The train ride is fun, but while you're on the train, you can't actually SEE Thomas. Her son's favorite thing to do was sit near the tracks and watch the trains go back and forth while other kids were having their rides. Take some folding chairs and find a nice spot to watch the trains. Her son loved waving to Thomas each time he went past.

[ShayleighCarsensMom]

Felton is wonderful Kathy! They have tons of parking available.
I think you will have a great time!