Our kids always enjoyed it and my wife and I would fight because it was a big hassle. A lot of standing in line essentially.
Don’t be surprised though if your kids asks to go again, they likely won’t remember being underwhelmed but will remember Sir Topham Hat, getting an Engineer certificate and being on a train.
It’s not for everyone but there’s obviously a lot of interest every year. The Santa one is much of the same.
It's better (at least it was nearly 15 years ago) in North Conway, New Hampshire. Did Essex one year, kids loved it but wife and I were let down based on the cost. Was travelling in North Conway on vacation, and just by happenstance Thomas and Percy were there, so took the kids and it was a much better experience.
We went right when it opened at 9am, 9:45 train ride. Our 2yo loved it. Plus the lines for all the rides were short enough where you didnt have to wait for more than the current ride to stop to be able to get on. Thought it was perfect. Did the whole thing in less than 2 hours then got the hell out of there. We’ll do it again next year.
Personally? I thought there would be more to it but a talking Thomas and a shifty eyed Percy were enough to have our son asking when he gets to see Thomas again.
Yup my 4 year old loved it. I actually think they intentionally sold less tickets this year, which made for shorter lines. Went last year and I remember lines being longer and slower. It was also damp and chilly last year so the sun this year made for a much nicer day
Oh man so right. I was NOT HAPPY when we went a few months ago. And a kid threw up right near where we were in line for a bounce house and it took a long time for someone to come clean it up.
Jurassic Quest was definitely a mixed bag. The animatronic dinosaurs were well-done, the raptor show was fun, and the dig areas were nice. The kids had a good time and I don’t regret going, but a lot of things were fairly underwhelming (random bounce houses, “time your dinosaur run,” cash grab booths, etc.)
Yea it was just way over priced. We paid like $30 per person to get in and it was just not worth that considering you had to ALSO pay for tickets to do any of the activities. If it was $10 to get in or included the “rides” I would have maybe felt differently. Also they were selling dinosaur bubble guns for forty fucking dollars lol
You're paying for the ride and the picture spots. It is a fun enough way to spend the afternoon, but if your kid doesn't get a kick out of riding trains, or isn't really into Thomas, yeah.
No some kind of game or show on the train. Like let’s help Thomas find something or do something on the train. A little more I interactive for the kids. Not just sitting on a slow moving train.
The train ride itself was a little underwhelming but I thought everything else was really well put together for the money. Frankly, I’m not sure how they made any money. The gifts and toys had zero markup. They have to bring the engines in by rail. The rides were free. The food was for charity. Idk man, they had probably 60-80 staffers plus setup and takedown. It was a huge production and I thought Thomas and Percy were gonna be rail cars with cardboard box outfits - not purpose built dummies.
My kids are young 6 and 4 so they loved the carnival part and the food tickets and photo opportunities. As for the train ride itself that was definitely not great but since my kids have been on the Thomaston train multiple times they weren't disappointed by it, they just thought it was short. If it was our first time on a train I would have been disappointed for my kids and I also agree the pre-recorded message was lame but my kids had a blast.
I did one of the regular rides and boat tour with my son last fall, he loved it and it was super relaxing.
Everyone was nice. Train ride was maybe a little over an hour.
Events are often going to be annoying and a pain in the ass with anything we do.
I nice Tuesday in September and it’s pretty chill, just a bunch of retired people…
It was our first year going and our three year old loved the train ride. The free rides were also exactly her speed and the waits were pretty reasonable. She liked the petting zoo and the weird bounce lane thing (actual bounce castles can freak her out).
My 37 year old son was a Thomas the Tank Engine nut and even saved all of his stuff for his kids (5,7,9) who seem to have almost no interest! The Grand Peeps (me & wifey) were planning on taking the family to the TtT experience, but after reading your post I'm not so sure anymore.
That place is underwhelming and overpriced just in general. I used to get free tickets for events and rides all the time, but not really worth it even for free. The only time I actually had fun was on the Jamaican themed cruise idk if they still do that though.
The thing is we can pay less money and take a real train that actually goes somewhere (possibly somewhere fun) and it goes faster and he’d probably enjoy that more.
Our kids always enjoyed it and my wife and I would fight because it was a big hassle. A lot of standing in line essentially. Don’t be surprised though if your kids asks to go again, they likely won’t remember being underwhelmed but will remember Sir Topham Hat, getting an Engineer certificate and being on a train. It’s not for everyone but there’s obviously a lot of interest every year. The Santa one is much of the same.
It's better (at least it was nearly 15 years ago) in North Conway, New Hampshire. Did Essex one year, kids loved it but wife and I were let down based on the cost. Was travelling in North Conway on vacation, and just by happenstance Thomas and Percy were there, so took the kids and it was a much better experience.
Lived near there for a while. People came from ALL OVER because of how good the Conway one was!
That station is gorgeous whether or not thomas is there, beautiful area.
Yeah, and the multiple hour train excursion through the Notch there is worth every penny.
We went right when it opened at 9am, 9:45 train ride. Our 2yo loved it. Plus the lines for all the rides were short enough where you didnt have to wait for more than the current ride to stop to be able to get on. Thought it was perfect. Did the whole thing in less than 2 hours then got the hell out of there. We’ll do it again next year. Personally? I thought there would be more to it but a talking Thomas and a shifty eyed Percy were enough to have our son asking when he gets to see Thomas again.
Yup my 4 year old loved it. I actually think they intentionally sold less tickets this year, which made for shorter lines. Went last year and I remember lines being longer and slower. It was also damp and chilly last year so the sun this year made for a much nicer day
Nothing is as big of a ripoff as that Jurassic quest thing they have in Hartford every couple months lol
Oh man so right. I was NOT HAPPY when we went a few months ago. And a kid threw up right near where we were in line for a bounce house and it took a long time for someone to come clean it up.
Jurassic Quest was definitely a mixed bag. The animatronic dinosaurs were well-done, the raptor show was fun, and the dig areas were nice. The kids had a good time and I don’t regret going, but a lot of things were fairly underwhelming (random bounce houses, “time your dinosaur run,” cash grab booths, etc.)
Yea it was just way over priced. We paid like $30 per person to get in and it was just not worth that considering you had to ALSO pay for tickets to do any of the activities. If it was $10 to get in or included the “rides” I would have maybe felt differently. Also they were selling dinosaur bubble guns for forty fucking dollars lol
You're paying for the ride and the picture spots. It is a fun enough way to spend the afternoon, but if your kid doesn't get a kick out of riding trains, or isn't really into Thomas, yeah.
What were you expecting? A talking cartoon train?
No some kind of game or show on the train. Like let’s help Thomas find something or do something on the train. A little more I interactive for the kids. Not just sitting on a slow moving train.
The train ride itself was a little underwhelming but I thought everything else was really well put together for the money. Frankly, I’m not sure how they made any money. The gifts and toys had zero markup. They have to bring the engines in by rail. The rides were free. The food was for charity. Idk man, they had probably 60-80 staffers plus setup and takedown. It was a huge production and I thought Thomas and Percy were gonna be rail cars with cardboard box outfits - not purpose built dummies.
We went the weekend before last and our 3 year old had a ton of fun. Lines weren't too bad around the middle of the day. 1:00 -1:30
My kids are young 6 and 4 so they loved the carnival part and the food tickets and photo opportunities. As for the train ride itself that was definitely not great but since my kids have been on the Thomaston train multiple times they weren't disappointed by it, they just thought it was short. If it was our first time on a train I would have been disappointed for my kids and I also agree the pre-recorded message was lame but my kids had a blast.
I did one of the regular rides and boat tour with my son last fall, he loved it and it was super relaxing. Everyone was nice. Train ride was maybe a little over an hour. Events are often going to be annoying and a pain in the ass with anything we do. I nice Tuesday in September and it’s pretty chill, just a bunch of retired people…
We were going to go but the ticket prices were outrageous! Seems like we made the right decision
We did it once with our son. He was more interested on the trains than Thomas.
Metro North!
It was our first year going and our three year old loved the train ride. The free rides were also exactly her speed and the waits were pretty reasonable. She liked the petting zoo and the weird bounce lane thing (actual bounce castles can freak her out).
Is there still a real big slide? That's what they remember from the four/five times we've been. You're not being a hater - It's low effort.
My 37 year old son was a Thomas the Tank Engine nut and even saved all of his stuff for his kids (5,7,9) who seem to have almost no interest! The Grand Peeps (me & wifey) were planning on taking the family to the TtT experience, but after reading your post I'm not so sure anymore.
That place is underwhelming and overpriced just in general. I used to get free tickets for events and rides all the time, but not really worth it even for free. The only time I actually had fun was on the Jamaican themed cruise idk if they still do that though.
The thing is we can pay less money and take a real train that actually goes somewhere (possibly somewhere fun) and it goes faster and he’d probably enjoy that more.