Five Reasons to visit A Day Out With Thomas
We gave our twins tickets for A Day Out with Thomas and Friends for their third birthday – we are shooting for that whole experiences-over-things kind of thing. Going into this, I had no idea what to expect. The event and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum impressed us. Here are my five reasons to go (and one fun fact).
A Day Out with Thomas – Five reasons why
One – Ticket prices for A Day Out with Thomas are (in general) reasonable
Prices range around 20-some dollars a ticket (depending on the activities at the venue) I saw them as low as $16 and as high as $50. At the B&O Railway Museum in Baltimore they were $26.00 for all ages. TicketWeb handles their online purchasing.
And this got us admission to the museum, the Thomas Experience Ride, meeting Sir Topham Hatt, and a slew of Thomas themed activities.
Ask an Engineer, art projects, Thomas Tattoos, Passport, carnival activities, and free activities from the museum.
Resting Mom face cracked for a moment there.
All in all, $26 a head was a good price for a solid 5 hours of activities at a Day out with Thomas. Our twins spent over an hour in the bounce houses and blowing bubbles. There was also live entertainment and food onsite.
Two – RIDE ON FREAKIN’ THOMAS
The ‘conductor’ called out, “ALLLLL ABOOOOOAAAARRDD” and we climbed onto one of four passenger cars behind Thomas (in Baltimore they were old MARC train cars.)
Pennants and window clings decorated the cars. It was not crowded and we picked our own seats. Thomas reversed out of the station and down the track for around 12 minutes. Then, it briefly stopped and Thomas ‘pulled’ us back. There was a diesel engine at the other end of the train ‘helping’ Thomas.
Full disclosure: this is a sedate trip, but, in Baltimore, it was not scenic. A working construction site and a scrap yard with a crane were the highlights – and remember, for toddlers those are pretty big highlights. So, manage your expectations depending on your location.
Be warned if you get motion sick, many people wore wrist bands and patches. I found it slow, smooth, and fun. The Thomas songs played non-stop on the speakers during the ride, but the boys liked it.
You can see my one son already beginning to regret his decision here. My husband and I did not get ours punched averting tears.
The conductor punched the boys tickets. They also handed out Junior Engineer Certificates for A Day out with Thomas Steam Team with a place to put your child’s name now proudly displayed in our living room (*weakly* – yay.)
Three – Visit an Cool Attraction
And the turntable (the golden part of the floor) STILL WORKS!
The use it to move their “rolling stock” around and they push it BY HAND.
I knew the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum existed, but wouldn’t have gone without A Day Out with Thomas. You can be darn sure I am taking the boys back, though. With the oldest railroad collection in the world, the B&O is now a Smithsonian partner and the exhibits there are superb. The grounds are a train-lover’s dream come true. This gave us a great opportunity to explore a local gem, that otherwise we would skip.
and the ‘G’ scale garden train – just right for 2-6 year olds.
My guys fanboy’d hard over seeing the Lafayette replica (thanks Richard Scary). And took full advantage of the B&O’s attraction.
Four – Let your kids hang out with people who know the difference between Diesels and Steamies
It is amazing to watch your kids light-up when they first saw Thomas. A friend warned me that they made their trip a surprise for her kids and it ended in disaster.
If you are anything like me, you try and tune out when your kids watch their shows. But they worm their way into your consciousness, nonetheless. I can reliably recognize Thomas, Percy (who makes appearances at some Steam Team events), and Diesel.
Living his best life ever.
The boys liked seeing the inflatable Nia, a Kenyan engine who now calls Sodor home, and they loved pointing out to me the other details I have no clue about. Not to mention, correcting me if I got things wrong. “NO Momma. NOT Gordon.”
Here’s where the volunteers and staff really shined. They were willing to talk ‘train’ to anyone who would listen. When one of my guys got his temporary tattoo the volunteer knew all of the trains names. Unlike me, who says Big Blue Train. Red Train – wait? is that one Edward? Rude twin trains – I feel like I should probably know their names.
Five – Thomas has Moved into the 21st Century and away from the original punitive moralism
An English minister created Thomas to teach his son lessons while suffering from the measles. Let this be a lesson to you. Vaccinations save lives and prevent weird British anthropomorphized machines in a post apocalyptic future from teaching your children that one single mistake can ruin their lives forever.
Those original stories focus on: doing as you are told; not causing “confusion and delay”; not “being vain”; not “being foolish”. And other sort of authoritarian repressive nonsense that is sometimes a cross between Greek Tragedy and Edgar Allen Poe (another Baltimore native, btw).
The winds of change blew into Sodor and brings a new era to Thomas and Friends.
Thomas and friends announced in 2017 a collaboration with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Several episodes the 2018 season focus on some of those goals: Quality Education; Gender Equality; Sustainable Cities and Communities; Responsible Consumption and Production, and Life on Land.
The Steam Team is now gender balanced with the addition of Nia and Rebecca and only half the episodes take place on Sodor – Thomas is traveling internationally to learn more about the world. Also, they recently introduced Charubala, the female controller of the Indian Railway.
Also with an increased focus on teaching age appropriate lessons with episodes that foster physical, social and emotional growth I can feel less guilty about letting my children enjoy a show they love.
Fun Fact:
Remember Shining Time Station? Ringo Starr and then George Carlin played Mr. Conductor, tiny magical men. I remember my siblings watching it on PBS. Did you watch it?
I have zero memory of Thomas being on it. But he WAS!
Shining Time Station (1989) was a sitcom-esque “old fashioned” show and it featured a couple Thomas stories in each episode.
Anyone else not know this? Am I crazy?
Coming Soon: An update to my Crapsule Wardrobe
Sheilah Egan
Such a memorable day. Much better than a thing.