we went this past weekend and had a blast. My daughter loves trains and couldnt stop smiling! There were some fun activities and great food!! All in all, a great day!
We attended the Day Out with Thomas 2011 this past weekend, and it was just ok. My 2-year-old is obsessed with trains, but not necessarily with Thomas, so I'm wishing we would have gone to the IRM on a non-Thomas day, since it would have been less crowded and cheaper. The biggest downer of the weekend was the weather; it rained cats and dogs on Saturday. We had tickets for the 10am ride on Thomas, and it was still pouring at that time. We went and lined up in a field and waited FOREVER to get onto the train. We later found out that the wait was due to the train being wet inside, and the crew needing to dry it out. I totally understand that they were doing the best they could given the circumstances, but they should have told us about the delay and told us wait in a nearby tent instead of standing in a field, soaked, freezing, and wondering what the heck the problem was. The "Thomas" train turned out to be just a crusty old mid-century commuter train with a fake Thomas engine on one end. It was actually powered by a regular diesel engine on the other end. Once you get on the train, it is just like being on any old slightly-rundown train. A ride on any Metra would be more comfortable and exciting for kids, so I really didn't feel like this was worth it. My daughter rides Metra quite a bit and so was not impressed. I guess I thought they would have some kind of Thomas-themed activities (songs maybe?) on the train, but they didn't. Besides the Thomas ride, there were coloring stations, temporary tattoos, a bounce house, and a few other things. The museum itself was very cool with many, many, many old trains. However, you can't get inside any of them, and most of them are so tall that you can't even look inside. They are all in these long barns, parked no more than 5 or 6 feet apart, so you can't even get far enough away from them to see what they really look like. I really wish they had some elevated walkways or something so that you could see inside the trains and get a better look at them.
Thank you, Jakedoncam, for alerting us in your review below that our dates for this event had not yet been updated for this year. Anyone who searched for this particular event on kidwinks would have pulled up last year's dates. It was not yet on the calendar for this year, so we just added it - correct dates and all! :)
This is a great event!!! My boys love going to this event!!! However, I would suggest checking out the Illinois Railway website for accurate dates!!! The dates listed on this site are wrong!
It was amazing... My daughter loves trains and especially Thomas and his friends. Their is so much to do with your kids with all the special tents set up for the different activites. My daughter was in heaven... This is a day she will remember. The crowd of people didn't matter to us because my daughter was having so much fun meeting the other children and playing with them. I know she felt she was a part of something special.
I took my son to this when he was 3 and it was probably the highlight of his year! There was plenty to do and I would suggest it for kids ages 3-5 for sure.
my son L-O-V-E-S Thomas! we took him last year for the first time. it was very crowded! we took a ride on Thomas and he was a bit young (1.5) and just wanted off. Not sure if we will go this year. The gift tent has tons of Thomas things.
I was fun, but very crowded on Thomas weekends. Once you are on the Thomas train, it is like any other train ride. My kids would have loved any train ride I think.
My boys really enjoy going to this every year. You can go and enjoy the different events without having to pay for anything. There is coloring stations, tattoos, lego building, pictures with the characters from Thomas. Riding the train does cost money but the kids will never forget it. Bring a lunch with you and picnic on the grounds as food and drinks are expensive.
I would go on a different day when it is not so crowded. The main attraction is the train ride which you have to go on if you go here. It is a must. The kids just love riding trains. My daughter is still talking about it.
The only drawback to this is the crowds. You may have a long wait for the train ride, but it was worth it. The kids LOVED it, and talked about it for months afterwards. You can also tour the grounds which have some old trains on display.
