After nearly a month of anticipation, the day our family was to spend A Day Out with Thomas, an event sponsored by MEGA Brands, finally arrived. We were a little worried since it was pouring rain that morning, but, as luck would have it, the rain cleared up right when we pulled into the Edaville USA parking lot after quite a long drive. Mother Nature must have known how much our children (plus hundreds of others here in Massachusetts) were looking forward to this event.
Although the A Day Out With Thomas: Mystery on the Rails Tour 2012 was our first Day Out With Thomas event, it was not our first trip to Edaville in Carver, Massachusetts. We had attended the Christmas Festival of Lights during Holiday 2011. The children had so much fun that they asked if we could return again the following year. We were thrilled to be able to bring them back to Edaville USA, especially during a different time of the year. Edaville is quite different in the summertime during the day than in the wintertime during the evening.
(Click any photo to enlarge)
We arrived early enough to catch the first train of the day, which departed at 9:30am. We were able to sit in the train car that was closest to Thomas. The children enjoyed the train ride very much, but as an adult, I found it difficult to top the evening train ride through the Festival of Lights. You can view more photos from our Thomas and Friends train ride on the 3G2S Facebook page.
Before we tackled the four stops on the maps the children received, the children were eager to go on some of the rides.
Our children's favorite rides at Edaville were the Astronaut Ride, the Red Baron Ride, the Carousel, and our 8 year old especially loved the Bumper Cars.
Next, we had to have a Slushie break before we hit the four stops on our children's maps. At each stop, the children could get their maps stamped and then turn them in at any gift shop to receive a prize. Of the four stops, I think the Imagination Station was our children's favorite. It is actually located on the second floor of a building that was not air conditioned, so we practically had the whole place to ourselves. There was a huge ball pit that was loads of fun and a carousel-ride that was propelled by the riders peddling.
Because there was so much to do, our children did not mind skipping a few things. For example, it was not important to them to have their photos taken with Thomas and, when we went to see Sir Topham Hatt and found he was about to take a break, we opted to go do something else rather than wait. There was plenty to do and, after 2-1/2 hours, we had three tuckered out children to prove it.
If you asked our children what their absolute favorite parts of the morning were, our daughter would say winning an inflatable duck and the train ride, her twin brother would say the yummy Slushies, and their big brother would say the Bumper Cars ride. Overall, the event was fun and entertaining for all three of our children. The enjoyment the adults experienced came from seeing the smiles on our children's faces.
You can find out about future stops all around the country for the
A Day Out With Thomas: Mystery on the Rails Tour 2012 and the tour dates here. Every child who is a Thomas and Friends fan or even just of trains in general should attend this event at least once.
Thank you to A Day Out With Thomas and Edaville USA for providing press tickets to this event in order to facilitate this review.
