Our Fun Day Out with Thomas the Train in Duluth

Our family had so much fun in Duluth this weekend at the North Shore Scenic Railroad’s Day Out with Thomas™: The Thrill of the Ride Tour!

Thomas the Train is visiting Duluth the first two weekends in August – that means you still have time to go! The Thrill of the Ride Tour continues this weekend, August 8 – 10 and if you can go, we highly recommend it!

We had a reservation for the 2:00 train ride (train rides are every hour 9:00 – 4:00), but decided to arrive around 10:00 for the activities taking place all day. Though the website says “the average guest for 2-3 hours depending on how much fun you want to have!” we were there over 5 hours and still didn’t get to see everything!

There was SO much to do. Outside there was live music, concessions (hot dogs, hamburgers, kids’ meals, smoothies, etc), bouncy houses and slides, face painting, imagination stations with interactive activity tables, bubble machines, and even a bubble foam play area where kids took their shoes off and played with foamy bubbles! And of course, between train rides, Thomas the Train was there for pictures! Staff photographers took posed pictures of kids on alternating sides of Thomas (while parents like me took their own!). The photos that the staff took could be purchased inside.

We really liked that for the first time this year, Thomas the Train talks! His mouth and eyes moved and he kindly thanked everyone for being there. Our kids were so excited about that.

Indoors there was soooo much more. A juggler, a magician, story telling and Thomas cartoons in the theater, train tables kids could play with, a model train set, mini golf, tables with coloring sheets, and more. My 3-year-old son, who LOVES Thomas the Train, couldn’t get enough of it all. He could have played here for days!

The time to line up for our 2:00 train ride came quickly and it was great. The train had Thomas decorations inside and the two conductors walked through and greeted everyone. It was a brief ride – at about 25 minutes – but just enough to see some sights including the beautiful Duluth harbor and lakewalk.

At the end, every kid on the train got a special junior engineer certificate which my kids loved.

Day Out with Thomas Duluth Details:

 
This is a unique opportunity for us Minnesotans as the Thomas tour, now in its 19th year, only stops in 42 cities across the U.S. Be sure to go and your family can enjoy:

· A 25-minute (approximate) ride with Thomas the Tank Engine and hear Thomas greet his fans!
· Meet Sir Topham Hatt, Controller of the Railway
· A Thomas & Friends Imagination Station; featuring stamps, temporary tattoos, hands-on arts & crafts, train tables, and coloring sheets.
· Storytelling, video viewing and live music

WHEN: August 1st-3rd, August 8th-10th

TIME: Gates open at 8:30 am and close at 5:00 pm. Thomas departs on the hour from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm

WHERE: 506 W Michigan St, Duluth, MN 55802

Tickets for Day Out with Thomas: The Thrill of the Ride Tour 2014 are on sale now and available by calling Ticketweb toll-free 866-468-7630, or by visiting www.northshorescenicrailroad.org.  Ticket prices are $19 plus tax for ages 2 and up (service charges and fee may apply).

For more information and directions, contact the North Shore Scenic Railroad at218-722-1273

or www.northshorescenicrailroad.org.
For information on Thomas & Friends, visit www.thomasandfriends.com

Follow Thomas & Friends on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thomasandfriendsand Twitter @ThomasParent.

(Lisa also blogs at www.twincitiesfrugalmom.com. Disclosure: We received complimentary tickets to facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% ours!)