Day out with Thomas - Strasburg

[MarieB]

Has anyone done this? If so, did you do the combo ticket, and was it too much for younger ones?

 

[DQ2B]

I forget, what's the combo ticket? Took the kids when they were about 3 and 6 years old. Had a ride on Thomas and walked around the various other things there. It was fun, kids had a good time.

 

[MarieB]

I forget, what's the combo ticket? Took the kids when they were about 3 and 6 years old. Had a ride on Thomas and walked around the various other things there. It was fun, kids had a good time.

The combo ticket allows you to ride the regular train anytime that day. That is a much longer ride - 45 minutes. The Thomas ride is about 20 minutes. My kids are about the same ages as yours were. Do you think there are enough of the other activities and things to see to keep them busy for awhile?

 

[bresamil]

My children always adored the Strasburg railroad - and they didn't have "Thomas" back then. There is a railroad museum that is incredible. They have a picnic and playground area. You can also pack a picnic and get off at the halfway stop for a picnic and catch any of the trains coming back. They were always fascinated with the the engine switching ends of the train.

Warning: Make sure everyone potties before boarding the train as unless you stop off at the midpoint picnic area, there are no restrooms on the train.

 

[bohman]

We've done it twice. We did not do the combo pass, but I kind of wish that we had. The ride behind Thomas is short, which was bad for two reasons. First, I'm just a big kid myself at Strasburg, and I wanted a longer ride. The Thomas trains do not do the switching operation at the end of the line that bresamil mentioned. Second, as a parent, the sooner you get off the train, the sooner your kids are immersed in the marketing blitz that surrounds the trains. They will want the toys & books, they will want to go on ALL the other rides and attractions and they will want it RIGHT NOW. A longer train ride, with maybe a picnic lunch in the middle of it, would help me avoid hearing the kids say "I want that!" more than a 100 times.

But aside from that aspect, it's a really fun trip. I loved Strasburg as a kid, and I'm impressed at how well they handle the huge crowd that comes for the Day out with Thomas events.

 

[sparkyaclown]

We did not do the combo ticket either, however we did usually end up getting tickets to the dining car for the regular train and everyone enjoyed that.

 

[MarieB]

Thanks for all the input. It's exactly the information that I needed. I think we will go ahead and get the combo ticket and pack a picnic lunch. We will enjoy the long ride too.