Quinlan with Thomas Face Paint
The Saturday of Quinlan’s fevered dreams finally came this weekend. He has been waiting, and waiting and waiting for this day to come forever, well in the life of a three year old. Six weeks of “Is it June yet?” was a little hard to take but it was worth it to see his enthusiasm when we got to the West Coast Railway Association in Squamish. The life sized Thomas, the miniature ride on trains, the promise of Sir Topham Hatt and the face painting all filled him with excitement and glee.
The Miniature Train
We arrived an hour before our 10:30 time slot and took a look around the site. The line up for the face painting was non-existent at this time so Quinlan was able to get a beautiful and sparkly Thomas on his cheek. We still had time so we took the miniature train for a ride around the property. This ride is about 20 minutes and all of us enjoyed being on the train. I think the boys enjoyed the model train village set up at the halfway point of the train journey.
After our miniature train ride we got in line for our ride on the life sized Thomas. Our tickets were punched and then we headed to the very back of the train and waited for the ride. The boys got some balloon animals and some Junior Engineer certificates and a chance to look at the huge “diamond” that Thomas was asked to pick up from the mine. This was probably the most boring for the adults but the boys really enjoyed being on the train. There was time after the 20 minute ride for pictures in front of the life sized Thomas and you could take your own pictures as well as having some of the staff taking pictures that you could purchase. In the age of digital cameras it is nice that they let you take your own pictures as well.
Quinlan and Aidan in front of Thomas
All in all we very much enjoyed our day. Aidan and Quinlan both enjoyed being in and around the trains and I think that it lived up to Quinlan’s expectations. In an age where rail travel is so expensive, the Day Out With Thomas is actually a pretty good deal. If you have a Thomas obsessed child there are still tickets available for some of the time slots this weekend. Just go to the West Coast Railway Association and follow the links for tickets.
Thomas the Tank Engine, Life Sized
