djningr's Full Review: Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway - 5- -1 Track La...
Gotta have more track! This seems to be the common mantra in my house. Whether my husband and son are playing with Geotrax or Thomas Wooden Railway they can never have enough track. Track may not be the most exciting present to give someone, but my 3 year old loves it... especially when Daddy is so excited to build more new and exciting layouts for the little guy. About a month or so ago my son turned 3 and the in-laws got him some more track for his Thomas trains by getting him this 5 in 1 pack. This set is so neat! So, what do you get? This set has 34 pieces that fit nicely into 5 different layouts. The 34 pieces are a combination of different sized straight and curvy pieces, track that splits, and even 2 pieces of track that are elevated in a bridge style. The track is made out of wood and are easy to fit together for little hands. There is also a builder's guide manual that clearly displays the layouts for you to build. If you have other wooden track or destinations you can also add them into your layouts, but the builder's guide doesn't have those so you are on your own there! Cost This set costs around $80 at Toys R Us. Age recommendation The age recommendation on this toy is 3 years old and older. Although, I do believe that many 2 year olds would be alright with this track as well. Our experience This has been a welcomed addition since it's arrival. We didn't have much as far as track for the Thomas Wooden Railway series, so we had a lot of trains and not a lot of places to go. This has helped with that a lot. Now there are some neat layouts that my husband and son can put together that is more than enough room for all of the trains. I help with the building of the track from time to time, but mostly it is their bonding time so I leave it up to them to the building. Later on my son and I play with whatever track layout they have come up with. The builder's guide is necessary because the track layouts are hard to remember (because there are so many pieces) and my husband relies on it to build the layouts. Often times he adds the Sling Bridge or the Deluxe Over the Track Signal Switch that is a part of the series too.
The track is fine to build on a hard surface or on carpet. Mostly we build the track on carpet and it holds up just fine. (The only time it doesn't is when my almost 1 year old daughter wants to play with the track too and she will pick up the pieces.) Occasionally my husband will bring out some boards to put the track on to help it run smoother, but it hasn't been a big deal either way.
My son's favorite part of the set are the two pieces of elevated track. He likes to put another straight piece in between them to make a bridge, or to stack both on top of each other (although when he does that only Daddy knows how to make the pieces fit with that to make the track go up that high and back down). He likes having this track pack and seems more content with his Thomas stuff because he has more options for layouts so he can do more with his trains. The only negative This set comes with a lot of pieces and nothing to store them in. So, when you get this set be prepared to find a tote/box to store them, or get really good at stacking the pieces wherever you choose to put them. Overall This is a great set for young builders who need more track/layouts for their Thomas Wooden Railway collection. You will be more than satisfied for the product you get. We highly recommend it if you are collecting in the Wooden Railway system.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 80 Type of Toy: Trains
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
Includes 5 pre-designed layouts Suggestion guide for destinations that wil fit easily into each layout 34 pieces of track Handmade with real wood Reta...More at Amazon
Everything you need to help little engineers build lots of track layouts in one convenient pack. Include 5 pre-designed layouts. Also features a sug...More at Toys R Us
Includes 5 pre-designed layouts Suggestion guide for destinations that wil fit easily into each layout 34 pieces of track Handmade with real wood Reta...More at Amazon Marketplace
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