Toddlers in Thomasland

Hey everyone,
Here's another installment depicting our trip to England.  Shea was so excited for this trip.  Every day before we left for England, he'd ask if we were going to Thomasland.  When we got there, he couldn't contain his excitement.  We got there right as the park opened, and he nearly ran right through the gates to get inside.  He immediately saw Thomas and wanted to go on a ride.  After the ride stopped, we tried to get a picture of him with Thomas.  But, Thomas didn't say "Hi" to Shea despite Shea's many attempts to engage the engine in a conversation.  Needless to say, this made him very upset.  Luckily, toddlers can be easily distracted when you highlight that there's a playground and dinosaurs nearby.  That's what makes this park so great.  Just when you think a toddler meltdown is imminent, there's something fun to grab his attention and make him forget what made him upset in the first place.  Thus, playgrounds and animals were, at least in our opinion, strategically placed throughout the park.  We saw reindeer, rabbits, tigers, penguins, and monkeys interspersed with Thomas rides, pirate rides, and the traditional ferris wheels and merry-go-rounds.  We took a tram car above the park and several train rides around the park. 

While Shea loved riding all of the Thomas-themed rides, the family favorite ride was the shooting gallery ride.  You get in a mining car, armed with pistols.  Each person has one and must try to shoot targets throughout the ride, as the car roams through a mining village.  The more difficult the shot, the higher the point value.  Daddy won the day with the highest score, but Jess's pistol prowess took away points that would have otherwise gone to me.  Shea did very well too, I must admit.  Thanks to the minimal crowd, we went on it 3 or 4 times in a row.  Although seemingly minor, just keeping score made the ride much more fun. 

It's owned by the same family for 60 years and was very family friendly.  I equate it to the way Dorney Park was before it became commercialized in the late 1980's.  My family will remember the older portion of the park where the log flume was the most advanced technology on the premises and the tram cable car and rocket ships were the favorite rides of all.  That's what it was like.  We only wished that there was a place like that in the US.  There might be one or two around here (Storyland in NH and Eddaville Railroad south of Boston) but we haven't been there yet.  Another glorious thing about Thomasland, as well as all of England, is that you can get a pint just about anywhere, including at 11:30 am in an amusement park!  So, we sat down to fish and chips, with a milk for Shea and a pint of bitter for me and Jess.  What a country!

Anyway, we stayed until closing time, straggling among the rides until we were nearly the last of the crowd being ushered out.  We all had such a great time, but were really tired.  The comfort of a hotel bed was calling and welcomed us with cushy goodness.  After a good night's rest, we went to Warwick Castle (the subject of our previous posting).  There's more postings in store, as I am reenergized to take more pictures following our vacation.  So, stay tuned.  That's NOT all folks!  For not, enjoy pictures from Thomasland!
Love,
Doug, Jess, and Shea 

Shea sees what he covets, Thomas!  If only this darn fence wasn't in his way.

Shea loves Thomas, but Percy is his favorite.  

He wasn't so keen on riding in his second favorite engine, at least at first.

As always, Shea's mood perked up when he sees a lady.  This time, it's Rosie.

"Hi Thomas!  I said 'HI!'  Why is he not talking, Mamma?"  

Well, bust my buffers, he can't talk afterall!

They had an exhibit of the original model used for the show.  

Here are a few pics of the layout, including Thomas, Rosie, and Bulgy the Bus. 

Another cool attraction at Thomasland was the dinosaur exhibit:

 

"This is such a great place, there's nothing scary around here!"

"Wait.  So, you're telling me there's a HUGE scary dinosaur about to eat me???"  

Luckily, the Flying Dutchman (ironic name, isn't it) swooped down and rescued us.

This ride seemed innocent enough and didn't look too fast for him.

We soon realized that English kids rides are MUCH faster than in the US.  

Shea was scared, but toughed it out, saying it was fun afterwards.  That's my brave pirate!

Here's a knight-themed ride.  It was generic and fun, but made me think of old Dorney Park.

They did have a cool dragon at the end of the ride, however.

This ride is called the "Jolly Buccaneer," but that's a total frickin' misnomer; Shea was no pleased pirate after going on this ride.  It was so fast and the g-forces so great that I was thrown outward toward Shea and he was pushed against the side (he insisted on sitting on the outside though).

The good old merry-go-round brought him back to his old self though.

That, and torturing unassuming helicopter pilots. 

"Live or die?  Wrong answer, HONK!"

Making our way back through Thomasland to play with familiar faces also helped.

Shea liked to turn the knobs on Lady's engine.  Who wouldn't?

Shea's first driving lesson.  Not too shabby, I must say.  Certainly a better driver than Cousin Mike!  ;}

We had to take a tour on with Harold the Helicopter, three times over.

Here, James, the Red Engine, is sleeping.  It was about time for Shea to sleep too, as he threw a fit when we insisted that he share with the other kids. 

There's nothing like Thomas to bring back the smile though.  This was in the gift shop, of course.

We said he could pick out anything he wanted:  He picked an umbrella.  What a practical guy!

We finished the day with a tram ride across the park; what a nice ending.

Of course, we had to take one more spin on the merry-go-round.