Parents and grandparents of pre-schoolers, get out your summer calendars, you’re going on a road trip.
There’s an entire theme park dedicated to Thomas the Tank Engine, the fictional locomotive of the popular book series, and it’s just two hours from Hartford.
Thomas Land, an 11-acre section of Edaville USA, an amusement park in South Carver, Mass., features 11 attractions based on Thomas & Friends and the Island of Sodor, (the fictional locale where the series is based).
To make it even better, there’s a 20-minute scenic train ride on a life-sized Thomas the Tank Engine.
The destination, which opened in August 2015, is one of three in the world — and the only Thomas Land in the United States. (The others are in Japan and England.)
“We opened last August, but not everything was finished,” says Jon Delli Priscoli, the park’s owner. “This season everything is complete and we’re having a grand re-opening.”
For the uninitiated, Thomas, “a cheeky little engine who often gets into scrapes, usually by being over-eager to do things best left to bigger and more sensible engines,” is the lead character in a series of books written more than 70 years ago by Rev. W. Awdry, an English clergyman, according to the Thomas & Friends website.
Over the decades, Thomas and his friends have exploded into one of the world’s largest preschool toy and television franchises. The characters have been adapted into a PBS series, DVDs, toys, “Day Out With Thomas” events, feature films, touring musical stage shows and a traveling interactive exhibit created by the Minnesota Children’s Museum.
Delli Priscoli says the park is geared to infants through 12-year-olds, along with their parents and grandparents.
“It’s really a family destination,” says Delli Priscoli. “Everything here is created for younger visitors.”
Guests can stroll through Knapford Station, explore Tidmouth Sheds and Brendam Docks, hop on Bertie’s Bus Tours, join Gordon, James, Emily, Percy and Sir Topham Hatt for a live stage show, ride the Troublesome Trucks roller coaster and take Winston’s Skyline Express.
USA Today readers named it one of the “Top 3 Winners for Best New Amusement Park Attraction.”
If you’re making tracks to visit Thomas & Friends, be forewarned, there’s also a Thomas Land gift shop filled with little blue engine merchandise — and the Sodor Sweet Shop featuring candy from around the world.
Edaville USA, edaville.com, is located at 5 Pine St., in South Carver, Mass. Summer hours are Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. At-the–gate tickets prices, which include admission to Thomas Land and the entire Edaville park complex, are $37 for ages 4 and older; $32 for 2- and 3-year-olds and seniors 60 and over. Children under age 2 are admitted free. There is a $3 discount per ticket purchased online. Parking is free.
