Customer Reviews
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Expensive...Yes...and worth every penny!, Dec 17, 2022
I purchased this roundhouse for my 3 year old daughter. She loves anything Thomas! She began her Thomas collection with the figure 8 set and a couple of trains. As I realized how much she loved Thomas, I began to purchase more pieces to add to her collection. Rather than spend a lot of money upfront on a big set, I recommend starting small on a figure 8 set. As your child's interest in Thomas grows or solidifies, add items such as the table, roundhouse, other buildings, etc. I will caution that when you buy items "a la carte", it is very difficult to have everything fit nicely on the table. The roundhouse is her favorite building and all of her friends who come over to play, love it as well. The roundhouse does come with a 5 switch as pictured on the box, the red turntable is a separate item. The turntable is also a great addition to the roundhouse, but not a necessity. The roundhouse will not disappoint for any Thomas enthusiast!!!
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
Time For Thomas, Sep 11, 2023
The Thomas train sets are great modern versions of the classic indestructible wooden train sets. Simple enough to avoid the toddler age frustrations of getting the cars to run on the track yet complex enough to engage a wide range of ages (up to and including Grandpas). All the stories help with the imagination part....the books & videos provide an endless source of adventures that can be acted out, although most kids are perfectly capable of inventing their own episodes.
Here is my advice, if you are trying to work your way through the maze of start-up options:
First of all, you can spend a fortune on a huge set....even if you can afford it, I would start with something small and give the child the joy of receiving a chain of small but intriguing presents over a long period of time. It fosters the joy of giving/receiving and helps teach them to come back again and again to the same toy...watching it grow, asking for specific items from the stories they hear, etc. Several reviewers suggest painting an old coffee table and this is a great idea.
I suggest the Figure 8 set (the most popular one) or if you want to spend a little bit more, the Conductors Figure 8 set. Both are complex enough to be interesting, but simple enough to give lots of room for growth. Almost immediately I would add a new present of one of the inexpensive engines (you can ask the child which story they like best and get that engine for them....or buy the engine to go with the video or book in the same gift)....these would be Percy The Small Engine, Bill The Yellow Engine, Treavor, (or a bit more $ for:) The Lady Engine, James The Red Engine, Gordon The Express Engine (he's one of the best stories, I think), or Henry The Green Engine.
Now for the good stuff! Give it a month or so, and then reward the child with something really cool like the Barrel Loader or Rusty the Construction 3 Car Set.
I honestly can't see the point in the huge multi hundred dollar system sets. If you want to impress the neighbors or something, go for it, but I'm telling you.....most kids will enjoy a large number of small thoughtful gifts, not a "keep-up-with-the-Jones" effort on your part.
Good behavior can be rewarded with a pick-your-own trip to the store (there are sometimes when a real time shopping trip can't be beat)
By the way, the Thomas stories are based on real restored engines that run in England on the Mid-Hants Railway Watercress line near Winchester (you can read about them an even plan a trip to ride on the real Thomas trains by checking out watercressline.co.uk). They are a day trip from the London rail stations, although I recommend using a B&B; in the Winchester area and staying overnight if you decide to go. Winchester was the center of the old Saxon kingdom of Wessex of King Alfred as well as a major early medieval site (the Cathedral has the tombs of many of the Saxon Kings as well as Jayne Austen and Izaac Walton and it was where Richard the Lionhearted was crowned.)
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Fantasic but Pricey!, Jun 24, 2023
When I ordered the roundhouse I believed that the red 5-way switch track was also included, especially when it is pictured on the box, but was disappointed to find that it wasn't. As my 4 year old son believes, as I am sure most do, that this is a very necessary piece of the building he will have to wait until his birthday to receive it (...). A little upsetting.
Apart from this one thing the Roundhouse is a fantastic piece to have on any Thomas layout, my son loves it and plays with it for hours.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
ROUNDHOUSE FUN!!!!!, Jan 16, 2023
This is a fun piece. You can put your trains to sleep behind 5 different doors (the Special Engine Shed only has room for one train). It is fun to open and close the doors. You can play hide and seek!
64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
Great for 18 months and up! But expensive..., Nov 8, 2022
The Thomas train and train collections are durable toys. Their real value, though, is that playing with the toys allows children to act out the great Thomas and Friends children's stories they read and watch.Kids' imaginations can remarkably supply buildings and water towers and cranes, etc., so that they won't even miss what might be lacking from less expensive sets. And families can build some of these items themselves out of old boxes, etc. BUT I HAVE YET TO MEET KIDS THAT LOVE THOMAS THAT DIDN'T WANT A ROUNDHOUSE. This is the 'official' Thomas roundhouse, but it is very expensive. YOU PROBABLY CAN FIND A GENERIC ROUNDHOUSE FOR A LOT LESS (MAYBE EVEN 2/3 LESS!) WITH A LITTLE LOOKING. Purchasing recommendation:
* Choose which type of Thomas trains you will 'standardize' on. There are three kinds: This size of wooden trains from Learning Curve; larger, plastic, battery-operated trains from Tomy; and smaller, die-cast metal trains from Ertl. The wooden trains have the most products and accessories available. * The clickety-clack (grooved to look like real railroad) track in the Thomas series is great, but it's expensive; I recommend buying generic track. ... You can literally save hundreds of dollars by buying these kinds of sets. * Buy the Thomas and friends engines separately--and wait for sales. The kids care about the characters, so no short-cutting (ie., Brio or generic trains) here. * Look for trains bundled with VHS videos. You can get a video and a train (on sale) for about the same price as a train alone. * Only buy the official accessories (buildings, tables, etc.) if you cannot find generic substitutes for less or cannot make them yourself.
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