Our September field trip is A Day Out With Thomas. Which we just did on Sunday. It was a beautiful sunny day and fantastic fun down in Strasburg, PA. If you haven’t been to one and you have a train kid 🚆 🚆 🚆 you should go. This is our third year visiting for Thomas days. We had the Sodor Deluxe tickets which include a ride on Thomas, Percy, and the regular steam train.
September Field Trip: A Day Out With Thomas
Visit Strasburg, Fun with Thomas Days contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Feel free to read more here.
Our day started off with a stop in a field just past the Red Caboose Motel which is a really unique place where you can stay inside of a caboose for a night. We then took a bus to the train station. It’s been pretty rainy this year in Pennsylvania so they needed to park us farther away then we have in previous years.
Train Tables
Once at the train station we hit the tents with a ton of other kids.  Aiden made a beeline for the train tables. Always make sure you bring a train or two to play with because there is always a ton of track but only a few trains.  If they have any at all. It’s a nice way to get you to go and buy a train or two in the commercial tent. Unfortunately for us, we left Aiden’s backpack full of trains in the car so off to the commercial tent and back came Harvey and the special 2018 Day Out With Thomas car so we could play. Â
Hand-Crank Cars
Our tickets for Thomas were for 12:15 pm so we took a break from the tents and headed over to the station. We did stop at the hand-crank cars on our way over to Thomas. Aiden did most of it by himself but got a little push towards the end. You can go again and again if you get back in line. Last year Aiden did it a few times in a row this time only once because of the train ride.
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas is a twenty-minute ride. This seems to be a popular time because we did the same time twice now and were told that it was a full train and to make sure there were at least 2 people per seat. I would recommend trying for a quieter time.
The first year we went I picked the first spot around 10 am and it was quiet and there was lots of space on the train.  Mind you Aiden wasn’t even 2 yet and was quite easy to get out the door on time so it wasn’t as hard to get there and on.  I would guess before noon is less popular.
Pictures with Thomas and Percy
After our train ride, we got in line for pictures. They had a line set up for professional pictures with both Thomas and Percy. It works better than last year. It was meant to get you both pictures with one line. Unfortunately, we were towards the end of the line and only got Thomas. We could have gotten back in line for Percy but decided against it.
Music and Food
Next, we hit the music and food tent. They had musical instruments for the kids to play while an older gentleman sang oldies and encouraged the kids to come up on stage and sing or tell a joke. Aiden grabbed the accordion and played along. While we waited for a ride on Percy.
Percy
Percy is a quick twelve-minute ride on the same track as Thomas. It was pretty quick and first come first serve on that train. So get in line when you want to. It feels really short. If it weren’t for the fact that Aiden knew we were on Percy I don’t know if that ticket is worth the money.
He was ready to run back over to the train table tent as soon as we got off. Â
Regular Steam Train
We went on the 2 pm regular steam train. This one is 45 minutes long and takes you to Paradise PA where Amtrak flies by. You can stop at the picnic spot or Cherry Crest Adventure Farm on that ride and return on the next train.
We did eat at Strasburg station. It was between $7 and $9 person. Not the best food but also not the worse.
We did the mini train and the hand-crank cars again. Before heading out to the back to the bus and our car.
Other Things to Do
If you have older kids you can hit the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Â Or Choo Choo Barn with a giant model train set. And a bunch of other attractions nearby. Â Â Â Â Â
Thomas Days
Have you ever been to A Day Out with Thomas? Tell me about in the comments below. A don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
Pin It for later
This seems really fun especially for young boys like your child since they really love thomas the tank engine! This is a nice place to enjoy and learn at the same time. I am excited to go on a field trip with my little baby boy when he grows up. Thanks for sharing!
Ohhhhh my gosh. As a boy mom, this place looks amazing! My son is only 1 but how fun would this be to have something like this around my area. I need to do a search now! Looks like fun and a great family photo!
This is such a terrific family-friendly outing in Strasburg. I love all of the smiling faces on your fun-filled day. Little boys love their trains! I bet the stay at the caboose was tons of fun!
We were in Strasburg in July. Loved the train ride (it wasn’t the Thomas one). Did you eat at the Red Caboose? The restaurant was really great.
What a fun day! I love the idea of a field trip day!