Customer Reviews

Thomas And Friends Wooden Railway - Circus Train Learning Curve

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A friend of the family purchased this "Thomas" accessory for my 2 year old daughter, who got a wooden railway system from Santa. At first both my daughter and I were thrilled with the set, which contains 3 bright-colored cars and 5 wooden animals. It didn't bother my daughter that the animals were two-dimensional; the lithographs on each side of the wooden cut-outs realistically portray an elephant, zebra, giraffe, lion, and tiger. The problem with these animals is that they are just too tall to fit through any of our tunnels or under any bridges. Even the tiger, who is the shortest one, won't fit through any of the "accessories" we've added to our train set. My daughter got tired of taking them out of their cars before each tunnel, pretending they were going through, and then loading them back in as the train emerged on the other side. Now, two months after receiving this gift, my daughter uses the cars as the 'naughty freight cars' that give Thomas so much trouble in his stories, while the poor circus animals just stand next to the track and watch.

Quality of animals is good except that some animals have a face on each side... toddlers notice and wonder why.

The three cars, while cute, are much lighter than the other solid wood engines and cars... they do not stay on the track and de-rail on a regular basis... frustrates the careful toddler.

The cars, when loaded with animals will not fit in tunnels, go over bridges or allow cars to enter the roundhouse... so, the animals usually just get left off the cars by the toddler.

After looking this over in a store and reading the reviews of this set I changed my mind and did not purchase it for my son. Instead, I purchased the Alphazoo Express line from Safari Ltd. and it is terrific! These are a five-star addition to your Thomas line. I would highly recommend them instead of this circus set. For starters, the animals are more realistic as they are made out of plastic instead of wood. They are very lifelike compared to these! The cars match the rest of THomas items nicely and are not cheap-looking, either, though they are very similar looking to the ones in this set. Secondly, the cars have doors that really open as well as being labeled with the names of each animal and the letter that each starts with. A very cool toy! And, they are about half the cost of Thomas cars. I got mine for $4 pop and you can choose your own animals. Only down side is that the animals are a wee bit on the small side if your child is less than three and might be a choking hazard. Check it out before you buy! You could get 4 or 5 cars for the price of this set, AND the animals will fit through your single stone tunnel or sodor bay bridge.

My son recently received the Circus Train for his 2nd birthday. He was really excited to see the animals, and loves to put them in the cage cars and drive them around the track. He has been very frustrated, however, because his train can't fit through any tunnels or bridges when the animals are on board - the animals are just too tall. I think the Circus Train would be a great addition to your Thomas Wooden Railway IF you don't have the bridges or tunnels to worry about. If you do have these items in your layout, I'd suggest the Ivo Hugh zoo set instead, as it is made to fit through those low clearance areas.

My son, who is now age 6, started getting Thomas the Tank Engine sets, components, and vehicles when he was 2 and a half. Until he was 4, he would be playing with the toy consistantly. Since that time he has acquired new interests in Hot Wheels and MicroMachines. He is now almost 6 years old and still plays with his Thomas the Tank Engine Set occasionally (about once or twice a month). Of all the toys acquired during his early childhood, this one has lasted the most and was played with the most. The Circus set is one of the most playable (acquired after a day out at the Circus). We purchased some additional cage cars (from a different manufacturer, I think). The animals added an extra dimension to the playability of Thomas the Tank Engine. Now that he is 6 the animals are not realistic enough and are relegated to the bottom of the Thomas the Tank Engine playbin. The Circus cars are useful for holding toy soldiers, etc.

My dd loves her trains and these cars are a lot of fun for her. She really doesn't use them with the wooden animals too much though since they are too tall to make it through the tunnel or covered bridge on her set. Obviously this is a problem, but I still recommend them because they are the only cars that she can load up with stuff. She puts little plastic animals in the back (you know the kind that come in a bag for about a dollar.) Also Sir Topham hat can sit in the car too until you get to a tunnel that is. i do wish I had realized the animals were too tall before I bought them.

This set is really cute, and my son likes playing with and naming the animals but it's not worth the money. The animals don't stay up very well in the cars and if you have any tunnels on you track they don't fit through them.Also, the trains are plastic and too light.
Do yourself and your child a favor, spend your money on a different train or add to your track instead of buying this circus train set.

My son is a major Thomas fan. This train set is fun except if you have tunnels on your track. If you do, beware...you have to remove the animals from the cars because the animals are too tall to get through the tunnels. Needless to say, this can be very frustrating for a 2 year old.

My son loves playing with his Thomas Track. When he saw the circus train he HAD to have it:-) We bought it for his birthday last year. The animals are painted on, but the wood is a very good grade. He likes to have pretend circus acts and then load the animals up! The only problem I see is keeping the set together. He likes to sleep with the animals:-)

My twins loved the circus trains they got for their birthday - until they discovered that the trains won't go through tunnels or covered bridges with the animals in them! If your child has a simple circle set, or a flat track layout without tunnels or bridges, he/she will love the circus train. Otherwise, he/she will be frustrated (as my kids are) each time the train approaches a tunnel or bridge, when he/she has to remove the animals to get the train through. (If the Learning Curve folks are reading this, how about designing a circus train that will fit through the tunnels? I'd definitely buy one!)