Comin down the mountain!

CHOO CHOO... Connor is becoming a train nut as we speak. The issue is that train play sets can be huge and though I plan on getting him a train table for Christmas this year its not like he can take his entire train table and train sets to his babysitters or to grandma's house. Well that's not necessarily true.

The Take Along Thomas collection by Learning Curve offer the same great play experience as their big brother the Wooden Railway also made by Learning Curve, but in a lighter more portable package. One of the most obvious differences between Take Along Thomas and Wooden Railway is the price... Wooden Railway items are much more expensive as they are well.. wooden. Past that up till now I really didn't understand the real difference between the two play sets.

Take Along Thomas play sets are built to be a stand alone toy totally each set is totally portable as the extra track and cars stores in the play set itself so when your done playing you can just store and go, making the Take Along series portable enough to take to the grandparents, to play dates, or wherever you feel that Thomas needs to go. The other major difference is the fact that these play sets are made with plastic tracks, diecast cars, and are built to be used without a train table. Not that you NEED a train table to play with a Wooden Railway play set but it certainly helps as its nice to be able to leave them out between playing. Take Along Thomas sets are built to be used anywhere anytime.

The new Thomas the Train Morgan's Mine Adventure play set is inspired by the Thomas's Great Discovery movie where Thomas discovers the lost city of Great Waterton. Thomas and Troublesome are both included in the set and are in for some trouble as they have to make their way down Morgan's Mine! Starting at the top of the rap Thomas has to make his way through scary tunnels, bridges, several obstacles, and through the water to make it back home. Though the secret is if you switch the tracks on him on the way down he will end up discovering Great Waterton just like in the movie!

The set itself is very easy to play with the main ramp is a solid piece so the only parts to assemble are the track pieces which are much chunkier, and magnetic, so little hands will have no problems putting them together. The very best part about the set is the button on the very top of the ramp that plays music and train sounds it also causes the top of the mine to blink. Connor loves the music a little too much as he will happily push the button over and over just to hear the song as though its shorts he gets a good dance going when he hears it. heh.

One small thing I should note, Take Along Thomas and Wooden Railway trains are not compatible with each other's tracks, we have a collection of both and though they do look very similar the Take Along trains are a bit chunkier and much easier on toddler's hands.

You can learn more about and buy your own Take Along Thomas and the Morgan's Mine Adventure set on the Learning Curve website!