Thomas The Tank Engine™ Pulls Into Essex Steam Train & Riverboat

NORWICH, Conn. - March 25, 2013 - PRLog -- All aboard for a Day Out With Thomas! The Essex Steam Train & Riverboat, a local historical attraction in the Connecticut River Valley, will host Day Out With Thomas™: The GO GO Thomas Tour 2013 on April 27-28 and May 4-5, 2013. This family-friendly event offers young train fans and their families the unique opportunity to take a ride with the classic storybook character, Thomas the Tank Engine™ and enjoy a day of music, carnival rides, midway food and fun, all at a real, historic railroad yard.

Bring your preschoolers to take the ride of their lives!  Seen on the pages of favorite storybooks, in playrooms, and on the television screen, Thomas the Tank Engine™ is adored by little engineers everywhere. The event, now in its 18th year, is presented by HIT Entertainment and sponsored by MEGA Brands, a leading toy company, and all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels.

The day starts out with a free shuttle train ride from the parking lot (located at 25 Plains Road Essex, CT) to Essex Station. Families can then hop aboard Thomas the Tank Engine™ for an exciting 25-minute train ride filled with music. Children will enjoy meeting characters from the Thomas the Tank Engine™ storybook series, and Sir Topham Hatt, the controller of the railway on the Island of Sodor.

When your ride with Thomas ends, spend the rest of the day at the Essex Steam Train’s authentic railroad yard for a complementary tour of the engine house and enjoy a free interactive music show by LaLa, the local children’s musician known for her "Music Together" program. The railroad yard will also offer free carnival rides, temporary tattoos, various play areas, storybook reading and coloring crafts at Imagination Station. Fried dough, ice cream, hot dogs, cheeseburgers and other midway food will also be available for purchase on site.

Thomas the Tank Engine rides depart every 45 minutes, rain or shine. Departure times begin at 9:00 am through 3:30 pm each day of the event.  Tickets for the Day Out With Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013 are $21 plus tax for ages two and up. Tickets are on sale now by calling toll-free 866.468.7630 or logging onto http://essexsteamtrain.com/dowt2013/main.html.  For more information and directions, contact the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat at 860-767-0103 or www.essexsteamtrain.com. For general information or to find a Day Out With Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013 event near you, visit www.thomasandfriends.com/dowt.

Guests are welcome to follow the Essex Steam Train on Twitter (@EssexSteamTrain) for updates and use the hashtag #ThomasEssex to share feedback, photos and questions.