Debating on the Thomas Train table

[jeepgirl30]

DH keeps telling me we should buy DS3 a thomas train table for Christmas. Does anyone have one? They go on sale for like $130 at TRU but thats a lot. I'm not sure how long he'll be into Thomas. Right now he is a major train freak. He has been for awhile now. He loves all his Thomas stuff.

Are the tables worth the money? Are there any great sales now?

 

[RobynK]

i wish we would have gotten the table for my son now 13 but they were double that price he loved his trains! And just recently when his older brother was out with friends I caught him playing with them, but he would never admidt it! He still loves his trains I think it is worth the investment

 

[cheerbop]

we didn't get the Thomas table but we did get a regular table that ws plain green on top and has a large drawer at each end. The plain top helps it to be great for cars, setting up Imaginext play areas, etc...not just Thomas. Plus, the drawers are great for all the track pieces and train cars...
I think we got it for like $75.
Although my sons LOVE their Thomas trains they also love being able to use the table for other things than Thomas.

 

[100AcreWood]

Last year we bought dd a train table at BJ's Warehouse.

It came with all the train tracks, buildings, and storage underneath. I'm glad we didn't buy the Thomas brand because they change so quickly!

 

[momto2inKC]

My son wanted one for his birthday several years ago. My husband ended up making one and it turned out great! We were able to pick what size and wood coloring we wanted. He spent very little money making it (maybe $40 at the most).
And like the previous poster said, it's nice to have that table for other uses too, especially since now that he's older he really doesn't play with his Thomas stuff much.

 

[disneyfam]

we wouldnt have a living room table without one! DS (and DD) plays so much with it that we actually have it in the living room. We have the wooden legged one not the one with Thomas and friends on. So when there is no track on it, it "looks" like furniature. We bought 3 nice decorative baskets that we put the trains, track, and accessories in. We have thought about putting it in his room but we fear that we'd never see our son and daughter. LOL.

Worth every penny for us.

Cyndd

 

[Princess Glenda]

We debated back and forth about getting a table when DS was little. Thomas was his THING and I'd have to say his all-time favorite toy. He loved playing with the table at Toys R Us, Barnes and Noble and our local train store. However, I got to thinking that he was building very large layouts even at age 4 or so and they wouldn't have fit on the table. His fun was designing the tracks so we decided against one. For us, it was a good decision. Just something to think about. My sister bought a train table for her boys at Sam's Club (not Thomas, but designed for trains.) They have used it as a multi-purpose table--legos, crafts, etc. Neither of my nephews have LOVED trains like my DS.

 

[pjtm]

I love the Pottery Barn Kids train table - the drawers underneath it are mandatory!!! I liked that it wasn't so playroomy (is that a word). My trainlovingfreak of a child plays with his everyday. I didn't want to spend the $ on a Thomas one - more $ because of the brand name. Love, love my PBK one!

 

[Maureenmouse]

We bought one for our DDs 3 years ago. they still play with it some times, but it's mostly my you7nger 3 yo that plays with it. Sometimes they take off all of the thomas items and use the table for their Little People and Sweet Street town. It wasn't the official Thomas Table, but it was from TRU for $99.
It was well worthit's cost.

 

[yeartolate]

We got that table for Christmas (actually the original version almost 10 years ago )when my son was 1 1/2.

He played with it consistently for about 4 years. We have since kept all of his trains and track (etc). We were able to sell the table at a garage sale for $40. I would say we got MORE than our moneys worth. The newer tables seem to have storage and such - very nice.

 

[ZuZugal]

Not sure if you like to order from ebay or not, but I just got my DS3 a Thomas table from a seller on eaby. It is the table, table top, and 2 Thomas drawers (on casters) for underneath. I got it for $250 including shipping which is a great price for this set. My older DS is now 12, I'm sure he will play with it as well. My only regret was not getting one when he was a little guy, but we couldn't afford it then.

My biggest reason for buying this toy......is the imaginative play that goes along with it. I'm so tired of all the "electronic" toys on the market right now. This is one of the few toys I never intend on getting rid of......

 

[kfeuer]

From what I've seen of the Thomas train tables at TRU, they look really flimsy and are over-priced for what you get. Check out the warehouse clubs, they always have train tables at this time of year. We got a really nice, sturdy octagon-shaped train table at BJ's last year that has plastic storage bins underneath for around $130. My kids have played with it almost every day since we got it, and they couldn't care less that the table doesn't say Thomas on it. If you child really loves trains, it's a good investment IMO. Plus, if you take care of it it will have good resale value when you're ready to get rid of it.

 

[DisneyArk]

It sounds like we all have different opinions. Do you have room for a train table? That makes a difference. We did not have much extra room. My sons LOVED Thomas but like a previous poster said, they wanted to create huge tracks on the kitchen floor. After a while the train table was always cluttered with other toys and it was taking up too much room. It did not work for us.

My friend bought one that has colored buckets underneath and they really use the train table and love it. Their table is not a "Thomas" table.

Our specialty toy store runs big sales on Thomas toys during October!

 

[jjohnson]

My son wanted one for his birthday several years ago. My husband ended up making one and it turned out great! We were able to pick what size and wood coloring we wanted. He spent very little money making it (maybe $40 at the most).
And like the previous poster said, it's nice to have that table for other uses too, especially since now that he's older he really doesn't play with his Thomas stuff much.

My DH did the same thing 8 years ago & DS loved it. If he loves Thomas that much it's worth it even if you have to buy it.

 

[TnTWalter]

for son's birthday in September. It came with the train set, honey colored wood table with 2 trundle doors on wheels. It's beautiful. The kids love it. The play board reverses to plain white so they can do legos, put the doll house on it, etc. We've put Geotrax and our Plastic Thomas in one of the drawers and the other drawer holds the train set that it came with which is fairly nice. Probably one of the best purcahses for the children.

Trish

 

[nelle]

We have on but it's just not big enough(it's not the one with the trains on it it's one that is all wood and looks like a piece of furniture). If I could do it again I would just make one. By the time we put the round house on there isn't much room for all the other extras. I'm actually considering putting a big sheet of plywood over the table to make it bigger. I like the looks of the table it's just not big enough (of course it doesn't help the my son has every piece of thomas ever created ) especially when he has to set every piece up.

 

[jennwdw]

Another vote for the Pottery Barn Kids Activity table! My boys love thomas and play w/the trains all the time. The PBK table accomadates the thomas boards but they also sell their own boards w/ a variety of theming for around $12 a piece. I like it because we can put the trains away and they can play other things on it as well (little people towns, cars etc.) I believe the activity table is $249 w/the carts(drawers) I bought one 2 years ago and we get alot of mileage out of it. Plus it's a nice piece of "furniture" as well. When the boys grow out of the trains cars and toys I plan to have a piece of glass cut to fit in the top (there's a ledge around the table) and use it as a coffee table. I know it's a little more than other train tables but for the quality and versatility compared to other play/train tables I think this was the best decision for us.

 

[jeepgirl30]

I would love the PBK activity table but its out of my price range right now.

I have seen the non Thomas tables and I think thats what I'm going to get him. I have $35 in gift cards I got from surveys, mypoints, amex rewards, etc. So that will help.

Thank you to all for the suggestions!

 

[DisneyTarheel]

We are very happy with the Nilo multi-use train table -- very sturdy.

 

[crisi]

My dad made one.

Never really got used. Stored a lot of junk. Instead of drawers, we just had some tubs that held the stuff and slid under the table. They'd build on the floor - when they played with trains.