Thomas or GeoTrax for Christmas?

[Cherylo84]

We want to get my son, 2-1/2, a train set for Christmas. We can't make up our minds between the wooden Thomas sets and the GeoTrax system. Does anybody have any experience or advice? Which one did their child play with? Pros and cons? Will he outgrow one sooner than the other? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
Cheryl

 

[TerryKitten]

DS has had geo trax since his 2nd birthday and he is still playing with them (hes almost 4). In the beginning he had lots of trouble putting together the track by himself, so he and dad built some great tracks together. Today he can build stuff himself, although he dosen't quite have the concept of getting the track to meet up at some point (to make the track continuous). He really likes playing with his trains.

 

[ocd4disney]

We have a wooden train and the Geo Trax. The Geo Trax get played with more. We bought several sets last year when DS was 2.5. It was one of the favorites for the whole family. Even DD8 got in on the action .

I must warn you though that Geo Trax are addictive And it almost never fails I am ...I mean DS is 1 piece short of connecting the track.

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

The Geo Trax are wonderful toys for kids. I highly recommend it.

 

[HelenePA]

Well wooden thomas sets are about 2times more expensive than geotrax. We have collected sets of both over the years and 3 kids... My girls were REALLY into thomas for awhile, now not so much, their brother never got into thomas, they do play with geotrax still I believe santa is bringing more of them also..

 

[Cherylo84]

Thank you all so much for your replies. I asked around at lunchtime at work and heard the same thing. Geotrax seems to be the way to go. I'm kinda glad because that Thomas stuff is expensive!

One other question - is there a "table" for Geotrax? Or do they just build them on the floor every time they play with them? My son has a play table that I thought about just making a top for to hold the trains. Maybe something we could remove and slide under the bed when he is not using it.

 

[rparmfamily]

We have both, we have a lot of Thomas (I started collecting for my son at 2) and now lots of Geotrax (started him at 3.) He plays with the Geotrax a lot more to tell you the truth. He loves Thomas but Geotrax gets more playtime.

I bought the Thomas to keep to pass down but who knows...I love wood toys but the whole stupid lead thing has me rethinking keeping the Thomas stuff.

Of course Geotrax also had a lead recall!!

 

[rparmfamily]

Geotrax won't really fit on a table, they are HUGE and require a lot of space to make the layouts.

 

[HelenePA]

uh yeah the only place geotrax fit are on the floor!

 

[CharityLynn]

I just sold all of my son's train stuff on craigslist lol. Geotrax are HUGE and take up alot of room but will probably be alot easier for a 2-3 year old to do.

 

[Beth76]

One other question - is there a "table" for Geotrax? Or do they just build them on the floor every time they play with them? My son has a play table that I thought about just making a top for to hold the trains. Maybe something we could remove and slide under the bed when he is not using it.

We have a great table but it doesn't get used for trains. Trains get built on the floor. The table is just too small and my son likes to crawl around with the trains.

We have a wooden set--some Thomas, some other stuff. I wish we had gotten the Geotrax. My son still plays with Thomas, but I always see Geotrack things that look a lot cooler. And less expensive.

 

[Bob Slydell]

We have both. GeoTrax is cool, but since it takes up so much space, it tends to not get played with as much as the Brio track, which can come out and get put away so quickly. I think my 2 year old would probably love playing with the GeoTrax, as long as it's set up for him. On the other hand, he really enjoys putting together the wooden track by himself, which allows him to be a little more creative.

 

[kat3668]

I saw this on Amazon this morning.. I thought I would share!http://www.amazon.com/BRIO-Piece-Br...oys-and-games&qid=1196983503&sr=8-2:goodvibes
My toddlers are reall into Thomas too so I have been buying the Thomas the tanks engine stuff made by Duplo.. they love it!
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_g...ias=aps&field-keywords=thomas+duplo&x=23&y=25
Good luck!

 

[ChrisnSteph]

My kids have had both. From experience, I would say go with the wooden train set first, and then maybe add the Geotrax later.

The Geotrax do take up a ton of room! I got rid of them about a year ago. However my boys (5 and 6) STILL play with their wooden trains, but they aren't Thomas ones.

 

[mjkacmom]

We have Brio and the Geotrax, and the Brio gets used a lot more - my 9 year old ds and his buddies still play with it if I have it out for the little ones. The Geotrax takes up a lot more room, so is usually in the closet - the Brio trax are in an accessible bin.