Thomas Land’s birthday party
What a special day! My family and I attended Thomas Land’s birthday party yesterday!
They are celebrating 15 incredible years in style.
From the moment we stepped in, it felt like a birthday celebration with flags, bunting, a massive cake, and Thomas himself dressed up with a party hat on!
Street entertainment greeted us upon arrival (plus on exit and during other parts of the day). The stilt walkers being particularly impressive. My daughter Lily loved the lady’s wings but was a bit intimidated by their height. However, the street entertainers were friendly and interacted with Lily, having a chat and giving her a high five.
The ‘Party Time in Thomas Land Show’ on the Knapford Station Balcony was a fantastic way to get into the party mood. 
Here, Rusty and Dusty sing a Birthday party song and ‘Happy and You Know It’, and then Sir Topham Hatt joins in as the ‘Music Man’! They even play musical statues with you. All the classic birthday party songs and a game to join in with too. Brilliant.
Between shows, we went on the rides, and Lily’s favourites yesterday were ‘Toby’s Tram Express’ and ‘James and the Red Balloon,’ while last time it was the troublesome trucks runaway coaster!
It wasn’t long until there were some more birthday party entertainment to enjoy with Rusty and Dusty’s Circus Skills Workshop, which took place in the Thomas Land Band Stand a couple of times throughout the day. When we went, they were doing plate spinning, which Lily enjoyed. Rusty and Dusty were so friendly and kind to the kids, always ready for a nice photo too.
Going this weekend we also got to enjoy the special screening of Thomas & Friends: The Mystery of Lookout Mountain. Which is the new Thomas cartoon style, and it sees Thomas recruit the Biggest Adventure Club to dig into the history and uncover the mystery inside Lookout Mountain. Please note, this was a special for the 1st and 2nd of April only. Normally in its place is the Thomas 4D cinema.
The great thing about Drayton Manor is that the whole park is family-friendly, so as your little ones get older (like my daughter who is 6 now), you can explore the rest of the park as well as Thomas Land. So in addition to all the fun in Thomas Land, we enjoyed some rides in the Viking and Adventure Cove areas such as the carousel, pirate ship, river rapids, jormungandr and dodgems (Lily’s other favourite of the day!). 
The Vikings area was new last year, so another exciting part of the day for the whole family. For little ones there is the Sleipnir pony ride, and for bigger ones, there are the Loki and Thor rides. The Thor ride looks awesome! I managed to go on the Loki ride, which I enjoyed but Lily was not feeling brave enough yesterday. Maybe next visit…
We enjoyed a delicious pizza for lunch at ‘Safari Pizza & Pasta,’ which is decorated like you are in a rainforest with animals that move and make sounds!
Back to Thomas Land, you can catch one more balcony show at Knapford Station – the ‘Goodbye Show’ which of course ends your day on a high. Watch out for the water sprayers though!
I would recommend you come to join the party too for a great family day out, it’s running most days until the end of April! All of the above and even more to enjoy. Depending on what you enjoy most, you can pick and choose what and where you spend your time. I am sure there were more street entertainers that we missed, other birthday party games to join in with, a juggling circus masterclass and an easter egg hunt (during the school Easter holidays). Rory is also very much a part of the day, while my daughter is not big into ‘mascots’, I know a lot of other children (and adults!) are…. I saw Rory walking about all day and doing some great shows on a stage in the Adventure Cove area, putting smiles on many people’s faces.
What a way to kickstart the 2023 main season for Drayton Manor and Europe’s only Thomas Land. Look out for other fantastic events coming this year, including a coronation street party and Fiestaval in May/June!
Find out more about these other events with raring2go! here
Save up to 30% when you book in advance for Thomas Land’s birthday party https://fal.cn/ThomasBirthdayTickets
And why not add on a hotel stay to make the trip even more special? The hotel is also decorated for Thomas’ birthday party, making it feel magical and very exciting. You can even have a Thomas-themed room if you want!
Worried about the weather? Add the Rainy Day Guarantee to your booking for just £2pp, and if there’s more than 4mm rainfall, you’ll get a free return visit!
A review by Lucy Richardson, Raring2go! Kidderminster and Stourbridge Editor. Words my own.
