Modeled after the DVD of the same title, the Great Discovery set offers a wide variety of experiences. After building the wide figure-8 of track, kids can act out the familiar story, or stories out of their own imaginations, with two talking engines and two talking destinations that actually recognize which engine has just approached them. Unique phrases at each destination greet the engines with salutations or instructions from the merry conductor, Sir Topham Hatt.
― “Thomas and Friends wooden train pieces by RC2,” are best-selling wooden toys for Michelle Deutschmann, owner of Kaleidoscope Toys in Falmouth, Mass.
― Buddy Wood, owner of Le Jouet in Metairie, La., said he sells between 75 and 100 Thomas the Tank Engine pieces per month.
― Thirteen percent of 56 retailers named wooden railway as a top seller in early 2009.