Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

My 4 year old son (like a great many 4 year olds) is obsessed with everything Thomas the train. He has a big collection of the minis that we take to church to play with because they're quiet and easy to pack around, but they can be hard to connect and pull around by themselves. When I saw this toy I thought he would love it because he loves anything motorized and that enables him to watch things go around and around (he's also autistic). This came very quickly and is very well packaged! It comes with 2 minis in case you don't already have some (but it works with all the minis we've bought from different stores in the last year). It was very easy to put together and only has 4 stickers to apply which is nice as I hate it when toys come with sheets and sheets of stickers to put on. This toy takes 3 AA batteries (not included) stored in a screw closure battery compartment on the side and has an on/off switch next to it. All said and done it took me about 15 minutes to put together with my son "helping". The colored instructions are easy enough to figure out without too much difficulty and you don't need any tools other than a screwdriver to put the batteries in. Once it's put together and turned on it works very well! The plastic parts and pieces are all very solid and sturdy unlike many toys and it doesn't feel the least bit flimsy or breakable (which is a big deal in our house). It's also relatively small and doesn't take up a ton of space unlike track master sets and tracks! I love that I can throw this in a closet! The toy is cute and works well with several trains at once and has 3 different options of tracks to go down, all of which are different and work well and pretty consistently. My only complaints about the toy are: 1) It's a bit on the noisy side when it's turned on. It doesn't play any annoying music or make any stupid annoying sounds, but the motor itself seems a little overly loud for what it does (just rotates a rubber belt). Also, when the belt gets stuck (more on that momentarily) the sound it makes is REALLY loud and annoying. 2) Occasionally the belt gets stuck and it has to be "helped" which so far requires my attention as my son doesn't really know what to do to fix it. Usually I just tug on the belt a little to get it moving again or realign a train that is on the belt. I wish it didn't get stuck, but this doesn't happen all the time. 3) If you use it with too many trains at once, you will cause a traffic jam at the bottom and this will cause the belt to get stuck or the trains to not even make it to the belt. I recommend using it with no more than 4-5 at a time tops. Technically you can fit more in there but I don't recommend it. 2-3 is ideal. 4) I wish cranky's dangling hook could raise and lower to pick up trains to add another degree of play. To have cranky the crane on there and have a hook dangling from the top that you can't actually extend or do anything with caused a little frustration for my boy. It's cute, but not functional, so just be aware of that. 5) The rotating piece that controls which chute the trains go down at the top has to be switched manually and my son isn't fast enough to change it while the trains are on their way up. If it's not pushed all the way over to be perfectly aligned with each chute, it will cause a traffic jam at the top and the belt to get stuck. I feel like there could be an easier way to direct traffic. It's not bad, but I think could be smoother or click into place better to alert the kid that it's lined up with a chute. All in all this is a cute, well made, easy to use toy that won't break the bank, doesn't take up a huge amount of space and is a good accessory if you already have a bunch of Thomas minis. Some reviewers complained that trains get stuck on the various different chutes/tracks, but if you put it together correctly, making sure every piece is snapped into place just right, you shouldn't have any problems (other than with the rubber belt getting stuck sometimes). For the record, I didn't get a discount or anything for this. I paid full price and just wanted to review it for other parents/grandparents who are shopping for the right toys for the kiddos. Hope this helps! UPDATE: Someone asked if this track will work with the "flat bottom minis". I don't really know what those are because all the ones I've purchased in the last two years look exactly like the ones that come with the track itself. I've added a picture so you can see what the bottom looks like. I would say if the bottom of your minis is indeed completely flat and doesn't have these little ridges to hold on to the rails, they probably won't work with this set. That being said, this track comes with two and all the ones I've purchased from different stores work with it just fine. Hope this helps!