Got this for a birthday present. Very exciting for children of all ages. The waves flap and hold Thomas back and the kids get to press the button and release him. You can buy extension tracks as well because your children will want to build on. The sailboat stays at the top and when Thomas comes by it releases the treasure onto the boat and sends the boat down a smaller track. Beware. Pack up on lots of batteries. We're having to switch out every two days but by the end of the day Thomas has a hard time getting up the hill if his batteries are wearing down.

Way better than I expected. Grandson is 3 years and couple months and it pushes his patients a bit, but it is very engaging for him. He loves the waves splashing, thomas chugs around and comes over the waves, the waves engage and splash up repeatedly causing thomas to remain in place until a small button is pushed by the child to release the train from the waves. the boat and treasure are a little trickier, it is hard for him to set the boat up at the top of the hill and get the treasure on and then have Thomas come around and release the boat so it goes down and crashes and the treasure pops off. I have no problem with it, and he thinks it is fantastic but this part requires my help. not miserable to assemble, but not super fast to take apart and put away and then take back out, but I got better at it after a couple times. Other wooden trains also work on this set. Which adds play power to it for him. Overall 5 stars, if you child needs to learn patients this may be a great small set to try. My grandson can not assemble any of the track on his own, the ends have to be lined up just right. Over all it stays together well unless he sits right on it or trips over it, which occasionally he does while trying to reach for the train.
UPDATE: May 2018: We are still using this set weekly, if not daily. We take it apart, put it in a box and then put it back together for daily play. He loves it. Does take some batteries, So stock up on those. wont hold up to being pushed around on the floor and not just played with on the track. He is going to be turning 4 and still can't do the set by himself. so I help put it together, Yes, all most daily. We also got on of the boxes of 4 leaf clover sets to go with this. you can kind of set this over that track and have 2 or 3 trains going at the same time. track holds up to being tripped over.

Which I don't have any complains about buying the trains. It's something I can participate with/my G-Nephew in doing & it's NOT an electronic game or tv. The only thing I wish I would've noticed or that they would've disclosed, which they might have & I didn't see it. Is that this track locked together at the ends unlike t others I'm use to which you lay together, which is much simpler.

My son and daughter both fell in love with this set. As a mother having to listen to it all day running, the water splash area can be annoying if the little ones walk away because the train cannot pass without pressing a button. But they love it!

Took a while before I could assemble from heart, without checking photo on box, but finally can.