Thomas the Tank Engine at Thomas Land

Saturday 4th December saw the 65th Anniversary of the creation of the world’s most popular pre-school brand, ‘Thomas & Friends’, was celebrated with a spectacular party held in Thomas Land at Drayton Manor Theme Park, Tamworth in Staffordshire.

2,500 guests, including celebrities Nell McAndrew, Zane Lowe, Nihal Arthanayake and Nicole Barber Lane , VIPs, competition winners, members of the public and the family of the Rev. Wilbert Awdry (author of the original Railway Series books featuring Thomas the Tank Engine), gathered at Thomas Land – the multi-million pound attraction, which houses 12 Thomas themed rides, an indoor play area and the world’s largest dedicated ‘Thomas & Friends’ shop.

The Fat Controller opened the celebrations alongsideThomas and the Reverend’s daughters Hilary Fortnam and Veronica Chambers. Entertainment was provided by an array of jugglers, balloon modellers, magicians, story tellers, 4D cinema screenings and a special sweetie dash, before the day’s festivities were brought to a close with a spectacular firework display.

Rick Glankler, Senior Vice President, Global Brand Management – Thomas & Friends Division – EMEA, said:

“65 years since the Rev. Wilbert Awdry first told his young son Christopher a story about a cheeky little blue engine, Thomas continues to capture hearts and imaginations. Today’s event has provided an opportunity for us to celebrate the huge enjoyment Thomas has brought to generations of children from all around the world.”

Colin Bryan, Managing Director of Drayton Manor Theme Park, comments:

“It’s an amazing honour for Drayton Manor Theme Park to be the home of Thomas Land and host this special 65th Anniversary Party. ‘Thomas & Friends’ has a magical quality that entertains the young and young at heart, and has done so for over six decades.

“We opened Thomas Land in March 2008 and it quickly became one of our most popular attractions. We plan to develop Thomas Land further by adding a new ride, which is due to open Easter 2011.”

‘Thomas & Friends’ is the UK’s number one pre-school license*, a position it has held for 10 consecutive years, and the Children’s BAFTA-nominated TV series has enjoyed continued ratings success since its UK debut in 1984. 348 television episodes have been produced to date and the show, now animated using CGI, is broadcast in 185 territories, including on Five’s Milkshake! and Nick Jnr.

Thomas’ success doesn’t end there! To date, over 90 million DVDs and videos have been sold globally, as well as 200 million Thomas books, and the dedicated website thomasandfriends.com boasts more than 30 million unique hits per month. Over 1.5 million people around the world attend a Day Out with Thomas event each year and two dedicated Thomas Lands in Europe and Asia have seen attendance figures consistently exceed expectations.

Looking ahead, 2011 sees the return of Diesel 10 along with new characters and destinations in the movie ‘Day of the Diesels’. Accompanying tie-in product from Fisher Price and Mega Bloks will hit stores and new broadcast episodes will debut on TV. With all this activity, the world’s number one favourite little blue engine has lots to celebrate and is on track to greater destinations than ever before!

Drayton Manor Theme Park’s Thomas Land attraction will remain open daily until 2nd January 2011 (excluding 24th, 25th, 26th December) as it hosts Drayton’s Magical Christmas. There are Christmas trees, festive decorations, thousands of lights, daily musical performances from the Fat Controller and even snow three times a day.