Choo Choo Bob’s Story Time

I added Choo Choo Bob’s story time to my summer bucket list because toddlers and trains seem to go together like cake and ice cream… besides that though, it seemed like every mom blogger in the cities had written about it at some point. Most of these blogs are at least a couple of years old, so maybe things are different now, but I was underwhelmed by the whole experience. While story time itself has all the makings of a wonderful experience, the store itself left me wondering when they would be closing down.

We entered the store about 10:05 and story time begins at 10 and it had already begun. Normally promptness is admirable but for some reason when toddlers are involved, having a little wiggle room in your start time seems appropriate. The seating area, while adorable and well decorated for a train store, could definitely use more seating. Every seat was filled with plenty of people standing. Engineer Paul was reading a story book related to trains though I didn’t catch the name as he was already into the story when we were able to finally get settled standing at the back of the crowd.

G became bored rather quickly so we headed over to where they have the train tables set up. The concept is fantastic and the kids seem to really enjoy playing with the trains. Sharing can get a bit dicey but most figure it out without too many tantrums ensuing.

The store itself was full of empty shelves and toys that felt overpriced – used trains seemed to be marked rather high. I do know that the train sets themselves tend to be a bit spendy… it was the used toys that took me by surprise.

And as a warning to those with toddlers that enjoy touching everything that they shouldn’t – there is a fantastic electric train in the shops front window that explicitly states DO NOT TOUCH. I bet you can guess how many kiddos can actually read that and heed its warning. Just keep an eye out for your kiddo knocking the train off its track.

Overall, a decent experience… G didn’t want to leave when it was time to go. I was expecting so much more for some reason, but the story time itself – although in need of more seating in my opinion – was cute and interactive and definitely worth at least one visit while your kids still like trains. I won’t be making this one of our regular stops but I’m glad we got to experience something together, even if it left a bit to be desired on my end.