HIT Entertainment Digital Newsroom

Day Out With Thomas™ 2008: The Great Discovery Tour Pulling Into Tweetsie Railroad

Thomas the Tank Engine™ to visit Blowing Rock May 30 - June 8, 2008

02/22/2008

Blowing Rock, NC

Peep! Peep! Thomas the Tank Engine is set to roll into Blowing Rockfor the Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour. The event, which takes place May 30 - June 8, 2008, will be hosted by Tweetsie Railroad, www.tweetsie.com, located in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains on US Highway 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock and presented by HIT Entertainment and sponsored by the LEGO Group.

For more than six decades, children have been captivated with the tales of Thomas the Tank Engine. Pulling out of the station for its 13th consecutive ride on the rails, the Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour will visit more than 45 cities in the United States and Canada. Day Out With Thomas is the only place for families to take a ride with a 15-ton replica of everybody's favorite #1 engine, Thomas the Tank Engine, and enjoy Thomas-themed activities at the Imagination Station, including stamps, temporary tattoos and hands-on activities. Each year the tour grows, traveling to new destinations, adding new activities and welcoming new visitors.

Thomas the Tank Engine, star of Thomas & Friends™, on PBS KIDS® and PBS KIDS SproutSM will be kicking off his Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour in March and is expected to welcome more than 1 million passengers through December. During the Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour, children will be provided with a "Great Discovery Tour Map," that guides them through the various event activities. At the last stop, each child will receive a free gift. Activities include:

• A 25-minute (approximate) ride with Thomas the Tank Engine
• The opportunity to meet Sir Topham Hatt™, Controller of the Railway
• A Thomas & Friends Imagination Station; featuring stamps, temporary tattoos, hands-on arts and crafts activities and coloring sheets.
• Storytelling, video viewing and live music

The tour provides a unique, interactive family experience at every station, offering a variety of entertaining activities that reflect the local flavor of each stop. Tweetsie Railroad activities will include amusement park rides for all ages, live entertainment at the Tweetsie Palace Saloon, Professor Peppercorn's Magical Show, mascot characters Hopper and Porter's™ popular children's show and much more.

The approximately 25-minute train ride with Thomas the Tank Engine will depart every 30 minutes, rain or shine, between 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays and between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on both Saturdays. This event is expected to sell out, so advance purchase of tickets is recommended to ensure a choice of dates and times. Tickets for the Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour are $30 for adults and $22 for children ages 3 though 12. Children age 2 and under are admitted free.

Tickets are on sale now and available by calling toll-free 1.877.TWEETSIE (877.893.3874) or logging onto www.tweetsie.com.

For general information or to find a Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour event near you, visit www.thomasandfriends.com.

For media use only: For high-resolution downloadable artwork or additional information please go to www.hitnewsonline.com select Day Out With Thomas 2008: The Great Discovery Tour Artwork.

About Tweetsie Railroad
North Carolina's first theme park opened on July 4, 1957, and is now in its 51st season. The heart of the park is the famous three-mile train ride behind Tweetsie Railroad's historic steam locomotives, including Engine Number 12. This engine is the sole remaining locomotive of the East Tennessee and Western North Carolina Railroad (affectionately known as "Tweetsie" to the local residents), which operated in the Blue Ridge Mountains from the 1800's until 1940.

Tweetsie Railroad is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains on Highway 321 between Boone and Blowing Rock, N.C. For more information about the 2008 season at Tweetsie Railroad, call 1.877.TWEETSIE (1.877.893.3874) or visit www.tweetsie.com.

About Thomas & Friends
Thomas & Friends invites children to enter a world of imagination through the tracks of a train and the words of a story. Thomas the Tank Engine was created by a father for his son more than 60 years ago. Today, families in more than 145 countries enjoy fun and adventure with their engine friends while experiencing timeless life lessons of discovery, friendship and cooperation. Thomas & Friends is making tracks to great destinations on PBS KIDS®, PBS KIDS SproutSM and with downloadable episodes available through iTunes. For more information about the world of Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends, please visit www.thomasandfriends.com.

About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners, is one of the world's leading independent children's entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT's portfolio includes properties, such as Barney™, Bob the Builder™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Fireman Sam™, Angelina Ballerina™ and Rainbow Magic™. HIT represents Fifi and the Flowertots™ in North America and Japan and acts as a worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company's library of classic family brands and as representative for The Wiggles® in the UK. HIT also owns the Guinness World Records™ publishing and television property. Launched in 1989, HIT's lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalogue of more than 1,000 hours of young children's programming, HIT sells its shows to more than 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS SproutSM, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers. In 2007, HIT and Chellomedia, the European content division of Liberty Global, Inc and its subsidiary ChelloZone, announced a joint venture to launch and distribute JimJam, an international preschool TV channel (excludes the US, UK and China). For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.