McCormick-Stillman Railroad

For Munchie’s 5th birthday, we decided to do a family outing to McCormick-Stillman Railroad in Scottsdale. It was about an hour drive, but I had hear so many good things about it, I couldn’t wait to go!

Our first item on the agenda when we arrived was to head to the restrooms. Unfortunately, the restrooms are not very stroller accessible, so be warned trying to open the door that leads to the men’s and women’s bathrooms, plus another door that leads to either the men’s or women’s bathroom. There is a changing table (well, it is a table-I will call it a changing table), but it is right behind the door, so be careful if you need to change a little one. Your best bet is to leave the stroller outside and just carry what you need in.

The place to get tickets for the rides (Carousel and Train) are in the same “house” as the bathrooms. Be warned, this door is also not very stroller friendly, so if you can send one member of your party inside to get the tickets, this is probably your best bet. Look up the rides you want to go on before you get there so you can march one person in, as the kids will be frantic to get on the rides as soon as they see them!

As you can see, there is also a small gift shop as well.

And the place to buy the tickets!

The carousel is straight ahead as you enter the whole complex! Luckily there is no admission to get in to the park (great for Grandparents!)

The Train loading as we waited. Luckily the train takes a lot of people (I would imagine about 75 at a time) so the line moves pretty quickly. The entire waiting area for the train was full when we got there, and we only waited about 15 minutes or so.

There is an “engineer” as well!

We took up two rows, just for our family. The seats fit two adults semi comfortably. There are no high sides, so if you have a child who is very excited and you think my jump off you may want to hold them tight or have them in your lap. Giggles and Munchie did fine sitting on their own next to us adults. There was even a car that you could ride in that was totally enclosed. I saw a few adults struggle to get in there. At about 3 1/2 feet high they had to crawl in and out. My claustrophobia is too great to try that, even though Munchie wanted to try it.

 

 

There is a really nice playground just beyond the train and carousel (to your right as you enter). This is also free. It was a bit chaotic with all the kids there, but a great shaded playground! And there was a very kid friendly (stroller friendly!) bathroom right next to the park.

 

There were two sections of the park-one was very accessible for the little ones, and there was also a great area for the bigger kids to monkey around on monkey bars.

There was also a “dramatic play” area-a western town

 

Some of the decorations that were up when we went!

 

Dora and Boots!

And some penguins in their “natural habitat”.

There was also a little train that was going around, and I’m guessing it was for a rrivate party. There were a few parties going on, and they had their own Ramadas and someone even brought in a Jumpy house for their party. Looked like a great time !

We also went on the Carousel. I haven’t had problems on Carousels until I had my children. Now, I am prone to motion sickness, and even the Carousel made me dizzy (or is it ditzy? haha). Anyhow, the kids had a really fun time on the carousel. It isn’t very big, so it does take a few minutes in line to get on. Some carousels have seat belts on the horses-however, this one does not. There are a few benches that people can sit on if they choose. I was too busy taking pictures to sit!

 

The kids had a great time at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad park. They also have a snack shop that you can check out if your little ones are hungry (or, you know, mom and dad are!). Or you can bring a picnic lunch and enjoy on a bench. They also rent out and reserve Ramadas so a big group can enjoy the Park. It would probably be a great place for a family reunion, and their prices are very reasonable! There is also a museum (my kids were not into that) and a building that had lots of scenes of trains that you could see looking in the windows from the outside. It was very pretty to look at, but, unfortunately it didn’t capture the interest of my kids. It would be great for a “non rider” who was waiting for their party!

I can’t wait for the kids to get older so they can stay up later so we can check out the lights! This is a great place to go and enjoy with your whole family, no matter what generation they are!

 

The Basics 

McCormick-Stillman Railroad

7301-E Indian Bend Rd, Scottsdale AZ