EnterTRAINment Junction
This post is bittersweet. I actually began writing this back in December of 2018 and was super excited to share this iconic experience with the world. Fast forward to 2024 and a recent announcement was made that EnterTrainment Junction will be closing for good come January of 2025 due to the owner retiring and wasn't able to find someone else to take it over. It has taken this long to finally get The Backyard Explorer up and running so unless something drastically changes soon, you are short on time to board this train before it rides into the sunset.
We had a membership on 2 occasions and were there on a monthly basis. Many fond memories were made here.
Getting There
Located in West Chester, Ohio, just north of downtown Cincinnati and right off of I-75.
7379 Squire Ct, West Chester, OH 45069
The Basics
Now in its 16th year of operation, EnterTRAINment Junction is sure to please railroad fanatics and history buffs alike of all ages. This place is bound to keep everyone occupied for hours as you experience the world’s largest indoor model train display (25,000 sq/ft), a children's play area, a funhouse, and much much more all within a 80,000 sq/ft facility.
There are several sections within including World's Largest Train Journey, Coney Island Display, Imagination Junction, American Railway Museum, A-Maze-N Funhouse, giftshop, hobby store, and a cafe.
Pricing
As of July 2024. The train journey(anything trains) $19.95 for adults, $17.95 for seniors(65+), $15.95 for kids(3-12), 2 and under are free. The A-Maze-N Funhouse is $9.95. You can purchase a do it all pass for ? $17.95? which gives you access to everything.
Please refer to their website for additional details. https://entertrainmentjunction.com/tickets/
I will note that if you purchase a day ticket and really enjoy your visit, you can upgrade to a year pass for the difference after your day ticket cost. (Best option if you live close by and plan to come back at least a few more times). However, with EnterTRAINment Junction closing in January of 2025, I’m not sure how this plays into things.
All Aboard!
Upon entering the building, you are taken back to an early 1900s city street lined with various "storefronts". Anyone has access to the hobby store, gift shop, and cafe without having to pay for admission.
The train journey walks you through various eras from the 1860s to modern times. As you walk through each display, you will find many interactive buttons to push. My 2 year old absolutely loved hitting these again and again, as they make each scene come alive with moving components, lights, sound, and so much more. The overhead lighting also changes from day to night every few minutes or so. Another feature for those who bring a real camera(not a phone) is that the flash from the camera will set off thunder sound effects.
You begin with a Civil War themed scene complete with soldiers, canyons, and generals on horses.
As you meander along, you'll come across mining towns and old river towns with steamboats. No details were left out.
For those with small children, the play area can be found here. If you are without small children(or don't want to be a kid again) you can continue on with the rest of the exhibit. The play area has plenty of train themed activities, tubes, slides, tv programs, and well, enough to keep your kids happy for a while.
Next stop, the mid 1900s. Diners, drive-in movie theaters, and classic cars fill this scene. There are lots of fun mini scenes within this theme so look closely! Along the outer areas across from the display is the American Railway Museum. I was unable to walk through this area with my 2 year old, but it definitely appeared to contain a lot.
Towards the end of this area you will have the opportunity to go up some stairs for a separate exhibit. There is an elevator for handicapped folks as well. Up here, you will find Coney Island. A fully functional miniature replica of the Coney Island amusement park. This was one of my favorite areas. All of the classic rides move from roller coasters to the rocket ride to a ferris wheel, and so much more. We were told this area took one man a full year to build and cost over $150,000! Another bonus up here are the overlook areas where you get a bird's eye view of much of the train displays.
As you head down the stairs, you find a small industrial display followed by a modern day downtown Seattle themed area. Complete with skyscrapers, car shows, and the Space Needle, you will enjoy everything about the city day and night.
At last, all good things must come to an end and you arrive at the final display. A moving hot air balloon greets visitors as it takes flight over a farm, BASE jumpers descend from the cliffs above, and a couple of figures can be found repelling the rock face below. The trains travel high and low through here as well.
Aside from the Train Journey, there is the A-Maze-N Funhouse. This area contains a lot of your classic funhouse activities such as a hall of mirrors, random blasts of air, loud noises, mazes, and more. This likely isn't an area for really young children. My 2 year old absolutely hated the few things we did so we didn't do everything. There were kids around 4-5 there that appeared to be having a good time, however. I personally would not go to this area as a stand alone activity, but it's a fun add on if you get a do-it-all ticket.
Lastly, if you go during Christmas time, Santa can be found here too. Kids will go through various rooms with elves making toys, reindeer, and eventually meet up with Mrs. Claus who hands out cookies. You are allowed to take photos with Santa with your own equipment, however, professional photos are only $10 (Christmas of 2018 was the last time we did this so pricing may have increased) which is much better than most places.
All in all we enjoyed our time at EnterTRAINment Junction and will be back to explore even more. This is a place that you could go back to several times and still discover something new. For all there is to experience, the price is very reasonable and with various seasonal activities throughout the year, there is always an excuse to come back.
And for those wanting to bring the railroad back to their homes, the hobby shop contains a wide variety of trains from scale models to the wooden track toys as well as many other non-train items.
Useful Links
As always, B.E. Adventurous!