TRAINS ARE COOL AND HERE IS WHY

We live in the Motor City where cars rule but that doesn't mean my family doesn't think trains are cool. From watching Dinosaur Train and playing with Thomas the Tank Engine as preschoolers to taking Amtrak rides to Chicago and through the Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. subways during their tween years, my son and daughter have a great admiration for these vehicles. Especially when getting the chance to ride one to Hogwarts! 

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Did you know that not only is the Kings Cross Station where Harry Potter discovered the hidden Platform 9 ¾ train route to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry located in London, England but also the world's oldest subway system which opened to the public on January 10, 1863. At first this revolutionary proposal by British member of Parliament Charles Pearson to dig underground railways was rejected. Eventually though it was accepted and the London Underground, also known as "The Tube", has become an essential aspect of city life for Londoners. Unfortunately, Pearson did not get to see his idea come to fruition as he died a year before the work on London's first subway line was completed. Doah!

In the first months of its operation, the London subway had only one line, the Metropolitan, and about 26,000 people traveled on the Tube daily. Today it has 402 km of tracks, and is used by more than 3 million people a day, and 1.171 billion a year. Since the opening of the London Underground, another 116 subways have been built in the world. 

CNN ranked the 10 best subways in the world, ranking first place in Hong Kong's subway thanks to the cleanliness, signage, low cost, frequency and convenience of the system, which connects most parts of the city. There is free Wi-Fi at most stations, disabled access, and services like banks, shops and food stalls. There is no schedule because the trains just arrive every few minutes. And it serves 3.4 million passengers a day.

Next on the list are trains from Singapore and Seoul (7 million passengers a day). The latter offers heated chairs in winter and also a system for protection against falls to the track. The London Tube, which with all the historical respect it deserves, is quite outdated and only recently added to some of the air-conditioned carriages. Also on the list of the best trains: Madrid, whose stations are so large that it is possible to hold mass events (for example, in 2011 there was a fitness festival that lasted three days), and New York, which has double tracks so even if one needs repair, the line Is not disabled. 

Most trains are indeed a really sustainable way to travel. Locomotive have evolved from classic steam powered varieties like The NSWGR C38. Today's trains do not emit anywhere near as much toxins into the air as planes and cars. They also offer a lot of benefits for kids as they provide a great view of the scenery they travel through. Some of the most wonderful views while traveling are from a train window. Take the time to realize how cool trains are - maybe you can even plan on taking a train ride on your next trip! 

If you are going to be in Michigan consider jumping aboard a locomotive at The Henry Ford's Greenfield Village in Detroit or Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad in Flint. We always enjoy going back in time by riding these classic steam engines at those local historical attractions. I'm sure you'd be geeked too!

LEGO Dimensions: Hermione Granger Fun Pack

**A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**

My daughter has been having a magical time playing as her favorite character from the HARRY POTTER novels and movies in the newly released Hermione Granger Fun Pack for the LEGO Dimensions video game.  Like many kids, and adults too, she loves J.K. Rowling's fantasy stories and is thrilled with this addition to LEGO Dimensions.  The Fun Pack comes with a LEGO mini-figure of the heroine from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry along with a buildable Buckbeak sidekick that can be created from LEGO bricks.  Place either toy figure on the video game's LEGO Toy Pad to incorporate the characters into your LEGO Dimensions experience.

The Hermione Granger LEGO mini-figure provides you the ability to use two two magic spells while playing the game.  Wingadium Leviosa allows players to levitate objects and Lumos can be used to light up dark places.  Buckbeak can be ridden by other characters in the game plus has a Stomp Attack for smashing LEGO bricks.  The griffin can also be rebuilt into either a Giant Owl or a Fierce Falcon which each also have unique in-game abilities.

Hermione can be incorporated into the game's master story or any of its story or level pack additions.  Plus her LEGO mini-figure can be used to unlock a Wizarding World of Harry Potter adventure area where players can explore locations such as Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, and Diagon Alley.  There is also a Hogwarts' quidditch pitch themed Battle Arena that Hermione can access where you can compete with up the three other players in four different capture the flag type competitions.



Team up Hermione with Harry Potter and have them combat Lord Voldemort in the games adventure worlds and battle arenas when you also purchase the Harry Potter Team Pack.  This expansion pack to LEGO Dimensions includes mini-figures of Harry and Voldemort as well as buildable vehicles of the Enchanted Car and Hogwarts Express.   Or team up Hermione with the characters from J.K. Rowling's new wizarding adventure Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them when you purchase the LEGO Dimensions storypack based upon the movie.

Join Newt Scamander find his escaped magical creatures in New York City as you make your way through 6 action packed levels of gameplay.  This storypack also unlocks a Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Adventure World and Battle Arena as well.  How do you think Newt would fare teamed up with Hermione?  What is great about LEGO Dimensions is you can recreate your favorite scenes from these wizarding world movies or you can create brand new adventures to embark upon.

While my son and daughter get a lot of enjoyment from playing LEGO Dimensions, my wife and I really like playing it too.  The LEGO Dimensions video game provides is great for spending some family time together having fun.  Hey you guuuys if you're are a fan of HARRY POTTER you definitely aren't going to want to miss out on adding the fun, team and story expansion pack to your gaming experience.  Plus for those of you who grew up in the '80s and love The Goonies, LEGO Dimensions also has a storypack based upon that classic children's movie that is a great way to share its story and characters with your kids.

For more information about the video game and its expansion packs, please visit lego.com/en-us/dimensions

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them

Who else is looking forward to returning to the wizarding world of J.K. Rowling when Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them arrives at theaters across the United States on November 18, 2016?  Fan of the Harry Potter books and movies will find themselves transported back to this magical realm, but this time are visiting it decades before the birth of the famous boy wizard who became a world phenomenon within the Muggle --  people who lack any sort of magical ability -- community.  Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them was referred to as a Hogwarts School of Witchery & Wizardry text book in the Harry Potter book series and is the inspiration for this original movie which was scripted by J.K. Rowling and is her screenwriting debut.  To help get A Geek Daddy in the mood to go see Fantastic Beasts, Warner Brothers Pictures kindly provided me authentic recreations of the scarf and wand associated with the main character in the film, Newt Scamander.  I'm all ready now to conjure up a good time by going to see this film when it appears at movie theaters -- Accio Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them!

Fantastic Beasts & Where To Find Them takes place in 1926, and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) has just completed a global excursion to find and document an extraordinary array of magical creatures. Arriving in New York for a brief stopover, he might have come and gone without incident, were it not for a No-Maj (American for Muggle) named Jacob, a misplaced magical case, and the escape of some of Newt's fantastic beasts, which could spell trouble for both the wizarding and No-Maj worlds.




For more information about the film, please visit fantasticbeasts.com