Flemington, New Jersey: Northlandz

If anyone is waiting to hear good news about Northlandz, your wait isn't over! I regret the time and money I spent for our family visit. Only a few trains were running, the displays and facility needed cleaning and illumination, and our lengthy walking only gave use different views of monotonous mountain scenes. A final disappointment (?) was that the "free" outdoor train ride wasn't working due to mechanical problems. My recommendation -- find somewhere else to go!

Having first heard about Northlandz from my dentist as we discussed children, I decided my train-crazed 5 year old would enjoy the experience. I did a fast web search with Google and found a few articles/reviews and it felt as though an even mix of good and bad opinions were held by past visitors. The chief objection was the steep entrance fee -- which I agree is not value packed. On the other hand, I've paid a handful of dollars to hear live theater pipe organ concerts and Mr. Zaccagnino is in fact a talented musician, so I'd have to say my fee was worth it.

My son and I had no interests in the side show art, apparently jammed into the plywood firetrap passageways as an afterthought and as a means of incremental revenue or perceived co-op advertising.

I will say my son will have a life-long memory as will I. While I would be remiss to contrast Northlandz with Madurodam (Holland's smallest city), I can say that Northlandz is the B-movie version of it.

I just returned from New Jersey, and my hosts felt it necessary to take me to Northlandz. The experience still bothers me....sort of like watching "Eraserhead" or "Blue Velvet", it just stays with you in a really creepy way.

Our first clue should have been the empty parking lot, or the shifty-looking owner/organist/train engineer/railroad creator who took our hefty admission price (without blinking) as we came in. We began trudging through the maze-like exhibit, and after what seemed like an awfully long time came to the "2%" sign, to which we all responded "Oh, no!" The displays became more and more surreal. Before long we began being treated to bad art in little showcases. BAD art. Then there was the dollhouse museum. I quote from the literature: "This 94 room mansion is every dollhouse lover's dream. Complete with: Indoor swimming pool, ballroom with doggie band, and 2 story library." This was not a dollhouse mansion...it was shoeboxes and kleenex boxes covered with paper and stacked really high, with strange scenes of even stranger dolls....none of which matched. A dollhouse tenement. Kids who are looking forward to the above-mentioned dollhouse are bound to be pissed when they see it.

But wait, we didn't want to miss the train ride. We were told the train was not leaving until the owner had played the organ, so we settled ourselves in for an organ performance. We started laughing halfway through it......something about the Christmas swags and the red white and blue chandelier and the American flag and the large, COMPLETELY DEAD drooping brown potted plant next to the organ......it was all too much. The train engineer/organist finally finishes his organ medley, which included the always-popular "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head", and led us to the train. An additional fee for the train ride, of course, and the ride lasted probably 4 minutes. The one tunnel was a storage shed.

You were too nice to this place in your write-up. We are still trying to work through the trauma of visiting.

I just finished visiting Northlandz today. I'd never heard of the place until my father-in-law suggested we go visit. I'm an admitted railroad buff and inactive model railroader (too much business travel) and your review enumerated all the drawbacks of exhibiting a model railroad. But kids of all ages still love it.

The one thing you failed to mention was the beautiful theater organ that is housed in the building. While I was there, it was played by Bruce Williams Zaccagnino himself. If there is one thing that could possibly overshadow the vastness of his whimsical railroad, it is his mastery of that magnificent instrument! While the scenery and rivers may be "frozen," the music flowing from those pipes definitely falls into the category of "living art." The man obviously has a passion for everything he does. Most of us wish we could be so lucky...

Although I have not scraped up enough cash to visit the train display, which has been entered in the Guiness Book of World Records as the largest miniature indoor train track, the outside structure has changed considerably. Now, for a couple bucks more, you can ride on their outdoor rail system. The train even takes you through a tunnel.