See What People Are Saying!
Jacqueline
Had a great family trip after a long time!
It was a great time with family, lot of details, would definitely recommend.. It took for us like around two hours to finish the tour, they have kids play area also which was great.
Jennifer
Must Go!
Northlandz was worth our 1-hour drive! A great place to visit for children & adults! A must-visit if you are from the tri-state area!
Caitlin
Overall a very enjoyable trip!
Pros and cons. Pros. The scale is MASSIVE Nice staff Clean bathrooms Easy parking Cons The model quality is "eh" Overall a very enjoyable trip. The models were okay but certainly not of the same quality as George Selios or Gil Freitag. Many of the buildings were not prototypical at all. Still, the massive scale of everything was worth the trip, even if to only see once. Note: kids with no knowledge of physics will LOVE this place since disbelieving is easier for them.
Karyn
Amazing displays!
This place is recently renovated and I and my family enjoyed the model trains so much. Highly recommended!
Karen
You won't believe your eyes!
Great place to visit with your family. My husband and I visited on a 90-degree day in August, and the air conditioning worked fine indoors. We spent about 45 minutes in the museum and felt we saw everything. You could spend much more time there if you repeatedly stop to watch the model trains go around the tracks, or if you need to observe every detail in the displays.
Jamie
Wonderful place!
A wonderful place to wander and look at the 8 miles of indoor miniature trains. They reopened after many months of getting all the 100 train sets working, fresh carpet, and paint. My family will visit again soon.
Lina
Overall Satisfied!
So, out of the blue I receive an e-mail from Northlandz a few weeks ago. They acknowledged my disappointment voiced in a previous review, and offered a return visit to my whole family to see how they have improved the place since we had been there last. While I was highly skeptical of how much they could have fixed things up, I do appreciate a business taking responsibility and trying to ensure the satisfaction of their customers, so I decided to give them a second chance this afternoon. Immediately upon entering the newly renovated entrance, my hopes were buoyed. Instead of the dark, dusty and frankly kind of creepy entrance way that used to greet visitors, the main entrance way now takes you straight into a bright and remodeled gift area/snack bar. I showed the young man my e-mailed passes and after a few minutes and visit to the no-longer-disgusting bathrooms (seriously, HUGE improvement here!) with the boys, we were off. The display is still intimidatingly huge, and that's why you're here. It claims to be the largest model train exhibit in the world, and while I can't confirm or deny that, anything bigger would just be overkill. Their claims of engaging in large-scale improvements I can confirm. The entire walkway has been given a fresh coat of paint, the broken and cracked glass sections surrounding the displays have been removed and (mostly) replaced, much of the dirt, dust and debris have been eliminated from the displays, the walkways have been repaired, the damaged roof sections repaired, and there has been a noticeable increase in life-safety equipment and emergency signage. They promised improvements, and they delivered. So, is Northlandz perfect? No, the old girl still has her share of warts, but if you're a model train buff, I can comfortably suggest that you visit. I am thoroughly impressed with how much they have improved in the past few months, and the most encouraging thing is the evidence of ongoing improvements going on throughout the building lead me to believe they may just restore this place to its former glory yet. Rome wasn't built in day, and I'll be patient with the progress here as well. Given how much my oldest loves trains, I'm quite sure we'll be back as he thoroughly enjoyed his visit, and honestly that's what it's all about.
Jessica
Overall Good.
I have mixed feelings about this place. One the one hand, the art in this place is unbelievable. The amazing railways that have been masterfully constructed in the most spectacular ways is undeniable, and no one would argue that it is worth a visit. On the other hand this place is old-fashioned and lacking in other ways. As i was touring the miniature scenes I had this feeling that the scenes are incomplete and that so many things can be added to bring more life to it and make it more exciting to visitors (e.g., besides for the trains chugging along the jaw dropping cliffs there was nothing else moving. They could have added animated waterfalls, boats, bridges to make it more realistic and lifelike). But you gotta take into account the fact that this place was built in the 1970s. So when you walk into this place keep an open mind. This cannot meet the expectation of anyone looking for a modern up-to-date miniature exhibit, but it can surely inspire the art lover and those who appreciate crafts and creativity. That being said, this place is only meant for art lovers. If you are not the person to gush over a piece of art then THIS PLACE IS NOT FOR YOU. My wife for example does not have an artistic fervor and she thought this place was boring as hell! (this is mainly the reason for all those poor reviews) I wouldn't recommend this place for kids either as the trek is long and tedious and they will get bored and tired of this exhibit quickly. I as a grown adult and art lover was able to see the nuance and creativity in every scene, thus i was able to appreciate its full beauty. Just like you wouldn't take your kids on a tour of a newport mansion and expect them to appreciate its art, the same applies to Northlandz in my opinion. This would great pastime for a couple with an appreciation for art. The entire tour should take like two hours.
Mike
This place is COOL!
My wife and myself went there last weekend because we were in the area for a business/leisure trip. This place is amazing and very unique. Even if you are not into model trains ( I am not) this place is cool, if you are into model trains then add another star. This is not a museum but an actual working model rail road that is gigantic and very well put together. The amount of time and work that went into this place must have been immense. Around every corner there was a new scene to see and very nice. Be ready to walk because takes about 3-4 hours to see every thing and does require a bit of walking. If your with an very elderly person be warned there are no spots to sit down and the exhibit has levels( No stairs all ramps) as you walk and enjoy the scenes. Although some of the area scenes can be refreshed with a little updating, only a few spots and pick up the coins that were dropped in by rude guests, the place in a whole is simply amazing. I highly recommend to see this place to enjoy some cool scenes and some imaginative creations with model trains to make the worlds largest railroad. You won't be disappointed.
Lauren
Wow!! Great place to see.
This was a really interesting way to spend a Sunday afternoon. You can tell that a lot of passion and creativity went into designing the model landscape and buildings. I especially enjoyed the occasional whimsical storylines of Northlandz resident "grandma" and her penchant for outhouses and entrepreneurship. The owner was at the register the day we visited too, so it was nice to chat with him, and I thought his welcoming personality and western style hat perfectly topped off the experience.
