Link: Sutton Coldfield schoolboy opens theme park ride - Birmingham Mail.
SIX-year-old Thomas Land will have the ride of his life on Saturday – when he opens a theme park attraction which shares the same name. For the schoolboy from Sutton Coldfield has been chosen to open the new Thomas Land – which features everything relating to Thomas the Tank Engine – at Drayton Manor Theme Park in Staffordshire. Young Thomas, a pupil at Sutton Thomas Primary School, will be the guest of honour unveiling the £5 million attraction which heralds the re-opening of the theme park for its 2008 season. The new attraction is based on the ever-popular Thomas and Friends series and features 12 themed rides, an indoor play arena, café, outdoor play area, as well as a shop where young fans can choose from a wide range of Thomas and Friends goodies. It was Thomas's eagle-eyed grandmother, Susan Land, who wrote to the theme park highlighting the coincidence between the names after spotting an article in a newspaper about the new forthcoming attraction. In response to this letter, Drayton Manor’s managing director, Colin Bryan, invited young Thomas and his family to the park for a sneak preview of the new attraction, which has been created in three-acres of the existing theme park. Thomas’s dad, Mark Land, s
