Day Out With Thomas

""Take a ride through the island of Sodor with everyone's favorite blue engine! While Thomas and his coaches make for a wider playing field than normal, the trip is mostly-hazard free!""

Day Out With Thomas is a stage in Nexed, being based on the island of Sodor from the Thomas & Friends franchise while Thomas himself serves as the main platform. It borrows its name from an annual event based on the franchise.

History
In 1942, Rev. Wilbert Awdry's son, Christopher, came down with a case of the measles and was confined to a single room. In order to cheer him up, Wilbert would tell him stories revolving around trains, inspired by various rhymes and limericks from various sources. These early stories featured various engine characters that would become mainstays in the Thomas & Friends franchise, with Thomas himself being introduced in a Christmas 1942 story retroactively known as Thomas and Gordon, being based on a toy train Wilbert made for Christopher.

Wilbert would go on to publish his engine stories in the form of The Railway series, starting with the 1945 release of The Three Railway Engines and more stories being published through the next three decades before Wilbert passed the mantle onto his son. These stories would go on to become the basis for a 1984 television series dubbed Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, which would run for nearly four decades. This series introduced a new generation to Thomas, making him an icon of media.

The stage borrows its name from Day Out with Thomas, an annual event first held in 1987. These events usually host Thomas-themed activities, most notably meet and greets with various characters.

Gameplay Information
Day Out With Thomas takes place aboard Thomas himself, alongside his coaches Annie and Clarabelle. This trio serves as the stage's only hard platforms (left to right: Clarabelle, Annie, Thomas), with Thomas being slightly shorter than the coaches and having half of his body risen above the other half (the risen half being closest to Annie). There is a small gap between Thomas and each of the coaches.

The background depicts the island of Sodor as Thomas travels through it, starting the match at Tidmouth Sheds and stopping at Vicarstown. After arriving at Vicarstown, he remains there for the remainder of the match. As he travels, various characters from the Thomas and Friends franchise can be spotted in the background, with their positions being mostly randomized as they take different lines. Sir Topham Hatt always appears at Tidmouth Sheds to bid Thomas farewell before he starts moving, with the following characters making cameos throughout the stage; Percy, James, Gordon, Henry, Edward, Toby, Spencer, Emily, Duck, Lady, Donald, Douglas, Bill, Ben, Daisy, Salty, Skarloey, Terence, Bertie, George, Cranky, Diesel, and Diesel 10.

Trivia

 * Day Out with Thomas is the first (and currently only) stage in Nexed to be based on a franchise with no fighter representation.