Connecticut Trolley Museum — Attraction in East Windsor

Holiday tunnel.

As a family & friends group we drove an hour and a half to check it out. We thought it would not be busy since it was black Friday, (you can not pre buy tickets)... We were wrong. The line was about a half hour to buy tickets then an hour or more to go on the trolley. The trolleys were cool to look at and the decorations were nice.

The kids and adults enjoyed going on the 20 min ride BUT unless you sat in the isle you could not see the 'tunnel' of lights. Even in an isle you could barely see it. :( They do stop at some point so you can see a small quick light show on a fence, people enjoyed that. It was a neat experience but not really seeing the lights was a bummer. We saw an open car trolly go out as we came in, I imagine they probably got a better view then in our trolly car.

The inside was cute and the info was interesting. My youngest enjoyed seeing Santa on the trolly car and watching the models run. Great decorated spots for family photo opportunities. It was not crowded in the museum during the event.

We went as a group of 10 and I paid 44$ for my 2 kids, myself and spouse. The employees and conductors were kind. Experience wise I lean toward 3 stars.... but service wise, 500 stars for autism families.

We had two young teen kids with autism with us. When we saw the two giant lines there was panic and tears. We decided to drive the hour and a half home as our kiddos and us mommies freaked. In the end my fellow autism mom hunted down an employee and asked about accommodations and how it was extra challenging not being able to pre buy the tickets, etc. Some very nice employees helped us get tickets quickly and we waited by the gift shop, to avoid crowds, until we could board the trolly. They walked us a back way to get on and we were able to board first. I did show documentation as proof. Always carry a letter that says my child can not wait in lines, has anxiety and autism. So be sure to have some kind of documentation before you go as a special...

DO NOT go on the haunted trolley ride. There were NO covid precautions, there were more than 30 people on our trolley which did not allow for any social distancing. Several passengers were either not wearing masks, or were wearing them improperly. None of the staff said anything. Also, the tickets said the event started at 6 but it didn't start until dark (about 6:45). Why wouldn't the tickets say the proper time? We sat there for 45 minutes as they packed more and more people on. We considered leaving and honestly should have. This is a super-spreader covid event waiting to happen, what with the number of people being crammed into a small space, lack of mask enforcement, and staff yelling in attendee's faces wearing nothing but a flimsy circular shield right over their mouth (instead of at least a full face shield). We not only wasted money on this, but are now having to go get covid tested in 5 days to make sure we didn't actually contract covid from this whole mess.

The actors (who seemed like volunteers?) were all lovely but despite what the website says, this event is not covid safe at all, and should not be happening under any circumstances.

Edit: lol to the museum's assertion that all guidelines were followed. If the mess I experienced is ok by their standards, that's WAY MORE CONCERNING than if they just admitted that it was all a fluke and a mistake. This event did not even comply with the museum's own safety standards (posted on their website), let alone the state's. They also never responded to an email I sent directly to the covid safety point person listed on their website, detailing my concerns. So basically they just don't care that their event was unsafe and was nothing like what they described online, and would rather be defensive than look into actually implementing their own covid safety protocols :/ I never review anything, but 0/10 cannot recommend supporting an organization with this kind...

The Connecticut Trolley Museum is a great place to take kids who are interested in transportation history. My son and I visited on a Friday morning in July, and we had a wonderful time.

We started our visit with a trolley ride. The trolleys are all historic vehicles, and they were a lot of fun to ride. Our conductor was very knowledgeable about the history of the trolleys, and he told us a lot of interesting facts.

After the trolley ride, we visited the exhibits inside the main building. There are exhibits on the history of trolleys, as well as exhibits on the history of transportation in general. My son was particularly interested in the exhibit on the history of the subway.

We also spent some time in the gift shop. There were a lot of great souvenirs, including trolley-themed toys, and books.

Overall, we had a great time at the Connecticut Trolley Museum. It's a great place to learn about transportation history, and it's also a lot of fun. I would definitely recommend it to families with children.

Here are some additional thoughts about our visit:

The Connecticut Summer at the Museum 2023 - Free Admission for Kids program is a great way to save money on admission. The museum is small, but it's well-organized and easy to navigate. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. The exhibits are informative and engaging. There's a gift shop with souvenirs.

I would definitely recommend the Connecticut Trolley Museum to families with children who are interested in transportation history. It's a fun and educational place to...