Special needs child surprised with dream trip to Thomas Land

CARVER, Mass. — If he could pick any place to live, 8-year-old Kingston Jones would move to the island of Sodor.

That’s the island where Thomas the Tank Engine lives with all of his friends. And Kingston loves Thomas the Tank Engine.

“He talked about it every day. He talks about Thomas every day,” Kingston’s teacher Ani Baker told FOX25.

Baker says Kingston is a pretty special kid. He is a little boy full of happiness who happens to have autism.

When he learned a park called Thomas Land opened up, he planned to be there.

“He said, ‘My birthday is coming up. I can't wait to go to Thomasland.’ So I looked it up, and it was in Massachusetts. And that's when I was like, oh no! He doesn't know that he can't go!,” Baker said.

Baker and Kingston live in the Los Angeles area, 3,000 miles from Kingston’s favorite friend.

“Knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to, crushed me enough that my assistant teachers and I were like we’ve got to get him to Thomas Land,” Baker said.

Baker set up a Gofundme account, but never believed they would actually raise enough money for the trip. But donations began to flood in from all over the country when people heard about the plan.

Today, Kingston finally got the trip he had always dreamed of.

“Look at this place! It’s amazing!” Kingston said when he got to Thomas Land. “I’m so excited to meet all of my new friends!”

But his mom says the real gift is watching Kingston take it all in.

“Oh my gosh, he was mind blown. Totally. He was so excited,” his mom, Mia Brown told FOX25.

Cox Media Group