Last night my family and I had the opportunity to experience some Christmas magic all aboard THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride at The Southern California Railway Museum in Perris, CA. We had the privilege of attending the Family and Friends Opening Night and it was so special! What makes it even more special is this is the FIRST TIME that this Polar Express Train has ever happened here! That’s right! It was the first ride of this sort EVER at this location!
We dressed in matching Christmas jammies and had an amazing experience being participants in their Opening Night and first time ever of the reenactment of the 2004 movie! It was our first time ever riding a Polar Express themed train and we were so excited! We kept it a secret from our children until we arrived but they had their suspicions as soon as we left our house wearing matching pajamas!
As soon as you arrive and park (which there is plenty of and it is free), you get your tickets at the booth near the entrance! There you will get two sets of tickets, small ones with your train car name and seat numbers and large gold tickets like the ones in the movie!
Then you walk a few a few minutes to a large gift shop area with themed items from the movie including ornaments, blue robes, puzzles, mugs, games, small toy Polar Express trains, and so much more!
You will then walk to a tent where there are a few photo opps on the way to the train as well as a little area inside the tent for your children to write a letter to Santa!
Your show experience starts outside before you actually board the train. And then after a few minutes you are able to board one of four train cars! Everything was so magical, you really felt like you were in the movie!!
We sat in the Silver Bell car but there are a total of four train cars you can choose to sit in. There is the Silver Bell, Northern Lights, Arctic Circle, and Aurora Borealis! ADA searing is also available! Each car is the same so don’t worry about missing any part of the experience!
You can choose between 3 departure times including 4:30pm, 6:10pm and 8:00pm. We rode the 6:10pm ride! Rides are approximately 1+ hour and you are asked to arrive an hour before your ride to check in and get your ticket and seat! Boarding begins 20 minutes before departure! You can also reserve your seats for the train ride when you book your tickets!
The train cars are decorated so beautifully and you really feel like you are on the real Polar Express train!!! There is never a dull moment!
Each ticket includes non-stop entertainment including song performances from the movie and other favorite Christmas carols, the reading of the book, delicious hot chocolate (the perfect portion at the perfect temperature to drink immediately), a large Snickerdoodle cookie (not gluten free), and a keepsake sleigh bell to bring home delivered to you from a very special visitor from the North Pole! Honestly, we had the best time and everyone was so friendly and in character and everything was executed so well. It was definitely a wonderful and festive way to kick off the holiday season. You could REALLY feel the magic of Christmas!
Some young children were getting a little over stimulated and dysregulated from all the bell ringing at the end (plus I am sure they were getting tired), so if your child is sensitive to loud noise just wanted you to be aware! Or maybe choose the earlier train ride. The 6:10 departure runs right into dinner time for most children, so we brought along sandwiches, pretzels, and water to eat and drink while on the train and it worked out perfectly!
Standard Adult tickets (12+) are $55/ticket and children (2-11) are $50/ticket depending on the time and day of your ride. Some dates/times increase to $65/$60 or as low as $45/$40. Infants sitting on your lap (under 2) are free! It doesn’t really matter what side of the train you sit in (or what train car you ride in) because it’s dark and there isn’t much to see during the ride, however, at one point during your ride at the end you will be asked to go to one side of the train to see “The North Pole” for an outside show!
Value: $70 Adult, $65 Child (2-11) | Standard: $75 Adult, $70 Child | Premium: $85 Adult, $80 Child
Value: $50 Adult, $45 Child (2-11) | Standard: $60 Adult, $55 Child | Premium: $70 Adult, $65 Child
Rides are available for purchase to the public on select dates from today, Saturday November 30-Sunday, December 29. They are closed on Christmas Day. Here is the breakdown:
Saturday, November 30 *
Sunday, December 1 *
Friday, December 6 *
Sunday, December 8 *
Friday, December 13 *
Sunday, December 15 *
Tuesday, December 17 *
Thursday, December 26
Friday, December 27
Saturday, December 28
Sunday, December 29
*Select Rides
What are you waiting for? Grab your tickets and hop aboard for a magical experience you and your children (and you) will love! I felt like a kid again and the moment Santa hands your children a bell, you will BELIEVE all over again!
This post is sponsored but all of the photos and opinions are my own!
