Polar Express Train Ride

Polar Express Train Ride

Have you ever experienced the magic during the Christmas season with the The Polar Express? It is a truly magical recreation of the classic holiday story and movie The Polar Express. In the Polar Express, you board one of the magical trains as it departs from the Bryson city depot in Bryson City, NC. The train will take you to the North Pole where Santa will get aboard the train and visit each coach and hand out a present for each child.

What is the Polar Express Train Ride?

The train ride was inspired by the book The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg, about a child’s Christmas Eve journey. It was adapted into a movie in 2003. Now it comes alive each year with the Polar Express train ride.All ages can enjoy the experience. It is a fun experience in the Christmas season on a steam train to the North Pole!

What to Expect?

The Polar Express is in the Great Smoky Mountains. The trip is a 1&1/4 hour round trip excursion that comes to life as the train departs the Bryson City depot. Adults and children can also come in pajamas. The journey takes you through the wilderness for a visit to the North Pole. While on the train you will hear the motion picture soundtrack. Guests will enjoy warm cocoa (in a beautiful mug that you get to keep) and a cookie. All while listening and reading along with the story. Santa will board when you reach the North Pole and greet all children and present them with a special gift, their own silver sleigh bell. Christmas carols will be sung as they return to Bryson City depot.

Arriving at Bryson City Depot

When we arrived at the depot the parking was very easy. It was a quick walk into the town which was beautifully decorated for Christmas. There is also a train museum and gift shop which was awesome. When we arrived we first figured out where our train car was and which depot number we had to go to. We walked around and took some great pictures. There was an eatery and an ice cream store.

We had a quick bite to eat and visited the shop before we boarded the train.

Boarding the Train

30 minutes for the train departs you have to be at your train waiting. Upon entering the train, someone will check your tickets and tell you where to go. We found our seats very easily. Our seats were table seats, which were very nice. It had a polar express bag to keep and chocolate bars on the table.

Our Experience

We sat at the table and enjoyed looking around at the beautiful decor on the train. The train departed and started to move to the North Pole. The views outside were beautiful. They read the Polar Express story over the loudspeaker as someone walked around with the book. They had Christmas carols playing and it was very interactive. My daughter loved the mini dance party. Hot cocoa was brought out in beautiful mugs (which we got to take home) along with a huge cookie to enjoy.

Upon entering the North Pole, there were beautiful lights, and the scenery was gorgeous. Santa got onboard and interacted with each child and gave them a silver sleigh bell. We then headed back to the depot. There were songs being played and lot of interaction with the people on board.

After we got off the train, the lights around the depot were gorgeous (now that it was dark out). We walked around and went into the museum again. We took tons of pictures.

This was an unforgettable trip. As soon as we got off the train my kids said they wanted to do this again next year. We agreed to make this a yearly trip.The trip does sell out fast, so you must get tickets early!

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