Last week, my family was invited to check out Irvine Park Railroad's 18th Annual Christmas Train.
The Christmas Train was originally created to provide a fun and enjoyable experience for children and adults that normally rode the train during the day, to get an extra special experience that included meeting Santa Claus.
My family had experience all of the other holiday events at Irvine Park Railroad but this event had eluded us! Not this year. We arrived at night and everything looked SO different! The park was lit with thousands of Christmas lights! Not many other lights illuminated the area and it gave our wintery night a magical feeling.
This is the first year that the Christmas Train experience tickets were reserved online only. I had reserved our time for 6:00pm and it had just gotten dark. We had a little extra time before heading to the train line so we heading over to hay bale maze. Running through the maze helped our children burn off a little of the energy that the 45 minute car ride seemed to gather.
Escaping from the maze, my kids wanted to try and win prizes at the ring toss and bean bag games. The great thing about this is that everyone is a winner! Every child finds the perfect large blow up toy and children and parents both walk away happy.
It was time for the train! My kids rushed over to the line to be able to have first choice at seats. The park looked SO different all lit up with lights of every color. You could almost imagine riding the Polar Express to the North Pole! Dress warm though because even in California at night, the weather is chilly.
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Disclosure: not real falling snow.
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When you arrive at the "North Pole", the man of the hour sits upon a beautifully decorated stage. The line took about 15-20 minutes for our turn but hot cocoa and cookies were available to purchase to warm up.
After taking your picture with Santa(you can have them take pictures or you can take your own), there is fun Christmas decor that make great photo ops while you wait for the train.
Back on the train, we took a different route which include the Tunnel of Lights before arriving back at the Christmas Village where Mrs. Claus waited to read you a story.
A bounce house and cookie decorating were also on the agenda after having popcorn and hot chocolate with Mrs. Claus. Inside Mrs. Claus' cabin, we found out what happened to those who made the "Naughty List".
It was a magical night and I was so happy to give my children memories like these to look back upon. I definitely recommend dressing warmly and bring a camera! There is nothing like the wonder on your children's faces as they see the beautiful lights and Santa!
DISCLAIMER: My family received tickets to enjoy the Christmas Train experience. All thoughts and ideas are my own. Do not use any photos without permission.
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