The North Pole Express - Grapevine

I was really hyped up for this event but I have to admit the whole experience did not live up to par. Maybe I set my expectations too high, the kids seemed to like it, but I was not thoroughly impressed...

We were only able to find tickets to the 8:30pm (last ride) of the day. Perhaps that played a role? The staff was incredibly kind and upbeat, Santa was a bit gray in the beard for my taste but he was jolly and the kids were enamored. The decorations were pretty cute...but a few things I wish they had done differently:

-We never had a "stop" at the North Pole. The kids had been told we'd be going to the North Pole so they kept asking if we were there. It was a little confusing when the train rolled to a stop and then just headed back to where we'd started. It was dark so we weren't totally sure what was going on!

-The Christmas Lights were few and far between. Not enough to keep us "entertained" out of the window and it was seemingly barren outside. Not much to see - they should incentivize the businesses and homes on the route to put up decorations. This was a major let down to be honest...

-Picture with Santa...as promised...we ARE entitled to a proper photo with Santa but it was given to us in the form of a pamphlet handout to redeem later. Not sure if this was an 8:30pm (last ride) thing or what. But we DID get to take a lot of pics with Santa ON the train which was really nice. We had three little ones in our group so we didn't want to take too much time staging our own photos. A set up for that would have been much appreciated.

Overall it was "fine" - the only reason we truly enjoyed it was because of our cousin crew! We got some keepsake mugs, a bell (not pictured), and cookies 'from Mrs. Claus' kitchen' ...but I would suggest loading up the kids in their pajamas in the biggest car you have, drive them to see proper Christmas Lights, and bring your own chocolate milk and cookies!!! It will be cheaper, less stress, & a LOT more fun and festive!!!