This is the second year we’ve done the Santa Express train ride for the kids and while it is expensive, it’s a lot of fun. We’ve also done the Georgetown Loop “Santa’s Lighted Forest” train ride, and while that was a fraction of the cost, it wasn’t done up quite as cute. It is still a lot of fun though so definitely try it at least once! If you go with the Georgetown ride, ensure your kids use the restroom before boarding because there aren’t bathrooms on the train! That posed a huge challenge for us last year with our oldest daughter and as soon as we de-boarded I had to sprint her to the bathroom. No one needs that shit….literally or metaphorically.

Cost breakdown: Adult tickets cost $54 each and kids are $44 each for coach tickets. I wanted to try the “Vista Dome” first class tickets because the windows are larger and wrap around where you can see more without having to leave the train. (You’ll understand why that’s important later.) First class tickets are $74 per adult and $64.00 per child. My insider tip – just do coach instead of first class. While the windows are larger and the views are easier to take in with the first class seats, it’s all booth seating which sounds good in theory but the aisles were smaller and it was more chaotic. There are elves (a.k.a. teenage employees) that come and have the kids get out of their seats to do Simon Says and the Hokey Pokey. Trying to get the girls out of the booth and into the narrow aisle while servers were trying to sneak by with trays of food was a complete shit show. In coach we sat at a high-top but because of that there was a lot more room for our daughter to get in and out of her seat to join in the games without having to watch out for servers with hot drinks. Long story short, save yourself a buck (or in the case of a family of four, 80 bucks) and go with coach.

Where the cost always increases for us is with the items you can pre-purchase. We chose to prepay for a photo, an ornament, and Vince and I each got a flight of local beer. If you prepay here are the cost breakdowns: An adult meal is $22, kids meals are $14 (both meals include a non-alcoholic drink), flights of beer are $12, the professional photo is $30, and the ornament is $6.40. (Random as fuck that they don’t just make it $6.00) When we took the girls in 2016 we prepaid for our oldest daughter’s meal as well as our own meals. Our youngest was 4 months old so obviously she didn’t get a meal unless that’s the new word for tits. What we realized quickly was that the options we chose for our dinner (veggie paninis) were $15. So we actually lost $7 per person by prepaying for the meal instead of ordering la cart. This year we did just that and it was way cheaper than the “deal” of prepaying for food. You can browse their a la cart menu here. This is the same menu served whether you’re in first class or coach, and whether you prepay or not. The food is fine but it’s not anything to write home about, but you aren’t there for the fucking food are you?

Getting there:
Step 1: Put on your pjs – yes even parents. It’s part of the fun! Bonus points if you all match like a bunch of assholes. Our kids matched but no brand I’ve ever found makes long-length Christmas pajamas for my 6’6 husband, so he went with sweats instead. Step 2: You depart from the Santa Fe Depot in Canon City. It’s a bit of a drive if you live in the Denver metro area. It took us almost two hours to get there from Castle Rock, so expect a 2 1/2 hour drive if you’re coming from downtown Denver. You take I 25 South to CO 115 South and US 50 West to get to Canon City. Once you arrive there is a large parking lot to leave your car in and there is also a small playground and a big giant sleigh for photo ops that your kids can pose in if you arrive early and need to kill a few minutes.

Checking in: They’re clever mother fuckers where they force you to walk through the gift shop in order to get to the window where you receive your tickets. If you’ve prepaid for any extra items, you get your vouchers for those items when you get your tickets. To make it extra adorable, they give each kid their own “golden ticket” so that your kiddo can hand it to the conductor and have him hole-punch it upon boarding.

While waiting to get on the train you have your professional photo taken against a green screen. When we went in 2016 the photo was taken on the train itself and the kids got to take the picture with Santa. To give Santa more time to visit with each kid though, they changed that this year and now have you take your photo against a green screen before you even board. So if you are prepaying for a photo, know that it is definitely not a photo with the big guy. Then you can choose to have a digital copy or the old school kind with the decorated paper frame. I chose the old school option because I didn’t really love the picture and was definitely okay not having it reproduced.

Once you board, you’re immediately served sugar cookies and hot cocoa. But don’t worry, they know this is for the ankle biters, so the hot cocoa is “kid temperature” for sure. Then, the elves come by and give you menus and give the kids crayons, coloring sheets, and a “Christmas wish list” to fill out for Santa. Then, you order your food and while starting your journey, the elves have the kids play different games to pass the time until you arrive at The North Pole.

Picking up Santa: Next, you arrive at The North Pole. You didn’t think Santa was already on the train like some common fuck did you? Oh no, you have to pull up to the North Pole to pick him up in grandiose style. There he stands waving at everyone, surrounded by tiny elf houses decorated with lights, an actual north pole, and of course his workshop. If you’re sitting in coach or on the side of the train facing the river, you’ll have a chance to stand outside on the train to take in the view. This was the driving point for me to get first class tickets – so we wouldn’t have to freeze our asses off to see the North Pole. The joke was on me though because we sat on the side of the train that wasn’t facing the North Pole. Serves us right for boarding last. Luckily enough people chose to go outside for a better view so we were able to sit in their booth for a minute. (There’s another tip for you for reading thus far – ask the employees what side of the train will face the North Pole before choosing your booth.) Once you pick up Santa, he goes car by car handing out “reindeer bells” to each kid and asks them what they want for Christmas. He has an elf follow behind him and she jingles each bell so she can “hear which reindeer it belonged to.” She then writes the name of her reindeer of choice on the tag of the bell and hands it to your kiddo. The kids love getting the reindeer bells and as an added bonus, they make cute tree ornaments when your voyage is over.

Once Santa comes by, the elves pass out a Bingo card and every kid plays Christmas Bingo. If you win a game you can choose between a snowflake stamp on your hand, a candy cane, or an extra sugar cookie. Lila won the first round so she was pretty fucking proud and chose an extra cookie Winnie won the next round and was all about a stamp on the hand. (It’s the little things for her.) Then just like that, or rather, an hour and a half later, you’re back at the depot where you started.

There are a few different train ride options if you aren’t wanting to head to Canon City for this one. I tried to get tickets for the Polar Express out of Durango, but those tickets sell out almost as soon as they’re available….which I think is at the beginning of August!! Luckily for our girls, they both have Polar Express days at their schools to fill the void, but this train ride is next on my bucket list for them. Their first class tickets are even more than the Royal Gorge, so as I said, if you’re looking for a fun, festive train ride without having to sell your first born, check out the Georgetown Loop Santa’s Lighted Forest. But pee first!!! That’s a just a good life tip in general though. Merry Christmas!!