It will soon be "All aboard!" for the North Pole Express, which returns to Squamish's Railway Museum of British Columbia on Nov. 23.
The popular all-ages holiday attraction, which takes guests on a ride to the "North Pole" to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus, runs Nov. 23, 24 and 30, as well as Dec. 1, 7 and 8, 14, 15 and 21, with several trips and packages per day to choose from.
The immersive attraction sees the train headed to deliver "much needed" wrapping paper and bows to Marshall P. Bear, the Polar Bear who is the head of Santa’s workshop.
On the ride along the way, passengers meet all sorts of characters. Guests can enjoy cookies, unlimited hot chocolate and marshmallows at the North Pole and take in many activities.
“You will eventually find your way to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus for a family photoshoot to preserve your memories of this exciting day," reads the description of the event.
The museum's Craig McDowall told The Squamish Chief that about 14,000 people attended the North Pole Express last year.
The event often sells out.
Expect surprises
This year, there are a few new things to note.
The final day is usually about 10 days before Christmas, but this year, the museum added Dec. 21 to the schedule.
There are also some surprises planned, too, but McDowall didn't want to disclose too much about them.
"When you come to the North Pole, after the train ride, you're going to see a couple of new features. And we're also going to do a couple of different things on the train this year, too, but people will still get their cookies on the train and the live entertainment [moving] through the train on each departure," he said.
About 9,000 mugs have been ordered, along with 3,000 other items that will be handed out, McDowall said, depending on the specific ride taken.
The North Pole trains travel north from the museum on Canadian National Railway (CN) tracks close to the Squamish River or south through Squamish to Squamish Terminals. All trains leave from and return to the Railway Museum.
When the attraction first began about a decade ago, it was called The Polar Express, after the famous movie starring Tom Hanks.
But the non-profit museum had to pay a "quite large royalty" to Warner Brothers, McDowall said.
During COVID, the museum couldn't run the event at all for two years.
When everything restarted, the museum decided to leave the movie version behind and change the event to the North Pole Express.
Organizers had to swap out anything related to The Polar Express for legal reasons, but families continued to flock to the event, and the museum has never looked back.
Outside of the Stanley Park Christmas Train, the local museum hosts the only such event "north of Seattle and west of Toronto, believe it or not," McDowall said.
He noted that it has been a surprise to organizers how diverse the guests who attend are.
Families with children who may have long left Santa behind come back year after year, he said, and there are groups of long-term care residents who make a trip of it.
"They come up in their little minibus, and they all sit together, and they just want to get into the spirit of Christmas," he said.
Tickets run from about $41 per person, plus tax (for coach) to $66, plus tax (for the night-time ride).
There is also a group ride on the Alberta Private Coach for about $1,750, plus tax, for up to 15 people.
No Day Out with Thomas in 2025
Looking ahead to other events, the museum has decided not to run its Day Out with Thomas event this spring, though it may return another year.
One reason for the pause is that the attraction hasn't been as popular as it once was.
Also, Mattel, which licenses the event, only has certain dates available to host communities—Toronto, Calgary, and Squamish—and the museum has a large event already booked for one of the weekends offered, McDowall said.
"We asked if we could move our dates, and they said, ‘No, we can't.’"
Thus, no Day out with Thomas this year.
McDowall promised that there is an exciting new event in the works for children this spring, but he couldn’t reveal it until more details are hammered out.
Stay tuned, he said!
For more on The North Pole Express, including tickets, go to the Railway Museum of British Columbia's website.
The museum is located at 39645 Government Road, in Squamish.
