Last week my wife and I took our two-year -old daughter on the Grand Canyon Railway’s Polar Express. Grandma and grandpa joined us too. We all had a wonderful time.

The Polar Express departs from Williams, Ariz. and travels north toward the Grand Canyon, taking its passengers on a make-believe trip to the North Pole. This is the same train that at other times of the year travels all the way to the south rim of the Grand Canyon, but the Polar Express run does not go all the way to the Grand Canyon.

Both the train station and the train are festively decorated for Christmas. At the station Express-goers will find the Christmas trees, lights and wreaths, while inside the train they’ll find it lit with warm lights, the overhead racks lit with Christmas lights with wrapped presents in the overhead racks as well.

During the trip the Polar Express does a pretty good job re-enacting the events from the movie of the same name. The train travels north about 45 minutes where it then slows down to a stop, then reverses course and returns to the station.

During the outward -ound portion of the trip the guests are greeted by the conductor who,

soon after leaving the station, stamps their ticket. A short time after that the “chef” passes out hot cocoa and cookies to each of the guests. It’s worth noting that the Polar Express has 30 or 40 trains and each one has its own chef, so this process goes pretty quickly.

We were on the trip that departed at 5:30. It took us only a few minutes to leave Williams and enter the surrounding pine forest. Being dusk, the trees seen out the train’s port side were silhouetted against the pinkish-orange horizon of the just-set sun.

After everyone has been given time to enjoy their cocoa and cookies, the conductor – actually a recording meant to be the conductor – reads the Polar Express book by Chris Van Allsberg aloud over the train’s intercom. Families are encouraged to bring their own book during the trip so parents can follow along with their kids in the book as the story’s being read.

Near the end of the north-bound run the train slows down as it passes through Santa’s Village, a stage set along the tracks lit up to look a corner of the North Pole. Santa Claus himself waves to the passing train.

The train travels only a short distance beyond Santa’s Village before it stops and reverses course and returns to the station in Williams. This time as the train passes through Santa’s Village the conductor points out that Santa is no longer present in the village. Where can he have gone?

This mystery is soon solved as Santa appears on the train and makes his way from car to car, taking time to visit with each family along the way and giving each person a special bell to keep as a souvenir of the trip.

The trip takes approximately 90 minutes from beginning to end.

I highly recommend a trip on the Polar Express, especially if you have kids between the ages of two to 14. Our two-year-old daughter absolutely loved it! It’s the perfect family excursion, appropriate for all ages, and multiple generations. Most adults I encountered on the trip seemed to be enjoying themselves nearly as much as their kids.

What you need to know:

The Polar Express is operated by Grand Canyon Railways.

It departs from the Williams, Ariz. train depot every day from now until Dec. 30^th, however it doesn’t run on Christmas day. The Williams train depot is located at 233 N. Grand Canyon Blvd.

There are two departure times each day, at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. Each trip last approximately 90 minutes.

The cost: Adults $41 Monday through Thursday, $53 Friday and Saturday. Kids are $31 Monday through Thursday, $43 Friday and Saturday.

Williams has several hotel choices.

For more information about the Grand Canyon Railways polar Express visit their website: thetrain.com or call 888-848-3511