Our Trip on the Essex North Pole Express

The sold-out Essex North Pole Express begins this weekend- and if you’ve got tickets, you are in for a treat!

We got lucky enough to pay a visit to this magical experience (my kids were totally star struck!), and took notes along the way. If you’re someone who likes to know what’s going to happen, here is your absurdly detailed guide to climbing aboard the Essex North Pole Express!

Note: there are some spoilers at the bottom. Please skip if you want to keep the journey a surprise!

What to Bring

In addition to the usual diaper bag essentials, here are some things we bring along:

Pajamas:

First things first- definitely wear holiday pajamas if you have them. It’s a big part of the experience – and it makes for such a cozy ride!

Noise Muffling Ear Plugs/Headphones for Noise Sensitive Kids:

It is a show- lots of fun singing, bells, etc. If you or someone you are traveling with is sensitive to noise, definitely bring along a pair of headphones to make things a little more comfortable. 

Warm Coat:

Cars are mostly temperature controlled, but it can get chilly at the North Pole!

Getting There

This is way overthinking things, but here’s what I like to do about heading out and parking:

When to Leave:

We like to get there 45 or so minutes before our train departs, which leaves time for parking, using the bathroom, and checking out all the gorgeous decorations! 

Parking:

You’d think it’d be insane, but they’ve got this down to a science. Someone will direct you to a spot in the back lot and then you’ll walk past lighted trains to the station. It’s seamless and adds to the magic. Handicapped parking is available too!

Bathrooms:

Men’s and Women’s Bathrooms are available on either side of the station (where the souvenir stand is!) 

Family style bathrooms are available in the cafe area – with a baby changing station hidden in a curtain. Definitely worth a stop before getting on the train- although bathrooms are available on board, you won’t want to miss a second of the magic! 

Bite to Eat:

Kringle Cafe serves small sandwiches, drinks, and pastries if you need something before you board. They will serve hot cocoa and cookies on board too. First class passengers have the option to purchase drinks on board from the bar. 

Souvenirs: 

The station has a shop where you can buy all kinds of cute things!

Boarding:

When It’s Time

Departures will be called overhead, and you will make your way to your car (it’s printed on your ticket. We were “First Class Car Q”)

Once there, you’ll be greeted by a conductor who will take your last name (important: you NEED the last name of the person who reserved the tickets in addition to your ticket!) and help you on board. 

Your Elf

Once you are in your car, your Elf will show you to your seat! We had Vicky J Frost, the famous North Pole Popstar (she was WONDERFUL).. Your Elf is like the emcee of the train- they sing songs, lead activities, and keep everything going smoothly. They’re super amazing at introducing themselves to each child, getting to know names, and keeping even very young children happy for the duration of the ride. 

Food

If you are in first class, you’ll get the chance to order some drinks- they have a handful of alcoholic cocktails (“Santa’s Eggnog” pictured above), beer, wine, juice, and seltzer. 

Midway through the journey, “Sleepy Servers” will bring cocoa (it’s not too hot and very kid friendly!) and cookies. Fun Fact : The cookies are from Adam’s Deep River and absurdly good.

What to Expect on Board

Note- there are some spoilers here. SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS. STOP READING IF YOU WANT THE MYSTERY! 

LAST CHANCE! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED:

Ok. Here goes:

The experience starts with a song and proceeds into a magical performance of the Night Before Christmas. The songs are interactive and everyone is encouraged to participate as the train rides past ice caps and into the North Pole:

At some point, Santa will land on the train. Everyone will be very excited. He’ll spend some time as you stop at the North Pole and wave to some elves.

Sleepy servers will bring along hot cocoa. You’ll need to shout “wake up!” to keep them moving.

Then comes cookies and Mrs. Claus for photos, followed by the big man himself- SANTA!

He’ll give each child their very own bell, and the bells will be used in a few games/songs before being put away. Another fun fact: The bells are made right in Connecticut! Belvin Bells is located in East Hampton and the only remaining dedicated Bell Maker in the United States!

Once the kiddos are properly sugared up, they’ll play some freeze dance and other games before the train starts the journey south.

The whole experience ends with a trainwide carol of “Silent Night” and it’s just magic. 

And that’s it! 90 minutes of pure Christmas magic. It’s literally everything that a Christmas show should be for young kids- I worried that my kids wouldn’t be able to handle the extended time, but they loved every second of it. It’s just so interactive from start to finish! 

Preparing your Kids: 

This is totally unnecessary, but my inner teacher turns EVERYTHING into a learning experience- plus, it’s fun to build some excitement before getting on board.  Here is our full activities post.

One thing we always like to do is read the book The Polar Express, watch the movie, and make our own mini-books while listening to Christmas Carols. The books are free on Teachers Pay Teachers.

And that’s it! It really is worth doing if you can snag tickets. We’ll keep you updated the next time they go on sale.

As always, let us know if we’ve missed anything. Also, we did our best to be as accurate as possible, but we do make mistakes so check directly with the Essex Steam Train crew with questions- they are amazing!

Happy Holidays everyone!