Our Family's Trip on the Polar Express at Mt. Hood Railroad

It is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. With a chill in the air, my family took a drive out to Hood River to see Santa Claus and to ride the Polar Express on the Mt. Hood Railroad. My son brought a friend along for the experience and it was fun to watch the boys as they got excited about every little moment along the 90 minute train ride.

The Mt. Hood Railroad offers several themed train rides throughout the year, with the Polar Express being one of the most popular. This year, we went on one of the first excursions in November, which worked out great because there were open seats on the train. It is more difficult to get tickets closer to Christmas, so I personally recommend visiting early in the season for a more relaxed experience.

When you arrive at the Mt. Hood Railroad train station, you can park in their lot for $5 or search around for street parking. There are many steep hills in the area, so it is just easier to park in the Mt. Hood lot than to trek several blocks with your children. This year, Mt. Hood Railroad had a small restaurant operating in a few train cars parked near the front. The Hobo Cafe had some casual fare like chili and Mac & Cheese. I believe that they give you a $1 discount if you show your Polar Express ticket, but I could be wrong about that.

Inside the train station, you check in and receive the special tickets for the children in your group. These are the tickets that the conductor ceremoniously punches while on the train (sorry adults, these are for kids only). There are some small restrooms inside the train station and the Polar Express movie plays on a TV. Soon enough, the conductor opens the door and shouts All Aboard.

Mt. Hood Railroad has a few different types of seats for the Polar Express: Coach Seating, Parlor Seating, and Dome Car Seating.

The coach seats are the least expensive and give you a great experience.
If you upgrade to the Parlor Seating, your family is seated at a table (kind of like a dining room) and you each receive a souvenir mug.
The Dome Car Seating gives you padded seats and a table (similar in design to a restaurant booth). You also get the souvenir mugs.

I found that you get a pretty good view of the lights on Santa’s workshop no matter where you sit on the train. The excursions typically take place in the evening, so the view doesn’t really matter since you can’t see much outside anyway.

The Mt Hood Railroad crew does a good job keeping the children entertained throughout the 90 minute trip. Within a few minutes of leaving the station, the hot chocolate song begins to play and the Polar Express chefs give everyone a cup of hot coco and a cookie. If you are seated in the upgraded seats, your hot chocolate still comes in the standard Styrofoam cups and you are given a clean souvenir mug as well.

During the train ride, the conductor makes his way through the train and punches the children’s tickets. The hobo guy from the movie also makes an appearance, as he is chased through the train by the conductor and the chefs. After everyone finishes with their snacks, the chefs hold up copies of the Polar Express book while it is read over the PA. Many families bring along their own copy of the book so their children can read along.

About 45 minutes into the train ride, the Polar Express reaches the North Pole and Santa’s workshop. There are Christmas lights to see on both sides of the train and Santa can be seen waving on the right hand side. The train comes to a stop so Santa can hop onboard and then reverses course to head back to the Mt. Hood train station.

Santa Claus stops to visit with each child as he makes his way through the train. After the standard talk about Christmas gifts, Santa gives each child a commemorative silver bell, similar to the one in the movie. I was really impressed with how Santa made time for each child and never gave the impression of being rushed, even though he had a train full of children eager to see him.

After Santa visits, the chefs usually will lead the children in a few rounds of Christmas Carols. Since it was a little slower during our visit, the chefs had time to goof around with the children, which ended up being a highlight for my son and his friend. The two chefs kept the boys laughing by making funny faces and even let them try on the official chef hat. It was neat to see this personal experience from everyone on the staff.

All good things must come to an end. As you disembark at the Mt. Hood train station, Santa Claus and the cast of characters line up to say goodbye. This is a nice photo opportunity if you didn’t get a chance to take pictures onboard, especially if you want a photo with the elusive hobo guy.

The Polar Express runs on select nights through the end of the year. I recommend taking either the 4:30 or 7:00 trains because it is darker and you can see the lights at Santa’s workshop. I also recommend giving yourself plenty of time to get there. Traffic on I-84 can bottleneck at times and you don’t want to miss your train.

Polar Express Event Details