SO MUCH FUN!! I definitely recommend doing the Winery Train. The ride was about a 30min-40min ride from the Phillipsburg NJ station where the excursion is located to the Villa Milagro Vineyards. The employees of the train station were friendly and they provide plenty of instructions in terms of return time and etc. At the Vineyard there was a tour from the owner and he conducted the wine tasting. Great place to take pictures and to enjoy the scenery. Such a great spot for a girls day or a date with someone special. read more

Went on the Polar Express in Phillipsburg and we had a BLAST!!!! The dancing waiters were AWESOME!! Neon juggling, tricks and a ton of interaction with the kids! Santa was the BEST ONE!! He was quick and forced pics, even when kids didnt want it. He was awesome!! The decorations were alsotop notch! They served Hot chocolate and cookies and they wqere both pretty good!! My only complaint (or suggestion) would be to have a place that has a ton of lights outside, as you get to the "north Pole" and Santa gets on. This one didnt have anything like that at the end. Kids were disappointed adn confused. We have been on many Polar Express train rides all over the country and this one was definitely up there!! The actors/staff made this trip awesome!!!!! Thank you Delaware River Railroad Polar Express!!!!!!! read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - GREAT TIME!!! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

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I don't know if I should be disappointed or not since I have set no expectations. My husband said he wanted to visit with the family for the experience and we did just that. Upon arrival, we had to pay for parking via meters so make sure to download the parking app on your smartphones to save you the headache on feeding the meter at the lot. We purchased tickets online so we showed our receipt and got our printed tickets. Note to parents with little kids: hold onto the tickets as you'll need to show them later to the employees for the train ride and any activities. The train board on time. It was old, nothing fancy and nothing to sightsee but looking at the waters for few minutes and then into people's backyards which I'm sure homeowners find it creepy and annoying. Luckily with family, we chatted on the train but if I was alone, I'd rather watch wet paint dry. The corn maze activity was fun and was probably the only highlight of the trip. As you work through the maze, you'll be given clues to solve the mystery question and there's two mazes - a beginners and a more advanced level. When you purchase the maze activity, it includes both. After we finished the maze, we head back to train and then back to the parking lot. The full experience took about 4 hours. read more

Oh my gosh. Worst excursion for adults ever. Every parent was losing their mind. One poorly run food truck (waited for 23 minutes to spend $30 on French fries and a lemonade), five stinky porta potties, and about 6 blow up dinosaurs.... The show was not interesting to my four year old and the toys were wayyyyy over priced. As was the mining activity. But worse- we were told a 45 minute train ride- it was an hour and 5 minutes. Then we were stuck in this hot field (5.3 miles from the parking lot) with limited shade spots for over two hours. I don't know what was going on but I was miserable as were many parents. And the activities were SO underwhelming. The kids were literally playing in dirt. And just fyi- there's like two Ubers in the area if it weren't for the time I spent with my son I'd give it zero stars. I sincerely hope the polar express is SO much better but I certainly won't be finding out. read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - My son kept saying "why the balloon Dino's?" - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

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Our first time joining this railroad. We bought tickets online for dino ride weekend since my 10 yrs old is a huge dino fan. $20 for adults. $17 for kids. The station is located at a residential area. It has own small parking lot which can hold about 30 cars. Two mobile potties at the lot. The lot was full when we got there around 11 am. They offer you to drive yourself across the bridge and park at other lot. Free shuttle school bus offered to bring you back at station. There were 3 trains on my day: 10, 12 and 2 pm. I bought tickets for 10 am but missed it. Luckily they can accommodate us to the 12 noon one. Trains are old just like other reviewers said. Certain cabooses are little better than the other. One even has upstairs. Train has a cute little gift shop. Don't compare prices to Amazon. It's just a cute train shop on a train. Train has bathroom. Train took off at 12:10 pm. Took about 15 min to get to Jurassic park area. It's an open area cleared from part of a corn field. All activities are free except food. It has : - corn maze with inflatable Dinos. One way road. No confusion at all. - placed mining: little prep talk then given a bag of sediment to 'mine' in running water. Each bag has stones and if lucky, you get gems. - dino meet and greet: photo op - gift shop - temporary tatoo and spin art - velociraptor show: Meet Mommy and baby Blue. You can let them. They come to the fence. - the dino show: Paleontologist talks about dino. Very interactive and the speakers made it fun for kids. - bubble machine. Kids enjoyed it - Not free: one carnival truck: corn dog $4, hot dog$3 , French fries $6-$15, burgers etc. pls refer to my pic for menu prices. The Jurassic area took about 1.5 hours to finish. Stretched to 2 hours if you stand online to buy food. Plenty of chairs and tables to eat. They even have hand washing mobile stations. Then you catch the train back to the station. The train takes you back after it drops off the people who are coming. Takes another 15 min to return. They issue Certificate for all the kids for participating. Conclusion: It's better than I thought. Family of 4 spent $74 in tickets including 30 min train ride ( old but clean) and the activities (2 hours) at Jurassic park. It's not crowded at all. You don't have to fight a spot to see the show or touch the dino. Don't go if you are not bringing kids!!! You will be bored to death!!! Teenagers won't be interested. Activities are overall pretty kiddish. My 10 years old like the mining most. If your kiddo is really into dino, also check out Jurassic quest in different cities. They are more serious about Dinos, definitely not inflatable. read more

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Made this place our annual Polar Express excursion! For a few years I would wait until December to book, and tickets would always be sold out. Past few times tickets have been purchased months in advance. We've sat in different carts throughout the experiences. Cart A has been my family's preferred cart. It's room temperature, lights fully off, bathroom access and fully interactive. Tickets range from $32 for children and $42 for adults single level cars. We were sat in one row for single level cars. There is an option for double decker which I recommend for big families that would like to face one another. Included in this excursion is interactive entertainment from a conductor, jugglers, musicians, chefs, elves and Santa! The conductor takes your tickets and hole punches your initials on it. Although there is a snack bar in which you can purchase additional snacks like popcorn, chocolate bars etc. the chefs go around handing out hot chocolate and a cookie. Elves hand out Christmas bells. Santa takes his time with each family taking pics and talking to all the children. The train ride itself is about an hour in a half. The view at night is a bit difficult to see hence the dark; yet, the view of the river and houses is nice. Delaware River Railroad Excursions does a great job choreographing a true Polar Express experience! read more

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Not really much to look forward to; the train is beautiful from the outside and screams "welcome in" but the inside was very outdated, kind of reminded me of seats on a school bus. It had that old scent from the seats, which always make me feel nauseous. A few updates and some air fresheners would truly make an impact on my visit if I were to return again. I love that the train offers different things such as the wine tour which takes you to a vineyard, mine digging which is probably more fun for kids, picnic areas with tables and cornhole, and they also host themed rides during the holiday seasons, for example they are having a Polar Express train in December of this year, may come back to see what that's like. But all in all I have nothing bad to say, just think this business would benefit from a few minor changes. read more

Pretty boring if you don't have kids with you. My friend and I thought this would be a cool excursion to view the area since the weather was pretty lousy. The scenery was nice...fall foliage and a cute pumpkin patch for kids only. Not for kids older than...I'd say 10. There's a gift shop with snacks on board. the staff was very friendly and took extra time interacting with the younger children. This is not an Amtrak ride, so don't expect a lot. I would not recommend going out your way for this train ride, but if you stumble across it and need time to kill...go for it. read more

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Pumpkin Train and Mining were amazing for the kids. Riding in a classic railway was fun for the adults. Total time from getting on to getting off was around 2-2.5h. We hopped on at 11am (recommend that you get there 30-45m earlier for parking, getting tickets and using the port-o-potties). That seemed to take longer than the actual trip. Once on the train, it was relaxing and fun. Make sure to bring a snack while waiting to mine for gems and minerals. The corn maze was also there but we skipped it. We made a stop on the way back so the kids can get a free pumpkin and to take a few fall pictures. The price is right. The staff was friendly and more than helpful. Thank you!! read more

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Train ride itself is pretty cool. The train is fun, the information presented on the train is great and so are the views of the river. We took the train to the mine, which leaves a little something to be desired. Again the information presented at the mine is great and sifting through the bag of sand to find gems is fun, however there is definitely not enough to do to fill an hour and a half that you are there and it is not a real mine tour at all. read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - Gems found at the mine - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

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What a blast my children had...Candy the elf was the kindest sweetest elf on train......sge worked great with all the kids.... my son is shy but want up to her and Gabe a big hug.....love the selfie with the Elsie and son gave her a checkie kiss and hugs that's candy the elf u made their dreams come true read more

There are so many low scores and I don't get why! I parked at a gas station lot and paid $10 to park. The people there who helped me park were absolutely lovely and I was a very short distance (maybe 200 feet) walk from the ticket booth and they were extremely helpful on helping me get out at the end of the night. Plus you're helping the town guys! I took my 7 year old son on November 30th on the polar express. Let me just say that as an adult I had a blast so you can only imagine how much fun my son had. You start off listening to the ending of the polar express and singing the song from the movie. Let me just say, every kid in the car we were in was singing their hearts out. We got hot chocolate and cookies. I can't comment on the taste of the cookies because my son ate both because he loved them so much but the coco was just the right temperature that the children can drink it right away. Everyone on the train got coco and cookies. Now we had a hobo come in and sing, jugglers, Santa and a chef spinning plates. They made sure every child got one on one attention which is hard when you have trains packed with children. My son felt so special the entire night and even got to spin a plate he was so excited he got to participate in every step. My only complaint is there were some moments when nothing was happening. This is usually when the entertainers are taking care of the other children around you so they get the one on one moments too. During this time, my son had brought a few trains with him so he was content with playing with a few of his trains so I recommend bringing something small for your child to do as the entertainers make memories for other families. I can't recommend this polar express enough. This was our first time ever doing a polar express and we look forward to making this a Christmas tradition. read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

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Based on an article in the NJ monthly magazine , my family an I took a 2 hour trip to ride the train, what a disappointment. No parking , the windows on the train are few and filthy so you can't see anything , there is no pumpkin patch. You have 10 minutes of fun at the " mine". Not worth a 2 hour ride. read more

I don't get the negative reviews , I was kind of worried after reading them but so glad we went ! We did the pumpkin train with the mining tour . The staff was extremely friendly and fun, my kids are hard to please, most notably my 9 year old, who proclaimed this was the best day ever. We didn't do the corn maze but the mining tour was super fun, the trip was fun, the train is beautiful. It was a great day! I recommend eating at Soma Grill after! read more

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Cute train ride that make a good half day activity. Train is old and is now only used for leisure/tourism but the staff are friendly and they have themed activities like easter bunny, winery activity, halloween, polar express, etc., to try to make the train more entertained. It's definitely not fancy and the train goes really slow back and forth and the delaware river view is not that great as the view most of the time is random residential houses, but I liked it. It was nice sitting there and being blank for the whole train ride. It departs and lands exactly on time for 90 minutes that included the pumpkin activity in my case which was cute and fun. If you don't expect much and buy the groupon tickets and don't pay full price, then it's worth it. read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

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We did the Day Out With Thomas here. We took the 4:30pm train ride. It was about 25 minutes and each child was handed a certificate for riding. There was a bounce house, which was closed & another bouncey maze house with a slide for the children. There was a tent with toys, clothes & collectibles for purchase. I spent over $200 for tickets for 6 adults and 2 children & the pictures they take are all for additional cost. There's a huge hill to walk down. This definitely was not ideal for some of the adults in our group. Definitely a con for this location as I'm sure many families purchase tickets and extend the invite to grandparents as well read more

I wish I hadn't spent the money. $116 for me, my husband and two year old to ride in a seat w no window, next to the toilet. There was a constant flow of people in and out and standing in line of top of us wanting to use the restroom. When we tried to move our seats to have a window before the train was complete full, we were rudely told there was "nothing to see" out the window. Not the holiday fun I had in mind for my family. Could have used the money on other things. The seats we sat in would best be used for supplies, not passengers. I wrote an email and tried to call multiple times to get a refund or even a partial refund with NO response. This was not a train ride, this was two hours in a closet next to a toilet ! read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - Sat next to this mess on our holiday train ride - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

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My family and I went here in the beginning of December for the Polar Express ride. My daughter loved it!!! She was 22 months old. (I really don't under all of the negative reviews.) The parking situation can be tough, but there are a few lots nearby and a shuttle is provided. We actually parked at a local church. Upon arriving at the train we gave the attendants our tickets and walked down to the train. The wait wasn't long, and the weather was cooperative. There's a tent set up with quick food and a few vendors. Once the train ride started my daughter loved the entertainment. There was an accordion player an elf sign a magic ball and some others. Finally before heading bs l we saw Santa and Mrs. Claus. I just wished there was more entertainment on the way back. This is something I would definitely consider doing again. read more

Wow the reviews are kind of brutal I see but thankfully me and the family had a different experience. There were plenty of shuttles, everyone was friendly and we all got hot chocolate and a cookie. (And a sleigh bell with "2013" engraved in it which is a nice little memento for the kids.) Mother Nature ended up helping out with a snow storm that was just enough to make the train ride absolutely stunning and add to the "Christmas-ness" of our Polar Express ride. (And more than a few of the houses on the train route actually decorated the back of their houses which is what we saw as we were coming back at nightfall and that was a nice touch as well.) This was the first time my kids (just turned 5) actually had an encounter with Santa (minus having their picture with one when they were only a month old) so it was a big deal (even if they were first debating if he was the real Santa when he first walked past us) and I think it had a big impact on them. And like a lot of kid-related adventures - you look around and it's the parents that seem much more excited and into it than the kids. The major gripe for me (besides that if you sat at the window-seat it was just a touch too cold) was that it felt like a short story that was padded to make into a novel... there were some long gaps where nothing was happening and I could see my kids starting to waver and lose interest. But the fact that it wasn't all that expensive (an easy $100 less for a family of 4 than other outings we've done) and that everyone was a volunteer (a talented juggler, the first hobo with a guitar doing Christmas songs, a jolly St. Nick) makes me say: 4.5 stars. As long as nobody tips off my kids that there isn't a Santa Claus in the next 12 months - we'll definitely be back next year as well. read more

Came for Thomas the train. Parked in the lot for $10 and took the shuttle but you can park closer for only $15 so I would do that next time. On the train sit to the right of you want river views left if you want woods. Everyone has been great and a fun full day out for the kiddo. read more

This the second year my wife and I, at that time just my daughter took the train ride. This year we had an addition our son he's a little young 8 months but he took everything in. Our friends came with their 2 daughters also my wife's cousin and her family, which made it more enjoyable. They had jugglers, singers, elves and of course the big man SANTA! Also Mrs Claus made an appearance all of which were very happy to take pictures with. They provide everyone with hot chocolate and a warm cookie. Is it worth the money not so sure but for the kids and their reactions to everything going on it is. We might go 1 more time next year when our son is older so he would remember more. read more

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4:20pm Haven't even gone on the train yet, as it is 50 minutes late as of now, but I am so far not impressed. If you are planning on the 3:30, it most likely leave very late. We were told they will just speed up the train to make up time. So our trip is already shortened. The two attendants do not seem to know anything and when we asked for a refund hey said if we didn't Groupon they couldn't. So we either wait it out or lost the money. read more

My family and I enjoyed the excursion tremendously. The day was gorgeous for a nice scenic ride. Highly recommended!! The staff were also great. Will do it again. read more

My kids enjoyed Polar Express, but never again. It was 2 hours of chaos! The ride was so loud from the blasting speakers, to guitar playing and caroling all going on at the same time! Just way too much noise; we couldn't hear a thing. Most workers were very nice and Santa and the jugglers made the trip, but be warned you will be paying for a train ride of pure insanity! read more

Been there, done that, not going back. As parents of 2 year olds, we are constantly looking for relatively inexpensive ways of keeping them entertained, excited, and tire themselves out via activities through the day so we get to sleep soundly at night. We are thankful for the East Coast having a bunch of places that are just awesome. Please Touch Museum and Crayola Experience are two in Pennsylvania that I would love to return to any day. They meet all our requirements - captivate the kids, give them enough variety to hold on to their attention, and tire them out without being excruciating. Adding to that, the two places mentioned are also pretty enjoyable to us as adults. Unfortunately the Delaware River Railroad - at least the Thomas and Friends train ride we went for - is a far cry. Especially so if you are heading out on a hot summer day. We went for the Thomas and Friends ride on a day with close to 100 degree heat. The parking was non intuitive, in spite of emailed links with some directions to the parking lot. The expectations on the ride were not set right - I feel we did not have a clear idea of what we were paying for, what was free, and what exactly is the activity about. If I were to sum up the entire paid-for experience - it's a ride back into the 1970's in a developing country. Old train coaches with a handful of fans and a sweltering heat. General retro feel that I don't care about. Uncomfortable seats and ugly windows. Kids squirming through the entire 20 minute ride and sweating profusely. Two minutes into the ride we were waiting for the end. For the price we paid - NJ Transit or Long Island Railroad - the general daily commuter options - offers a better experience. In retrospective, there are several things that could have set our expectations right. For a start, there should be a timeline of what to expect. Here's my attempt at this. 00:00 - You are in the neighborhood, still in your car 00:30 - You park half a mile down the road, and take a shuttle back to the main area. Depends on the frequency of the shuttle and where you parked. 00:45 - walk through the county fair-esque setup on the main parking lot (closed to traffic), get your tickets from the will call, and head down the steep walkway 01:15 - the last half hour went checking out the miniature petting zoo and concession stands in the lower area, and you are now in line for the Thomas Train 01:30 - Thomas Train arrives from its previous round. It's pretty charming to look at from the outside - big cheery blue engine with eyes going round and white smoke and what not 01:45 - The line moves slowly - you get your picture taken in front of Thomas the engine and spend some time around the rear carnival stands. Maybe catch a show in the hay theater You board the train. It's been 2 hours since you are here in the hot sun. You are desperately hoping the day to turn for the better 02:00 - The train departs. Took us seconds to realize this was it - train cars from decades back without any semblance of air conditioning and a ride where the kids were too hot to even care to look outside the window 02:20 - you come back to the station. Close to twenty bucks per ticket went down the drain - or down the train. 03:30 - the last 70 minutes were spent in the cool shade of the huge tents with various table activities for kids. The tent has a number (12+) of train based play tables, Lego block set tables, face painting and other paint areas for larger kids. This was the best part of the area in my opinion, and it is free. 04:00 - you get up to the upper lot, pony up for your souvenir picture, take the shuttle bus to your parking lot, get in the car, crank up the AC, and DRIVE AWAY. If the management wants repeat visitors - specially on super hot days of summer - they should advertise more about the many free activities - the carnival areas on the upper and lower levels, the petting zoo, and the open play tent with the railroad play tables were great kid attractors. They should also have more water sprinklers or such to just cool people down. Finally, to set expectations right, you should realize that the Thomas Train looks like a Thomas Train only from the outside, when you see the big blue engine and the white smoke and the charming obsolescence. From the inside, it's just a a trip to bygone years of no ACs and no breeze and rickety trains no one - especially kids - care about. If all you wanted was to visit the play areas and look at the train from the outside, you do not need to buy any tickets. read more

Did the Polar Express ride with my niece(2months), nephew (3yrs), parents, and grandparents. Worth every penny to see the excitement on my nephews face as Santa walks into our train car. Wonderful staff members and very accommodating! My family and I have been doing the Polar Express ride for the past 2 years and each year we look forward to doing it again. read more

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Attended the Thomas the Train event here and also went on one of their mining train trips. Both times I was disappointed. When Thomas is in town the town is a little more alive but when we went on a random weekend for the mining train it was a ghost town. Don't plan to stay in the area to eat because there is nothing there. If walking is an issue for you skip this place. We needed to park at the top of a pretty steep hill and walk down to the train. For Thomas they do everything in July and the train has no a/c. The day we went it was so humid. We didn't even stay for the activities they had in the tents. I think they have a lot of potential but there needs to be a lot done. read more

Me & my small family has never been on a train before so let's start by saying our first time wasn't a let down at all! We loved every single second we spent on there from the time the guy said "all aboard" as we boarded to the time he said "thank you for riding, merry Christmas"! I'd go back every year as long as I can snag tickets! I love the polar express movie, this ride was not a let down what so ever! Although there is so much noise going on around you, it's expected! It's a kids magical experience, jingle bells ringing. Entertainment going on & of course Santa & the elf is always a big hit! We loved how our child got involved in most of the entertainment shenanigans! And our initials punched in the tickets was awesome as well! We treasured the bells engraved "the polar express" and have hung them on our tree which we plan to put them on it every year! Overall I don't see why there are so many grinches giving 1 star ratings. I mean yes it was cold, yes we kept our coats on. Not a issue! Yes it's loud & there's much going on! It's a train full of kids seeing Santa!!! Once again expected! I will definitely be back! read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - Punched out tickets! - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

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Ok...firsr of all this was a nice little getaway. My husband took me for the wine tour at Villa Millagro, which small, but we like those types of things. The train is old, but that's the point the history lesson is the point. The volunteers are great. The parking sucks, we almost missed the train because we aren't from or anywhere near here the fact that its behind a back street and no sign we were driving in circles for 10 minutes. So please get a sign of some sort. I get how the money isn't there, if anyone travels and is on a schedule this would be bad to miss your scheduled departure. All in all great morning/afternoon. Btw the wine was good. I purchased the Delicado read more

We rode the train twice so far, once for the polar express and recently for the corn maze ride. Both times the experience was spectacular. We rode the polar express at night so we missed most of the scenery. But we rode the corn maze train during the day and the gentle rolling of the cars drawn by the stream locomotive is very calming. GPS directions were spot on and there was a sign pointing to the parking lot for the train ride. Picking up tickets at the will call was a breeze. We picked up a few slices at the nearby pizzeria and ate before we got on the train. This place is about 1:15 from my house so I always make sure I have plenty of time to get there, park, collect tickets and get on the train. Especially the polar express train, which pretty much gets sold out on the first day. The stream locomotive requires 2 hours of maintenance for every hour it runs! Imagine all the hard work volunteers put in to just keep the train running. The cars are also old and I don't think it would support air-conditioning. That would not be possible without compromising on the aesthetics of these vintage cars. The gift shop was reasonably priced (all sodas and water was $1!! How can you beat that). All the volunteers were very friendly and very much into trains. Overall, a great experience if you are into appreciating the hard life our forefathers had. If you want creature comforts, go on a nice day or skip the train altogether. :-) read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - The Susie Q steam locomotive. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

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For the price we felt this was a great family activity, especially if you have elementary age students. The train wasn't fancy, but it was clean and spacious. The ride itself was just long enough to hold a child's attention. The "pumpkin patch" was just a cleared area along the tracks, but again perfect for little kids. We did the mine activity and it def helped make the trip for my 13year old- she left with a baggie full of cool gems (we did have 4bags of dirt though). Be mindful and bring lunch/snacks- besides cans of soda and mini bags of chips there was no food available for sale at the activity stop or train station itself & if you do the mine or corn maze you're stuck there for an extra hour or so. The mine and corn maze are fun activities and they had 2 corn hole games, but a few more activities would have helped keep kiddos busy- but there was plenty of room to run around and stretch. The picnic groves were also clean and spacious. There are porta potties available but no baby changing area so be prepared for that too. Overall, for a volunteer run activity, it was well organized and fun. read more

We did the steam engine train ride today. It was nice and I'm glad we did it. The volunteers were helpful and friendly. There's not much to it though and luckily the train was almost empty, because after you get half way the train stops and goes backward to the starting point !!! We were able to change seats to benches that face the other way but if it was crowded it could get annoying. It's worth going but I would recommend passing on the big event weekends and go when it's less crowded. read more

Delaware River Railroad Excursions - Amusement Parks Near Me - Phillipsburg, New Jersey

This is a diesel train ride. The steam train is being serviced and won't be back in service until a year from now. There's nothing on the website to let people know the steam train is out of service. It's very disappointing to drive all the way there only to find out the steam train is out of service! read more

We have done two train rides at the Delaware River Railroad Excursions and the first (The Dinosaur Train Ride) and the second (The Easter Bunny Train) were two totally different experiences. We loved the Dinosaur train ride. We followed the instructions allowing ample time to park and get tickets from will call. Then we boarded the train after a short wait as the train was running behind schedule. The ride was fine. Some windows were down and it was a warm fall day. The train stopped at a field that had many very cool activities for kids. A bounce house, gold sifting, coal mining skit, corn maze, digging for bones, etc. There was also a big concession stand which was nice if you decided to stay a while. You basically could stay all day if you wanted to. Now for the Easter Bunny train..same price, but terrible. I had been to another Easter Bunny train ride in Whippany NJ and decided to drive twice as far out to Phillipsburg because of the added fun of an egg hunt. Well, there was no hunt. They had a few hundred eggs, just dropped on the ground. Kids were running out of the train to get their allowed 4 eggs. As each kid opened their eggs, the looks of disappointment were evident. Very cheap plastic toys, some of which were choking hazards for my littlest one and no candy! I'm sorry, but these kids had waited all day to find these prized eggs and were just sad now. We promised them lemonades instead when we returned to the station, because the train concessions only had water and soda. Of course the station concessions had closed before we returned, so it was just very disappointing, when it could have and should have been great. I was expecting so much more after our amazing time on their Dinosaur train ride. No way my hubby will return to see if they can improve upon the experience. read more

FALSE ADVERTISING! A TERRIBLE DISAPPOINTMENT! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME. I seldom write reviews, however, I have just returned from the Great Pumpkin Train and felt obligated to warn others not to waste their time and money on such a disappointing experience. Where do I begin? The ride starts in Phillipsburg, NJ - a dismal ghost town whose main street is filled with empty, abandoned buildings. The only bathrooms available are 2 port-a-potties and the only store open is selling dusty, expired goods. Thankfully, I did pick up a couple of those expired goods - they were the only food items that we would see for the next 4 hours! The allocated parking for the train ride was in an empty lot a considerable distance away. On arriving at the ticket booth, all 600 passengers were made to stand in the same line, regardless of whether or not they had purchased their tickets in advance. This line was served by only 2 attendants. As a result, there was a considerable delay and our 12:30 pm train did not depart until about 1 pm. The promotional material for the train says "the traveler finds himself back in the 1890s......" and indicates that the train is run by steam when, in fact, the train we rode was a 1960s era diesel train which appeared to be in a filthy and unsafe condition. The "scenic ride" occurred along a trash- and graffiti-strewn train track, which passed along the back of a lumbar yard and a quarry. We had actually seen a lot more fall foliage along the highway on our drive in. No information or instructions were provided. We were dropped off at the corn maze/mining site and were not told when the next train would be back to pick us up. The corn maze/mine was nothing special and the only food available for sale was popcorn. Passengers - most of us with young children - were then made to wait 2 hours in a field swarming with gnats for the next train to pick us up! On the return trip, we stopped off for 10 minutes at the so-called "pumpkin patch" which was actually a tiny clearing at the side of the train track, with several small, pre-picked pumpkins on display. All in all, the experience was very disappointing and left me feeling angry for having been deceived out of my money! read more

I have been to other Polar Express Train Rides with my family and this was by far THE WORST EXPERIENCE. First of all, the parking is horrendous and we had to walk a 1/2 a mile to the location with a toddler (was not described in the advertisement obviously), but they tried to provide us with a Van/Bus with no provisions for the safety of the children who need toddler seats. Second, once we finally arrived, we went to the ticket booth which actually ran smoothly but there was unfortunately nothing to see there. Only option of restrooms were port-a-potties which were clearly not cleaned not was there lighting inside or near the toilets ( i don't know how the other families used this facility). There was a blow up Christmas tree with no lights, and really it was barely lit up. We walk down a very steep hill to get to the bottom of the hill and was quickly guided to wait in a pitch black area with the other passengers awaiting the train. Third, we finally got onto the train and we see that we have the nose-bleed seats, which are up above all the "action". We barely saw anything that was going on and got to see the top of santa's head, as well as the chefs who delivered hot chocolate and one cookie per child. Fourth, the "action" that I was talking about was very weak, and there was an audio of the polar express story going on as the kids and adults were getting nauseous from the heat and the motion of the train. There was no sing-alongs, nor a clear focus on what the staff were doing. They also had the balls to charge us for stuffed animals to buy, and we had to pay for our pictures to be taken on the train with Santa. Sadly, those weren't even all the low-lights but i figured you get the picture. I will never go here again and this was a big waste of money. I should have read these YELP reviews before i purchased the tickets because i would have never bought it. Lesson Learned. read more

I want to start out with the positives. This is a beautiful train and all of this is run by volunteers. I love having the chance for my kids to experience things like this so we try to support anything like this when we can. The people working there are for the most part, very helpful and friendly. We have been on other "Polar Express" trains (namely the one in New Hope) and I'm using this as a basis of comparison. The trains are nicely decorated with Christmas lights, the excitement of the kids is exciting for everyone to see, the people singing on the train were fun along with the juggler and Santa was quite nice to all of the kids and took pictures with each one. The cost of the tickets are less than the New Hope train. I think in general, most families will have a fun day out on this excursion and I hope people do so that they will continue to run in the future. That being said, there were some things that will make me stick with New Hope's version of the Polar Express! Most of the differences were fairly minor, but they stood out enough to make me prefer one over the other. The train was chaotic, almost maniacal at times. The cars were PACKED and the noise level was insane. Again, I've been on other crowded Polar Express trains, doing the same activities, but something about this train just made all the adults want to run from it by the end! It was SO, SO hot on the train and none of the windows opened. That alone made some of us feel overwhelmed and overheated. Babyish though it may be, it was kind of a let-down that only the kids got hot chocolate and cookies. On the NH train, everyone gets them and somehow that just lifts everyone's moods, young and old alike. The cup of hot cocoa the kids were given was barely warm (fine, since most are little and they can't have it too hot anyway) but it's also filled only half-way up. Believe me, the kids noticed. :) They had some extra cups at the end of the car and started letting some adults have them. A woman passed them out to some grown ups randomly and she was passing my brother so he asked if he could have one and she handed one to him and barked "Pajamas next time!!!". (Many kids wear their jammies and a few adults). What made that worse than just being rude, was that she gave cups to other adults that were not wearing pajamas. Weird....but rude! I know it's a fun train ride, and you would think that length would be a positive. But overall, this train ride was just too long for the age group it had aboard. The trip outward was a bit over an hour and it was about 45 minutes back. There just came a point where all the kids were restless and the parents were quite ready to get back as well. I had read reviews of both this train ride and New Hope's and many people said this one was so much better because it was more scenic and the ride itself was more enjoyable. I have to disagree, at least for this ride. We took the 4 pm ride so we could see some scenery but also get the magical feeling of nighttime on the train with the lights. So perhaps I missed something on the latter half of the ride. Yes, the train follows the Delaware River on one side.....but the other side was the backs of houses and people's yards, just like New Hope. And unlike NH, many spots along the way looked litter filled and we even a make-shift camping spot for who knows...but it just wasn't anything to write home about. I know the train company can't account for everything along the way, and it's not their fault, but it just wasn't any nicer the other view. Again, overall it was a nice ride and the kids had fun. I would probably choose a different option next time....but try it yourself and see what you think. Merry Christmas! read more

Dirty and cold! We went for the Polar Express. Spent a small fortune on the tickets (in June) and we were hugely disappointed! The bathrooms were gross. The train was freezing. We had to keep our winter jackets on for 2 hours. Pictures took forever to get And were $40 for a picture with Santa. We won't be doing this again! read more

First time riding the train. My dad was excited to ride a steam train and take pictures of it, but they (without warning) put us on a diesel. The view from the train was underwhelming on both sides.The river wasn't anything special, and the other side was buildings and work yards. The train moved at a slow pace (probably 10mph). The stops seemed like fun activities for young children, so there were lots of loud children. We didn't really have any memorable interactions with staff, so can't speak negatively or positively of that aspect. In general, it seems like a fun idea for those with young kids, but not anyone older. read more

Disappointed, did not live up to expectations and NOT worth the $40. The train ride was 20 minutes, the train is old and the trip along the river was not narrated as advertised. We were transported to & from the train to the vineyard on an old yellow school bus which was most uncomfortable for an adult. The time at the vineyard was brief and rushed. We were not given a tour of the actual process as to how the wine is processed and aged. The tastings were little more than a shot glass pour and we were not given water to rinse out the glass between tastings. They did serve small bites to pair with the wine but they weren't very good. After a brief talk we were rushed to submit an order and quickly rushed back to the bus. The winery also tried to charge an additional $2 if you wanted to keep the souvenir wine glass which was advertised as included in the tour. It could have been so much more enjoyable if they provided additional amenities like music during the seating, not rush through the tasting & larger pours. Til then....if you are an oenophile, find another tour. read more