Not what my family expected, no hot chocolate/cookies as advertised. Santa came aboard at the North Pole stop, other wise it was just a train ride around town "dark". There was a little boy who asked if hot chocolate was going to be severed however the crew just acted like they didn't hear him. I was going say something but my wife told me not to. Will try another winter Christmas ride next time. Love the town of Ely... read more

First off, this whole experience gets 5 stars from me. Just for the sheer fact that it's magical & I got joy out of seeing how excited my daughter was, as well as the fellow passengers & children :-) Normally I'm not a huge Christmas guy. I've always been more of a Grinch. However, when I see the joy that my daughter gets out of Christmas, it just melts the ice from around my heart. Needless to say, I was excited about my first trip to the North Pole! It started off fairly slow & we switched tracks a few times, in order to make the right connection to the magical set of tracks that whisk you away to the North Pole. Along the way, cookies & hot cocoa are passed out. Also, the Conductor reads the Polar Express story along the way. My daughter was even tasked as a bell ringer to assist in the storytelling. By the time the story was finished, we had arrived! (This portion of the review has been redacted, due to the classified & sensitive nature of our location & to protect Mr. C) After departing the North Pole, the amazing volunteer staff lead us all in chorus of Christmas carols, as well as taking requests for carols. My daughter requested her favorite, Feliz Navidad. But, sadly, our fellow carolers, to include the staff had never sung it before. Lol, so needless to say, we butchered the heck out of it. However, we had a lot of fun doing so :-D Overall, this is a really neat experience. It was well worth the 3.5 hour drive from Vegas. Granted, there could be some things done to improve the whole production. However, I realize that they do the best with what they have. These wonderful people volunteer their own time & utilize whatever donations & funds from memberships, as well as ticket sales for other attractions. There is a donation box located on the train. You have to look for it though, because they won't ask. So, do a noble thing & help preserve a little of our great history, as well as a wonderful holiday experience :-) Also, stick around & check out the town of Ely. They have some great historic buildings. I will definitely be back for another visit. read more

See all

This is the worst trains we have ever took and we have taken several in Utah and NV. There was no energy and the staff sitting at the table on their cellphone's the whole trip. No one was gong around interactings with the passengers. Hot chocolate was brown water and served before we got out of the train station. It was very disappointing, depressing and a waste of money. Plus we brought my friend father on this trip who was 92 and he was so disappointed it was very saddening. The only ones on the staff who seemed to care was the good santa and the conductor. read more

Polar Express - Train Stations Near Me - Ely, Nevada

We came in from Vegas to experience the Polar Express train. We booked a 4:30 departure and arrived about 3:50 as the lines started forming. There is about 3 cars that start loading about 15 minutes prior to departure from two lines. Once loaded and seated, the train will start moving at a glacial pace, forward then backward then forward again as they rotate to the correct tracks. During this time cookies and hot chocolate is served as Christmas music plays. Once on your way, the pace still remaining pretty slow, the Polar Express book is narrated over the intercom while the conductors and his helpers walk up the aisle showing you the illustrations of the book. This is followed by more Christmas music until you arrive at the North Pole. Here you will pause while Santa boards the train. The train will sit here until he is able to greet each child on board and provide them with a bell. You will then make your way back to the station at a much quicker pace than before which will wrap up your 1.5 hour trip. The staff is so great and makes this a special experience for the kids, not to mention the light in their eyes at a little one on one time with Santa. The only things that I was a little bummed about was the lack of being able to see very much scenery since it was already dark. There were occasional houses that were lit, but nothing to write home about. Also, behind the North Pole, my daughter could see the sign that said the Nevada Hotel. She wondered how we could be at the North Pole when the signs still said Nevada. Eek! I also expected to maybe have more of a train ride rather than going up the tracks just to stop and come straight back. It does get a bit chilly on the train as it starts going as well and would recommend maybe a blanket for your legs. It seemed pretty warm and well heated as people were boarding but will chill down as you travel. All the cars are enclosed. read more

Love the Polar Express. The whole family wore pjs. Hot chocolate and a giant cookie. The servers were great. Got everyone singing hot hot hot and dancing. Lots of fun! read more

Amazing experience absolutely loved it! But the town only has 1 family friendly restaurant. My biggest warning is DO NOT STAY AT THE PROSPECTOR HOTEL! They charged us $50 for smoking in the room and we dont even smoke. The manager was outrageously rude and unprofessional. But polar express was amazing! read more

Our two boys of 3 and 5 were so excited throughout the entire experience and it was such a joy to see all the staff play their parts and get the entire train involved. We sang, danced, ate cookies, drank hot chocolate, met Santa, and rang our bells all in a marvelous setting of the old fashioned train (it's only a steam engine train in February, we went in December). Santa was very personable with each individual and gave each child ample amount of time and conversation. We were appreciative of everything that was done for our large group of 9, but were disappointed that the train ride was slow and didn't even get out of town. The North Pole left our five year old asking questions: "Why was it so small? Why was there a pool next to it? Why didn't we go very far? That isn't the real North Pole, is it?" We let him know it was magic how we got there and are figuring out ways to answer his questions as we go. We drove over 8 hours for this and expected to at least get somewhere and see things other then the town of Ely. We really enjoyed the complimentary train museum, that was amazing! The experience itself was pretty great for the kids, but we were definitely feeling mislead by the advertising and wish we would've been able to take a nighttime ride to hide the North Pole surroundings instead because of our child's confusion. read more

See all