This was an enjoyable experience yet you can tell they are short staffed and overworked servers. Be kind. Worth noting: you are on long train with 3-4 different experiences and it seems you get different things depending on what you paid for. The my may have a tea, beer train, wine train, etc. We were in the back of the train and got the slowest service and stuck in a car with no AC. Ended up on the open air car and it was nicer. you might be better off paying for the base price; buy a drink or two and call it a day. Don't expect gourmet food here; bring a picnic and eat outside before/after your trip. read more

River Fox Train - Charcuterie board! - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

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Boba Tea train: There were a number of issues with this excursion. First off, most of the tea samples came with little to no ice and were somewhat warm. This made some of the undrinkable. Others were somewhat warm cloyingly sweet as to be unpleasant. Overall, though both of us are fans of boba tea- we would suggest a different vendor or more training for the staff preparing the samples. Roughly half of the flavors were not good at all. Additionally, they listed "boozy" flavors on the menu but never said anything about how to get those or whether they were included. Second problem- we preordered dumplings as did apparently a LOT of people. There were no dumplings on the train, only rice bowls. Furthermore- the waitress didn't know what we were talking about when we mentioned having preordered food. At least half of the tables in our car had preordered dumplings and were very disappointed. There was no information on how to obtain a refund if we didn't want the substitute of a rice bowl. About halfway through our trip, the train lost power which included lights, air conditioning, and the ability to flush toilets. Power stayed off with no explanation for more than 15 minutes, causing the car to become very warm and stuffy. Overall, this excursion suffered from lack of communication, lack of staff training, lack of preparation on the part of the organizers. Given the cost, I would not recommend this. read more

River Fox Train - Menu for boba tea excursion - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

I was disappointed with this experience and do not feel it was worth the $105 ticket price. The train ride lasted about two hours, but the food and beverage service did not meet expectations. Dessert consisted of a very small piece of cheesecake (about the size of a quarter) and a single scone. The sandwiches were finger-sized and limited to chicken salad or cucumber. While additional sandwiches were available, the portions were still quite small for the cost of the experience. If you are seated near the front of the car, it becomes very warm during the ride. Tea service was another disappointment. Tea was served using individual tea bags, and service was slow. During the entire two-hour trip, I was only able to get two cups of tea. For my second cup, I had to actively search for the server because they did not come through the car frequently. Overall, the experience felt overpriced for what was provided. The scenery was enjoyable, but the food portions, beverage service, did not justify the cost. read more

Great customer service. Pleasant experience! Safe ride! Beautiful train route . Conductor skilled. Would definitely do it again read more

River Fox Train - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

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Our family of 12 did the River Fox Rail Cars together and we had a blast!! Anthony (Mgr) and Marcos (our guide) were incredibly accommodating- and by the time we finished our ride along the River, we felt like they were part of our family! Reasonable prices and such a fun day! (Note: we aged from teens to senior citizens) read more

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Did this Boba Train today. Paid for the VIP deal and didn't get to try all of these . Asked four times about trying the ones with alcohol in them. 3 of the times was told "we will run this over for you." Last time I asked was told oh you would have to walk to the bar to get it. Walked over to the first bar. No one is there. Go back to speak with someone about the bar...was finally told oh it's the other one all the way done. Okay me and a friend walk down there. Noticed while walking through the train cars other people not in VIP had gotten other selections of boba drinks.. so odd the same drinks were not given out. Got to the correct bar area.. Bartender is friendly but being honest dirty as all get out, fingernails were filthy like actual dirty all around the fingernails asked about the drinks prior to noticing that. Only could make one drink. 10.50 each , I don't think there was a drop of alcohol added in it. Also ordered the beef rice dish and sauce was brought out 20-30 minutes into eating it. Disorganized and disappointing. Air conditioned train cars definitely on the chilly side so if you go in the summer time bring a thin sweater.. read more

River Fox Train - Menu of Boba drinks expected to try out - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

Holiday train review - Absolutely spectacular and warm heartening experience for our 3 and 4 year old girls! I don't know what other low rating patrons are expecting... fireworks? High class service? Jazz band playing in every train car with speakers interconnected? We came expecting nothing and ended up having an incredible experience with beautiful decorations well suited for a sweet, memorable Christmas train experience. Online reservations were simple, easy to obtain, and a lot more affordable compared to the exorbant Polar Express tickets. We're extremely happy that we chose this over Sacramento's Polar Express. It's obvious that their staff spent a lot of time putting work into the trains inner and outter decor - beautiful and creative! Parents and adults FYI - on your way to your reserved train car, there's a small bar after boarding the train. It's very important to load up on your magic drinks before heading to your seat. (Drinks.. not drink! But drink responsibly, of course.) Parking isn't far and although limited, it shouldn't be a problem with reservations handled appropriately. We sang a few Christmas songs with the elves, threw snowballs at the grinch (best part, IMO), met Santa, and had a little fun at Santa's (little) village after the ride. Every sip of their hot cocoa (included with your tickets) was warming and delicious, perfect for cold weather. Couple of cookies came along with it, perfect for our kids to snack on. Overall, this was an incredible experience for our kids! Service was fantastic, ambiance was very jolly and felt like home, staff members are very friendly, and the experience is fantastic for all occasions - family, friends, and dates! The memories are ever lasting and hopefully it becomes a core memory that lasts a lifetime. Highly recommended to experience, at least once, for your little loved ones. We'll be back next year! read more

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So I have been eyeing riding on one of these rail cars for a while. For my husband's recent birthday I booked us a real car for 10 AM on a Monday morning, which happened to be his actual birthday. So I didn't tell him where we were going and we just headed out to West Sac. OK here I need to put a note: be smarter than me and actually look where in West Sacramento this is. It is way out in the country part so it does take a little longer to get there than I thought. Again, learned from my mistake and map it out before you have to go because you do have to be on time otherwise you might miss a ride. also, it's a little odd when you get there to figure out where you need to go. Once we park the car, we wandered around a little bit until we found the place where we needed to check in. Luckily there was only one other person riding on a Monday morning at 10 AM so we were good. Once you get there and check in, they take you down to the rail cars. There you have to wear a helmet, so leave your hats in the car. Otherwise, you might be running after your hat that you put in the basket because it flies away from the strong winds that are out there on the rail I also suggest you don't wear baggy pants like I did, because they can get caught in the pedals. I had to hitch my pants over my knees. They show you how to set the carts so you can either pedal hard or light, or you can even switch it over so you don't have to pedal at all. This is a two person ride. In our case, there was only one other set of riders, so it wasn't a big deal trying to keep distance from each other. This is a beautiful ride on the edge of the river and threw some of the ranches down in that area. Right now in the fall it is so gorgeous, and 10 AM in the morning is perfect. It's not too hot and not too cold. Actually, I would even love to be able to book one of these just by myself because it is so relaxing to just pedal along the trail . But you do have to keep up with the guides and the people around you. I like to lollygag. After about 5 miles you stop for a minute and they turn the cars around and you pedal back. I feel like we're definitely going to do this again. read more

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First visit having received gift card for rail bike ride. Booked online. Roughly $68 per person. Rail bike has two seats. Several time options. Selected earlier morning 10 am since temps would be comfortable. The grounds appear family friendly with picnic tables, games, installation of bocce court in progress and looks like putt putt in progress. Gold panning and an overall western type theme. There is a pre ride gathering in which two rail bike guides make sure you know how to use features like power assist and brake. As well as seatbelts and they provide bike helmets but we brought our own. They have a snack bag with waters and chips and stickers. Off and riding as you go in a group with about 8 other rail bikes. Appears most use the electronic assist and we chose to pedal. It was peaceful, you actually cross major street and they use crossing signals and track arms to close off traffic as if we are a real train. Ride is about 7 miles out and back and :60 min. Most of scenery is farm fields. They do a turn around of bikes at 3.5miles. Enjoyable hour. They do have the train options too. It's not about sightseeing but more about being on train tracks. read more

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They ran behind on time and we missed the best kid entertainment, the snowball fight. Also don't consider the reduced cost do the extra driving distance from old town worthwhile...not a big deal if you're driving in anyway but we stayed in old town. A few more items I didn't care for: Train was so long, I felt trapped once seated One of our booths was double booked Hot chocolate was SO HOT Train was slow and pretty boring I did like the scenery thru the countryside. Kids did still like the experience with their cousins. read more

I got a post card in the mail with a community event for River Fox Train . It said kids ride free I thought wow that's a good deal . I had been wanting to go on this train for a while now. I figured it would be a good time to attend this one . When it's a community event kids ride free there is a two kids limit. They have a lot of multiple different events that sound really cool as well. When we first arrived to the destination, there was plenty of parking for us to park at. We did a little short walk to the train station to get our boarding passes. The train is huge and very nice. They had one side of the train where they sold snacks and did face painting for about five dollars. My son really enjoyed the face painting. The train offers outside seating and inside you could pretty much walk around. When my son and I sat in the inside, they had a lot of board games.. We had a great time under the AC playing board games for a while. The outside area is really nice. They had a cocktail bar and also a wine bar outside for purchase. The views from the outside is really cool. They had some really nice convenient bathrooms inside as well. Once the train ride was over, they had a nice outside area with picnic tables and a bouncy house for the kiddos . Overall this was a great experience to be in a old train like that . My son and I loved it . I gave it a 4 stars because I heard the workers saying bad words and it was a kids event . They were really nice just not as professional. Small minor thing Ioverall I would definitely go back again... read more

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Hello! I bought two VIP tickets for the Boba Tea Train on Saturday, June 20th. It was a gift for my mother. I also Pre-ordered a veggie and. Chicken dumpling meal for us to enjoy while tasting the teas. We were both excited so we didn't eat before boarding the train. Neither of us had huge appetites so the dumplings would have been perfect for nibbling on as we tasted the tea. While some tea tasted great, they varied on if they had ice or not. I've never had warm boba tea before, and after this experience I wouldn't recommend it. Some flavors were too strong and tasted more like it was mostly syrup and not diluted with lemonade or tea. The dumplings? Apparently they didn't have them. The server had no idea people could pre order meals, and seemed extremely confused about even the idea od dumplings. Im assuming they havent been on the train. They offered a rice bowl, but its not really the nibble kind of snack we wanted. Then, in our VIP train experience with "climate guaranteed" seating, the power went out. We are in an enclosed space because my mom is also pretty sensitive to Cottonwood, which you could see was very active from the window. So we were warm, with warm tea, no nibbles, and apprently people couldn't flush the toilet with the power out. We were told we'd at least get a refund for the food, and that never happened. I am extremely upset and disappointed that my gift to mom was such a disaster. read more

If you had $100 you want to throw away. You can come here. This was, by far, one of the worst afternoon tea experiences in my life. I wouldn't even consider this an afternoon tea tbh. The train ride is 2 hours long. The tea did come until about 40 minutes into the train ride. They have TWO tiny sandwiches for our table of 4 people. The amount of food given is per table and not per person even though you are paying per person. Second came the scones. They gave us all one piece. The sides did not come with clotted cream, only jam. Lastly, they brought us the dessert. One mini cold pie per table. The food is probably worth less than $5 total and we paid $400+. The tea pot is on a tea pot warmer that doesn't fit properly. Truly a lawsuit waiting to happen. The tea pot kept tipping off of the tea pot warmer so we opted out of using the tea pot warmer. They put the afternoon tea tier plate on our table but never used it. The quality feels like it is from Temu. The ride was not very smooth either. Please do not come here for the afternoon tea. You will be super disappointed and scammed. read more

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Me and my partner did the boba train and it was such an amazing event! It was really cute and nice and they had many different flavors to try from and the boba was fresh. The staff were super friendly and helpful! I would recommend definitely doing it at least once! read more

River Fox Train - The view of the outside while riding the train when sitting on the outside area. - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

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Jan 3, 2026 My husband and I did the 2p-4p Afternoon Tea. Where do I start. Service: Was bad...very bad. Horrendous. They seem really really young and not sure how to do "service". Service starts from the top. Leadership is lacking. It was chaotic at best. The only person that was safe was the bartender from the beginning to serve Champagne. Food: The website said what was included "tea pot per person, a tower of bites, scones with jam/cream, treat/cakes". We only received 1 pot (which took over an 1hr), scones were served first (bare hands) with barely any jam or clotted cream. We got 1 sandwich cut in 4 small corners, so pathetic. Never received our Tower nor our cakes. Unacceptable for $95pp. We've experienced local Afternoon Tea places in the Bay Area and abroad in Europe. This was by far the worst. Most embarrassing. Thank god we didn't invite our friends, we thought this would be a special day for us. At the end, everyone in our carriage marched over to see the General Mgr., Anthony? He said he was embarrassed for the service we received and will refund everyone. All of our names were taken on a clipboard. We were also asked to come back to make up for the bad experience. I will leave this review until otherwise. For right now, I DO NOT recommend the Afternoon Tea train!!! I recommend the RoyalTEA Garden in Pleasanton for a proper English tea service. read more

River Fox Train - Our small tea sandwiches that were served. Not on a tower. - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

River Fox is out off the Old River Rd that runs between West Sacramento and Woodland. There's a gravel parking lot and then a little bit of a walk down a dirt and gravel path to the ticket booth where you check in. Definitely not very accessibility friendly. My grandma had a bit of a difficult time keeping her footing just walking from the parking lot to the ticket booth. The booth and train attendants were both very nice and helpful. They even took our family picture in front of the train before we boarded. Boarding the train and navigating the separate train cars was another accessibility issue. You had to be careful where and how you stepped. As an old train, I imagine that their intention is to keep some of the charm, but no one is going to be charmed by a twisted ankle. We had booked the afternoon tea service on the train. They had a booth reserved for us and the attendants directed us to it. There are bathrooms on the train, so that was convenient since we were eating and drinking. The tea service itself was nice. The scones were delicious, and we enjoyed our teas. It was a pretty presentation as well. The sandwiches were just ok. The bread seemed a bit stale. The smoked salmon was the best out of the three. The sweets course was tasty, however, our server didn't seem to know what desserts we were being served. Apparently they rotate in different ones. They also came around to offer champagne and apple cider as add ons which was fun and comes with plastic souvenir champagne flute. We finished our tea and food before the train even took off, however. There was delay in the tracks with the rail bike excursion getting back late. The train ride takes you parallel to the river and the Old River Road. It was nice but not anything new since I take that way to work all the time! This experience overall felt a little bit under polished and overpriced. I think they can make it a really great experience, but it did feel like something was missing. I am glad we tried it and we had a nice time, but I probably wouldn't rush back to do it again and I would not recommend to anyone with mobility challenges. read more

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A little disappointed and underwhelmed with our experience. Drove 1.5 hours to get here but felt it was worth the drive because my partner is THE biggest Christmas person I know and has always wanted to go on a Christmas train, specifically the Polar Express one. But due to better reviews and after watching videos, I decided to book River Fox "Magical" Christmas Train. First impressions: We loved how each of the cars were decorated with their own theme. They were super cute! Check in was easy and one of the elves escorted us to our car. Took a bit to get served Hot Cocoa and Cookies... more like Luke warm cocoa and I jokingly said the cookies were from Costco lol. We didn't take off moving til about 10 min after. I was waiting for someone to play music or entertain... not knowing what to expect I told my partner based on previous reviews and videos what to expect and none of this happened. ONE Christmas Carol was sung right before Santa and Mrs Claus entered our car. That's it. No music even played during the ride. They did however do a great job with the Santa they picked and Mrs claus! It was def an overpriced 45 min train ride. I was pretty bummed considering I was so excited to finally take her on a Christmas train and decided on this over Polar Express. Felt bad for the folks that had kids and big groups that I can only imagine spent a pretty penny to bring their little ones. I mean, why not the same experience from previous years? Unfortunately not really worth the cost or time and will not rebook again. read more

Where to begin. We went on the Christmas train ride last year and absolutely loved it. We fully expected to have the same type of experience this year, but we were very wrong. It was boring to say the least. There was silence the first half hour or so followed by minimal interactions. The elf had us sing two songs and we played games, "I spy" and "headbandz" but that was it. We could have done this at home for a cheaper price. The train itself was beautifully decorated, which was the only plus. Last year they had ongoing bingo, a drink menu given at the beginning that served great snacks and drinks, ongoing interactions, a guitarist that helped lead songs, and a super fun snowball fight, all of which was not a part of this year's experience. What's worse is that we went to celebrate my child's second birthday and I asked the elf and Santa Claus if they could sing happy birthday but got ignored. Last year, the whole train sang for my son. I know it's not required, but at least acknowledge what I'm asking.. I had considered making the train ride a birthday tradition. Not anymore I wrote to the company and got an extremely snarky email in response. In some ways, I actually preferred this experience over polar express. But we will not be going back next year unless they make changes and revert to what seemed to be working. Until then I recommend saving your money. We spent close to $300 but did not find it worth it. read more

Las year my sister and I went with our kids and our mom to the river fox train for the Christmas experience and it was great! As soon as we sat down there were menus with drink and snack options which was great. We also played bingo and the elf assigned to our car was very cheerful and interactive. They even had a guy on a guitar walk around through the cars playing in his guitar singing Christmas songs! We also had a fake snowball fight which the kids loved! However, we did NOT get the same experience this year. -no menu -no bingo -no guitar player -no snowball fight -no so festive elf It's like they decided to take the Christmas magic away this year. It was incredibly boring and when Santa came at the end, it felt rushed. At the end of the train ride, we sat for 5 maybe 10 minutes before we found out we could get off. It felt very disorganized. Also, when we were finally leaving, we were met with someone who was in a grinch costume. My 3 year-old flipped out and was crying and it took the Grinch way too long to walk all the way down to the end of the car and out of sight for us to leave. We were literally holding people back because it was so narrow that no one could get around us. They definitely need to rethink the grinch, amongst all their other changes. It was so disappointing in a complete rip off. Now I know why the Polar express train sells out so far in advance. It seems like they have it together. read more

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Had a party of 8 for the afternoon tea train today. I was skeptical due to some of the reviews I read on here but can say our experience was amazing! We were able to ask for more sandwiches, tea, scones or whatever we needed. Our server, Sophia was responsible for the whole train car and made sure all tables had what we needed. We will definitely try some of their other excursions. read more

River Fox Train - My very picky daughter loved the chicken salad sandwiches and they were nice enough to tell us how it was made so we can make it at home. - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

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We attended the Valentine's Train event and, for the price, it was just okay. The overall experience felt a bit disorganized and underwhelming. Service was subpar, and while the concept is fun, it leaned more cheesy than charming. The food itself was decent, but the experience from seating to departure felt chaotic. After a very small pour of prosecco, there was little to no service for about 45 minutes. Although a formal drink order was taken, our drinks didn't arrive until we were nearly back at the station -- with only about five minutes left in the ride. Overall, it has potential, but the execution didn't quite match the cost or expectations. read more

We were NEVER SERVED ANY FOOD during our 2-hour Tea Train and could barely get water. About 30 minutes after boarding we were given hot water but no tea bags. We eventually found our own. Refills of hot water, cream, and drinking water required chasing down staff. After 45 minutes we began asking where the food was, while people in another section of the car had already ordered and eaten their meals. Staff kept saying the food would come "soon." It never did. At 1 hour 45 minutes the staff disappeared, and the train returned to the station at 2 hours. No food and no explanation. I had to insist on speaking with a manager and got a refund. I still don't understand how this could happen. read more

My family did the Fox River Holiday Train last year and it was magical: friendly elves, crafts, bingo with prizes, guitar music, Santa letters, and even a snowball fight. The elves were festive and engaging, the cookies gave the appearance of homemade, and the whole experience was organized and joyful. Last year the experience was 5 stars. This review is for this year because it was the complete opposite. No greeting elves (the car was empty other than guests and I had to ask another guest what the car was called), no crafts, no games, no music, and barely any singing. The website advertised "elvish games" and help writing letters to Santa, but none of that happened. The elf who did sing read off a paper and couldn't be heard throughout the car. The ride was dull and unorganized, and Santa didn't come when we were told to sing to bring him to the car. Even the cookies were just store-bought in plastic wrappers. If you're expecting the magic from last year, this is NOT the same event. Very disappointing, and I hope they bring back the activities that made it special. Everyone was nice but the experience was really lacking. I emailed the company and complained and they provided the attached response. I think this is important because it shows they do not plan to make updates in the future. The "cutting costs" from last year they describe was literally a paper bag reindeer craft, someone on guitar singing carols, a fake snowball fight, bingo game with cheap prizes. The guitarist would be the most expensive cost of the activities they cut. They added a small bounce house to the village and quite a few small snow blowers. However, we paid for a fun festive train ride like last year, not outdoor play. Lastly, they mention in their response to me: "We have done our best to make sure that guests are informed that this is a newly reimagined experience." I received no email or communication about this before hand and see nothing on their Facebook page. read more

River Fox Train - Message from management regarding our experience. - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

This was the first time going and I will say that all the kids ages 8,6,5 & 3 all loved the experience. They had smiles on their faces and were entertained the whole time. It was not as fancy or as organized as some places but the staff were nice and giving it their best. I had low expectations and I my kids love it. Having booze on the train also helped. read more

River Fox Train - Outside the train - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

Valentine's Day 2026: So low budget it felt like a scam. I can't believe I spent this much on cold airplane food, bad service, underwhelming views, strange/unprofessional staff, old grungy table cloths, and a train car with extensive water damage. Parts of the wood are literally black from old leaks. I can't believe I ate in there. It took ONE HOUR to get people there drinks. Then the food finally came about 1.5 hours into the 2 hour train ride. The worst part is how much I paid out of my own pocket to get such a tacky, gross, and just plain weird experience. Honestly I feel disrespected at the price I paid. Lots of uncertainty and frustration amongst the guests. You could see it.. On a lighter note, at least we laughed the whole way home at how much of a clown show this operation is. Just WOW... read more

River Fox Train - Dinner for two and a $382 view - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

Afternoon tea train, El Capitan, the ac is broken. The general manager that was on our train the male in his late 50's was all over the place. They said the AC would be getting going but it never did. It was impossible to get any of the servers. When the server came by to bring us water, the general manger grabs the water from our table and helps another while only filling 2 out of 4 cups. Terrible service. Ran out of food in the first 30 mins. Never got any refills, never received any new tea, waste of money! Only great server was the lady in the black t shirt polo with the ear piercings(dread locks), she was the only one that was able to serve us. Wasted $80 a person.... read more

This review is specifically for the afternoon tea experience, which I would give 2 stars. The third star is for the great response I received based on my feedback. Starting with the cost, afternoon tea on the River Fox is about $100 per person. To put this in perspective, the other places I have reviewed in town are around $60 for their highest level of service, and The Pump Room and Fortnum and Mason in England (both high quality, monarch-visited tea rooms) are around $100. So while I knew part of the cost was for the train, I figured the food and tea would be at least comparable to the other places in town. When we first got on the train, our car wasn't ready for us, so we were waiting in a different car for a while, which although not ideal, was nice since it was hot outside and that particular car was very well air-conditioned. When we got back to the tea car, it was not as cool, but since it was not too hot a day, it was not bad either. My first main surprise was the speed (or lack thereof) of service. It took about 30 minutes after the train started moving (about 40 minutes after we got to the car) to get water. We actually got our scones even a few minutes before the water. I have to pause the critiques to say these were definitely some of the best scones I have ever had. One of us got the cinnamon and the other got blueberry. As I have said at other places, I do wish there were 2 scones per person like it is in England, but my friend and I were able to split them since they were a good size and both were amazing. It was about another 10-15 minutes before our tea orders were taken, and then took a while to get that. Note that there were only 10 of us there for the afternoon tea, and all the tea was in tea bags, so there was no major need for the water and tea service to take so long. And since this was meant to be an afternoon tea, I was expecting that, like everywhere else I have had tea, we would get tea within a few minutes of being seated. They did have a small, but decent tea selection, and there was enough time that everyone got to try two teas, which was nice and different from some other places. It just would have been nicer to not have to drink two pots of tea in one hour and have had them spread out over the two hour ride. The sandwiches were okay. My friend reported the egg sandwich was a bit heavy on the mustard. The cucumber sandwich was delicious. The smoked salmon was good, but there was very little salmon in them. My complaint about the sandwiches is they were much too small. Similarly, the desserts were cute and tasty, but very small. Usually we are full and cannot eat the rest of the day after tea, but we were needing to look up places to eat on the ride back because we realized we were definitely going to be hungry shortly. After the ride, they did reach out via email for a survey. I submitted it, not thinking they would read it, but in less than 24 hours I had a thoughtful response from the general manager (who perhaps is the owner? His last name is Fox, but that could be a coincidence). This is a relatively new service they have going, and it seems like he really wants to make this a special experience. I will definitely come back in a few months (once it's cooled down a bit and they've had a chance to make changes) and post an update, which I believe will be much more positive. But in the meantime it is more of a mediocre experience that needs a little work. The potential is there, just the timing and amount of food needs to be updated. read more

DO NOT PAY FOR THIS HOLIDAY TRAIN. We were extremely disappointed. The Christmas spirit was basically nonexistent. The "elves" came through our car once, sang a single song, and didn't engage with the kids at all, no games, no interaction, nothing festive. Music? No music, and it was soooo hot and musky , no air. Santa was a total letdown and felt rushed and disengaged. This felt like a Temu version of what could have been a magical experience for families. Especially frustrating because I've heard last year was amazing. so what changed? This year felt poorly planned, understaffed, and unenthusiastic. Management needs a complete reset if they plan to do this again next year. Save your money read more

We took the afternoon tea train today. Not what was advertised. One pot of tea for the table, cold scones and stale sandwiches. There was no "tower of treats", no macarons. A pot of tea had one single cup teabag. So disappointed. read more

I attended the River Fox Train Holiday Experience on December 17, 2025 with my three-year-old, five-year-old, and teenager. My wife also attended the River Fox holiday train about a week earlier with just our teenager, and her experience is also reflected in this review. This holiday train is marketed as a magical and festive experience for children. Based on our experience, that description does not align with what is actually delivered. Overall, the experience was significantly underwhelming, particularly given the price and the way it is promoted to families. We waited a considerable amount of time to board, well after the scheduled departure time. Delays can happen, and that alone would not have been an issue, but once we were on board, the lack of activity and atmosphere became apparent. The train cars were decorated decently, which was a positive. However, for roughly the first 30 to 40 minutes of the ride, the experience consisted almost entirely of sitting in the train car with no Christmas music, minimal interaction, and dark windows. There was very little happening during this time, which is why we had to rely on our own toys and activities to keep our younger children entertained. At night, there is also very little to see outside, so children are essentially just sitting in place. An "elf" character/server came through the car and provided some basic interaction and later assisted with drinks. While friendly enough, the level of engagement was limited. Later in the ride, there was a brief sing-along carol, consisting of about three songs total, which was only semi-engaging and fairly short. Hot chocolate was served at one point, which was decent and came in a festive souvenir cup--this was one of the better parts of the experience. "Grandma's cookies" were also provided, though they were unremarkable. For children, the only structured activity offered was a single one-page coloring sheet and a couple of crayons, which did not hold their attention for long. Fortunately, my wife had already attended the experience the week prior with our teenager and warned us that it was fairly boring. Because of that, we came prepared with toys and small activities for our younger kids. Without that preparation, the experience would have been difficult for them. While being on a train is somewhat novel for younger children, the novelty wears off quickly without meaningful entertainment or festive elements. Toward the end of the ride, Santa and Mrs. Claus came through the train and spent about a minute or two at each table. Santa looked fairly authentic, which was nice, and this was one of the highlights, though the interaction was brief. Cost is a major factor. Tickets were approximately $70 per person, and we paid nearly $400 for our family of five. At that price point, the experience should offer significantly more in terms of atmosphere, engagement, and overall holiday value. My wife also noted that on her earlier visit, our teenager purchased two apple ciders that were essentially watered-down apple juice, not hot, and cost $11 each. That felt overpriced for the quality provided. As we were departing, we observed another family speaking with a manager and expressing disappointment with their experience, including limited interaction from staff. This suggests our experience was not isolated. For families considering this experience: if you decide to go, bring your own games or activities, and consider attending during the daytime, when there may at least be something visible outside the windows. At night, there is no holiday village or scenery to look at, which further limits the experience for kids. In summary, this was not a magical holiday train experience, and I cannot genuinely recommend it to families unless they go in with very low expectations and are prepared to create the entertainment themselves. Based on reviews, it appears this experience may have been better in prior years, but as of December 2025, the holiday train needs a substantial improvement in programming, engagement, and overall value to match how it is marketed. read more

This was by far one of the worst afternoon tea experiences I've ever had. After a long walk to reach our seats, we were told hot water would be brought out. It took 40 minutes to receive water that was barely warm and not hot enough to steep tea. I was seated directly in front of the hot water dispenser and could clearly see that it wasn't even up to temperature for nearly an hour. Even once it was "ready," the water remained lukewarm. The tea service was sloppy and poorly planned. Guests were handed tea bags instead of a proper presentation, and there were not enough tea baskets to go around. Staff reused baskets from table to table, resulting in people receiving teas that others had already passed on. There was only one desirable tea option; the rest were cheap, low-quality brands you could find at a discount grocery store. The food was just as disappointing. We were served two burnt scones that were black on the bottom and completely inedible. Replacements were brought, but they were cold and average at best--still somehow the highlight of the meal. The tea sandwiches were hard and stale, clearly made far in advance. The pear and brie sandwiches were sliced so thin they had almost no filling, and the cucumber sandwiches were only tolerable after removing one side of the rock-hard bread. The train ride itself offered nothing scenic--just views of tractor trailers, unused machinery, and random equipment. This experience was meant to celebrate a birthday, and instead it was embarrassing. I ended up apologizing for something I genuinely thought would be special. I would not recommend this to anyone and would not waste my time, money, or appetite here again. If you want an example of how not to execute an afternoon tea service, this is it. read more

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Our family has been riding the Christmas Train for the last several years... like, "my kids talk about it in July" levels of excitement. But this year... oof. I'm not usually one to leave reviews, but this experience was such a letdown that I felt like I had to speak up. A bunch of the things my kids look forward to were just *gone*: no bingo game, no snowball fight, no elf with the guitar serenading us like a festive Ed Sheeran. Those little traditions were always part of the magic, so without them, the whole thing felt a bit... empty. But the real curveball? Santa. This year he had a brown beard, didn't smile, barely interacted, and Mrs. Claus was MIA entirely. My kids were confused, I was confused, and honestly, it sucked the joy right out of what used to be the highlight of the whole event. We've been loyal visitors for years, and we've always loved coming...until now. It just didn't feel like the Christmas Train we knew. Unfortunately, after this experience, we won't be returning. I truly hope this feedback helps bring back some of the magic that made it so special in the past. I also emailed the company last week after our trip and received no response. Big thumbs down! read more

Very disappointing. After reading the write-up on the site, I was excited to go with my 7 year old. It sounded fun and magical! But we experienced none of that. The windows are taped over with black plastic, there are no light displays. There was no music. The elf sang 2 songs - Rudolph to get the train started and another to bring out Santa and Mrs Claus. We got lukewarm hot cocoa and a cookie, nothing else was offered aside from sodas or "extra Christmas cheer" (for a cost). "Santa's Village" had a few soapy bubble snow blowers, straw on the ground and a tiny gift store. There were no festive lights or music. And the only bathrooms were the porta pottys in the parking lot. Way overpriced. A trip to the Christmas tree lot is much more festive. read more

We were so excited to join some family and friends on the train for Christmas, and it was a struggle to say the least. Absolutely no entertainment; our whole car was left on our own with no music, games or real interaction from the elves - it got hot and humid FAST. There were empty plastic cups for hot chocolate on our tables when we sat down, and then the elves took them away to fill them up - after several kids had already slobbered on them, and who knows where those slobbery cups ended up! I heard that in previous years, the cookies and chocolate were already on the table as people were seated. There was a snowball fight as described, but it didn't even start until after the train had already stopped and people were lining up to make their escape. Unlike the Polar Express from Old Sac, there was really nothing to see out the windows - I assumed there would be a North Pole, but the only decoration I saw was a giant inflatable Santa on the side of a barn. read more

I was on the Sunday Dec 7 morning train with my wife and our two grandkids, so it was just about $300 for a pretty dismal one hour ride. From a child's perspective (which means not taking the cost into account), it was what it was: a Christmas-themed train ride, with decorated cars, and hot chocolate served with a packaged chocolate chip cookie. After a thirty minute up and back ride along the Sacramento River, it ended back where it began, with 'snow blowers' blanketing us with what felt like soap suds (not sticky, however) in lieu of real snow. From an adult perspective, it was pretty miserable. Certainly overpriced for what we got, only two elf-led songs (Jingle Bells and Rudolph and two others) in each direction, no music and no Santa, save for the bearded guy in the Santa hat with (it's true) no white beard, who looked like he wished he was anywhere else but there trying to appease the kids with a "what do you want for Christmas?" question as he walked the cars with Mrs. Claus, who tried to put on a nice face during the entire ordeal. If you look up 'meh' in the dictionary, there's a good chance the picture you see will be of this year's ride. This was definitely a swing and a miss. In summary, they're not delivering as promised. To a six or three year old, these things can be explained away, but my recommendation would be to cancel if you can. read more

We been going on the River Fox Train for several years now and always enjoyed it. This year was a terrible ride though, all the songs, crafts, games, etc are gone. You just get on, have hot chocolate, then get off. Santa comes at the very end and didn't interact very much. Not sure what happened to what used to be an amazing ride. Also I looked up what we paid last year vs. this year and prices increased 50% per ticket! So it's significantly more expensive and worse now. Total waste of money at this point. Only reason that it is a 2 star instead of 1 star review is that they did a TON of work to spruce up the train decorations from previous years. I guess all the money for the increased ticket prices went to the lights and decor instead of the music and games. read more

Read lots of reviews that this train was "the best Christmas Train in the area". That's bold since Sacramento has the polar express. This was our first time on the River Fox Christmas Train. It was lack luster at best. When asked if we were going to see decoration out the window the "elf" told us all the actors they used to have had been "poached" and all they would be doing was a few songs and returning to the beginning. So we had an hour long train ride with packaged Grandmas cookies and hot chocolate for $320 for a family of 4. Save your time and money and find something else to do this winter. Because this ain't it. Definitely do not recommend this holiday season. read more

Amazing fun that we will make a tradition every Christmas! The elves treat you like royalty! The Grinch and Santa are one of many highlights! Our elves, Jingle and Bell are phenomenal! Each car is decorated to the hilt for the holidays! read more

River Fox Train - River Fox Christmas Train - Tours Near Me - West Sacramento, California

This review was supposed to be completed back in December, a few months late. We booked the magical train ride and were planning on taking my cousin and her family out, while they were in town for Christmas. Unfortunately, they cancelled their trip out here. So, we made sure we had fun for them. It was an amazing experience. The adults and kids had a lot of fun. They have activities in between. The staff were amazing and the train was so festive. We each had a cookie and hit chocolate. They have the options to purchase alcoholic drinks for the adults. The only down fall is that there is no scenic route and I by the time I got my wine, we were heading back. It's a super short ride. Overall, I would do it again with the family and the kids. Might need to skip the wine. read more

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This review is for the River Fox Magical Christmas Train. Last year (2024), we went on the same train experience and it was wonderful! The $70 per person experience included hot chocolate, cookies, the ability to purchase other drinks/snacks and, most importantly, many fun activities for the kids. We had an amazing "elf" server, there was someone playing live music, whole train cars singing, each train car got to play elf-led Bingo with prizes for the kids, Santa and Mrs. Claus stopped by, and the kids even enjoyed a "snowball" fight at the end. My kids (2 and 4 at the time) plus my cousins' kids (7 and 9 at the time) all absolutely loved it. This year, we couldn't wait to go again with the same group. Unfortunately, though the price was the same as last year, many of the aspects that made the train ride so special were no longer included. There was one "elf" server who simply dropped off hot chocolate at the table but did not bring any of the Christmas cheer we enjoyed last year, there was no person playing the guitar throughout the train, there was no Bingo or other game for the kids beyond coloring, and there was no snowball fight. The train was decorated nicely--and we did get some good pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus--but the difference between the two years was stark. As we were walking off the train, my daughter (five years old) said "Mom, that was pretty boring this year." What a bummer. I hope that next year they will bring back some of the previous activities. read more