Author: HyraxNixus
Welcome back to our Blog! Today, I will be reviewing my experience upon the Great Smokey Mountains Railroad Polar Express Train Ride! In this review, I will go over the history behind the Polar Express, the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad, and my ratings of the experience. So grab your tickets, a cup of hot chocolate, and relax. All Aboard the Polar Express!
History of The Polar Express
The Polar Express is a children’s book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg. It was published by Houghton Mills in 1985. The book would go on to become considered a classic Christmas story for young Children, alongside Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas. The book received great praise for its detailed illustrations and calm, relaxing storyline. Van Allsburg won the annual Caldecott Medal for his work on the book. If you have never read the story, I highly suggest you do so. To avoid any spoilers, I am going to avoid telling you the plot. That is a journey you will have to take yourself.
By 1989, The Polar Express would sell over 1 million copies and make the best-seller list four years in a row. It earned the “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children” vote in 2007 and “Top 100 Picture Books” in a 2012 poll. In 2004, Castle Rock Entertainment would produce a computer- animated Christmas musical fantasy film by the same name. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the movie would go on to release on November 10th 2004 and grossed $286 million worldwide in ticket sales. Shortly after the movie release, a video game was released purely based off the movie during the same year. The train model company of Lionel would start releasing model trains of the Polar Express due to its popularity. The movie would also inspire train rides to pop up all over the United States, Canada, and the UK! Even some theme parks would include a Polar Express experience during their holiday season. The Polar Express would be nominated for 3 Academy Awards, A Golden Globe Award, and Visual Effects Society Award. They would win the Grammy for ‘Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media’ in 2006.
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad
The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad (or GSMR) is a freight and heritage railroad located in Bryson City, North Carolina. As of 1999, they are operated by American Heritage Railways, Inc. Today, the railroad has excursions along the former Southern Railway branch between Bryson City and Dillsboro. As of right now, the GSMR has two steam locomotives (with one currently operational) and soon-to-be seven diesel locomotives. The GSMR owns 53 miles ( or 85 kilometers) of the Murphy Branch that used to be part of the Southern Railway that went from Dillsboro, North Carolina to Andrews, North Carolina. The line was completed in Dillsboro in 1883 and reached Andrews in 1890. GSMR would start operations in 1988 via lease from NCDOT (or North Carolina Department of Transportation). The GSMR route uses a route which passes through ‘fertile valleys, a tunnel and across river gorges’ in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. In December 1999, GSMR was sold to American Heritage Railways and debuted as Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. In addition to running tourist excursions year-round, GSMR has also moved freight via interchange with the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad in Sylva. GSMR runs nearly 1,000 excursions each year! In 2004, GSMR debuted its Polar Express train ride, based on the newly released movie and licensed through Warner Bros. The ride has annually been a major economic boost for the railroad and town of Bryson City. In 2019 alone, GSMR broke all attendance records with over 91,000 people riding the Polar Express excursion alone. In 2008, as a result of recession, GSMR closed their Dillsboro Depot and focused solely on the Bryson City operations. Bryson City would become the new hometown for the railroad with the move of the Administration Offices, though excursions were still running between Dillsboro and Bryson City. Due to COVID outbreak in 2020, GSMR had to suspend operations for a short 3 months before re-opening in June 2020. GSMR also owns and operates the Smoky Mountain Trains Museum located adjacent to the Bryson City depot. The museum features a collection of over 7,000 Lionel model engines, cars and accessories!
The Polar Express Experience
- Tickets And Sales: Rating – N/A
Our Tickets were pre-ordered by my grandparents as part of our Christmas present. According to the website: Prices range for $43 to $93 per person depending on which class car you book. We had received the Crown class tickets, which is the 2nd cheapest above Coach class. Upon arrival, there were signs stating that GSMR required all passengers to wear masks to prevent any outbreaks. GSMR only allows one person per family to claim pre-ordered tickets located in a tent set up by the depot. You will receive your seat ticket and a golden ticket, just like you see in the film. Depending on your boarding time, they tell you to arrive 15-30 minutes ahead of scheduled time. During this time, you are free to explore Bryson City. Once it is time, you are told to stand in a numbered station, going from 1 (by the train depot) to at most 7 or 8 possibly. During the wait for the train, the GSMR would pump music via speakers and use programmed lights to get you into the holiday spirit and keep your mind off the cold. Once the train is close, the staff ask you to stay behind a safety line before asking you to have your tickets ready and present. When the train has stopped and the last ride is fully off, they will allow boarding to start.
- Boarding & Unboarding: Rating – 3 out of 5
Okay, major gripe here. I don’t have a major fear of tight spaces or anything. However, the space between the bathroom and the wall going into the actual train cart is quite a squeeze. You can imagine how you can form a slight fear of claustrophobia with everyone piling in at the same time. Also, taking into consideration the COVID situation at the moment, I feel that they could have done the boarding a bit more smoothly and controlled. Once seated and all were aboard, the train started its journey.
Coming back to the station, I wish they would have done better with the unboarding situation. The major letdown is the tight squeeze to the exit with the huge crowd heading out. Again, a major case of claustrophobia waiting to happen.
- The Journey To North Pole: Rating – 5 out of 5
What is there to say on this? If you ever watch or have read the book, you can feel the spirit of the Polar Express during the whole journey. You are first introduced to your server which would have a holiday themed name (for example: Ours was named Mistletoe!). After everyone shouts their name to be introduced, a small clip from the movie would start going over the intercom and speakers. This would be the “Hot Chocolate” scene , which would be introducing the delicious hot chocolate presented to you by your server. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPWYu94mzhE&feature=emb_logo)
As well as the Hot Chocolate, which is served in a small souvenir coffee cup, you are served some cookies wrapped in a plastic bag. This cookie is about the size of your palm , probably a bit smaller but I swear it is big! I believe the cookie to be a sugar cookie or something that was dusted with cinnamon possibly. Out of my family, I would be the only one who would finish the cookie. The journey would continue forward and include cute tidbits from the movie (for example, the “Hey, you forgot your ticket” scene after the Conductors punch the tickets or the howling of the wolves as you pass over the bridge). I do need to warn that a portion of the journey will be during a time where the lights would ‘shut off due to the cold’ as we got closer to the North Pole section of the ride. The major part of the trip to the North Pole area would be taken up by the reading of the Polar Express book, so make sure to bring your own with you!
- The North Pole – Rating: 5 out of 5
As you approach the North Pole, you would pass through a wall of ice and enter a small town all decked out as the North Pole. The server will give you a small tour of the town, showing you the houses of the characters from the North Pole and a few points of interest. As you go along, you pass the Town Center where Santa is atop his sleigh waving at the kids. Do note that during this time, the train will stop and pick up Santa before continuing on its journey backwards. (Oh… did I forget to mention that the train travels backwards for the journey to the North Pole, then forward back to Bryson City). The train will suddenly come to another pause where there seems to be caribou blocking the passage back. The train would switch gears and start pulling you forward once more. You may notice (if you were not in the front cars that is) that Santa is no longer on his sleigh. The server will go into a panic and run off to look for Santa. The server would come back in a short while and ask everyone if they were on the nice list. If you are on the naughty list, you get called out and told that to get on the Nice List you must do something. (I guess this can depend on the ride and person, but those naughty in our car had to do the chicken dance). WIth everyone now on the nice list and the kids chanting “Santa”, the jolly man walks in to be greeted with loud cheers. Santa will pass out bells to the kids, with some helpers handing out more bells to others.
- The Journey Back To Bryson City- Rating : 4 out of 5
The journey back to Bryson City would continue after Santa’s visit. The server would have you guys play with your bells and sing some Christmas songs. They also like to tell jokes and will sometimes ask for people to share any! The journey back is not as exciting as the journey to the North Pole. You get to see the same scenery passing so I can’t really add that much here not already stated in the previous section. One thing that I can state is that I wish they had put more decorations along the train ride for us to see, as there are parts where you are passing bare spots with nothing to stare at outside the window.
Overall Experience – 17 out of 20 possible
I would definitely suggest you look into booking this incredible experience for your family! What a way to make wonderful Christmas memories! There is a dress code for the ride : pajamas!! Just like the movie, all who board the train are allowed to wear pajamas and robes as part of the experience. I have included the link to the GSMR website so that you may glance at the prices, the experience, and even more.
Thank you for reading! Happy Holidays!
~HyraxNixus
Touristician 