All aboard! I know it’s only July, but tickets are on sale now for this year’s North Pole Express steam train rides in Grapevine, the Christmas Capital of Texas. Grapevine hosts over 1,400 Christmas events in November and December, and the North Pole Express is one of the most popular Christmas activities in the area. Tickets sell out fast!
Hop on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad’s North Pole Express with the whole family for a magical ride. Guests can wear Santa hats, costumes or even jammies to get into the spirit.
The rail cars are bedecked in holiday decor, and guests sing holiday songs along with merry elves.
Just before the train reaches the North Pole, Mrs. Claus arrives to hand out special silver Santa bells.
Once at the North Pole, you’ll walk through a Christmas tree forest where Christmas magic is in the air — it’s snowing!
Then everyone enters Santa’s workshop and gathers around the stage where the silly elves entertain the kids and sing.
Finally, kids are encouraged to ring their “Believe” bells to welcome Santa, and with a bit of Christmas magic, he arrives!
Afterward, everyone gets a souvenir mug of Santa’s Frosty Chocolate Snow Milk and can take a family photo with Santa.
It’s truly an experience the kids will never forget! And adults won’t either. (You’re never too old for Christmas.)
Purchase your North Pole Express tickets here in September!
Area parking is complimentary.
2025 Dates: Daily, November 28 – December 30. (Tickets on sale in September)
Be sure to arrive 45 minutes to an hour before departure. There are lots of activities, photo ops, snacks, beverages and a gift shop at the train station to keep kids busy while you wait.
The North Pole Express trains run from late November into December, primarily on weekends.
Bring your camera!
Tickets for the Christmas Wine Train and live performances and classic Christmas movies at Grapevine’s Historic Palace Theatre are also on sale now at GrapevineTexasUSA.com, where you’ll find everything you need to plan your visit to the Christmas Capital of Texas. And be sure to read my post about the annual ICE! show at the Gaylord Texan, another can’t miss holiday event!
Comments & Reviews
I am obsessed with all things Christmas, so I totally want to take a ride on the North Pole Express!! How fun.
It’s hard to believe it’s just several months away!
Now that my children are older, we try and seek out holiday experiences that are geared toward all ages, and this train ride seems absolutely perfect. Of course, that frosty chocolate snow milk would be a huge bonus too!
Yes! I love activities like this that cover a wide age span!
This looks like so much fun. I would love to take my little niece and nephew around the holidays,
They would absolutely love it!
My kiddos would love going on the North Pole Express steam train rides in Grapevine! What an amazing holiday adventure for people who love Christmas (like me!).
It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to think of the holidays (even though it’s only July).
We have a lease and pod starting and delivering on August 15!
So close!
Woohoo!!!! I know you must have mixed feelings about the big change, but I’m selfishly excited!
Hi, I miss you.
I miss you too! How many weeks/days until I see you again?
This brought out ALL the feels!!! Oh my meow!!!!!!!! I couldn’t love this more and the photos just SPEAK to everything Christmas!!!!!
Who knew you could get the holiday feels in July, right? 🙂
We love Christmas in our house and love reading Polar Express every year with the kids. I think this would be such a fun thing to do as a family – sort of live out our Christmas dream! Do they have these all over Texas? We have relatives outside of Houston and this would be fun to do with them at holiday time!
They do this specifically in Grapevine. They have over 1400 holiday events in Nov/Dec which is why it’s the Christmas Capital of Texas. You and your family should head over there during the holidays and take part in some of it!
That looks like so much fun! I love everything Christmas. I think it would be a blast to see The North Pole Express.
My kids would love this! We are all about Christmas here. We love the ornaments, the food – the entire feel of it all. I’d love to take the kids here.
I have to take the kids here! They’ll love all the Christmas going on here. We’re all about the Christmas spirit.
That is the best! I love Christmas even more than my kids do. I hope my family and I get to go experience the North Pole Express one day.
And they say Filipinos celebrate Christmas too early in September! LOL! I love this! We’d totally have a blast.
Well, they sell tickets this early, but the event isn’t until holiday time. Tickets sell out in the summer though…that’s how popular it is!
Cant wait to do some of the more Christmasy things with the baby this year. He will be 10 months and it will be so fun!
I can’t believe he’s that big already! How exciting!
I haven’t heard of this city! We just moved to Texas and I would love to take the kids here this holiday season! So magical!
It’s right by DFW airport!
Oh my goodness this sounds like the most fun ride, I can’t believe we are getting so close to Christmas now, over half way there!
How fun to have Christmas in Grapevine! I’d love to go there!
This sounds like something my daughter would enjoy taking my granddaughter to. She loves anything Christmas and Grapevine has EVERYTHING Christmas.
They do Christmas the absolute best!
I would be going crazy at this event! What a fun idea. This year is going by so fast, it will be Christmas before you know it.
Wow, what an amazing experience!! My kiddos would love to do this – the train is just like the movie!
You’re definitely never too old for Christmas. It’s my favorite time of year! This looks like an amazing experience.
Oh wow this looks and sounds like a load of fun! I know that my kids would really love this – really gets you in the holiday spirit!
My kids would love to do something like this! It looks like such a great time.
This is so cool! I would visit Texas just for this. I know the kids would love it too.
OMG, how fun is this. I want to take a ride to see Santa. Totally adding this to my must do list.
Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I would love to go on the North Pole Express. Santa’s workshop would be a big hit with the kids.
There’s no reason we should celebrate the holiday spirit only at Christmas! This looks like so much fun – any time of the year and for kids of all ages!
I live for dogs and Christmas I swear. I want to go here. WOW that it is already the mid of July!
This is such a great trip! Heard so many great things about Grapevine. We’ve been to many parts of Texas but we yet need to visit this one.
This is something I would love to do with my family! I love CHristmas themed ANYthing!
Fun Christmas posts always make me smile. Looks like this would be alota fun.
Well that must be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen! I love Christmas, and being able to bring a favorite story to life would be such a treasure.
I need to do that immediately. My kids are getting old fast (insert sobs here), and I don’t want them to miss it.
Oh my gosh, this sounds like so much fun! I know my daughter and family would all love this. Christmas is the best time of year!
This would be worth the tripe to Grapevine, TX alone for me. My family LOVES the Polar Express and would be so jazzed to ride the train!
My son is a huge fan of trains. He would be so excited to visit the “North Pole” in person.
This sounds like a blast, and I know my youngest would love it. He’s a big fan of trains and we all love Christmas!
Oh this looks like a LOT of fun and something we would love to do over the Christmas break! Thanks for sharing your experience!
This sounds like a great deal for 25.00 a ticket! The North Pole Express has so many fun things to see and do. They have thought of everything to give your family an amazing Christmas memory.
This is awesome! Such a great idea to enjoy Christmas spirit in July! !
I follow y’all all the time and didn’t realize you either A – live here or B – visited! This is literally just down the street from me. Don’t you love Grapevine?
Yes, I was there in December and it’s one of my most favorite places ever. Nobody does Christmas like Grapevine!
Christmas in July! I absolutely love this. I wish we lived closer!
Oh my God. That sounds like such a nice experience. And I love Christmas; my favorite holiday. I would enjoy this!
This is so awesome! My son loves trains, and I am always looking for activities like this. I am going to have to take him to this! It looks like so much festive fun.
Oh, wow! I can really feel it’s Christmas! This would be fun for kids!
That train looks like the best way to get into the Christmas spirit. even in July. If I ever get to Dallas I will try to get to Grapevine too.
I love the North Pole Express. They are so much fun. Here in MI we have the train that the movie Polar Express was based off of. It makes for a good site to see and a story for the train passengers.
Oh this looks like a lot of fun! My kids are still in the younger years so we get to enjoy things like this with them. It makes the holidays so fun! Christmas will be here before we know it.
I had to read it twice because for a second I was like, it’s going now and Christmas year round?? 🙂 This makes me very excited for Christmas!
Me too!
Oh my goodness! This looks like so much fun. I for one would love it, forget my kids! haha. they’d really love it too! So much fun. I love Christmas!
I am so jealous! We absolutely love visiting here! It looks like you all did too!
I would love to take my kids there! I know its less than half a year away but it would be best to plan now and check if we could make reservations. This makes me so excited!
This sounds like such a fun thing to do with the kids! We don’t live in Texas, but if we ever go to visit, we will definitely have to check this out!
Never too old for Christmas!! And it snows?? Love, love, love this place!
I would buy tickets for the North Pole Express first before I buy plane tickets to Texas! This is something me and my family have to experience. My grandchildren would be thrilled to get on that train ride. Thanks for the heads up!
The North Pole Express is the best!!! We have it here in New England too and the grandkids go every year and love it!