Hop Aboard the Christmas Train at the Irvine Park Railroad

Orange County events like the Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Train are a great way to greet the holiday season. Every year, the Irvine Park Railroad invites visitors to experience a magical ride on the Polar Express. This train ride explores the beautiful land of Irvine Regional Park. With holiday decorations all around, riders get to imagine themselves traveling to the North Pole, where Santa and Mrs. Clause will greet them! This year, passengers will remain seated throughout the ride and wave at Santa from a safe distance. The Irvine Park Railroad asks all guests to follow social distancing rules and wear a mask for the duration of the event. 

Tickets are on sale now! Here are some important details about this event: 

The Christmas Train will operate from November 27th to December 23rd. Tickets are $17 between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm. Between 4 pm and 8 pm, tickets are $20 (these are already sold out). Children under 24 months ride for free! Besides riding the train, there will be carnival games, ice fishing, and blizzard ball to keep the kids entertained ($6 per ticket or $75 for 15 tickets). Santa’s Village will also be available for free during these dates, from 4 pm to 9 pm on the weekdays and 10 am to 9 pm on weekends. The regular Irvine Park Railroad train will be closed on the weekend. Parking for Irvine Regional Park is $3 per vehicle on the weekdays, $5 per vehicle on the weekends, $7 on the holidays, and free after 6 pm. 

Tickets for the Christmas train must be purchased in advance. Once sold out, there will be no additional tickets available. You can purchase tickets online on the Irvine Park Railroad website. Your confirmation will be emailed along with your scannable barcode. Tickets may be printed or shown on a mobile device. Please ensure that you only try to board the Christmas Train for the day and time that your ticket indicates. Otherwise, you will not be let aboard. If you have purchased tickets as a group, then make sure that everyone in your party is present during the boarding time and has access to their own tickets.

The Christmas train departs several times in an hour. Once boarding the train at your specified day and time, you will take a ride through Irvine Regional Park and land in the North Pole! Here, you may wave and take pictures of Santa and Mrs. Clause. This year, passengers will not be allowed to get out of the train and take pictures with Santa in order to comply with COVID safety regulations. While private parties are not permitted on the Christmas train, you may consider reserving a Party Pavilion across from the train station. Otherwise, there should be other available tables and resting spots in the park. There is a full-service snack bar available at the train station with both cold and hot food. Picnic benches surrounding the train station are reserved for those who have purchased from the snack bar. While you may take pictures with your mobile phone and camera, there is no professional photography allowed at Christmas train Orange County events.

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