French Lick West Baden & Southern Railway

As the culmination of my family's holiday trip to French Lick, my parents bought all of their kids and grandkids tickets on the Polar Express, via the French Lick West Baden & Southern Railway. My sister, especially, loves the Polar Express book and movie -- so much so that when we started to board the train she teared up. And it's clear that a lot of love and thought is put into this attraction, from the golden tickets everyone gets to be punched by the conductor to the elves who dance in the very skinny aisles and sing the "Hot! Hot! Hot Chocolate!" song to the cups of cocoa and cookies that are served to the visit from Santa aboard the train and the sleigh bells everyone gets as souvenirs. If you're a fan at all of the movie -- and doubly so, if you have kids who are fans -- this is a great holiday treat. As an adult who maybe only saw bits of the movie once or twice, I can say this was fun. Would I make it an annual tradition? I think once is enough. But it has its charms.Unfortunately the speakers in our train car did not work well, so we couldn't hear when the story played over the sound speakers. And the dancing and the conductor going up and down the aisle with a big Polar Express book didn't sync as well. Also, the hot chocolate, cookies, tickets and bells all happened in the first 30 minutes or so of the 90-minute ride, so there was some downtime to fill. Still, like I said, if you get a chance to go -- especially since this sells out the previous January and February -- dress in your best Christmas jammies and do it. And one more bonus tip: You might have a better shot at getting a large group of tickets if you also book rooms with French Lick or West Baden. They can reserve them for you.

Polar Express Train Ride with family. Great ride, with lots of really good moments by the staff. We very nice "dancing chefs/elves" who kept us entertained along the way. The Conductor was really good at telling us the story along the way. The "hobo" made an appearance even though we really couldn't see him. LOL. It's pricy, but a really good experience. I recommend doing this at least one time. My grandkids are 10, 5 and 1. The 10yr old still believes in the magic of Christmas, but not for long. It was really perfect for the 5yr old. The youngest didn't appreciate it as much but he had a good time anyway.Just for complete transparency; if you are riding during the daytime hours you'll see some sights with other properties along the way that are not kept up very well. There are abandoned buildings and equipment. The staff do a great job of keeping the focus inside the train car.

This was a lot of fun. We were up in French lick, and we did the train that took us from one spot to another. It was a fairly decent rod length wise in time wise we had a lot of fun and we got to get off and feed animals and play games. It was a good experience that I would recommend.

Many of these raving reviews are 2+ years old so I think we need to take a look at what is currently going on.The train cars are truly antiques. Some of the windows would not stay up and many of the seats would not flip when it was time to reverse directions.The voice over is interesting about what little information there is to tell about the route; Pluto water, 2nd longest tunnel & Larry Bird that no longer lives anywhere near French Lick, is a short speech once you condense it down.As for the staff, Richard was very nice and helpful as was the woman in the snack car, but Bill was amazingly rude. He seemed to find delight in telling clients "you did not purchase a ticket for this area" referring to the open air car. Excuse me, but I was not told about a choice, nor did I see information on the website about and open air car. Bill raised his voice to a couple of guests and actually told one woman to "get out". I think someone needs some anger management classes. Luckily it wasn't hot. There isn't any AC. It's a relaxing 1-1/2 hours, but there are more enjoyable scenic rides available.

Really unique experience that you can't do just any where. Our original reservation was cancelled by the railway; we were told we could re-schedule. We did reschedule but that meant changing our ABB reservation (we live 3 hours away) which cost use quite a bit more money. Over $200 more. Because I was bringing my 72 year old mom on a mother/daughter trip I had to bite the bullet. UGH. The staff here is VERY nice and helpful. Fun experience. No food/snacks sold on our trip and I heard the bathrooms were disgusting so I held it. You are allowed to bring food on board with you (not alcohol) As I said, we live 3 hours away so this is not something I will probably ever do again (on this railway, anyway) I would recommend this as a neat date day.

We visited this train station during the Polar Express season. It is a big draw for them and people come from all over to experience it. The entire staff there were so very friendly and the station was very clean. They have a huge parking lot and is located right next door to the French Lick Resort. We had stuff to do the next day so we drove down and back, which was not bad. It is only a 2-hour ride from Indianapolis.The Railway is actually operated by the Indiana Railway Museum. They have passenger trains that cover over 25 miles of track from French Lick to Jasper. The museum was founded in 1961 in Westport, Indiana and ended up in French Lick in 1978 after reaching an agreement with the Southern Railway Company.There are a lot of photo ops around the station including a couple of antique train cars and a few backdrops. There are areas in the station that are very picturesque as well.The trains are classic, but well maintained. The Polar Express show that they put on is neat. It is a close second only to the Chicago one. They have a nice North Pole stop, where as the Chicago one doesn't though. It is almost as if the entire town comes together to put on this show. The show is very entertaining from start to finish and definitely has a hometown feel to it.In addition to Polar Express that Station also hosts Scenic Train Rides, Dinner Trains, Tasting Trains, Wild West Hold-ups (fun), and Dinosaur Adventure Trains.I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. This is a French Lick staple. The staff and volunteers really make the Railway, bring it to life and gives it it personality. I highly recommend checking out one of their excursions. you are sure to have a good time.

The Polar Express was our big draw to French Lick but I will say that it is a destination town with so much to do! I share more in my The Polar Express in French Lick Indiana blog post but I wanted to share highlights here as well. Upgrading our tickets on the French Lick Scenic Railway so we could have a full table to ourselves was key. Our train car was heated, had bathrooms and included souvenir mugs.The experience was more than I had hoped for a truly magical experience. I wasn't as fond of the activity tent and gift shop but the actual train ride was really fun. I'm happy we waited until our daughter was 6 (although 5 would have been great too) and paired it with a hotel stay. It made the trip so much more meaningful. We'll definitely do it again when Lilly is 5-6 years old.

Yes, there is many awesome holiday sites in Indy. Yet one of our favorite destinations for the holidays is the French Lick / West Baden Hotels. The entire resort is decorated inside and out. Choirs sing in the hotel lobby, special holiday cocktails and the famous Polar Express for the kids to enjoy.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh what fun it is to ride on a Polar Express Train! HEY! This is so fun for young and old... but my kids were just engulfed with the spirit of this and mesmerized with going to the North Pole and that the "real" Santa was visiting us on the train! We sat at a table in the roomier car. And I highly suggest this over the cheaper seats which are not with tables and chairs. Those seats don't allow for as much moving around and comfort... where as the table and chairs we were up dancing and a lot of space to move around and enjoy the ride! There was GREAT entertainment the whole time! Reading the story on the way there... and then after the tunnel we arrive at the North Pole to view out the window. And then Santa boards the train! After seeing, hugging, and pictures with Santa - the elves continue to dance and play with music the rest of the way home. I do wish we could have had a couple seconds more with Santa to get a good picture with out cell phone (but i understand the time constraint with needed to get to all guests for photos). They do have an attendant who is taking pictures that you can pay for online, later. I would say that they were not the best pictures, and I thought they were taking a couple shots (mixed with different family members) but only one was posted online from our group. There is also the option for photo opts in the gift shop area, one with a green screen and optional back ground. Very cool! We were served hot cocoa and a cookie. The cocoa was hot - beware children, but cooled quick enough that they could drink it. And sugar cookies that were yummy. Our seats also have a commemorative mug included. BUMMER, one of ours had a crack in the handle and we didn't notice until we got off the train. Another BIG bummer is that you have to buy tickets for table seats in groups of 4 or 2... and we had 5 guests... so we had to buy a 6th ticket that no one sat in... wish we could have only purchase 5 - dust i see that this is due to tabes being for 4 or 2 people. (Side not, we didn't get cocoa nor a cookie for this seat. Whhaaa whaaaaa)The organization of letter numbered train cars and knowing where to go was great! Not much wait, nor line to get on, quick entry! But any of the issues we had were totally overcome by the intrigue and sense of wonder that our kids had and the memories that will last them a life time! If you want to make an amazing memory for your children DO THIS! You won't regret it! (Side note: Ours were 7 & 5 and totally believe!)Great time! Amazing concept!

Came here with a friend on a Saturday on a beautiful crisp late summer day. We had two tickets for a table in the First Class carriage, a total of $80. The train started boarding around 12:45. We departed the French Lick depot right on time around 1:00. Bottles of water were provided. There was another couple sitting at our table with us. Just shortly after exiting the Burton tunnel (the 2nd longest rail tunnel in Indiana) the generator experienced some sort of oil leak and had to go back to the French Lick depot, so we didn't get anywhere near Dubois where the far end of the line is located.The train did have a bar and snacks available for purchase on board, and the prices weren't too bad.It'd have been nice if they proactively offered some sort of credit voucher for % off a future ride, since they barely even completed half the journey this day, but they have a strict no exchange/no refund policy.