In October Vancity Girlfriend Carolyn was asking me to pin down a date for Bright Night Christmas Train at Stanley Park. (Or maybe it was her son Toby ;)
Of course I agreed as I haven't been on the Christmas train in years. I find it difficult to go to these family friendly events without a kid. Sometimes I borrow a niece so it's nice to be invited to experience excitement through childhood eyes. Secretly I am a child at heart and love these events.
Bright Nights Christmas Train is taking a short train ride through a Christmas lights wonderland (I can't say winter wonderland because there is no snow). A portion of the proceeds for this event goes to the BC Firefighter burn fund to help burn survivors and their families.
When you first arrive you can see all of the Stanley Park trees covered in Christmas Lights which is quite a beautiful sight. Then you can walk to the barn which is essentially Santa's workshop where kids and adults alike can talk to Santa and get their picture with Santa for $10 cash. Luckily the mom had it all planned.
Now getting on the train these days is completely different from what I remembered years ago. The last time I went on the Christmas train on a blustery day, we just bought our tickets on sight and then stood in line. The experience now is waiting in line for 1/2 hour so you can be first in your time slot before you can get on the train. It helps if there are fewer people in your party because they will ask and you can get ahead sometimes. That's what happened with us and we had 4. Before that they were asking for 2 to get on an earlier train.
Bright Nights is a beautiful sight and I loved all of the Christmas Lights. I guess I don't have the patience of a parent and didn't like waiting in the light rain for an hour even though I appreciated the festive scenery. Also since it was the last weekend before Christmas, the place was packed and crowded to the brim. If you choose a time earlier in the season, it may be less packed but that is hard to say. I'd definitely want to go after sunset to see the bright nights. Kids love it!
When you first arrive you can see all of the Stanley Park trees covered in Christmas Lights which is quite a beautiful sight. Then you can walk to the barn which is essentially Santa's workshop where kids and adults alike can talk to Santa and get their picture with Santa for $10 cash. Luckily the mom had it all planned.Now getting on the train these days is completely different from what I remembered years ago. The last time I went on the Christmas train on a blustery day, we just bought our tickets on sight and then stood in line. The experience now is waiting in line for 1/2 hour so you can be first in your time slot before you can get on the train. It helps if there are fewer people in your party because they will ask and you can get ahead sometimes. That's what happened with us and we had 4. Before that they were asking for 2 to get on an earlier train.
Bright Nights is a beautiful sight and I loved all of the Christmas Lights. I guess I don't have the patience of a parent and didn't like waiting in the light rain for an hour even though I appreciated the festive scenery. Also since it was the last weekend before Christmas, the place was packed and crowded to the brim. If you choose a time earlier in the season, it may be less packed but that is hard to say. I'd definitely want to go after sunset to see the bright nights. Kids love it! 
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