I had grand plans this year of doing all of the holiday things in Vancouver. But then typical Vancouver weather reared its ugly head and it started raining and pouring day in and day out. The last thing you want to do is fight the cold and wet. On one rare dry day, I headed out to Stanley Park to the Bright Nights Christmas Train for some holiday cheer. With over three million lights to take in, there is a lot to look at.
The highlight of the visit is taking a ride on the Christmas train which winds through the forest highlighting familiar scenes from Christmas songs and movies. It was all set to music as well complimenting what we were seeing as the train moved through the forest.
Along the way, we saw scenes from the Nutcracker, Charlie Brown, the Grinch and of course Santa himself in various forms.
We even saw a holiday Elvis! And of course lots and lots of lights. It really is a lot of fun and the holiday music playing really gets you in the mood.
Beyond the train ride, an assortment of lights and displays are set up. There is a “North Pole” area where you can stop by to take photos with Santa.
Entry to the lights is by donation, and tickets for the train is an additional price. However, donations and a portion of ticket sales go to the BC Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund to support burn survivors and increase public awareness of fire and burn safety issues.
From rainy Vancouver, I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas!
Bright Nights Christmas Train
November 26, 2015 – January 2, 2016
Hours vary depending on the day.
Website
Good to Know
Bring a blanket to cover your legs on the train. It gets quite cold especially since you can’t move for the whole train ride.
Popular days can get sold out ahead of time so they recommend purchasing online ahead of time. However, we had looked into that and each ticket comes with its own service fee and then an additional transaction fee for the whole purchase. However they put aside half of each day sales for same day sales on location and we didn’t have a problem getting tickets.
Getting there: Bright Nights is located on Pipeline Road in Stanley Park, via the West Georgia Street park entrance. There is free parking.
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