To book Polar Express

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I have an 8 nearly 9 year old who seems to still have full belief in all things Christmassy, but I feel like this year the doubts might start creeping in (other kids as well as own thoughts on how it all works).
We went to Lapland a couple of years ago and since then I have felt like we can’t go to a grotto or anything because it obviously won’t be the same Santa.
Has anyone done the Polar Express train ride and would recommend it in this circumstance? I feel I need Christmas experiences now to secure belief, not place further doubt.
Thanks for any advice or tips, especially if you have done the Polar Express train ride.

I don’t think it’s worth it to force a belief. My DC is nearly 8 and has started to ask if Father Christmas is real. I just tell her that if she believes he’s real then he is. I won’t be forcing it on her.
I did the Polar Express a couple of years ago and it wasn’t worth the money.

It’s not really a case of forcing belief, more encouraging it, which is no bad thing IMO
I’m good on that front thanks, but thank you for your opinion on Polar Express not being worth the money.

It may be a nice experience but I am not sure it is worth the money as far as prolonging the inevitable. He is going to find out, he is old enough to find out and, honestly, I am not sure how it would reflect on him if he was the last person to find out in his friendship group.

We went to Lapland a couple of years ago and since then I have felt like we can’t go to a grotto or anything because it obviously won’t be the same Santa.

Sorry, what? I thought it was common knowledge that grotto Santas are not the real Santa so that's why you see lots of different ones. The real Santa is far too busy making all the toys to be hanging around grottos in December.

We’ve done the Polar Express Train Ride. We had to book in mid-summer, and I suspect you’d be extremely to find tickets available for this year.
But it was a lovely experience with superb hot chocolate, cookie & little bell (not to mention the train ticket) and our 9 year old DC - who had been telling us for a couple of years that Santa didn’t exist - told us afterwards that he believed in Santa again. We thought it was worth the money, but it depends on your budget obviously, and having DC believe in Santa wasn’t really our goal.

We did the polar express ride last year (Paignton one in Devon) and it was AMAZING. My DC were 9 and 7 and they loved it. It was the best experience and I wish we could do it again. My DC and I love the film; DH had never watched it and he thoroughly loved it also. I’ve told my sister to take her DD when she’s old enough. It was brilliant, start to finish.

** I should add, we went in the evening and it was cold and magical. The DC believed we travelled to the North Pole (❤️) and it was beautiful seeing the twinkly lights. I’m not sure how effective it would be during the day.

This!