December 12th, 2011 
Shawn 
Every winter, Santa makes a few trips to Orangeville, Ontario to take a ride with families on the Credit Valley Explorer through the the scenic heart of Ontario’s Greenbelt. The tour operator offers a number of different excursions throughout the year but this season, it’s the Santa Train that has us making the trek north of Toronto.
Upon arrival we parked in the spacious lot right beside the platform and met up with a few other family-friends before huddling into the small (but warm!) train-station as we waited to board.
Onboard the old-fashioned train, it was a festive set-up with garland, lights and ribbons lining the baggage compartments above the seats. We all found our seats, grouped together at the far end of the last train car. It’s a great set-up for a family of four as you can all sit facing each other in the open, compartment-style seating. As the train lumbered away from the station, it didn’t take long for the entertainment to start. Travelling carollers made their way through the cars, stopping to play and sing Christmas standards as kids and parents joined in. Staff handed out hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies as the kids patiently waited for the arrival of the big man in the red suit.
As the jingle bells sounded and the familiar “Ho Ho Ho” made it’s way down the train-car, the kids excitement was almost too much to contain. Santa spent a few minutes with each kid in their train-seat asking his standard questions and hearing requests for everything from Star Wars Lego to a new baby sister. (g00d luck with that one, mom & dad!)
The whole trip lasts about an hour, which is a great length of time for young kids. Cost is $18.50 (adults & kids 2+) and includes a song-sheet, ginergbread cookies and hot chocolate. They also hand out “jingle-bells” on ribbons for the kids to play with throughout the trip and take home afterward. (which gets tired pretty quickly on the drive home) 
The Santa Train tends to sell out quickly so you should start checking online in the fall if you want to catch one of the excursions before they sell out. Booking Tip: if you’re going with a group of more than one family, make sure that you book everyone on the same order to ensure that you’ll be sitting together!
All aboard the Santa Train!
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Hey Shawn, we just took the kids to the South Simcoe Railway Santa Train, they liked it (a little cold for them inside the train), but overall pretty fun.