{"id":571764,"date":"2025-11-15T09:48:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T09:48:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/571764\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T09:48:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T09:48:36","slug":"my-daughter-and-i-boarded-the-polar-express-in-manchester-and-this-was-her-verdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/571764\/","title":{"rendered":"My daughter and I boarded the Polar Express in Manchester, and this was her verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"

If her reaction was anything to go by, Manchester\u2019s newest Christmas experience is going to be a big hitFather Christmas at ‘Believe! The Polar Express Experience’ at Victoria Warehouse(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

‘Daddy, I want to do that again…’<\/p>\n

Words which, as a parent, always bring immense satisfaction at the end of any day out. This is especially true at Christmas, when you have usually paid a pretty penny for the privilege.<\/p>\n

Navigating the multitude of options for festive experiences, and choosing the right one for your child in terms of theme, content, and value-for-money, can be a bit of minefield.<\/p>\n

But if the pure, unadulterated joy on the faces of the kids at Victoria Warehouse was anything to go by, the bosses of the new Polar Express experience are onto a winner.<\/p>\n

Join our Christmas in Manchester WhatsApp group HERE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

The film was a smash hit when it came out in 2004, and it has become a firm family favourite since.<\/p>\n

Based on the 1985 book of the same name, it tells the story of a magical steam train which stops outside the house of a young boy, whose belief in Father Christmas is wavering – on Christmas Eve, of all days.<\/p>\n

He then embarks on adventure-filled return trip to the North Pole to meet the man himself, making a few friends along the way and restoring his belief in the process.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Take a look inside Manchester’s new Polar Express Christmas experience<\/a><\/p>\n

For years, real-life Polar Express rides have been run on heritage trains up and down the country. But some of the brains behind these have now launched their first ever ‘immersive walkthrough experience’ right here in Greater Manchester.<\/a><\/p>\n

The constant sound of the thundering steam engine, and its depiction of Santa’s North Pole workshop as a cavernous factory, means the film has, at times, a very industrial feel.<\/p>\n

So in many ways the red brick Victoria Warehouse, built in the 1920s to store goods being shipped into Manchester, is the perfect backdrop to tell the story.<\/p>\n

It is easy enough to get to, with a tram stop and plenty of parking nearby.<\/p>\n

The Conductor welcomes you aboard the ‘Polar Express'(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

It is accessed by a large flight of stairs but for ones with little ones in prams, there is a lift and a buggy park at the beginning.<\/p>\n

Seeing all the kids decked out in matching pyjamas and clutching their golden tickets before they set off was truly heart-warming stuff.<\/p>\n

You are then taken on a guided tour through a number of different rooms containing interactive sets, where live actors recreate a different part of the story.<\/p>\n

At times it feels like you’re at a panto, but instead of sitting in the aisles of an auditorium, you’re up on the stage with them.<\/p>\n

After entering Hero Boy’s bedroom, you are then taken through to the mock train, where the ‘The Conductor’ welcomes you aboard.<\/p>\n

Families get up close and personal with the actors during the immersive show(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Surround sound and digital screens doubling as windows help keep the illusion you are chugging along. The quality and standard of the acting really is top drawer, with kids, including mine, loving the proximity to the actors and extensive interaction.<\/p>\n

The ‘Hot Chocolate’ song was a particular favourite amongst our crowd.<\/p>\n

Rather than being given a mug on board as the passengers are in the film, you get a token to grab one at the end.<\/p>\n

Other scenes include the caribou crossing the track, the ‘hobo on the roof’, and crossing the polar ice caps. However, the best is saved for last, which is of course your arrival at the ‘North Pole’ and the appearance of Father Christmas.<\/p>\n

Kids are given a special a gift each, just as ‘Hero Boy’ is as the ‘first gift of Christmas’ in the film. They then get their chance to have a picture with him. There could have perhaps been slightly more time allowed for slightly longer chats between the kids and Santa, but we know what a busy man he is.<\/p>\n

Kids touch snowflakes on an interactive wall in one of the rooms(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

Famously, throughout the whole film, The Conductor frequently checks his pocket watch as he tries to keep the train to schedule. So inevitably, the show has a slight sense of urgency as you briskly move through the rooms.<\/p>\n

This means that, if you have to duck out for a toilet break or any other reason, you are in danger of missing part of the show and it can be hard to find where people are and navigate your way back. But the staff are always on hand and are very helpful.<\/p>\n

Once you reach the end, there are plenty more fun things to do and photo opportunities, including a mock train sticking out of the wall and a ‘Nice-O-Meter’ where kids answer a few questions to find out which of Santa’s lists they are on.<\/p>\n

They can write a letter to him, and post it in a gold-levered postbox, and decorate a Christmas decoration before enjoying their hot chocolate and biscuit, which is included.<\/p>\n

A group of children get a gift from Santa(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

There is a small gift shop and you can also buy photos taken at two points during the show, at the beginning and with Santa, which will set you back \u00a312 for a large frame or a keyring and magnet. Which brings us to the one elephant in the room – the cost.<\/p>\n

This is definitely not at the cheaper end of the scale, with tickets ranging from \u00a339.50 and \u00a349.50 for adults and kids over two years-old alike.<\/p>\n

So you are looking at north of \u00a3150 for a family of four. However that price wouldn’t seem so out of place if you were going to see a panto.<\/p>\n

And ultimately, this is essentially a trip to the theatre, and a trip to see Santa, rolled into one.<\/p>\n

The show has taken residency at Victoria Warehouse until the end of December(Image: Sean Hansford | Manchester Evening News)<\/p>\n

For existing fans of the film, it is a must. However we hadn’t in fact seen it until a few days ago, and watching the film together before going along made for a nice combination of activities.<\/p>\n

They say you can’t put a price on memories, and in their marketing, the experience promises ‘festive moments to treasure forever’.<\/p>\n

And the fact that despite being a new covert to the film, my four-year-old daughter instantly wanted to do it all again, and had to be virtually prised away at the end, would suggest they may be right, and that it is ultimately worth the outlay.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If her reaction was anything to go by, Manchester\u2019s newest Christmas experience is going to be a big…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,35745,393,3063,4884,2465,485,1289,16,15,89677],"class_list":{"0":"post-571764","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-christmas","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-film","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-manchester","14":"tag-manchester-family","15":"tag-trafford","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom","18":"tag-victoria-warehouse"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115553090182031499","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}