Catskill Mountain Railroad — Attraction in City of Kingston

This is review is in regards to the Catskill Mountain Railroad Christmas Ride in particular, not the railroad company as a whole. Upon arrival 12/23 for the 6:30p train, we were so excited to experience some Christmas fun. The train was an open air cart, not the polar express, which we were told in advance, and it was decorated in pretty lights and had Christmas music playing the whole ride. It was a nice idea but unfortunately that was not enough and this experience overall was a major disappointment. Definitely not worth the cost being charged.

Ride It's about 50-60m total. You are taken on a 20-25m ride one way in the cold dark to the North Pole with no views except the darkness of the woods and roads, no fun lights along the way, nothing to see. No entertainment really on board. Upon arriving to the North Pole, Santa is standing on a microphone waiving to the kids in what seemed to be a giant cardboard house, not even a real set. You stop there for a bit then turn around to head back the same way where the kids are given an opportunity to high five Santa. Then you just go back the 20-25m to the train station. (We honestly couldn't wait to get off).

Staff The staff on board lacked any ounce of Christmas magic, the conductor seemed like he didn't want to be on the train. My nephew tried speaking with him and he didn't really engage much. Then there were only 3 elves (2 girls and 1 boy) who were teenagers that rather hang out with each other and giggle / talk than entertain the kids, sometimes they had attitudes like they didn't want to be there either (also questionable language at time). For the number of carts and people on board they should have had more elves and had staff that truly wanted to be there to make the ride special for the kids. They did ask the kids what they wanted for Christmas and to play an age guessing came 5m before the ride ended. Parents had to entertain the kids in the freezing cold and whenever I saw a group of kids go to follow the elves to engage they just shooed them back to their parents.

Cookies and bells You are given cookies on the way to Santa's and silver bells after you see him on the way by the elves - that honestly was the extent of what they do for you. There was no dancing, stories, or so singing. Pretty much a lackluster experience that I unfortunately wouldn't recommend. I know with covid and all they did they best to still keep a train option and experience which I can appreciate but I'd definitely recommend getting the staff to do more than just stand around.

Hoping next year it's back to being the Polar Express! Or at least that the team takes this feedback for future....

Unfortunately we had expected so much more than what was delivered ! Since we spent $195 for five people to have a good time and be frightened. ... it didn't happen and was a big disappointment. The train ride itself was freezing !! I actually called the ticket office before we arrived and asked how to dress, the young girl who answered the phone told me that it wasn't necessary to dress too warm and that there was heat on the train, but they leave the doors open so it could get chilly.... Well no, there was no heat, I mean maybe the heat did at one time work, but was not on tonight! So yes, dress WARM . The costumes were mediocre , the same that you can buy from party city for Halloween . The masks were plastic no fancy or realistic make up on anyone. There were many times where the "witches" ran up and down the corridor literally screaming .. Yep.... Brain curdling screams, at random times , to no rhyme nor reason , scary ? No , annoying. . absolutely . The narrator who told shott "scary" stories was lame, not engaging whatsoever , we were actually getting quite bored and looked forward to the end of the train ride , how sad is that ? The best part of the whole ride was when the zombies danced to MJ's Thriller, and that too... was for less than a minute! We throughly enjoyed the dead bride, she was the best . Funny and engaging ! I guess what I'm saying is, the train ride was not at all scary, it has so much potential to be scary, but just wasn't .save your money and go to the headless horseman hayride which is a short drive away from there and have a great time ! If you do end of going on the train ride , be prepared to be disappointed and make sure you dress very warm . I wish there were refunds, I would totally...

Nice little experience with the family. We went to the Fall Foliage Train Tour which is about an hour altogether. The staff was very friendly and helpful! There isn't too much to see on the ride but just a pleasant thing to do with family and/or friends. From my understanding they will be extending the train route soon. At least that's what is on the Map on their website. I took a few pictures of the beautiful foliage that is out now as of September 29th. I'm sure the trees will be more at peak within the next couple of weeks. When crossing at street lights and the cars🚗 and people are stopped waiting for the train🚉 to pass by, some take the time to wave👋 to you! Just wave back! It makes your day! 😀 The town has a historic look to it. There are restaurants and stores nearby as well. As far as bathrooms, there are 2 Port-a-potties in the parking lot area. (Bring tissue with you just in case it's not refilled!) The train ride itself is a slow moving ride and can get a little bumpy. It is an old train with closed cars and open cars you can choose to sit in. We are thinking of checking out the ride for the Polar Express coming up for November & December. The tickets are more expensive for each person, so be prepared to pay more than the usual price. I'm thinking you pay more because there will be more on the ride as far as activities. All in all, it was a nice family event...