Disney's Xmas Carol Train Tour - Warning: Lots of Pictures!

We were able to go this morning to the Disney's Christmas Carol Train Tour, and it didn't disappoint! There was plenty to see, and it was really exciting!

The train came into the Florida East Coast Railroad station in Miami, across from the airport. We got there at about noon, so we didn't have to park very far. Those that got there after lunch were in for a long walk! This was what we saw as we approached the train:

And this was the side of the train. It was six cars long, though only 4 of the cars were part of the tour.

This is the movie preview tent. We went in after the train tour and were able to see clips of the movie in 3-D. This one's a definite winner!

Father and son posed for pics by one of the posts in front of the movie tent. What a couple of hams!

Disney has to make the experience as realistic as possible. They gave us a train ticket, and the ticket punch is in the shape of Disney's logo (which is Mickey Mouse, of course).

Of course, as is typical in South Florida, we got rained on for a good 15-20 minutes. Thankfully I brought an umbrella. Unfortunately, I'd left it in the car :p. My dear hubby went running to get it, though we still got pretty wet. After I'd spent the morning washing and drying my hair, too! Oh well, it didn't fare too badly.

Would you believe they even had carolers?! Disney thinks of everything!

Daddy took a picture of E and me inside the train. We couldn't take as many pictures as I would have liked, because the train was packed with people and the cars are narrow. There was so much to see, too! They even had some of the costumes from the movie! While the movie is done with computer graphics, it does get acted out and then copied by the artists, making it look much more realistic. It's amazing what today's technology can do!

They had some items on display, like this published story of "Tiny Tim". I don't know if it was an actual original. I couldn't stop long enough to read anything because the lines were long and had to keep moving.

There were digital photos of different scenes from the story, including this one, Scrooge as a young boy in the school house.

The "maquettes" were so incredible! The artists use these prior to building the characters on their computers. This is Scrooge and Cratchit.

They also had replicas that are used in the scenery, such as this structure of Big Ben under construction. I was amazed at the amount of detail used. It was very meticulously done.

This is a replica of Fred's house. In case you don't know the story, Fred is Scrooge's nephew.

There were also figurines in glass cases, such as these of Scrooge and Mrs. Fezziwig.

The last train car was for photo ops. This is a fireplace where E and I had our picture taken. It was very beautifully decorated in a Victorian theme. Notice E is wearing his Phineas and Ferb t-shirt. The crew working the train noticed! Phineas and Ferb is probably Disney Channel's most popular cartoon right now.

My family standing behind the Christmas feast, courtesy of Mr. Ebenezer Scrooge! The background is so lovely, it looks like 19th century London. Of course our clothes give away the fact that it isn't really snowing outside!

Daddy, E and I had such a good time. We went from the train to the preview, but I couldn't take any pictures of that. Still, despite the rain and subsequent heat, it was a fun family afternoon. I love the price of admission - it's absolutely free! The train will be making 3 more stops after this: Charleston, Philadelphia and New York. I recommend this to anyone who loves Christmas, loves a bargain, and is looking for something fun to do with the family.