The Polar Express has two sides...motion or non motion. So when you line up, you must choose one side or the other.
I'm not much of a motion girl myself (I tend to get rather sick
on anything wilder than a merry-go-round, but I was fine on the motion side.
). Of course, YMMV!
The ride itself, like a PP mentioned, is the movie on a screen and your seats move to the movie. So when the train is careening down a hill, the seats will tip sharply forward and move from side to side giving you the feeling that you are also in the train that's moving down the hill.
Its a sights, sound, smell, movement kind of thing. You can smell the diesel of the train and hear the whistle blaring.
After the ride, you exit into the "North Pole", where there is a HUGE Christmas tree.
This is where you can meet Santa and have your photos done with him. We purchased the photo CD so all of our Santa pics were on the CD for one price, along with all of the other photos taken at the park on Christmas Day.
After meeting Santa, you can visit the polar bears and the other animals featured at the North Pole (as noted above, its the same animals you would see at Wild Artic during the balance of the year).
Just like in the movie, there is also a hot chocolate stand where you can purchase a drink, if desired:
As with most rides, you exit into a themed gift shop.
I will admit, I bought the movie before our Christmas 2012 trip just so I would "get" the Polar Express ride, and I was glad I did. Cute movie and a very well-themed attraction
.
