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Irvine Park Railroad

Irvine Park Railroad’s 19th Annual Christmas Train AND Brand New Christmas Tree Ranch!

November 7, 2014 / Celebrations, Holiday Fun, Orange County

I think the holiday season is my most favorite time of the year! There are an abundance of family fun holiday events to attend and enjoy together as a family. People everywhere just seem so happy during this time of the year.

One of our favorite things to do before Christmas is to visit the Irvine Park Railroad’s Christmas Train! You can visit with family and friends and take an enchanting night ride through historic Irvine Regional Park to meet Santa Claus. The train departs every 15 minutes from the brightly-lit train station and drops passengers off at the North Pole, where Santa is waiting for the children!

It’s fun to ride the train at night and see all of the twinkling lights! Don’t forget to dress warmly!

We didn’t get to go last year so this year we’re extra excited about visiting on the weekend after Thanksgiving, which is opening weekend! We like to get there early and walk around Santa’s Village, which is set up just next to the train station. Emi loves to participate in all of the fun activities there. (Activities in Santa’s Village will open one hour prior to when the Christmas Train runs)

Irvine Park Railroad always sets up adorable photo props! I think we make a pretty cute penguin and polar bear, don’t you?

Here’s what you’ll find in Santa’s Village:

• Story Time with Mrs. Claus
• Christmas Cookie Decorating
• Carnival Games
• Ice Fishing
• Santa Claus Moon Bounce
• Christmas Coloring Corner
• Picture Stands

Enjoy story time with Mrs. Claus in Santa’s Village. (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

Activities are open weekends ONLY. Activities will be open daily starting December 15th Prices for activities in Santa’s Village vary; for additional information and costs, visit http://www.IrvineParkRailroad.com.

Let’s get back to talking about the Christmas Train though. When visitors are transported on the Christmas Train to “The North Pole”, they are greeted by Santa and his elves.

Santa will be waiting to take pictures with you and your family when you arrive at The North Pole! (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

Coffee, hot chocolate, and other snacks are available for purchase from the Elf House Snack Bar. (A full kitchen menu is also available at the train station) Visitors may take their own pictures with Santa or may also purchase a picture taken by Irvine Park Railroad. Each 5″X7″ photo will be presented with an Irvine Park Railroad border and are available for pickup shortly after being taken.

This was our keepsake photo with Santa from 2012! (excuse the quality of it being a picture of a picture)

After visiting with Santa, hop back aboard the train and enjoy the colorful Christmas lights and decorations, as well as the magical “Tunnel of Lights”, on the ride back to the station. You’ll LOVE the tunnel! Oh and there’s (faux) snow too!

The Tunnel of Lights! (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

Christmas Train tickets may ONLY be purchased online and can be purchased beginning November 1st! Tickets may not be purchased in person. You can purchase your tickets to ride the train on a specific date and time. Then, you print them out, bring them with you, and get in line to board the train any time during the hour for which you purchased your tickets.

Here’s what’s NEW this year at Irvine Park Railroad…..

After visiting Santa, why not pick out your own special Christmas tree to take home at the all-new Christmas Tree Ranch? (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

Beginning the day after Thanksgiving, families will be able to purchase Christmas trees at the all-new Irvine Park Railroad Christmas Tree Ranch! Visitors will be able to choose from among Douglas fir, Noble fir, and Grand fir trees ranging in height from 4′ to 12′. Christmas tree stands, preservatives, tree disposal bags, wreaths, and garland will also be available for sale. The Christmas Tree Ranch is open daily at 10:00 am beginning Friday, November 28th through Tuesday, December 23rd. Families can walk the Christmas Tree Ranch to find their perfect Christmas tree.

Irvine Park Railroad staff will help you load your Christmas Tree into/onto your car. (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

I am already feeling the holiday spirit and am pleased to announce a giveaway hosted by the Irvine Park Railroad! I’m giving away 4 tickets for the Christmas Train, 6 Christmas Activity tickets, 1 Wheel Fun Rentals® at Irvine Park bike rental (excludes the double surrey), and 1 Wheel Fun Rentals® at Irvine Park paddle boat rental! Just enter below on the Rafflecopter! Good luck and happy beginning of the holiday season!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dogs and professional videography/photography are prohibited. Hours are subject to change without notice. The Christmas Tree Ranch is open weather permitting.

Annual Irvine Park Railroad events include the Christmas Train, Anniversary Celebration, Easter Eggstravaganza and Pumpkin Patch.
Visit Irvine Regional Park’s other activities including Wheel Fun Rentals® at Irvine Park — fun and unique bike rentals that can be enjoyed by single riders or an entire family — paddle boat rentals, the Orange County Zoo and pony rides.
Irvine Park Railroad is located inside of Irvine Regional Park. The address is:

Irvine Park Railroad
1 Irvine Park Road
Orange, CA 92869

Become a fan of Irvine Park Railroad on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Flickr.

For pricing, park directions and complete details, please visit http://www.IrvineParkRailroad.com.

Disclosure: I was invited to attend a media event as a guest of Irvine Park Railroad and given information to share with my readers. No monetary compensation was received. All opinions are 100% my own.

Irvine Park Railroad’s Annual Pumpkin Patch Now Open Through Halloween!

September 14, 2014 / Celebrations, Holiday Fun, Lifestyle, Orange County

With the start of a new school year and seasonal treats like Pumpkin Spice Lattes making appearances everywhere, I’d say there are signs of Fall all around. It’s a time of year that I absolutely love!

One of the things many families love about Fall is the opening of Irvine Park Railroad’s Pumpkin Patch! Nestled inside of Irvine Regional Park, the Irvine Park Railroad is one several family fun activities offered at the park. Others include hiking, biking (bike rentals available), paddle boats, pony rides, and The Orange County Zoo. We like to bring along a picnic and make an entire day of it.

(photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

This year, Irvine Park Railroad’s Annual Pumpkin Patch ` opened on Saturday, September 20th and will run daily through Friday, October 31st! Although we’ve had the opportunity to visit their Easter Eggstravaganza and their Christmas train recently, this will be our first time visiting their Pumpkin Patch in many years, so we’re very excited about it!

(photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

Some of the activities you can find at the Pumpkin Patch include:

the Irvine Park Railroad train ride through the park
John Deer tractor racers
A kid-friendly haunted house
face painting
Halloween bounce house jumper
carnival games (where everyone wins a prize)
pan for gold
cookie decorating
a giant hay maze
Halloween picture stands for photo opportunities

Emi could jump in this for HOURS! (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

I haven’t panned for gold since I was in 4th grade! I’m doing it! (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

I love these little Halloween faces! (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

Watch this video for Irvine Park Railroad’s website, that shows how much fun the Pumpkin Patch is!

The hours for Irvine Park Railroad’s Pumpkin Patch are:

Monday through Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

There is no charge to enter the Pumpkin Patch, but tickets are required to ride the train and participate in Pumpkin Patch activities. Activity tickets can be purchased at the box office for $5.00 each or you can buy a book of 15 tickets for $60.00 ($15.00 savings). Also, please note that a gate entrance fee will be charged by the County of Orange for each vehicle that enters Irvine Regional Park.

He’ll be happy to give you a lift! (photo credit: Irvine Park Railroad)

For updates about all of the fun activities at the Irvine Park Railroad (sometimes even coupons),

follow them on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!

Our Perfect Day at the Irvine Park Railroad’s Eggstravaganza

April 9, 2014 / Family Fun, Irvine Park Railroad, Lifestyle, Orange County

We had so much fun spending an afternoon at the Irvine Park’s Easter Eggstravaganza, which is located inside of Irvine Regional Park.

In addition to the beautiful natural scenery, it’s all decorated for Easter too! Everywhere you turn, there are adorable children, dressed up in their best spring outfits. It’s the perfect setting and occasion to photograph some precious moments, that’s for sure!

The Eggstravaganza features so many different activities to choose from that we weren’t sure where to start.
The activities include:
*Easter egg hunts
*Photos with the Easter Bunny
*Train rides
*Hay rides
*Cookie decorating
*Face painting
*A bunny bounce house
*Various picture stands for photo opportunities
*Carnival games

So, we basically decided to do them all!

I loved how organized the Easter egg hunt was. We first obtained a wristband for the age-appropriate time for Emi. They created very fair rules for the children, first sitting them all down together, to explain the rules for the hunt, discussing how many eggs they could “find” and take home in their baskets, as well as other candy they might find on the ground. The kids were so excited to get started and sprinted at the cue to begin.

Although we remembered to bring our own basket, they do have baskets for sale there, as well.

Emi was mesmerized by how much candy there was in the egg hunt area, in addition to the eggs!
After the egg hunt, we strolled over to visit the Easter Bunny. He was extremely interactive with the Emily, first playing peek-a-boo with her, which helped make her unafraid to sit with him. That’s something that might be a relief for parents with hesitant children.

Pictures like this, melt my heart!

Apparently visiting the Easter Bunny makes you hungry, so we stopped by the snack shack for some freshly popped popcorn, before heading on over to the face painting area!

The artists in the face painting booth that would create each child’s ideal design for them. Emi let her artist know that she preferred more of an arm design, as opposed to having her face painted.

She loved her “tattoo” so much, that I think she hid from the water in the shower hitting that arm for as long as she could!

I loved all of the different photo opportunities there were throughout the area. Emi tried to convinced me to get in this one, but I let her do the honors!

I love this one! My little chick!

I was most startled by this one..it shows how tall Emi is getting! She’s only 8! Wow!

Next, we hopped aboard the train, which for me, is the best part of the entire thing. There’s just something about trains that reminds me of childhood! Emi chose to sit directly behind the engineer! We took the token “train selfie” as we relaxed on the long ride.

For our finale, we visited the cookie decorating booth, where Emi got her very own sugar cookie to decorate with colored frostings and sprinkles. What more could a kid ask for?

It was such a fun afternoon.

Head on over before the fun ends on April 19th!

Irvine Park Railroad Easter Eggstravaganza 2014 & Giveaway

March 6, 2014 / Celebrations, Family Fun, Holiday Fun, Irvine Park Railroad, Lifestyle, Orange County

If you have ever been to Irvine Regional Park, you know how much amazing family fun it has to offer! Among some of the activities you can do are hiking, biking ( they even have bike rentals), rent paddle boats, pony rides, visit the Orange County Zoo, and even have a picnic! If you’ve never been, you need to take your family there right away!

One of our favorite things to do in the park is to ride the Irvine Park Railroad. In past years, we’ve gone in December for the Irvine Park Railroad’s Santa Train and festivities!

This year we’re excited to visit for it’s annual Easter Eggstravaganza, which begins on Saturday, March 29th and runs through Saturday, April 19th! Children and adults can ride the train through beautiful Irvine Regional Park. Children, ages 2 through 12 years old, also have the opportunity to participate in an Easter egg hunt, hunting for eggs that are each filled with either candy or a prize.

You can purchase tickets for your child(ren) to participate in the Easter egg hunts, which begin at 10:00 AM daily. Tickets will be exchanged for a wristband which will indicate a specific time for the egg hunt they’ll be participating in. Don’t forget to bring an Easter basket for each child who is participating in the Easter egg hunt. Irvine Park Railroad will also offer Easter baskets for purchase. Tickets must be purchased on the day of the event, in order to receive a wristband for the Easter egg hunt. Please visit http://www.irvineparkrailroad.com for complete details on the Easter egg hunts, including times and costs.

During the Easter Eggstravaganza, children can meet the Easter Bunny at a cost of $10.00 per family or group. This cost includes a picture that will be taken by Irvine Park Railroad staff and available for pickup shortly after the picture is taken.

There will be other activities to enjoy during the Easter Eggstravaganza including hay rides, a moon bounce, Easter cookie decorating, carnival games, face painting, picture stands and a lot more. Please visit http://www.irvineparkrailroad.com for full details including costs.

Irvine Park Railroad’s other annual events include the Anniversary Celebration, Pumpkin Patch, and Christmas Train.

Become a fan of Irvine Park Railroad on Facebook, follow us onInstagram (Irvine Park Railroad), view pictures on Flickr, and follow our tweets on twitter (@IrvineParkRR).

While at Irvine Regional Park, be sure and visit the parks other activities including Wheel Fun Rentals^® at Irvine Park bike and paddle boat rentals, pony rides and the Orange County Zoo.

The park entrance fee – charged by the County of Orange – is $3.00 per vehicle on weekdays and $5.00 per vehicle on weekends.

Irvine Park Railroad opens daily at 10:00 AM. The cost for train tickets is $5.00 per person; children younger than 12 months ride free. Irvine Park Railroad is located at 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869.

We can’t wait to go to the Easter Eggstravaganza 2014!

Emi already has her outfit and her Easter basket ready to go!

Now for the giveaway….you can enter to win 6 tickets (which can be used to ride the train OR participate in Easter Eggstravaganza activities) and 1 Wheel Fun Rentals at Irvine Park surrey rental (excludes double surrey)! Enter the giveaway in the Rafflecopter below!

Good luck to everyone!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Giveaway open to U.S. Residence. No purchase necessary to enter. All fans have an equal chance to win, however, you must enter to win. A winner will be randomly selected via RaffleCopter and notified via email. No cash value. Winner will have 36 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be selected the same way. Several different ways to earn entries. Not liable for unclaimed prizes or fulfillment. Sponsor has the right to refuse filling prize for duplicate winners from other blogs. Winner’s tickets will be mailed directly to home (or mailing address) and will not be available for will call at this event.

photos courtesy of Irvine Park Railroad