The Polar Express, Grand Canyon & Bearizona Experience

“The bell still rings for those who truly believe.” -Polar Express

After two nights in Flagstaff doing the North Pole Experience, which you can read all about HERE, we headed about an hour away to Williams Arizona. Our main objectives were to ride the Polar Express train ride, go to Bearizona and see the Grand Canyon. I’m happy to report that with just 48 hours we were able to accomplish all three goals. So without further delay, here is the Polar Express, Grand Canyon & Bearizona experience…

The day we left Flagstaff we decided to take one detour to a little deer farm right off the freeway called the Grand Canyon Deer Farm. You can feed the deer and other animals, which are all pretty adorable. It does cost to enter and buy the feed, but our kids had such a great time, it was worth it. Adults are $14 and kids ages 3-13 are $8, plus feed.

Next we checked into our hotel. We stayed at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, which is the hotel where you board the Polar Express Train. It is a nice hotel, with a spacious lobby, on-site restaurant and indoor pool (which our kids loved). The rooms felt a little tight, but worked fine for our family of four. The major downside for me as a light sleeper was that you could hear trains all night long going down the tracks.

Once checked in we immediately got ready for our train ride (I highly suggest wearing matching family pajamas). There are two boarding times you can choose from, I figured with the ages of our children we needed the earlier time slot. In the train depot there were lots of activities for families. You could color, talk to Mrs. Clause, meet Santa or grab a few souvenirs in the gift shop. Tickets for the Polar Express for kids range from $33-$47, adults $47-$59 depending on the day of the week.

We went outside to board the train and it was absolutely MAGICAL. Seeing the train pull up with all the steam from the smokestacks and hearing the blare of the whistle was just the beginning. As if on cue, it began to snow, like something straight out of a movie scene. At first we thought it was fake, but indeed it was snowing as we began to board the train.

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Once on board we spent the next hour and a half drinking hot coco and eating cookies, dancing and singing to Christmas carols, listening to the Polar Express book being read aloud and finally seeing the North Pole. We brought our book from home, but you can purchase one in the gift shop before you board. Once at the North Pole Santa himself even came onboard to give everyone a bell. It was so much fun, we all had a wonderful time making precious memories.

After the train we were hungry so we decided to grab some food. Some people had purchased a package that included dinner at the hotel restaurant. I will warn you that this line was very long and we were glad that we had not purchased this package. Plus, it did not have many kid-friendly food options. So we just walked to the little downtown area and found a cute pizza place that was perfect for us. We also had good luck the following night at a little Mexican restaurant.

The following day we woke up and headed to Bearizona, a drive-through type zoo experience. Just minutes from our hotel we were able to check out Bearizona, which had been recommended to us from many friends. You do pay to enter, $25 per adult and $15 per child, but it was definitely a great experience. First we did the drive through experience, which you literally stay in your car and drive through areas that have different animals roaming freely. We spotted goats, wolves, deer, bison and of course bears of all kinds.

The second part of the experience you do park your car and walk around the actual animal exhibits. We got to see so many fun animals like foxes, goats, turkeys, jaguars, fish, birds, bears, the list goes on…There was also a nice place to eat lunch and the food was really good. There were a few different shows throughout the day where animal keepers brought out various friends of the zoo and gave more information about them. We didn’t stay too long because we had one more stop for our day.

So off we went to the Grand Canyon. Our goal was to make it at least an hour before sunset, since we knew it would get cold quick. It took us about an hour to get there from Williams, but be warned it is a 2-lane road most of the way with not much cell service. We arrived around 3:30pm to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, which you do have to pay to enter the park area, $35 per car. The fee is good for a few days, so if you were staying in the area you could go back multiple times. There are also 5 free days throughout the year that are free to visit as well as other programs that allow for free entrance, like all U.S. 4th graders can enter for free. Check this page for more.

There are clearly marked viewing areas that you can walk to once you park your car as well as a bus system that can take you to different areas of the Grand Canyon. It was pretty cold when we were there, so we didn’t stay too long, but it was gorgeous. It almost didn’t even seem real. I would love to go back when it is warmer and when the kids are a little older to do a hike down in the actual canyon. But for now it was fun to see from the top and I am so glad we went. Just make sure to pack very warm clothes if you are going in the winter!;)

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Have you done a trip like this before? If not, do you have any questions about our adventures? Would you like to visit The Polar Express, Grand Canyon & Bearizona Experience? Make sure to let me know below!