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PTR: Christmas at EnterTRAINment Junction


BoddaH1994
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I remember sitting on Santa’s lap in the Florence Mall when I was a kid growing up. I only half-heartedly believed in Jolly ‘Ol St Nick for one main reason: if he had such a complex system of knowing which kids were naughty or nice then why wouldn’t he also already know what I wanted for Christmas? It baffled me that his magical powers of observation could be so astounding in one area, but lacking in another. Plus, how many people did you have to kill to be on the naughty list? I wasn’t a bad kid, but I knew a lot of other kids that I considered to be bad to my standards. They always got presents – no lump of coal – just like me. Life wasn’t fair. I digress.

Anyway, despite the creepiness of sitting on an old man’s lap that I didn’t know, I was still always excited to go to the mall. It wasn’t about meeting the big man, it was able the experience of standing in line. You waited through a winter village full of reindeer, Santa’s elves, candy canes, and snow. It fully encapsulated the spirit of the season and really hyped my excitement to unending heights. I remember looking on the calendar and seeing that Christmas was over two weeks away. It felt like a lifetime in those days.

I don’t know if it has to do with budget cuts, liability, or just a lack of return on investment, but this whole experience has been scaled down greatly in the past twenty years. What was once a journey through a Christmas village is now replaced by Santa in his plywood sleigh surrounded by a few Christmas trees and holiday props. Some are nicer than others, but never as good as it was in the 1990’s when I was a kid growing up.

Zip ahead a few decades and enter EnterTRAINment Junction. If you’ve been on KIC for any amount of time then you know what this place is all about. It’s the world largest indoor train display featuring incredible detail, interactive parts, and some great educational value. But I’m not here to talk about trains.

Every year, EnterTRAINment Junction celebrates the Christmas season with Christmas at EnterTRAINment Junction. I have to admit, as often as I had been to this place over the past five years, I had never experienced Christmas there. Boy was I missing out.

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The Main Street section of EJ is decked out for the holidays. This area has the look and feel of a late 1800’s or early 1900’s railroad town. You know that I don’t like to compare things to Disney because it’s never a fair comparison, but I’d imagine that if they wanted to theme an area to the same time period it wouldn't look much different than this.

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The Exposition Center has its own setup and is totally free if you just want to check that out. It has several “winter wonderland” displays that are neatly crafted as well as thousands of Christmas lights.

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The true star of the show is the Journey to the North Pole. Remember the mall Christmas display that I told you about? Imagine that, but 1000x better. It really brought out some nostalgic feelings.

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It looks as though Santa's reindeer are stabled up and getting ready for their annual trip around the world.

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Santa's elves are putting some last minute touches on toys for the girls and boys on the "nice" list this year.

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Enter the Arctic Tundra and see penguins playing, lights flickering, and yes - it even snows in there!

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Check out these three handsome old men! At the end of your journey you meet Jolly 'Ol St. Nick. Don't worry - there are photos available for purchase so you don't have to have a selfie fail like I did.

If you haven’t visited EnterTRAINment Junction yet then you’re really missing out. It takes about three hours to do the whole experience, and you’ll never get bored in the process. Christmas at EnterTRAINment Junction runs through January 5, but Santa returns to the North Pole after Christmas. Don’t forget that 2014 and 2015 Kings Island Gold and Platinum Season Pass holders get a $4 discount on the Do It All ticket. The Do It All ticket includes the world’s largest indoor train display, Funhouse Junction, and Christmas at EntertTRAINment Junction. The display in the Expo Center is free. There is no charge for parking.

www.EnterTRAINmentJunction.com

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Ahh the Florence Mall, have to love the memories and the experiences to be found there! (One must hail the old tree that once stood, and sadly now the kiddies hail to the miniature Florence Y'all water tower now in the middle of the mess)

Great PTR, I almost went last week and will probably be going to the event next week if possible. (Good intro for the trip too!)

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