Irvine Parks Santas Village

Hey Everyone, With the Holiday Season in full swing, there are more options than ever to enjoy it with your families. With one of SoCal’s most popular being Irvine Parks Santas Village.

See The Full Detailed Video Below

Irvine Parks Santas Village Visiting Information

Website:
- www.irvineparkrailroad.com/events/santas-village/
Address:
- 1 Irvine Park Road, Orange, CA 92869
Phone:
- 714-997-3968
Hours:
- Santa’s Village
  - Dec 12-16 from 4pm to 9 pm
  - Dec 17-23 from 10am to 9pm
  - Dec 26-30 from 10am to 8pm
- Train of Lights
  - Dec 26-30 from 10 am to 8 pm
- Dates and hours of operations may change. We recommend calling them or checking their website beforehand to confirm their business hours.
Entry price:
- FREE and no reservations required.
Reservations:
- Christmas Train tickets (Nov 25-Dec 23) Reservations required. These were released the first week of November and they are now sold out. Tickets were $25/person. Ages 2 and under are free. This train ride takes you to the North Pole to see Santa and Mrs. Claus.
- Train of Lights (Dec 26-Dec 30) no reservations required and is 1 ticket per person. Ages 2 and under are free.
Parking:
- Regional Park Entrance Fee:
  - Weekdays $3/vehicle
  - Weekends $5/vehicle
  - Holidays $7/vehicle
  - FREE after 6pm

Activities:
- Single tickets are $6 each or purchase a book of 15 tickets for $80 (save $10, no expiration date and can be used for future events)
- Story time with Mrs. Claus – Free
- Train of Lights – 1 ticket
- Moon Bounce – 1 ticket
- Cookie Decorating – 1 ticket
- Carnival games – 1 ticket (Every child wins a prize)
- Rudolph Racers – 1 ticket (Age 5-7)
- Blizzard Ball – 1 ticket (Small prize) or 2 tickets (Large prize)
- Craft Corner – 1 ticket
- Ice Fishing – 2 tickets (Every child wins a prize)
- Mini Diggers – 2 tickets
- Christmas Train – You must have reservations to ride the train to see Santa. Tickets are currently sold out.
Time spent:
- 2 hours
Clothing:
- Check the weather before you go. The weather can be changeable; layered clothing is recommended. Recommend closed toe shoes.
What we packed:
- Jackets, umbrella, @Suds2go cap, water wipes, dinner, snacks, water, kids’ pjs, toothbrush and floss.
Places to eat:
- A snack bar is located at the Train Station. They have burgers, hot dogs, nuggets, quesadilla, fries, nachos, hot cocoa and drinks. Prices range from $4-11.
Pet allowed:
- No
Stroller friendly:
- Yes
Restrooms:
- Yes, flushable toilets, but they were NOT clean on our visit. There was no soap and our Suds2go soap cap came in handy!
What we observed:
- The park is well lit with many lights and makes it a great place to take beautiful holiday photos.
- If you plan to visit during the day, we recommend visiting OC Zoo (closes at 3:30pm on the weekdays and 4:30pm on the weekends) before walking over to Santa’s village for holiday decor and lights. It’s inexpensive and a great little zoo for the family to enjoy. Make sure to give yourself enough time for the traffic getting into the regional park.
- Christmas Train (Nov 25-Dec 23). You can ride the train any time during your one hour boarding window. It is a 6 min ride to the North Pole and another 6 mins back to Santa’s Village. We were at the North Pole area for 30 mins to take photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus. There is a small food stand that sells hot cocoa and snacks. Porta potties are available in that area.
- Train of Lights (Dec 26-30). There are no stops during the 12 min train ride. Santa and Mrs. Claus will not be available as they prepare for the next holiday season.
- Before we left, we changed our kids into pjs and brushed and flossed their teeth before heading home.
- If you want to avoid the train’s diesel smell, we recommend sitting towards the back of the train.
- Our girls’ favorite game was ice fishing. Their favorite prize was the giant hammer from the Carnival games.
Ways to save money:
- Pack a meal and hot cocoa in a thermos.
- We limit our kids to 3 activities.
Future events:
- Easter Eggstravaganza (3/25-4/15)
- Pumpkin Patch (9/17-10/31)
Other places to visit in the area:
- Bubble pop
Recommended itinerary:
- OC Zoo
- Santa’s Village
- Train of Lights

What We Said In Our Irvine Parks Santas Village Video

Unlike their other seasonal events, you’ll have to purchase your train tickets ahead of time if you want a chance to see Santa at the north pole. But Santa’s Village is still open for everyone to enjoy through December, and the Irvine Park train will be running a Train of Lights event from the 26th through 30th with a nonstop loop without Santa that will be full of lights and decorations.

As for Santa’s Village, it’s lit up like a Christmas tree, with twinkling lights and decorations galore. It’s truly a festive sight to see. And You’ll find a handful of family-friendly activities, from ticketed games with guaranteed prizes to crafty things like ornament & cookie decorating. Unfortunately, everything costs at least one ticket, and it quickly adds up. Of them all, all the girls like the ice fishing activity the most, and the stuffed animal prize is being used at the house.

The one free activity they had outside of taking photos was storytime with Mrs. Cluase. Our girls love story time, and being outside and hearing it from Santa’s boss with other kids made it even more enjoyable.

If you were lucky enough to get train tickets to Santa, he’s there at the end of the ride in all his glory, ready to say hi and snap a photo with the whole family. Snow even starts falling as the train stops after its 6-minute ride to the north pole, and you can buy some hot coco and snacks while you wait to see him.

Overall, Irvine Park’s Christmas Train Event was nice, but we prefer their Pumpkin Patch and Easter Events. The decorations were great, and the ability to take holiday photos was there. Still, we weren’t sure if it was because we visited late on a Sunday night, but everything felt a bit too quiet, I’m not usually one of the music, but in this case, holiday music could have helped with the atmosphere.