Local Business Review

Welcome to AroundTownKids Exclusive "Mom On-the-Go" page! Our "Mom on the Go" reviews are fun write-ups of local kid-friendly businesses. It's written by a local Allen Texas mom to share her stories & feedback on family fun & fun places to go in the Allen Texas area. It's viewers like you who make us who we are and we appreciate you very much!

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This Week's Local Business Review

Trains at Northpark

Date & Time: Through January 4 @ 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays
Early closing dates include December 24 (4 p.m.) and December 31 (6 p.m.) The exhibit is closed on Christmas Day.
Location: NorthPark Center
Address: 8687 N Central Expy, Dallas

What a sight to behold! The "Trains at Northpark" is built around the personal train collection of Dallas resident Ban Bywaters and includes more than 40 Lionel-type-O-Gauge trains. The vintage trains chug along 2,500 feet of track past authentic reproductions of famous American landmarks including the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Rushmore, the Mississippi River, Dallas' Reunion Tower, a 20-foot high Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and more.

The "Grand Finale" is the White House at Christmas all covered in snow complete with Santa and his reindeer on the roof! It's a lovely setting with a beautiful rendition of the nation's Capitol painted in the background. The winter scene is completed with a vast Christmas tree in the foreground and children playing in the snow while horse-drawn carriages trot by. And all the while the trains chug past.

The exhibition is amazingly elaborate. Great attention was paid to detail including intricate scenes such as children swinging on playground swings, skaters skating on a pond and dump trucks dumping on a construction lot. Even a "mini-Times Square" was replicated (with a miniature billboard of a current movie playing!) complete with an underground subway at eye-level for children. Children can watch the subway pull away from the station and stop to pick up passengers.

Along the way there are buttons to push where kids can interact with the exhibit. One button drives a car through the drive-thru at McDonald's, another one summons a fire truck from the fire station. You'll see several McDonald's restaurants in the exhibit because 100% of the ticket proceeds benefit Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, a home-away-from-home for families of hospitalized children.

The Trains at NorthPark (TM) exhibit is built exclusively for NorthPark Center. I highly recommend it for any age - you don't have to be a train lover to appreciate this exhibit! If you're going for a return trip or haven't been in a while, you'll catch some new detail every time you go! And the best part is the money goes to a great cause. Especially being a parent, what parent wouldn't want to help hospitalized children?

The exhibit is located in NorthPark Mall upstairs by Neiman Marcus and Santa. Ticket prices are $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 2 to 12 years, and $3 for seniors 65 years and older. Children under 2 are admitted free of charge.

The mall is beautifully decorated for the season so be sure to stop by the turtle pond by Neiman's so the children can watch the turtles move and guess if they're real! There's also an almost life-size rendition of Santa and his sleigh flying through the air suspended in the air.

If you're looking for something to do after Christmas has passed, the exhibit lasts until January 4th. If you miss it, put it on your list to see next year!

AroundTownKids Mom on the Go

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