All Aboard

There is a little boy in our house who is absolutely, positively enamored-even obsessed--with The Polar Express. Both the beautiful story book and the movie. Both are requested several times daily.  Throughout the day he describes every detail, every action of the book and the movie with complete enthusiasm and awe. This past week, upon requesting a reading of the book, he insisted that he needed a ticket. The yellow scrap of paper I handed him would not suffice, so to M's delight B printed off a facsimile of the ticket shown in the movie. He then proceeded to punch holes in it while a wonder-struck M observed. I found a jingle bell for him to play with, which he clutches during the show or the story with every detail committed to his memory: the cocoa tastes like "chocolate bars,"  the bell has a "sweet sound,"  and so on. He shrieks with delight when Santa appears, and at the end of the book he whispers "I believe!" For some reason this lovely story holds special magic for him which I'd love to preserve. Partiality aside, it's quite precious.

2 nights ago at dinner, he stopped eating and sweetly and quietly asked: "M go on a train? M go on a train?" He repeated this with sincerity for several minutes. I had no clever answer for him, and I think he sensed that there was no train for riding because his precious questioning eventually became sobbing: " M go on a train! Go on a train? Pwease?" Trust me, your heart would have broken, too, so fervent were his pleadings.

Which brings me to my question: Have any of you out there ever taken the Heber Creeper Polar Express?   There's no doubt M would love it, and comprehend it, so I'm willing to fork over the required cash (wow, it's pricey) for  tickets.  But, I must also consider travel expenses and the hassles of a speedy there-and-back-in-a-day trip between IF and Provo, which would require a day off work for the hubby. (All weekend dates for the Polar Express are booked). Thoughts? Suggestions? Is it worthwhile? Tell me everything you know!