(By the way, I notice that my larger pictures are being cut off a little. You can see the full picture if you click on it.) Disney is promoting their new Christmas movie, A Christmas Carol, with a train tour that started in LA and will finish in NYC. The movie opens November 6. I decided to surprise Victoria by going to San Antonio yesterday to see the train and thought you might like to see what was aboard, too.

We got up early yesterday morning and were out the door by 6:30 a.m., since San Antonio is 2 1/2 hours south of us. We made it to the San Antonio Amtrak station without any problems. Victoria saw a sign pointing to A Christmas Carol train tour, and I told her that's where we were going. It was very neat.

The tour opened at 9 a.m., and that is precisely when we got there. I had heard elsewhere that the lines could get really long, so I wanted to be there first thing. The first thing we saw was, of course, the beautiful train.


I would love to see that train speeding down the tracks. How cool would that be?

Next, we got a First Class Ticket that was punched with the number of tourists, that being two since there were two of us. We walked straight through the line....well, there was no line. Score! There were lovely Christmas carolers singing Jingles Bells as we walked by them. They were quite animated and had beautiful voices that blended really well. It made me wonder if these carolers tour with the train or if they are hired in each city.


We walked up to the entrance where I made Victoria pose next to a banner.


And, up the stairs we went.


The first railway car was filled with costumes from the movie and portraits of the characters.


Jim Carrey is playing Ebenezer Scrooge, Ghost of Christmas Past, Ghost of Christmas Present and Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.


Scrooge!


Scrooge's robe

Colin Firth is playing Nephew Fred. (For those of you who may not keep up with movies the way that I do, I'll tell a little about who they are. You should know who Jim Carrey is. Colin Firth is in my beloved Pride & Prejudice as Mr. Darcy. He is also the dad in What a Girl Wants.)


Gary Oldman is playing Bob Cratchit, Jacob Marley, and Tiny Time. (Dracula in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Sirius Black in the Harry Potter movies.)


Robin Wright Penn is playing Belle. (Buttercup in The Princess Bride and Jenny in Forrest Gump.)


Also in this car were First Edition books of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, songbooks, Christmas carols, etc. It was very neat to see.




We finished browsing this car and as we walked to the next car, we noticed mistletoe above the door. The details were great! The wallpaper was stunning.

As we entered the second car, we were told we couldn't take any pictures or video in this car because there were scenes from the movie and how they used the technology on tons of TV screens that lined the walls. It was fascinating to see how they created this animated people with real live actors' faces, actions, emotions, and quirks morphed into the animated character. Amazing, ya'll! Simply amazing!

After the first two cars, we moved on to the third car that had more TV screens, masks, and very neat miniature models of sets.


The detail in these maquettes is fantastic.


This is the construction of Big Ben which is seen as being built in the movie.


This is the model for the carriage hearse.


Fred's house.


This is Scrooge's office. The detail on the models was incredible.

We left this train car and moved on to the next one which showed more of how the technology worked.


There are little dots all over the actor's face, and Motion Capture Cameras catch every subtle movement. The actor's also have to wear these black suits that are hooked up to computers so the cameras catch the movements. The technology is really impressive.

We moved on to the next train car where there were computer screens set up everywhere. You scanned your ticket that you were given when boarding. A camera is set up to take your picture and then it morphs your face into one of the character's faces. Then, you can email your picture to yourself. Once I get the pictures, I'll be sure to post them. It was very neat.

The last train was set up really pretty. There was a "roaring fire" and a table set up with a Christmas feast.


We exited the train and moved over to the "theatre" where we got to see a 3D sneak-peek at the movie. Let me tell you, this is a movie you are not going to want to miss. The preview was wonderful! Victoria and I can't wait for it to come out.


The theatre is all inflatable. I thought it was pretty cool. The columns in front of it produced snow that floated around. It was a fun effect.

I am so glad we went. We both enjoyed it a lot. I think it is a fantastic marketing campaign. I'm glad we went when we did, too, because as we were leaving, we noticed a significant line, and we were glad we weren't standing in it. Plus, the Christmas carolers were gone. I don't blame them. This 100+ degree heat is a killer in shorts, not to mention Victorian-era clothing.

The tour took us about an hour to see the whole thing. I say go if you have the chance. You can see the tour schedule here: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/christmascaroltraintour. Click on Tour to see if there is a location near you!