What to expect for the kids at this summer's free Disney Christmas Carol train tour across the USA

May 30, 8:34 AMEarly Childhood Parenting ExaminerAngele Sionna

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All summer long Disney is hosting a completely free train tour that winds its way across the US. The interactive 40-city train tour includes a 3D sneak peek of film footage from the upcoming movie "Disney's A Christmas Carol."

My family checked out the train this weekend while it was parked in Williams, Arizona. The lines were really short, maybe a 15 minute wait to get on the train and a 10 minute wait for the movie preview.

Once on the train, you walk through a high tech mobile museum. (Check the slide show below for a photo tour of the train. These same exhibits will be what comes to every stop in the US.) First up are costumes and other artifacts from the Charles Dickens Museum of London with some behind the scenes type clips of the film's stars and director.

Then you walk through several "how'd they do that" exhibits showing how they turned real life actors into these animated 3D characters. Really neat stuff for film buffs. Felt like we were walking through the upcoming DVD extras.

The next section was my favorite - an interactive exhibit that takes your photo and morphs it into a movie character. My girls thought it was cool to watch though the best morphing was that of my husband into the ghost. (I'll add these photos when we're sent them via email from Disney - That's free too by the way!) Lastly, you can take your family's photo at a Thanksgiving/Christmas "feast" table. A giant plastic fake turkey with animated snow in the windows was really something for my three year old!

After the train, you walk over and stand in line for a separate exhibit - a 10 minute showing of clips from the upcoming movie in 3D. It was pretty amazing looking. But then you have to consider that I haven't seen a movie in 3D in a long time. None of the 3D movies come to my local theater in the 3D format.

The train will be in Williams today (May 30, 2009) from 9a to 9p and tomorrow (May 31, 2009) 10a to 6p. Then it's on to Santa Fe on June 2 and Albuquerque June 5-7. From there, check the schedule at www.christmascaroltraintour.com.