Susan M.
Yelp
The holiday lights and model train extravaganza at Union Station is worth the trip and the small entry fee, especially if you love model trains. The first part, in the Great Hall of the former train station, where the lights and decorations are, may be underwhelming for adults, but the kids will LOVE it. My favorite parts were the singing reindeer and penguins, and all the sparkling silver lights as you first enter.
The enormous, extensive model train display starts at the back of you Great Hall, where once thousands of people waited on row after row of long wooden benches (all gone now) for actual trains decades ago, and that's where the part that will appeal to all ages begins. Even people like me, who are still somewhat kids at heart, but who didn't think much about model train sets, will be enchanted by the intricate, detailed tiny lighted buildings of every sort, with trains buzzing along tracks every which way in the gigantic back room. You'll see lots of tiny versions of Kansas City landmarks, like the Western Auto building, as well as perfect tiny towns all over the place, complete with landscapes, vehicles, people...and all aspects of daily life when trains were essential personal transportation for the millions of people who passed through Union Station, one of this KC's most iconic buildings.
There's even a tornado depicted in one corner, and it lights up and crackles as if struck by lightning. That part is kind of a surprise, so be sure to wait until it does its thing! Look very closely, and you'll see a tiny cow caught up in the twister! But seeing it so soon after the recent devastating tornados that ripped across over 200 miles just south and east of KCMO was a little jarring.
There's so much going on in the model train setup, and so much detail, a train afficianado could easily spend hours caught up in it. You can't help but be at least a little enchanted!
