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Polar Express now stops at Chicago Union Station
Reading the details on the site, the entire experience is two hours, but the train ride itself is only one houe.
As a railfan, I’d like to know what the route will be. It says it’s point to point with changes in direction. I wonder if it’s basically just ambling through the yard and station like the Train Day tour train does.
The tickets for Monticello sold out in minutes back in June. Additional trains were added in October and those sales were quite brisk as well.
Makes one wonder if an organization could pull off just doing Polar Express the entire year…
Maybe they should leave from Track 9 3/4. 
If Polar Express was going to Madison from Ohare, even to MSP, thatd be sweet.
Or Milwaukee to Green Bay?
Replying to David Streeter’s question from a month ago, I was able to watch it a little today. Route seems to be from CUS station track 1 to Main 1 to just clear of Canal St. (going a train length on to Metra’s track, the only place I believe it will be off of Amtrak owned track), then south via station tracks 23 (north side) and 40 (south side) and on south across South Branch Bridge and onto the connection to CN to Joliet. I lost sight of it at this point but based on time, I doubt, it went beyond the home signal on to CN. Then do it all the other way back to CUS track 1.
Engine was only on the north end with a trainman using a tailhose for the southward moves. Train speed is very slow - about 5 mph throughout the trip (measuring on Google Earth, it is about 2.5 miles between the extreme ends of the trip so just a little over 5 mph fits with the trip being an hour long).