On Board 'The Polar Express'

We have had a special event on our calendar for more than a week and today was the big day.

The IMAX theater at the Henry Doorly Zoo will be showing a special 3D version of "The Polar Express" throughout the holidays. Tonight was the highly anticipated sneak preview.

We invited Aunt Jean to join us (pictured at left) and left early to try and beat the crowd. But hundreds of other families had the same idea, which meant we barely squeezed into the lobby to avoid the chill.

Unfortunately, things got worse before they got better. Since we didn't have tickets, we were relying on our friend, Larry, to get us in. But he hadn't yet arrived when the line started moving. We made it all the way to the front ... and still no Larry. So as we stepped out of line, dozens of children and adults grabbed their 3D glasses and walked inside.

Finally, Larry arrived. And none to soon. After he shooed us in, only a couple more people were allowed in, as the theater had reached its capacity. Not only that, but the only seats remaining were in the "non-3D" area on the fringes of the aisles. Here's where things started getting better.

A few people decided to leave because their friends had not made it in. That put nearly all of our group of eight into the 3D seats. Then we got the surprise of the night. Mom had the winning ticket for a door prize drawing. And what a loot we won:

The not-yet-released DVD of "The Polar Express"

A Polar Express set of pajamas, complete with "Polar Express Conductor" patch

An embroidered Polar Express ballcap

A Polar Express t-shirt


The girls show off all the great Polar Express schwag we won.

The movie, which some of us had seen last year, was great. The 3D effects were incredible — even from our "fringe" seats.