The lineup can be longer than the queue to see Santa in A Christmas Story, and the leg room in the vintage cars makes Air Transat’s economy class seem positively luxurious. But none of that matters once the conductor yells “All aboard” and the Stanley Park miniature train pulls out of the station on its two-kilometre journey through Vancouver’s most magical urban forest. As adorable as the train is year-round, December is the most enchanting time to ride the rails. In addition to a whopping three million Christmas lights, Bright Lights features appearances by everyone from the elves of Snowflake Lane to a small army of nutcrackers to the Grinch that ruined Christmas worse than your Uncle Ernie did in 2004. Odds are also good that you’ll catch a glimpse or two of old Saint Nick. Add the vintage Xmas tunes pumped through the train’s fabulously tinny sound system, and you’ve got more than enough reasons every Christmas to make the mall-sized lineup worthwhile.