Photos: The Enchanting Miniature City And 'L' Trains At The Chicago Botanic Garden

By Marielle Shaw in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 30, 2015 8:55PM

The Chicago Botanic Garden’s Wonderland Express, just opened, helping kick off the official holiday season in Chicagoland.

The Wonderland Express experience begins as soon as you enter the gardens, and though the weather Friday was off-putting for it, visitors can explore the beautiful landscapes and see 750,000 LED Christmas lights guiding you towards the Regenstein Center for the main attraction.

This year’s main attraction is a remarkable plant-based miniature reproduction of the city of Chicago, with the focus on city landmarks, past and present. This year includes some sights new to the exhibit, including the Maggie Daley Skating Ribbon, L trains, and representations of Spike and Alice, the corpse flowers that drove so many to the gardens this summer.

Trains chug along intricately landscaped routes, showing off an array of winter botanical finery and the amazing detail the team at Applied Imagination—which creates these displays for Chicago and various gardens around the U.S.—have put into every building. We especially enjoyed the fauna-tastic representation of Marina Towers and painstaking details of their model of Fourth Presbyterian. Kids will find plenty to do, from tracking trains to scavenger hunts putting them on the lookout for snowmen, Thomas the Tank Engine and more. There’s even indoor snow comprised of water and vegetable oil.

The main exhibition is in a smaller space, so visiting during off-peak hours will provide you more time to take everything in. We also recommend checking out the garden’s calendar of holiday events, as Wonderland Express includes a Dec. 6 holiday market, several caroling events, ice sculpting, and both Christmas and Hanukkah Concerts.

Wonderland Express and its cadre of accompanying events provide plenty of reasons to make the trek to the Glencoe gardens this year.

Admission to the Chicago Botanic Gardens is free, though parking fees apply, but Wonderland Express does have an additional fee. You can purchase tickets online or at various spots throughout the garden itself. Wonderland Express runs from Nov. 27 through Dec. 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from Dec. 18 to Jan. 3 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. to allow for a better view of the lights. For more information, check out the garden’s website and calendar of events.