Pullen Park's popular Holiday Express is usually a hot ticket for parents - but Wednesday it became even more difficult when a technical glitch left customers unable to purchase tickets after waiting in line. 

The family-friendly event will be held Dec. 2 -18 from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tickets went on sale at 9 a.m. on Wednesday via the city of Raleigh's RecLink website. Users were able to login in and wait in the virtual line or queue as early as 8:45 a.m. 

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Once the ticket window opened at 9 a.m. users would be placed randomly into the queue for purchase.

The ticketing platform vendor, Vermont Systems, said in a statement to WRAL that it noticed "sporadic errors" during the checkout process around 9:15 a.m. 

"At 9:50 a.m. EST access to the waiting room was paused. The Vermont Systems Engineering team initiated corrective actions at 11:15 a.m. EST, waiting room access was reopened, and traffic returned to normal volumes," the statement continued. "We apologize for the disruption experienced by the City of Raleigh’s staff and patrons and appreciate the collaborative effort in swiftly restoring normal operations." 

During the issue, those in the virtual queue saw that the queue had been "paused" and then saw a statement from the city of Raleigh saying "the vendor has implemented a patch to fix the problem, and the queue for Holiday Express ticket sales will resume at 11:45 a.m." 

Ticket sales resumed at 11:45 a.m. and around 2 p.m. those in the virtual line or queue received a message saying that tickets had sold out.

"We understand this event is important to our community. Our team worked with our ticketing platform provider to resolve these problems quickly. We are committed to a smoother registration process moving forward," City of Raleigh Parks and Recreation Senior Marketing Communications Analyst Cara McLeod told WRAL.

What to know about Pullen Park Holiday Express tickets

  • When the ticket sale window opens at 9 a.m., all guests in the queue will be randomized and placed in line. All guests who log in after 9 a.m. will be put at the end of the line. Log in early and get into the queue if you want a better choice of train times.
    • Tickets are limited to eight per household, credit card or IP Address. Any guests who have purchased more than the allotted number of tickets may have all of their tickets canceled, official warn. 
      • Tickets can be gifted or resold at face value and then shared with the new guest via email or text. Tickets will retain the information of the original guest who purchased the tickets.
        • The train time you purchase is the time you are required to ride. You cannot request to change your train time.
          • Tickets will be emailed to the address you provide. If you do not see it, check your spam folder, for an email from Raleigh Parks.   

            Gates will open for the event at 4:30 p.m. for each night, except for Dec. 7 and 15, because earlier train rides times have been added. During that first half hour, Santa Claus, the Reindeer Food and the Crafty Elves stations, will be open. Other stations will open at 5 p.m. 

            On Dec. 7 and 15 there will be sensory friendly event from 3 to 5 p.m. During these times, there will be lower-decibel music, less crowds, less walking between activities and access to a quiet area. And even though you are attending during the day, there will still be some lights that have easy or slow movements. Sensory bags with headphones, fidgets, and additional supplies will also be available.

            What activities are at Pullen Park Holiday Express in 2024 

            Events this year include a train ride with holiday lights, arts and crafts, inflatables and carnival games, a Santa appearance, the carousel, carolers, s’mores and more.

            Where to park for Pullen Park Holiday Express? 

            • Main parking for Holiday Express will be free and located at the Coliseum Parking Deck on the NC State University Campus.
              • The deck can be accessed via Western Boulevard in either direction by heading towards Pullen Road and then turning onto Dunn Ave. 

                Win tickets to the Pullen Park Holiday Express

                WRAL’s Holiday Express Sweepstakes is giving five lucky families an extra dose of holiday cheer.

                Experience the magic of holiday lights, train rides, Santa’s toy shop, and more at one of Raleigh’s favorite holiday events. The contest runs Nov. 11-15 and winners will start being announced on WRAL News at 6 a.m. starting Nov. 18. 

                Bookmark this link wral.com/contests and go back on Nov. 11 to enter!

                WRAL is a proud sponsor of Holiday Express!