Seminole Gulf Railway is not just a train…it is a murder mystery-dinner theatre-train ride.
At 6pm the guests arrive at Colonial Station and to board the train. Passengers sit in reconditioned 1930-40s vintage railcars, named Sanibel, Captiva, Gasparilla, and Marco, which is a half-dining/half-kitchen car.
The Dinner Train Theater is part of the Seminole Gulf Railway system, which owns and operates almost 100 miles of track, from Arcadia to North Naples. The railway began its dinner train and passenger excursions in 1991. Since its first production, Murder on the Seminole Express, it has premiered 12 original murder mystery productions and hosted more than 120,000 patrons.
The train features special excursions for the holidays. It offers Thanksgiving Day dinner at two seatings—12:15pm and 5:30pm—serving a traditional New England feast. During the month of December it offers combination rail/boat trips, providing a tour of holiday lighting displays from the water and a meal on the train. It also offers a special holiday presentation as part of its Dinner Train Theater and has scheduled a New Year’s Eve celebration on the train.
As we prepared to leave the station (on Friday the 13th I might add) for our evening’s entertainment, we were offered refreshments. The train has a full cash bar, and the menu lists three specials: Little Red Caboose, Seminole Smile, and Choo-Choo Shuffle.
Our server, took our orders for dinner. We had a choice of salad or fruit cup, and boneless breast of chicken, poached Atlantic salmon, or roast prime rib of beef. (The menu stays the same year-round, except for the soup, and dessert.)
We munched on cheese and crackers, grapes, and cantaloupe. Everyone boarded and we pull out of the station at 6:20pm. The production of "Till Murder do us Part" began. The story took us back to the 1920s with prohibition in full swing (not to worry, they still served alcohol). We watched the story unfold as actors whisked in and out of car revealing bits and pieces of information. We’re told to take notes and fill out answer sheets by the end of the eight 5-minute scenes. The winner were announced after the resolution. At the end of the eighth scene, we fill out our answer sheets.
We were losers at our table. A woman near the end of the car is the winner, and she receives a Seminole Gulf coffee mug. Overall the whole experience was impressive. I was a slightly disappointed with the view, but it was a true experience none the less.
Website is www.semgulf.com. We paid $63 a ticket which included dinner but not drinks.