OK many questions where does this leave from? Is it cheaper than flying? We are in CT and looking to go to WDW late Sept. Thanks I was curious about this? Do you bring your own car?
We are from central CT and have traveled on the AT for the last 6 yrs in August. We leave at 2 am the day of departure. We are able to bypass all rush hour traffic. We usually hit Maryland for breakfast around 7am. We hang out for almost an hour. We arrive in Lorton at approx 11 am. We do make about 4 bathroom stops too w/ the kids so our time might be a little longer than others. (a stop for us can take 20 mins btn unbuckling/rebuckling car seats). We grab lunch nearby the station and hit our favorite $1 store. We always bring our own vehicle. We pack an overnight bag w/ change of clothes, bathroom essentials. We also take stuff to keep the kids amused- DVD players, game units, cards.
Your ticket will include a diner and breakfast too. There is also a movie shown in the lounge car but we have never attended them. We have traveled in Coach and Sleeper before. At the moment I prefer Sleeper bc w/ ds2 it is easier to have him sleep than trying to hold on to him in coach. He is a tosser/turn and I don't think I slept a wink on our return trip last time.
The train leaves by 4pm. We have left earlier if everyone is loaded. Diner times are 5 and 7 and possibly 9. Lights are turned down in Coach by 9 pm.
We usually sleep until 630. We check to see if we are ahead or behind time. Most of the time we have been early. We grab Breakfast and pack up = our arrivals have been around 830am. Waiting for ur car to unload can take some time. We were lucky a few yrs in a row when our van came off #3 and #5. Sometimes it has been almost an hr wait for the vehicle to come off. We generally check in at our resort by 1030.
If you take the train you have to have the mind that it is part of the adventure. Be prepared for delays. We have always packed extras in the event of a delay (meds/diapers/formula). In the past we have been several hours late in arrival. Aug 2008 our return train was cancelled due to TS Fay. The next avail train out was 5 days later. We opted to stay at disney. We were told that the train 2 days after our reg sch departure - that train was delayed 17 hrs on the tracks! Soo glad we couldn't get on that train. We always have an open day on arrival and give ourselves an extra day on our return.
The autotrain can be cheaper than airfare/parking/baggage charges. For our family of 6 it is a cheaper option plus we have our vehicle w/ us which is a great big plus. Some people may say it is not cheaper as in time length. My dc just found out that we can be in WDW in 2hrs w/ flying. At the moment DH works for Amtrak so we get to travel for free and that sure beats paying over $2000 for tickets. Our dc LOVE the train. We purchased DVC so traveling is a big part of the budget. If DH no longer had that perk we would still use the autotrain bc it is still cheaper than flying for our party size.
The further you book the trip out the cheaper it is. the closer to departure the more expensive it gets. If you have AAA or AARP there is also discounts.
If you have any other ?'s I'd be happy to assist
good luck w/ your decision
