Delicious Indeed!

Great update! Yeah, traveling by train is fun, but sleeping in a chair isn't exactly the most comfortable.
 
Sleeping in that is probably a whole lot more comfortable than I was in the car! It took us 25 hrs and that's because we hit lots of holiday weekend traffic. It was not funny!

Leo the Cheeto :lmao:
 
Being on the train overnight sounds like quite the adventure. I think it would have made me nervous to watch the 24 episode with the train blowing up while on a train, too. :rotfl:
 
Love the update, I liked seeing other parts of the train! Why were the other cars so gross? :eek: Ugh that would bother me, luckily you guys got a nice, clean car!

I probably wouldn't have slept much either, I really can't sleep well sitting up, and I get woken up by every little noise.

Yay, you're finally in Orlando! :woohoo:
 
Great update! Yeah, traveling by train is fun, but sleeping in a chair isn't exactly the most comfortable.

It took me a while to learn that if I curled up in a ball and put my head on my pillow on the armrest, I was more comfortable. It probably wasn't the most attractive sleeping position, but I'm sure everyone else on the train felt the same way!

Sleeping in that is probably a whole lot more comfortable than I was in the car! It took us 25 hrs and that's because we hit lots of holiday weekend traffic. It was not funny!

Leo the Cheeto :lmao:

YES! That's what I kept telling myself. I liked being able to sleep on the train more than the car because I could sleep longer. There definitely was more room. Plus, the motion was pretty constant. It's easier to wake up in a car. How great would it be if all DISers could have just one Amtrak car?!? Haha, that'd be comfortable! And I would think everyone would be more careful about keeping the bathrooms clean!

I think it's hilarious that we had a Cheeto there. Normally, I'd be grossed out by food on the floor where I would have to put my stuff, but it was one piece that wasn't bitten. Plus, it was so innocent and unassuming!

Being on the train overnight sounds like quite the adventure. I think it would have made me nervous to watch the 24 episode with the train blowing up while on a train, too. :rotfl:

I couldn't help but laugh when it handed because I couldn't believe that that was the first episode!!! When Howard asked about flying for our Disneymoon, I said that I was scared and he'd have to find a way to get me on the plane. He said, "We'll watch 24." I said, "Make sure the episode doesn't have something happening on a plane!!!"
 
Love the update, I liked seeing other parts of the train! Why were the other cars so gross? :eek: Ugh that would bother me, luckily you guys got a nice, clean car!

I probably wouldn't have slept much either, I really can't sleep well sitting up, and I get woken up by every little noise.

Yay, you're finally in Orlando! :woohoo:

I really loved the fact that we got a good train car. I don't know why people can't just clean up after themselves. I see it in my students too, and it really disturbs me! Even if you only clean up after yourself, the world would be better! Haha, I need a soapbox.

I think I learned how to get up to every single noise once my younger brother was born. I would hear him cry or something and get up. Beforehand, I could sleep through everything ... even a smoke alarm!

RACHEL!!!!

I'm here and signed up! Brb to catch up!

Yay! Funny thing is I actually just clicked on your TR to catch up!
 
Yay, you started!

Glad you had a good train ride. The scenery to Orlando looks much more exciting than the scenery to Grand Forks North Dakota! Which is the last train ride I was on and I hated it!

Can't wait to hear about your trip!
 
I'm all caught up!

Woooow, what a ride! I recently took a really long ride from Toronto to Montreal on a cramped little bus, but it costs twice as much to take the train! But also 4 times as fast!

You updates really make me want to go on a train ride. I've never taken a ride on a real one, and yours just seem so nice. So those power outlets weren't with every seat right? I didn't see the ones on Dani's side.

Mmm, nature valley granola bars. My favourite is the fruit and nut.

You guys are SO FREAKIN AWESOME, naming a cheeto. When we're on long rides like this, Andrew almost always falls asleep the first 10 minutes and I'm just left awake, listening to my ipod. I wish we could have crazy naming advantures like you and Weird too.
 
Haha, what wonderful timing!

It was such a treat being able to read update after update!!!

Yay, you started!

Glad you had a good train ride. The scenery to Orlando looks much more exciting than the scenery to Grand Forks North Dakota! Which is the last train ride I was on and I hated it!

Can't wait to hear about your trip!

Ooo, you just reminded me of the videos I have to post! We passed through some towns. It was so funny because only like a stone's throw away (if that's the correct phrase~) there were houses! I can't imagine living right next to the train tracks.

I'm all caught up!

Woooow, what a ride! I recently took a really long ride from Toronto to Montreal on a cramped little bus, but it costs twice as much to take the train! But also 4 times as fast!

You updates really make me want to go on a train ride. I've never taken a ride on a real one, and yours just seem so nice. So those power outlets weren't with every seat right? I didn't see the ones on Dani's side.

Mmm, nature valley granola bars. My favourite is the fruit and nut.

You guys are SO FREAKIN AWESOME, naming a cheeto. When we're on long rides like this, Andrew almost always falls asleep the first 10 minutes and I'm just left awake, listening to my ipod. I wish we could have crazy naming advantures like you and Weird too.

The train is better than the bus because there's technically no traffic! Well, we do have to stop for freight trains to pass, but I'd rather have that than the stop and go of possible traffic on a bus. I really would not want to get motion sick!

Nope, there were power outlets at every seat! I think Dani's are just blocked because they pulled their trays closer to them. We were so excited about that!

On the way back, Howard was sleeping for most of it! I was typing up stuff for the TR and looking at him and wondering, "How long is this guy gonna sleep?!?" He'd wake up, look at me and smile, and then fall back asleep! Haha.
 
Sunday, February 20: Our White Car

Getting off the train was a bit different than getting on. At Penn Station, you walk directly on because the door is level with the platform. At most other stations, you had to use the stairs and the little stepstool that they provided.

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Thankfully, the Amtrak attendants are very nice in helping and assisting you! I had to take a picture of our buddy Alan!

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We walked towards the station even though we weren't quite sure where to go. It was a bit strange seeing all this in person because I had seen the Orlando Amtrak station in pictures.

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We had to go in there to find what we needed.

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Once in the Amtrak station, we put our stuff on the benches, and we took turns going to the bathroom. Wow, you really do take stationary bathrooms for granted! Haha, I forgot how much I should appreciate them! I talked to Nikki and found out why Dani moved in the middle of the night. Apparently, there was some creeper on the train! This man went to Nik in the middle of the night and tried to take her bag or something, but she felt it because she had wrapped the strap around her arm or something. She woke up and the man said, "Can I sit here?" So Nik moved her stuff because she thought he joined the train or something and that was his seat. He tried making conversation with her, but she said, "I'm trying to sleep" because she didn't want to deal with him. However, she didn't sleep. She stayed awake and pretended to sleep. When she saw him reaching or taking her earbuds, she said, "Excuse me! Those are mine!" He was "slick" and picked up the wrapper from a package of Pocky sticks she had eaten as a snack and asked what the snack was. I don't remember all the details, but the guy left at one point and returned. When he left again, she woke up Danielle and that's why she moved up. I told Nik that she should've woken us ALL up! Then we could've gotten an Amtrak attendant to kick the guy off! I said that even all the people on our car wouldn't have minded if she had yelled and woken everyone else up because they too wouldn't have wanted anyone trying to steal their stuff! Plus, we had such a nice car filled with families. I think they would've been very protective as well.

After hearing the story, I went to tell Howard and join him in line for Hertz at a teeny-tiny counter. After waiting and deciding all the last minute things (ex. we’d refill the tank ourselves, we wouldn’t be purchasing their accident plans), a man led us outside to the small parking lot and showed us the car. It was a … white car. Haha. I’m going to say it was a Mitsubishi, but I’ll have Howard correct me if it’s not the case!

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I had read an article a few months earlier about being careful with rental cars. The writer suggested that we take pictures of the car, especially of the dents and scratches that were already there. I took pics going around the car since there were scratches on the back. Oh wait, you can see that it's a Gallant in this pic! Haha, I didn't know even when dad asked me yesterday. I was like, "Um, we had a white car."

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Funny thing is that throughout the week, I would often walk towards the wrong white car! What did I know?!? That's why I also took a pic of the license plate just in case!

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Then we had the fun-fun time of trying to load all the bags into the car!!! I had told everyone to bring duffel bags so that we could squish everything in, but Dani had brought a hard carryon luggage (although it was very compact) and Nik had brought a large duffel that had the rolling function, which meant the hard handles and frame. We had to keep a good amount of it in the car with us. Thankfully, the timeshare wasn’t that far away!

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We couldn’t head straight there yet though since check-in was at 4pm, and it was before 12pm. I forgot the exact time we arrived. The plan was to head to an outlet first to check for Disney pins since the last time Howard and I went, we bought about 20 of them for only 50 cents! Stupid us didn’t think to buy ALL of them!!!

Of course, I had a list of 3 outlets in my trip report notebook from last year, so I wasn’t sure which one it was. We picked the one that was closest to us as we typed in the addresses on the GPS. Woohoo, it ended up being the correct one with the Character Warehouse!

On the way, Howard and I were amazed at all these traffic lights hanging there! It seems so unstable. I can't imagine what happens to them during high winds.

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Well, we finally arrived at the outlet after searching for a spot for a while. That'll be in the next update!
 
Woo hoo, you made it to Orlando!!! Can't wait for more!
 
Oooh, so I now had two updates to read after my night shift! And my first sleep deprived comment has to do with a pic youtook on the train where you can see all the pine trees through the window. It totally made me think of all the Hogwarts train rides in the movies. You always see forests and trees in the movie. I would have pretended I was on my way to Hogwarts for some part of the train ride! :laughing:

Next - ew, creeper story. I would have been totally freaked out. I would have made one of the guys move over next to me and woken up everyone as a heads up to the creepiness.

Can't wait to see how you make out with pins. I may have to keep that in mind for our next trip, whenever that is as DD totally got into pin trading this time around. It was so cute to watch!
 
Hi! I just found your report yesterday and I love it. I have never read a TR where people took Amtrak to WDW, it's really interesting! You guys seem like you are having a blast and you haven't even gotten there yet.

I am also preparing for my first-and-only trip to WDW as an engaged lady :cloud9: congrats on your engagement!!

[Here we are in Philly, I think.

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Yes, that's Philly - in fact that's my office building, where I'm sitting right now! All DISers should wave to me when they come through on Amtrak on the way to Florida (while I'm stuck at work!)

Also I totally know what SNL sketch you were talking about (sadly it's no more, since Jenny Slate was let go last season). It was so hilarious!
 
I can't believe that the guy was trying to steal Nikki's stuff! Like you said, I bet nobody in the car would have cared if she had screamed and yelled at the guy. You could have all taken him down.:thumbsup2

Good idea about taking pictures of the rental car, especially since it had a few scratches on the back.

Looking forward to seeing what you bought at the outlet.
 
Hooray for making it to Orlando!

Wow all those traffic lights are so confusing lol. I've never seen that many before!


Looking forward to your time at the outlet (and possibly shopping pics? hehe ;))
 
I bet it was really nice to get off the train and back on solid ground. That's so creepy, having someone trying to take things. Too bad they didn't catch the guy.

I think rental cars are hard to spot, too. It's nice to bring a Mickey antenna topper, so it stands out, but a lot of the new cars don't have antennas anymore.
 
Woo hoo, you made it to Orlando!!! Can't wait for more!

I actually have to write this weekend then since everything I've posted up until this point was written on the train! Haha, of course, I also have a ton of vacation assignments to grade and parent teacher conferences this Thursday and Friday. Blah. I wish I were back in Florida!

Oooh, so I now had two updates to read after my night shift! And my first sleep deprived comment has to do with a pic youtook on the train where you can see all the pine trees through the window. It totally made me think of all the Hogwarts train rides in the movies. You always see forests and trees in the movie. I would have pretended I was on my way to Hogwarts for some part of the train ride! :laughing:

Next - ew, creeper story. I would have been totally freaked out. I would have made one of the guys move over next to me and woken up everyone as a heads up to the creepiness.

Can't wait to see how you make out with pins. I may have to keep that in mind for our next trip, whenever that is as DD totally got into pin trading this time around. It was so cute to watch!

Haha, they joked about the train and Hogwarts too!!! There was a time when we went directly through the thickest fog we've ever seen. We had no clue where we were because it was just FOG! Howard started humming the HP theme!

Yeah, I think she didn't say anything because she wasn't entirely sure that he was doing something wrong that first time when he asked to sit. We do pick up new passengers at new stops, so maybe that's what she thought. I hate that it happened to her though.

I'll talk about the pins in the next update! Unfortunately, it wasn't as fun as the last time. However, if your DD likes pins, it will be cheaper to pick some up there instead of in the parks.

Hi! I just found your report yesterday and I love it. I have never read a TR where people took Amtrak to WDW, it's really interesting! You guys seem like you are having a blast and you haven't even gotten there yet.

I am also preparing for my first-and-only trip to WDW as an engaged lady :cloud9: congrats on your engagement!!

Yes, that's Philly - in fact that's my office building, where I'm sitting right now! All DISers should wave to me when they come through on Amtrak on the way to Florida (while I'm stuck at work!)

Also I totally know what SNL sketch you were talking about (sadly it's no more, since Jenny Slate was let go last season). It was so hilarious!

YAY, I love having new readers and new friends :hug:

I was really excited to go on Amtrak so I could also report on it! I know there was a thread on Amtrak on the transportation board, but I haven't seen TRs with it. I did read one where the family took AutoTrain, but that's a different experience because they had a room, guaranteed dining, and their car came along with them!

Congratulations to you too! Will you be doing a TR too, Miss Engaged Lady? ;)

How funny is it that you were in one of those buildings! We just happened to comment on it and take pics of it! I have to tell Howard right away, haha.

HONK HONK, I'm a train horn! Howard and I always did the car horn thing in the car. It wasn't one of the funniest skits ever written, but I saw it and made him watch it. Because we joke about it all the time, it's BECOME one of the funniest sketches for us!

I can't believe that the guy was trying to steal Nikki's stuff! Like you said, I bet nobody in the car would have cared if she had screamed and yelled at the guy. You could have all taken him down.:thumbsup2

Good idea about taking pictures of the rental car, especially since it had a few scratches on the back.

Looking forward to seeing what you bought at the outlet.

I think EVERYONE would've jumped up and done something about it! We had a very family-oriented car, and I KNOW they would've been angry too! I started imagining what would've happened ... all the dads would get up to block the car doors while someone else ran to get a car attendant who would then make him get off the train at the next station into the hands of the police! Haha, overactive imagination maybe, but I wish that would happen to that guy! Hate it when people are dishonest like that!

Outlet update will be next, but I realized I do have some Amtrak videos to post first!

Hooray for making it to Orlando!

Wow all those traffic lights are so confusing lol. I've never seen that many before!

Looking forward to your time at the outlet (and possibly shopping pics? hehe ;))

I'm so used to seeing traffic lights on the poles; that was totally new for me!

Yup! There will be a few shopping pics, but I didn't take as many this year as I did last year because I kept remembering those Tren-D updates FILLED with pics! Haha. We took pics of cute things and things we wanted! Haha, but that's normal.

I bet it was really nice to get off the train and back on solid ground. That's so creepy, having someone trying to take things. Too bad they didn't catch the guy.

I think rental cars are hard to spot, too. It's nice to bring a Mickey antenna topper, so it stands out, but a lot of the new cars don't have antennas anymore.

It was definitely nice to walk again! I know we can technically walk around the train, but none of us did. I guess we didn't feel comfortable enough since we didn't want to leave our stuff alone and because we'd have to walk through many coach cars. Howard was pretty worried about someone taking our stuff that he also brought a laptop lock. We didn't use it on the train, but coming home, we just made sure the important stuff was in front or under my reclined seat since I was on the inside.

Ooo, the Mickey antenna thing is such a good idea! But you're right about the new cars not having antennas. Nikki did say that her friend has this app on his phone that you press when you park your car. When you need to find your car, it tells you exactly where to go, like GPS!
 
Sunday, February 20: Amtrak Videos

Here are just a few more videos from Amtrak! This vacation, I decided to take more videos because I think they capture more of the fun! I can describe to you how fast the train really goes, but I don't think it's the same unless you actually see it! I don't know if this is the fastest it goes, but it was a difference from the starting speed, of course. Going at that speed constantly made me happy because I knew we were getting closer and closer to Orlando!



In this video, you can see just how close we are to residential areas. I can't imagine living in a house that has the train literally right outside your door! Normally, the train makes horn sounds as it passes any place where people are, but it didn't really do that here. I also can't help but think about the people inside those houses! What were they doing as I was going off on vacation?



I wanted to take a picture of this, but it was on video, so it's rather short. As I said in one of the previous updates, Howard and I got a kick out of reading the graffiti as if we were tough (haha, and as if we knew what it meant). We cracked up when we both said, "SNAKES!" at the same time!



In this video, you see that we're staying completely still and not moving because a freight train is passing us. I know that's why a lot of people complain about Amtrak. Freight trains have right of way, so we have to stop and let them pass. Despite the fact that we did that, I don't think it affected our time at all. I guess that time is built into the time that it takes to get from NY to Orlando. The same goes for coming back. We stopped for freight trains AND at a station where they had to fix something, but our time wasn't affected. In fact, coming back home, we were a good 15-20 mins early despite the station stop!



This is when Howard and I were walking back to our seats from the cafe car. There are big black rectangular buttons on the doors that you push so that the door will open. That gets you to the space between the cars. Then you press another one to get to the car you're going into. Howard's in front of me so you can't see it that clearly, but you can get an idea how you move from car to car. We were stopped at that point, so it wasn't shaking around. Either way, whether the train is moving or not, it's a lot easier to move from car to car as compared to NYC subways! Haha, it had better be since people are carrying trays of food or kids!



Okie dokie, that's about it for Amtrak! For real, this time. Haha, I just forgot I had videos! Be prepared for more videos throughout this trip report!
 

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