All about the Autotrain

[psimon]

Took the AT southbound on 10/31 and northbound on 11/8. Both times ahead of schedule. It was our first time. HOLY COW! We LOVED IT!!!! Now, I can see where it's not for everyone. But, for our family of 4 (2 adults, a 4 yr old and a 1 yr old) in a family bedroom was perfect. We slept in ways I'm sure the designers of that room never thought of, but it all worked out.

In our real lives, we all sleep in the master BR -- pop-up daybed for the kids, king size for the parents, and in the morning, we never know who's going to end up in which bed. I'd characterize us as "flexible sleepers." So, you can imagine how great the family bedroom was for us.

We were also on the AT northbound on 10/8. We did not get a bedroom... just used our seats. There were 4 of us (2 adults and B/G twins, age 12). We were 4 cars in front of the dining car. We were asked whether we wanted to be in the car with the "kids" or a quieter car. We opted for the quieter car. I'm glad we did.... we pasted through those other cars. They were noisy with kids everywhere, including the floors! As the evening went on there were kids even sleeping on the floor!

Anyway, we found it rather difficult to really get sleep. It wasn't because of the noise from the train or neighbors..... we just couldn't get comfortable. We probably got the same if not less sleep had we driven all the way through! My kids sleep fine in our car (and so can we )

Would we do it again? Probably not.

Time wise it certainly isn't worth it. When we drive, we drive all the way straight through. Going south, we left home on 10/30 at 4PM and was on Disney property at 9AM the next day (that included stops for a real dinner, a few for gas, and a real stop for breakfast). Going north on the train on 11/8, we left Downtown Disney at 12:30PM and pulled into our driveway exactly 24 hours later, at 12:30 on Sunday. So timewise it isn't worth it.

Cost.... just getting 4 seats and the car was just under $500 (including dinner and breakfast). Plus the gas to the train from Disney and the 160 miles from Lorton to NJ. For us to drive, it took about 50 gallons of gas, averaging about $2.30/gallon. So.... It cost about $125 for fuel plus dinner and breakfast. Not even $200 total. Yes, I know there is wear on the car not included in this, but that is comparably minimal.

As to spending the additional for a sleeper...... no way! I thought $500 was pushing it. Close to $1000 for a one way trip just seems way to much to us!

Looks like next year, we are back to driving both ways. We can be there from Southern New Jersey in 17 hours, and not as poor when we get there!

Just our opinion. To each their own!

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[nono]

Hey Paul -- I dare you to drive straight through with my 4 and 1 year old in the car. You'll be searching for the nearest cliff to drive off of.... Good to know that I can reconsider it at some point in the future, as your kids are much older than mine.

As for price, flying down for Jersey Week was running $3000 for 4 when we were needing to make our transportation decisions...we paid $1500 round trip on the AT.

So, while it may be way more expensive than driving, it was the better choice for us that week of travel.

I totally agree with you that it's not a type of travel for everyone. As you can probably guess, we've decided the train travel enhanced our overall vacation. We pushed the kids HARD the last day (they were willing!) and did our last ride of Toy Story Mania at 1 pm before running back to the Boardwalk to drive over to get the train. I didn't have to worry about being overtired affecting their behavior on the plane. I could just put them in the compartment and let them pass out or watch a video at any moment (not just after reaching 10,000 ft), etc. Also, my husband travels for a living, and in this instance, arrived home from Seattle Thursday evening before we took off early Friday morning to head to WDW. To just drive a few hours and then be "off duty" was very apealing to him.

I'm glad for posts like yours following mine though -- I often feel my experiences aren't always the norm, and it is good to have a balance out there!

 

[psimon]

Hey Paul -- I dare you to drive straight through with my 4 and 1 year old in the car. You'll be searching for the nearest cliff to drive off of.... Good to know that I can reconsider it at some point in the future, as your kids are much older than mine.

As for price, flying down for Jersey Week was running $3000 for 4 when we were needing to make our transportation decisions...we paid $1500 round trip on the AT.

So, while it may be way more expensive than driving, it was the better choice for us that week of travel.

I totally agree with you that it's not a type of travel for everyone. As you can probably guess, we've decided the train travel enhanced our overall vacation. We pushed the kids HARD the last day (they were willing!) and did our last ride of Toy Story Mania at 1 pm before running back to the Boardwalk to drive over to get the train. I didn't have to worry about being overtired affecting their behavior on the plane. I could just put them in the compartment and let them pass out or watch a video at any moment (not just after reaching 10,000 ft), etc. Also, my husband travels for a living, and in this instance, arrived home from Seattle Thursday evening before we took off early Friday morning to head to WDW. To just drive a few hours and then be "off duty" was very apealing to him.

I'm glad for posts like yours following mine though -- I often feel my experiences aren't always the norm, and it is good to have a balance out there!

I am also glad to see both sides posted here....

As an aside, we have been driving straight through for the last 5 years.... so they were 7 at the time. Before that we would stop for a few hours half way down (in Lumberton, NC) get an early start the next day and be on property by 3. They loved that too. I guess we are lucky to have kids that love to be in the car and watch the world go by (if they aren't snoozing ).

They really love watching videos at 2AM... that is on e of the highlights of their trip!

---Paul in Southern NJ

 

[bdcp]

We were southbound on 10/30 and northbound on 11/14. Soutbound, we were running smoothly and quickly, and then in the middle of the night, the train suddenly stopped, shut down and the lights in the middle of the ceiling came on. After a few minutes we started up and moving again. The next morning they announced we had completely lost one engine but we still got in around 11, so not terrible and our car was like number 10 coming off and we were on our way to Port Canaveral. On Friday 14 Nov, we got a smooth start and even though we ran into some thunderstorms, it didn't really slow us down and we were like 20 minutes early into Florence, we were in Lorton at 8:15 and even after stopping for groceries and picking up our mail, we were at our home by 10:30 (we only live about 45 minutes away from Lorton). Our car was in the last 30 or so cars from what I could tell by the number of people still there. Both rides were fine, we were in coach, met nice people, etc. The only disconcerting thing was after getting home,we find out there was a tornado that killed two people around 3 am in NC, about 35 miles south of Raleigh. Although by 3 am we were north of there, it's still tough not having internet or tv knowing the weather was questionable.

 

[AStamm]

Anyone travel alone with their child and feel safe? DS and I are going on a DCL cruise on June 6 (his 10th birthday), to be joined the following week by DH for our regular summer WDW vacation (3 full weeks for the first time ). Economically, it makes the most sense for DS and I to either drive or go down on the train, since we'd otherwise need to rent a car for at least 3 of those weeks or be stuck at WDW the entire time. I just can't see myself comfortably driving down from PA to FL by myself, exhausted from being the sole driver.

I'm looking at getting us the roomette. I read a few posts that mentioned an on-board movie. Will we still be able to join the masses and watch? Also, I'm a terrible sleeper if I'm not laying down completely flat--the night picture on the Amtrak site looks really small. Will I be able to stretch out enough?

 

[bdcp]

A roomette has bunks and the top one is the small one. It's very, very safe. We leave books, jackets, pillows, etc at our seats when we go eat, etc and haven't had a problem. While I won't leave anything of real value out, we leave our laptops in bags above our seats and don't worry about them. DH and I travel together, but I have no problem walking around on my own and actually sleep alone in coach if there's enough seats. We each take two seats whenever possible after all reserved seats are claimed. The roomette will work fine with a 10 year old since he can easily sleep in the top bunk. Believe me, almost everyone is a couple or families and there are not people getting off and on at other stops. The AT only loads and discharges passengers in Lorton and Sanford. We just made our third round trip and other than people talking a little loudly or snoring, everyone has been very nice and friendly. A ten year old can go to the bathroom alone since they are singles, like airplanes and each car has their own so other than going downstairs, he won't have to go far.

The movie is held in the lounge car and is on a small tv screen. We take our laptops and watch our own. There are people who sit up all night in the lounge playing cards so there aren't always seats. It really depends on when you're traveling. June will be mostly families. Oct, Nov, April, May has a lot of snowbirds and they are usually the ones claiming the lounge seats, some even sleep on them. But overall, as a woman, I would feel comfortable traveling completely alone on the AT.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

I traveled alone on the Autotrain more times than I can remember! Probably over 20 times. I love the train, and feel very safe on it. I gone coach only abour four times, since I far perfer sleeper if I can afford it - I really enjoy my privacy and need to stretch out to sleep. I love setting up camp in my sleeper and enjoying the ride!

The train sounds like a great way for AStamm to get to Florida, as you skip about 15 hours of monotonous driving, and a much safer way to travel since Amtrak does the driving!

I took the train south on October 24th and north on November 1st, and had wonderful trips both ways. Even better, on my southbound trip, I just happen to be on the train on the Autotrain's 25th birthday, so we all got a little present from Amtrak (a cloth bag for luggage). Both trips were great overall, and the train was ontime - actually we were really early coming north, but that was because of daylight savings time and we gained an extra hour!

I love the train, and hope to ride again in 2009!

 

[AStamm]

Thanks for the two reassuring replies. While it tacks another day onto our already ridiculously long vacation, it certainly makes the most sense to get us to FL comfortably and would be much more inexpensive than flying down and renting a car for a month.

Anybody else travel solo with a child/children?

 

[pplasky]

We like the autotrain too. While we could get there quicker and cheaper driving straight through, we do not like driving that long. It is nicer to read, walk around, watch a movie, play a game with the kids, etc. When we drive, we always stay at a motel over night, still have the hassle of driving, and the added cost of staying overnight.

Auto-train every time for us!

 

[RustManFan]

Have take the AT about 6 times....twice because we were taking camping equipment for FW. Other times because my sister was with us and she won't fly. Do enjoy the train anyway. It is often an adventure itself!

We never worry about whether we will arrive on time or not. Don't plan much (if anything) for day of arrival. Have had many legitimate reasons for delays (hurricane, flooding, suicide...) We have also been right on time and early. It is random on who gets cars off first. Certainly not in order loaded. Once we were in the first half dozen and once we were near the very end.

Have always taken I4. May have to check out 417 next November.

BTW - we have never gotten a sleeper and have rested, if not actually slept, fine. I need it pitch black to really sleep. As long as I have my own pillow and blanket I am fine the next day.

 

[jodifla]

Anyone travel alone with their child and feel safe? DS and I are going on a DCL cruise on June 6 (his 10th birthday), to be joined the following week by DH for our regular summer WDW vacation (3 full weeks for the first time ). Economically, it makes the most sense for DS and I to either drive or go down on the train, since we'd otherwise need to rent a car for at least 3 of those weeks or be stuck at WDW the entire time. I just can't see myself comfortably driving down from PA to FL by myself, exhausted from being the sole driver.

I'm looking at getting us the roomette. I read a few posts that mentioned an on-board movie. Will we still be able to join the masses and watch? Also, I'm a terrible sleeper if I'm not laying down completely flat--the night picture on the Amtrak site looks really small. Will I be able to stretch out enough?

I did this twice with just me and my son....he was 3 the first time, 4 the second time. We LOVED it! It was so much fun. Of course, being so young, my son was TOTALLY into the train phase at that point.

We did roomettes both time. Cozy, but there is room to lie down completely.

I'd do it again in a heartbeat! I felt completely safe.

Jodifla

 

[sraiford]

We are taking the AT for the very first time Thanksgiving day. We have the coach seats reserved for now, but I would like some opinions about that? We got a great deal for our family of 4. Two boys 10 & 6. Do you think I should have spent the extra $ on the roomette or do you think we will be able to sleep in the chairs?

 

[bdcp]

We didn't find the roomettes comfortable at all (mattresses are a couple of inches of foam and you have little room overall to sleep) and there is no storage in there once the beds are set up. Coach is fine. Lots of people do it. We've done it twice and actually went back to coach after a roomette.

 

[alex1963]

Can someone tell me if the upper bunks have a rail of some sort so that littles ones don't roll out?
We are going on the AT Dec 17th and returning Dec 29th. I can't wait! My husband and I worked for Ringling Bros Circus for a few years and lived and travelled around the country on a train. so I can't wait for this trip so that our girls can kind of get an idea of what it was like for us back in the day.
I hope they like it!

 

[labdogs42]

After my miserable experience on the plane on our last trip, I'm really thinking hard about the Autotrain for our next trip. How early do I need to book? And when will they have the prices and schedule out for December 2009?

 

[bdcp]

BTW, anyone who thinks their train is "early" when it arrives before 9:30 needs to remember that the train's regular schedule used to have it arrive at 8:30 (as recently as two years ago) and it was regularly late, so an adjustment to the arrival time on Amtrak's part makes it appear that the train is on time or early much of the time.

 

[christinou]

Can someone tell me if the upper bunks have a rail of some sort so that littles ones don't roll out?

In the roomette the upper bunk has a net type of thing.
We really enjoy the auto train, and have done both the rooms and the regular seats, what I love about the room and the quietness.
it can get fairly loud in coach.

 

[sraiford]

We booked in September for our Nov 28-Dec 6 trip. We got a great special they were running. We paid $68 per adult and kids were half price. Our total for 2Adults/2children was $204 each way for our seats plus the cost of the car. Just keep checking the website for deals.

 

[drew64]

Just announced

Auto Train Cancelled

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Amtrak announced that it has canceled south and northbound Auto Trains for Tuesday and Wednesday. The Auto Train operates between Lorton, Virginia, and Sanford, Florida.

A spokesperson said the cancellations were made so the company can assess a mechanical problem with some of the trains' auto carriers and were made only as a precaution, not because of any problems.

The spokesperson also said the rail company will make a service restoration estimate when the manufacturer recommends a course of action.

 

[vllygrrl]

We booked in September for our Nov 28-Dec 6 trip. We got a great special they were running. We paid $68 per adult and kids were half price. Our total for 2Adults/2children was $204 each way for our seats plus the cost of the car. Just keep checking the website for deals.

Hey - my family is travelling down on the Nov 28 train too! We're returning on the 7th.