All about the Autotrain

[christinou]

Hi Lisa, we are also from Ithaca, small world, and we have taken the auto train a number of times, we really enjoy it, I would have the tickets mailed, because they will not take your car, until they see your tickets, so it might be easier to have them in hand. If you go on a day that it is not crowded, then you can spread out, and have 2 seats per person which gets very comfortable.....
Have a great trip.

 

[Lisa BC]

Hi Christine!

We live outside of Ithaca in Enfield... it is a very small world!!

Do you normally drive to DC the day your train is departing, or do you drive down the day before?

We can stay at my SIL's the night before. I love my SIL, but I'd much rather stay in my own bed, and get up at the crack of dawn and drive to DC.

Any thoughts?

I was planning on 7 hours of drive time to Lorton from Ithaca. I don't think we'll hit a lot of traffice in DC since it will be Thanksgiving day... but you never know.

Lisa

 

[jjnv]

This is a great thread. I am glad to find some many expert with first hand experience.

Has any one taken the auto train arrving the same day as the cruise day? I am planning on the Jan 27th 3 day cruise. We live in Northern Virginia. The price of the auto train for 4 of us is very close to the air fair. It would save me the $ and hassle of finding a hotel room and rental car. Arriving one day before is out of the question since my time off from work is very limited. I would rather catch a flight the night before instead.

What is the longest delay any one experienced on the auto train?

Many thanks for your help,

Jane

 

[cherylp3]

I do not recommend taking the train the same day as your cruise day.

I've been delayed once. It was 9 hours.

I've also heard of 12 hour delays.

If you need to rent a car and hotel - Check out the Radisson at the port - they have an Avis drop off.

Cheryl

 

[kwdietrich1]

Are there ever any discounts for Dec travel? We're still willing to pay full price, but would love to save some money if possible.

TIA

 

[jjnv]

Thanks a lot Cheryl for your input. I will have to rule out the train this time. I am so glad I asked though. I thought it would be great to drive to our cruise directly in our own car. I read the whole thread and have not seen any one complain about serious delay. 9 hours delay is beyond my husband's tolerance level. It could ruin the vacation.

Thanks again,

Jane

 

[cherylp3]

You are welcome. As for delays they do happen very infrequently but I'd hate to see anyone delayed and miss their cruise.

I heard about the 12 hour delay from another couple when I was delayed.

The Radisson was a great hotel, I stayed there in Feb abot a year and a hallf ago, it was clean and comfortable. And the Avis dropoff and shuttle is great too.

Enjoy your cruise, we had a great time on our cruise!!

Cheryl

 

[LisaNJ25]

Hi everyone! I am looking to booking the auto train for 11/25 and 12/3,

We took it home from Disney in 9/02.

This trip I will be booking for 5 of us. I will have a 3 month old infant. I know there is no charge for an infant under 2 but will they give me a seat for her? And how would they seat a family of 5? Last time when we went we were a family of 4 and were 2 and 2 in a row.

Also I don’t remember but are the seatbelts? This way I could strap the infant car seat in over night.

 

[disneywith6kids]

lisanj25
make sure you look at amtrak.com and get the discount 2 children ride free for every 1 adult -I believe it is for AAA members only-have fun!

 

[Hennalady]

Hi LisaNJ
We were on the AutoTrain on January 6/7, 2004.
There are NO seatbelts on the train. If you request seating in the lower level of the train there might be a little more room to set the car seat on the floor.
There is no "thru" traffic (people passing thru your car on the way to lounge or diner) on the lower level, so it would be quieter.

We enjoy traveling by AutoTrain. We started when our children were about 5 and 6 yrs.
They are now 21 and 22 and still love traveling by train. Our next trip will be in Oct, 2005 on our way to our first DL Cruise. We have always traveled coach, but next time DH and I are trying a standard bedroom.

Have a great trip.

 

[christinou]

Hi Lisa, we leave the day we took the train, we leave at around 5:00 a.m. we are so excited by then, that it is fine anyway, and we get to a mall which is about 10 miles from Lorton at about 11:30, we have lunch at the rain forest cafe (to get in the mood for all things Disney) and then go to Lorton and get ready for the train. We love it, it is part of the trip.

Jane, I would not take it to arrive the day of the cruise, personally I would be too anxious.

 

[erinch]

Lisa--
when we had a baby along they gave us the bulkhead seat which has extra room for a baby carrier. (downside is no footrest)

 

[AnnaS]

Is the autotrain running again from Sanford to VA? Thanks.

 

[DC7800]

Yes.

Timekeeping isn't what it should be, though.

 

[AnnaS]

Thank you DC7 - we will be taking back home from our WDW vacation soon for the first time.

 

[Credit Man]

We took the Autotrain round trip going south on 8/19 and going north on 9/3. The southbound train arrived right on time and was much smoother than last year. There was plenty of space, and we were all able to snag two seats apiece in coach.
On the north bound trip, we were lucky to be scheduled to leave on the 3rd, as they were only running the north bound train in preperation for Francis. Again the train was not full and we were able to snag two seats apiece. The train arrived in Va. 45 minutes early.
The food was very good both ways, and the movies were good.
As far as we are concerned, the Autotrain is a real treat.

 

[AnnaS]

We took the Autotrain back on Wed. 9/1. (That Monday's train that was scheduled to arrive in Lorton, VA - did not arrive til midnight that night (due to flood/storm in Richmond, VA. Tuesday's because of this, was cancelled). We lucked out that we left on Wed. I was very impressed with the whole procedure and how they also video tape your car. We got there early so we took the 5 PM seating for dinner. Our train was full because of the cancellation and many people leaving before Frances hit. We did have two sleepers and of course noticed a big difference with the coach we had last year (would do either one but sleepers a little nicer) - I think the main big difference though was the ride itself as far as we had no picking up and dropping off passengers every 20 - 30 minutes. Dinner and breakfast was great too. We did leave almost an hour late due to technical (bathrooms not flushing/vacumuning) problems and we slowed down a bit at Richmond, VA). We arrived at 10:00 am instead of 8:30. Again, everything went smoothly when we waited and picked up our truck. Would definitely do this again in the future.

 

[pplasky]

We have a mini-van. Does that count as a car or a van in terms or rates?

 

[christinou]

A mini van will count as a van in terms of rates.

 

[cherylp3]

See the Vehicle requirements page for detailed info
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conte...Copy_Page&cid=1080842091918&c=am2Copy&ssid=43