All about the Autotrain

[chartle]

Thank You! We'll be driving 7 hours from Ohio to Lorton then boarding the train. Want to have something comfy to relax on for 17 hours...lol

Also it been reported that the lower level rocks less then the upper level.

You will have to go upstairs to get to the lounge and the dinning car.

 

[Marshay]

Hi everyone! We are going to WDW in september and are planning on taking the AT. Havent' booked yet just waiting for hubby to give the go...
Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated...it will be three of us: my, my hubby and our 4 1/2 year old daughter. I'm hoping that I don't get motion sickness from the train movement. Should I request up or down for coach? Like I said any tips or suggestions are welcome.

Welcome and I hope you enjoy your trip! Downstairs may rock less and is quieter since more of the elderly and handicapped are down there. Children *may* not be appreciated downstairs as it is thought that kids and families are on the upper level. However, there is no rule to that affect. Bathrooms are downstairs so you also have to deal with the lines/smells, etc (if there are any...we only experienced lines in the AM and generally no smells).

Upstairs is a bit more noisy since people have to walk through. However, we found it great b/c you can see more and further than lower and it was definitely more entertaining for our kids b/c they got to meet other kids and liked watching the people walk by. A crying/whining child is tolerated more on the upper level.

I'd suggest you go back about 20-30 pages and read the responses. A lot of people have given great advice, shown pictures and have answered a lot of the same questions.

 

[lindap1]

Thanks. I've decided (when hubby says so) to book the upstairs coach. Just hope that my daughter will be able to sleep. Hopefully when it gets late people will be quiet when walking through. I've read that the lower level is more enclosed(not many windows). After paying 2100 for WDW can't afford another 1700 for a family bedroom.

 

[lindap1]

Got it all booked!! Yea!!

 

[Marshay]

Got it all booked!! Yea!!

Good for you!!

I hope you have a great experience. I found coach very do-able...just prefer a family bedroom when we can afford it. But we would do coach again just so we don't have to be confined to a SUV for 2 days.

I found the rhythm of the train to be very soothing -- like a white noise machine. And lights out (they go dim) is at 9pm. Everyone in our car was respectful and quiet. My youngest (1yo then) got up once and my oldest (5yo) slept through the night in coach.

Remember to report back on here!!

 

[Pammy jo]

I check the other day for a return trip and was able to get the kids $19, but today it's gone. Was trying to come back June27 or 28th. Do you think they used up all the $19 quota already?

 

[spima3]

I hope you have a great experience. I found coach very do-able...just prefer a family bedroom when we can afford it. But we would do coach again just so we don't have to be confined to a SUV for 2 days.
I found the rhythm of the train to be very soothing -- like a white noise machine. And lights out (they go dim) is at 9pm. Everyone in our car was respectful and quiet. My youngest (1yo then) got up once and my oldest (5yo) slept through the night in coach.

We went back in Sept of 2010, and I don't remember if I posted about it or not, but I will again.
We LOVE the train. My kids were in FL at a really nice resort and they all said they were looking forward to going home just to ride the train!
We have never done the bedrooms, but after looking at them, they felt too claustrphobic for me. In coach we have always been able to spread out and get separate seating for all of us. If we weren't able to do so, I might feel differntly.
On our way home, the ticket agent asked me how old my kids were, they were 15, 13 and 10, and he told us he would put us in the adult car. I was so glad he did! On the way back, the kid car was filled with little ones and they were very noisy, every time we had to cut through the car to get to the lounge/dining area. I don't know how it was at night, but even during the daylight hours, the noise would have bothered me; past that stage of my life.
I don't think I would take a lower level with kids, again, it was too confining for me, plus it is right by the bathrooms, and they do get unpleasant towards the end of the trip.
We all suffer from motion sickness, but we took meds before getting on board, and none of us had problems.
We had a fabulous time, and we are probably going to go to FL again before my oldest goes to college, just so we can do the autotrain again. Next time though, we will probably head to the beach for the week and skip the expensive parks, maybe hit HP but that is it.

 

[Marshay]

We went back in Sept of 2010, and I don't remember if I posted about it or not, but I will again.
We LOVE the train. My kids were in FL at a really nice resort and they all said they were looking forward to going home just to ride the train!
We have never done the bedrooms, but after looking at them, they felt too claustrphobic for me. In coach we have always been able to spread out and get separate seating for all of us. If we weren't able to do so, I might feel differntly.
On our way home, the ticket agent asked me how old my kids were, they were 15, 13 and 10, and he told us he would put us in the adult car. I was so glad he did! On the way back, the kid car was filled with little ones and they were very noisy, every time we had to cut through the car to get to the lounge/dining area. I don't know how it was at night, but even during the daylight hours, the noise would have bothered me; past that stage of my life.
I don't think I would take a lower level with kids, again, it was too confining for me, plus it is right by the bathrooms, and they do get unpleasant towards the end of the trip.
We all suffer from motion sickness, but we took meds before getting on board, and none of us had problems.
We had a fabulous time, and we are probably going to go to FL again before my oldest goes to college, just so we can do the autotrain again. Next time though, we will probably head to the beach for the week and skip the expensive parks, maybe hit HP but that is it.

Oh, glad you guys went again! Yeah, I think if I had older kids, I wouldn't want the family room either. It's perfect for us since my kids are small (5 and 2 yo)...but with preteens/teens, we'll be doing coach again!

 

[ksc37]

We have the autotrain booked for our return trip from Florida in August. We did have a family room reservation, but just changed it to two roomettes across the hall from each other.

We're traveling with a 10 and 8 year old, and when my 10 year old heard he'd have to curl up to sleep, he wasn't too happy. I'm a little concerned that it will seem a little tight in the roomettes (DH & I are both 6 feet or more), but I figure we can spend time in the lounge to get some extra room.

It also helped that the price of two roomettes actually went down. Now, with the $19 kids fare and two roomettes, I'm saving $200.

 

[lpizzuro123]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I just received an email from Amtrak Guest Rewards that they are offering 20% off if you book between now and May 31. Travel must between September 1 and September 30. Unfortunately this does not work for us (we are planning on heading down for Thanksgiving) but I thought it might help some of you out there.

Linda

 

[Marshay]

We have the autotrain booked for our return trip from Florida in August. We did have a family room reservation, but just changed it to two roomettes across the hall from each other.

We're traveling with a 10 and 8 year old, and when my 10 year old heard he'd have to curl up to sleep, he wasn't too happy. I'm a little concerned that it will seem a little tight in the roomettes (DH & I are both 6 feet or more), but I figure we can spend time in the lounge to get some extra room.

It also helped that the price of two roomettes actually went down. Now, with the $19 kids fare and two roomettes, I'm saving $200.

Glad you were able to get the roomettes. Those are really nice, too -- huge picture windows (much more than the family room) ... and you'll be able to sneak a peek at the family rooms next to you to see what they look like and how big they really are (or aren't, depending on your point of view and whether you get stuck in the curled up position or not!)

Just wanted to let everyone know that I just received an email from Amtrak Guest Rewards that they are offering 20% off if you book between now and May 31. Travel must between September 1 and September 30. Unfortunately this does not work for us (we are planning on heading down for Thanksgiving) but I thought it might help some of you out there.

Linda

I was just going to post that.

Even if you already booked, check your ressies again...your price may have gone down!!

 

[Wendynat]

I'm so glad to find this thread! We're (me, husband, and 9-year old) thinking of taking the Auto Train next April down to FL. We live in Virginia Beach, VA and would be driving one of the legs so we can visit family in Charleston... I'm thinking we'll definitely take the train south, since it's cheaper than the northbound.

We'd be sitting in coach, and I was wondering if anyone who uses a CPAP has ever ridden coach in the Auto Train? My husband uses one for sleep apnea and snoring, and while I know there's a plug at each set of seats I'm not sure where he could place the unit. Would the tray table work, or maybe on the floor by his feet?

We've taken Amtrak before, but never overnight, and only along the NorthEast route.

 

[lindap1]

WooHoo! Thanks for the heads up! I checked online today and the 20% is there, so I called and they changed it. Went from $825 to $778!
I realize it is only 46.50, but it works. I could only get it on the trip down though, not on the trip back Maybe that will change before my trip in September.

 

[shinysparklybubbles]

Do they give the kids any coloring stuff or like jr conductor stuff? We went to National Train Day this weekend and I picked up some extra auto train themed activites for DS for our trip. Then I was wondering if the activites they had were just for National Train Day or if they normally supply the kids with coloring activites on the auto train?

 

[Marshay]

Do they give the kids any coloring stuff or like jr conductor stuff? We went to National Train Day this weekend and I picked up some extra auto train themed activites for DS for our trip. Then I was wondering if the activites they had were just for National Train Day or if they normally supply the kids with coloring activites on the auto train?

We've gone twice -- once in coach and once in family room and never got anything for the kids to play with. Definitely bring a few games/videos/small toys/coloring books, etc.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

It also helped that the price of two roomettes actually went down. Now, with the $19 kids fare and two roomettes, I'm saving $200.

Thanks for posting this!

My sister and I are not traveling with any children so the $19 kids fare does not apply to us, but the other discounts do!. We're booked from Sanford to Lorton on Oct. 1 and originally reserved a roomette for $319. My sister read your post this morning and ran an estimate of a new reservation on the Amtrak website for our trip home and found that the price of roomettes have dropped to $126 so we changed our reservations to TWO roomettes, and still get a $67 refund.

The price for the car also dropped. We're taking my Highlander (ovesized according to Amtrak) and were originally charged $220 for the trip to Lorton. The price has now gone down to $169, so we got an additional $51 refund.

I don't know any details about the dates the price drops are good for, but for our Oct. 1 trip home we got them.

ETA - This is NOT the 20% discount that was discussed above. That discount was for fare only. This discount is for rooms and vehicles.

 

[ksc37]

Thanks for posting this!

My sister and I are not traveling with any children so the $19 kids fare does not apply to us, but the other discounts do!. We're booked from Sanford to Lorton on Oct. 1 and originally reserved a roomette for $319. My sister read your post this morning and ran an estimate of a new reservation on the Amtrak website for our trip home and found that the price of roomettes have dropped to $126 so we changed our reservations to TWO roomettes, and still get a $67 refund.

The price for the car also dropped. We're taking my Highlander (ovesized according to Amtrak) and were originally charged $220 for the trip to Lorton. The price has now gone down to $169, so we got an additional $51 refund.

I don't know any details about the dates the price drops are good for, but for our Oct. 1 trip home we got them.

ETA - This is NOT the 20% discount that was discussed above. That discount was for fare only. This discount is for rooms and vehicles.

I'm glad this helped!

Roomettes were around $319 when I priced out our trip originally, and then dropped to $126 last week. Unfortunately our oversized car is still $220.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

I'm glad this helped!

Roomettes were around $319 when I priced out our trip originally, and then dropped to $126 last week. Unfortunately our oversized car is still $220.

Maybe the vehicle price drop is only for a certain period of time and your trip might be outside of that period. I'm sorry you didn't get it. Thanks again for posting about the price drops.

 

[Marshay]

Just wanted to tell everyone to go and double-check your prices on-line ... doesn't matter when you go or when you booked.

For our Jan 2012 trip, I made our ressies at 11 months out, supposedly the cheapest time to book. But just for fun, based on the rest of you finding lower prices, I decided to check.

And I saved $211.10!!!!

I knew those January prices were too high for the family rooms when they first put them out!!! I'm so glad I took 3 minutes to re-try. Since I had already booked them on-line, I just called the Amtrak agents (Frank) and had him refund the money to our account.

 

[chager]

Ok a question... when you book now and then fares go down, do you get your credit card refunded the diff. or is the refund in the form of a voucher for Amtrak? I am getting ready to book our trip in the next week or so for Nov. so I am wishing for a fare drop for at least part of it.