All about the Autotrain

[PEANUT1]

Hello train people!

My family is thinking of taking the auto train to and from WDW in December. We're going for our longest trip ever (13 days!) and thought it would be great to have our car available for that long period of time.
My kids are still very little (1 yo DD and 3 yo DS) no matter what room we get my DD will almost definitely sleep with me. I have a feeling my DS will want to as well, especially if he thinks his sister is getting something he isn't!

Is our only option for this crew the Family Bedroom? I was looking at the regular bedroom which says you can do three people if you call but would they let us do two adults, one child and an infant? I just have this feeling that we're only going to end up using two of the beds in any room and if we could do that and have a nearby potty that would be great.

Thanks for your advice experienced auto train peoples!

Hi!! We are a family of 4, 2 adults and 2 girls ages 4 and 7. Last year we booked the autotrain and on the way down there were no family bedrooms so they booked us a regular bedroom. They told us it would be tight but that we could do it if we wanted to.

The room is very small but your children are very young and I think you will be fine. I would just recommend bringing as little as you can on the train. I found that I brought too much stuff on.

We ended up getting a family bedroom in the end because they had a cancellation...even that was VERY small but alot more space than the single room. We obviously liked it because we are doing it again in 2 months. Good luck to you.

 

[lindap1]

? for Auto train riders: what type of car is considered a regular size?
We are taking my Trailblazer instead of hubby's Equinox and I want to make sure I won't get charged extra when we get there. I did call and the guy said it was okay, but I just want to make sure. TIA

 

[chartle]

? for Auto train riders: what type of car is considered a regular size?
We are taking my Trailblazer instead of hubby's Equinox and I want to make sure I won't get charged extra when we get there. I did call and the guy said it was okay, but I just want to make sure. TIA

You have to measure the height and length that's what determines whether you have a regular or oversized car.

From http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am/Layout&cid=1241337915810

Regular Vehicle

Check-In At least 1 hour before scheduled departure. Less than 65 inches in height;

or

65-88 inches in height and less than 182 inches in length.

- Maximum width: 84 inches.
- Ground clearance: at least 4 inches. Empty, factory-installed ski and luggage racks are okay; temporary luggage and bicycle racks are not. Luggage and bicycles may not be attached to the roof. Bicycles in bicycle racks may be attached to the back of the vehicle only.

Oversized Vehicle

Check-In
At least 2 hours before scheduled departure. 65-88 inches in height and 182 inches or greater in length.

- Maximum width: 84 inches.
- Ground clearance: at least 4 inches. Empty, factory-installed ski and luggage racks are okay; temporary luggage and bicycle racks are not. Luggage and bicycles may not be attached to the roof. Bicycles in bicycle racks may be attached to the back of the vehicle only. No dual wheel vehicles.

 

[imlazar]

Thank you for the info.

there are 5 bathrooms on every coach car, 1 is handicapped accessible and is very big, another has a small changing room, and one has a counter/mirror/stool and is marked as a ladies lounge.

 

[imlazar]

Hi All,
We recently took the auto train to/from Disney. We had two adults, two kids (in coach) and a Honda Odyssey. Here are our notes.

- Friday/Saturday train down was packed, mostly kids/families. Train back (tuesday/wednesday) was mostly seniors (who didn't seem to like kids making noise!) about 60% full so we each had our own row to sleep. We noticed that they only took off blankets/pillows in Florida, not in Lorton (they simply folded them and put them back in the overhead). If you are grossed out by using someone else's pillow/blanket, bring your own (and both are very thin anyway).

- Dinner slots are given out based on check-in time. When we arrived for the trip down, the 7:00 PM slot was gone (only 5/9 remained). On the trip back there was no 9 PM slot due to the smaller # of riders. Dinner choices were cod, vegie lasagna, salsbury steak, and roast chicken along with nuggets/vegies for the kids. Deserts choices were cheesecake, browney/caramel, and ice cream sunday. They supplied white wine and iced tea as well.

- There is tap water available, but it tastes pretty bad, bring your own (they do sell bottled water on the train).

- Movies are in the lounge car, it gets crowded but they show the movie a few times. They had different movies on each trip (we had roughly 10 day gap between trips), so I guess they change them each week. They have different movies for the trip down and the trip back. On our trip down they showed an extra movie in the morning since we were 4 hours late.

- there's a terrible stench of sewage that rises up from the car next to the dining car each time the door to the dining car is open. We noted this on both trips.

- it took us 21 hours to get there due to an engine failure and various delays. The return trip was on-time.

- the kids NEVER complained and absolutely loved being on the train.

- no WiFi yet, I have a Verizon air-card that worked most of the time.

- the only food choices in the stations are microwavable meals and pre-made sandwiches, get something to eat before you get to the train station (we picked up subs, checked in, and ate in the waiting area on the trip home).

- the bathrooms are plentiful but they do get pretty nasty by the time the trip is over.

- bring something to wipe down the seat trays, they were pretty dirty.

- there's a ton of overhead storage space, we brought a suitcase and three small bags, plus a snack bag, and had plenty.

- they had a snack mix (very good!), apples, oranges, bananas, and cookies available at various times in the lounge car. Get the snack mix right away. They also had coffee always available (and free). They had hot cocoa on the way down but were out on the way back.

- don't be late! We saw a few people in Sanford who arrived after 3PM and were told they couldn't board.

- it cost us about $1,200 for trainfare (it would have been cheaper if we left during the week). We took the train because we had to be in Jacksonville for a bit before heading to Disney and so it was cheaper to take the train then fly/rent a car and I didn't want to drive 14 hours from Virginia. I would DEFINITELY take the train again, we loved it and found it very restful. But, if I were just staying at a disney property then i'd probably fly and take advantage of disney buses.

that's all I can think of for now.

 

[imlazar]

Tipping question??

I read earlier about tipping during meals (dinner & breakfast) but are there any other times we should be tipping (coach, no rooms)?

How does the vehicle drop off/pick up work? Do we need to tip there as well?

we tipped the clerk in the lounge car and we left a few dollars on our table at dinner, but we didn't see anyone tipping the people who took/delivered your car.

 

[Cupmom]

My DS and I board the Auto train this Friday!! Is there a website that has the history of times the train leaves and arrives?

 

[imlazar]

My DS and I board the Auto train this Friday!! Is there a website that has the history of times the train leaves and arrives?

there's nothing that i know of. On both legs of our trip we boarded around 3:30 and pulled out around 4. It took a bit longer in Sanford because they have to not only attach the auto carrier train cars, but they also have to put both passenger trains together (they split the passenger cars in half because of the short station in Sanford).

The guidance I heard before the trip was that arrival is usually around 8:30 AM, give or take 2 hours. As I noted above, we got to Sanford at around noon on Saturday. On our return trip we arrived in Lorton at about 8:30 AM.

 

[famouschinesec]

My DS and I board the Auto train this Friday!! Is there a website that has the history of times the train leaves and arrives?

Really no such thing. The autotrain travels on freight tracks and the freight has priority. So.. if there is anything that impacts the tracks, things get backed up. Also if there are storms and any kind of debris gets on the tracks at all, it has to be cleaned up before they can let the trains go forward. Not what you wanted to hear. It's kind of a crap shoot.

 

[Candikayne]

Hello everyone,

My family and I rode the Southbound Auto Train on Sat., Aug. 6th. We arrived at Lorton around 12:30 pm. We were early, so we drove to a strip mall close by and ordered a pizza for lunch as dinner would not be until 5pm or 7pm. It was great. We arrived, the greeter welcomed us, gave us our car check in number and directed us to the canopy to take out our carry on bags and place out car on the train. We had to leave the driver's window down and the keys in the car.
We went inside the station to check in. We were assigned seat number 38 (aisle) and 41-44 which were right behind the stair case. You will see the (in my pics) the seats behind the stairs have nice leg room for the taller set. See pictures below.

Stay tuned...more info to follow!

 

[Candikayne]

Both the stations in VA and FL were very nice. Customer service agents were very cordial and started out trips out with a smile. See more pics below.

 

[Candikayne]

Here are some pics of the playgrounds in VA and FL.

 

[bdcp]

Really no such thing. The autotrain travels on freight tracks and the freight has priority. So.. if there is anything that impacts the tracks, things get backed up. Also if there are storms and any kind of debris gets on the tracks at all, it has to be cleaned up before they can let the trains go forward. Not what you wanted to hear. It's kind of a crap shoot.

Actually, you can go to the Amtrak Website and look up the last few days by checking train status. Just put in the date of a couple days prior and the correct stations and it will give you that departure and arrival times for that date. Try this link too: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conte...e=am/Layout&p=1237405732511&cid=1237608335166

Try this one-I've never used it but it came up on google: http://www.amtrakdelays.onlineschedulingsoftware.com/

Just search for Amtrak online performance and you'll get hits.

 

[Candikayne]

My kids got a kick out of seeing a passenger train up close. More pics below.

 

[Candikayne]

Here is a pic of my hubby relaxing in his coach seat. Stretched out....relaxing. These are the seats right behind the stair case...no seats in front of you. Seems like a bit more leg room if you ask me...but I did not get out my measuring tape! FYI...he is 6 ft. tall.....See below.

 

[Cupmom]

Actually, you can go to the Amtrak Website and look up the last few days by checking train status. Just put in the date of a couple days prior and the correct stations and it will give you that departure and arrival times for that date. Try this link too: http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/Conte...e=am/Layout&p=1237405732511&cid=1237608335166

Try this one-I've never used it but it came up on google: http://www.amtrakdelays.onlineschedulingsoftware.com/

Just search for Amtrak online performance and you'll get hits.

The second web page you posted is perfect...to gives you the last few weeks arrival times whether the train was early or late!! Very interesting!!

 

[Candikayne]

All in all we had a ball in our first round trip on the Auto Train. I was lucky enough to have two seats for myself. My hubby sat with the five year old and the girls sat together. My big son did not come along for the trip. We enjoyed the ride, and being able to sleep whenever we wanted. We were in the car right next to the lounge car, but far enough from the door so we were not disturbed by the door constantly opening and closing. The lower level seating looks very quiet and peaceful. There is a door which blocks off the lover level seating area from the bathrooms. They seemed pretty protected from the odors from the bathrooms...more so than we were....we only had a staircase between us and the bathrooms...nuff said.... The dinning car was nice and the food was OK...nothing to brag about. My kids watched Soul Surfer in the lounge car after dinner. I made sure to bring PJs to change into for a restful nights sleep. We made one stop over night...my guess was it was a refueling stop. No biggie.

It was great not to have to rent a car when we arrived in FL. Big savings $$$. I think we will try the sleeping cars on our next trip. But if we can not afford the sleeping car...we are happy to ride coach again. We had a ball. And the freedom to pack as heavy as you like is the best...As long as it fits in the car....you're good to go. You can PM me for specific questions about the ride. As a first-timer...I have a fresh perspective on this adventure and I understand the apprehensions of the other newbies like me. Final pics below.

 

[Aanna]

Thanks so much for the report and pictures! You have beautiful children.

 

[lindap1]

Love the pics and YES, your children are beautiful! Glad to see new pics posted of the train. We'll be travelling it at the end of September.

 

[bheyman]

Yes, thanks for posting your report and photos. Such information puts my newbie mind at ease!