All about the Autotrain

[christinou]

About roof carrier, it must also depend on who is working, they made all luggage and carrier come off, last week when we were on the auto train, but let people have bike racks and bikes, which I thought was not allowed.

 

[chartle]

About roof carrier, it must also depend on who is working, they made all luggage and carrier come off, last week when we were on the auto train, but let people have bike racks and bikes, which I thought was not allowed.

Were they bikes on a roof rack or on the back?

I can't imagine bikes on the roof of any car being able to fit under the max height allowed even for SUV's and vans.

Bikes on a rear mounted carrier are OK. I think you have to sign a wavier though.

 

[cwnhokie]

They only way I think you can get an adjustment is if you dont have a hard copy of the tickets printed.

If you have an almost 2yo bump him up to 2 and buy him a ticket. Otherwise he will be on your lap and you dont want to deal with that.

I had no problems with mine.. last trip my toddlers were turning 2 and 3 during the trip. Just bring things to keep the occupied.

Did they have any problems sleeping? Thanks.

 

[Poohbear5]

Does anyone know if the bottom level is less rocky than the uppper level (for coach seating)?

Are there windows at every seat on the lower level?
Are these seats requested when booking tickets or when you check-in?

 

[Poohbear5]

Are the bathrooms roomy enough for changing clothing and washing up (for coach cars)?

If you don't check in until closer to 2pm, how likely it is that you will have a very late seating for dinner?

 

[cherylp3]

Last time I went, it seemed just as rocky. There is a handicapped bathroom that is roomy enough for changing. As for checking in a 2pm, not sure I have never done that.

 

[NJBILL]

Last time I went, it seemed just as rocky. There is a handicapped bathroom that is roomy enough for changing. As for checking in a 2pm, not sure I have never done that.

From another AmtraK Board re Auto train Lower LEVEL..


Actually I think that it's only 12 seats on the lower level, not 14. That said, one issue that I see with booking the lower level is that there are limited amounts of seats on the lower level. The AT typically runs 4 to 5 coaches, and probably two or three of those coaches have their lower level seats reserved only for the elderly or handicapped. That means that those seats are not available for sale via the internet and can only be obtained by calling Amtrak (or visiting a station) and providing proof that you need LL seating.

What I'm getting at is that there are probably at most 24 LL seats, and perhaps only 12 LL seats that are available on the AT to the general public. If you hit a train with only 12 seats available, then you all will end up in the same car. If you hit a train with 24 seats available to the general public, there is a chance that you could end up split between two cars.

The AT is unique amongst Amtrak's trains, in that seats are assigned when you check in at the desk inside the terminal. Therefore, if you do want to try for lower level seats, and frankly even if you don't, you should plan to arrive early at the station so as to ensure that you are all seated together. I would suggest 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM, and certainly no later than 1:30 PM or you could find your party split apart. It's also a good idea to arrive early so as to get your pick of dinner times, especially with a large party. Arriving after 2:00 almost guarantees that the the prime seating time of 6:30 or 7:00 will be sold out, and the early seating at 5:00 quickly follows. That leaves only the late seating usually around 8:30 or 9:00 PM.
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[Poohbear5]

Thanks NJBill for a speedy reply. It didn't even occur to me that we may not get seated together. That wouldn't not be a fun way to start our 25th anniverary trip! Appreciate that heads up.

If we got there early, is there somewhere within walking distance to get a meal after checking in?

What do you to do make the time go by when checking in 4 hours or so before departure?

 

[cherylp3]

Pooh: how many are in your party?

How long do you want to walk? I personally would not recommend walking.

Bring a book, there are TV's and for children there is an outside area.

 

[christinou]

Thanks NJBill for a speedy reply. It didn't even occur to me that we may not get seated together. That wouldn't not be a fun way to start our 25th anniverary trip! Appreciate that heads up.

If we got there early, is there somewhere within walking distance to get a meal after checking in?

What do you to do make the time go by when checking in 4 hours or so before departure?

Once you check in you surrender your car and there is nowhere to walk to from the train station, you can board the train at 2:30. We generally stop for an early lunch before getting on the train and get to the station by 1:00 p.m., we have never had a problem getting the sitting we wanted for dinner.

 

[Poohbear5]

Cherylp, our party is just we two adults.
Sounds like there are no sidewalks or anywhere to walk? Or a plaza to walk to?
Guess we'll just pick up some lunch ahead and shoot to get there by 12:3o.
I didn't realize that you can board at 2:30, so at least we'll have somewhere to sit and read or play cards.

 

[cherylp3]

There are no sidewalks from the station to the sidewalk. There are plazas you could walk to but they aren't close.

Boarding: It all depends on when the train gets in. If it gets in early and ontime an early boarding is likely. That being said. I've had it happen where the train coming in was late, thus my train was late leaving.

 

[chartle]

Cherylp, our party is just we two adults.
Sounds like there are no sidewalks or anywhere to walk? Or a plaza to walk to?
Guess we'll just pick up some lunch ahead and shoot to get there by 12:3o.
I didn't realize that you can board at 2:30, so at least we'll have somewhere to sit and read or play cards.

I would definitely do this. We took a sandwiches we made at home and water and put them in a couple of coolers.

This gave us a nice cushion of time that we didn't need to worry about stopping. We got there at 1:30 with no real line and no problem for dinner choice.

After 2:00 the lines started to form.

Just so you know this was for a totally sold out train.

Also here is a overhead view of the area in Lorton.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...195,-77.222986&spn=0.009913,0.022659&t=h&z=16

 

[nono]

Are we talking Lorton and no place to walk?

That's not really true at all. It is true that there's no sidewalk on the Amtrak property, but there most certainly is sidewalk the whole way to the nearby shopping center. Zoom in on the link chartle provided. Those whitish ribbons of concrete are sidewalks!

My family just walked to the shopping center and ate at Glory Days (last place in the shopping center) again about 2 weeks ago. We are two 40-somethings with a 5 yr old and 2 yr old. After a 4 hr drive to the train, we need to stretch our legs and find this a fine way to do so. Even our 2 yr old walked about halfway each direction this time -- he's usually riding on one of the adults the whole walk.

Now, if you never walk or run any other day, this probably wouldn't be the time to start...

 

[Poohbear5]

Nono, that is exactly the information I was looking for!
We do walk several miles a day most days. Is that about how far the shopping plaza is?

 

[nono]

Nono, that is exactly the information I was looking for!
We do walk several miles a day most days. Is that about how far the shopping plaza is?

Poohbear5, I am thinking it's about 1/2 mi to get to lunch. Even with little legs in our party, it was less than a half hour walk each way. We got checked in very early and were in no rush.

To get to the center, walk back out past the check in booth, and when you get to the street you turn left -- away from I-95. At the next light, you cross the street and there's a car wash on the right-hand side, and a strip center on the left-hand side with several choices for lunch. We haven't tried the sushi place yet, but might next trip. Glory Days has been good though, and has a liquor license (sometimes necessary after riding for hours with "Are we there yet?" )

As for the other end of the trip, the town of Sanford was offering free shuttles to "downtown" Sanford, with a guaranteed last return of 2:40 or something like that. My kids were so mellow that we didn't bother taking advantage of that offer.

 

[NJBILL]

Just booked..did not see this fare on AMtrak website and found out by calling 1-800-usa-rail ...Could be taking place of kids ride free promo.. $764.00 for family of 5 with standard vehicle.for our july trip.

 

[heartsy77]

bump

 

[Windjammer]

The promotion code for the kids travel for $19 fare is H809. The adult fares must be full fare, with no discount.

HTH

Steve

 

[heartsy77]

Wow I am only pricing for next year. Free dining in Aug 2010! I like to have a rough idea of how much $$$ I need to save. I got a price of just over $1000. For 3 adults and 4 kids and a mini van. For that price we may consider it! Flying and baggage will be right around $2000. And driving all the way seems like a good idea but 5 teenagers in van from Upstate NY to WDW?