All about the Autotrain

[NJBILL]

Over the last 12 months that Autotrain has had an 80% on time rate going to Florida, and an 86% on time rate coming back. Worst case over the past month was 101 minutes late but there were also times when it arrived up to 116 minutes early.

The Auto-Train does have a much better on time % then the Silver Service Trains to Florida. One caveat to those of us traveling in the Summer, is that heat restrictions are implemented when temperatures reach a designated level and trains must travel slower than normal. As this obviously depends on the weather, it does vary from day to day in the Summer. Also anyone traveling to Florida during hurricane season needs to monitor the weather and conditions for railway closures due to winds and flooding. We once had to leave a day early as a storm was approaching South Carolina/Georgia and Amtrak cancelled service. One year our train was delayed two days due to tropical storm that hit Florida. Always buy trip insurance..it's worth it.

 

[la79al]

Thanks for the replies. It looks like I will let the rest of my family know to get an early afternoon arrival time at MCO. I figure it will be more of an adventure for my girls than the adults to hang out and wait at the airport.
For those of you with small kiddos, what do you take along on the train to keep them entertained (girls will be almost 5 and 2.5)?

 

[NJBILL]

Thanks for the replies. It looks like I will let the rest of my family know to get an early afternoon arrival time at MCO. I figure it will be more of an adventure for my girls than the adults to hang out and wait at the airport.
For those of you with small kiddos, what do you take along on the train to keep them entertained (girls will be almost 5 and 2.5)?

Ninetendo DS, cards. We spent a lot of time looking out the window pointing out the different features and states along the way. Bring plenty of snacks and beverages and you will be fine.

 

[jacthree]

Over the last 12 months that Autotrain has had an 80% on time rate going to Florida, and an 86% on time rate coming back. Worst case over the past month was 101 minutes late but there were also times when it arrived up to 116 minutes early.

3 hours and 37 minutes late today (217 minutes). That's the problem with averages, and what happened in the past. It all depends an what is going on today. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that when we go everything works out.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Is it common for the train to leave VA early?

I was watching a youtube video and the guy showed the time the train pulled out~about 20 minutes early.

Is there a cafe car to purchase snacks\drinks like they have on the other trains? I saw drink areas in the videos but those were in the sleeper cars. We're going to book coach seats.

I always take soda and juice when travel by train. I don't worry about keeping the drinks cold because I can always grab a cup of ice from the cafe car.

Just wondering if we'll be able to buy coffee, tea and get ice while on the auto train.

 

[NJBILL]

Is it common for the train to leave VA early?

I was watching a youtube video and the guy showed the time the train pulled out~about 20 minutes early.

Is there a cafe car to purchase snacks\drinks like they have on the other trains? I saw drink areas in the videos but those were in the sleeper cars. We're going to book coach seats.

I always take soda and juice when travel by train. I don't worry about keeping the drinks cold because I can always grab a cup of ice from the cafe car.

Just wondering if we'll be able to buy coffee, tea and get ice while on the auto train.

Yes there is a cafe car. I am unsure if they charge for ice.

 

[busymama04]

Do the coach lounge cars have room for a lot of people or should I just plan on it being full and staying at our seats? We will be traveling Aug 5 which is a Sunday.

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We have traveled the last 8 yrs on the Autotrain. it is a toss up on when we get in early or late. Anything can happen on the trip. usually by 630am we have a fairly good idea where we stand on arriving. Having GPS on the cellphone is fairly cool bc you can actually find yourself on the map too. that is if you have cell service.

yes the AT can leave early if everyone is loaded they will head out. We have left 30 mins early before. We even had a delay one year when one of our engines left to help another train. We sat at the station for over an hour.

We were also on the cancelled AT in Aug 08 from Tropical storm Fay. We opted to wait 5 days till the next available train had room. Make sure you give Amtrak a cellphone with the reservation. They were able to contact us to advise of the delay even though I had already planned a back up due to the intensity of the storm.

To keep the little ones busy - we brind DVD players (dont' forget the headphones), card games, video games and a few small toys to play with.

the trip is broke up fairly well and most of the travel is done at night. leave at 4pm. Dinner 5,7 or 9pm. Sleep by 8 or 9pm and then wake up by 630/7am. There is plenty of room to play infront of the coach seat too. DS5 brings a few of his trains along to push around.

The cafe will have drinks available for purchase. Sleeper cars have a beverage station with hot water/cocoa/tea/coffee and ice. you might be able to get ice from the cafe.

We always pack extra drinks and snacks in the event there is a delay we have food to snack on. last yr we were delayed 3 hrs right after we left Sanford due to trees on the tracks from a violent storm that went thru. The adjusted breaksfast to serve later and even had lunch food available too since we were arriving in Lorton around 230pm. The line of cars waiting to board was out to the street. they had cars lined up in the lot all ready to load once we were unloaded. The crew did an awesome job keeping us updated on the situation.

Lounge car seats tend to fill up fast. We rarely get a seat there. If you want one grab it as soon as you board but also remember to leave something on your coach seats so no one takes them. We boarded very late last June due to Amtrak issues and people already took our seats. 2 teenagers moved right away and apologized when they realized they had our seats but one older lady refused to move unless Amtrak could find her 2 seats together. I had a party of 7. The supervisor came down and they determined she belonged a few cars away and boarded with someone else. So throw a blanket or something on the seat to signal it is taken.

We head back in 87 days and can't wait to go. We consider the trip part of the vacation not just the mode of transportation.

i'd be happy to answer any ?'s on the AT

 

[pwdebbie]

We have traveled the last 8 yrs on the Autotrain. it is a toss up on when we get in early or late. Anything can happen on the trip. usually by 630am we have a fairly good idea where we stand on arriving. Having GPS on the cellphone is fairly cool bc you can actually find yourself on the map too. that is if you have cell service.

yes the AT can leave early if everyone is loaded they will head out. We have left 30 mins early before. We even had a delay one year when one of our engines left to help another train. We sat at the station for over an hour.

We were also on the cancelled AT in Aug 08 from Tropical storm Fay. We opted to wait 5 days till the next available train had room. Make sure you give Amtrak a cellphone with the reservation. They were able to contact us to advise of the delay even though I had already planned a back up due to the intensity of the storm.

To keep the little ones busy - we brind DVD players (dont' forget the headphones), card games, video games and a few small toys to play with.

the trip is broke up fairly well and most of the travel is done at night. leave at 4pm. Dinner 5,7 or 9pm. Sleep by 8 or 9pm and then wake up by 630/7am. There is plenty of room to play infront of the coach seat too. DS5 brings a few of his trains along to push around.

The cafe will have drinks available for purchase. Sleeper cars have a beverage station with hot water/cocoa/tea/coffee and ice. you might be able to get ice from the cafe.

We always pack extra drinks and snacks in the event there is a delay we have food to snack on. last yr we were delayed 3 hrs right after we left Sanford due to trees on the tracks from a violent storm that went thru. The adjusted breaksfast to serve later and even had lunch food available too since we were arriving in Lorton around 230pm. The line of cars waiting to board was out to the street. they had cars lined up in the lot all ready to load once we were unloaded. The crew did an awesome job keeping us updated on the situation.

Lounge car seats tend to fill up fast. We rarely get a seat there. If you want one grab it as soon as you board but also remember to leave something on your coach seats so no one takes them. We boarded very late last June due to Amtrak issues and people already took our seats. 2 teenagers moved right away and apologized when they realized they had our seats but one older lady refused to move unless Amtrak could find her 2 seats together. I had a party of 7. The supervisor came down and they determined she belonged a few cars away and boarded with someone else. So throw a blanket or something on the seat to signal it is taken.

We head back in 87 days and can't wait to go. We consider the trip part of the vacation not just the mode of transportation.

i'd be happy to answer any ?'s on the AT

You make me even more interested in taking AT. If only I could talk my claustrophobic hubby into trying it.

 

[NJBILL]

You make me even more interested in taking AT. If only I could talk my claustrophobic hubby into trying it.

There is more room in the train than in a car or airplane. He can get up and walk around and sit in the lounge car with lots of windows..

 

[ktrain]

There is no charge for coffee, tea or ice in either lounge car. (sleeper and coach) Bottled water is also free in sleepers. For sleeper passengers there is a complimentary wine and cheese hour from 3 to 4 p.m. Both lounges offer free snack mix and fruit upon boarding. Liquor, soft drinks and other snacks are available for purchase throughout the trip.

 

[busymama04]

We have traveled the last 8 yrs on the Autotrain. it is a toss up on when we get in early or late. Anything can happen on the trip. usually by 630am we have a fairly good idea where we stand on arriving. Having GPS on the cellphone is fairly cool bc you can actually find yourself on the map too. that is if you have cell service.

yes the AT can leave early if everyone is loaded they will head out. We have left 30 mins early before. We even had a delay one year when one of our engines left to help another train. We sat at the station for over an hour.

We were also on the cancelled AT in Aug 08 from Tropical storm Fay. We opted to wait 5 days till the next available train had room. Make sure you give Amtrak a cellphone with the reservation. They were able to contact us to advise of the delay even though I had already planned a back up due to the intensity of the storm.

To keep the little ones busy - we brind DVD players (dont' forget the headphones), card games, video games and a few small toys to play with.

the trip is broke up fairly well and most of the travel is done at night. leave at 4pm. Dinner 5,7 or 9pm. Sleep by 8 or 9pm and then wake up by 630/7am. There is plenty of room to play infront of the coach seat too. DS5 brings a few of his trains along to push around.

The cafe will have drinks available for purchase. Sleeper cars have a beverage station with hot water/cocoa/tea/coffee and ice. you might be able to get ice from the cafe.

We always pack extra drinks and snacks in the event there is a delay we have food to snack on. last yr we were delayed 3 hrs right after we left Sanford due to trees on the tracks from a violent storm that went thru. The adjusted breaksfast to serve later and even had lunch food available too since we were arriving in Lorton around 230pm. The line of cars waiting to board was out to the street. they had cars lined up in the lot all ready to load once we were unloaded. The crew did an awesome job keeping us updated on the situation.

Lounge car seats tend to fill up fast. We rarely get a seat there. If you want one grab it as soon as you board but also remember to leave something on your coach seats so no one takes them. We boarded very late last June due to Amtrak issues and people already took our seats. 2 teenagers moved right away and apologized when they realized they had our seats but one older lady refused to move unless Amtrak could find her 2 seats together. I had a party of 7. The supervisor came down and they determined she belonged a few cars away and boarded with someone else. So throw a blanket or something on the seat to signal it is taken.

We head back in 87 days and can't wait to go. We consider the trip part of the vacation not just the mode of transportation.

i'd be happy to answer any ?'s on the AT

Thanks for the info. We leave in 79 days can't wait and I too consider the AT part of our trip!

 

[loveysbydesign]

We have traveled the last 8 yrs on the Autotrain. it is a toss up on when we get in early or late. Anything can happen on the trip. usually by 630am we have a fairly good idea where we stand on arriving. Having GPS on the cellphone is fairly cool bc you can actually find yourself on the map too. that is if you have cell service.

yes the AT can leave early if everyone is loaded they will head out. We have left 30 mins early before. We even had a delay one year when one of our engines left to help another train. We sat at the station for over an hour.

We were also on the cancelled AT in Aug 08 from Tropical storm Fay. We opted to wait 5 days till the next available train had room. Make sure you give Amtrak a cellphone with the reservation. They were able to contact us to advise of the delay even though I had already planned a back up due to the intensity of the storm.

To keep the little ones busy - we brind DVD players (dont' forget the headphones), card games, video games and a few small toys to play with.

the trip is broke up fairly well and most of the travel is done at night. leave at 4pm. Dinner 5,7 or 9pm. Sleep by 8 or 9pm and then wake up by 630/7am. There is plenty of room to play infront of the coach seat too. DS5 brings a few of his trains along to push around.

The cafe will have drinks available for purchase. Sleeper cars have a beverage station with hot water/cocoa/tea/coffee and ice. you might be able to get ice from the cafe.

We always pack extra drinks and snacks in the event there is a delay we have food to snack on. last yr we were delayed 3 hrs right after we left Sanford due to trees on the tracks from a violent storm that went thru. The adjusted breaksfast to serve later and even had lunch food available too since we were arriving in Lorton around 230pm. The line of cars waiting to board was out to the street. they had cars lined up in the lot all ready to load once we were unloaded. The crew did an awesome job keeping us updated on the situation.

Lounge car seats tend to fill up fast. We rarely get a seat there. If you want one grab it as soon as you board but also remember to leave something on your coach seats so no one takes them. We boarded very late last June due to Amtrak issues and people already took our seats. 2 teenagers moved right away and apologized when they realized they had our seats but one older lady refused to move unless Amtrak could find her 2 seats together. I had a party of 7. The supervisor came down and they determined she belonged a few cars away and boarded with someone else. So throw a blanket or something on the seat to signal it is taken.

We head back in 87 days and can't wait to go. We consider the trip part of the vacation not just the mode of transportation.

i'd be happy to answer any ?'s on the AT

So when we check in they will assign us our seats, correct? Then maybe I can have me and the kids snag lounge care seats(since I booked us on the lower level) and I can have dh go throw a blanket down on our LL seats?

 

[chartle]

So when we check in they will assign us our seats, correct? Then maybe I can have me and the kids snag lounge care seats(since I booked us on the lower level) and I can have dh go throw a blanket down on our LL seats?

I'm not sure why you are worried about the lounge seats. They are there for people watching the movie or hanging out playing cards and the like.

As far as I remember you have more room at your coach seats.

Also I think its been pointed out that once boarded you really don't have a ton time. You get situated in your seats and then there is dinner and then for the most part its trying to sleep, wake up eat and you are in Florida.

 

[Marshay]

Well I was doing my daily checking on Amtrak yesterday and noticed the Oversized Vehicle cost had jumped up to one-tier higher. It's $50 more but it started to concern me if there are more oversized vehicles, it may mean more families and they may eventually book rooms too. I was so concerned that our room cost might go up that I decided to just pull the trigger...and upgrade us!

I must say that calling Amtrak has NEVER been a quick experience but that's okay. Since I was booking 2 roomettes for five people, I could not do that online. I've had my issues and always get them resolved. There was NO issue with me putting two kids and one adult in the roomette, though the phone agent said he HAD to inform me about the size. I told him I was VERY familiar with the size, that I've stayed in the rooms before. I also stressed to my in-laws not only about the size of the roomette but the climb to the top. It's not for the weak, so hopefully they will be okay with it.

In any case, I did find that when all was said and done, despite the long wait, I did NOT get charged extra for the vehicle. It was the same price as I had booked it originally, and not the $50 more that it was online...so that was nice. He did warn me ahead of time that I'd lose out on the special $25 kid fare, but considering I also got to apply my AAA discount to all of us, it only cost me an extra $37 for the rail fare in the end.

And now I don't have to check the Amtrak sight EVERY DAY any longer to make sure the rates don't increase on the rooms. It's done and we will be getting roomettes for our trip!

Yay!! So glad you got your rooms. Thanks for the update on 3 people (2 kids and one adult) in a roomette.

Also, periodically check your Amtrak rates ... not religiously but sometimes they do decrease if you are going at a non-popular time.

I've been tracking (mostly) since Jan 13.
In that time, it has been late 33 times, and early 75 (never "on-time").

Mostly around an hour, but in one extreme case, it was almost 6 hours.

DW thinks I'm crazy tracking the arrivals and departures.

Thanks for the info!

Over the last 12 months that Autotrain has had an 80% on time rate going to Florida, and an 86% on time rate coming back. Worst case over the past month was 101 minutes late but there were also times when it arrived up to 116 minutes early.

Nice to know!

The Auto-Train does have a much better on time % then the Silver Service Trains to Florida. One caveat to those of us traveling in the Summer, is that heat restrictions are implemented when temperatures reach a designated level and trains must travel slower than normal. As this obviously depends on the weather, it does vary from day to day in the Summer. Also anyone traveling to Florida during hurricane season needs to monitor the weather and conditions for railway closures due to winds and flooding. We once had to leave a day early as a storm was approaching South Carolina/Georgia and Amtrak cancelled service. One year our train was delayed two days due to tropical storm that hit Florida. Always buy trip insurance..it's worth it.

Good to know...we are going in July this year so I'll just expect to be late(r).

Thanks for the replies. It looks like I will let the rest of my family know to get an early afternoon arrival time at MCO. I figure it will be more of an adventure for my girls than the adults to hang out and wait at the airport.
For those of you with small kiddos, what do you take along on the train to keep them entertained (girls will be almost 5 and 2.5)?

The first year I had each girl pack a small kids suitcase of their clothes and toys (coloring books, small barbie-like dolls, DVD player, Leapster, kids magazines, card games, new happy meal toys, stickers, etc.) But we found that was too much. The girls really do enjoy looking at the window and walking around the cars. Plus , there really isn't that much free time between snacks in the lounge car, dinner and movie.

Now I take one small kids suitcase and 1/2 of it is our clothes and the other half is filled with toys -- one coloring book, dvd player, leapster.

I also only take very few snacks and no drinks (since the rooms come with free water bottles).

Yes there is a cafe car. I am unsure if they charge for ice.

In the sleeper cars at least, there is a small ice bin at the top of each staircase.

Do the coach lounge cars have room for a lot of people or should I just plan on it being full and staying at our seats? We will be traveling Aug 5 which is a Sunday.

Yes, the lounge cars fill up quickly. If you are interested, have one person go to your room/seats and drop off your stuff while the other person goes to the lounge car to get your seats.

There is more room in the train than in a car or airplane. He can get up and walk around and sit in the lounge car with lots of windows..

I was going to say the exact same thing. The train is so much more open -- larger windows than a plane or a car, and ability to walk around. Also, on a plane, they don't really like people walking around but on the train it is the norm to walk around. The lounge car and dining cars are really nice -- big open windows, lots of space. Bright sunshine. If he doesn't like the room/seats, then just plan to spend most/all your time in the lounge car.

So when we check in they will assign us our seats, correct? Then maybe I can have me and the kids snag lounge care seats(since I booked us on the lower level) and I can have dh go throw a blanket down on our LL seats?

Absolutely! THis is what we do each time. If you are set on having lounge car seats then you need to get there right away.

They also have little paper trays so you can bring your snacks back to your seats/room if the lounge car is filled up. If you do find it already full, get your food to take back with you then try again in 30 minutes or so...it'll start to clear out and you can sit there later.

 

[disneyjunkie]

I'm not sure why you are worried about the lounge seats. They are there for people watching the movie or hanging out playing cards and the like.

As far as I remember you have more room at your coach seats.

Also I think its been pointed out that once boarded you really don't have a ton time. You get situated in your seats and then there is dinner and then for the most part its trying to sleep, wake up eat and you are in Florida.

I also want to be sure we can grab a spot in the lounge. Many of the people in my group will be up for most of the trip.

So far there are 15 of us going ~ 6 adults, 4 teens, two 9 year olds, an 8 year old, 6 year old and 4 year old. They will be chatty and loud at times. I think it would be best for them to hang out in the lounge car instead of their seats. That way they can have fun without bothering folks around us who are trying to sleep.

 

[NJBILL]

I also want to be sure we can grab a spot in the lounge. Many of the people in my group will be up for most of the trip.

So far there are 15 of us going ~ 6 adults, 4 teens, two 9 year olds, an 8 year old, 6 year old and 4 year old. They will be chatty and loud at times. I think it would be best for them to hang out in the lounge car instead of their seats. That way they can have fun without bothering folks around us who are trying to sleep.

They usually put the lights out at 10PM in the coaches.

 

[disneyjunkie]

They usually put the lights out at 10PM in the coaches.

10 is way too early for my group. We'll have to send a few folks to the lounge car to grab a table when we board.

 

[loveysbydesign]

I'm not sure why you are worried about the lounge seats. They are there for people watching the movie or hanging out playing cards and the like.

As far as I remember you have more room at your coach seats.

Also I think its been pointed out that once boarded you really don't have a ton time. You get situated in your seats and then there is dinner and then for the most part its trying to sleep, wake up eat and you are in Florida.

We have lower level seats and I'd like for the kids to sit up top for a little while to see out!

 

[Marshay]

10 is way too early for my group. We'll have to send a few folks to the lounge car to grab a table when we board.

FYI -- you don't need to grab a seat that early if you only want it for the evening. The lounge cars fill up between 3pm and 4:30pm and again at 6:45pm - 9pm. They aren't that busy after 10pm (in general). You also can't save your seat from 3pm until you go to bed, unless you have someone sitting in it the whole time.

Also, for large groups, there is a really cool lounge car booth on the lower level of the lounge car. Perfect for large groups.

There are two potential downsides though -- the restroom for that car is in back of the lounge seats and it is across from the smoking car. Depending on how active the smokers are, you may or may not be able to handle the smoke.

Still it makes a great little semi-private area for large groups...you have your own tv, too.