All about the Autotrain

[Marshay]

Left our house at 4 am. Heading for Lorton.

Best wishes on your travel.

 

[jwboucher]

Made it to Lorton. There were 3 dinner time choices 5, 7 & 9. We have a roomette.

 

[jwboucher]

Had a good night on the train. I had the beef for dinner, very tender. Breakfast was cereal bagel muffins and a banana (not orange!). Pulling into Sanford a hour early.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Has anyone driven from the Port of Miami to Sanford to take the AT? We'd like to, but I know we'd have to be off the ship by 9 a.m at the very latest to be able to get to Sanford by 2. It says it takes about 4 hours and that would leave us an hour to play with if there are delays while driving.
Not sure if it is worth the risk or not?

 

[Wynnebee]

We just boarded the train. We have a 9 p.m. dinner reservation since we ate a very late lunch. This is our first time on the train. I'm surprised at how much room there is, we are on the bottom in a coach car. The seats have a ton of leg room and are fairly comfortable.

 

[Marshay]

Has anyone driven from the Port of Miami to Sanford to take the AT? We'd like to, but I know we'd have to be off the ship by 9 a.m at the very latest to be able to get to Sanford by 2. It says it takes about 4 hours and that would leave us an hour to play with if there are delays while driving. Not sure if it is worth the risk or not?

Although you could do it, I'd suspect your travel wouldn't be relaxed as every construction delay and traffic jam and bathroom break would result in stress and worry that you might not make it. After cruising and relaxing on the ship, I wouldn't want that stress to be how I enter back into the real world.

Drive instead to DTD and go shopping, eat there, catch a movie, go bowling, swim in your hotel and then catch the AT the next day.

 

[ldo]

We did what PP suggested. Got off a cruise, stayed @ WDW area another night, and then got AT the next day. You never know what delay you could get.

 

[slzer0]

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you miss your train. Like a flight, can you get the next one?

 

[DanBoris]

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you miss your train. Like a flight, can you get the next one?

I guess you could, assuming the next train has space, but the problem is that most long distance trains are only scheduled once a day which is the case with the Autotrain.

 

[bdcp]

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you miss your train. Like a flight, can you get the next one?

You cannot just show up and get on the next train. You would have to call and cancel your trip and rebook, if there were seats available. The AT sells out often during certain times of the year. There is a penalty (10%) for cancelling and it has to be done before the train leaves. Once the train has departed, you lose your entire fare.

 

[slzer0]

Good to know, thx

 

[loveysbydesign]

Ok, so I just booked us to take the train home next month! We are in lower level seats.

I hope we actually get to take it this time, last time the railways were shut down just after we checked into the station...due to Hurricane Sandy! Then we had to hit the road and beat Sandy, she hit a half hour after we arrived home!

My kids will be 15, 12 and 7...I know to bring eyemasks, and maybe small blankets. I am also planning to bring a small soft sided cooler with some water bottles and snacks.
Anything else that is a MUST bring?

 

[jwboucher]

Looks like the auto train has gone up quite a bit. I was pricing out next Sept and it went up $292.40 round trip (roomette) over this year. Guess I can ride the train the whole way and rent a car cheaper while only driving 40 mins to train instead of 7 hrs!

 

[slzer0]

Wow. I wonder what prices for next Dec will be?

 

[ffemtmomof4]

We will be on the autotrain southbound on 10/28. I have a few questions.

1- Is it possible to walk anywhere for lunch after we check in? We plan on getting there earlier in case we hit traffic on the way down.

2- I read a review that said people tend to hog the tables in the lounge. I was hoping to do school (we are homeschoolers) with the kids at some point and wanted to use a table. Will I have a hard time finding a table? There will only be 3 or 4 of us (all depends on if I have a kindergarten aged son do school that day) so one table would be enough and it would only be for an hour or so.

Thanks.
Robin

 

[ldo]

the tables in the lounge will not be good for homeschooling. There is a lot of activity with people talking, walking through, getting drinks, etc. You would be better having the kids sit in their seats and working or pick an activity with reading involved or a computer program or educational movie with head phones. The seats have tables that fold down in front.

 

[jwboucher]

Wow. I wonder what prices for next Dec will be?

I paid $186 for our van each way in Sept. It's now $239 each way. I can rent a car for the price of one way of the van.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

We will be on the autotrain southbound on 10/28. I have a few questions.

1- Is it possible to walk anywhere for lunch after we check in? We plan on getting there earlier in case we hit traffic on the way down.

It's possible, but only if you arrive early enough to allow for walking and meal time. There is a strip shopping center *almost* directly across from the auto train station. You would walk down the sidewalk back to Lorton Road (where the AT entrance is located). Stay on the sidewalk and bear left alongside Lorton Road. Walk maybe 50-100 yards to the first traffic light. Cross Lorton Road at the light. This puts you on Lorton Market Street and the shopping center will be on your left. There is a Glory Days restaurant (sports themed chain restaurant; family friendly; mostly burgers and salads, but also a few entrees http://www.glorydaysgrill.com/#locations/virginia/lorton). There is also a sushi restaurant.

I estimate it would probably take about 15 minutes to walk there on average. YMMV.

My only caution with this is as with any restaurant on any given day, service may be unpredictable. We're local to the area and have been there and had good service, but someone else may have had not-so-good service.

As an alternative, instead of checking in your car when you arrive, you could park it and go inside the terminal to get your boarding passes and your meal tickets. Then you can drive out to go get some lunch, checking in your car when you return.

 

[slzer0]

I paid $186 for our van each way in Sept. It's now $239 each way. I can rent a car for the price of one way of the van.

Don't you have to take a car in order to ride this train though..?

 

[jwboucher]

Don't you have to take a car in order to ride this train though..?

Yes...that's the perk of it. Otherwise you can take the train locally and not have to drive (7hrs for me) to get it.