AmTrack Traveling By Train Questions :)

[disneyworldluvr349]

If I were to take the train to Orlando, how would I manage to get to the Port Orleans Riverside? Do they offer shuttles or taxi service?

This will be my first time traveling by train, and I just need to make sure I have all my bases covered so any tips or information you can provide about traveling from the train station to Disney World, and just about traveling by train in general I would be so appreciative. Thank you!

Robin

 

[pepe of ohio]

If I were to take the train to Orlando, how would I manage to get to the Port Orleans Riverside? Do they offer shuttles or taxi service?

This will be my first time traveling by train, and I just need to make sure I have all my bases covered so any tips or information you can provide about traveling from the train station to Disney World, and just about traveling by train in general I would be so appreciative. Thank you!

Robin

Orloando stations has taxi's and I believe Mears offers a ride but none are free. We always get off in Kissimmee (next stop after Orlando headed south) it's closer to WDW so fares are a little cheaper. We also prefer Kissimmee since a few get on and off there, Orlando is nuts, just about everyone gets off and boards there so try imaging 100-150 people waiting to detrain or waiting in a long line to board one by one.

Train travel can be fun if you know what to expect. Train are hardly on schedule so be prepared to run late. It gets quite cold in the cars after the sun goes down due to poor regulation of the A/C so bring a blanket to keep warm.

Food can be brought on with you and drinks. Though there is a club car (offering sandwiches, soups and drinks) plus a dining car (good food but pricey) you can eat at your coach seats with the pull down tray quite easily.

If you booked coach, you can inquire after the train gets moving if any sleepers are still available and get a better rate than pre-booking. Roomettes sleep only 2 people, are quite small, upper/lower bunk at night, a sink and toilet all in one compartment. small but cozy, and all sleepers include all meals incurred in your route. Really not necessary but nice if the price is right. we've done it both ways and sleeping in coach for a night is not that bad.

As I said we always get off and board in Kissimmee. Cabs are available but we prefer a car service to be there waiting to pick us up and most include a 30 minute grocery stop in route ( money saver to hit the market and liquor store). Taxi's run about 38.00 one way from Kissimmee to WDW and car services run 100-110.00 round trip. to each their own, cabs are smelly and the grocery stop is worth the difference over a cab and a delivery service.

Hope this helps.

 

[disneyworldluvr349]

Thank you very much! That was very helpful

 

[lisa-upnorth]

I will bump my train post for you
Have fun ridin the rails!!

 

[Miffy]

If you booked coach, you can inquire after the train gets moving if any sleepers are still available and get a better rate than pre-booking. Roomettes sleep only 2 people, are quite small, upper/lower bunk at night, a sink and toilet all in one compartment. small but cozy, and all sleepers include all meals incurred in your route. Really not necessary but nice if the price is right. we've done it both ways and sleeping in coach for a night is not that bad.

Pepe -- Is the discount for the onboard rate for roomettes significant? The pre-booked price of the roomette from NYC to Orlando/Kissimmee more than doubles the coach fare for 2 people.

Thanks.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Pepe -- Is the discount for the onboard rate for roomettes significant? The pre-booked price of the roomette from NYC to Orlando/Kissimmee more than doubles the coach fare for 2 people.

Thanks.

We've asked many a time on the second half of our down trip and first half of our return trip and say out of 10 requests, fully booked twice but yes, it's significant, close to 50% off. We consider 150.00-160.00 for the 2 of us in a roomette a fair rate considering meals are included for the both of us plus the privacy and comfort of the room, but it is very small, the roomette. No way would be pre-book a roomette let alone a bedroom, cost is ridiclous. We've done tha train trip over 20 times and it's quite doable the whole way in coach. Sleeping for one night in coach, especially if you brought a blanket is really not a bad thing. Lights out at 10pm, mostly everyone's considerate and by morning you're in Florida. We can go either way but we always ask on board and if the price is right, we take the roomette. Food for the sleeper cars dining room is very good, dinner, lunch and breakfast.

 

[Miffy]

Pepe -- Thanks so much for your detailed response. Much appreciated, since we're thinking about taking the train next time...which I hope is soon!

Happy holidays.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Pepe -- Thanks so much for your detailed response. Much appreciated, since we're thinking about taking the train next time...which I hope is soon!

Happy holidays.

Train travel can be long and boring. We take things to pass the time; Ipods, gameboy, portable DVD player, novels etc. We pack a neat lunch, snacks and drinks and make an adventure out of it. The seat pairings make your trip like in an isolated cocoon. We recline the seats, cover up with a blanket and relax, watch the scenery roll by.

Train run late but have been doing alot better, some stops can be long but they do make up time and really roll at night. Rolling along at night, swaying side to side, gliding along the rail, puts us to sleep. And nothing better than boarding one night and then waking in Florida in the am with a few hours to go, relaxed and not stressed from driving. Hope you give it a shot.

 

[DanBoris]

We took the train twice, once to Kissimmee station and once to Orlando and really didn't have a problem with either station. Note that even thought Kissimmee is closer you probably won't get to your destination any faster since there is another 30 minutes travel to get to Kissimmee from Orlando.

To get to our hotel we used a town car service and the price was pretty similar between the two station. We had a nice surprise on the trip we just returned from. They must have run out of normal cars so they sent us a stretch limo at no extra charge!

A couple people mentioned about meals being included when you buy a room, don't underestimate the value of this. Me and my wife traveled from Philadelphia to Orlando so we got breakfast, lunch and dinner (and we could have gotten a second dinner on the way back if we wanted it) for both of us all included in the cost of the room. All those meals would have cost us close to $100, and we only paid $200 for the roomette. Obviously you can eat cheaper by bringing your own food or eating in the club car, but if you plan to have full meals the roomette can be a good deal.

Another question that has came up in other threads about the roomette is the amount of luggage storage space. There is a storage area high up on the wall (it actually extends out over the walkway between the rooms. We put two 10" x 16" x 24" suitcases in this storage area. It was a little tricky getting them in there but they fit with not much room to spare. There is also some room under the seats for smaller bags, as well as a spot for a bag next to one of the seats. You can also keep a bag on the toilet cover if you don't mind having to move it to use the facilities.

 

[Miffy]

Thanks to everyone for the information.

 

[disneyworldluvr349]

I was looking on the Amtrack website, and I noticed that the price for just myself was above 300 dollars, compared to a plane ticket I am not sure anymore whether taking the train is a more feasable option, which is a bummer because I am scared too fly!

 

[pepe of ohio]

I was looking on the Amtrack website, and I noticed that the price for just myself was above 300 dollars, compared to a plane ticket I am not sure anymore whether taking the train is a more feasable option, which is a bummer because I am scared too fly!

The further out you book the cheaper it is...waiting closer till departure time....prices go up with the train.

I threw a hypothetical date in June for one passenger, round trip from Alliance Ohio to Kissimmee (with AAA discount 10%) total fare was 231.95. Now that's a bargain for me, that's round trip from northeastern Ohio to Kissimmee and back 115.00 each way.

I've flown 3 times long ago, and it just isn't for me....won't even consider it anymore so it's Amtrak or driving and driving 1100 miles one way would cost me about the same if not more if we stop half way let alone the stress of driving. To make my trip less stressful, no anxiety and arrive in Florida freshed and raring to go....231.00 is a bargain.

 

[Miffy]

Hi Pepe and other Amtrak experts,

I've been thinking a lot about going to WDW by train, and I have a few questions, if anyone can answer them.

1) Price: Right now on the Amtrak site I'm seeing a $244 round-trip fare (sans discount codes) from NYC-Orlando for this coming December. Does that sound like a reasonable price? I've never taken the train before, so I have nothing to compare it to. The roomette is an additional $206, which sounds not too bad to me.

2) Payment: I assume I have to pay for Amtrak tickets when I book them. Yes? Or can I reserve seats with just a deposit?

3) Convenience: Is one of the trains that runs this route significantly better than the other? More on time? Comfier? Better somehow?

4) Time: I understand that these trains may not arrive on schedule. How late into Orlando are we talking about? Two hours? 5 hours? 12 hours?

5) Anything else I should consider? I don't even know what questions to ask, but I do know that the more I think about it, taking the train sounds much much better than flying.

Thanks so much!

 

[NJGirl]

Yes, you have to pay when you book, but as long as you dont get your tickets printed you can cancel for a full refund should your plans change.

Both Silvers have the same amenities and service. I usually take the Star down and the Meteor back. I chose the Star since it gets to Orlando earlier. I do the Meteor back since its schedule works better for me.

I think the Meteor is actually an hour or two shorter route than Star...other than that there's really no difference.

As for lateness, it can be any of those. I've been about an hour late going down to Orlando on both of my Amtrak trips. Coming home I've been an hour early and right on time. My last trip coming home from South Carolina though via Amtrak I was 7 hours late. It definitely varies. I never plan one of our must do ADRs on our arrival day just bc I never know what time Amtrak will get in!

I really enjoy the train since I hate to fly. Ive done coach once and last time did a sleeper. I'm booked again for Sept in a sleeper. Whatever you do, sign up for Amtrak Guest Rewards to start earning points to trade in for free travel. I have their credit card too...so I turned in my points for my sleeper trip this year and will travel for free.

As for a good price...that doesnt sound bad for coach. You can play around with the dates and check like 11months out for dates that just opened. Those should still be in the "low bucket" and give you an idea of the lowest coach price. It only goes up from there.

 

[NJBILL]

Here is a link to get Amtrak Discounts for 2011..

http://travelweather.weebly.com/disney-weather.html

 

[pepe of ohio]

When we started using Amtrak many moons ago, we got a AAA card....they get you 10% off fares.....at the Amtrak web site...plug in AAA adult and view the difference. Between our 2 tickets...it pay for itself and we have road service while we're at home for the whole year....We also use the AAA discount for room only in WDW so we come out ahead.

Like I posted before...further out you book, cheaper it is.

As for the roomette...anymore I find it quite small, close to claustrophobic to me.....glad the wife likes to crawl up to the upper...no way I'm getting up there. Bedroom sleepers are way to expensive and for the one night...I'm just as happy to stay coach and recline my seat...pop on my earphones and doze off....there's alot more area around those 2 coach seats then in a roomette....and with the roomette car having roomettes on both sides...the corridor is very narrow...two people can not pass....that's going and coming from the dining car.

Dining car is the nice perk of the roomette...take the price of meals and subtract from roomette and if you got the conductor's special (booking in route) not a bad deal. I won't pre-book a roomette and rather play the odds of asking once we're aboard. I'm fine in coach the whole trip if none are available but happy if one is. When we go coach the whole way, we do not dine in the dining car...too expensive and like I stated...we're only on the train for 2 breakfast, one lunch and one dinner...club car food and sandwiches we brought serves us fine. Just as a side note: I know the sleepers are great, bedrooms even better and the food is good but we try to keep our trip costs down...I can sleep in a recliner just as well as the roomette cot and eat all my meals in the dining car but we like to take more than one trip to WDW a year and stay 9-12 night so being frivolous with our money isn't going to accomplish that.

Second note: the storage space in a roomette is not all that easy to access. We use the baggage car or if we reserved coach it's in our car in the rear and we just have overnighters or carryones with us. When we switch trains in DC we go the baggage car route, Red Cap takes us to our car before anyone else boards for the price of a tip and the baggage access in kissimmee (with 10 or so people getting off) a 10 minute process.

good luck, it's easier than what you read here and relax and enjoy.

 

[Miffy]

Many, many thanks to everyone who responded. The information's been duly noted and now I'm mulling it over. I'll post again if I have more questions and I'll definitely post and let you all know what mode of transportation won out!

 

[Teacher03]

A question for Pepe. ... I travel out of Alliance by Amtrak to visit my daughter in DC. When you book a roomette after you board, is it cash only or will they accept a credit card?

 

[pepe of ohio]

A question for Pepe. ... I travel out of Alliance by Amtrak to visit my daughter in DC. When you book a roomette after you board, is it cash only or will they accept a credit card?

My wife usually does all this but she has done both....credit card and cash. We board in Alliance too and just use coach to DC....since it's around 3 am when we board, we can doze off with no problem and then travel most of the day into DC so I can't vouch for asking on that leg of a trip. Boarding in DC then to head south is usually 6pm unless we get into DC on time and switch to the first train leaving DC and once the train hits Richmond VA, the conductor has checked and knows what sleepers are left on the way to Florida, then we ask.

Just wanted to add, the train from Chicago that stops in Alliance to DC are the double decker viewliners....seating is up stairs, handicapped and restroom on the lower floor. These are alot nicer than the cars out of DC. They wouldn't fit the tunnels leading out of DC south.

 

[gokenin]

Just curious are the trains usually full? I would be travelling solo if I went by train and was wondering are all the seats usually taken, not a fan of a stranger sitting right next to me to tell the truth. Thinking of getting a roomette as well since I could sleep in the chair and how big are they I would be considered pooh sized so would the chairs be comfortable enough for the whole ride or would a roomette be better?