Amtrack?

[suemac]

Don't think we are crazy but.....
We are going to take the train from Boston Mass to Orlando.
has anyone done this type of 24 hour train trip before? Advice?

 

[autumnblue]

I'm doing a similar trip from Providence to Atlanta in March and thinking about doing it to Orlando in October, I'll let you know how it goes. My boyfriend did take the train once from Providence to Orlando and he biggest piece of advice is get a sleeper car. He really didn't think it was that bad, a good portion of the trip is at night so you can sleep through most of your travel time.

Autumnblue

 

[suemac]

Thank you.
I would be interested to hear how your trips go.
We are planning on getting sleeper cars. We have 3 kids and I do not think they will sleep well in seats.

 

[tmli]

My son has been begging me to take the train to WDW. It would also be around 24hrs for us I assume. When I was a kid we travelled this way all the time because it was less expensive for my parents...Is this still true? Do you pay less for the train then you would pay for an airfare?

I'd be interested to hear how your trips go as well.

 

[suemac]

tmli wrote:
When I was a kid we travelled this way all the time because it was less expensive for my parents...Is this still true? Do you pay less for the train then you would pay for an airfare?


No I am afaid that rail travel is way more than air! But, for us, 3 out of the 7 will not get on a plane. What else can I do? Not go to Disney? I don't think so!

 

[TandyR]

In less the a month we are taking Amtrak from Boston to Orlando and back. I haven't done this before...I took a sleeper from Moscow to Leningrad over 15 years ago and that is my only other long distance train travel. The Boston to Orlando trip is about 30 hours. I did a lot of research and decided to go for a deluxe sleeper because anyone who did it without a sleeper said it was a bad trip where as the people with sleepers had a more or less good time. Also I found that people who looked at it as an adventure or as part of their vacation had a better time then they people who just looked at the train as a way to get to where they are going.
The price of 4 tickets (2 adults and 2 kids), coach for Boston/NYC leg and Deluxe Sleeper for the NYC/Orlando round trip was about $300 less then airfare for the same period. With the sleepr you get free meals in the dinner car and from what I have read the meals in the diner car not that bad...at least they aren't fast food.
There are a ton of message boards all talking about train travel...my hard drive died awhile back so I don't have them bookmarked any more, but this is what a quick search came up with for me just now:
http://communities.prodigy.net/trains/amthints.htm Hints for enjoying Amtrak.
http://www.railroad.net/forums/amtrak/ This and many other forums.

An important tip...buy your tickets ASAP because the way they price the sleepers when each sleeper is sold the price for a sleeper goes up so you want to be the first person to buy to get the cheapest right.
Look for a post on the transportion board from me sometime late Feb. because I plan to post about our train adventure.
I hope I have been of some help.

 

[TandyR]

I just remembered I got some really good info from www.SelfHelpGuides.com "Train Travel Self Help Guide" by Lynne A. Williams. I think I spent a couple dollars on it but I can't remember how much (it wasn't much I am too cheap for it to be a lot). But it has a lot of great info.

 

[DNBois]

My husband and I (early-mid 30's) decided (since we both hate flying) to try out the train going from RI to Orlando this past May. I can say that we absolutely loved it going down - as had a blast looking out the windows at the scenery (hint: sometimes the scenery is frightening but other times it was beautiful). We ate in the dinner car and sat across from an eldery (worldly) gentleman who had been using the train as his only form of major transportation for years - it was very interesting to chat with him. I, for one, get motion sickness very easily and I thought when we were seated while riding backwards in the dining car, I thought I would get sick. Not the case at all - I had a nice glass of wine with my meal and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. The tables all had white linens and candles going and it was actually very romantic. Please keep in mind - although we had seen pictures on the amtrak website of the viewliner standard rooms, we were not at all prepared for what we saw when we arrived - the rooms are even smaller than you think. I thought we would feel cluttered and cramped but we actually did ok - even a small tv screen that plays first rate movies all day/night. We slept just fine through the night - waited to take a shower in our hotel room b/c I am not one to share shower accomodations with a bunch of people (call me a prude).
The ride back was not as much fun and I can only assume it was because we were coming back from vacation - the thrill was gone. But we thought the ride was much more bumpy and we had a tough time sleeping. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are going from RI to Orlando again this March. Here's another hint - if you can splurge a few extra dollars get the business class seats from Boston to NY or DC both ways - you will be very glad you did. We used business on the way down (lots of room, quiet, free soda, newspapers) and loved it - on the way back, it was mayhem. B/c there was no more room in overhead compartments, we were forced to sit in small cramped spaces with our luggage under our feet which didn't leave us much room. Also, as TandyR said, you should book as soon as you can because they jump their prices quickly from day to day; we were lucky when we made our reservations last March for the May trip - they had a buy one, get one free deal - keep your fingers crossed for that one again! I hope this info helps and let me know if you have any other questions and I will do my best to answer them.

 

[GaryWT]

We just booked Amtrak, Boston to Orlando for April. The best air we could get was $2200 for a direct flight and $1800 with one stop. The train was $630. Based on advice from a friend of the wife who does this trip, she advised against the sleeper. She said the $$ saved was worth it. he sleeper seemed to move the prive closer to $2000. A family of 5 has to book differently than a familt of 4. Anyway, we are looking at it as a new adventure although I feel the trip home will not be as fun as the trip down.

 

[DNBois]

Gary,
It definitely saves a lot of money and we have not done the train w/o a sleeper so we couldn't say for sure. . . but we were in reserved coach from providence to virginia and we were not i great shape - the seats are soooo uncomfortable. You could keep checking back b/c last year around this time, they had a buy one, get one free deal which I am hoping will come around this time again. I will say since we took the business class seats on the way home, they were very comfy and I could have dealt with going overnight in those - good luck and have fun

 

[disney4us2002]

We're considering the autotrain from Lorton to Sanford in December. We can't get any pricing info this early. When you take the train to Orlando, how do you then get to WDW? Is there a car rental place at the station or do you have to book a shuttle to the parks?

All in all I think having our car will be easier but it certainly drives the cost up. We did autotrain in '97 and the cost for the minivan was nearly the same as the tickets for all five of us.

 

[autumnblue]

According to the Amtrak website there are car rentals available at both the Orlando and Kissimmee stations. I think it is Hertz at Orlando. I have called Mears and they offer shuttle service from the Amtrak Orlando station to WDW and other area hotels but you must call when you get there, the cost is the same as the airport shuttle $29 roundtrip for adults to WDW hotels.

 

[GaryWT]

I have been looking around, Happy is about $105, another is $85 and I am still waiting to hear from FL and Tiffany.

 

[DNBois]

If this helps at all, DH and I took Happy Limo from the Amtrak station to CBR this past May - it was $80 roundtrip (with a 15 minute pitstop for groceries if needed); all in all, it came to $100 rt because they automatically add in the gratuity. We were very pleased with the service and I was glad we paid the extra money for an a/c car that took us straight to Disney

 

[clori]

My sister and niece are taking amtrak from Boston to Orlando in February. My sister will not fly but it would have been cheaper for the two of them to fly than it is for the train with sleeper car (they are going the last week of Feb). I know they are taking coach Boston to NYC then sleeper car. They have arranged for a rental car at the Orlando station. I have taken the downeaster train from Boston to NH and find coach to be very comfortable though it is only about 1 1/2 hours. I gave my sister some small travel games for the ride and plan on giving her a small snack bag for the trip down since she is staying at my house the night before since I live near Boston. Since she has a sleeper car I believe she can use club acela in NYC but I'm not positive nor do I know what that really means.

 

[TandyR]

A person who has a first class/sleeper ticket can use ClubAcela at any leg of their trip. So she can even use it in Boston, but it might not be worth it there it depends on when she is planning to get to South Station.


ClubAcela amenities include:

* Complimentary soft drinks, juice, pastries, and snacks.
* Comfortable and quiet lounge seating.
* Reservations and ticketing assistance.
* A selection of newspapers and periodicals.
* Credit card long-distance telephones with data ports for computer usage.
* Complimentary use of photocopy and fax machines.
* Complimentary world-wide web access.
* Conference rooms equipped with speaker phones and VCRs available for rental.
* Information on local dining and entertainment options.
* Train information.
* Advance boarding (where available).
* Quik-Trak ticketing machines (where available).

 

[Magica DeSpell]

I have taken Amtrak from Boston to Orlando on many occasions, both in coach and in a sleeper. It makes for two very different kinds of trips.

Coach is not that bad if you have someone to sit with. If you do not, you will be assigned someone to sit with and that can make for a very interesting trip. The conductors group passengers together by destination to make it easier for them to know who's getting off where. It's definitely a gamble as you can imagine. If you have an even number of travellers, you'll all be able to sit together, but if you have an odd number, someone will be sitting with a stranger, which can be GREAT or not so great. It can make a long trip feel even longer.

Riding in the sleeper is a delight, but obviously much more expensive.

Either way, I LOVE the trip down on the train. The view, eating in the dining car, meeting fellow travellers. It's part of the vacation for me!!

 

[AnnaS]

I have just decided to add two sleepers to our current reservations. Hoping all goes well. I need to go on Amtrak's website, does anyone know if bubbles are allowed on top of an SUV? (Pathfinder). Thanks.

 

[Barb A.]

My husband and I are contemplating Amtrak from Philly and I have a question. Am I right that business class is a step up from coach? I would hate to be in an uncomfortable seat for all those hours.

 

[Harambe]

I really do hate to be negative - but we taook the train from Boston to Orlando - and it was just awful. Now, mind you, we had kids 6 & 8 at the time. We did not get the sleeper car (could make the big difference).

Bad things: smelly, dirty bathrooms - lots of drunk people having a tough time walking with the train moving - expensive food that you end up wearing due to motion of the train - can't really sleep in the seats - travel is thru the back of most cities/states so scenery is nothing special - when we got to WDW we were exhausted and could not do a park!

Good things: The Amtrack staff is incredible! They are fun to talk to and can't do enough for you! The scenery improved dramatically when you get to the Carolinas and Georgia - really beautiful!