Amtrak Auto Train

[EMT-319]

We will be arriving, the morning of our cruise, via the Amtrak Auto Train. I have been checking out the arrival times for the past week, and it seems that the southbound train always arrives late, sometimes as much as 4 hours!

...Does anybody know how long it takes to drive from Sanford to the DCL terminal?

If the train arrives on time (8:30) and I figure it could take up to 2 hours to unload my car before we can start for Port Canaveral, we should arrive around 11:30. If the train comes in late - it could be a mad scramble to get to the port on time...

 

[JimC]

It is about 70 miles, say an hour and fifteen minutes.

 

[Dave_from_Marietta]

I have directions at my web site...

www.dcltribute.com/directions

As you've noticed in your research, the Auto Train is notorious for not only being late, but by being late by several hours. I wouldn't want to take the Auto Train for an arrival the morning of the cruise. I'd be a nervous wreck the whole way. All that being said, I don't think you'd need to wait more than an hour to get your car, and then it's about 60-75 minutes to the cruise terminal.

 

[natt]

Maybe if you explained your situation at boarding, they could place your car so it could be off fairly quickly. Don't know much about the AutoTrain, but good luck, and I'll want to hear how it all panned out when you arrive! natt

 

[tstobb]

When the train arrives in Sanford, they split the auto carriers from the passenger section & it seems like the "oversize" vehicles (mini vans, SUVs, etc) have the luck of being unloaded 1st. They load the card according to size and time of arrival at the Lorton terminal.
Last time we took the auto-train, we pulled out of the terminal at about noon and we were among the last ones there.

 

[gometros]

I can testify to how chancey it is to arrive the morning of the cruise. We were on the 11/24/01 Magic and since we wanted to spend Thanksgiving with the family, we caught the 11/23 train out of Lorton. The train was delayed four hours getting into Sanford and we did not get our car until 1:30 and thank goodness for Florida's 70 mile an hour speed limit. We got to the port in an hour.

If you have the choice, arrive the day before. It's just not worth the stress and aggravation

You can read my details at

http://www.canettifamily.com/112401.html

 

[cherylp3]

My last trip on the Autotrain in May 2002 - I didn't check in at OKW until 7pm that night..

I am agree with others that if you are concerned you should arrive a day ahead.


Cheryl

 

[EMT-319]

The southbound autotrain arrived 6 hours late today due to a derailment.

That did it ! I dumped the train - We will be flying to MCO the evening prior, renting from Budget and driving down to Port Canaveral the morning of our departure. Spirit Air was only $ 60 more than the train. It also cuts my travel time from 24 to 8 hours each way.

I am leaning toward renting a Hyundai Santa Fe SVU from Budget for 7 days and parking at the port. Budget is running a special - it would only cost me $ 10 more to rent for a week vs the total cost of a 1 day rental before plus a 3 day rental after the cruise (with discounts!). Of course I would have to pay for parking, but I would not have to deal with the shutttle back and forth btwn. the terminal and Budget's Port Canaveral location. Also, this way, when we get off the ship - we're immediately on our way to wherever

 

[Cassi]

We just took the Auto Train, and had a pretty bad experience. We took it down on the 12th, and spent a week at Disney World before heading for the Wonder. We arrived at 8:45, so that was pretty good. But we got on the train again for the return home this past Thursday. We were supposed to get in Friday at 8:30 am, but didn't arrive until almost 4:30 pm! That's right, almost a 9 hour delay! Of course, the people waiting to head south left late, too. They still needed to get our cars off, and clean out the train before beginning boarding again. So I don't know what time they ended up leaving or arriving. It was horrible. We kept stopping for one thing after another. First, there was a freight train ahead of us that hit a car, so that had to be cleared (no one got hurt, thankfully). Then there was a crack in the rail (two times!). Then something happened with the hot box, then something happened with one of the car carriers, then a crossing signal was out and we had to wait for police to guide us through, etc.! I would never take it on the same day as the cruise, if I took it again at all!