Amtrak train info w/pics!All Aboard-Choo-choo!UPDATED

[GetGlowing]

I'm wondering how long-legged people fare in the roomettes. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

 

[lisa-upnorth]

Thanks!

You know...today must have been a weird day for me. I'm usually Googling(sp) for stuff if I can't find the answer here.

Maybe it's because I'm 16 days away from leaving for WDW? Whooohooo!

I believe I had a pic at the beginning of this thread
Glad to hear you are riding the rails!Don't be scared by the roomette-you will have a great time. It IS a train so yes it will rock and yes there is a whistle, but that's what we love the whistle is not so loud as to wake you and we love to hear it as we drift off. the roomettes are small but MUCH better than sitting in car with a bunch of annoying strangers on their phones-or with obnoxious kids! We will never do seats again! We also only tip about $5 since we get on the train and close our doors.We load our own bags into the room and up into the cargo area,we set up our own beds and get our own drinks from the back of the car(FREE).The only time we saw them was when they asked about dining reservation times.
Have fun and enjoy the view! Be sure to SLEEP so you can be well rested for disney!!

 

[BillyBuff]

I'm wondering how long-legged people fare in the roomettes. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

I'm 5'8" and kinda stocky while my wife is 5'5" and size 2-3? I'm not sure if I can fall into that long-legged category though. But I'll try my best to see how laid out we can get.

I believe I had a pic at the beginning of this thread
Glad to hear you are riding the rails!Don't be scared by the roomette-you will have a great time. It IS a train so yes it will rock and yes there is a whistle, but that's what we love the whistle is not so loud as to wake you and we love to hear it as we drift off. the roomettes are small but MUCH better than sitting in car with a bunch of annoying strangers on their phones-or with obnoxious kids! We will never do seats again! We also only tip about $5 since we get on the train and close our doors.We load our own bags into the room and up into the cargo area,we set up our own beds and get our own drinks from the back of the car(FREE).The only time we saw them was when they asked about dining reservation times.
Have fun and enjoy the view! Be sure to SLEEP so you can be well rested for disney!!

Yeah this will be our third Amtrak trip. I don't think I can do the coach seats anymore. One time this guy fell onto me because he lost his footing! Plus this woman was talking on the cellphone the entire trip! We tried shushing and calling the attendant. She'll stop but then start right back up again!

 

[torinsmom]

Anyone has photos of the actual roomette? I saw a few closeups but not the full view of the roomette. I think the computerized views on their site is a bit misleading lol

I guess I'll get some photos soon in 16 days so I can share here for the future Amtrak travellers.

I don't think there would have been room to back up and take a picture. The hallway is so narrow, you almost have to turn sideways to pass through. I know they have a 3-D view on the website, but you have to see the real thing to know how the area really is.

Someone asked about long-legged folk. My son is 6'1 and has really long legs. He rested pretty well on the bunk, but he had some trouble getting comfortable once they were made into chairs. There is not much leg room there.

I believe I had a pic at the beginning of this thread
Glad to hear you are riding the rails!Don't be scared by the roomette-you will have a great time. It IS a train so yes it will rock and yes there is a whistle, but that's what we love the whistle is not so loud as to wake you and we love to hear it as we drift off. the roomettes are small but MUCH better than sitting in car with a bunch of annoying strangers on their phones-or with obnoxious kids! We will never do seats again! We also only tip about $5 since we get on the train and close our doors.We load our own bags into the room and up into the cargo area,we set up our own beds and get our own drinks from the back of the car(FREE).The only time we saw them was when they asked about dining reservation times.
Have fun and enjoy the view! Be sure to SLEEP so you can be well rested for disney!!

Our roomette was at the front of the train and no way could I sleep through that whistle. It was really loud in our car. I wish I had taken some sleep meds, but our train was late and I didn't want to be drowsy the next day. I didn't ask the attendant to do anything; he did it himself. He already had the beds ready when we got there and grabbed our luggage and stuffed it where it went. He brought us water, which we didn't even drink(didn't ask for it). I felt like I needed to tip him, even though we would have been fine if he'd left us alone.


We ended up canceling our return trip and riding with my sister. My dad had complications with his gallbladder surgery, and it was going to cost an arm and a leg to come back earlier on the train. At least they give a refund of the coach fare and a voucher for the roomette. I think I lost $8.50 or something in the deal. We will probably go coach next year if we take the train, as I don't think the roometter was worth it for us. DS could sleep on a roller coaster, and I could NOT sleep as well in coach as I did in the roomette. DS is probably bringing a friend, so the roomette wouldn't work anyway. I'm glad I tried it once though.

 

[BillyBuff]

Found an awesome video tour of the Viewliner roomette

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3zyQRYPDVA

I don't think my wife & I will have a problem with the tight space. Maybe we'll just cuddle up or something

Although she may not be used to the idea of the open area toilet lol

 

[disneymarie]

We ended up canceling our return trip and riding with my sister. My dad had complications with his gallbladder surgery, and it was going to cost an arm and a leg to come back earlier on the train. At least they give a refund of the coach fare and a voucher for the roomette. I think I lost $8.50 or something in the deal. We will probably go coach next year if we take the train, as I don't think the roometter was worth it for us. DS could sleep on a roller coaster, and I could NOT sleep as well in coach as I did in the roomette. DS is probably bringing a friend, so the roomette wouldn't work anyway. I'm glad I tried it once though.

I am sorry to hear about your Dad. That is so sad that he missed a trip and the timing. I hope he is healing better now.

 

[mykidsrqts]

We love riding the auto train and have done it twice. I was just reading about the Amtrak Guest Rewards program. What have your experiences been? Anyone know if you can redeem for roomettes on the auto train?

 

[NJGirl]

We love riding the auto train and have done it twice. I was just reading about the Amtrak Guest Rewards program. What have your experiences been? Anyone know if you can redeem for roomettes on the auto train?

You can redeem for free auto train travel. The roomette award for like 15,000 pts covers both people in the room and 20,000 covers the occupants of the bedroom/family room. To do the auto train you have to also have enough points to cover the car fee as well in points..which has two different values depending on regular vrs oversize. It's an all or nothing proposition...all points or all cash. No paying the car fee in cash and getting the room for points, etc.

I haven't redeemed for the auto train myself, but have redeemed sleepers for the Silver service to FL.

My advice is to sign up for the Amtrak rewards credit card. We put everything on there so we can ride in a sleeper for free.

 

[Melanie230]

We have 2 roomettes for our upcoming trip. If we have more than a couple of bags each do we check our luggage? My daughter and I are staying in one roomette and my husband and son in the other. I wasn't sure how it works if you have more luggage than a roomette can hold.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

DS15 and almost 6 feet tall and I just got into our bedroom car. There is actually more room than I had thought. We had two medium suitcases and two what would be airplane carryons and they all fit fine in the top shelf luggage area. We will have to be creative about changing and using the restroom but that's a small problem. Will have pics to post when we return home.

 

[torinsmom]

We have 2 roomettes for our upcoming trip. If we have more than a couple of bags each do we check our luggage? My daughter and I are staying in one roomette and my husband and son in the other. I wasn't sure how it works if you have more luggage than a roomette can hold.

We fit 4 bags in our roomette. They were the rolling duffle kind. We put two in the overhead and stacked the other two on a little area beside the lower bunk.

 

[torinsmom]

DS15 and almost 6 feet tall and I just got into our bedroom car. There is actually more room than I had thought. We had two medium suitcases and two what would be airplane carryons and they all fit fine in the top shelf luggage area. We will have to be creative about changing and using the restroom but that's a small problem. Will have pics to post when we return home.

We just had the other step out when we needed to use the toilet

 

[Pammy jo]

Okay, just wanted to get this all straight. I signed up for my card, got it two days ago, went and spent one purchase yesterday. How soon can I expect the points to show on my rewards acct and able to pay for my trip? Thanks, you all are the greatest with info!!

 

[lisa-upnorth]

Okay, just wanted to get this all straight. I signed up for my card, got it two days ago, went and spent one purchase yesterday. How soon can I expect the points to show on my rewards acct and able to pay for my trip? Thanks, you all are the greatest with info!!

they appear on your next statement date.Mine is around the 3rd of the month-maybe they all are???Anyway, once your amtrak credit card statement is printed you are good to use them

 

[BillyBuff]

*bump*

I'm leaving next Saturday so I'm definitely going to document the roomette and the ride down as much as possible (while my wife isn't looking)

I have a really wide lens for my cameras so I can get some nice shots of the overall roomette and how it'll look with 2 people sitting in it

 

[GetGlowing]

Looking forward to your pictures, BillyBuff!

So if we were going to take Amtrak just for a cruise out of Port Canaveral, what station would be best to disembark the train? And, which stations besides those in Orlando would offer transportation options to the port? Anyone have experience going directly to the port without going to WDW first?

On our one and only trip down in coach, earplugs were our best friend. We boarded the train at 3am and there was a chatty cathy two seats in front of us. she would. not. shut. up. Earplugs saved the day.

What we could have used were a ball cap or eye mask to keep the light out of our eyes. Even though the cabin lights are dimmed for travel, the one seat under the luggage rack is dark enough, but the other seat is right under the aisle lights and is pretty bright when you're trying to sleep. Also, we took pillows and blankets, which helped the comfort level tremendously (but we were also traveling in Feb.)

 

[BillyBuff]

I am watching the Amtrak Service Alerts very closely!

As of today, Monday August 29, 2011 Silver Meteor Trains 97 and 98 between New York - Miami are cancelled!

 

[NJGirl]

I am watching the Amtrak Service Alerts very closely!

As of today, Monday August 29, 2011 Silver Meteor Trains 97 and 98 between New York - Miami are cancelled!

I saw you're leaving this coming weekend. I'm concerned too as I'm supposed to be on the Silvers headed to WDW on Tuesday the 6th! The station where I'm supposed to board (Trenton, NJ) has its tracks flooded at the moment and I'm not even sure I could get to the station if I wanted to with the road closures around here.

I'll feel better if they get Septa and NJTransit up and running in the next day or so.

 

[BillyBuff]

I saw you're leaving this coming weekend. I'm concerned too as I'm supposed to be on the Silvers headed to WDW on Tuesday the 6th! The station where I'm supposed to board (Trenton, NJ) has its tracks flooded at the moment and I'm not even sure I could get to the station if I wanted to with the road closures around here.

I'll feel better if they get Septa and NJTransit up and running in the next day or so.

We're hoping they'll resume service. I may have to book last minute flights & it's not something I want to do. I don't mind flying but everytime the pilot adjusts the cabin pressure, my ears are in excruciating pain! Imagine someone taking a butter knife and jabbing it into your eardrum and then scraping it back & forth. Not fun al all.

 

[runskyhy]

We're hoping they'll resume service. I may have to book last minute flights & it's not something I want to do. I don't mind flying but everytime the pilot adjusts the cabin pressure, my ears are in excruciating pain! Imagine someone taking a butter knife and jabbing it into your eardrum and then scraping it back & forth. Not fun al all.

Although I fly regularly, this just happened to me for the first time last year. Someone on the plane gave me this advice. Hold your nose and keep your mouth closed, then gently 'blow' [breathe] out. This 'popped' my ears and they felt 1000x better!

Sorry to hijack the thread - thanks for all the great Amtrak information!