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

[tstidm1]

thanks for the bumps guys

I am EAGERLY awaiting June so I can book my train to Disney for next year!!! I will be heading down in style with a family bedroom FREE with my points I will take lots of pics for all of my Dis friends! I also hope to find a few spare minutes to post amazing pics from my train trip to DC-that Union Station is STUNNING!!!!!!!!

I go through Union Station every month and that place is the best on the entire line. It's so much better than Penn Station New York or Union Station LA. It is a great place to layover on Amtrak. Bedrooms and Roomettes are always great free. I'm taking Roomette with mom on the way back in July. They also have a very nice Acela Club in Union Station DC.

 

[AmyC2010]

We live in Saratoga Springs NY and are taking the train in December to Disney. It is myself and my two girls ages 8 & 9. I was debating on getting a roomette car. Love to hear the report anymore tips would be great. I am really nervous about the layover in NYP station. Its just me and my girls dad is flying down later.
Thank You
Amy

 

[tstidm1]

We live in Saratoga Springs NY and are taking the train in December to Disney. It is myself and my two girls ages 8 & 9. I was debating on getting a roomette car. Love to hear the report anymore tips would be great. I am really nervous about the layover in NYP station. Its just me and my girls dad is flying down later.
Thank You
Amy

I've been in New York Penn Station. It's a safe station (literally underneath Madison Square Garden) with about two dozen food options, a couple of banks and a few shops. Amtrak Police protect that station well because it's one of their main stations. It's also a crowded station. I would feel safer in New York Penn than in my hometown station (Aberdeen, MD) at night. With a roomette, you get access to a pretty nice Club Acela in there. Club Acela has snacks, comfy seats and Wi-Fi (for the techie types). You also get priority boarding because your in a roomette.

 

[lisa-upnorth]

We live in Saratoga Springs NY and are taking the train in December to Disney. It is myself and my two girls ages 8 & 9. I was debating on getting a roomette car. Love to hear the report anymore tips would be great. I am really nervous about the layover in NYP station. Its just me and my girls dad is flying down later.
Thank You
Amy

Amy-worry not!! It is fine! If you want we could meet for lunch this summer in Glens Falls and plan I LOVE talking Disney!

 

[lisa-upnorth]

I've been in New York Penn Station. It's a safe station (literally underneath Madison Square Garden) with about two dozen food options, a couple of banks and a few shops. Amtrak Police protect that station well because it's one of their main stations. It's also a crowded station. I would feel safer in New York Penn than in my hometown station (Aberdeen, MD) at night. With a roomette, you get access to a pretty nice Club Acela in there. Club Acela has snacks, comfy seats and Wi-Fi (for the techie types). You also get priority boarding because your in a roomette.

PS-you won't all fit in a roomette but we can talk about a plan! do you have the amtrak card for points? credit card? let's talk and see if we can save you moolah!!

 

[Mrs.viv07]

PS-you won't all fit in a roomette but we can talk about a plan! do you have the amtrak card for points? credit card? let's talk and see if we can save you moolah!!

i'm wondering if you can help me. i'm looking to book 2 roometes for our family of 4 ds1 is 11 and ds2 is 2. he still breastfeeds and we bedshare , i was wondering if he would fit comfortably in the lower bunk with me?
is there a better option, a rep told me to get a bedroom that hubby baby and i would fit in the lower bunk and ds1 could go up top. seems a tight fit to me though...should we just go with 2 roometes?

 

[TandyR]

i'm wondering if you can help me. i'm looking to book 2 roometes for our family of 4 ds1 is 11 and ds2 is 2. he still breastfeeds and we bedshare , i was wondering if he would fit comfortably in the lower bunk with me?
is there a better option, a rep told me to get a bedroom that hubby baby and i would fit in the lower bunk and ds1 could go up top. seems a tight fit to me though...should we just go with 2 roometes?

When younger DD was 3 and still breastfeeding and bedsharing parttime we went with a bedroom rather then two roomettes. At the start of the night both DDs slept on top...older one was 7 at the time. Then when it was time to nurse she asked to come down and join DH and me on the lower bunk for the rest of the night. It worked fine for us. I don't think I could have done the same in a lower bunk on a roomette. Now that my girls are older (12 and turning 16 during our next trip) we always get two roomettes, but that first trip while she was still breastfeeding and bedsharing the bedroom was the way to go.

 

[lisa-upnorth]

i'm wondering if you can help me. i'm looking to book 2 roometes for our family of 4 ds1 is 11 and ds2 is 2. he still breastfeeds and we bedshare , i was wondering if he would fit comfortably in the lower bunk with me?
is there a better option, a rep told me to get a bedroom that hubby baby and i would fit in the lower bunk and ds1 could go up top. seems a tight fit to me though...should we just go with 2 roometes?

Hi! Glad to hear you want to ride he rails
The measurements for a roomette are
Lower Berth
2'4" x 6'6"

Upper Berth
2'4" x 6'2"

I would advise the family room.The space will be better for you,all in one room,the price would probably work out close to the same as for the 2 roomettes.

 

[Mrs.viv07]

Hi! Glad to hear you want to ride he rails
The measurements for a roomette are
Lower Berth
2'4" x 6'6"

Upper Berth
2'4" x 6'2"

I would advise the family room.The space will be better for you,all in one room,the price would probably work out close to the same as for the 2 roomettes.

wohoo, just booked our train, thanks so much for your help and advice. we booked the family bedroom boths ways and paid about $1400. i joined AAA today (been meaning to for a while actually) and i found a code (NY only) that waives the $10 enrollment and i can add hubby for $12 instead of $25 so i saved $$ that way as well.

 

[aprilgail2]

I would also suggest a pillow and blanket for each person. It can get cold on the train and they rent/sell really nasty ones. I would also suggest earphones and a sleeping mask if noise or light bothers you. Someone was letting their child play with one of those Bop-It things at 11pm, and the attendant wouldn't say anything to the parent.

Do they have blankets and pillows in the sleeper cars? We are going down from NYC to Orlando in July and have a roomette booked.

 

[Teacher03]

Do they have blankets and pillows in the sleeper cars? We are going down from NYC to Orlando in July and have a roomette booked.

Yes, both are supplied in the roomettes.

 

[lisa-upnorth]

lots of people seem to be looking for train info lately
glad to hear more of you wanna ride the rails!! I know this thread is long but there is LOADS of great info so try to make it through it! You will learn a lot about the trip.

BE SURE TO GET THE AMTRAK REWARDS PROGRAM FOR POINTS!!!! If you are traveling within a few months one of us can refer you and we would both get hundreds of points for free
This is a great offer that is good to use for travel.Save those points folks!

 

[aprilgail2]

lots of people seem to be looking for train info lately
glad to hear more of you wanna ride the rails!! I know this thread is long but there is LOADS of great info so try to make it through it! You will learn a lot about the trip.

BE SURE TO GET THE AMTRAK REWARDS PROGRAM FOR POINTS!!!! If you are traveling within a few months one of us can refer you and we would both get hundreds of points for free
This is a great offer that is good to use for travel.Save those points folks!

Well i wish i could say it was because i wanted to ride the rails lol-my 12year old does not want to fly. Between what happened 9/11 and underwear bombers she wants nothing to do with flying. She bugs out thinking she is going to have to go through the body scan thing or get patted down so i dont have much choice right now!

 

[lisa-upnorth]

Well i wish i could say it was because i wanted to ride the rails lol-my 12year old does not want to fly. Between what happened 9/11 and underwear bombers she wants nothing to do with flying. She bugs out thinking she is going to have to go through the body scan thing or get patted down so i dont have much choice right now!

I couldn't agree with her more Flying scared the crap outta me(and I did it about 6 times to Disney) and I would dread getting back on it to go home during my vacation! I stopped flying before sept 11th but that did not help at all

PS-how DARE you say you don't wanna ride the rails

 

[dazzling]

deleted

 

[aprilgail2]

PS-how DARE you say you don't wanna ride the rails

Well- the thing with that is that I WORK for a railroad so I don't look all that forward to being on a train for my vacation from a railroad LOL.

 

[TandyR]

I would book a room, but what is the safety like, not just for myself, but for example, leaving belongings in the room whilst dining, etc? Has anyone travelled on Amtrak solo, and if so, how was it? Would you recommend it or not?

I have never traveled on Amtrak solo, but we have left all our belongings while we dined. My DH is a computer programmer so he always has a ton of technology with him. We just pulled the curtains and shut the doors and made sure nothing was visible from the hallway. We have never had any problems with someone in our roomettes while we were gone.

My husband and I have a couple dream train trips we want to do once both our DDs are in college. One is the Trans-Siberian Railway from Vladivostok to Moscow then the Red Arrow to St. Petersburg. The other is from Boston to Chicago, Chicago to Seattle, Seattle to LA, LA to Chicago, Chicago to Boston. So we have big train dreams.

 

[DanBoris]

For personal safety I would have very minimal concerns. Bad things can happen anywhere but trains are pretty safe. It's a confined area, that always has other people around. It would be hard for someone to do something to violate your personal safety and get away with it.

As for belongings, theft on Amtrak is not unheard of, but it's unusual. Just take basic percautions, when you leave your room, bring wallets/handbags with you, make sure no electronic equipment is in plain sight and close the curtains and door behind you.

We are getting ready to do a cross country trip from Philly to LA this summer and are really looking forward to it.

 

[loveysbydesign]

For personal safety I would have very minimal concerns. Bad things can happen anywhere but trains are pretty safe. It's a confined area, that always has other people around. It would be hard for someone to do something to violate your personal safety and get away with it.

As for belongings, theft on Amtrak is not unheard of, but it's unusual. Just take basic percautions, when you leave your room, bring wallets/handbags with you, make sure no electronic equipment is in plain sight and close the curtains and door behind you.

We are getting ready to do a cross country trip from Philly to LA this summer and are really looking forward to it.

There's a train that goes from Philly to LA? Cool!
Aha, I just checked it out and it goes to Anaheim to! That would be a neat ride! Would cost us $980 each way for us, 2 adults, 3 kids!

 

[NJRRK]

Sorry if I'm hijacking this thread a little bit, but it is related, I promise!

I have wanted to take a cross America trip by Amtrak for years, starting from Florida & ending up in LA. I think it would be a great way to see more of the States than flying from place to place. Reading this thread has got me very excited about it, but the only thing that concerns me is that I will be travelling solo.

Unfortunately the Train no longer goes all the way from Florida to LA anymore. Sunset Limited used to but hasn't since hurrican Katrina. The only way to go from Florida to LA is FL to Washington DC or NY, then change to the train to either Chicago or New Orleans, then continue on to LA from there.