Any Amtrak experts?

[brockash]

What about 2 (or 3) of you flying and the 16 year old taking the train? A roomette is a small space for a 4 year old. My little guy was 4 on the auto train last year and we had a family bedroom, and after our experience on it we've decided that the wife and kids will fly home, and I'll take the AT alone.

Also worthy of note is how the train is frequently quite late. 21 hours could easily turn into 24 or more....

Yes, this...honestly I would not even consider this as a viable option. No way in the world would i pay double the price for an at least 7x longer journey to WDW and then to have to pay for transportation to the resort as opposed to taking the ME and having to now take the car seat. I just can't imagine any scenario in which this would ever be a consideration. I mean I guess if you just really really wanted to ride a train to Disney and were willing to pay a very expensive price, but man seems crazy.

As others have pointed out why not just drive? I hate road trips and it would never be my first choice, but if flying is just totally not a possibility, then just save yourself the trouble and money and drive.

 

[GrnMtnMan]

I feel bad even coming back with this update after wasting everyone's time, but figured I should.

Don't be! That's why you came here, to find out whether or not it was a good idea. The dream of train travel is much different than the reality. There are lovers and haters of train travel. I fall into both categories. In the right circumstances it could be an adventure. In other circumstances, it could be a nightmare.

Mostly for other posters: Why do I take the train if I hate it so much? I take the train frequently because it beats the horrible weekend traffic of getting between Washington DC, and NYC and Central Virginia, where I travel to frequently for family or business reasons. I took the Autotrain last summer with the family as an adventure. Wasn't entire nightmare, but it wasn't a wonderful experience, mostly because of the inability to sleep. This summer I'm taking the AT alone, and the kids and wife will fly home one way from WDW. Our car is with us because the family spends a few weeks in Hilton Head at the in-laws prior to our trip to WDW. This summer my decision will be which is better: taking the AT (and taking a sleeping pill to help me sleep aboard it) or road tripping home by myself and finding a motel on I-95 to stop at along the way.

 

[DanBoris]

There's the rub, isn't it.

If you're coming from the Northeast (and only trains from the Northeast go to Orlando/Kissimmee/Sanford), you talking 2-3 days for travel alone, whereas an airplane, including security and stuff, will take up 12 hours or so round trip. So 48+ hours versus ~12 hours. I take an extra day and a half in Disney over decompression on a government owned corporation that's less successful than the postal service, and slower and more expensive than driving your self.

And I take Amtrak pretty much monthly, and have the auto-train booked for this August!

I travel from Philadelphia and time really isn't a big deal for us. We leave around noon, and get into Orlando around 10:00 AM so have most of the day for the parts (as long as the train isn't really late). On the way back we leave around 7:00 so again have a plenty of time in the parks, and get home by around 5:00 PM the next day. As for the price with a sleeper, it's only a lot if you just count it as transportation, but if you think of it as transportation a nights lodging and 3 meals, it's not that bad.