Anyone doing the AutoTrain on May 4th?

[michelleiada]

I will be driving my parents from Massachusetts to Virginia and accompanying them on the Auto Train on May 4th. My step Dad won't fly...ugh so this is the only way to get them there...and they won't do it alone. The rest of the family will fly down on the 5th and meet us there. Anyone else do the AutoTrain? We have done it twice before. I would prefer to fly and just get there but I really want my parents to enjoy vacations and this is the only way to make that happen for them. At least the train is relaxing and we always get sleepers so we have privacy and comfort. My parents pay for the whole thing as a token of appreciation.

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

Enjoy your trip on the autotrain. It is part of the adventure just not a mode to get there. We are leaving on June 22 and Aug 1 for our 2 trips to Fl on the autotrain.

If you have any questions about the autotrain let me know-- we are returning for our 9th and 10 th trips this year.

 

[davidjaybrown]

This is our 3rd autotrain trip, but the first with our new
daughter (5YO) (and also her first trip to WDW.)

We love the autotrain. I like how it helps us all build up
excitement together for our vacation. Yeah, at times the
train can be boring, but frankly, I need it to help me rest
up for for a day for the excitement that follows. I also
like that many of the passengers are also (obviously) going
to WDW too. Lots of kids and mouse ears all running around.
I like that there's a family oriented movie on
the train, and that the sleeping pkg includes meals.

As for convenience, it helps that we have relatives in the
DC area, and can camp in their living room one night
before we board the train in Lorton.

We always get sleeping accommodations. Yeah, its
pricey, but it makes for a much more enjoyable trip.
I love the motion of sleeping on the train. It knocks me
right out. (see funny story below)

We dont mind flying, but we like the convenience of the
car in FL, and not having to put up with the airlines
rules these days. (Plus, we're touring a lot of FL over
3+ weeks, and we're only in WDW for 10 days.)

My son (and wife) dont want to waste the 3+ extra
days doing the train thing, so they're just flying down, and
meeting us at the resort.

When we return, we're usually refreshed enough to just
do the long drive (to Pittsburgh) right after jumping
off the train.

Our trip this year is planned May 23rd. Return on June9th.
(doing some StarWars weekends)

-DJB

funny story - Once, overnight, our train hit a car which
was parked on the tracks. It was early morning, and
no one was IN the car. It was abandoned on the tracks.
Anyway, I wake up the next morning (while the train was
under way again), and noticed that we seemed waaaay
behind schedule. I asked the porter, and he said we were
stopped for like 5 hours while the police came, and did
their investigation of the accident. There were sirens, and
flashing lights. All the while I was snoozing happily in
my cabin. I never even knew we were stopped. I would
have LOVED to have seen the wreckage (as long as I knew
no one was hurt). Im almost mad at myself for not waking
up.