Anyone ever take a train?

[tink30]

My kids don't want to fly, but the train prices are awfully high...I never see anyone post about this so I thought I'd ask...btw, we are coming from Philly. Thanks!

 

[Tigger1]

My son (17) just took a train from Illinois to Dallas. He loved the ride. He was amused by the drunk 65 year old dancing in the isle. Seats were full until 3 am so he had to stay in the lounge. He believed that some passengers had no ticket and they did not check his. The train arrived 2 hours late.

He did see parts of the country that he had never seen.

I got a 30% discount on one way of the trip (current special) and AAA discount on the way home.

Sandwiches were about $3.00 and Soda $1.50. You can also bring your own.

I think I would rather drive myself. It takes 2 or 3 days to get to Disney from Oklahoma by train. It is about a 24 hour drive. So the time is nearly the same if you split the 24 hours into 2 days.

By the way, rates change daily. I was told they go up as the date gets closer and one way of my sons trip went down by about $20.

Hope this helps.
Tigger

 

[carnellm]

My wife and kids have taken the train from Charleston, SC to Orlando twice. Both times I had a conference down there so had gone on ahead with the car. My wife didn't want to drive all that way with the kids and the train was only about $150 one way. They all loved it and came off the train relaxed and ready to play. One time it was about an hour late due to a stalled freight train outside of Jacksonville.

The prices for food were incredible, so the second time my wife packed snacks and such. My son, who is now 6, loved the entire train experience. Both he and my daughter talk about it. My wife also enjoyed it and would have no hesitation to do it again.

Michael

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

If you are coming from Philly be prepared for a LONG ride.

Sleeping cars are way too expensive (for our budget).

We just had regular seats. We were delayed 3+ hours making the trip from Orlando to Penn Station approximately 29 hours. That's a LONG time to be on a train!

However, the seats were comfortable and for the most part the people were nice.

I don't know how accurate my accessment of the whole train thing is though because train was the only way we could get home from FL. We were there during the crisis and rental cars were nil and there were no planes.

I don't think I'd do it again.

 

[YankeeFan51]

Two years ago we took the AutoTrain down, which was great fun. Basically you drive down to Lorton, VA (just south of DC) and your family AND your car get on the train (around 4PM). When you get to Sanford, FL (about a half hour north of Orlando) at around 9AM the next morning, you have you own car to drive and are well rested having saved around 900 miles of driving. There were many pros to going this route, however, one big con was the price. We had a sleeper car and while the trip was great fun, it was costly when compared to driving the whole way. However, if I could get a discounted fare, we'd do it again in a minute.

 

[Patio]

I took the train from Philly in Dec 99. It departed 4 hours later than originally scheduled and took about 22 hours. I was in coach and it wasn't too bad. I was able to sleep for some time as the seats are like a recliner. You can buy sandwiches and snacks or have dinner in the dining car. My ds was 5 at the time and he had a backpack filled with toys. It's a long time to be on the train, but if you don't want to fly or drive, it's worth it.

 

[angel dog]

We took a train from Chicago, last year. I do not think I ould ever do it again.
it took 42 hours. The food was very expensive. The bathrooms were AWFUL.
They were so FILTHY. I hate fo fly but we are flyng in Feb. Your experience my be
different than ours.
Good Luck

 

[Poohbear123]

The ONLY way I travel. I take the train ALL the time, from Hollywood Fl. which is 10 min. from my house, to Kissimmee. It is a 4 hour 20 min ride, and I LOVE it! I get dropped off at Kissimmee, because it is closer, in my opinion, than the Orlando Station. I grab a cab, and go to the hotel.

 

[singitalto]

We took Amtrak from Penn Station to Orlando in Sept(a week after 9/11). Honestly it wasn't all that bad. Like anything there are pros and cons to it. It was the four of us and the kids loved it. I brought a cooler (there isn't a large selection to chose from in the dining car). If you travel on a Mon, Tues or Wed the fare is lower. I just priced out our vacation in Sept. The prices are the same $464 total for the four of us. The kids were 1/2 price. The seats are very comfortable. They play movies in the dining car(small area)It is very relaxing. The trains sometimes run late. On the way down they were about 20 min late. On the way home they were almost 2 hours late. I would do it again. To me anything is better that flying!

 

[luvdzny]

We took Amtrak from Chicago to Texas last summer and really enjoyed it. We had a sleeper car both ways. I would love to do it again, but I would not want to go without a sleeper car. We spent most of our time in our own car, but the few times we walked around there were some pretty strange people. Having a sleeper is great. On the way home DD & I stayed in bed almost the entire trip. On the way down it was neat to see all the little towns along the way. When you have a sleeper meals in the dining car are included. They have great food, we had prime rib one night and it was excellent. They also have coffee, soda & bottled water available for free during the entire trip. The bathrooms in the sleeper cars were very clean as they are used by fewer people. Although it cost as much as flying would have, we really enjoyed the trip and would like to do it again.

 

[jjsmom]

Late January we are driving to Orlando from Maryland, and taking the Auto train back. We have driven many times but the only draw-back is the trip home. It seems longer and more grueling, coupled with the fact that hubby works for UPS and drives for a living and has to go back to work the next day. We decided this trip to try the train. My inlaws use it quite frequently (the sleeper car because f.i.l. has a bad back) and really enjoy it. They say the food is good and the trip is relaxing. We are looking forward to it as well.

 

[Kathy5]

Our family took a train from Philadelphia to Winter Park on our first Disney vacation. Never again. It was dirty, the food was bad, and the ride was delayed numerous times. It would have taken less time to drive straight through.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We took the train in June and again this December from Youngstown Ohio to Philly then on to Kissimmee Fla. Coach seats the whole time for $235.00 each round trip and loved it. In June they had a special, first person full fare, second person half fare and a third person free. Sleepers are way too expensive but the coach seats are like an easy chair at home. If you're a figgiter you'll be bored but to relax, read, do puzzles, play video games, doze and enjoy the family its better than driving. We always arrive in Kissimmee around 4:30 pm, this station is closer than Orlando, cheaper cab wise and always less crowded. Same for going home, you beat all the Orlando people gettin on!! Foods good priced but we pack our own food and drink and use the cafe or lounge car for ice and cups. Yake a blanket cause when the sun goes down the ac is chilly.
I've drivin from Ohio numerous times, flown from Ohio but from now on, the trains the best way for us. No more night driving racing with the morons on the pikes and no air scares that no one wants.
Hope this helps.

 

[tink30]

We have a pretty tight budget so I am pretty much settled on having to drive down, but we are considering taking the auto-train back...it's never fun to drive home, this way it would be

 

[YankeeFan51]

If you are a AAA member, I believe there is a discount available on the AutoTrain -- while it's not a huge discount, every little bit can count. The biggest expense on our ticket, as I remember, was the sleeper car, so if you are willing to go coach that will save you quite a bit. Also, take a look on the Amtrak web site and click on 'Rail Sale', I have seen the AutoTrain pop up here from time to time.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

Please pardon me for this probably dumb question but the one thing that keeps me from taking a train or plane is if I have to change. Non stop is great but not worrying about long lay overs or catching the next segment of our trip.

My question is, if you take the train and it has 2 or more segments do you have to get off and then get on another train or do they just take the car off and put it on the other train? It makes too much sense to be true but I was wondering.

Thank you all for not laughing out loud but it has been 30 some years since I took a train. Not particularly afraid to fly, no more than usual, but my DH refuses so I am stuck with trying to find other alternatives since I can no longer drive down and back.

Slightly Goofy

 

[Kathy5]

I can't speak for all trains, but when we took an Amtrak from Philadelphia to Winter Park, Orlando, we walked on with our suitcases and didn't leave the train at all.

 

[Poohbear123]

Going North to South it is USUALLY ONE TRAIN, about 14 cars LONG! Including Baggage(2) and Dining Car(1). Sleeper cars are about 3 or 4 cars. The rest is Coach!

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

When I checked the Amtak site it showed that you went so far and then it showed another train. What I was wanting to know is if they just transferred the car with passengers going in the other direction or if you had to get off, gather your luggage, wait for the other train and all that like you do on a plane? I still think this is a dumb question but one never knows?

Slightly Goofy

 

[Poohbear123]

I "think" you have to change Trains! I know going WEST, you can change trains in Jacksonville to go WEST! Sometimes its a 1 to 2 hour wait, sometimes longer!