anyone ever take the auto train to disney?

[dts718]

We were thinking about taking the auto train to break up the driving since we're coming all the way from southern Maine. Any input would be appreciated. (Flying is not an option for us.) We were thinking about traveling in the coach seats and we have a 2 and 4 year old.
Thanks all!!

 

[Selket]

There is a very long post about taking the auto train over in the Transportation forum so check there! I was just looking at it last night. I also started a thread recently about taking the (regular) train down from Washington, DC to Orlando with a 2 yr old going coach. Some thought it would be terrible - some thought fine - LOL! I assume you checked the prices because the auto train is a bit more pricey than the regular train - but it sounds like a great way to get down there!

 

[mudnuri]

We looked into the autotrain, because like you, coming from Vermont it's a long trip to drive. However, after looking it over, and checking the price on having a sleeper car, which we would have to do with a 6 and 7 year old. we decided against it and are driving.

our costs for driving both down and back are...75.00 per night x 4 hotels, 60.00 per day x 5 days for food, and 200.00 for diesel. Total 800.00 I can get the hotels cheaper when I book using AAA, so its actually going to be about 700.00 total. We have a tv/dvd player in our truck, and we pack the kids up with game boys, leap pads, and books etc.. they have done the trip 3x before, so they can handle the drive.

Plus, most people I hear from up in this neck of the woods drive down with only 1 stop. We make two and make sure our 2nd hotel has an indoor pool, we arrive early, and spend the evening in the pool relaxing..then the next day its a very minimal trip to Orlando

Brandy

 

[dts718]

Thanks for your responses. Well, that's the thing, we found out that it would cost about 800 bucks for 4 coach seats-close to what our trip would cost if we drove all the way.

 

[Debs5angels]

My family and I have taken the Autotrain to Disney last August. We are 2 adults and 5 children(at the time they were 15,13,10,5,5) and bought the coach seats. They are not the most comfortable things but were fine. I bit of advice, we drove to Virginia the day before and stayed overnight in the Comfort Inn just up the street. If you miss the train it's your tough luck. Good thing too because we hit major traffic while going down. It should have taken us about 5 hours but ended up being about 9 hours. Also if you do stay at that hotel tell them that you are taking the train and you will get a discount. If you have any other questions or want more info feel free to ask me.

 

[dts718]

Hi Deb,
thanks for the tip. We already planned on that because luckily we have family in Jersey and in the DC area, so we were planning on staying with one of them the night before. Kind of figured that coach wouldn't be overly comfortable, but I think we can deal since it's only a 17 hour stretch, most of which is at night. (so hopefully the kids will sleep!)

 

[maggiew]

We took the regular train last summer from Washington DC to Orlando (not the auto train) - actually we started in Chicago then went to DC then to Orlando. The kids LOVED it (they were 11 & 8). I personally think one ovenight in coach seats was not bad and really quite the adventure. It was the second night in a row on the train that was the killer for me. But the kids were fine and slept great!

Watch Amtrack for specials. Also look at their "Rail Sale" page where you can often get tickets for 90% off. Limited routes and availability, but keep checking. We used the special last summer where kids rode FREE! So for my $200 roundtrip ticket, all 3 of us went. Sometimes they have a 1st rider pays full price, 2nd rider 50% off and 3rd rider free special.

Maggie