Anyone take the train to WDW instead of driving?

[HansLeuschner]

I noticed on the other 'transportation' board that many people take the train instead of drive.

Has anyone done this from Toronto?

I'd be interested in your experiences.

 

[Marcy Mouse]

Twice. We love it! Drive to Virgina (about 8 hours) and then they put your car on the train and you go to the passenger cars. You arrive in Sanford Florida in the morning with your car!

Marcy

 

[Disney Ontario]

Hi. I would love to take a train down, but what would that cost be and how was the sleeping arrangements? Compared to- two hotel nights, gas and food, but we could always bring our food in a carry on cooler.

 

[Sheribo]

Twice. We love it! Drive to Virgina (about 8 hours) and then they put your car on the train and you go to the passenger cars. You arrive in Sanford Florida in the morning with your car!

Marcy

Wow! That sounds like a great idea. Where do you get the info for that?

 

[Tantor]

Another one here looking for info....................

 

[disneynuts777]

To leave from Toronto to get to Orlando by Train is a logistical nightmare. If you go to Amtrak's web site and try Toronto to Orlando it tells you it cannot do this. So the way it works is you have to book from Toronto to New York (Penn Station) Then book a seperate ticket from New york to Orlando. Most of the time you end up staying over night in New York. Plus you are looking at 30+ hours of train time. Thanks but I'd rather drive.
The Auto train from Virginia is a much better option. 10 hour drive to the station put your car on board and then arrive in Sanford the next morning. It is a 17 hour train ride. A standard car round trip is a couple hundred dollars plus the cost of the tickets per person. When I totalled it up for are trip this year travelling coach class with a standard car (2 Adults,2 Tweens) it was just under 800.00. For this I can usually find a good rate on Southwest or Airtran and not use 4 days of my hoiliday getting to and from.
It is definitly worth a try for the experience but it is neither a money saver or time saver in my opinion.

 

[HansLeuschner]

Thanks for the advice.

It does seem to be no $$$ saver and little if any time savings.

Looks like driving is the way to go for me.

 

[highland3]

We took the Auto train from Florida to Virginia last year. It was pricey, but did save a lot of driving. We travelled coach... and would never do that again. Loud (just train and moving people noises) and hard to get comfy. Only DS-8 got a good night's sleep.

There are roomettes and family rooms available, and you can get deals if the timing is right.

Visit Amtrak's Auto train link for details.
http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Route/Vertical_Route_Page&c=am2Route&cid=1081256321200&ssid=136

I've never done the whole trip by train, sans car. I like the freedom of having a vehicle, without getting a rental. I'm sure it would be a nice trip, though.