Auto Train with 4yo?

[Tigger&Belle]

Would I be crazy to take the autotrain with my 4yo? It would just be the two of us, no other adult to occupy him, but I would consider getting a sleeper so that he would be more likely to settle down and sleep. Have any of you done it with a child this age? He's an active little guy. Well, he settles down and isn't the hyper sort, exactly, more tempermental I suppose you could say.

Do the sleeper beds have rails available to keep little kids in the bed?

Thanks, T&B

 

[erinch]

Our family has been on the Autotrain 4 times. Our kids are 8 years apart, so I've done it with a 18 month and 9 yo, 3 yo and 11 yo, 5 yo and 13 yo, and 6 yo and 14 yo.

They've all been wonderful trips. We went coach each time, except the last, when we upgraded to a sleeper. With young active children, there are advantages to coach, because there are lots of other children on the train, and my very active children are quick to make friends. (They assign people to what we call the "Families From Heck car"; the Mellow Boomer/Gen Xer car and the Uptight Greatest Generation (Quacker) Cars so you don't have to worry about your child disturbing people without kids.) Some of our tips are to arrive early and request the seat in the car with the plug; then they play movies on the laptop. Or bring a gameboy.

We get the 5:30 dinner reservation, and there are snacks available in the lounge once the train leaves.

They show a movie at 7 in the lunge. And by then it's time for a few bedtime stories and bedding down.

If we don't have the plug seat, we try to grab another set of unassigned seats so both people can stretch out.

Then when you get up in the am, before you know it you're there.

I bring lysol wipes for the toilet seats. And bottled water to sip in the middle of the night. And have been known to slip my active daughter (with legitimate allergies) "sleepy benedryl" at bedtime rather than the usual nondrowsy allegra.

When she was in the preschool age I also brought a few surprises to space out over the hours. For some reason she loved the "magic pen" books (they had them in the autotrain waiting room) the most.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Thanks for the info, erinch!

If a person gets the sleeper, is there a public place to be before bed, too? I mean besides the dining car. I've read about a lounge, but didn't know if they were talking about a drinking type lounge or a hanging out type lounge.

Do the sleepers bedrooms have plugs?

How noisy is coach during the night. Obviously one crying baby (or 4yo, who am I trying to fool? ) would make it noisy, but how bad or good have your experiences been? If I don't get sleep I'm a grouchy person.

My DH didn't bat an eyelid when I told him the cost, including the sleeping car or when he found out how long I was thinking about being away, so I need to make my plans quickly before he comes to his senses! (he'll be left at home with his work and our other 3 children).

T&B

 

[erinch]

T & B,
I'll pm you the autotrain tip sheet I put together.

Sleeper: I'm thinking that they had a separate lounge for "first class (sleeper) passengers, but I'm not recalling for sure. The dining car is separate. This is a train car with tablesm and monitor screens at both ends showing the film (which generally shows at 7 and 9.) There's a counter in the middle which sells snacks, drinks and sundries.

Since my DS has asthma, an issue for us was that they permitted smoking at one end of the lounge. I think they've supposedly changed that to a designated enclosed area, but I don't know if they enforce it.

I think there was a plug in the viewliner bedroom, but again, someone might be able to weigh in.

Coach: there's no guarantees how noisy it will be, although most often the low level lights and the swaying of the train puts everyone to sleep. There's no doubt the sleeper would be more conducive to sleeping.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Thanks for the tip sheet, Erinch! I still haven't decided if I'll fly or autotrain in December, but if I take the train I will get a sleeper. Jake is too vocal of a child to risk him bothering others during the night. And sleep is too important to me.

If we get a sleeper and the train isn't busy can we hang out in the coach seats to watch the movie or are only coach people allowed to be there?

T&B

 

[DC7800]

Sorry - delete duplicate post.

 

[DC7800]

The movie is shown in the lounge car, and there are seperate lounge cars for coach and first-class (sleeper) passengers. You can spend as much time there as you wish, though most passengers sit in their sleeper rooms (Superliner cars) much of the time. You just don't want to stay in that little room all the time, that defeats one of the great joys on train travel - that you can get up and move around whenener you feel like it. Don't miss dinner in the dining car, either.

Auto-Train will become the last Amtrak train to permit onboard smoking, but on the lower level of the lounge car only. There is a plug in every Superliner bedroom.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Thanks DC7800! I think I'd go bonkers staying in the little room all the time unless it's padded.

How are the beds for a child? Are there rails so he doesn't fall out?

T&B

 

[DC7800]

You always, no matter which type of sleeper accomodation you choose, have a upper and lower bunk. The seats or couch fold at night to form the lower and the upper is lowered from the ceiling. The upper berth has a "net" (sort of like a web of seat belts in some rooms) which fastens to keep the occupant from rolling out at night, but there are no rails. There is also no ladder in standard rooms, just a couple steps up, larger persons beware.

The deluxe room has an armchair in addition to the couch/lower berth. The only accomodation with two lower bunks is the Family Bedroom (Auto-Train and Western trains only) with two adult and two child-sized beds, one each lower and upper. So, here you could both sleep on the lower berths, and no one would have to be five feet off the floor.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I'm sure I'd be able to get up onto the upper bunk without a problem, Now getting back down...is there a call button to summon help?

T&B