Autotrain - coach?

[princesspwrhr]

We traveled Autotrain in 2005 as a family of 5 (a 7yo, 2yo, 1yo) in a Family bedroom. No complaints and it was a great way to go with two toddlers.

When I ran the numbers for our June trip to drive, I'm looking at between $900-$1200. That's an extra night at the kennel for the dog since we'd leave at 3am, gas, meals, and hotel both ways. We'll be traveling as a family of 6 this time (two almost 15yos, 9yo, 8yo).

On a whim, I checked autotrain - We can do it for $1300-$1400 in coach. This is very tempting. One less night in the kennel for the dog since I can drop him off the morning we leave instead of the day before, less wear on the van, sleep on the train w/o having to find a hotel at a reasonable rate that will accommodate 6, the kids can spread out, no scheduling bathroom breaks etc. (We frequently take trips that require 12+ hours driving, so this is from experience! )

I'm kind of concerned about sleeping in coach though. It was SO nice before to be able to stretch out and sleep on a "bed" in a room without worrying about who's coming by, the kids walking around etc. But rooms (3 roomettes or a family and a roomette) put this option way out of budget. I've googled for photos and reports, I've read the first and last 6 pages of the autotrain thread on this board, and I'm still tottering on indecision.


The price range is due to variable meals (subway at $30 for the 6 of us versus Applebees at 60 type of thing.) Flying is not an option, we're staying at Bonnet Creek and driving to Port Canaveral for a cruise following that, and once you add in a rental to the airline cost, it becomes much more expensive. The only viable options are drive down and back ($900-1200), Autotrain both ways ($1300-1400) or drive down autotrain back ($1100-1300)

Are there any large families that have traveled coach on Autotrain recently? I know there's plenty of people with opinions on the DIS - what do you think?

 

[vacationer1954]

If you'd like you can search the Auto Train thread for specific comments about sleeping in coach. That will get you more help than just reading the first several and last several pages. Go up to the top of the page, click on Search This Thread and then choose Advanced Search.

 

[MEK]

My brother"s family of 6 did it one way last June. My 17 yo son traveled with them. He said he woke up every 2 hours. He didn't love it. The rest found it tolerable, although the drive from Virginia to Pa after arriving was tough. They were exhausted. They were obviously able to handle it with four kids as none of them slept in the sane area as my son. The coach seats are grouped by two in small sections. It's not like a regular seating arrangement on a commuter train.

They are doing it again this year with coach one way and sleeper cars the other direction.

One thing I would suggest is you call to get a quote. The quotes my SIL got were lower than what the website quoted. Just like airlines, they have all different fares You could potentially find the sleeper car to be mote cost-effective than the online quote.

 

[bdcp]

Kids tend to sleep very well on the train. They will put you in a car with other families with kids so there's always someone to play with. We've done coach a few times (prefer sleeper, but sometimes too expensive) and in the evenings the kids are pretty excited, etc, but in the am when we walk through on our way to breakfast the kids tend to be asleep. I've seen kids sleeping on the floor, etc. Most people put their smaller kids in the window seat so they can kind of block them in. DH and I are empty nesters so we are always in the "adults" only train car which generally means no kids under about 12-14. There's also usually cars full of snowbirds in the spring (heading north)/fall (heading south). Kids really tend to love the train.

 

[bumbershoot]

My cousins recently took it going north, and they were totally fine. Not sure it really makes a difference if you have a small, medium, or large family, except for the reasons for not doing a sleeping room. They have a 10 and a 6 year old, and as far as I know everyone slept and was fine.

 

[princesspwrhr]

One thing I would suggest is you call to get a quote. The quotes my SIL got were lower than what the website quoted. Just like airlines, they have all different fares You could potentially find the sleeper car to be mote cost-effective than the online quote.

Since we usually drive, this didn't occur to me. Thank You. I called this morning and unfortunately the price they gave me over the phone is the same as online.

Kids tend to sleep very well on the train. They will put you in a car with other families with kids so there's always someone to play with. We've done coach a few times (prefer sleeper, but sometimes too expensive) and in the evenings the kids are pretty excited, etc, but in the am when we walk through on our way to breakfast the kids tend to be asleep. I've seen kids sleeping on the floor, etc. Most people put their smaller kids in the window seat so they can kind of block them in. DH and I are empty nesters so we are always in the "adults" only train car which generally means no kids under about 12-14. There's also usually cars full of snowbirds in the spring (heading north)/fall (heading south). Kids really tend to love the train.

When we did Autotrain with a Family room in Dec 05, we saw 2 other children in the terminal and never saw them again. We unfortunately overheard rude remarks from the snowbirds about traveling by train with a 1 & 2 yo. If the girls had been fussy or otherwise misbehaving at dinner/breakfast I would understand, or at least ignore it, but these people were just rude. I think they imagined a kid free trip. lol

The girls are excited about the prospect of taking the train again.

My cousins recently took it going north, and they were totally fine. Not sure it really makes a difference if you have a small, medium, or large family, except for the reasons for not doing a sleeping room. They have a 10 and a 6 year old, and as far as I know everyone slept and was fine.

Besides the cost, there are some slight logistical differences in a family where the adults are outnumbered by the children.

My husband has pretty much decided on the train, so I guess we'll see how it works.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've been using the train for years ... Not the AT but Amtrak .... It's 36 hours for us but 6 of those hours are a layover in DC. We usually go coach.

You're talking one night, 8 hours, if those 8 hours justify spending 200+ more power to you, and that's just for a roomette.... Anything more is twice the money for one nights sleep ...

We have no problem sleeping in coach... First leg if travel for us is west to east, we board at 3am to DC... We then board the south bound at 6 pm and sometimes ask on board if any sleepers are available (roomette) and we usually get one at a "conductors" rate......other wise, sleepers are too expensive and we can live without one for 1 night!!

 

[bdcp]

Since we usually drive, this didn't occur to me. Thank You. I called this morning and unfortunately the price they gave me over the phone is the same as online.



When we did Autotrain with a Family room in Dec 05, we saw 2 other children in the terminal and never saw them again. We unfortunately overheard rude remarks from the snowbirds about traveling by train with a 1 & 2 yo. If the girls had been fussy or otherwise misbehaving at dinner/breakfast I would understand, or at least ignore it, but these people were just rude. I think they imagined a kid free trip. lol

The girls are excited about the prospect of taking the train again.



Besides the cost, there are some slight logistical differences in a family where the adults are outnumbered by the children.

My husband has pretty much decided on the train, so I guess we'll see how it works.

We've had more issues with snowbirds than with kids. They tend to talk loudly and get up quite often. Our last trip in coach a family was traveling with an older person who had diabetes apparently. THey woke up every two hours to check her blood sugar, etc. They were very noisy and rude about it. Sorry, but the reality is they should have gotten a room for her and not disrupted everyone else in the car. They ignored a few shushers and kept talking loud enough and making other noise to wake people up.

Not sure why the snowbirds cared, since the only time you would see them would be at meals or in the lounge. Otherwise, snowbirds are put in cars without kids.

 

[princesspwrhr]

Not sure why the snowbirds cared, since the only time you would see them would be at meals or in the lounge. Otherwise, snowbirds are put in cars without kids.

Hindsight being 20/20 - I would classify them as chronic complainers. The food was bland, the wine was cheap, the rolls were hard, the train was rocking, there were kids.... It doesn't bother me now, just adds flavor to the trip, but at the time it was hurtful.

 

[dominiondad]

AutoTrain family here with family of 4, going again in July. We all sleep very well in coach, especially on the way home. Personally, if I had the money to upgrade to a room, I'd spend it elsewhere. BTW, last trip was DD 9, DD, 13, DW and myself (5'10, 190 lbs).

 

[chartle]

Besides the cost, there are some slight logistical differences in a family where the adults are outnumbered by the children.

This is going to be one of those "you only know your kids" replies but you are a completely different family today with a 15, 10 and 9 year old.

 

[kandb]

We took the autotrain twice. Only one time going down to Florida we had coach seats and to be honest we thought it was horrendous. The doors are opening and closing ALL night. It was impossible for any of us to sleep and we were exhausted in the morning. We did the family bedroom the other times and enjoyed it but coach was terrible in our opinion.

 

[gritzel4]

Just took the AT in November from Sanford to Lorton. We were put in a teen car (no children under 12). None of us slept the greatest. DH couldn't get comfy in 2 seats, DD (13) is very tall (5'7") and she felt cramped in her seats - she also likes to move around while sleeping - like an octopus! DS (15) and I sat together - he has autism and I was afraid of his wandering around at night. Unfortunately, our seats were by a connecting door leading into the cafe car and all night it was a parade of people walking by (the doors are really loud when they open and close). I also had a problem with motion sickness for 3 days after getting home

All that being said - we would take the AT in coach again if we could get seats on the lower level (less motion - fewer seats - no people passing through). We found that it was helpful to bring our own pillow and blanket (the ones on the train are not cleaned all the time ) and we brought some snacks and activities for the kids to keep them entertained.

Enjoy your trip

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We are a family of 6 sometimes 7 when we travel on the AT. We are returning for the 10 trip to FL in july. We have traveled both coach and sleepers.. Currently it is Myself, DH, DS 14,12, 5 and DD 9. We have been traveling since DD was 1.5 yrs old.

We travel well on coach. Your DC are older so able to entertain themselves fairly well. We bring the video games, DvD players, snacks and drinks. Also our pillow and a fleece blanket.

Sometimes you can get by the door. At check in ask if there is seating away from the door. The chairs are like a reg commuter train with 2 across from 2. They will group your family together. We traveled with 7 and they gave us an 8th seat for us.. We tend to put the two youngest by windows with myself and an older sibling on the aisle.

I find I sleep better on coach. No it's not a full 6 hrs of sleep but sufficient to function our first at day at Disney. Though we do leave for the AT at 2am from CT.

We occasionally travel on sleepers too. DH is employed by them so it's a nice perk if there are sleepers available. We would not pay for them if we no longer had that perk.

Hope this helps. Be happy to answer any other ?'s you may have.

 

[princesspwrhr]

All that being said - we would take the AT in coach again if we could get seats on the lower level (less motion - fewer seats - no people passing through).

Enjoy your trip

This is what we reserved. With only 12 seats on the lower level and 6 of us, this will work a lot better. The older girls will probably spend most of their waking time in the lounge anyways, but I think we'd enjoy it more without people walking by so much and the door opening and closing all the time.

I find I sleep better on coach. No it's not a full 6 hrs of sleep but sufficient to function our first at day at Disney. Though we do leave for the AT at 2am from CT.

Since we had built the trip around driving to Disney our first day consists only of checking in to Bonnet Creek, grocery shopping, hitting the pool, napping and dinner at Raglan Road - or as much of that as we can fit in. Taking the train, we'll definitely be able to get there before lunch even if our van is the last one unloaded, so I'm looking forward to a day of getting settled.

Technically Lorton is about 3 hours north of us. But traffic going into DC from Richmond can take the 2 hours it should, or much longer. (It took me 6 hours to get there once when we were going to see Cirque - missed the first 10 minutes of the show and I thought we were going to be really early!) It seems that the worst bit is where 295 and 95 merge. Then it's smooth (sometimes heavy) up until about Quantico where it gets crazy again. So while we won't have to leave at 2am, we'll leave right after I drop the dog off at the kennel around 8:30.