AUTOTRAIN in October

[kandb]

We're really excited about taking the autotrain with our 3 year old twins, haven't been on amtrak since I was young. Anyway a few questions

1) Should I bring blankets for all of us, will the cars get cold in October?

2) Should we get the digiplayer? What kind of TV shows and movies does it show? Where does it get plugged in?

3) How long should we expect dinner to take?

4) Do the lights go off at a certain time in the train? Do we have our own overhead light that we can use for reading if we choose?

5) How long does it take to get from Sanford to Seaworld? We're staying off property at a Residence Inn which is a mile from Seaworld.

Thanks for the info, Linda

 

[cherylp3]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=402667
This is an Autotrain thread I made

1) Should I bring blankets for all of us, will the cars get cold in October?

Amtrak provides Airline typle blanket

2) Should we get the digiplayer? What kind of TV shows and movies does it show? Where does it get plugged in?

Do you have a sleeper?
depending on where you are you may or may not have a plug nearby
you can request to be near a plug when you check in
(Note I am not sure on sleepers)

3) How long should we expect dinner to take?
30 min to 1 hr max ( depends how fast the servers is )

4) Do the lights go off at a certain time in the train? Do we have our own overhead light that we can use for reading if we choose?
I don't recall

5) How long does it take to get from Sanford to Seaworld? We're staying off property at a Residence Inn which is a mile from Seaworld.

Good Traffic 1 hr - lots of traffic 1hr and 30 min

 

[Patsy1969]

We have used the autotrain several times, both times were enjoyable. I would take pillows and light blankets if you do not have a sleeper. They do show a mvoie but we have a portable dvd player, it was great to have! They do turn the lights down, I think it was around 10pm. They have snacks on the train but we do a small cooler with extra water and snacks (fruit etc). If you do not have a sleeper, they do have changing rooms. We took sweat pants to sleep in, just to be more comfortable. Have a great time. Patsy

 

[bdcp]

I brought beach towels even though it really didn't get cold. I wouldn't use their blankets, all they do is fold them back up at the end of the trip for the next person to use, not clean. We also brought squishy pillows. You can bring a digiplayer, but make sure it's got plenty of battery life. In coach there is only one power outlet for the whole car. In bedrooms and roomettes, they each have their own power outlet. Dinner took us about an hour. Like the previous poster said, lights are turned down, but it is far from really dark. You can easily see everyone and where you are walking, etc.

We were in coach last year and have a roomette this year. One guy on our car coming back had a battery powered tv and was able to pick up stations so that's an idea too. I have a Sony Watchman tv (circa 1990) that I plan to take this time for something different to watch since it's all of about 1 lb in weight and can easily go in our carryon. I'm taking my laptop too, one, for photo downloading (going on a cruise) and two to watch movies/play games on.

 

[Henlady]

I always take our own pillow(s). Theirs are VERY small. I also fold up a flat sheet and slide it into the pillow case with the pillow and then use that to cover the seat for sleeping, that way you are against your own clean sheet instead of the seat everyone else has sat in. I also take either a 2nd sheet or a light throw to cover up with. These can also be folded and placed inside the pillowcase with the pillow - this just makes for less stuff to carry.
I also take a gallon size baggie for each person that contains a wash cloth, hand towel and a small bar of soap, toothbrush and small toothpaste & deodorant - makes it much easier for washing/cleaning up in the morning.
You can take anything (within reason) that you feel will make your trip more comfortable.

Enjoy your trip.