Autotrain LOVED IT!! (w/pics)

[melcan]

DH just made our res. for Auto Train for the end of Sept. I'm sure the price was higher than if we had booked months ago. We used an Orlando Magic Card and got a 20% discount on the fare. So renting a car to drive to Orlando, the price of gas, a motel room for one night, it was only about $200 more that what we would spent.

 

[DisGal520]

Congrats!

And you'll have a new experience and new photo ops!



DisGal

 

[Poohbear5]

Thanks for the photos.

What kind of camera did you use??

Just purchased our autotrain ticket today after seeing your photos!

 

[Vijoge]

Regular Amtrak trains do not include meals so that's confusing to those that have ridden Amtrak, but not the Auto Train.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is included in the price of your first class (sleeper car) ticket on all long distance trains.

 

[DC7800]

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is included in the price of your first class (sleeper car) ticket on all long distance trains.

Correct, and anyway coach passengers can also eat in the dining car, just as a paying customer; No need to restrict themselves to lounge-car fare.

 

[TinkerBellToo2]

Did you have to take pillows and blankets with you on your trip. Am thinking of taking the regular Amtrak from my home state down to WDW.

 

[Jedi Master Gonzo]

Thanks for the pictures. I often wondered what the train looked like on the inside.

 

[bdcp]

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner is included in the price of your first class (sleeper car) ticket on all long distance trains.

Okay, let's try that again. Coach seats on regular Amtrak doesn't include meals. ALL SEATS on the Auto Train (which is what this thread is about) get breakfast and dinner, but not lunch.

 

[DE2Disney]

The Autotrain supplies pillows and blankets. I would compare them to the pillows and blankets you get on an airlplane (small pillows & thin blankets). You can see the pillows in pic #6 on the first page of this thread. They are in the overhead bins. I noticed that the experienced autotrain riders brought their own pillow and blankets.

 

[bdcp]

I bring lightweight beach towels to cover up with and small travel pillows. They change the pillow cases on the pillows they provide, but like airlines, just fold up and reuse their blankets. Experienced train riders do bring their own. I've seen full sized pillows and blankets. I sleep in what I travel in,usually blue jeans, so we dont' get that cold.

 

[TSMAMI]

Thank you for posting the pictures....I always wondered what the coach seats were like.

 

[Laurabearz]

Great pictures, looks like a fun time!

 

[kneemeister]

The trouble with coach is you never know how full it will be, I had one trip on the California Zepher where our coach had 20 people for the 70 seats , Five days latter on the Southwest Chief, every seat was full. On that train I slept every night on one of the curvy couches in the lounge car. isle seats on a full train suck for sleeping in, you are affraid of falling over on your seat mate or into the isle.

 

[della]

That's what I was wondering-what if the train is full? Are the seats pre-assigned like on an airline or first come/first served like on a regular commuter train?

Do the coach seats recline? It looked like some sort of foot rest was near the bottom?

Thanks for sharing this info and pictures!

 

[chartle]

That's what I was wondering-what if the train is full? Are the seats pre-assigned like on an airline or first come/first served like on a regular commuter train?

Do the coach seats recline? It looked like some sort of foot rest was near the bottom?

Thanks for sharing this info and pictures!

All seats are assigned, they try to keep families with small children seated in the same area of the train.

The seats recline and there is a leg rest attached to your seat that hinges up (shown in the "bed time" pic) and a foot rest on the seat in front of you.

We just got back from taking the train down (Fay kept us from taking the train back ). One thing if you go is to take some sort of pillow to sit on. My rear end tends to falls asleep on long rides like this.

Also don't expect to stretch out, our train was completely full with no empty seats. Only really effected the dining car, where we were politely encouraged to leave after diner and breakfast so they could serve the next group.

It was tough at breakfast because my wife and I ate early so we were seated with another couple and struck up a conversation.

I was going to create my own post about travelling the Auto train in coach, but this thread seems to cover it.

Most of the posts I found and a very good web site describe the trip but they describe it from the point of view of someone travelling in first class.

My one last tip. Take something to do, I thought I could just look out the window and see the world go by, but for the first hour or so you just see trees that are cut back away from the track right of way.

You do get to see Quantico (sp?) navel base and historic Ashland, VA.

In Ashland the track goes right down main street, but mostly you see trees, rail yards, industrial sites and run down rail towns. Not much else.

Oh we did see South of the Border off in the distance when we passed from NC to SC.

 

[bdcp]

The trains are usually fuller in one direction than the other, depending on time of year. We go in Nov so going south is crowded with Snowbirds, while our return trip is a lot less full. Our previous trip in coach, we each had a seat on the way south, on our return north, we were able to spread out and each had two seats. I just moved in the evening and claimed a pair of unoccupied seats and we slept a little better. I never expect to be able to get a full 7 hours of sleep on the train which is okay. We usually get around 5 hours which is enough.

 

[spalady]

Something must be wrong with my family and I because we just arrived home last week using the autotrain and hated every second of it. I had motion sickness so bad I still had it 2 days later!!!! We had a sleeper it was very tight!!!! Then at night they call it high balling (where they make up on time) and boy were they flying not sure if maybe the conductor was drinking high balls or what but he was going so fast it actually felt like the train was jumping the track. I will never ever do it again!!! I would rather walk home!!!!!

 

[bdcp]

Something must be wrong with my family and I because we just arrived home last week using the autotrain and hated every second of it. I had motion sickness so bad I still had it 2 days later!!!! We had a sleeper it was very tight!!!! Then at night they call it high balling (where they make up on time) and boy were they flying not sure if maybe the conductor was drinking high balls or what but he was going so fast it actually felt like the train was jumping the track. I will never ever do it again!!! I would rather walk home!!!!!

Okay then. The speed limit at most is around 55 mph. I highly doubt they were "flying". Amtrak has to deal with CSX trains and do not have priority. If you were motion sick that means you are prone to it. Who told you they were "high balling"? Also, they do tend to pick up speed overnight due to the more rural areas they are in and less overall traffic which is where they do make up time, but not because they are speeding. A lot of the times, they are moving at less than 50 mph. The train is not "jumping" off the tracks. If you ever watch a train, the car may sway some side to side and while it appears to "jump" while onboard, the wheels do not leave the track. They're meant to sway somewhat so as to absorb the bumps, etc.

 

[RustManFan]

We have taken the Auto Train about 6 times and only once were the couches so empty that you could spread out like in the pics. Usually you have to get comfy in your shared seat !!

Remember.....you must bring your own pillow. AMTRAK's are small and not comfy at all.

 

[epcotbob]

Thanks for posting this! With a family of seven, we are always on the lookout for the cheapest transportation options.