Autotrain -- tell me EVERYTHING!

[SplshMtn99]

We were at WDW during 9/11 & the tropical storm the same week. Had to unexpectedly drive home to central MA with the rental car. I've finally gotten in the mood again to visit WDW again this Oct. BUT, I JUST CAN'T GET ON A PLANE. I've been practically in tears the past 2 days just thinking about it. I've never liked flying at all......and I just can't. So, I'm considering the AutoTrain.

Being the type that gets anxious easily (sometimes - but never know when)....please tell me EVERYTHING to expect. I do better when I KNOW whats going to happen & how things should go. <sick, I know>

We will probably get the sleeping quarters...but can only afford the one without the bathroom. What are the bathrooms & showers like that everyone shares? Do people really use the showers in the morning? Are there lines for the showers? How many are there? How many sleepers per car?

Does everyone get sleepers? Do people just sleep in their seats all night if they don't?

Can I stay in our sleeper most of the trip? Sometimes being around people makes me nervous -- but I won't know until I get there if this will happen. Will I be cramped? I'm thinking after already driving from MA to VA -- we will have left early & maybe tired & just want to really rest to be refreshed when we arrive at WDW.

Whats the food like? I'm a plain basic picky eater sometimes. Can I bring my own & eat in our sleeper if I'm not in the mood to interact with others.

Anything else?
THANKS SO MUCH!!!! I have NO idea why I'm getting so worked up about this.

ALSO --- if you think just taking Amtrak (without AutoTrain) from Worcester to FL is better.....tell me all about that too. How long will THAT take? I think AutoTrain would be faster?

 

[JRTINKERBELL]

I work for Amtrak and have taken the auto train a number of times. The only times i flew was when we were short on time.

I, as an employee am able to ride free in coach, but must pay for the sleepers, and I always do. It is worth it.

If you can afford the sleepers, definetly go for it. You can spend the entire trip in you compartment. The service is very good.

Your meals are included, and if your in a sleeper, your considered first class. They have a seperate dinning room for the sleeper guest with china and linens.

Not all sleepers have showers, only the deluxe. They are all very comfortable.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

[DVC Chris]

Hi,

We've taken AutoTrain(AT) three times for our last three trips to WDW. There's a lot of info on the boards alrady posted about the train, but I'll try to answer some of your questions. We've only travelled in sleeper accommodations, so I hope others can talk about the coach experience.

The 'Standard Sleepers' are small but have enough room for two people and your carry-on bag. It is basically two seats that face each other. At night, the seats fold down to form one bed and the second bed folds out of the wall to form a bunk-bed-like arrangement. For the cars that have the standard sleeper rooms, there are 4 bathrooms and one shower room that get shared between the 15 or so standard sleepers and 1 family room and 5 deluxe rooms in each car. We took showers in the morning and never had to wait. The bathrooms are like airplane bathrooms (OK, maybe a BIT bigger), and are usually relatively clean. Deluxe rooms have their own showers and bathrooms, so those folks usually don't use the other bathrooms.

You can stay in the sleeper during all of the trip. You will have to go to the dining car for dinner (or speak to the car attendent about possibly having it brought to your room). It is good to get up and walk around a little bit though. You can walk through the train to the lounge car and get a snack also.

We have always found the food in the sleeper dining car to be suprisingly tasty and well prepared. You usually have a choice of beef tenderloin, a chicken breast dish or fish. You also get a potato, vegetable, salad and choice of dessert. Wine is also offered with dinner. You could bring your own food, but there is no place to heat it up or keep it cold.

As for what to expect, here's a quick summary. You need to arrive in Lorton, VA by 3:00pm (get there earlier). They'll take your car and load it into the train and you won't see it until FL. You'll check in and wait at the terminal for boarding. While waiting you can watch them load the cars and assemble the train. There's a small snack store and playground. They'll board the train around 3pm (or earlier). The train actually starts moving aroun 3:45 (if everything's on schedule). The train can be jerky and rocky at times, but that's part of train travel. At high speeds, it can 'FEEL' as if it's gonna jump the track, but it's normal and part of train travel. They'll start calling people for the dinner seatings and then later in the evening will announce the showing of the movie that they show in the lounge car. Your car attendant will make up your beds and you'll retire for the evening.

In the morning, they announce breakfast. Breakfast is also served in the dining car and consists of warm muffins, cereal, banana, milk, juice and hot beverages. The train will eventually make it to Sanford, FL. Once at the terminal you'll get off the train and wait for your car. They assign each car a number at check-in and they call these numbers as they unload the car. It usually takes no more than 1 hour to unload all the cars. You'll hop in your car and be at WDW in about 45 minutes depending on traffic.

All in all, we enjoy the experience and like being able to pack as much as we want in our car and having our car there is a plus. The train is a peacful way to get there and allows us to 'unwind' into the vacation and then 'unwind' from the vacation on the way back. Sometimes the train is late and other times it's early.

You can find more info about the AutoTrain at this web site:

http://communities.prodigy.net/trains/amtauto.htm


If you have any other questions, please feel free to post them and I'll try to help you out...

 

[lazarru]

We traveled via the autotrain last dec. When we went down it was pretty full and we didn't have to wait for bathrooms or showers at all. On the way back the train was basically empty but that was just because it was the day before christmas eve and few people were going north.

I agree that the food is rather good for what you might expect. It's not just airplane food.

As far as space goes, we had a family room and there was some space to move around. if your just going to get a standard room there really is no room to move, it's just 2 seats. Even still you can go pretty much anywhere on the train so it's not like your locked into just sitting there.

If you do not get a room you do sleep in the coach seats. Most people seem to think those are OK, nothing great.

 

[SplshMtn99]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to give me so many details. You are the best. And I haven't been so upset anymore now that I know I won't have to fly! I'll fly again someday...but not right now. For now, I'm considering the train part of the vacation...and will enjoy the experience ...even if it takes away a little from our time at WDW.

 

[cherylp3]

I wanted to add that you should not expect to be ontime.
I've been late once ( due to accidents)

Cheryl

 

[SplshMtn99]

Cheryl, do you mean I should expect to be late on the drive down to DC area due to CAR accidents........ OR are you saying I should expect the train ride down to be late due to accidents?

Which one ---- big difference! LOL

 

[cherylp3]

Driving: The real traffic areas are the Maryland tunnels and of course Driving near Washington DC.

Also you can skip the NY traffic by taking the Tapanzee Bridge to the Garden State parkway to the New Jersey turnpike.
(If you have AAA they can get this mapped for you )

Train: I arrived in Sanford at 7pm once.
In my case there was an accident on the tracks which delayed us.

Again this happened 1 out of 3 times but if there is a rail accident it may delay you. (Although they try to make up the time overnight)

 

[cherylp3]

Also if you want to check the train status you can do so online at http://tickets.amtrak.com/Amtrak/trainstatus?storefront=1003&pageID=main&externalCall=true

I searched this weeks trains 2 were about an hr late.

Cheryl

 

[Laura1994]

Would we fit in a family sleeper? Two adults, four kids. What are the family sleepers like?

We're thinking of trying the autotrain for our next trip and their website doesn't have a lot of info on it. Would appreciate any info.

 

[lazarru]

How old are the kids. There are just the 4 beds, really unless they are very young (2-4 )it would be tough to double them up in the beds

 

[The4Foxes]

We returned a few weeks ago from our Autotrain trip to WDW. We live in Northern, MA (Methuen) and drove to VA. This is our 2nd time on the Autotrain after driving to FL for many years before (I, too, am not fond of flying).

We are a family of 4, DD 9, DS 4. We left at 4:15 am on May 1st. We take 495 south to the MA Pike and get off at Rt. 84 through CT. We then take 684 to the Tappan Zee Bridge and then to the Garden State Parkway to the NJ Turnpike and then Rt. 95S to Lorton, VA. We arrived a little after 1:30 pm. The traffic was generally light and it was a pleasant ride (if that's possible). The kids had their game boys and a CD player and napped.

I bought a great cooler (soft sided with a carry strap) from Target that has a plastic liner inside for ice and packed a few sodas and a couple of beers (for the train). I also brought granola bars, a couple bottles of water and other goodies. The cooler has a separate compartment on the top for things that needed to be cold but not on ice. I added a couple of those small blue frozen things to keep things on the cool side. We also brought 4 throws and a few small pillows from home.

We had coach seating and the train was not that crowded so we were able to have our own seat to sleep! My son slept the whole night and you are able to pull the knee rests up so they provide a 'wall' and that prevented him from falling off the seat.

They offered 3 seatings for dinner and we took the 2nd one (7:00). They offered pot roast, veggie stuffed shells, chicken parm and fish. All came with potato or rice and veggies. They also put a carafe of white wine on the table. Dessert was apple pie, ice cream or cheesecake (with or without strawberries).

The lounge car was not busy and we were able to see "Catch Me If You Can". We also enjoyed a couple of cocktails in the lounge car. There is also a serve yourself coffee area located here.

The bathrooms are relatively clean and are located on the lower level (Coach). I brought a package of Clorox wipes with me, just in case I needed to use them. We also each brought a backpack. The kids had some toys, books and games and a change of clothes. I dressed them in comfy sweats for the drive down (it was 45 when we left). I brought an overnight bag with the essentials. You can take your shoes off at your seat but need them when walking between the cars.

We arrived on time in Sanford at 8:30 am. They start serving breakfast around 6:30. Warm muffins, bagels, cereal and bananas. They put a carafe of orange juice and water on the table and come around and serve coffee. Our car was off the train in about 30 minutes and we were at our timeshare (Orange Lake) by 10:00 am!

We returned home on Autotrain on May 15th. Our train was late leaving the station and we arrived in Lorton, Va at 10:45 am Friday morning. That wasn't good because we had that long drive ahead of us and we arrived home around 10:00 pm. The ride home was more crowded with snowbirds and it was hard to get a seat for the movie in the lounge car. They showed Maid in Manhattan, which pleased my 9 yr. old.

All in all, I enjoy the train. It does rock a bit but it beats driving. We will more than likely do it again.

 

[cherylp3]

I worry so much about being late, so we always stay the night before. In the past I've stayed at the Comfort Inn thats right by the train station. This next trip I am going to Try SpringField VA instead, it seems to be more populated.