Autotrain?

[Disneydiversion]

We have decided to take the train to Disney. We were considering Amtrak from PHL station to ORL station. We would then need to depend on taxies and buses from that point on. The autotrain has now caught my eye. Has anyone traveled to Disney on the autotrain and/or the regular Amtrak route. I would like to hear your experiences with both. It looks like the autotrain will be $600.00 more but, we get to take our car. We would also opt for the family room (4 beds) instead of 2-2 bed rooms. The only slight negative is driving to VA from NJ to get the autotrain. Then driving from Sanford to Lake Buena Vista. and vica versa on the way home.
Thanks a bunch!!
Vicki

 

[Poohbear5]

We did the autotrain this past May and enjoyed it. We drove down to VA, stayed overnight then took the train.

We were in coach seats so we were not able to shower but if you rent a room, you have shower privledges. I would go with that option next time because we got to Disney at 10am, and had no where to shower or relax so we got some groceries to keep in the room and went out to lunch. If you're all showered and ready to go, it can be a park day.

It took about 45 min. to get our car in Sanford, about an hour 15min in Lorton on the return trip.

The dinner in the dining car (pretty tasty) and continental breakfast (cheap muffins, coffee) were included in the price of the ticket.
Overall, it was a very relaxing way to travel.

Anyone out there care to comment on the shower facilities on the autotrain?

 

[3R1C]

The Autotrain is the way we go every time. We get the family bedroom. We love it...it's a relaxing way to go - arriving in FL rested and well fed.

Last time we went, we got to our hotel (on disney property) by 10am.

We have access to the showers. Personally, I have never taken one, but my DH does each trip. They aren't exactly spacious, but they certainly serve the purpose.

We prefer gettin a room as well because you get a wine & cheese tasting (complimentary) at the beginning of each trip which also has snacks for the kids.l

We love it, but have recommended it to others that were not so fond of it. We were actually going to fly for our trip this summer, but with Southwest's price hike, it was better for us to take the train & be able to have our car.

 

[Poohbear5]

One of my favorite perks about the autotrain was I could pack as much as I wanted too into the trunk and not worry about having baggage checks fees. I brought more footwear than needed and brought home tons of souvenis without worrying about transporting them.

 

[Disneydiversion]

Thanks for the comments. I am strongly considering the family bedroom for our trip. I wondered how wide the beds are and If I could squeeze two average sized adults, a skinny 11 year old, and a 5 year old in one of those roomettes. I really don't think we will be comfortable so probably the family room is the way we need to go. I was also wondering how bags work. If they need to weigh a certain amount. Restrictions for what is in the trunk etc. I was so glad someone addressed that. If you have any more info on baggage that would be very helpful.

 

[3R1C]

There are no restrictions as to how much you pack in your car. However, you need to take everything you will need for the night/next morning with you when you exit your car in Lorton or Sanford...you have no access to your vehicle!

When we go in July, our kids will be 11 and 8. Last year we did fine in the family bedroom. There was room for the 4 or us...not a palace, but certainly do-able for one night.

In regard to the beds...our kids both want the bunk beds, so they take those and my husband and I share the bottom. Not the most comfortable way to go, but it keeps the kids from fighting. We typically don't get a whole lot of sleep..we're too interested in where we are (we take a GPS with us) and figuring out what time we are going to arrive, but we feel rested and refreshed when we get there.

I agree that it is great to not have to worry how much you pack. We take a couple cases of water. One year when we went and stayed at the All Stars, we even took our own mini fridge!

 

[LisaNJ25]

I have done both, I did the regular Amtrak out of Newark, NJ to Deland, Fl and got a rental car there (visited family for a few days). We have done the auto train 2 times. I have never done a bedroom and we have 4 kids. We were all fine in coach seat. Bring some snacks and drinks to save yourself some money.

Also prepare for delays( I think I am the one who always warns everyone lol).

Our last trip we didnt get into Sandford Fl until 5pm and our return train home was canceled. We had to drive home with very little warning since I could not wait till a train the next day.

That said I would take it again. We are considering it for this summer but waiting on a promo.

 

[Disneydiversion]

Thank you for the quick response. We spent some time tonight looking at the homemade, auto train videos on youtube. We got a good Idea how incredibly small those roomettes are

 

[Capt_BJ]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=402667&highlight=autotrain

all about the auto train

 

[Poohbear5]

Oh the Amtrak site, they had a link where you click on the room type, and it had the exact measurements of the room and beds.
My husband got out a measuring tape and and made an area to simulate the roomette and beds.
My claustrophobic side said, "Let's try coach!"
The coach seats were very roomy, with a footrest.(bring a few travel pillows to get your back and head comfy).
I've never traveled on Amtrak's regular train, but read that autotrain coach seats are roomier than the normal Amtrak's coach.

On the way down in May, the train car we were in was near empty so we could spread out for the night. No, we didn't sleep great but enough to function the next day.

On the way back, the train was near sold out with all senior citizens. Our evenings entertainment was listening to a couple of old codgers arguing all night! We got less sleep than on the way but took turns napping in the car on our 9 our drive home.

 

[disney_fan1972]

We are also considering the auto train this year. From the Princeton, NJ area it is about a 4 hour drive to pick up the train in VA. My parents recently took the regular Amtrak train from Orlando to DC, they hated it. They said the food was awful and the train was cramped.

I understand that booking well in advance is very important for the Autotrain so I will be booking our mid Aug. trip at the begining of Feb.

Any advice for traveling with a 2y/o on the auto train would be helpful. Our little guy has never slept in a bed by himself, can an average adult (short) and a small 2 y/o fit in one of the beds? Better yet... any advise for getting him to sleep in his own bed?

 

[DisneyPoly]

We are also considering the auto train this year. From the Princeton, NJ area it is about a 4 hour drive to pick up the train in VA. My parents recently took the regular Amtrak train from Orlando to DC, they hated it. They said the food was awful and the train was cramped.

I understand that booking well in advance is very important for the Autotrain so I will be booking our mid Aug. trip at the begining of Feb.

Any advice for traveling with a 2y/o on the auto train would be helpful. Our little guy has never slept in a bed by himself, can an average adult (short) and a small 2 y/o fit in one of the beds? Better yet... any advise for getting him to sleep in his own bed?

Hi!

We live in Bucks County, PA and it takes us exactly 3 hours to arrive in Lorton. We have 6 traveling with us, and have booked both coach and sleeper car. We usually get two family rooms, as they connect. Usually 1 adult and 1 smaller child in one bed and then the larger kids get their own bed. You and a 2 year old would have no problem sleeping in one of the beds. Any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We have taken both the reg train from New Haven CT to Orlando and the autotrain. I will not take the reg train again w/ the kids, Soo much prefer the autotrain. If you take the reg train they check baggage weight. With the autotrain we can pack as much as we need in the van. We have our overnight bags w/ a bag of snacks and drinks.

We are coming up on our 6th autotrain trip to WDW this Aug. We absolutely LOVE the Autotrain. Our DC love the train. We have traveled in both coach and sleeper(roomette and deluxe bdrm). W/ ds2 I prefer having a sleeper vs the coach. It is much easier to get ds2 to sleep in a bed than having him sleep ontop of me in coach. When he was 1 it was easier, we flipped up the foot rest and put him down on a pillow - he slept night. This last trip coming home we had coach and I was worried about him rolling off the chair. Needless to say he slept, I didn't. DH works for Amtrak and we travel for free, If there are sleepers open we can get them. In the deluxe bdrm, ds2 and I sleep on bottom bunk and dd6 sleep on the top. DH and ds8 and 10 got another deluxe, and slept the same way. There is a shower in the deluxe but haven't used it. U actually have to sit on the toilet to shower. This last trip we had a late dinner seating so the cabin attendent brought us our dinner to our room. It was soo nice. Eating in the dining car is nice too. you meet alot of new people. We have outgrown all seating together so ds8 and 10 will sit across from us with other riders. They enjoy meeting new people. The food is good. Breakfast is decent. Nothing big just enought fill you. Bagels/muffins/cereal/banana.

We travel from CT- leaving at 2 am to beat all the rush hour traffic. We stop in MD for breakfast at 7am for an hr. We arrive in Lorton around 11 am. (we do make a ton of bathroom stops along the way.) The train will leave at 4 or sooner if everyone has arrived. Dinner is at 5, 7 and 9(I think they still have a 9). If you travel in coach the lights go out around 9 pm in the cars. Sleeping is Okay. I found that I slept best in a roomette. The direction of the bed is different than in the deluxe bdroom. We bring a pillow and fleece blanket w/ us for comfort. We sleep to approx 630ish- we see where we are in relations to Sanford. If we are on time we get ready for breakfast. If we are running late I usually climb back into bed. The last 3 trips the train has been early. We usually get into Sanford by 830. The order the cars come off is random. We have been 5 and than 3 for 2 different trips. which is nice. The trip to WDW is only 45 mins. We are usually checking in our resort by 10 am. We have been late too - around 11 am. We waited in Lorton for a few hours waiting for an engine.

You do have to go w/ an open mind and remember that the trip is part of the adventure. Be prepared for delays. CSX owns the tracks so delays are possible. in 2008 our return train home was cancelled due to Tropical storm Fay. the next avail train out was 5 days later. We opted to stay at WDW and wait for the train. The 1st train out after the storm was delayed on the tracks for 17 hrs!! (we always bring way more diapers/wipes/formula/snacks than needed).

The further out you book the train the cheaper it is. The closer the departure the more expensive it is. They even changed it for employee.We had to book 3 months earlier than normal to get our free trip. I was surprised when I called. We have decided that we would still use the autotrain even if we paid. IT is cheaper than flying for a family of 6 plus we hve our van too. We are DVCers so we go every year. My dc just learned that we can be in WDW in 2hrs by flying. I told them someday we will fly just not now!

If you have any ?'s I'd be happy to answer them.

 

[disney_fan1972]

Hi!

We live in Bucks County, PA and it takes us exactly 3 hours to arrive in Lorton. We have 6 traveling with us, and have booked both coach and sleeper car. We usually get two family rooms, as they connect. Usually 1 adult and 1 smaller child in one bed and then the larger kids get their own bed. You and a 2 year old would have no problem sleeping in one of the beds. Any questions, do not hesitate to ask.

We live in Bucks County to0

Thanks for the info, it will make convincing hubby that the train is the way to go (another conversation about it this morning) easier!

 

[disney_fan1972]

The further out you book the train the cheaper it is. The closer the departure the more expensive it is. They even changed it for employee.We had to book 3 months earlier than normal to get our free trip. I was surprised when I called. We have decided that we would still use the autotrain even if we paid. IT is cheaper than flying for a family of 6 plus we hve our van too. We are DVCers so we go every year. My dc just learned that we can be in WDW in 2hrs by flying. I told them someday we will fly just not now!

If you have any ?'s I'd be happy to answer them.

Great info! Thanks!!!

I will be passing this along to hubby tonight. I was thinking it would be the opposite, like you can get cheep air fair when it is close to departure date. We are traveling in Aug so I will push to book our train and DVC by the end of the week.

Whoo Hooo... gunna have to start another count down!

 

[TillyMarigold]

I did it when I was on the College Program. From Exit 10 on the NJ Turnpike, it was about 4-4½ hours to Lorton--it's a lot farther south than you think it is, more than an hour south of DC. It's about 30-45 minutes from Sanford to Disney, also.

But I would definitely do it again! I just had a coach seat, though, and that was fine because the train was so empty that everyone who wanted one had a row to themselves to spread out.