Dilemna: Fly or Auto Train?

[sif]

Well, we've been wanting to take the Auto Train to WDW for a long time now, and the kids (DS7, DS5 and DD2) have been excited for it. Finally booked it recently for first week of November, round trip, with a minivan and a Family Bedroom sleeper. Total price $1850. This is a lot, but with the prices I had been seeing for direct flights at reasonable/convenient times of day, this was not much more than the price of airfare and rental van for the week. So we booked it before the prices went up.

Flash forward to yesterday, when on a whim, I check airfare for our travel dates and find that all 5 of us can fly round trip Pit-Mco for $1085. Even figuring 350-400 for a rental van, this saves significant money AND we'll be there faster, giving us an extra day to be at WDW. No-brainer, right?

Well, I'm conflicted. We had really been looking forward to the train ride as a PART of the vacation, not just a means to get there. I know my boys will be disappointed if we don't take the train (they'll get over it, of course). I know this is a decision we just need to make (and we're leaning towards flying) but I wondered if anyone out there has faced this same dilemna and what your thoughts are.....

Thanks. Sorry so long.

 

[la79al]

Wow, I thought I was the only one with a dilemma like this. Have you considered Amtraking down and flying back? You'll still need to do the rental when you get down there but you will get the train ride, and you will get home faster since coming home is always the worst part. I sat down last night to figure out approximate prices for us and am really leaning to not having a vehicle in Florida.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We live in northeast Ohio, and we use Amtrak exclusively for WDW. Lorton Virginia is a good poke down the road and I never use a car in Disney, have driven in the past, but just left it in the lot and used Disney transportation. Our train, goes right through and stops in Pittsburgh on its way to Washington, and there we pick up the south bound train to Kissimmee. We enjoy the train, I hate flying and won't do it. We sit back, reserved coach, alot of room, reclining seats, take a blanket, snacks, lunch and drinks and a good book and let the train lull you to sleep. Mind you, trains never seem to be on time but do occasionally but in over 12 trips, we've never had a problem of not getting there. It's part of our vacation, we arrive, relaxed and refreshed and a'raring to go. Flying's great but not for me, wife doesn't care either way and what can you see of America, 35,000 feet up.

 

[plutolovr]

I believe if you can wait it out you'll get some really good Southwest fares from Pittsburgh for that time. You may be able to fly for less than $1000. You still have a long drive from Pitt to Lorton Va.

 

[scrappystamper1]

Our family had an "AMTRAK adventure" last year. I have a piece of advice for ya.....DONT DO IT!!. We traveled a little farther than you will on the auto train but you'd be going where the going got tough...
Here's what happened:
We took a bus from Bangor Maine to Boston south station to catch the train (what a great adventure!!!) Everything was going like clockwork. the train left at 2pm as planned. We got a schedule and watched out the window, excited to "see america". Well...if you live near a train track..what kind of scenery is around that track? a whole lot of junkie backlot weirdness in most small towns..
We pulled into every stop EXACTLY on time. if the schedule said NEW ROCHELLE NEW YORK: 7:06pm well by god we were there at that time... We switched trains in Grand Central station New York (very scary) got settled and learned about the train. 1. the dining car is VERY expensive 2. the club car is basically drinks and microwave food and still pretty expensive 3. going to the bathroom in a moving closet can be challenging 3. the train can contain some pretty scary people. All this in mind...we settled in for the night somewhere after leaving the Washington DC station (again on time.) Now here's where it got "fun"... I woke up to the LOUD taking of a 20ish girl who had drank too much. the train had stopped and it was dark. NO NOISE AT ALL. each time someone in a uniforn passed by I would ask..."why are we stopped?" " how long until we go?" each person gave me a different answer How long have we been stopped?, where are we? Figuring out quickly I was'nt going to get the truth, I went back to sleep. I woke up about 7am, still stopped. I heard we were in North Carolina, now about 4 hours behind schedule I thought, "oh well, it's not like we HAVE to be there (WDW) at a certain time" the stopping continued the WHOLE trip down. Here are some of the reasons I got 1. there is another train ahead 2. The bridge ahead can only hold one train at a time and we have to stop to let another train by 3. a switch is broken on the track. 4. they are doing some repairs (are you starting to get my drift? )
We FINALLY get to Orlando station 6 hours late and as for the whole seeing america thing... like I said, mostly broken down backsides of building, scrub landscape, fields and the worst sections of towns that I am sure were beautiful about 40 years ago when train travel was the thing to do. Orlando station reminded me of the photo of the Paradise theater from the old styx album ( I'm showing my age now by most of the 80's people will get this) You know the photo I mean, not the one of the theater at its best. The one of the broken down borken window theater. Again, I'm sure it WAS a beautiful place in its time. now it's a run down white spanish style building. Now... Our WDW trip went off as planned, and time to go home, Same deal going home.
Left Orlando 6 hour late ("oh yeah, that Miami train is always late" we were told...) we did'nt make up time still had to stop for crazy reasons. I just figured out I left out the BEST part of the story. Amtrak stocks the train with water and food and basically and empty place for bathroom waste. They have done the math: X amount of food for X amount of people should last this long. AND X amount of bathroom waste space for X amount of people should last this long. Well what do you think happens when the train is late? They run out of food. the bathrooms become big silver bowls of poop and YUCK, and people get really pissed off.
Needless to say, we arrived late in Boston and missed the last bus to Bangor Maine so now we're stuck. I would have been LESS mad if we had'nt struck up a conversation with one of the conductors on the way from New York to Boston and he said " only 6 hours late? you guys are lucky most days it's 10-12 hours late". In what kind of a business can you run that late daily and still be in business?
I MADE Amtrak hire a car to drive us to Bangor to get home, I was ready for the nightmare to be over.
So read this story a few times and see if you still think it's a good idea to "see america" from a train. I vote to drive or fly.!!!
Janet Paddock


PS:, we are driving this year!!!!

 

[snowbunny]

If you were looking forward to the train, take the train this time. My kids love trains, we've been up and down the east coast on them. Yes the train can be late but you are in a sleeper, you're relaxing, you haven't got a bus connection to make or miss depending on the schedule. Taking a 1000-mile train trip on a tight schedule is not something I would ever try, that way lies madness.

I would take the train to WDW once in awhile, at least one way, if we didn't have to switch stations across town in Boston. Plus in your case, you get off and hop into your own car - I say do it and have fun.

 

[sif]

Thanks for the replies. In the end, our analysis kept coming back to the same point -- by flying, we can be at WDW for an extra day AND do it for approx $400 less. We didn't want to take train down and fly back b/c then we couldn't take Auto Train. I don't think I want to ride that distance on a train that stops at every town and station along the way -- the trip will seem even longer. Plus, departures from Pittsburgh these days are few and far between--often in the middle of the night. We'll try the Auto Train next time, especially if the airfares are high enough to make it somewhat comparable.

We booked the airfare because it is at a price we are comfortable with. Now the hardest part is waiting until November.....

 

[dtuleya]

Does anyone know if the Autotrain fees/tickets are refundable or changeable after you book?

 

[HugsForEeyore]

That's terrible what ScrappyStamper1 went through!!

Though to defend the AutoTrain, it is the one of the best (if not the best) long distance train that Amtrak has. It is very different than the other Amtrak trains, like the one ScrappyStamper1 rode. The AutoTrain only picks up/drops off in Lorton VA or Sanford FL, and makes no stops inbetween for passengers. They do stop to switch crew late at night, but that is the only scheduled stop. The AutoTrain tends to be very clean and "classy", with probably a more upscale clientale. Many people riding the AutoTrain are seniors.

I have rode the AutoTrain probably about 20 times over the last 10 years, so obviously I love it! I gone both coach and sleeper, and I like it both ways. Twice I hit some delays - once I was delayed 8 hours, and once five hours. A few times I was delayed about 2 hours, but I expect things like that.

My family definately sees taking the train as part of the adventure, and my nieces had a wonderful time on it. I was thrilled I could show them the countryside on a train (yes, you do see junky backyards but we laugh at that!). But we also saw when the Spanish Moss could be seen on the trees, and when we started noticing palm trees. The whole train experience was so much fun for them.

But even so, flying is usually cheaper and quicker, and a $400 difference is pretty substantial. But for my family, I won't fly, so our choices are the AutoTrain or a 20 hour drive!

 

[sif]

dtuleya:
Yes, Autotrain tickets are refundable under certain circumstances. In fact, that is just what I did, since I had already paid for my Autotrain tix on my credit card. The refund details are spelled out pretty well at amtrak.com, but generally you can get a credit to apply to future amtrak travel, or you can get your fare refunded. Here is where I learned a great trick from the booking agent on the phone -- I booked our tickets and paid by credit card, but he advised me to NOT have them mail the tickets out to me. If actual tickets had been issued, I could have received a refund MINUS 10%, which Amtrak would have held. As it is, I just had a confirmation number but no actual tickets, so I got the full amount refunded/credited to my charge card. If you book Autotrain tickets, be sure to NOT get the tix ahead of time. I was assured that my confirmation # would be enough to get me into the station, where I could be ticketed for travel. This was extremely helpful information and I've wondered how many Amtrak phone agents actually share that with callers. Maybe I was just lucky, but it saved me some real money.

 

[AshAlytwins]

That's terrible what ScrappyStamper1 went through!!
The AutoTrain tends to be very clean and "classy", with probably a more upscale clientale. Many people riding the AutoTrain are seniors.

Hay,
I agree with part of you sentence and take offense at the latter part!!!!

 

[garydeb]

Well there are alot of questions and answers already but I'll put in my 2 cents. First the Autotrain is different from regular amtrark. The Autotrain makes one stop in Florence, SC for fuel and change engine crew and Regural Amtrak stops at every town. The Autotrain is a train that you have to put your car on the train. You do not do this for regular Amtrak. Amtrak does not own the tracks below DC so it's timetable is at the mercy of CSX who owns the tracks. If there are problems on CSX tracks they will hold Amtrak up first to keep their trains on schedule. As you can tell we ride the Autotrain a lot, about twice a year to FL and WE Love It, but like anything else no one likes the same things. We have been up to five hours late and we have also been one hour early, but hey we are on vacation as soon as we get on the train. I do have to say Amtrak does a good job in coach with keeping families together and seniors in different cars. Coach is okay, you get nice reclining seats, a moive, dinner and a cont. breakfast. We take snacks, drinks, a blanket and a good book. We LOVE First Class! You get a bed, dinner, snacks, movie, cont. breakfast.
If you need to you can get a full refund, Just call the 800 number.
Good Luck!!!
Debbie

 

[scrappystamper1]

I see by other posters that the auto train IS a much different experience.
If the last two poster's experiences had been mine, I would have been "tooting" my horn for the train too. (I know it's corny, I could'nt resist... hey, I get to go to Disney World in 21 days cut me some slack )
I stand corrected about the auto train and respectfully keep my position on regular Amtrak.
I recently had a patient who sang the same sad song I did about an Amtrak trip to San Antonio Texas so I think the last poster was right. The outcome all depends upon your destination. As for me and any future train travel BELOW Washington DC, no thanks, I'll drive.
By the way... did I mention I get to see Mickey in 21 Days?
Mere words cannot express how happy I am, but I thought a few dancing bananas would do the trick.

Janet Paddock