Driving from Boston or take the Auto Train

[vacationer1954]

We are currently booked on the Auto Train both ways in February. We got a great rate I feel, $662 each way, for a bedroom. (For once, the cost both ways was the same.) We are now wondering about whether we should cancel the train trip southbound and only use the Auto Train northbound. (We confirmed that we could cancel the first half of the trip with no penalty.)

We've done the Auto Train several times already. It's better than flying, which we hate, but there is no comparison between the cramped beds on the train and the really comfortable beds at Hampton Inn. And dinner at a local Italian restaurant in southern Virginia is better than dinner on the train, and even the free breakfast at the hotel is better than the breakfast on the train.

I did try to guess how much more or less it would cost. We never try to drive down from Boston and try to make the train the same day but instead drive down to near Lorton the night before, stay overnight, and the board the train the next day. So the first night at a hotel isn't extra. We'd just drive further that first night and stay in Emporia VA, perhaps. (Is that a good spot to stop for the night?) Emporia might even cost a little less than near Lorton. The cost of dinner that night would also not be an extra, since we'd have to pay it whether we're near Lorton or in Emporia VA.

We will have to stay an extra night at Disney the night before we were going to arrive originally because even splitting the Boston to Orlando trip over two days we'll still arrive 15 hours earlier than we would by train compared to our normal trip staying over near Lorton the first night. We'll also have an extra dinner to pay for the first (extra) night at Disney. But I don't want to even consider those as part of the cost of driving instead of taking the Auto Train because we are actually getting an extra night and morning of vacation by driving straight through. Furthermore, we have lots of vacation points that we were about to bank (we are selling a small 50 point DVC contract after this trip because we've found ourselves with extra vacation points a bit too much) so I like having a way to get more vacation with most of the extra cost being using up more vacation points we already have too many of.

So the extra cost is only the extra 811 miles of driving since we would have to drive to Lorton anyway. We get about 36-39 miles per gallon on the highway and the average cost of gasoline is apparent about $3.50 a gallon. So that's about $80 extra in gasoline. So driving will save a good amount of money. It will be a lot more driving though, much more than double, about 12 hours more. That is also a cost, but the car is comfortable and we like each other's company. But we would really like to hear other people's experiences with such a long drive. (We're an older couple, no kids with us.) We would also like to know whether we forgot the factor anything in.

 

[deb010305]

We drove from Southeastern MA this past April - our first time driving. Since it was school vacation it saved us almost $1600, because airfare was so high.
We drove to Fayetteviile NC and spent the night there, and from there it was about 8 hours to WDW.
The ride didn't seem that bad. We had looked into the auto train for other trips, but the cost savings was never that much.
We would drive again, if we can't get reasonable airfare, which I consider $350 or less a person round trip.

 

[monorailsilver]

We drove from CT to FT Myers last April and back and said never again!

Ok I would if I had no other option. The way down we did it with one stop and the return we had 2. Those long states are what did us in!

We are trying the auto train this April (again gong to Ft. Myers) and if we don't like it I might just fly the following year since jet blue will be flying to ft. Myers from Hartford.

In comparison, the auto train was I think about $200-$300 more then flying. But I didn't add up airport parking and car rental once there although I could rent the car for less time since we would have my sisters car if needed.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Personally, I think having to drive from MA to VA, and then having to take a train to FL sounds like a huge pain. You should be able to find airfare in February from BOS-MCO for less than your proposed car/train trip. It's a pretty short flight even if you hate flying. I would either fly or just drive the whole trip.

 

[vacationer1954]

We drove from CT to FT Myers last April and back and said never again!

Can you share a bit about why you didn't like about it? Thanks!

 

[Pooh2]

We are currently booked on the Auto Train both ways in February. We got a great rate I feel, $662 each way, for a bedroom. (For once, the cost both ways was the same.) We are now wondering about whether we should cancel the train trip southbound and only use the Auto Train northbound. (We confirmed that we could cancel the first half of the trip with no penalty.)

We are considering doing this as well next time. Coming from NH, we were worried about getting to Lorton on time so drove down the day before the train. That leaves a lot of hang around time on boarding day, felt like we should have been moving southward!

On departure day, we spent the morning at the MK and then headed to Sanford, check in about 1pm. Train was on time and we were home by 11pm the next night.

 

[vacationer1954]

When we canceled the southbound part of the trip, Amtrak went back on what they told us earlier and charged a 10% penalty. They waived it one time, for us.

 

[SmallWorld71]

To me, the auto train doesn't make much sense, because all the difficult driving is before you even get to the train. I drove the trip by myself (with the kids) from Cape Coral, FL and FL to VA was very easy driving. It's the VA to MA that is stressful with all the major cities and crazy drivers.

So, for me, drive the hard part in order to ride the easy part is just not worth the cost. We either bite the bullet for the airfare or drive the whole way.

 

[vacationer1954]

I don't see the Auto Train really as a replacement for "difficult driving" as much as it is a replacement for driving (period) and also a way of keeping moving beyond a reasonable amount of time one should be driving in a day.

Driving twenty hours over one day or two is going to take a lot of out of us we know. How much I'm not sure but it will. We will probably arrive at Disney much more tired and road worn than if we took the train from VA. But we will also arrive 16-17 hours earlier* so by the time we would have arrived by train we would have had a great sleep in a nice bed and will be not only refreshed but will have already spent a few hours in the parks.

* We won't leave early enough from Boston to make sure we make the Auto Train the same day. Having to make the train at 2PM just cuts it too close. And given that we may have to drive through New England in a snow storm it is even more important that we leave for the Auto Train the day before. If we were living in New York it would be different. There is a smaller chance of having to spend lots of time driving through snow, and it is a few hours closer. So instead of the wasted time the evening we arrive near Lorton and the morning before we board the Auto Train, we'd go straight from home to the Auto Train and get right on-board almost. That would make the Auto Train more worthwhile. We could drive a full days worth of driving, then get on board the Auto Train and keep moving, not wasting a lot of time sitting around near Lorton.

You could say that we're wasting time resting in the hotel in Emporia VA that night. That's true, but we're still saving money and 16-17 hours overall. The placement of Boston and Lorton and Orlando and the time that the train runs just isn't good southbound.

One the way home, the Auto Train does work better for us because the timing is better. We can make good use of the time in the morning before we get on the train getting a few extra hours in the parks or having a leisurely brunch or seeing an attraction in Orlando and then get on the Auto Train at 2PM and then we're moving all the way home because as soon as we get off in Lorton we keep driving all the way home. And I think saving that 811 miles of driving and the time wasted while we rest at a hotel midway home is worth the extra few hundred dollars the train costs.

You can probably tell we made our decision to cancel our southbound trip on the Auto Train and drive instead.

 

[mom2AidanAndEli]

I can't imagine going through either of these scenarios instead of flying! Usually people drive because they have four or five people traveling and airfare for that many adds up quick. But if it's only two of you, I'm sure you could fly for much less than you're going to spend on gas, hotels, food, possibly the train, etc. Much less wear and tear on you! Flying and renting a car still seems like it would come out less. Have you really looked into it? Even flying from nearby airports. We fly out of Green in Warwick, RI and can usually get fares for less than $250 round trip. They have both Southwest and JetBlue now.

 

[bdcp]

Love, love, love taking the Autotrain. Hate to fly DH takes the train for me. It also gives us our car. I hate the drive too because we have to sit for so long and deal with traffic, etc. On the train, we can get up, walk around, watch a movie, meet new people, etc. And believe me, the food is a lot better on the train than on a plane.

Of course, we live 45 min from the Lorton Station so it's easy for us.

A lot of people who poo poo the autotrain have actually never been on it.

 

[vacationer1954]

I can't imagine going through either of these scenarios instead of flying!

That's you. We're different. We hate flying.

 

[1Grumpy9]

I did try to guess how much more or less it would cost. We never try to drive down from Boston and try to make the train the same day but instead drive down to near Lorton the night before, stay overnight, and the board the train the next day. So the first night at a hotel isn't extra. We'd just drive further that first night and stay in Emporia VA, perhaps. (Is that a good spot to stop for the night?) Emporia might even cost a little less than near Lorton. The cost of dinner that night would also not be an extra, since we'd have to pay it whether we're near Lorton or in Emporia VA.

I love staying in Emporia. There is a great Hampton Inn right there along with some great places to eat. I am a huge NASCAR fan and Elliott and Hermie Sadler are from there and Hermie owns a restaurant in Emporia called FoSho. That is just some thoughts for you if you stay in Emporia.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Let me start off... I won't fly, period... Nuff said..!

We have driven to WDW In the past, used Auto Train once and regular Amtrak over 15 times...

Lorton is a good 9 hour drive for us.. Unfeasible...and we don't need a car in WDW...49 trips and never used a car to get around...

Regular Amtrak became our conveyance of choice for a lot of years, we got old, didn't car to pay attention on the road, enjoyed sitting back and watching the countryside...

Big hassle with Amtrak was the 8hour + layover in DC... Adding an unnecessary amount of time to our trip, we went back to driving...

In our 60's, drove the last 4 trips and are doing the same this October...15.5 hours.... Really not that bad...cheaper than the train, we can stop for the night or just stop at a welcome center and rest a few hours and get into WDW around 5 am and like have a whole extra day... Going home we stop at a motel close to home...

Never could figure why folks take their car and pay for it on a train... You can take the train from just about anywhere in the US and rent a car cheaper in Florida... Nothing special about my car and sure don't want it loaded like cattle on a train... And if I really needed it, just as soon driven it the whole way...

Do as you feel necessary, those as my thoughts being an old timer with about the same options as you..!

 

[vacationer1954]

I think if were only 15-16 hours we might try the drive in one day, but we're about three hours further north and that puts us over our limit.

I think it would be great if Magical Express ran to the train station. The fact that it doesn't helps make the Auto Train more worthwhile for me. Auto Train and Silver Star/Meteor are pretty close, and so even a small cost like taxis or rental cars, and the luggage issues, can make the difference. Also, we have ridden Amtrak on both the Superliner (Auto Train) and the Viewliner (Silver Star/Meteor), and we have been more comfortable and had better trips on the Superliner.

I checked out the train trip from Ohio to Disney and that's almost 30 hours on a train each way. Wow. And you board at 3am and get home at 2am. Eep! There was an option with a two hour layover, one way, though. I can see why you switched back to driving.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Don't forget if you will be driving through a snow storm so will the train. Weather can be a big factor in a trains schedule. Trains are not always on time. Take a look at the daily status of the train on the route you will be taking and you will see how "on time" it is.

Something else to consider.

 

[pepe of ohio]

I think if were only 15-16 hours we might try the drive in one day, but we're about three hours further north and that puts us over our limit.

I think it would be great if Magical Express ran to the train station. The fact that it doesn't helps make the Auto Train more worthwhile for me. Auto Train and Silver Star/Meteor are pretty close, and so even a small cost like taxis or rental cars, and the luggage issues, can make the difference. Also, we have ridden Amtrak on both the Superliner (Auto Train) and the Viewliner (Silver Star/Meteor), and we have been more comfortable and had better trips on the Superliner.

I checked out the train trip from Ohio to Disney and that's almost 30 hours on a train each way. Wow. And you board at 3am and get home at 2am. Eep! There was an option with a two hour layover, one way, though. I can see why you switched back to driving.

That 2 hour option used to be an option... Too many missed connections due to trains late arrivals now is non book able for RT Ohio to Kissimmee.... Anything around that 8 hour sitting in DC would make us go back to Amtrak...I've tried everything around it to get the early train out of DC ...once we paid the penalty, think it was 50 dollars each to board that early train and it was so worth it not to sit on DC and get into Kissimmee early..!

Like I stated, we're back to driving, not our favorite thing but it has gotten better than before...16 hours are not that bad, we do stop over night sometimes going down, Ga Fla border so we have a short drive next day and like getting into WDW as early as possible... and last trips stop over at the Florida Welcome Center for a 3 hour nap... Perfect and saved 100.00....all we really needed as that rest break....

Hope you work it out and have a great Disney vacation...

 

[bdcp]

Don't forget if you will be driving through a snow storm so will the train. Weather can be a big factor in a trains schedule. Trains are not always on time. Take a look at the daily status of the train on the route you will be taking and you will see how "on time" it is.

Something else to consider.

Trains can and do go through deeper snow than cars. They can also go faster through a snowstorm than a car can. The odds of a snowstorm on the day of travel is small. The Auto Train is on time most of the time.

 

[kandb]

We have taken the autotrain twice. One southbound trip we had no family bedroom but did for the other times. I would NEVER recommend taking the train unless you have a bedroom. Our whole family felt tortured, nobody slept (2 adults and 3 children). Overnight the doors between the cars were opening and closing very loudly all night and the seats are not comfortable enough to sleep in. If it is just you and your husband, I would save the money and drive. Get some books on tapes, talk, look forward to stopping at Cracker Barrel. You could probably save a lot of money driving. We fly now because my 4 year old is not great in the car and it's too many hours to drive with children who don't want to be in the car. Good luck.

 

[jwboucher]

We are currently booked on the Auto Train both ways in February. We got a great rate I feel, $662 each way, for a bedroom. (For once, the cost both ways was the same.) .

How did you get that price? Is it a family room or roomette?