For those on East Coast who have taken Amtrak to Disney World

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Please share your experience with me We are looking for an alternative to flying if we can't get airfare within our budget and DH refuses to drive to WDW. I know it is a long (overnight) trip, but I figured we can get up and walk around on the train and we will be able to sleep through the night (hopefully) since the bulk of the train ride is during the night. Specifically I am concerned about 1) delays....heard this is common on Amtrak in the summer and I am wondering if people going to Orlando experience these often 2) how my youngest two children will handle such a long train ride (~19 hours). Thanks.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Northeast Ohio to Kissimmee...36 hours. We switch train in DC and have a long layover but we enjoy the trip. I'll touch on a few highlights ( tons of Amtrak reports, just do a search) coach the whole way is doable, sleepers are expensive and not really needed for one night (no sleepers keeps the cost reasonable). Food on the train is very good but pricey (pack a cooler with food, snacks and drinks). Don't pack anymore than you can personally haul, makes train travel easier. There's plenty of room in and around each pair of seats, they recline and have leg rests....take a blanket..gets cold at night from the A/C. Electronics are welcomed, some cars have a receptacle at each pair of seats and some cars have one for the whole car (Amtrak is up grading their cars so you never know what you'll encounter) headphones are required so as not to disturb others. That's it in a nut shell.

Trains can run late for a myriad of reasons, you never know but in the last couple of years, it's gotten alot better to keeping the schedule. They do make up time when they can but unforeseen events can and do occur. It won't be a day late, few minutes to hours at most but like I said, they are improving.

It would take us 20 hours to drive straight thru, done is years ago but the stress on my being, and the car are more than I care to experience anymore. We've taken our children many many years ago and they enjoyed it alot, seen the country, riding a train was the envy of their friends. Take games, books and things to occupy them. There's a club car where you can grab a seat and play, they serve drinks, and hand food and are priced fairly decent. Dining car is reservations, they'll come thru each car and ask if you're interested and give you a time. Restrooms (2) located at one end of each car (first come, unisex).

It is a long trip but easy to do, planning on what to entertain, nap time, bed time (lights out is 10 pm). A cooler with sandwiches and drinks can ease the time and pain of train travel. Some of the scenery is fantastic and some so-so but lying back, feet up, nestled is a blanket watching the scenery roll by is pure comforting, better than a car. Hope this helps and check out all the other train posts I've answered in the past. Need more, PM or ask me, always glad to help!

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Northeast Ohio to Kissimmee...36 hours. We switch train in DC and have a long layover but we enjoy the trip. I'll touch on a few highlights ( tons of Amtrak reports, just do a search) coach the whole way is doable, sleepers are expensive and not really needed for one night (no sleepers keeps the cost reasonable). Food on the train is very good but pricey (pack a cooler with food, snacks and drinks). Don't pack anymore than you can personally haul, makes train travel easier. There's plenty of room in and around each pair of seats, they recline and have leg rests....take a blanket..gets cold at night from the A/C. Electronics are welcomed, some cars have a receptacle at each pair of seats and some cars have one for the whole car (Amtrak is up grading their cars so you never know what you'll encounter) headphones are required so as not to disturb others. That's it in a nut shell.

Trains can run late for a myriad of reasons, you never know but in the last couple of years, it's gotten alot better to keeping the schedule. They do make up time when they can but unforeseen events can and do occur. It won't be a day late, few minutes to hours at most but like I said, they are improving.

It would take us 20 hours to drive straight thru, done is years ago but the stress on my being, and the car are more than I care to experience anymore. We've taken our children many many years ago and they enjoyed it alot, seen the country, riding a train was the envy of their friends. Take games, books and things to occupy them. There's a club car where you can grab a seat and play, they serve drinks, and hand food and are priced fairly decent. Dining car is reservations, they'll come thru each car and ask if you're interested and give you a time. Restrooms (2) located at one end of each car (first come, unisex).

It is a long trip but easy to do, planning on what to entertain, nap time, bed time (lights out is 10 pm). A cooler with sandwiches and drinks can ease the time and pain of train travel. Some of the scenery is fantastic and some so-so but lying back, feet up, nestled is a blanket watching the scenery roll by is pure comforting, better than a car. Hope this helps and check out all the other train posts I've answered in the past. Need more, PM or ask me, always glad to help!

Thank you so much for your reply I am looking at both the regular Amtrak schedules and also the autotrain option since we would be driving four hours to the D.C. area either way. The auto train option (which is out of Lorton, VA) is more expensive but quicker. But we really don't need our car since we will be staying onsite at WDW with the dining plan. For the regular Amtrak schedule, we were thinking of driving to the D.C. station, paying the extended parking rate, and taking the Amtrak from there which would be about $350 cheaper than the auto train option; but it is a longer ride (I guess because with autotrain you stop in Sanford, FL instead of in Orlando or Kissimmee). I know with autotrain our meals would be included and we would have our vehicle which we could use to get around WDW for character meals at different resorts, etc. Not sure which option would have a lower chance of delays though.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Thank you so much for your reply I am looking at both the regular Amtrak schedules and also the autotrain option since we would be driving four hours to the D.C. area either way. The auto train option (which is out of Lorton, VA) is more expensive but quicker. But we really don't need our car since we will be staying onsite at WDW with the dining plan. For the regular Amtrak schedule, we were thinking of driving to the D.C. station, paying the extended parking rate, and taking the Amtrak from there which would be about $350 cheaper than the auto train option; but it is a longer ride (I guess because with autotrain you stop in Sanford, FL instead of in Orlando or Kissimmee). I know with autotrain our meals would be included and we would have our vehicle which we could use to get around WDW for character meals at different resorts, etc. Not sure which option would have a lower chance of delays though.

Both trains, Amtrak and Auto Train use the same tracks, CSX about the only difference is regular Amtrak has some stops. Again, Auto Train unloads in Sanford...good poke down the road. We have no use for a car in Disney, use their transportation and anywho, price difference between taking your car on Auto Train, you could probably rent one in Florida cheaper....why pay to haul it? As for delays, since the trains run the same rails, if one is held up, all are held up....CSX owns the tracks and has the right of way over both carriers. As for meal, on a one nighter, how many meals will you get...3 at the most...cheaper and easier to pack your own......to each their own..

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Both trains, Amtrak and Auto Train use the same tracks, CSX about the only difference is regular Amtrak has some stops. Again, Auto Train unloads in Sanford...good poke down the road. We have no use for a car in Disney, use their transportation and anywho, price difference between taking your car on Auto Train, you could probably rent one in Florida cheaper....why pay to haul it? As for delays, since the trains run the same rails, if one is held up, all are held up....CSX owns the tracks and has the right of way over both carriers. As for meal, on a one nighter, how many meals will you get...3 at the most...cheaper and easier to pack your own......to each their own..

Do you think it would be more practical to just drive to D.C. (it would take us same amount of time as it would to drive to the auto train station in Lorton), pay the extended parking rate at Union Station, and take Amtrak from there instead of doing auto train since we really don't need our vehicle? I don't think we would be able to afford to purchase the bedrooms with six of us (we would have to get multiple rooms which would cost more than airline fare), so we would just be getting the standard coach seats either way. I see a thread on here with a lot of posts about the auto train, but not really any threads or posts about people just taking the regular Amtrak train down to Orlando. Thanks for your recommendations

 

[lisa-upnorth]

hey Pepe-we got another one wanting to ride the rails

I will bump my train report thread up for you to get some tips and info

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Thank you for bumping your train report thread . I read through it and it was very nice. My concern now is that since the train ride is an overnight ride, my children and DH will be very uncomfortable trying to sleep in coach seats (since I am the one who wants to go to WDW the most I am willing to make the sacrifice ); and since there are six of us, purchasing multiple family bedrooms will make the cost to take the train more expensive than flying. So we are running out of options now since DH refuses to drive

 

[RumpleMom]

We have taken the autotrain twice with kids. The first time in coach seats. They put all of the families in one car which was not full, so we had 8 seats for the 4 of us. YMMV

The next time we had a bedroom which was a much nicer experience as we had our own bathroom.

The food on the Autotrain is included in the price and was very good. Sign up for email at USArail.com, at times kids' seats are half-price.

We drove our own car back north.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Do you think it would be more practical to just drive to D.C. (it would take us same amount of time as it would to drive to the auto train station in Lorton), pay the extended parking rate at Union Station, and take Amtrak from there instead of doing auto train since we really don't need our vehicle? I don't think we would be able to afford to purchase the bedrooms with six of us (we would have to get multiple rooms which would cost more than airline fare), so we would just be getting the standard coach seats either way. I see a thread on here with a lot of posts about the auto train, but not really any threads or posts about people just taking the regular Amtrak train down to Orlando. Thanks for your recommendations

We drive to an unmanned station (closest for us) parking is free for the duration and one train to DC and another train to Kissimmee. not sure where you live and how close is your nearest station, but I'd opt for the nearest station. I'd never want to try to navigate DC....parking has to be at a preminium......a two train trip is not that bad, switching in either Philly or DC to head south is quite easy.

Rooms for 6 will be expensive....really not worth it for 1 night....coach seats are comfortable to sleep in, recline back, put up the leg rest and close your eyes.....DH can't be that picky...I can do it, so can he.

Auto Train for us is a waste....we don't want or need a car in WDW, and as I stated, just as cheap to rent one in Florida than to pay to haul your down. Train cars are the same on Amtrak and Auto Train, nothing gained except AT does no stops....no big deal there either. We try to go to WDW, the cheapest, most affordable, comfortable, relaxing way possible and not taking our car and using regular Amtrak without the frills of a sleeper are very doable.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Thank you for bumping your train report thread . I read through it and it was very nice. My concern now is that since the train ride is an overnight ride, my children and DH will be very uncomfortable trying to sleep in coach seats (since I am the one who wants to go to WDW the most I am willing to make the sacrifice ); and since there are six of us, purchasing multiple family bedrooms will make the cost to take the train more expensive than flying. So we are running out of options now since DH refuses to drive

My wife will fly, not me and driving is out...last trip this past December cured me of that, but that was a family trip so we went along. We're back to Amtrak from now on. We board in Alliance Ohio at 3 am....my wife falls to sleep in 5 minutes, yes in coach. Think of a lazy boy recliner chair...we'll doze on and off many times on a trip to WDW...too easy...rolling along...nestled in your seat. We've done some legs of our trip in a roomette....very small (only for 2) claustrophic...very narrow aisle...rather be in coach and the bed is more of a cot, upper and lower.....

Still suggest to leave the car at home...regular coach amtrak to Kissimmee, car service to WDW (runs about 100-120.00 round trip) most offer a grocery stop 30 minutes to pick up drinks, food, snacks...and leave from the closest station to your home.....

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

My wife will fly, not me and driving is out...last trip this past December cured me of that, but that was a family trip so we went along. We're back to Amtrak from now on. We board in Alliance Ohio at 3 am....my wife falls to sleep in 5 minutes, yes in coach. Think of a lazy boy recliner chair...we'll doze on and off many times on a trip to WDW...too easy...rolling along...nestled in your seat. We've done some legs of our trip in a roomette....very small (only for 2) claustrophic...very narrow aisle...rather be in coach and the bed is more of a cot, upper and lower.....

Still suggest to leave the car at home...regular coach amtrak to Kissimmee, car service to WDW (runs about 100-120.00 round trip) most offer a grocery stop 30 minutes to pick up drinks, food, snacks...and leave from the closest station to your home.....

thanks Pepe

 

[bdcp]

We've only taken the Auto Train to FL, not regular Amtrak. I prefer Auto train because it doesn't stop to pickup and drop off passengers, it only stops once to change crews. The main reason the Auto Train is more expensive is that you pay for your car, the fare for people isn't that bad. Regular Amtrak makes multiple stops and people are getting off and on the entire trip. Plus on the Auto train they feed you dinner and breakfast-included in your fare.

When we got to NY on Amtrak (Acela) from Union Station in DC we always rent a car each way if the trip is more than a couple of nights because it's cheaper than parking there.

 

[lisa-upnorth]

Thank you for bumping your train report thread . I read through it and it was very nice. My concern now is that since the train ride is an overnight ride, my children and DH will be very uncomfortable trying to sleep in coach seats (since I am the one who wants to go to WDW the most I am willing to make the sacrifice ); and since there are six of us, purchasing multiple family bedrooms will make the cost to take the train more expensive than flying. So we are running out of options now since DH refuses to drive

If it were me I would try to take my first train trip without the bedrooms to see how it goes. It is MUCH CHEAPER!!! You may find that it works great for you all. Then you may want to try the rooms next time. I say if the only way to afford the trip this time is in coach seats then that is what you need to do

 

[PatMcDuck]

We did Newark NJ to Orlando station years back. We approached it as an adventure! I remember we paid $596 RT for the 6 of us...... then we rented a minivan when we arrived. We went coach. The 4 kids were ages 4-6-8-10, or something like that. The kids slept FINE. Us parents, not so great, but it was sort of fun. Like you said, you can walk around, we were all able to switch around the seating arrangements for variety. Tips, bring fleece throws or blankets, and coolers of food and snacks...... We met interesting people, like European young people traveling around the USA, and a large group heading south for a family reunion.... Our trains were both on time. We were on older trains, I think they are much better now.

The kids are grown now, but they will never forget the time we took the train to WDW! We thought we would take it again sometime, but airfare became more reasonable, or maybe we just got smarter about finding good fares.

 

[Tink313]

We rode amtrak to and from orlando from NY. For us we will never do it again, besides the delays and not being able to sleep after about 8 hours it starts to stink (bathroom odor)

Bring some spray

 

[angela1044]

We're going to try the Auto Train for the first time in March. I'm hoping it won't be too busy since we'll be using it over March Break and we have a 12 hour drive to get to it.

We are looking at it as an adventure and probably won't do it again because normally we fly but there will be 5 of us this time and we need a vehicle.

We are going to do Coach with a 4 and 6 year old who are great at flying so I figure they'll love this too. The adults may not get much sleep but we can make that up when we get there. I figure we'll be more rested because we aren't driving at least.

 

[ilovefh]

We HATED our AutoTrain experience, but I am sure our experience is not typical. Our train lost power around 6pm. It was June and absolutely sweltering! We were in a cornfield and couldn't get off the train. They brought around ice water, but there wasn't much else they could do. Also, since the power went out the toilets did not work...but people still used them. It smelled horrible! You could stay in your seat on the upper level, that didn't smell too bad but you were sweating just sitting there, or go down to the lower level where some windows were open, but the smell was horrible. The power came back on around 9:30 and we finally got to eat dinner a few hours late. Around 11 the power went back off and was off for another three hours or so. Again, it was ridiculously hot! We were also in the middle of NC with no power which means no lights so it was pitch dark.

We were scheduled to arrive around 9am and we didn't get in until 5pm. Not only were we upset, the people who were supposed to leave at 4 were angry. The people working the station could literally do nothing for us except give us a 1-800 number to call. The 1-800 number at first just offered us a "Sorry" and eventually a certificate to travel the train again. In the moment that was worthless to me. I had not slept in 36 hours because of the lack of A/C and the 95 degree temperatures. I had been sitting for hours in my own sweat and smelling raw sewage.

I wrote a letter and the day after I sent it I called back because I had not received my certificate yet. They said (now remember this is a few weeks after our trip) they were recently authorized to refund us our passenger fair, not the fair for the car. Even that was a pain! I had to send in my tickets to a woman in one city, who then took my tickets and sent them to headquarters in another city, who then contacted the first woman to okay the refund, who then issued the refund. You can imagine how long that took!

I also got a written response to my letter which basically said we looked at your file and we are now issuing a refund for the passenger fair, you have no reason to be upset.

All in all the customer service was atrocious. The only person who was anything close to friendly was our dinner server. The food (had we eaten earlier than 10 pm) was not bad.

Like I said, I'm sure our experience is not normal. My parents love the auto train and continue to use it. I just can't justify using it again, our experience was that bad.

 

[bdcp]

We HATED our AutoTrain experience, but I am sure our experience is not typical. Our train lost power around 6pm. It was June and absolutely sweltering! We were in a cornfield and couldn't get off the train. They brought around ice water, but there wasn't much else they could do. Also, since the power went out the toilets did not work...but people still used them. It smelled horrible! You could stay in your seat on the upper level, that didn't smell too bad but you were sweating just sitting there, or go down to the lower level where some windows were open, but the smell was horrible. The power came back on around 9:30 and we finally got to eat dinner a few hours late. Around 11 the power went back off and was off for another three hours or so. Again, it was ridiculously hot! We were also in the middle of NC with no power which means no lights so it was pitch dark.

We were scheduled to arrive around 9am and we didn't get in until 5pm. Not only were we upset, the people who were supposed to leave at 4 were angry. The people working the station could literally do nothing for us except give us a 1-800 number to call. The 1-800 number at first just offered us a "Sorry" and eventually a certificate to travel the train again. In the moment that was worthless to me. I had not slept in 36 hours because of the lack of A/C and the 95 degree temperatures. I had been sitting for hours in my own sweat and smelling raw sewage.

I wrote a letter and the day after I sent it I called back because I had not received my certificate yet. They said (now remember this is a few weeks after our trip) they were recently authorized to refund us our passenger fair, not the fair for the car. Even that was a pain! I had to send in my tickets to a woman in one city, who then took my tickets and sent them to headquarters in another city, who then contacted the first woman to okay the refund, who then issued the refund. You can imagine how long that took!

I also got a written response to my letter which basically said we looked at your file and we are now issuing a refund for the passenger fair, you have no reason to be upset.

All in all the customer service was atrocious. The only person who was anything close to friendly was our dinner server. The food (had we eaten earlier than 10 pm) was not bad.

Like I said, I'm sure our experience is not normal. My parents love the auto train and continue to use it. I just can't justify using it again, our experience was that bad.

Totally so NOT typical. Every once in a while the train is really late, but in our 3 previous trips, we were only 1.5 hours late getting in once. If you check their on-time performance now, it's early a lot, even if they hadn't changed the arrival times, they'd still be early or on time most of the time. Amtrak doesn't own the tracks or the power supplied to them. If it was the Amtrak equipment then that is Amtrak's responsibility, but other than that, it's out of their hands. Believe me, the crew didn't like it either. They swap out crews in SC around 1 am so everyone was inconvenienced.

It's kind of like the people who have sat on the tarmac at airports for hours, most of them go onto fly again so I'm always amazed at people's reactions to other modes of transportation running into delays. Have you run into flight delays or sat on a plane for long periods of time? If so, would you not fly ever again because of it? Why is the train so different?

 

[ilovefh]

Totally so NOT typical. Every once in a while the train is really late, but in our 3 previous trips, we were only 1.5 hours late getting in once. If you check their on-time performance now, it's early a lot, even if they hadn't changed the arrival times, they'd still be early or on time most of the time. Amtrak doesn't own the tracks or the power supplied to them. If it was the Amtrak equipment then that is Amtrak's responsibility, but other than that, it's out of their hands. Believe me, the crew didn't like it either. They swap out crews in SC around 1 am so everyone was inconvenienced.

It's kind of like the people who have sat on the tarmac at airports for hours, most of them go onto fly again so I'm always amazed at people's reactions to other modes of transportation running into delays. Have you run into flight delays or sat on a plane for long periods of time? If so, would you not fly ever again because of it? Why is the train so different?

Which is why I said I am sure our experience is not normal. Like I said, my parents still use the auto train and like it.

It was Amtrak's fault as it was whatever car that supplies the power to the whole train broke...twice. Two different cars. They exchanged the first one somewhere in Virgina and then exchanged again in NC. Both times we had to wait for crews to get to us. They told us it had to do with the ridiculous heat.

We've never run into any sort of delay that compares to this delay of eight hours.

Plus the time this involves makes the delay harder to swallow. When you drive 8 hours to get to the train and have 17 hours planned on the train and they add 8 hours to your travel time, it really hurts. When you drive 20 mins to the airport, have 3 hours planned to fly and they are delayed by an hour it isn't as hard to swallow.

We've never been stranded on a plane on the ground for hours on end, but I believe there is a new federal law about that?

 

[bdcp]

There is a new law, but it still happens. I wasn't referring to sitting in an airport for an hour, but just as frequently as what happened to you is the chance of getting stuck in an airport overnight due to weather, or even on the plane for several hours where the toilets don't work properly and they won't feed you and saying you'll never fly again. I just find it interesting that people react more strongly to being delayed on a train than they do to anything else.