has anyone taken the amtrak to orlando?

[ShellyMouse]

hi!
we are planning our next trip for this coming x-mas.....we are in michigan, we drove this past time. my dd did great on the 2 1/2 day drive there.

my dh & dd (6), want to fly, but i'm sooooo afraid to fly! and i hate that dh is stuck driving the whole way.(his choice though not to share the wheel)

i'm thinking the amtrack might be cool. i checked it out, it would take about 40 hours to get there (sat morn. to monday morn), but no bathroom stops, no hotels to check into, dh doesn't have to drive. my dd would love it! it would be almost a vacation inside a vacation. and if you get a bedroom on the train, your meals are included. so its about the same $$$$ as gas, food, and hotels.

has anyone done this, tell me about your experience.

btw~ our train would leave holland, mi to chicago to wash. dc to orlando.

thanks!!

 

[Bob P]

Hi,

If you do a search on this board or "Amtrak" you will find many threads on the topic. Here's one:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1027836&highlight=amtrak


Here's another:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1022315&highlight=amtrak


Bob

 

[ShellyMouse]

thanks a bunch, i tried to do a search but got nothing

thanks again!

 

[Capt_BJ]

there once was a sticky thread here about Auto-Train too....you might try searching for that

Auto-train might allow you a split decision...drive half and ride half. I did it once

Pluses

• cost wasn't really bad - but my circumstance was different, I used it to ship a car from FL to VA and in that case the cost could not be beat.
• cost includes 2 meals and a bed (if you go for a sleeper or better); and dinner was pretty damn good at that; and there is a lounge car
• while in Orlando you have your own car...no extra cost there
• In the sleeper portions of the train, there are showers....
• my basic sleeper for 2 did allow privacy and the ability to stretch out completely.
• I like trains ... it was my first long ride in 40 years.

Not so plus

• My basic sleeper was in theory for 2 .... http://tinotopia.com/things/cars/austin_autotrain.htm (this is not my story, but my experience was VERY similar)
• my 'room' was in the first car behind the engine...whose whistle sounded for grade crossings approximately every 67.5 seconds. Sleep? Maybe you....
• The lounge car was taken over by two loud families whose kids ran about and pretty much chased anyone else out. I retired to my closet which seemed to be common thing as the many repeat customers were identifyable by the fully stocked coolers and other diversions they'd brought along.
• The trip from Lorton to Sanford is better than 12 hours vice what, 2 in the air?
• lesser but - think of where the train tracks run today...scenery? not really, but then most of the run is at night anyway.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've used Amtrak extensively the last 6 years, many WDW trips. We're in northeastern Ohio and its about 27 hours for us. I've posted our experiences many times but most were all enjoyable. We've driven long ago and have flown, something I'm not comfortable with, and now I rely on the train. Reserved coach is not that bad, seats are comfortable, even for sleeping at least one night. Other commuters are the most problem, unruly children, loud adults and cell phones. Most trips are really quiet though. We pack food, gameboy, books and drinks and take a blanket. I've read on the Amtrak web site that some trains will have a quiet car, no noise and no kids but haven't experienced one yet. It's only me and the wife and for the second leg of the trip, Washington to Kissimmee, we have the roomette sleeper, small cell, sleeps only 2, upper and lower and toilet and includes meals. We board at Washington around 3 or 4 pm and after dinner, beds are turned down and by 10am we're about 1 hour out of Kissimmee after breakfast. Barring delays, and there have been, we're usually in Kissimmee by 11 am and at WDW by noon. We like it, we're refreshed and no car hassles, no airline cancellations or closings, need no rent a car, taxi from Kissimmee is about 37 bucks one way, its still morning and the Florida sun is shining.

 

[ShellyMouse]

peep~ which is closer to WDW, the orlando station or the kissimmee train station? $37 isn't bad.

also, i was wrong about it being cheaper, thats only if you get the coach seats. we will have 2 nights, so a bed would probably be needed, don't ya think?

i priced it out on their site and if we get 1 coach seat, and 1 roomette, my dh and myself could switch with dd to sleep. it would be a $$$ difference of $1208.00. i called, and they said we could do that. (i can sleep anywhere, so i was thinking, my dh and dd could have the bed.)

how are the tracks? really bumpy?

thanks alot!

 

[padisneylover]

I can only speak for Washington to Orlando since we get on in Philadelphia. The tracks are really not rough enough to bother you. There is two places where the train slows for the tracks but they have been working on them since our last trip a year ago and they maybe improved.
We always get off in Orlando but you will find a lot who get off in Kississime. We find that it is faster to get to the resort but then again that is only our own opinion having gotton off at both.
You might want to check the price of a deluxe sleeper for the three of you. It is not that much more and you could all sleep on the last leg of your trip and be refreshed when you arrive. In the deluxe sleeper the lower birth is large enough when down to sleep to adults. I sleep on the bottom with my husband once somebody told me this and there is plenty of room. Granted he is not a real big person but large enough and I do take up a lot of room Also, there is a seperate bathroom in the deluxe sleeper.
The train ride is great way to travel to Disney.
If you have AAA don't forget to use your discount that you get with it.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Sleeping in reserved coach is really not that bad, we board in Ohio at 1:30 am on say a Friday and don't arrive in Kissimmee until Saturday around 10:30am. We used to do the complete trip coach but now, with our reward points from train travel, use roomette sleeper on the Washington to Kissimmee leg, just using the sleeper for night time saves a ton of money and staying in coach during the day part is not that bad.

We always get off in Kissimmee, station is always less crowded, nicer part of town then Orlando and as for cab fare, last trip due to Wilma, we were forced to board at Orlando since Kissimmee and stations south were closed and moving to Pop to ride out the hurricane, we took a cab from Pop to Orlando station and we rode for almost 45 minutes or longer and fare was 65.00, big difference over 38.00 fare to Kissimmee. Kissimmee is about 20 minutes further down the tracks but in my opinion, closer and cheaper and nicer by far. Also returning home, there are not that many boarding and it's quite easier to get on there. When we used Orlando station, there were about 100 people scrambling to get on in coach, we used the sleeper coming home and there were only about 10 of us lined up for that car, standing out in the Florida sun, in a long line with a bunch of people dragging suitcases tries ones nerves.

I honestly don't feel a sleeper is needed for the whole trip and not really necessary at all. Coach seats recline, alot of room around seats, great viewing, and the club car is great for a different perspective during travel. During the trip, depending where your car is located, walking from the sleeper to a coach car or dining or club car can be a long trek, I've seen many travelers searching for their seat in the wrong car, all cars and seats look alike, hard to count cars and guess where you're at or going.

During station stops where we switch train, Washington, we use the Red Cap service for hauling our bags, you just tip them, and they take to to the train and your car before all the others who will have to wait in line to board, usually they take you as soon at the train empties from previous trip and we've sat in our seats in a car with no one else for about 15 minutes before all the others are allowed to line up and board. Hope some of this info helps, our next trip is scheduled for September and tickets for 2 aound trip is 427.00, better than us driving and cheaper.

 

[ShellyMouse]

thanks so much for all the info peep!

i think this would be a great choice for us. i just keep having flashbacks of when i rode the "city of new orleans" train from chicago to NO. we had a deluxe bedroom in the last car on the upper level! omg! 18 hours of swaying back and forth, i was sure we were going to tip over and die, lol!

hopefully it wouldn't feel like that in a coach seat (i'm assuming they are tword the front)

do you know how fast the train travels when its at full speed.

sorry to keep bugging you with this. thanks alot!!

 

[pepe of ohio]

The rail system is alot better now, contunious rail, welded joints, no clickety-clack and the north-south train I hardly noticed any sway. In a sleeper, the moderate motion sort of lulls you to sleep.

The coach, is the car where you sit, two by two, with an aisle down the middle. Then there's the club car and dining car and the sleeper cars. Reserved coach is where most people book, reclining seat, leg rest and foot rest with reading lights. Quite comfortable for on night and plenty of room around the pair of seats.

Train can run up to 90 miles an hour in some stretches, slows down for towns and really depends on the tracks and traffic. Since CSX owns the rails, their freight trains have the right of way and Amtrak waits on the siding. In the southern states, it hauls butt. You can see I-95 along the tracks and you're blowing by the cars lickety split. Great excursion, nice scenery most of the time and a pleasant way to start a vacation.
if ya want more, ask away.

 

[ShellyMouse]

when i took the CONO train it was back in 1994, so the tracks may have been updated.

90 miles an hour??????? oh my. not sure i like that. i am on meds for anxiety/panic attacks, that might not be so good for me, i scare easily.

hmmmmm, i'll keep thinking about it.

thanks again.

 

[pepe of ohio]

Panic and aniexty or the reasons why I don't fly, meds work on flights but do not like taking them.

The train speed is hardly noticeable, most of the time, its going at a nice clip. Few spots, mostly at night it flys.

The train cars are so big, rails up graded, no rock or sway, where the rails would sway alot the train slows to a crawl.

I can get on the train, no fear, no aniexty, no qualms about traveling 1200 miles to the happiest place on earth. A good book, some snacks and sandwiches and drinks, and a blanket, you just relax, sit back and watch the world go by and all your problems. We used to drive, and that is a big pain to me, too much stress over everything and worrying about getting there and then the long, boring, depressing drive home. Doesn't matter if you take 1 day, 2 days or 3 its a long drive. Flying is too good to be true but not worth the hassle for me, as long as Amtrak is still in business, I'll always be a customer and have a way to WDW. Wife doesn't care either way and just goes along with my quirks.

 

[NCHeel23]

I've never been on a train before so I'm really ignorant to this. How would I get from Station to Resort and back?

 

[MdmMim]

A good book, some snacks and sandwiches and drinks, and a blanket, you just relax, sit back and watch the world go by and all your problems.

My sentiments, exactly!! I love taking the train! It's part of my vacation, and I look forward to it.

I've never been on a train before so I'm really ignorant to this. How would I get from Station to Resort and back?

Taxi, shuttle, towncar, bus, rental car.