have you ever taken the train to fl?

[kandb]

My family (dh, me and 3 year old b/g twins) took the autotrain this past October. It was an adventure. We got a family sleeper and the kids really loved it. We looked out the windows a lot and took in some scenery. Dinner was great (we had steak) and having our own room was really wonderful. If you call autotrain you have a code and I think you get a 25% discount. The code is V515 and it is from orlandoinfo.com. It is the only code for getting a discount on the train. I did a lot of research. Also, book as soon as possible as the prices go up as the train gets more crowded. It was fun but this year we are going the end of April and driving down, to try that and save money. Good luck, Linda

 

[PA Princess]

Like several here, we also tried the autotrain for the first time this past September. We opted only to take the train to FL and to drive home. The train was certainly a good experience and we have many happy memories. However, I am not sure we will choose this option again for FL travel (plan is to fly for our next trip in September).

The positive...great overall atmosphere from beginning to end. The waiting at the Sanford station was very pleasant and clean and nice...kids played on the playground, we bought a post card, talked to some train people. The food and entertainment included in the train were all very nice and a real perk. Trains in general (even restrooms) were clean and maintained. Some gorgeous scenery on the trip south including lots of water. Dinner was a big highlight for all of us...just really tasty and fun with the scenery and all in the dining car.

The bad....
The rails are bumpy and noisy. We were fine the first part of the trip, but I swear somewhere in the middle of the night the driver started off roading ;-) The speed picked up and the car in front of us made a huge racket and bounced in a distubing way! Just a tip, experienced train travelers with MP3 players were far less bothered by the noise.

Also, we had coach seats for us and 4 kids (ages dd1, dd5, ds10, and ds11), and while it was true that we could have all moved to have our own separate seats, I just was not comfortable doing that. It had not occurred to me until we were on the train, but the thought that someone could come up to one of my girls (1 and 5) asleep on their own seat while I was zonked on my own seat just really creeped me out! So dh sat with dd 1 (in her car seat for comfort, not safety) and I sat next to dd 5 while the two boys were together...not as comfy, but I felt the girls were safer.

We paid more overall to go by train one way and drive home to PA (with a hotel stop) than we would to fly, and that included an auto train special where all 4 kids travled free (though we paid additional for our vehicle since a mini van is considered oversized). We did not feel a real need for our car on property this trip and we did well when we used Disney to and from the airport the year before, so I think we will stick to flying in the furture. But I am glad to be able to say we experienced the auto train

 

[hollyb]

A huge thank you to all who answered my many questions. We can't wait to go in May.

 

[mommiepoppins]

what are the prices of the auto train? what is the web site?

 

[FSUDisneyGirl]

i LOVE LOVE LOVE the auto train!!!

we live in florida and have used it to visit family in new jersey. it leaves (i believe) late afternoon, and arrives the next morning! so basically, you sleep while the train drives from VA to FL for ya!

we did this a few years ago...the food was good, definitely get the free snacks! one time when we were on the train they had the completely glass car (observatory car?) and you could sit and see all the beautiful scenery. if we went again we would probably get a cabin (more comfortable to sleep lying down, and no crying babies to worry about!) but the seats were fine. they also seemed to seat people according to family type- families with small kids were near eachother, adults only would be in another section or car, etc. not sure if they still do that.

if you're able to make anything into an adventure, your kids will love it!

 

[WDWBoundAgain]

I priced the auto train once for the heck of it. If we lived close to the auto train it would be more expensive flying including rental for the week. We took the train with coach class seating and paid less than $250 for the 3 of us.