Live from the autotrain to disney

[PEANUT1]

Thanks for the update from the train Peanut1.
Why do you feel as if you didn't sleep? Was it uncomfortable or noisy?
Have a wonderful stay at WDW

well it is a train so its pretty noisybut the reason I didn't sleep is because I am like the princess and the pea...I am a very light sleeper and have trouble falling asleep anyway. My girls and hubby slept really well.

 

[Mindy5767]

subbing! I'm glad you've decided to post about your autotrain experience. I've been considering it many times, but we just haven't done it yet. We realize if we take the autotrain, we'll save money if we take our Honda civic vs. my large mini-van. But we could still pack the car tight.

I'm wondering how you got to Lorton so fast from NJ? We live only about 40 minutes or so from Lorton and I thought it took a good 5 hours to get to New Jersey from here.

I had to share your husband's comment about "42"! My husband, and older son and daughter are always answering "42" to random questions. I'm glad it got you the room upgrade. Did it cost you anything? We are considering the autotrain to take my son back from college at Florida Tech. My husband could then go without me, as I don't drive stick so i'm no help driving down in his car.

 

[PEANUT1]

subbing! I'm glad you've decided to post about your autotrain experience. I've been considering it many times, but we just haven't done it yet. We realize if we take the autotrain, we'll save money if we take our Honda civic vs. my large mini-van. But we could still pack the car tight.

I'm wondering how you got to Lorton so fast from NJ? We live only about 40 minutes or so from Lorton and I thought it took a good 5 hours to get to New Jersey from here.

I had to share your husband's comment about "42"! My husband, and older son and daughter are always answering "42" to random questions. I'm glad it got you the room upgrade. Did it cost you anything? We are considering the autotrain to take my son back from college at Florida Tech. My husband could then go without me, as I don't drive stick so i'm no help driving down in his car.

Depends on where in Jersey you are going. Our GPS said about 3 hrs 15 minutes...it didn't cost anything to change rooms. The Family BR and deluxe br are the same price.

 

[PEANUT1]

Before I continue..here are a few more photos from the train.

our view from dinner

here are the girls in their bunks..they were very happy.

here we are at dinner

Well..when I last left off, we were close to arriving in Sanford, Fl. We arrived at around 845am. It took a while before we could unload. I guess it was closer to 915 before we disembarked...this was fine with me bc we were still 15 minutes ahead of schedule..now its time to wait and wait and wait and wait. There seems to be no pattern in cars coming off of the train..some were lucky and got their cars right away. Us, not so much We waited about an hour and 15 minutes. Luckily,our girls were real angels and it was a gloriously, beautiful sunny day.

We made our way to the Boardwalk villas and it took about an hour with no traffic. We checked in and our room was ready I had planned to suprised the girls with some little treats/toys in the room so I headed to the room while Bob took the girls on a tour of the hotel.

They were so surprised to see that "someone" had left a note on their door and goodies in their room. They squealed with such delight that it made my heart melt.

It is hard to see in the pic but it says "Surprise Abby and Belle"

Our room is very nice. It is clean. We are on ground level which I really like. We are close to the swan and dolphin and have a nice view of crescent lake and can see the boats going by all day.

 

[sjs314]

I just found your live TR, not sure why I did not realize about it yesterday but better late than never. Sounds like your trip got off to a good start, good to hear DH and girls had a good nights sleep, the food sounded decent. DH keeps saying he wants to take a trip across country by train , not sure about that at all.
Can not wait to read more

 

[PEANUT1]

I joining in too!

I'm from NJ also and I'm very interested in your adventures on the train, this is something we have considered also but we always end up flying (I just can't wait more than 2 1/2 hours to get to the best place on earth!).

Your family is beautiful!

I also wanted to say thank you - I noticed that you are a nurse at CHOP. My middle DD has epilepsey and we had to take her to CHOP several years ago for some tests. Everyone there was wonderful. You must be a special person to work there! BTW because of her experiences at CHOP my DD has decided to become a nurse!

Have a wonderful trip - you deserve it!

What a sweet thing to say..thank you We are a family of nurses...I met my hubby in nursing school

 

[sjs314]

As I was posting , you were updateing

Glad to hear you made it safe and sound to the BW.

 

[PEANUT1]

After we picked up our stroller that we rented from Magic Strollers, we took the lovely walk to Epcot. By this time it was after 1pm and we were pretty starving. We headed to England for fish and chips and sat and had a picnic in the rose garden. We all loved the fish and chips.

Belle's favorite ride in the whole wide world is Soarin. We went over and there was a long line. It was 50 mintues. The fast pass line was not for a return til way later..like 645. We decided to pass and head to "the vegetable ride"..aka living with the land. My girls totally love this silly little ride. We do it every time. After, we walked over and actually got in line for Soarin. This was to be Abby's first time able to ride The wait time was closer to an hour..but again, my girls were angels so it didn't seem so bad.

Once on the ride, my Abby boo was so cute, I barely watched the ride and mostly watched her...as soon as we soared up in the air she grabbed my arm and said "I love this mommy" and kissed my arm. That girl is beyone cute and lovable. The wait was soooo worth it.

We then headed to innoventions for our Disney Visa photo op. The girls also played a while in there as well.

We then made our way to Ellen's Energy Adventure..my kids totally loved this too. They really love science and learning. I think they get it from their grandmom who is a science teacher.

After this, we headed to Mexico to ride the Donald Duck boat ride and have dinner at San Angel Inn. My kids have wanted to eat here every time we come..finally they got their wish.

We had considered going to MK for evening EMH but with so much travel in the last day, we decided to head back to the Boardwalk. The girls had a bath, Bob went to get a few groceries for making breakfasts and I am sitting here Dissing and watching Sunday night football

Our plan for tomorrow is Hollywood Studios for rope drop. We have GAD vouchers that we plan to use for fast passes. This way we will get to ride Toy Story Mania like 3 times
I think we will stay til a little after lunch, let the girls come back to the hotel and swim and then head back in the evening to see Osbourne lights...at least that is the plan

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hey Andrea! Love the Live TR!! Have a great trip!
Your first day is awesome. Cute pictures and I'm glad Abby loved Soarin'. What a sweet thing she did/said to you!
May I just say how adorable those girls are??? Oh my gosh, they are cute!
I'm anxious to hear how you like Boardwalk. I'm thinking about someday staying there in the Villas. Good location for Epcot lovers like me!

 

[Mindy5767]

I see you are wearing capris with short sleeved shirts. That tells me that the weather must be warm, but not hot. Not too cool. looks good! I love your pic of dinner at San Angel Inn. It must have been neat to eat in there with the night sky atmosphere. I've wanted to do that one too, but never have. We always do that boat ride though. My DD8 loves the "vegetable ride" too! Her favorite is the Nine Pound Lemon! She loves lemon.

Can't wait to hear more about your trip as I'm packing for mine. We leave on Saturday and will arrive on Sunday. We're driving from Northern Virginia. We live a little north west of Lorton.

 

[Pumba's Truth]

Y'alls trip is really shaping up to be a great one .... It's really getting me in the spirit as we are heading out on Friday ...

Looking forward to hearing more ... do they do anything special for rope drop at DHS?

 

[Hopefully]

What a great day you had!! It sounds wonderful.
Can I jump back to just one (or two) auto train questions?
Are there more than one Lounge and Dining cars? Is there a separate one for the "sleeper" passendgers. Was there plenty of room to relax?
Hearing your trip report is helping us to think we may actually do this.
Thanks in Advance
Have a Great Day at HS

 

[j's m]

Thanks for the info about the train. We considered it after 9/11 because DH didn't want to fly, but I forced him. We can only go for 6 days, so I hate losing time on the train. So many people gave negative reports on the train, it's nice to hear a good one. Great pix too.

We visit CHOP at least once a year for my DS16 to visit Dr. Kaplan. But you don't look familiar. Only thousands of nurses there. Love the hospital, hate the parking.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

I'm joining in a little late but I read all of your report...LOVE IT! Hope you and your family have the most magical time! Can't wait for the next installment!

 

[chartle]

What a great day you had!! It sounds wonderful.
Can I jump back to just one (or two) auto train questions?
Are there more than one Lounge and Dining cars? Is there a separate one for the "sleeper" passendgers. Was there plenty of room to relax?
Hearing your trip report is helping us to think we may actually do this.
Thanks in Advance
Have a Great Day at HS

There are two separate lounge cars and two separate sets of dining cars.

Unless sleeper passengers got something different you really can't "lounge" in the lounge cars. There are booths along the walls kind of like the old style diners. Here's a pic.

and here's a pic of the dining car.

 

[drakes]

Enjoying your Live TR. Thank you for sharing. You're little girle are darling... So glad they enjoyed Soarin. When DD was their age she loved it, our last trip she did not

Have a great time at DHS!

 

[Hopefully]

Thanks for the Great Pictures Cartle!!! That is what I was thinking of in terms of the "Lounge Cars" but it is great to see an actual picture.

Peanut1, I look forward to hearing more about your trip
Thanks Again

 

[chartle]

Thanks for the Great Pictures Cartle!!! That is what I was thinking of in terms of the "Lounge Cars" but it is great to see an actual picture.

Peanut1, I look forward to hearing more about your trip
Thanks Again

I had a feeling that maybe you thought there were a bunch of chaise lounges like on an old luxury liner in the lounge car.

I have never been in a sleeper car at all but it seem like the coach passengers have more personal space to stretch out of anyone else. Some of the pics I have seen look like you are living in a small closet in the sleeper car.

 

[Monny2AE]

Great review of the autotrain! We've contemplated taking it but it is so expensive when you have an oversize vehicle.

Hope your trip is fantastic- love the special treats for the girls!!!

 

[Native NYer]

What a great first Disney day!
I'm enjoying your report. Can't wait to read more!