NikitaZee
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2009
- Messages
- 2,533
Hi all - we got back this week from a great stay at the GF. We drove down from Massachusetts to Lorton, VA to catch the Auto Train. We left at 3:00am on a Saturday morning, and arrived in Lorton at around noon. We had stopped for breakfast but not lunch, so when we drove up to the gate the attendant advised us to check-in our seat tickets but not our car - once you check the car in, you can't leave the grounds with it. We checked in for our seats, and were able to choose the first dinner seating (5:00). The train was full, so the 7pm seating was already full, and there was a 9:00 seating added. We grabbed a bite to eat at the Burger King down the road, then came back and checked in our car. We got our overnight belongings, and waited in the waiting area until boarding at 2:30.
We had lower level coach seats - there were 12 seats in our car and there was another family with 3 children in it, as well as one older gentlemen. We all got along well; everyone (including us) had DVD players and laptops with headphones for quiet watching. There were outlets for every seat. The bathrooms were a few feet away from our seating area, with a sliding door in-between, so we didn't hear everyone as they used the bathroom. The seats were wide and comfortable, with a footrest that attached to the seat as you reclined it, as well as a small footrest bar that came down from the seat in front. We used them both, and were very comfortable sitting. Dinner was nice - everyone is called at once for their seating time and we walked upstairs to the dining car. The choices were chicken stuffed with broccoli, asian-style short ribs with mashed potatoes, a fish selection, and vegetable lasagna. I had the short ribs - they were very good. The kids had the breaded chicken strips and macaroni and cheese - surprisingly, none of my three liked it at all. We had brought snacks and such on board, so they nibbled later on. Dessert was cheesecake - pretty good - and there was white wine in a carafe - all you care to drink. As we walked back down to our seats after dinner, we realized how fortunate we were to have booked lower level. There were many more people in the upper coach cars, and there was a constant stream of traffic walking past as they sat in their seats. The lower level seats are self-contained - no one but the ones actually sitting in your car move in and out of it.
Lights were turned down at 9pm, although there are reading lights at each seat to continue reading, etc. This was the worst part of the trip for us - my husband and I could not get comfortable at all as far as sleeping in the seats. They did recline, and having a footrest helped, but you are still sitting up, and we just couldn't fall off for any length of time. Our kids were okay - there was actually room behind the seats were were in (the last row) to set up a sleeping-bag type thing on the floor for our 2 year old. He slept all night back there, and my husband ended up sleeping on the floor beside him for part of the night. We arrived early in Florida - 7:40am. DH and I were extremely tired - very luckily for us, there were 137 cars on the train and ours was the 5th one off. We really needed most of that day to shower, bathe the kids, and nap a bit as were were just too tired to do a day at the parks. MK was open until 2am that day - so we did go later and it worked out fine. I don't think we'd do it again without a sleeper compartment - I realize that I need to be able to lie down to get decent sleep.
The trip back home was pretty much the same - except that we were in a car with all senior citizens (one of whom told me that we shouldn't be in the lower level at all because it was just for seniors - which is not true). We were a little more self-conscious about keeping the kids quiet, but it worked out fine as they fell asleep around 9pm. DH and I again had a not-so-good night sleep, which we felt even more on the return trip as we had an 8 hour drive ahead of us. We made it, though, and our kids absolutely loved every minute of the Auto Train. They want to do it again next trip - but I think we'll fly if we can't afford to upgrade to the sleeper car. Sorry so long - I'll be glad to answer any questions anyone has!!
We had lower level coach seats - there were 12 seats in our car and there was another family with 3 children in it, as well as one older gentlemen. We all got along well; everyone (including us) had DVD players and laptops with headphones for quiet watching. There were outlets for every seat. The bathrooms were a few feet away from our seating area, with a sliding door in-between, so we didn't hear everyone as they used the bathroom. The seats were wide and comfortable, with a footrest that attached to the seat as you reclined it, as well as a small footrest bar that came down from the seat in front. We used them both, and were very comfortable sitting. Dinner was nice - everyone is called at once for their seating time and we walked upstairs to the dining car. The choices were chicken stuffed with broccoli, asian-style short ribs with mashed potatoes, a fish selection, and vegetable lasagna. I had the short ribs - they were very good. The kids had the breaded chicken strips and macaroni and cheese - surprisingly, none of my three liked it at all. We had brought snacks and such on board, so they nibbled later on. Dessert was cheesecake - pretty good - and there was white wine in a carafe - all you care to drink. As we walked back down to our seats after dinner, we realized how fortunate we were to have booked lower level. There were many more people in the upper coach cars, and there was a constant stream of traffic walking past as they sat in their seats. The lower level seats are self-contained - no one but the ones actually sitting in your car move in and out of it.
Lights were turned down at 9pm, although there are reading lights at each seat to continue reading, etc. This was the worst part of the trip for us - my husband and I could not get comfortable at all as far as sleeping in the seats. They did recline, and having a footrest helped, but you are still sitting up, and we just couldn't fall off for any length of time. Our kids were okay - there was actually room behind the seats were were in (the last row) to set up a sleeping-bag type thing on the floor for our 2 year old. He slept all night back there, and my husband ended up sleeping on the floor beside him for part of the night. We arrived early in Florida - 7:40am. DH and I were extremely tired - very luckily for us, there were 137 cars on the train and ours was the 5th one off. We really needed most of that day to shower, bathe the kids, and nap a bit as were were just too tired to do a day at the parks. MK was open until 2am that day - so we did go later and it worked out fine. I don't think we'd do it again without a sleeper compartment - I realize that I need to be able to lie down to get decent sleep.
The trip back home was pretty much the same - except that we were in a car with all senior citizens (one of whom told me that we shouldn't be in the lower level at all because it was just for seniors - which is not true). We were a little more self-conscious about keeping the kids quiet, but it worked out fine as they fell asleep around 9pm. DH and I again had a not-so-good night sleep, which we felt even more on the return trip as we had an 8 hour drive ahead of us. We made it, though, and our kids absolutely loved every minute of the Auto Train. They want to do it again next trip - but I think we'll fly if we can't afford to upgrade to the sleeper car. Sorry so long - I'll be glad to answer any questions anyone has!!
