Tell me about the Amtrak Auto Train

[chartle]

We had looked online to see what prices are for this summer. For 4 adults and 2 children plus one oversized vehicle (minivan), it was about $1800 round-trip total, in coach. It is of course extra money for a roomette or a full room, but neither of these options would fit 6 people. So what you are saying for 2 adults and 2 kids with a regular size sedan may be true, under $1,000. Very possible.

The closer to your travel date the more it costs. If you would have priced it a few months ago it may have been $1500.

 

[bangzoom6877]

The closer to your travel date the more it costs. If you would have priced it a few months ago it may have been $1500.

Thanks! This is good to know. I will pass the info along to my sister and parents. We are booking next July's Disney trip this August, when I am at the 11-month mark for our DVC reservation, and when the new 2010 rates come out for the rest of the family to decide where they are going to stay.

About how far in advance can you purchase tickets for the auto train?

 

[chartle]

Thanks! This is good to know. I will pass the info along to my sister and parents. We are booking next July's Disney trip this August, when I am at the 11-month mark for our DVC reservation, and when the new 2010 rates come out for the rest of the family to decide where they are going to stay.

About how far in advance can you purchase tickets for the auto train?

I think a year?

 

[bangzoom6877]

I think a year?

Great! I will tell my sister and I'm sure she will begin looking this summer for next year's rates! Thanks so much again for all the info and advice! Everyone is so excited to go next summer!

 

[tinkerbell313]

We have travelled the Autotrain the last five summers. The price for our family of 6 (2 adults and 4 kids) and an overized van has ranged from $746 to $1050, depending on the year. For us, this is much cheaper than flying and a van rental for two weeks.

In the summer the kids usually travel freee (this year kids ar e$19 each way). AAA also provides a discount.

One trip our van did get scraped a little on the side. We were told to get an estimate and Amtrak promptly paid for the damage.

Steve

Did you pay for coachor for a roommette/family sleeper car? I priced it with the $19 for each child but for a family sleeper. I cannot sleep in coach seats. That is just me and the safety of my family. Others are comfortable there. The price was $1400 that included the SUV, the $19 per each kid, and two adults. This was for travel on a tuesday (I think the day you travel will affect the prices...it did for our plane tickets...much lower on a Tuesday)

That did not include the travel time to get to Lorton and that does not include the 2 extra days I have to take off from work (going down and coming back). That would be 2 extra vacation days...and I only get three weeks a year.

Our airplane tickets for this summer were $400 for a family of four (from Newark), our two week minivan rental with pickup and drop off right at MCO was $210 including taxes and fees and two booster seats. And, we traveled within half a day...so no extra time take off due to a 14 to 16 hour trip.

Airplane travel works for us...less expensive and less time. But, it doesn't work for everyone.

 

[3girls4me05]

Just a warning: My parents take the autotrain every year to FL. My father's spare change was stolen from the change holder in his car. Not a big deal in terms of money but annoying. Please be sure you leave nothing of value in the car. Take your ipods, GPS systems and any money with you on the train.

 

[fac]

Will amtrak price adjust?
I know we should book early, but also like to take the discount for kids in the summer...

 

[LisaNJ25]

Will amtrak price adjust?
I know we should book early, but also like to take the discount for kids in the summer...

If you don't get hard copies of the tickets issued.

OP... also be aware or delays... I know I have told my story before.. but out trip to florida never got in till 5pm and d our return train was canceled and we had to drive home. Just be prepared for the unexpected and possible delays.

That being said I would take it again in a heartbeat. I did the regular amtrak last year. We always go for coach seats. For my family of 6 it is less than flying.. Also I wont fly so that's not an option. Last trip on the autotrain we took was under $700 if I recall.

 

[Alexander]

I can't tell you how many times I have priced Amtrak, autotrain and not and the price is always equal to or much higher than flying and renting a car. I have looked really far in advance and really close to travel dates. I guess, I'm just not hitting good train travel dates.

 

[MikeyA50]

1. Is it necessary to get a room? Or are the chairs comfortable enough to sleep in? It is not necessary to get a sleeper. The chairs are comfy- bring a pillow and a fleece blanket and your good to go. Lights are out at 9 pm ish. If you bring a DVD player make sure you have earphones - they are required.

2. How is the food they serve? What do they offer for dinner and for breakfast? We have eaten in both coach and sleeper-- the food is good in both. Difference is in sleeper you have actual china and wine served. Selections are good. -- not as previously reported as microwaved food. Seating is 5, 7 or 9 pm. Your time is selected at checkin at the station.

3. Do you have to wait a very long time to get your car when you arrive in Sanford, FL? For those of you who have been on the Auto Train, how long did you have to wait for your car? As op stated your car can come off in any order. The last 2 years we were lucky to be cars 5 and 3. We have also been almost last which can be close to an hour if it is a full train
4. How long a drive is it from the train station to WDW property? From Sanford to Disney is approximately 30 mins. Straight across on I4
5. Was there any damage done to your car from being on the auto train? We have traveled for 5 yrs on the autotrain w/ no damage to our vehicle. They do video tape your vehicle before loading
6. How did you feel when you got off the train? How much time did you need to recuperate from the ride? Or did you feel well-rested? We feel fairly good- the kids sleep like rocks bc they have been up since 2 am. They sometimes state that they still feel like they are on the train rocking a bit. DH and I sleep fairly well too-- we usually are up during the night to switch seats to sleep next to DS2. I don't think it would matter how we felt-- we are heading to disney and can't wait to get there!
7. Could you walk around the train while traveling? Are there places on the train to go to or do you just stay in your chair and then go to sleep after the dinner is over? Yes you can walk around the train- just not able to walk from coach to sleepers. There is a lounge car each for coach and sleepers. In the lounge car there is tables-- can play cards or just hang out and people watch. We find the trains schedule works for us. Leave Lorton by 4 pm - earlier if all loaded. dinner is 5, 7 or 9 pm. We usually get the kids ready for bed by 8 pm( they have been up since 2 am!) Then we hang out for a while usually reading or watching a dvd. We go to sleep- get up around 630 am and see where we are -- early or late arrival- if early we head for breakfast- late we go back to bed for a bit. After breaksfast we pack our stuff up and anxiously wait to hit disney. I find time is broken up fairly well-- the kids bring their video games/dvd player to keep amused.
8. Would you ever take the auto train again? Yes we would. We are returning for our 5th trip to WDW via the autotrain. We are a family of 7 and it is a much better way to travel than flying-- cheaper too. Our children love to travel by the autotrain- it has become part of our trip to disney- not just a mode of transportation. We know that there can be delays in the train or early arrivals too. Last yr our return train was cancelled due to TS fay. DH and I looked at each other for a few seconds debating about driving home-- nahh-- we are staying. We got the next available train out 5 days later. Yah we could have drove home but we opted for the train. You have to experience it to see if you like it. Every one is going to have a different opinion. With all the stuff you have to go thru to fly we prefer to use the train.

DH works for amtrak so that is why we use it but we have also decided that we would still travel the autotrain if we had to pay for it. The farther you book your trip the cheaper it is. There is a promo running for kids to travel for $19 this summer. If you have any ?'s I would be happy to answer them

I have looked but can't find the $19 special for kids.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I gave my sister all the info that everyone told me here and she was very appreciative, so thank you everyone for sharing your experiences! Everyone is very excited to be going to Disney next summer!

We spoke about our trip today and we began planning our itinerary. DH, myself and our 2 sons will be driving down from NYC, and meeting my parents and sister. We all spoke and agreed to visit our relatives in Boca Raton before going to Disney. So we will be meeting up down there, staying for 2 nights, then driving up to Disney. We stay 10 nights at Boardwalk Villas (DVC), but my parents and sister will be staying 4 nights. We will be going to Epcot and MK together, but they will also spend one day going to Sea World (we are not going to Sea World yet until the boys are older...they will be 3 and 5 next year when we travel). On the day they go to Sea World, we will either have a non-park day and relax by the pool and Community Hall and maybe Downtown Disney for some shopping, or we will go to DHS for the day. On their day of checkout, we will make it a non-park day so we can enjoy breakfast with the family, and maybe we will go to Downtown Disney before they all drive to Sanford to catch the train. Then DH, the boys and I will continue with our Disney trip which will be 6 nights longer after everyone else leaves to go home.

Again, thanks everyone for all the great information! Now all we have to do is choose the exact dates in July 2010 and we will book in August 2009!

 

[tinkerbell313]

I have looked but can't find the $19 special for kids.

If they are still offering the price, I believe you have to call in to request it...its not a price offered online. Why? I don't know.

 

[fac]

I have looked but can't find the $19 special for kids.

I believed the special ended some time in the middle of June.

 

[toystorymom]

The kids ride for $19 special was available online, it was listed on the Deals or Specials page. I believe it had to be booked by June 19th though, which would explain why it's no longer there. The last few years it was "kids ride free" during the summer.

I also wanted to add my 2 cents. We are a family of 5 and have taken the AutoTrain. As for cost, we paid just around $700 each time for the 5 of us and the minivan. No way could we fly and rent a car for that. We get Coach seats since we couldn't fit in one room and I would never pay for two. The kids slept all night, the adults got off and on sleep but overall not too bad. The food was more than decent. We brought games, books, movies, and were able to pass the time very quickly. Best part about the AT vs. driving - you don't have to pull over and find a restaurant or rest stop everytime someone has to go to the bathroom!!!

We felt very well rested when we arrived at Disney. Our car was one of the first off. Our room was not ready when we arrived so we decided to explore the resort, hang around at the pool. Once we got into our room, we showered, got ours stuff situated and we headed to the MK, had a nice sit down dinner, and stayed til closing. We were at the parks everyday for the next week. No long lasting tiredness.

We have also driven several times in the past. That is much more tiring than the AT, especially for DH who usually ends up doing the majority of the driving.

As for delays, one of our trips we arrived about 2 hours late, another about an hour early. Obviously the same issues are possible for driving and flying - not something you can ever rule out.

Hope they have a good trip. I would suggest they book early but don't get hard copies of tickets. Then if the summer deal comes out they can cancel and rebook at the better price.

 

[Monny2AE]

This thread is great! We're considering the AT for our Jan trip.

Does anyone have any pictures of what it looks like on the inside? I'd love to see what the seats and sleeping areas look like.

TIA