Train to WDW

[sgtpet]

Just curious to hear if anyone has taking the train from the Northeast to WDW. I would enjoy hearing about your experiences. Compare to driving and flying would be good to know too.

Thanks

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

We were going to take the train from upsate New York a year or so ago but found that it cost more than flying Southwest out of Albany. We thought it would provide nice family time. But after comparing the price and time, we realized we would rather have the nice family time at WDW instead of on the train. So we switched.

HBC

 

[DeeDeeDis]

Well we've done all three. Flying is quick, and with sw the price is great even with a family of five.

I always have enjoyed a good road trip, so i like driving too, enjoy stoping in DC to visit a museum or two and the monuments. Have also stopped in Charleston and Hilton Head, Have driven 95, 301 & 17. didn't mind any of them, well okay i'm not crazy about the turnpike in New York/New Jersey. If you leave at the right time, you can avoid almost all prime time traffic. Take your time, take alot of short rests, and stop when your tired.

The Train, DS#1 and I took the Auto-train from Sanford, Fl to DC last Dec, i really enjoyed that experience. Found it very relaxing, we had a sleepette (the smallest sleepers) Left the DC train station around 9am and were home in Western Mass before 6pm. I would do this again anyday. My 19 year old son is still whining about this- he hated it. If i get the opportunately to do this again, i would try coach to save a little money.

Back in 89 i took amtrak from Sprinfield, Ma to Ocala, Fl (actually only made it as far as DC due to a derailment & missing connection). That i did not enjoy, way too long of a trip to be sitting in a coach train, the staff were soo rude, and the most unhelpful people i have every come across, and you got to the what i love to call "the arm pit" of the east, the train does not travel past the most beautiful parts of the east coast. The Auto-train is a much nicer train.

Let me know if you have any questions
deb

 

[Tigger031266]

My wife is affraid to fly so she always goes by train twice per year. She loves it. It is expensive but get the sleeper for sure. Its like $1000 for 1 but only like $200 extra for the second person. This sounds expensive but compare and remeber its like a hotel and all meals are included:

To drive: $250 for gas, $250 hotels, Food $200. wear and tear on the car (if your car cost 15K and last for 100K miles it is 2K to disney so thats $300. And you have to drive.

Plane: $200 x 2 people = $400. But you miss the scienery.

Train: $1200

The train station is Orlando is not that nice but there is lots of cabs. Its not too bad.

 

[pklein09]

We're a family of 6. We took Amtrak R/T from Trenton to Orlando in Nov 2003. It wasn't bad. The train was an hour late, we hit a deer outside Richmond, but for the most part, the train managed to keep to the 1 hour late schedule. The return trip was slightly worse. There was a passenger that had to be removed in Virginia. That cost us close to 2.5 hours. By that point, we just wanted to get home.

We took the train again in Dec 2004. We were over 4 hours late. It was absolutely miserable. We were on the train for 25 hours. We were stuck behind a broken freight train due to a switching problem. We were stopped for over an hour and then they had to back us out. Due to the hurricanes last season, there is only one set of tracks in certain areas, so we had to wait our turn. We flew back in December and got refunded for the return trip.

I think given our experiences with Amtrak, I'd drive with 4 kids rather than take the train again. We're in central Jersey and have easy access to 3 airports, and would consider driving to BWI if fares were significanly cheaper.

Hope this helps.

 

[tinksgirl]

I have done it 2 times,once with Dh and kids once on my girlfriend only trip I take the acela from Boston actually Rte 128 station to Penn Station change over to the sleeper train from Penn to Orlando.I LOVE the trip when i was young my dad used to drive across country for vacations so sitting in the sleeper car watching the states go by is kind of soothing for me.The cool part is once you get settled in your sleeper its almost dinner time,have a few drinks with dinner go back to sleeper chill out fall asleep (if you can the train rock and roll and the horn blows all night)when you wake in the a.m. go to breakfast ,read walk the train and before you know it your there.I dont think its cost efective,much cheaper to fly or drive.I would never do it in coach. there is 1 shower stall in each sleeper car i always woke early to get in it not really a problem out of both trips my party were the only ones i saw using it ewww again be ready to rock in roll in there too!I met some very cool people traveling by train some weird ones too,but i would do it again in a heartbeat just be prepared to be late train travel and on time dont go together.

 

[Laura24]

never do it again. Traveled from Amsterdam (NY) to St. Pete and it was absolute misery. End of June, the air conditioning broke down in our car when we hit Washington, train too full to move until we it Jacksonvlle. Since the windows don't open, it was unbearable. 32 hours on that train, I was so motion sick by the time we were into day two. Needless to say, we refunded our return tickets and flew home. I know these are all circumstances beyond control, but I'd rather be comfortable and there in a few hours. Fly or in the least, drive if you want to catch the scenery.

 

[Henlady]

I believe that opinions on train travel are either you LOVE it or HATE it . We have traveled to Florida many times on the AutoTrain, beginning when my children were 5 and 7yo (they are now 22 & 23). We LOVE traveling by AutoTrain. I look at the travel part of our trip as part of the vacation, not just a means of getting there. I am not particularly fond of flying, but will if necessary. On the AutoTrain, there are no stops to pick up or drop off other passengers. The only "stop" is at around midnight in Florence SC to drop off/pick up crew. We have only been delayed twice on our many trips once in January 2004, when we were about 2 1/2 hrs late arriving in Lorton, VA due to traffic delays on the tracks, but hey we were just going home and in no big hurry. The other time was about 1 1/2 hrs at Richmond in Oct 2001 due to someone leaving a suspicious bag unattended in the Richmond Station and all traffic was stopped until the bomb squad was called in to check it out, but the engineer made up the time and we were only about 1/2 hr late getting into Sanford in the morning. We have always traveled coach, but for our trip in October 2005, we have a roomette and I am looking forward to that. If you book far enough ahead, the rates are not too bad. We booked in February for our October trip, the lowest price for 2 adults, car and with roomette($99 additional each way), AAA discount was $719.20. The roomette on the trip down went up to $299 just a week ago, so prices can jump up considerably closer to the trip.
If you can just "go with the flow", and not worry about how much time it is going to take, you might enjoy the trip. It's a nice way to unwind and relax before your trip and to be able to rest up after that hectic vacation.

Kris

136 Days till our 30th Anniversary Cruise and 4 days at PO-R

 

[Straughn]

Add DH and me to the those who have taken the auto train and love it. It is sooooo much better than dealing with airport security and worrying about his golf clubs arriving safely! We also did the math and, depending on the exact price of the train/sleeper, the difference has always been less than $200 more than flying. Just to have our own car and not have to worry about what we pack where is worth every penny of the difference.

Since we are DVC members, we can bring all of our non-perishables with us and not have to make a stop once we are in Orlando.

However, if someone is prone to motion sicknees, this may not be the answer. There is an awful lot of rockin and rollin at night when you are trying to sleep.

 

[disneycrazed139]

The train is a great alternative if you like to enjoy a long ride. If you book several months in advance you can get a deep discount on both fare and a sleeper car which is additional. The dining car is fun for the kids, too. Amtrak typically runs late, but it is still a fun ride if you are not in a rush. If you can, take a shower on board and eat in the dining car.