Using AMTRAK Looking for information

[tarasdad]

My family and I will be going to WDW in April traveling on AMTRAK . We will be going from Boston to Orlando. Are there any folks out there that have used AMTRAK in the past few months? I have read the AMTRAK boards and most of the posts talk about the Autotrain. We will be on the Silver Meteor from New York to Orlando. If anyone has any comments or helpful hints I would appreciate them. Things like delay issues, comfort issues etc. We will not have a roomette or sleeper. Just reserved seats. 79 days until we arrive and four very excited people. Thanks to all who can help.

Bill

 

[QT Pooh]

I have never taken the train so I can't help you there, but I did want to pass along the Amtrak discount code from the Orlando Magicard - it's V515, if you didn't already know. It's supposed to give 20% off the best available rate.

 

[cyberfilly]

Hey QT Pooh,

I called Amtrak today to try to book a reservation using the Orlando Magicard code V515, and they said it expired in December 06. Does anyone else have a current Orlando Magicard discount code for Amtrak?

 

[tedhowe]

Hey QT Pooh,

I called Amtrak today to try to book a reservation using the Orlando Magicard code V515, and they said it expired in December 06. Does anyone else have a current Orlando Magicard discount code for Amtrak?

As far as I know, there isn't one. I don't believe Amtrak has renewed the promotion with Orlando Magicard.

I tried to use it when I booked our upcoming Autotrain reservation back in July, and they wouldn't give it to me because the agreement with Magicard was supposed to end 12/31 - before our scheduled departure date.

 

[mommiepoppins]

i would like to know if you were getting a rental car and how do you get it from the train station?

 

[Andrew_Lubow]

I've used Amtrak coach often from Newark, NJ to Orlando. Generally I've found the train is about 3 hours late getting to Orlando and an hour and a half late on it's pickup in Orlando returning North. If you plan to use sleepers remember I'll only talking from a coach rider's point of view. If you're not in a rush and can aquire a taste for train travel you'll enjoy it. Remember you'll overnight on the train. First off luggage. Each station handles it differently. If you have baggage service at your point of departure Orlando has a baggage service that you can pick it up at. But check to see if your baggage will be transferred. To another train if you don't have thru service. If you need to carry baggage on there are overhead racks and a small area at the end of the coach luggage can be stowed.

Each coach has approx 50 seats two on each side of the aisle. If you've used airline seats these are much wider with ample legroom. All seats recline, have a pullout for lounging/sleeping and a small tray built into the seat ahead of you. Some of the newer coaches have a 110 volt socket on the wall. Keep in mind tho the electric runs only while the train is moving and definitely bring a travel surge protector for voltage spikes. Each coach has two bathrooms. There's a handicapped and a small non handicapped one. Shower? None, only the sleeper cars have access to a small stall. Cleanliness of the bathrooms depends on your coachmates. I've been on trips where they were fairly good the length of travel and some where they were a mess in a short time. While they are cleaned periodically along the route they won't be as clean as they were when the left their departure station. Generally the coaches I've been on were comfortable but you will need to get your sea legs if you plan to move between coaches or in you car. Smoking? NONE! Only at station stops,

What about food? First off you can bring your own but Amtrak won’t refridgerate it so plan accordingly. There’s a dining car on the train where you can get plated meals with several seatings a day. You’ll make ADR’s while the train is moving for dinners. Breakfasts and lunches generally can be done as walk-in but peak time of days may require waits. There’s also a lounge car where you can get light meals as well as drinks that usually open for food service from 6 AM till midnight tho the car is open 24/7 if you just want a place to talk after lights out on the coach. Prices are on a par with WDW sit down and over the counter restaurants.

Can you sleep on a train? I can but I’m a sound sleeper. Remember even on good roadbed the train rocks and there is rail noise. Also the train takes on passengers in the middle of the night at some stations. The conductors do try to load cars by destination so usually there’s a minimum of disturbance by boarding passengers. Between 9-10 PM cabin lights will be dimmed to allow sleeping but you’ll have a personal aircraft style light overhead for reading. Again food service on the lounge car is over at midnight but you can still sit there if you need to.

Some notes on the Orlando station. It’s older but maintained with an air conditioned waiting room, restrooms and vending machines. If you’re using baggage service to or from your point of departure the baggage service is at the end of the platform. Taxis will be waiting or you can use prearranged town car service. Hertz is there but you’ll be taken offsite to their lot for your car rental.

 

[LakeAriel]

Up until 10/05 I took Amtrak once or twice a year to Disney. I was afraid to fly. Then they added magical express.. hmm free transportation to the resort and learned to defeat the fear. I beg of you, get a sleeper car! You are coming from Boston so you will be in the seat for about 4 extra hours. The first time I went I was with my daughter, her friend (both teen girls) and myself. We went coach. Going was bearable, coming back I had a stranger lying on my shoulder snoring. Not for me. Guys can probably deal better. My sister went with us once, went coach to save money and the toilet overflowed in her car before we got out of Maryland.
After that I always got a sleeper car, booked 10 months in advance so they were reasonably priced (still as much as airfare) and enjoyed it to a point. It was just my daughter and I so we could deal with the little hidden potty and the bunk style bed arrangement. It took at least 24 hours coming and going but I learned to use the time to de-stress and the motion of the train was great for sleeping. Meals are included in the sleeper car and they were pretty good. About 7 years ago when I started you got a morning paper, water and beverage and snack in the evening and excellent service from your car assistant. Things started going downhill 2 years ago. The TV's were broken, the buzzers and intercoms didn't work, AC so so, etc. Amtrak is in big financial trouble so unless something has changed you may not be a happy camper. You can try to upgrade onboard for a lot less money. Go for it! That's my experience with Amtrak. Some great trips, more recent troubling ones and flying is only 2 and half hours!!!!!

 

[tarasdad]

I want to thank all of the fine folks who have replied. The replies makes one have several differant emotions.

Andy's post was very encouraging except for the 3 hours late thing, but we are supposed to get there at about 1:00pm so if we were 3 hours late it would not be a real bad thing. The rest of Andy's reply makes it sound like a good experiance. I have arranged for a town car service for transportation to our Disney resort and the thought of being 3 hours late does cause me concern for that part of the plan. Hopefully we can let the car service know if there is a going to be a long delay.

LakeAriel, the price of a sleeper is a little out of my price range. There are 4 of us so hopefully we will be seated with each other and not a snoring stranger.

I grew up with my grandfather who worked for the Southern Railway, so I traveled by trains often as a youth. I thought I would be a good experiance for my wife and daughter to take a long trip on the train. We have always flown on our other Disney trips. I see this train trip as part of life's lessons. Even if it is not a good experiance, it will be a memory to look back on and hopefully my daughter can tell her children some day.

I am still very much looking forward to this adventure and knowing that WDW is the pot of gold at the end of the journey should ease any aggrevation caused by AMTRAK problems.

Thanks again everyone.

Bill

 

[tarasdad]

Whooops

 

[boston1029]

We just took the train last week. We were in a roommette which was nice for the privacy , but it can be expensive. We arrived on time on the way down and the train was on time picking it up in Florida. My dh loved it since we always drive(I hate to fly). We were able to relax and sleep. I would bring snacks and drinks for the trip. The food was ok, nothing to write home about, but we had to eat. We're going to be doing it again in April when we take our kids.

 

[LakeAriel]

I want to thank all of the fine folks who have replied. The replies makes one have several differant emotions.

Andy's post was very encouraging except for the 3 hours late thing, but we are supposed to get there at about 1:00pm so if we were 3 hours late it would not be a real bad thing. The rest of Andy's reply makes it sound like a good experiance. I have arranged for a town car service for transportation to our Disney resort and the thought of being 3 hours late does cause me concern for that part of the plan. Hopefully we can let the car service know if there is a going to be a long delay.

LakeAriel, the price of a sleeper is a little out of my price range. There are 4 of us so hopefully we will be seated with each other and not a snoring stranger.

I grew up with my grandfather who worked for the Southern Railway, so I traveled by trains often as a youth. I thought I would be a good experiance for my wife and daughter to take a long trip on the train. We have always flown on our other Disney trips. I see this train trip as part of life's lessons. Even if it is not a good experiance, it will be a memory to look back on and hopefully my daughter can tell her children some day.

I am still very much looking forward to this adventure and knowing that WDW is the pot of gold at the end of the journey should ease any aggrevation caused by AMTRAK problems.

Thanks again everyone.

Bill

Well good luck Bill! Could be that they have made inprovements and you may love it...!

 

[pepe of ohio]

We have used Amtrak for the past 10 years. I really have no great complaints since I will not fly and driving 1200 miles, at our age, is just too much anymore. We've had good trips and some not so good. We've been on time and late but never had any real problems until this past September. Seems a bomb scare around Jacksonville on return trip set us back quite a few hours with no options other than to stake out a piece of the Jacksonville station floor and hope for the best. After about 6 hours or more, we were allowed to reboard and get on our way with a few cars less then we had. Naturally we missed our connection in DC for the east-west train. Amtrak had us board a your bus and he drove about 20 of us to Pittsburgh Pa. to catch our train which we did to detrain in Alliance Ohio to retrieve our car. They have since reembursed us a one way trip back to Florida and we're considering.......I fly but not that good at it, might do the fly down and rail back. Really liked the relaxing time on the train, we most always have a roomette for second half of trip from DC down and on return from Kissimmee to DC. Wife enjoys the free dinners and meals riding in the dining car and the privacy of a roomette and nights sleep is refreshing. Nervous and jittery people have a hard time adjusting on a train, long trip of idleness but some, like me, enjoy the peace and solitude.

 

[Andrew_Lubow]

Bill, I've always used towncars from Orlando without problems. They've always kept track of my actual arrival time and met me no matter how late the train got in. You may want to confirm this with the company you're using tho since each towncar company runs differently.