Using Amtrax Auto-Train

[SFRN97]

We are planning a trip Aug 2012 and were thinking of driving our vehicle to the Amtrax Auto train in Virginia and then taking the train to Sanford Fl. Has anyone made the trip. DD hates being in the car for long periods and the thought of a 20 something drive is frieghtening esp if she wails half of the ride. If we take the auto train we only have to drive about 8 hrs from our home to VA and the rest we relax on the train and still have our car when we arrive in Disney. Pricing it out it runs the same as flying and we would save on a rental since we would have our own car. Has anyone done the trip and if so pro and cons and would you upgrade to a family room on the train. Thanks

 

[kaffinito]

I've taken the Auto train a few times. We drive from Michigan, and it takes around 8 hours for us to get to the train station in VA.

Some thoughts:

Leave the night before to make sure that you are on time at the station in VA. Other alternative is to drive through the night to get there on time. If you aren't there by boarding time, you don't get on.

A Family room is worth it if traveling with little kids. It's very nice to have the dining and to have the bedroom to sleep in. We did coach once and I got no sleep the night before. With older kids, you can get the roomettes and request across from each other, which is also nice.

And that's it. I've found it better for us to take the train back from WDW than to take the train both ways. But that's just me. The drive to Lorton the day before the train leaves makes me nuts. There are a lot of folks that go both ways, and they like it just fine.

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

We are planning a trip Aug 2012 and were thinking of driving our vehicle to the Amtrax Auto train in Virginia and then taking the train to Sanford Fl. Has anyone made the trip. DD hates being in the car for long periods and the thought of a 20 something drive is frieghtening esp if she wails half of the ride. If we take the auto train we only have to drive about 8 hrs from our home to VA and the rest we relax on the train and still have our car when we arrive in Disney. Pricing it out it runs the same as flying and we would save on a rental since we would have our own car. Has anyone done the trip and if so pro and cons and would you upgrade to a family room on the train. Thanks

There is a large thread on this subject where others have shared their experiences and photos. You can read it here. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=402667

 

[Minniemouse07]

Purchase your tickets as soon as your dates are available!

We booked in February for our August trip (next month) and the price has more than DOUBLED!!

 

[SFRN97]

Thanks everyone for the info

 

[chartle]

There is a large thread on this subject where others have shared their experiences and photos. You can read it here. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=402667

Wow this thread was created 8 years ago and still has great info.

 

[kaffinito]

Just checked the start date and it was created 8 years ago.

Ok, and? The material in the thread still applies.

 

[DonnaL]

My son just took the AutoTrain from Sanford to Lorton mid May after completing the College Program at WDW during the spring semester. He said it was a nice experience, but, said he did not get any sleep in coach at all.....this is from a kid who can usually sleep anywhere on demand. So, with a smaller child I would definitely consider getting a family suite and not attempt to do just coach seating.

 

[DonnaL]

My son just took the AutoTrain from Sanford to Lorton mid May after completing the College Program at WDW during the spring semester. He said it was a nice experience, but, said he did not get any sleep in coach at all.....this is from a kid who can usually sleep anywhere on demand. So, with a smaller child I would definitely consider getting a family suite and not attempt to do just coach seating. Sorry double post.........

 

[Tink's Pixieduster]

Just checked the start date and it was created 8 years ago.

The thread is still active. If the start date bothers you, perhaps you could start with the most recent posts and read back?

The process of traveling by the AT has not significantly changed in the past 8 years like flying has. The information there is still good (aside from any promotions that have expired), and the opinions, suggestions and photos shared by families traveling with children are just as relevant now as the date the post was first made.

 

[chartle]

Y

The thread is still active. If the start date bothers you, perhaps you could start with the most recent posts and read back?

The process of traveling by the AT has not significantly changed in the past 8 years like flying has. The information there is still good (aside from any promotions that have expired), and the opinions, suggestions and photos shared by families traveling with children are just as relevant now as the date the post was first made.

Sorry that can out wrong. I should have used a smiley or said something like wow this was started 8 years ago and is still active.

I hit the submit button and then I had to get back to work. and didn't have time to edit.

I have read the entire thread and have many posts on it.

 

[DonnaL]

I also agree with Minniemouse07 about purchasing tickets as soon as you have dates firmed up..........in particular if your dates are anywhere near the timeframe snowbirds head south or head north.....i.e. late fall/mid to late spring. My son traveled north on Friday 5/13 and he said the train was completely booked and 98% of the passengers would definitely qualify as retired snowbirds and the other 2% were likely WDW college program students headed home after their program ended.....since he ended spending most of the evening/night in the lounge car with several other CP'ers like himself. We booked his tix in early February and I checked in early March to see if price had changed......it was about 30% more than we paid and by mid March there was no availability at all. Actually, when I first began checking in January the sleeper cars were not badly priced at all, but, by the time I booked in February they were very high and we decided to go with just the coach seat.

 

[bicker]

We just took the Auto Train in April, and will take it again in January. And the fact that we're making a return trip on the Auto Train should be read as an endorsement!

We traveled down in a sleeper (two of us in a Superliner Bedroom, not a Superliner Roomette) and traveled back in the coach. It wasn't a big difference - JUST KIDDING - it was a huge difference.

The Superliner Bedroom was "decent". Not excellent, but quite decent. It was something different (it won't be next time, eh?) but we actually slept, and slept well - and that's important.

We had previously taken Amtrak to Chicago, and had a Viewliner Roomette both ways - that's something I recommend against. It's not just the extra room that matters - its your orientation while sleeping. I think most people sleep better when rocked side to side, like in a cradle, rather than when rocked forward and back, like in bumper cars.

I mention this cradle vs. bumper cars thing because of your question about the family bedroom, where two people sleep the "good" way (imho) and two people sleep the "bad" way (imho). If it were me, I'd get two regular bedrooms (though that's probably twice the price, so perhaps not... just grab the good beds and dump the kids in the bad beds, eh? )

The coach was a horrible experience for us. Even though the seats were big, they weren't very comfortable, and even the addition of our own pillows didn't fix them. And in the coach, you're still sleeping as if in bumper cars, rather than as if in a cradle.

 

[mykidslovesdisney]

We just returned last week from our 8th Autotrain Trip to FL. We will be heading back out in 24 days for our 9th trip.

We are located in Central CT. We leave at 2 am to bypass any rush hour traffic. We take the merritt Parkway thru CT to NY then hop on I 95 just bf the GWB. NJ turnpike throught NJ-- we passed Newark Airport around 5am. We stop in Maryland for Breakfast at 7ish for an hour then head on down to Virginia (avoiding the DC loop). We checked in the Autotrain at 10 am!!

this time it was myself and 6 that ranged from 23-4. the kids slept off and on for the ride. We do have the DVD players in the car too that can be used to amuse the kids. The ride isn't bad. It was the first time I did it w/o DH.

We see the train as part of the vacation. The kids love the train. We have traveled in both coach and sleepers. Youngest DS4 is at an age where sleeping on the coach seat was easier this year than last year. Just pop up the foot rest and he slept on the seat part of the seat and the foot rest for 12 hrs!! I actually slept well too-- I was awoken a few times by DS10 and DD8 to use the restrooms. We do bring pillows with us. This time I used one of those twisty blue pillows that is a circle with the middle open. You can twist it in all different shapes-- worked great for a resting against while in coach. DD8 took my big pillow 1/2 way thru the night to cuddle with.

The train starts boarding at 230pm. It leaves by 4pm - earlier if all loaded. Dinner is 5, 7 or 9. We like the 5pm seating. We generally turn in around 9 pm since we have been up since before 2am. Sleep till about 630am. See where we are on arrival. Grab Breakfast and then get ready to get off the train. Generally the train arrives around 830-930am. I like that it is broken up -- not long stretches with nothing to do (well except to sleep). We do bring DVD players, video games, cards etc to keep the kids amused.

If you can swing the cost of the sleepers it is nice to be able to have a contained area for the kids. We were lucky on our return that the family car was more like the quiet car. on the southbound trip 2 DN's had a horrible family w/ 6 kids that didn't control them and made the trip miserable. (we were in sleepers on the s/b trip).

We love having our car with us. I did the reg Amtrak train from New Haven to Orlando 7 yrs ago-- won't ever do it again. Had 5 under 16 with me. Getting to a rental was a nightmare and just having to deal with the luggage was a nightmare too. Much better with our van loaded and ready to go. We do bring on an overnight bag with essentials for the night. We also bring along snacks/juice packs incase someone gets hungry.

We travel in August the past 7 yrs (with the exception of the trip last wk). We book our trip about 10 months out. If you have AAA there is a discount available. In the past few years they have offered kids travel for $19 but it doesn't generally come out till April and I am not sure on the travel dates.

If you take the train be aware that there can be delays (like airlines). Amtrak uses frieght lines. Last year there was a derailment close to the Lorton station that cancelled a few days worth of trains. In '08 our return train was cancelled due to Tropical storm Fay. The storm cancelled about 5 days worth of service. We opted to stay at WDW for 5 extra days to get the next available AT home. That was the best WDW we ever had! just keep in mind that it is part of the vacation just not a mode of transportation.

Be happy to help if you have any other ?'s

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

We are planning a trip Aug 2012 and were thinking of driving our vehicle to the Amtrax Auto train in Virginia and then taking the train to Sanford Fl. Has anyone made the trip. DD hates being in the car for long periods and the thought of a 20 something drive is frieghtening esp if she wails half of the ride. If we take the auto train we only have to drive about 8 hrs from our home to VA and the rest we relax on the train and still have our car when we arrive in Disney. Pricing it out it runs the same as flying and we would save on a rental since we would have our own car. Has anyone done the trip and if so pro and cons and would you upgrade to a family room on the train. Thanks

I've never taken the auto train but recently drove to VA and noticed the exit off of I95 for the AT. To me, that's a lot of driving to add another 20 hr ride. Sure you can get up and walk around but my overall time is worth so much more. It would have to save me a LOT of money over flying to say it's a better alternative, more than simply the cost of a rental car. RT train ride itself is 40 hrs minimum that could be spent enjoying WDW.
As a pp mentioned, if it's 98% snow birds, they want their car with them b/c they'll be there for several months and a rental would be cost prohibitive. In that case it would make sense. Are the other 2% people with fear of flying? or perhaps just looking for an "adventure"?

Even factoring in time spent driving to the airport, arriving 2 hrs early, etc. in the hours you would spend just driving to the AT, if you were on a plane you would already be in Orlando.
My kids can get in a full day of school and we still can watch the 11:00 news in Orlando.

 

[bicker]

I've never taken the auto train but recently drove to VA and noticed the exit off of I95 for the AT. To me, that's a lot of driving to add another 20 hr ride. Sure you can get up and walk around but my overall time is worth so much more.

I suppose a lot of it has to do with how painful you find driving and riding on a train. And if it isn't painful, then I don't necessarily see the time as relatively worthless.

My wife and I listen to music (perhaps the only large block of time I have to really listen to a lot of music), talk with each other (something else which benefits from having a very large block of time devoted to it, rather than the bits and pieces, by comparison, that we have to devote to it in our normal lives), etc. The drive and the train-ride is part of the vacation. We're not working. We're enjoying ourselves.

I just read this in another thread:

Spending quality time together is my favorite part of a vacation

That time our family spends together in the car and on the train is worth "so much more" and we get "so much more" from that time.

It would have to save me a LOT of money over flying to say it's a better alternative, more than simply the cost of a rental car.

By contrast, I do find flying "painful". I find the airport experience to be interminably stressful, the airline seats to be abusively uncomfortable for me, and the cabin pressurization to be physically distressing. I gladly pay more to get to where I'm going some way other that by air.

RT train ride itself is 40 hrs minimum that could be spent enjoying WDW.

That's actually untrue. The train leaves at 4pm and arrives about 10am. At best, that's only 6 hours of park time, during the time of year we visit, and even that's assuming you're a park commando, arriving at rope drop and staying until the park closes. The train trip is at night, and that makes all the difference in this regard.

 

[Hopefully]

For our upcoming trip in October, DH and I seriously considered the AT.
We would be driving about 8 hours from MA to VA to catch the train. We were looking at sleepers both ways on the train.
We are doing 5 days at BCV for Food & Wine festival then driving to Vero Beach for 6 nights. We will need a car for the Vero part of the trip. We are happy to use ME and Disney transportation for the WDW part of the trip.

We were considering the AT as an adventure. We have never travelled a great distance by train. I read the long thread beginning to end and we were excited and ready to book. One downside is we would have either had to add days to our vacation or shorten our stay in FL to account for the travel time.

However, around the same time I found great fares for our preferred non stop flight fom BOS to MCO on Delta. It turns out it was FAR CHEAPER for us to fly and rent a car for a week than to take the AT with a sleeper both ways. I was able to get a great rate renting a car and picking it up at the Dolphin and returning to MCO. I thought there would be an added charge for dropping off at a different location than the pick up, but it is a reasonable rate.
So we are flying this trip.
Good Luck to you!!!

 

[Minniemouse07]

I've never taken the auto train but recently drove to VA and noticed the exit off of I95 for the AT. To me, that's a lot of driving to add another 20 hr ride. Sure you can get up and walk around but my overall time is worth so much more. It would have to save me a LOT of money over flying to say it's a better alternative, more than simply the cost of a rental car. RT train ride itself is 40 hrs minimum that could be spent enjoying WDW.
As a pp mentioned, if it's 98% snow birds, they want their car with them b/c they'll be there for several months and a rental would be cost prohibitive. In that case it would make sense. Are the other 2% people with fear of flying? or perhaps just looking for an "adventure"?

Even factoring in time spent driving to the airport, arriving 2 hrs early, etc. in the hours you would spend just driving to the AT, if you were on a plane you would already be in Orlando.
My kids can get in a full day of school and we still can watch the 11:00 news in Orlando.

We are a family that usually flies and uses ME/WDW transportation. I'm all about maxing out our WDW experience.

That said, we need a VAN this trip. 2 wks including Kennedy Space Center, the Dream and WDW for four of us. Transfers or a rental were expensive and airfare was $1200.

Originally we planned to drive from PA. Driving straight through isn't an option. I don't drive well in the middle of the night so a stop overnight is necessary. Leaving first thing Saturday morning, stopping overnight in Florence, SC and heading out again early Sunday put us at Port Canaveral at 4pm.

Taking the Auto Train has us leaving at the same time Saturday and pulling into Sanford, FL at 9:30am (give or take depending on arrival). That gives us an entire extra day in Florida and allows us the time to visit w/ the ILs before our cruise! (and stay overnight w/ them the first night instead of a hotel!)

The Auto Train is 17hrs of NOT driving. So dh and I won't arrive exhausted w/ energetic kids!

AND... by booking early (February for next month) it cost us less than $900 for our oversized vehicle and the four of us in coach (a family room would have been nice but doubled the cost of the trip and we'll be fine in coach).

So basically it is a win win all around. Is it longer than flying...yup, but significantly cheaper than flying/renting a minivan for two weeks and just about breaks even with the cost of driving/overnight hotel/meals.

I don't plan on using the AT every trip, but it definitely works out as a better option in many situations!

 

[Kazzy1548]

We did it last August, although it was a nice experience but not one that we wish to do again any time soon. We had to drive through New york than Washington to get there. The drive down was very stressful...
We were in the lower coach it was more peaceful but it was not confortable to sleep.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I suppose a lot of it has to do with how painful you find driving and riding on a train. And if it isn't painful, then I don't necessarily see the time as relatively worthless.

My wife and I listen to music (perhaps the only large block of time I have to really listen to a lot of music), talk with each other (something else which benefits from having a very large block of time devoted to it, rather than the bits and pieces, by comparison, that we have to devote to it in our normal lives), etc. The drive and the train-ride is part of the vacation. We're not working. We're enjoying ourselves.

I just read this in another thread:

​

That time our family spends together in the car and on the train is worth "so much more" and we get "so much more" from that time.

By contrast, I do find flying "painful". I find the airport experience to be interminably stressful, the airline seats to be abusively uncomfortable for me, and the cabin pressurization to be physically distressing. I gladly pay more to get to where I'm going some way other that by air.

That's actually untrue. The train leaves at 4pm and arrives about 10am. At best, that's only 6 hours of park time, during the time of year we visit, and even that's assuming you're a park commando, arriving at rope drop and staying until the park closes. The train trip is at night, and that makes all the difference in this regard.

I didn't say time at parks, I said time in WDW. Relaxing by the pool, Chef Mickey's, anything. Still better than spending 40 hrs on a train. JMHO.

I understand what you mean about having plenty of down time together but I wouldn't call time on a train worthless, it's just that my vac time from work is precious and never enough so to use that many more days would significantly cut down on my # of trips or our time spent in WDW per trip.

Your train may leave at 4pm but for us we'd have to leave early am to drive to Lorton, VA (missing a full day of school/work). Assuming we will both wake up well resting in Orlando the next morning, my 8:00 pm flight would allow my kids to get in a full day of school and I could still work til 4:30. That's what I meant about time being valuable. It's still nice together time, but costing me 2 more vac days per trip. That would be 8 more vac days used between now & Easter. To me that's another trip or 2.