# Orlando, Florida



## pennyk (Apr 22, 2011)

Orlando is one of the two Amtrak stops (Kissimmee is the other stop) that serve tourists going to Disney World.

The Orlando station is located a couple of miles south of downtown near Orlando Regional Medical Center. The area around the station is fairly industrial, but there are a few places to eat across the street. There is usually a hot dog vendor right outside the station and there are vending machines inside the station.

The station is airconditioned (a necessity in Florida) and is fairly comfortable. I have never been there and not been able to find a seat. Since a lot of the passengers travel with children, the noise level is usually pretty high and it can be a bit chaotic.

There are bus stops in front of the train station. To get to downtown Orlando, one should take the bus that stops across the street from the station. It runs once an hour. The final stop on that northbound route is the bus terminal. One can transfer to another bus to get to Disney, Sea World and surrounding hotels (or many other places in the area).

There are usually plenty of taxis and vans at the station. There is also a Hertz counter inside the station, but I believe arrangements must be made in advance for rental cars. There is an Enterprise agency in downtown Orlando on East Colonial Drive (walking distance from my condo) that is open Monday through Friday. I have heard that they will pick passengers up at the train station and drive them to the downtown office to pick up the cars.

Four trains come through Orlando daily, the southbound Silver Star (91) before noon, the southbound Silver Meteor (97) a little after noon; the nortbound Silver Meteor (98) around 1:45pm; and the northbound Silver Star (92) around 7pm. If the trains are running on time, sleeping car passengers will get lunch on 97 and 98 and dinner on 92.

I am pretty sure most people know about the tourist attactions in Orlando: Disney World, Sea World, Universal Studios, Wet and Wild, Kennedy Space Center (an hour away). Legoland is expected to open later this year in Winter Haven, the former location of Cypress Gardens. There are a slew of outlet malls in Orlando also. 

There is a zoo in Sanford (home of the southern terminus of the Auto Train). There is a science museum and an art museum in Orlando and there are museums in Winter Park.

There are plenty of state parks around Orlando. Also, there are other activities in the general area: riding on an airboat; skydiving in DeLand; St. Johns River Boat Cruise; Daytona Beach; Silver Springs near Ocala


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## had8ley (Aug 2, 2011)

Penny~ aren't there Thruway connections behind the depot in Orlando? I might hjave been hung over but I was pretty sure I was in Orlando...


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## AC4400 (Aug 3, 2011)

I'd sit in the Orlando station and watch the passing CSX and Florida Central Railroad freight trains!


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## Bob Dylan (Aug 3, 2011)

had8ley said:


> Penny~ aren't there Thruway connections behind the depot in Orlando? I might hjave been hung over but I was pretty sure I was in Orlando...


Might have been??? :lol: :lol: :lol: Were you actually in Florida Jay??? ^_^

(Isnt that where you do the bustitution to St. Petersburg??)


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## AlanB (Aug 3, 2011)

Only Thruway connection that I know about was a bus run by Coach USA for a few years that would take people from ORL over to the various Disney & I-Drive hotels. I think that lasted maybe 4 or 5 years and was discontinued at least 3 or 4 years ago. It loaded in front of the station.


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## Rail Freak (Aug 3, 2011)

jimhudson said:


> had8ley said:
> 
> 
> > Penny~ aren't there Thruway connections behind the depot in Orlando? I might hjave been hung over but I was pretty sure I was in Orlando...
> ...


Yes, Lakeland, Tampa, St Pete, Bradenton, Sarasota, Port Charlotte & Ft Myers.


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## pennyk (Aug 3, 2011)

had8ley said:


> Penny~ aren't there Thruway connections behind the depot in Orlando? I might hjave been hung over but I was pretty sure I was in Orlando...


Jay, you might have been hung over, but you actually may have seen thruway buses. :wacko:

There are thruway busses to the cities mentioned by Rail Freak to connect the Silver Meteor with the west coast of Florida. I would not say that they are behind the depot. I would say that they are located in the northern section of the parking lot.

Alan, now there is a van service that is somehow/somewhat affiliated with Amtrak that will transport passengers to hotels, etc. Unlike the taxi cabs, who have to wait on the street, the vans (I believe it is Florida Van Pool - but do not quote me) are permitted to park and wait for passengers in the Amtrak parking lot (using the spot(s) closest to the station). I took a van the 3 miles to my home once when there was not a lot tourist demand for the vans, and the fare was much less than a taxi cab.


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## the_traveler (Aug 3, 2011)

jimhudson said:


> had8ley said:
> 
> 
> > I might *hjave* been hung over
> ...


Sounds like Jay still is!




You better check the stock from J&J's Saloon, Jim!


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## TampAGS (Nov 9, 2011)

pennyk said:


> The Orlando station is located a couple of miles south of downtown near Orlando Regional Medical Center. The area around the station is fairly industrial, but there are a few places to eat across the street. There is usually a hot dog vendor right outside the station and there are vending machines inside the station.


I recommend the *Jazzy Dog Cafe* to anyone visiting the Orlando station. It is a great little eatery, located right across the street from the station parking lot. If you are a _Silver Meteor _passenger connecting to the Thruway Motorcoach, the cafe has nice, big, self-serve fountain drinks that are nice to bring along for the bus ride.  






You can see the cafe's location in relation to the station in my video "Meteor-lando II" (at around 4:36). I shot the video one day as I was connecting from Thruway to _Silver Meteor_ (as a follow-up to an earlier video I did called "Meteor-lando").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up6tb79qQbE


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## alok (Apr 26, 2015)

Hello, first time poster.

Do the buses from the Orlando Station to Disney Hotels allow bags? We're going to be 3 people and 6 bags hence the question


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## pennyk (Apr 26, 2015)

alok said:


> Hello, first time poster.
> 
> Do the buses from the Orlando Station to Disney Hotels allow bags? We're going to be 3 people and 6 bags hence the question


In order to take a city bus (Lynx bus) from the ORL station to Disney, you would need to first either have to take a bus (or SunRail if a weekday) to Lynx Central Station. From there, you would take bus 50 to Lake Buena Vista Hotels, Downtown Disney or Magic Kingdom. There is no specific area for luggage (no racks), but if there is room on the bus and you do not obstruct the aisle, I assume that you would be permitted to carry your luggage on the bus. When I ride the bus with luggage, I place my backpack on my lap and my roller bag in front of my seat. is bus 50's schedule.

There is a private van service that transports passengers from the Amtrak station to Disney hotels.

Here is the schedule for bus 50.


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## pennyk (Jul 27, 2022)

pennyk said:


> There is also a Hertz counter inside the station, but I believe arrangements must be made in advance for rental cars.


As an update to this thread: There is no longer a Hertz counter inside the ORL station.

However, the last time I was there, there was still a van service.


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## Laurajeantx (Jul 28, 2022)

No public taxis or vans seem to meet the Silver Star in Orlando. Best off with an Uber. Once the train pulls out it turns into a ghost town pretty quickly so plan ahead. Leaving on Silver Star today from Orl to DC. We checked out the station several times to be prepared.


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## AEWells (Jul 28, 2022)

pennyk said:


> As an update to this thread: There is no longer a Hertz counter inside the ORL station.
> 
> However, the last time I was there, there was still a van service.


How does the van service work? Can we schedule ahead? I have been searching & can only find high priced luxury car service. Or do we find it upon arrival & hope for room? Thanks!


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## pennyk (Jul 28, 2022)

AEWells said:


> How does the van service work? Can we schedule ahead? I have been searching & can only find high priced luxury car service. Or do we find it upon arrival & hope for room? Thanks!


I recall the van service was first come first served. I took it once when there were no cabs and the van service had no long distance passengers. I tried another time and was refused because the van driver wanted to make a longer trip with more and higher paying passengers. I have no idea if it is still there.


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## joelkfla (Jul 28, 2022)

Also as an update: Lynx bus 50 no longer runs between Lynx Central & WDW; it has been replaced by 300 & 350. It's a bit hard to tell (because Lynx does not publish schedules for each line anymore and the info on their website is IMO pretty hard to decode), but it looks like 300 runs express from Lynx Central stopping only at Disney Springs West Side, Ticket & Transportation Center, and backstage at Disney University. Bus 350 appears to run express from Lynx Central to Sea World, and then local on Palm Pkwy and Hotel Plaza Blvd. to DS West Side, but does not continue to TTC. Both routes run twice an hour.


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## n3rdg1rl (Jul 29, 2022)

Does Kissimmee still do the van service? I haven't lived down there in a while, but I remember Disney always saying Kissimmee was better for connections.


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## joelkfla (Jul 29, 2022)

n3rdg1rl said:


> Does Kissimmee still do the van service? I haven't lived down there in a while, but I remember Disney always saying Kissimmee was better for connections.


I haven't noticed one, but I park in the parking garage on the other side of the tracks, and you can't see much of the small station parking lot from the platform, so I probably wouldn't see it if one was there.


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