# Help me figure out a 2 or 3 day, one zone AGR trip from KCY



## MJL (Feb 20, 2010)

I've been reading with interest about the KCY to Columbus, and Hammond / Slidell "loophole" trips, but I think 5 days on the train (plus the return) would be too much for a couple of 4 yr olds LOL.

Pluses would be if we ended up in a city with Southwest Airlines service (for the reasonable one way tickets back), and minimal wake in the middle of the night stopovers.

I was thinking of something like KCY to Houston, which would route through St Louis, San Antonio, then Houston.

Anybody with other creative ideas?


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2010)

If you went KCY to SDL it would only be 2 and a half days.

You could "book" from Detroit to Florida and still be in one zone, but that would require a bit more logistics and a trip to a theme park of your choice.


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2010)

Kansas City to Portland, OR. Book the tickets for KCY-WPT. Ride the Empire Builder for one stop so your tickets are collected and get turned in then catch the next train back to PDX or cab or whatever. Only check bags to PDX.


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## Ispolkom (Feb 20, 2010)

Birmingham-Washington-Chicago-St. Paul is one zone and two nights, and Southwest flies out of both Birmingham and Minneapolis. You could get family rooms on both the Empire Builder and the Capitol Limited. You would have to spend a night in the Twin Cities, but you could have time in both Washington and Chicago to go look at dinosaurs. Heck, St. Paul has a fine triceratops, Fafner.


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## Shanghai (Feb 21, 2010)

Regarding your 4 year olds, good luck on a 2 or 4 day trip. My 4 year old granddaughter loves trains. The LIRR ride from Plandome, NY to Manhasset, NY is

about the length of time she sits nicely - that's about 5 minutes!!! I think if you were in a sleeper and you had some books & toys, it would be a great experience

for a child. We took my daughter (several years ago) from New York to Indianapolis at Christmas time in a sleeper and she enjoyed the trip. Much of the ride

was at night and there were pretty Christmas lights in small towns across Pennsylvania and Ohio. She enjoyed eating on the train. The train staff was very

nice as well. On our return trip, the train departed at midnight, which was a bit difficult but we had a wonderful trip.


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## MJL (Feb 21, 2010)

Thanks for all the great ideas. My guys are really pretty good travelers. They rode well in a long, 2 day car trip from mid Kansas to Houston, sometimes ever 4 hours at a stretch strapped into car seats! Audio books and bribes for good behavior work well LOL.

We will see how the day-only trip to Chicago goes next month, and if they are interested in an overnight(s) trip. The family bedrooms are pretty high priced, so I think the only way we can afford to do sleepers on overnight trips is to push hard for the AGR points on non-Amtrak systems.


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## ceblack (Feb 22, 2010)

Is the trip for 1 adult & 2 kids, or 2 adults and 2 kids? That would determine whether single-level trains (which don't have family bedrooms) are a possiblity.

If you are heading west, I don't think you can top a Kansas City to Minneapolis/St. Paul (KCY to MSP) routing via LA and Portland. Yeah, it's almost four and a half days -- so perhaps a bit too long for the kids to be cooped up on a train -- but you get good to beyond great scenery on all three trains, plus significant time on two of Amtrak's "flagship" trains with upgraded service (Pacific Parlour car on Coast Starlight, upgraded dining on Empire Builder <and Coast Starlight?>). Down sides are short transfers between each train, which limits the time to let the kids burn off some energy and could lead to missed connections/significant "bustitution" en route. If the length is too much, just bail in Portland and fly home from there.

Eastbound, I think Kansas City to Birmingham (KCY to BHM) via Chicago and Washington DC is an interesting route (Southwest Chief to Capitol Limited to Crescent). Total trip time of just over 2 days, with just under 2 days of "train time". Afternoon layovers in Chicago (3 hrs) and Washington DC (5 hrs) give some time to do some sightseeing and let the kids stretch their legs a bit. Arrival into Birmingham is about noon, so a late afternoon/early evening flight back to KCY should be do-able.

Alternatively, you could do the same route with the Cardinal substituted for the Capitol Limited (this would have to be on days the Cardinal runs... I tested with a Saturday departure from KCY, which worked). This route gives you only a two-hour layover in Chicago, and has you change trains after a 6-hour layover in Charlottesville, VA rather than DC. Upside is scenery on the Cardinal, downside is possibly the dining service on the Cardinal and that Charlottesville may not have the sightseeing opportunities that exist in DC (but then again, at that point all you & the kids may want is a park to run around in until they keel over). The other potential concern is delays on the Cardinal, but six hours of layover should be enough even for that ol' Pokey train. Going via the Cardinal also allowed the trip to extend all the way to New Orleans if you'd rather have that as your final destination. It gives you around 8 more hours on the train, but puts you in NO in the evening, so may require an overnight before flying home. Great for the adults, but perhaps not what you desire with 4-year olds in tow.

Again, the eastbound suggestions above would involve travel on single-level trains. The Viewliner sleepers only have roomettes and bedrooms, no family bedrooms. So booking a family of four on such a routing would be problematic. Even three in a bedroom may be difficult to book via AGR, per a recent thread.

Another routing to New Orleans would be via St. Louis and San Antonio (similar to your Houston routing... just going on to New Orleans). This trip would keep you in family bedroom-equipped Superliners, other than the Missouri River Runner portion to St. Louis.

Final suggestion: If you're just looking for a long segment on one train, perhaps Kansas City to El Paso (KCY to ELP) via St. Louis? Almost two full days on the Texas Eagle. Late afternoon arrival in El Paso, so you might have to spend a night there before returning. Not exactly a major tourist destination, but should work if quality family time on the train is the primary purpose of the trip.

And we accept trip reports submitted in Crayon, so your kids are on the hook whenever this trip happens! Good luck with your planning and save up those AGR points!


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## MJL (Feb 25, 2010)

On the question of making reservations now, then canceling just prior to making an AGR reservation: are there waiting lists for the room(s), where someone else might be eligible to take it before I can?


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## AlanB (Feb 25, 2010)

There are indeed waiting lists for sleepers, even though some agents are unaware of them or perhaps just don't want to be bothered with them. However, I'm not sure just how they work.

In other words, I don't know if the room is not returned to inventory when someone cancels or not. If there is some sort of hold, something that I think unlikely given ARROW's functionality, then it could indeed be a problem if someone is on the waiting list and you cancel your reservation to try to book that room with points.


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## TN Tin Man (Feb 28, 2010)

If you are still looking for a short Loop to-from KC. Look into the New Orleans - Kansas City routings. Fly down to NO and train back. One of the routes offered will include the Cresent NOL - WAS (26hrs). The Capitol Limited WAS - CHI (17hrs). Southwest Chief CHI - KCY (7hrs). I hope this helps.


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