First Family Vacation - Taking Amtrak from DE to FL

[Crue2001]

New to the forums and new to travelling on Amtrak, so I'm hoping to get some answers to ease my concerns.

We are taking our first family vacation to Disney in April '08. As I'm afraid to fly and my husband is not exactly keen on it either, we opted for the relaxing train ride with the kids rather than drive down.

1) We want to keep costs down, but figured a sleeper accomodation would be best with the kids (6 & 11).

The roomettes are obviously too small for all 4 of us and we'd have to get 2 of them, which cannot be connecting per Amtrak. Can you get a viewliner bedroom (max of 3 ppl per the Amtrak info) for 4 people? I figure with the two bunks and the armchair, we'd be fine as it's only one night. Anyone know?

2) If we opt for coach seats, how comfortable/spacious are we talking? We'd be on the train for approx. 19-21 hours. Also, how are the seats set up...two across, 4 across, facing each other??

Sorry for the questions, but I'd appreciate any & all info.

THANKS!!

 

[AlanB]

New to the forums and new to travelling on Amtrak, so I'm hoping to get some answers to ease my concerns. We are taking our first family vacation to Disney in April '08. As I'm afraid to fly and my husband is not exactly keen on it either, we opted for the relaxing train ride with the kids rather than drive down.

I've convinced most of my family to always take the train down when they head south to visit Micky Mouse. In our case it's not a concern about flying, it's because it allows us to relax while going down and coming back, something that is very nice after running around Walt's World.

That said, one thing you might want to consider is driving to just south of DC, and boarding the Auto Train (AT). The AT carries both you and your car down to Sanford, Fl, just outside Orlando on the NE side. From there it is a short ride in your car to the house of the mouse. And the AT offers a family room, that can hold 2 adults and 2 kids. That also includes dinner on the train and a continental breakfast before you arrive in Sanford.

1) We want to keep costs down, but figured a sleeper accomodation would be best with the kids (6 & 11).The roomettes are obviously too small for all 4 of us and we'd have to get 2 of them, which cannot be connecting per Amtrak. Can you get a viewliner bedroom (max of 3 ppl per the Amtrak info) for 4 people? I figure with the two bunks and the armchair, we'd be fine as it's only one night. Anyone know?

I don't believe that Amtrak will allow you to put 4 people in the bedroom, and even if they did, you would be unable to use the beds. You'd have to sleep in the seats, which frankly I don't think that you'd find to comfortable.

On the other hand, while you can't get connecting roomettes, you can request 2 roomettes opposite one another. That way you can simply open the doors and talk to one another and such. Failing that, you could get to back to back, so that you'd just be around the corner from one another.

2) If we opt for coach seats, how comfortable/spacious are we talking? We'd be on the train for approx. 19-21 hours. Also, how are the seats set up...two across, 4 across, facing each other??

Many, many people travel overnight in coach seats. Personally I wouldn't, but that's hardly a valid reason for you not to consider it. The seats are better than anything you'd find in the coach section of an airplane, and are probably approaching what you might find in first class on an airplane. They have more room than airline coach seats, a foot rest, a calf rest, and they recline further than most airline seats. But you won't be horizontal either, so you may or may not sleep comfortably.

There is a very limited amount of seats that face one another, and the odds don't favor that you'd get them if you are boarding in Delaware. You might get lucky, but I wouldn't want to promise it.

 

[AmtrakCrescent20]

There is a very limited amount of seats that face one another, and the odds don't favor that you'd get them if you are boarding in Delaware. You might get lucky, but I wouldn't want to promise it.

If we are talking about the Silver Star/Meteor, which both use Amfleet II coaches, there are no pairs of seats that face each other. The Amfleet I's do have 2 groups of facing seats at one end of the car, but this doesn't exist in the II's. Superliner coaches, AFAIK also have no facing seats.

 

[AlanB]

There is a very limited amount of seats that face one another, and the odds don't favor that you'd get them if you are boarding in Delaware. You might get lucky, but I wouldn't want to promise it.

If we are talking about the Silver Star/Meteor, which both use Amfleet II coaches, there are no pairs of seats that face each other. The Amfleet I's do have 2 groups of facing seats at one end of the car, but this doesn't exist in the II's. Superliner coaches, AFAIK also have no facing seats.

Ok, I stand corrected. Since I never ride in coach on a long distance train, I just never really paid attention.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Yup. All Silver Service coach seats are facing forward, in the direction of travel. I think the only facing seats on Silver Service are in the Lounge and the Diner, with a table in between.

 

[Crue2001]

Thank you all for your quick & helpful replies...we're ready to start making reservations, so this helps us to plan things out better.

 

[CharlotteJim]

I believe that I was able to book 1 adult and 2 children into a Deluxe room a few years ago (2004) on a Superliner train (Empire Builder). In fact, one of my children (age 5) slept with an adult in the lower berth of the Deluxe room (which is considerably wider than the top berth in the room or either berth in the Standard room) and both reported sleeping RELATIVELY comfortably. However, that probably doesn't help on your situation.

Incidentally, the armchair in the Deluxe room is not nearly as accommodating as a coach seat, if I remember correctly. It's not fixed to the floor, for one thing, and is intended to be easily movable. On the other hand, that gives a little more flexibility in how you set up the room.

I love traveling by train, and my family does too, but my #1 rule for enjoying the experience is to be FLEXIBLE while traveling--the train will be late, something (maybe several somethings) will go wrong with the service, and at some point you'll run into a grouchy staffer. It's all part of the experience, and if you go in determined to be cheerful about it all, you'll find those things to be minimized and your experience to be more fun.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

Silver Service trains are all single level equipment - the sleepers are Viewliners, not Superliners. The only east coast Superliner train into Florida is Auto Train.

 

[Crue2001]

I looked into the AutoTrain, but you can only book that one if you're actually going to take a vehicle (rocket science, I know...), but we were not planning on taking a vehicle our first trip to Disney (staying onsite). So, looks like we'll just be going on the regular Silver Service out of Wilmington. Amtrak quoted me on the family bedroom (2 bedrooms connected) at $2490 RT (choked on my drink), so we are definitely looking at the 2 roomette option now...about $1340 RT. Saves me from boarding a plane, I'm good with that!!

 

[D.P. Roberts]

I looked into the AutoTrain, but you can only book that one if you're actually going to take a vehicle (rocket science, I know...), but we were not planning on taking a vehicle our first trip to Disney (staying onsite).

Have you made your WDW reservations yet? You might want to check out wdwinfo.com, they have some great boards there- saved us tons of money and we got some great tips. We stayed in a deluxe villa last year for less than the price of a moderate resort.

 

[Guest]

I looked into the AutoTrain, but you can only book that one if you're actually going to take a vehicle (rocket science, I know...), but we were not planning on taking a vehicle our first trip to Disney (staying onsite).

Have you made your WDW reservations yet? You might want to check out wdwinfo.com, they have some great boards there- saved us tons of money and we got some great tips. We stayed in a deluxe villa last year for less than the price of a moderate resort.

Thanks, D.P.! Oh, yes, I'm all over the DIS boards, AllEars.Net, etc....I'm watching for codes, tips, etc. By the time I actually get us to Disney, I'll know too much!! I got a quote from Disney for a moderate resort for about $1000 for 6 nights...which of course will go up a bit when the '08 rates actually come out. But we haven't booked anything yet...haven't made up our minds on which place to stay.

As far as the Amtrak portion goes, I have AAA, so I believe that I can use that 10% off on the rail portion of the trip and pay full price for the accomodations should we decide to book the sleepers.

 

[Crue2001]

Sorry, I forgot to login before posting that last response.

 

[D.P. Roberts]

Crue2001-

I have a great tip for WDW - it's not Amtrak related, so I sent you a PM.