Kissimmee Station

[Oreius]

I just completed a trip to Florida, and scouted out the Kissimmee train station for my trip home in March. A rather quaint station with a nice, but small waiting area with soda and snack machines. There are also a few places to eat within walking distance. What time should I be at the station? I know the Meteor leaves at around 12:56.

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[Asher]

I like to get to the station 13 minutes before boarding time.

 

[PVD]

If you are checking luggage, you need to be there much earlier, carry on only, that's fine. Cutoff at most stations is that luggage must be checked (not on line to be checked) at least 45 mins before departure, so you also need to allow for time if there is a line.

 

[Philly Amtrak Fan]

I like to get to the station 13 minutes before boarding time.

Pretty specific number there.

 

[pennyk]

The few times that I have departed from Kissimmee, I have arrived at the station at least 20-30 minutes in advance of departure. The “13 minutes” response may be sarcasm.

 

[Oreius]

How much do you think it would cost to take a taxi or Uber from Walt Disney World to the station? It can’t be cheap....

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[pennyk]

According to Mears Transportation fare estimator, the taxi fare from the Magic Kingdom to Amtrak - KIS is $51.16. My guess is Uber will be less.

http://www.mearstransportation.com/taxi-services/taxi-fare-estimator/

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Take the public bus to WDW transportation center then transfer to Taxi or Uber to your hotel. Unless your staying on the lake, you have to go through security to get to the WDW bus stop now from the public bus stop.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

$21.91 current Uber estimate from Disney Springs (formerly downtown Disney) to Amtrak Kissimmee. Same estimate to Amtral Orlando.

Before Uber I would always take the Lynx bus from disney springs to downtown orlando and transfer (could do it via Sunrail now).

 

[PaulM]

If you are checking luggage, you need to be there much earlier, carry on only, that's fine. Cutoff at most stations is that luggage must be checked (not on line to be checked) at least 45 mins before departure, so you also need to allow for time if there is a line.

This is all I could find regarding the 45 minute rule.

Luggage must be checked at least 45 minutes prior to your train's scheduled train departure.

I suppose you could interpret "checked" literally. But

1. Have those of you who dabble in the employee standards manual seen a directive to close the window at the 45 minute mark, shutting out those who may have been standing in line for quite a while?

2. Does anyone have a personal experience of being so shut out?

Without any positive answers, this sounds to me like an old wive's tale.

 

[the_traveler]

It all depends on the station.

I have no direct experience of it, but I think they may be strict about the 45 minutes in Chicago or NYP. I do not think they would be as strict in (say) Grand Junction, CO or Santa Barbara, CA.

An example I can vouch for is in Tampa, FL. You can check bags on the Ambus (because it connect to the SM in ORL) which departs @ 10:20 am. However, the station does not even open until 9:45 am! That is far less than the required 45 minutes.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

Some stations vary from normal required time of 45 minutes to check bags. Atlanta, for example, requires 90 minutes according to the Amtrak website. I know they do accept bags inside of this time frame, but close it off relatively early (I can't remember the exact length of time).

 

[PVD]

I have witnessed baggage close down. (not me, I just carry on) It really didn't cause a big problem the passengers just carried it on. A bigger pain was passengers forced to move items between suitcases to make weight, and in one case pack some stuff into a box. (2 people had all of their stuff in 2 big heavy bags, so they gave them a box. It was still only 3 pieces for 2 people so it worked out) I've never seen a service manual for station personnel, I'm sure one exists in some form, but the ones we usually refer to here are for train service and on board service, not station.

 

[tomfuller]

The one time we got off in Kissemmee (not going to Disney), we took a taxi to a car rental place. We spent about as much for the taxi ride as a full day rental on

the car. If you could get Enterprise to pick you up or drop you off it would be good. Within walking distance of the KIS station is a tall stone tower with rocks

from all states and many foreign locations. It is worth checking out.

We just carried on and waited under the porch roof for the train to come.

 

[Oreius]

I don’t intend on checking luggage. My suitcase will fly home with my parents. I plan on bringing just my computer case and a duffel bag. It’s only me in the Roomette, so stowing these shouldn’t be a problem.

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[PVD]

The nice thing about a VL roomette for a single is that if a bag doesn't fit in the over the hall space (or is a pain to lift) you can use the upper pretty easily.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

As an update I just did this. I rode Brightline from Fort Lauderdale to West Palm and caught the Star to Kissimmee and took Uber to Disneys Pop century resort... $21.57 total. driver arrived in less than 5 minutes. In fact he almost arrived too quick... I wanted to watch the train leave because there was a private car on the train! Ha.

 

[Oreius]

I’ve done some research, and have decided to have Uber take me to Kissimmee. I’m going to ask the hotel concierge if they can pick me up at the hotel or must I go to the TTC at Disney World. The fare is about $30-cheaper than the $60

for a taxi....

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[Just-Thinking-51]

They (Uber) will pick you up at your hotel.

 

[user 1215]

There was a lot of grief with Uber picking up inside WDW's parking zone - for the TTC, MK, Poly, Grand, Contemporary & WL resorts. Disney was charging Uber full parking price to enter for pick ups or dropoffs. I believe that it has changed now.

If you haven't used Uber before, plug in my promo code UBERJIMSAV or maybe even try Lyft (LYFTJIMSAV). Sometimes it's good to have both apps available in case one is surging. Remember, Uber's price estimates don't mean anything until you are ready to actually request the ride.

Don't forget to tip your driver. They make dirt. Like 1/3 of most cabbies, hence the lower fares.

 

[crescent-zephyr]

I've used Uber many times to / from Disney and haven't had any problems at all. Disney has dedicated ride share pick up areas at the theme parks.