Question about taking the train to WDW with kids

[jenny2]

DH and I have been throwing around the idea of taking another trip to the world this January (those DAMN APS!!). DH won't fly (and he's an aircraft mechanic... scary!) and since we just did the drive in September with the kids, I'm really not looking forward to it (the drive).

I've been thinking of taking the train, but don't know anyone who's taken it to Florida to ask how it was. That's where you all can help I'd like any and all comments on taking the Amtrak, especially if you took it with kids. My DD will be 2 1/2 and DS will be 7 months old.

How was the train? What kind of seats do the trains have? Did you get a sleeping room or sleep in the seat? Did you take your car as well? How is the food? If you had kids with you, how did they do? What did you do during the day to keep them busy? What is your overall impression?

The only experience I have with trains is with Boston's commuter rail, and if the Amtrak trains are like them I won't be going anywhere, LOL!

Thanks in advance!

 

[KRWong]

Jenny2,

We took the auto train from Lorton, VA to Sanford, FL (about 45 minutes away from the World) last December so I can give you a little info on that....

Price: $800 for 2 adults and 2 children, dinner, snacks and breakfast and passage for the car (if we took the van it would have been $1500). We did not get a room either.

The seats are ok, a little better than airplane seats. Since it was fairly empty in our car, we each took two seats to sleep on at night and that seemed to work out ok. The kids slept from about 10:00 (because we let them watch the movie!) until 6:00, which was way better than I expected. DH and I got about 6 hours sleep, there's a lot of activity with the doors opening and closing and people walking through. The kids were very good at entertaining themselves and we also took many books, coloring books and cards too. They just played at their seats most of the time together and DH and I read. They leave from Lorton, VA at 2:00, I think, and that meant that we only had about 3-4 hours to worry about, because then it was dinner and then the movie and then bed!

The food was really good, we had a fish the first night that was so good, I got it again on the way home! They have standard kids meal stuff, chicken nuggets, if I remember right! Breakfast was cereal, bagel, fruit, juice and coffee. They have snacks and coffee/hot choc out during the whole trip.

All in all it was a great experience, this year we are driving to save money, but I'd rather be on the train! I noticed you're from MA, so I hope this was helpful as you'd have to drive to VA first! But maybe some of the info would pertain to your trip! If you have any questions let me know!

 

[BounceyOne]

We've done the auto train also, but we get a room. I would not suggest just getting seats with 2 young children, a room would give you privacy and also give your children room to stand alone.
It leaves Lorton Va at 4:00pm and arrives in sanford Fl at 8:30am.
They serve you dinner and breakfast. Dinner is a real meal and tastes pretty good. BF is cereal, coffee, tea, bagels.

The price varies alot. Check the amtrak website, if you have any questions about autotrain let me know. I've taken it since i was about 8 or so.

 

[Magic2000]

We haven't taken Amtrack to Disney, but we did go to Washington DC by train and it was really nice. The kids did fine. We didn't do a separate sleep car either - and the kids slept fine. I had two pre-teen, and a 2 yr old. The older two often went to the "game room" to play cards, listen to their head phones, and just talk and eat/drink. We brought a small ice chest to hold soft drinks and milk for my 2 yr old, and we also brought a lot of snacks. The 2 yr old did pretty good - we went to the "game room" also to move around - and she slept a lot. (The game room is really just a car with tables/chairs for relaxing.) Our trip was 26 hrs by train.

 

[mrsv98]

Last year, we took the train all the way from Chicago! The route is Chicago --> Washington DC --> Orlando. It took two days and nights. We had sleeping cars all the way due to the length of the trip and our DD was 20 months at the time. The food was good and it was really nice to have our own space to spread out. I can't imagine doing that trip without a room. That being said, it is VERY expensive. If I recall correctly, it was $2300 RT. Of course, your trip would be less because it is only over one day/night. We are going again in Feb, but this time we are driving. We bought a DVD player for the van to entertain DD so that should help. I just didn't want to take so long to get there this year! Have fun!

 

[Pocahontas1]

I've taken the train several times as a teenager and an adult and it was a pleasant experience. Very relaxing, read a book, etc.

My mother and I took my DS on Amtrak from Chas, SC to Orlando, FL when he was 14 months old. It was the most miserable experience of my life. He was just getting to be a good walker and spent a great deal of the trip walking up and down the aisle trying to mooch food from other travelers. He would sit for a little bit, but then he wanted to be up and moving again. He would look at books and play with toys, but it didn't really hold his interest.

Also, he never slept the entire trip down. I think the train leaves about 8am from Chas and is supposed to get in to Orlando sometime late afternoon. We didn't make it until after 8 or 9pm. There were all sorts of delays. Can't remember them all, but one involved a car/train (not ours) collison, that had to be cleaned up before we could continue.

I noticed some other (older) children on the train and they were fine. They slept and their father had brought his laptop so they were able to watch movies.

I think that DS would do better now (he' 2 1/2), but I would never make the trip with an infant again. We stayed in the seats, but a compartment might have been better. That would give the kids a bit more freedom.

As I said, I don't have a problem with taking the train, but it didn't work when I did it with my son. Maybe it was too much stimulation or lack of stimulation. Worse thing about the whole experience is after we finally got to Orlando, I realized I was going to have to repeat the trip back to Charleston in 2 days It was a little better. DS slept for 30 minutes.

Hope that helps. Have a great time if you go....

 

[kiddisney]

hi - we took the train from Newark NJ to Orlando - which is what you would be taking - and my father who didn't fly before decided on the way down that he was flying home -

i believe that it wouldn't be a bad flight - if you're prepared - you definately need a sleeper - because the seats are not that comfortable for over 24 hours

also - you should bring kid food - the only food was on a meal plan - and my daughter just wanted mashed potatoes - and they wouldn't serve her - i guess that it's a prepared tray -

and you'll have to check out where the smoking car is - because on our trip the smoking car was between the general seating and dining car - and it was horrible to walk thru -

so if you wanted to stop and hit another car for a change - you will "smell" when you get back to your seat

but i do agree that for kids - the train is fun - you just have to be prepared for a long long trip - just like driving -

good luck

 

[MichelleC]

How was the drive from MA? We want to go again soon, but we'd like to do it on the "cheap", so we may drive. How long, how many stops, etc. Details, please!!

Thanks!!

 

[jenny2]

Thanks so much for all of your replies. We're still on the fence as to whether we're going or not, but I feel better about making the decision about taking the train now that I've heard so many reactions - good and bad!

MichelleC - we've done the drive 3 different ways the 3 times we've driven. The first time it was just DH and myself in my car. We left around noon, drove all day till about midnight, stopped in a well lit, populated rest area in NC for a few hours sleep, and continued on our way at around 3 AM. Neither one of us mind driving long distances, so we just switched on and off whenever we got tired. The next trip was me, DH and our 20 month old DD in the car. We left around 11pm, drove through the night and the next day till about 4pm and got a hotel room in NC for the night (it was Superbowl Sunday, and DH was NOT going to miss seeing the Pats play, LOL!). Left the next morning and made it to WDW in the afternoon. Drove straight home on that trip. The last trip we won't repeat. We towed our camper down to Fort Wilderness with DHs pickup. It seemed to take so much longer that what we were used to, cost MUCH more $$ and was very stressful on all of us.

Driving time (when we take the car) is about 20 hours. One drive home we made it in 18.5 (didn't hit ANY traffic that time). We don't have any predetermined stops - whenever the mood strikes or the kids get hungry If you want any more specific details, you can PM me

 

[danicaw]

Wow! I am so thankful I stumbled onto this thread.
We are planning a Jan 2004 trip and inviting all our parents and my sis-in-law.

It will be our little ones first WDW trip (who arrives in June) and my niece would be about 19 months. So, my sis-in-law were talking about take a few days and riding the train out with the kids, the rest of the family would fly and meet us. She is also hoping to be "with-child" at time, so initally it seemed like a good idea.

But based on how far we have to go - Seattle to Orlando, I am thinking it might be better to deal with a handful of hours on a plane than days and days and days on the train, especially since it sound like it would cost more in the long run.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences, I will do a bit more research on price before we decide, good thing I have time.