train to Disney

mommymegan831

I'm thinking of taking the train to Disney, I guess the auto train from Virginia, we're coming from NJ.  My kids will be 2 and 4 then.  Anyone done this?  How did you like it?  

Aimathy

I agree with auntie.   We did it once and it was awful.   We were late, it was expensive and the people on there were one step above Greyhound, for the most part.   It felt like an eternity in h*ll and we couldn't wait to get off.  If we hadn't already booked and paid for our return fare, we would've flown or driven home in a heartbeat.   I would definitely scout out fares on kayak.com/JetBlue and from all the area airports before doing the train.  Seriously.   But have fun in Disney either way!!!

Littlejen22

I would also strongly recommend flying but if you don't want to fly then driving is cheaper and probably quicker or if not take the regular train whih my friend loved but it was over and hour to Manhattan and them the long train ride and then drive to Disney but since her son loves trains and you can walk freely they enjoyed it. But it was around 22 hours each way but my friend is pretty scared of flying. We fly everywhere.

la79al

We did the autotrain in March, DD1 was just under 5, DD2 was 2.5.  The AT is pretty expensive.  The earlier you book, the cheaper it is and if you keep an eye on it after you book and the price lowers, you can call and get the lower price.  For us, not having to worry about suitcases, strollers, carseats, and kids in the airport made it kind of work out pricewise (I was going to be by myself with the kids).  On the way down, the train was not full and we basically got 6 seats to divide between 5 people.  The girls both slept pretty well in their seats, I don't think any of the adults with me slept well.  On the way back, we got 3 seats to divide between 3 people.  The girls slept well again in their seats, I got maybe 3 hours.  The people on the train with us going down were super nice.  I got about 50 billion compliments from older people on how good the girls were being.  The family in front of us went out of their way to make sure we were comfortable.  The family behind us was being super obnoxious for part of the ride.  On the way back, it was just me and the girls and I had numerous people complimenting me again and offering to help in any way they could.  The lady sharing my seat even offered me her sweatshirt when I mentioned I was cold. Overall, I think we will do it again, when the kids are maybe 6 and 8 or so.  I packed a huge backpack full of stuff for them to do and it kept them occupied for maybe 2 hours.  The movies on the train were pretty dull seeming.  I envied the families that could go to the lounge, sit at the table and play cards.  My kids did good, and they loved it but I found it to be a lot of work and very little sleep.  And it is definitely not faster than any other way of getting to FL.  Walking might even be faster.  On the way home, between a late train and problems with unloading cars, it was over 24 hours from the time we pulled into the Sanford station to the time we pulled out of the Lorton station.  Take a pillow and blanket, it makes a HUGE difference and take something to play DVDs for the kids (along with headphones and there is no wifi).  Oh, and dinner on the train was good but the snacks options were not kid friendly.  If you look at it as an adventure rather than just transportation, you might be good to go.