[bethishooked]

We've driven from Illinois (19 hours) and have flown (unpleasant experience). We're heading back to Disney at the end of January, and my DH will not fly again. Although I'm okay with driving, kids aren't too thrilled. I keep going back to checking into train travel, but something keeps holding me back. Whether you have had good experiences and/or bad ones, can you please give a little insite on how a train trip is. There is such a cost difference between coach and a sleeping car. What's it like to use coach for the two days it would take to get there? Does anyone know of any place to get some good discounts, maybe codes like what Disney does?

[DarthTortoise]

We've taken the Amtrak Auto Train . It was pretty cool.

[Dana]

I took a train from philly to alabama back in 93. I loved the ride. I had a sleeping car and found it very cramped, but peaceful. The sounds of the tracks lulled me to sleep.
I beleive the ride was 23 hours, but I am not certain it was so long ago. I would do that instead of drive. That's to long in a car for my tastes. At least in the train you can walk around and use a bathroom if you need to. The downside is, it takes WAY longer.

[EmpressJenny]

I refuse to fly again too (fortunately Pete is VERY supportive and kind regarding this decision). Our drive is roughly 16.5 - 18 hours depending on traffic. I looked into taking the train for our next trip, but it will take a lot longer, and the cost of a sleeper car compared to sitting in coach for 24 hours is astronomically different. Plus then we'd have to rent a car once we got to Orlando. Driving is the best option, in my opinion.

[7nqb00]

We have the AutoTrain twice. It great, but is no where near you in IL. Go for the extra $$$ and get a sleeper. Coach is ---- on wheel. Noise, etc you will get little or no sleep

[Soundgod]

Passenger train service in the US is pretty limited. It seems you can go north to south on the east and west coasts, and go from coast to coast, but if you want to go from Chicago to Orlando, you're going to have a really hard time. You'll probably have to go to DC and then change trains to a southern bound train. Auto Train is great, so long as you're going from DC to Orlando, or can fit that into your route. There might still be service from Chicago to New Orleans, but you'll still need to change trains at least once to get to Orlando.

[CaribBeachNut]

Took a coach seat from NYC to Denver, CO which took two days. Left NYC Sunday at 1:30pm and arrived Denver Tuesday morning at 9:30. Coach seating was horrendous on Amtrak. I will never do it again, and recommend that you drive! Leave at 1:30 in the morning and have the whole family sleep whilst one person drives. That's much better than coach train for that long.

[ZarSu]

We took the train from Kissimmee Florida to West Kingston Rhode Island
Pros

• No airport security.
• No air sickness.
• No crazy drivers to deal with.
• No tolls.
• No traffic Jams.
• The clickity clack of the wheels is rather peacefull.
• Much bigger seats compared to a plane.
• 120 volt plug at each seat for laptops to watch movies or play games on.

Cons

• The scenery is not the best, unless you like to see the very lowest valued property and lots and lots of trash out the windows.
• Not the cleanest enviroment (the train itself).
• Not the highest class of travelers (we had some very smelly people next to us).
• Not the easist place to go the bathroom, you have to hold on and pray the lights don't go off!
• The tracks from DC south are old, slow and just plain horrible they will throw you around a bit.
• DC and NY train stations are scary durring layovers for contry folk.

Would we do it again? Not likely, will drive or fly most likely.

[Disneywife]

I'm far more frightened of trains then I am of planes.

I've heard about a lot more train crashes in the past few years than plane crashes.

And the lack of adequate security scares me too, esp. after Madrid.