[faerie dust]

My DH and i are going to disney in september. usually we drive but as my DH has been ill he has a nerve disease called RSD. He also has had four strokes over the past five years. . although he completed recovered from each one. it is tough for him to do the two days in a car even if we split the driving. [ he will not admit it of course and he is allowed to drive. } neither one of us are fans of flying. we were considering using amtrak. we are in the northeast Pa. my question has anybody done this? what did you think. i am told it takes 18 hours. should we get a cabin with a bed?
i am trying to find away that he will not need a day to recover when we get down there. last time we took two days to drive staying overnight in SC he was still exhausted for a couple days., any info is greatly appreciated. this is our anniversary trip sorry if this is to long
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[bumble]

My step kids love going on Amtrak. They only come from south Fl, so no overnights for them. But it is an easy way to travel. My only recommendation is to plan a room off site for your first night, because the train does become delayed often, so arrival time can be a bit off.

[Experiment6-2-6]

Originally Posted by faerie dust

My DH and i are going to disney in september. usually we drive but as my DH has been ill he has a nerve disease called RSD. He also has had four strokes over the past five years. . although he completed recovered from each one. it is tough for him to do the two days in a car even if we split the driving. [ he will not admit it of course and he is allowed to drive. } neither one of us are fans of flying. we were considering using amtrak. we are in the northeast Pa. my question has anybody done this? what did you think. i am told it takes 18 hours. should we get a cabin with a bed?
i am trying to find away that he will not need a day to recover when we get down there. last time we took two days to drive staying overnight in SC he was still exhausted for a couple days., any info is greatly appreciated. this is our anniversary trip

This is NOT a too long question...

In my opinion, if you can afford it, go by rail.

My Mom and Dad live in the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina, far from any major hub, and I either have to fly into Atlanta or Dulles, then waits for a commuter or drive down. Either way, after two redeyes from Pago Pago to LAX to the Eastern Seaboard, I am dead.

So a few years ago I started thinking about the train. And the tracks go right through North Carolina from New Orleans, so I was excited. Then I saw the cost, WITHOUT the sleeper...

But I did take the train this last February from San Diego to Union Station in Los Angeles. That was affordable. And having driven from San Diego to Disneyland for way too many times stuck in way too busy traffic, I am going to consider taking the train exclusively. I have also taken many a cross country trip approximately the distance your are planning to drive, and that's tough for ANYONE to do..

To make a long answer short, take the train. The sleeper if you can afford it. Y'all would then be able to ENJOY Walt Disney World! The alternative is rather bleak, that is, spending time on the road and time at the park recovering..

Just my two cents...

[faerie dust]

Originally Posted by Experiment6-2-6

This is NOT a too long question...

In my opinion, if you can afford it, go by rail.

My Mom and Dad live in the Smokey Mountains in North Carolina, far from any major hub, and I either have to fly into Atlanta or Dulles, then waits for a commuter or drive down. Either way, after two redeyes from Pago Pago to LAX to the Eastern Seaboard, I am dead.

So a few years ago I started thinking about the train. And the tracks go right through North Carolina from New Orleans, so I was excited. Then I saw the cost, WITHOUT the sleeper...

But I did take the train this last February from San Diego to Union Station in Los Angeles. That was affordable. And having driven from San Diego to Disneyland for way too many times stuck in way too busy traffic, I am going to consider taking the train exclusively. I have also taken many a cross country trip approximately the distance your are planning to drive, and that's tough for ANYONE to do..

To make a long answer short, take the train. The sleeper if you can afford it. Y'all would then be able to ENJOY Walt Disney World! The alternative is rather bleak, that is, spending time on the road and time at the park recovering..

Just my two cents...

my goodness after reading how far you travel to see your parents our two days to disney seem like nothing im not sure where Pago Pago is but it sounds very romantic. thanks for the info yes it is pricy but i am thinking it may even out sort of with the price of gas and a hotel room to drive. i am on my way to AAA to see if they give discounts. my DH thinks im over reacting he does not understand my concern. of course . thanks again. by the way I LOVE STITCH

[Experiment6-2-6]

Originally Posted by faerie dust

my goodness after reading how far you travel to see your parents our two days to disney seem like nothing im not sure where Pago Pago is but it sounds very romantic. thanks for the info yes it is pricy but i am thinking it may even out sort of with the price of gas and a hotel room to drive. i am on my way to AAA to see if they give discounts. my DH thinks im over reacting he does not understand my concern. of course . thanks again. by the way I LOVE STITCH

Oh yeah, them gas prices.. Sort of forgot about that. That alone might make the train affordable. I don't think you are overreacting. Pago Pago is a neat little place that I WISH Amtrak serviced..

But it doesn't.

Sort of like that joke about building a bridge to Hawaii...

This is what I like about Disney Central. Anything and everything can be answered.

[karliebug]

My parents have taken Amtrak from Philly to Miami several times. I think it took them 22 hours. They always get a sleeping car so they are more comfortable, but I still think flying is more economical as well as such less time.

[faerie dust]

Originally Posted by karliebug

My parents have taken Amtrak from Philly to Miami several times. I think it took them 22 hours. They always get a sleeping car so they are more comfortable, but I still think flying is more economical as well as such less time.

flying is definately cheaper plus quicker but i HATE, HATE ,HATE TO FLY. if there is a road to some place i would rather use that. i travel for work by car so the driving is no biggie. I get a panic attack approaching the airport. by the time i am acutally in the airport forget it. i have flown a couple times and it never gets better. so for me it is either drive or maybe if we can afford it choo .choo.

[Cavey]

I use to use Amtrack to get back and forth to college over holidays/long weekends--a short 3-hour ride. I always enjoyed the train. And FORGET taking a bus--yuck!!!!

Definately get the sleeper car. I once encountered a girl going coast-to-coast in coach. She hadn't bathed in 4 days (add to that, she was a "Dead Head," so the smell was way over the top!).

[katiebelle]

i have traveled on both the regular amtrak train and the amtrak autotrain. there are advantages and disadvantages with both. i'll start with regular amtrak. i left from baltimore and it took approximately 18 hours to get there. the train made frequent stops and it stoped for an hour in washington d.c. because we had to switch from electic to gas engines (or vice versa...i can't remember). the seats were really close together...there was not a lot of leg room. the advantage: you can leave from whatever destination you want and the tickets are cheaper. with the autotrain you can only leave from lorton, va which is about 35 minutes south of d.c. it's more expensive because you are actually buying a train ticket for your vehicle. the advantages: there is more room. the seats are like recliners. the train doesn't make any additional stops. once you're on no one comes on. that gives you the freedom to move around your train car. if there are empty seats you can spread out, giving yourself more room. and as an added bonus dinner and breakfast are included in your ticket price. the ride itself takes about 16 hours, but you are leaving from d.c. personally i liked the autotrain better. i have never purchased a sleeper because it is too expensive for me, so i like something where i am free to spread out. hope this helps you make up your mind!! either amtrak option is better than driving and better than flying (for people like me who are terrified of flying)

[mickaholic4077]

Every time I hear of an Amtrak accident,I say to my mother,"I didn't know Aunt Janie went to(fill in wherever the accident occured)!! Actually,Amtrak isn't bad at all. Try to get the sleeper car,though.

[faerie dust]

Originally Posted by mickaholic4077

Every time I hear of an Amtrak accident,I say to my mother,"I didn't know Aunt Janie went to(fill in wherever the accident occured)!! Actually,Amtrak isn't bad at all. Try to get the sleeper car,though.

ok i have to ask does aunt Janie have alot of accidents? or bad luck.

anyway thanks so much for the all the help I do not think amtrak sounds too bad. my DH and i went to AAA last evening to put money on the trip. we priced amtrak. for coach it is $205.00 each person from Philly to Orlando, for sleeper it is $600.00 each person. it is 22 hours from Philly to Orlando then we would have to get transportation to disney . on top of that Philly is 2 to 2 and a half hours from us not bad but then we would have to pay to park our car while we are gone. parking in philly is outragous.
we are still thinking about it. we are not sure we want to add other $400.00 or $1200.00 dolllers to a trip that is only costing $1300.00 to begin with. we are going for nine nights and staying at the POP. the travel agent at AAA said we have time as the train does not book up that quick.

[karliebug]

If you stay the night before your trip in philly, many hotels will let you leave your car there for the duration of your trip. The cost of the room for one nite is less than parking your car somewhere else for the week. Just a thought. We do this when we fly from Philly.

[faerie dust]

Originally Posted by karliebug

If you stay the night before your trip in philly, many hotels will let you leave your car there for the duration of your trip. The cost of the room for one nite is less than parking your car somewhere else for the week. Just a thought. We do this when we fly from Philly.

thanks for the information. I am about 45 minutes from the Poconos in Dallas Pa. i do alot of work in Stroudsburg
i will make some phone calls where do you usually stay?

[mickaholic4077]

My Aunt Janie has to take Amtrak because she can only fly in specific kinds of planes because of her ears. She has been in 3 Amtrak accidents that I remember. I guess you could say that she is pretty lucky in one way because she has never been seriously hurt,thank God!!

[karliebug]

If you go to parksleepfly.com they will tell you prices for hotels near the airport but I'm not sure how far that is from the train station.