Amtrak from NYC

Have you considered medication for flying? Go to your doctor and tell him you're terrified to fly and ask for some help. It's the only way I fly but it helps temendously.
 
After reading this I felt confident in choosing the train as i know it will be the most relaxing for me.

Thanks!

However now I just read the news about the Amtrak train on my route that derailed early this morning due to the big snow storm on the east coast and because of a frozen switch. Now I’m back to being undecided. I’m wondering if it’s worth risking serious delays for winter train travel. Maybe I should just suck it up and fly? :confused3

The cause of the derailment in Savannah was a frozen switch. In areas that see a lot of ice & snow, the railroads install devices called switch heaters. They heat up the movable points of the switch to keep them from freezing up. In this case, Savannah isn't an area that sees a lot of ice & snow, so there was no switch heater installed and the switch froze up.

The derailment was a low speed derailment. No one was injured and the two cars that derailed stayed upright. With these derailments, the cars can be rerailed easily.

I wouldn't let this bother you. Temperatures are supposed to be getting warmer here in the south soon, so it would keep switches from freezing. And, temperatures like we are having now do not occur that often.

If you try the train, I think you will like it! I know I much prefer it over air travel.
 
I hear you. My son refuses to fly. He used to. He also went skydiving once. No more.

I hate/fear flying. I don't let it stop me 100% but wish I did not have such a fear of it (mechanical more than anything else). If I did not have this fear, we would be traveling by air more often (quicker) and visit more places.

We drive more than 50% of the time to Disney/HH. We are flying in May. I do stress over it. Hoping to drive when we go back in October.

I have taken Amtrak to Disney (twice) and to West Palm (once) - Coach. Since I have a fear flying - I have no issues with it and would rather take Amtrak. The only issue I have is that the bathrooms get filthy. They are not cleaned until they reach the end of the route. After the first trip on Amtrak, I was prepared. Mask, gloves and Renuzit. I kept the Renuzit (air freshener) opened by my seat. Think overnight people, eating, etc........It is an adventure. You can relax, bring a book, play cards, bring food, get off at each stop for 5 minutes, etc. etc.

One year, I convinced hubby to take the Autotrain. Since I was worried how he would like it - we drove down and took the Autotrain back. We did get two roomettes. Much nicer than coach of course. This would be the ideal way to go. (no getting off/no stops).

We don't mind driving but also know there could be delays, accidents and nuts out there. We mix it up a bit.

You need to give it a try - you might have a great first experience or you might not. Good luck. Let us know what you decide and how you liked Amtrak if you take it.

Thanks for the reply! Happy to hear the roomette on the train is the ideal way to go (in terms of Amtrak). I’m relieved to know the shared bathroom won’t be an issue for me. If it was, I’d be just like you with gloves and disinfectant, lol. Still will be bringing along some disinfectant for the roomette. I feel more relaxed now hearing that you’d prefer Amtrak to flying. I don’t get cabin fever as much as others seem to, I’m pretty content to play cards, read a book, watch downloaded movies on my laptop, or just zone out, so I think I’ll be okay! Thanks!

It’s strange how the fear of flying can come out of nowehere. Like your son, I used to fly much more frequently when I was younger but one bad flight can really shake you up. That, and age. I find the older I get, the more cautious I am about everything. I’m glad your fear of flying doesn’t completely stop you from boarding a plane time to time, that’s great! I’m about the same, but for some reason I just really don’t want to fly on this trip. I think it’s because I always wanted to go to Disney as a child and my BF loves it, so I want to make it as pleasant for both of us as possible and I know that will not happen if I’m in a panic to and from Orlando. Lucky for me, I don’t particularly like traveling so my fear of flying doesn’t really impact my life too much.
 
Have you considered medication for flying? Go to your doctor and tell him you're terrified to fly and ask for some help. It's the only way I fly but it helps temendously.
Have you considered medication for flying? Go to your doctor and tell him you're terrified to fly and ask for some help. It's the only way I fly but it helps temendously.
My doctor prescribed me Ativan, I took double the dose last time I flew back in June and still had an anxiety attack. I probably get way too low of a dose at .5mg, so a double dose isn’t really that much. I’m weird with flying anxiety, I hate the feeling of panic and being trapped in the sky, but I also hate being drugged out of it or having my anxiety reduced because I feel as if I won’t be alert enough in case of an emergency. It’s silly, I know lol.
 


Thanks!



The cause of the derailment in Savannah was a frozen switch. In areas that see a lot of ice & snow, the railroads install devices called switch heaters. They heat up the movable points of the switch to keep them from freezing up. In this case, Savannah isn't an area that sees a lot of ice & snow, so there was no switch heater installed and the switch froze up.

The derailment was a low speed derailment. No one was injured and the two cars that derailed stayed upright. With these derailments, the cars can be rerailed easily.

I wouldn't let this bother you. Temperatures are supposed to be getting warmer here in the south soon, so it would keep switches from freezing. And, temperatures like we are having now do not occur that often.

If you try the train, I think you will like it! I know I much prefer it over air travel.

Thanks! That helps me understand the cause of the derailment a lot better. I didn’t know there were switch heaters up north, which I guess is kinda stupid of me lol.

I think I will be okay with the train, thanks so much! After my trip I’ll be sure to update how it all went. :)
 
Thanks! That helps me understand the cause of the derailment a lot better. I didn’t know there were switch heaters up north, which I guess is kinda stupid of me lol.

I think I will be okay with the train, thanks so much! After my trip I’ll be sure to update how it all went. :)

You're welcome. Let us know how it goes.

Personally, i've always enjoyed travel by train. I find that I sleep the best on a train.

My only other piece of advice is that if you are delayed, don't stress about it. Just think of it as more time to enjoy the train!

Before I forget, I believe the Silver Meteor still has its dining car. That may be another option you could look into.
 
I’m similar in panic to you. I loved the train. I felt like my vacation started as soon as I got on. On planes I panic the entire flight- then a few days before return I start to panic again.
Completely irrational but witnessing something has me very stressed about flying.


I have a friend that swears by Xanax for flying.
I may try that.

But safe travels to you.
 


I've taken Amtrak (with roomette) from NYC to Orlando several times and will be doing it again in March. My DH isn't afraid of flying but doesn't like all the security stuff at the airport.

The train is fine. We've never had a serious delay on the route . . . however . . . a couple of years ago there was a major snowstorm right around the time of our trip and the train was canceled/rescheduled twice, which meant we had to change our resort reservation twice, which, fortunately, we were able to do. I realize that weather can delay/cancel flights as well, however, it took Amtrak a much longer time to be back up and running than it took for airlines to resume their operations. Just something for you to consider.

Also, the Silver Meteor, which leaves later in the day (around 3 p.m., I believe) still has a dining car. It's a bit more expensive than the Silver Star, but even though it leaves NYC 4 hours later, it gets into Orlando only a little later than the Star.

I believe Amtrak has a cancellation penalty these days. But it's not the entire fare, which I'm going to guess is the penalty you're paying to not take your flights.

Just some more things to think about. But--you're going to WDW! Have fun!
 
I’m similar in panic to you. I loved the train. I felt like my vacation started as soon as I got on. On planes I panic the entire flight- then a few days before return I start to panic again.
Completely irrational but witnessing something has me very stressed about flying.


I have a friend that swears by Xanax for flying.
I may try that.

But safe travels to you.
 
Hi! :wave:

I’m new to the site and also to Disney World! I will be going to Disney World for the very first time in just a couple weeks. While I’m very excited, I’m experiencing a lot of travel anxiety. My boyfriend and I had plane tickets booked months in advance, however I HATE flying. I’m terrified of it and while I am aware it is an irrational fear, flying feels so unnatural to me that I can’t cope and learn to accept the statistics. I used to fly more frequently in the past, but over the past few years my fear of flying has really revved up.

The other day after receiving our magic bands in the mail I freaked out realizing that I soon would have to board a plane and in a panic I shelled out waaayy too much money for Amtrak roomette tickets. I added on the insurance policy and I think I can still get a refund from Amtrak, but I’m not sure if that’s what I want.

Has anyone traveled to Disney on the Amtrak Silver Star 91 from NYC Penn Station? If so, how was it? I will have a roomette, which will be shared with my boyfriend. I found out there is no longer a dining car on the Silver Star, which bums me out a little, but it’s not the end of the world.

Can anyone tell me their experience? Anyone else with an intense fear of flying?

I think sleeping on an overnight train in a roomette seems like it can be an adventure and seems cozy and fun but I’m sure I’m just romanticizing it. It’s not a pretty train, I know...

I’m even starting to fear derailments now. I’m especially worried about delays too. I’ve read these trains can easily be delayed on average 3-4 hours and can even be delayed as much as 13 or so hours, if not canceled. If we do take the train though, even if we are late arriving, we will have an extra day at one of the parks that we wouldn’t have had if we stick with the flight since our flight home is early in the morning and the return train departs late in the evening. My boyfriend is pretty chill about it all, he understands my fear and just wants me to be relaxed and stress-free so I can fully enjoy Disney World, even if that means 23 hours on a train. He’s super understanding.

Anyone love Amtrak? Hate it? Something inbetween? I’d really appreciate any type of feedback on your Amtrak trips to Orlando.

Sorry for the long post. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m a huge worrier! :worried:

Thanks!!!
In 2006, we took it to Florida. Back then there was a dining car. How will you eat without that?
Anyway, we traveled coach, and being unable to lie down and get horizontal to sleep was pretty awful, so it’s good that you have a place to sleep.
It was a cool experience. It felt like an adventure. Once in the Deep South it becomes a local train, and there were a lot of stops. There was even a “lady of the evening” working the train.
The only way I would do it again would be to have a sleeping cabin. But I really wonder how you can be on a train for 24 hours without a dining car.
 
We took the train down to Disney a few Christmases ago. It is exactly what you're picturing: a train ride to Disney.
We sat in the regular seats and sleeping was a challenge. They also turned off the heat during the night for some odd reason.

If it helps at all: my mom is scared to fly. But after years of driving to Disney and a long and boring train ride, she caved. We flew and she was fine. We fly all the time now and while she gets nervous, she makes it through fine.

I can't tell you which way to lean. Go with your gut and what makes you comfortable.
 
BlueLilac, I was thinking about your trip and wondered if your plane tickets were in JetBlue. If so and if you're still thinking about flying, get the Extra Leg Room seats. I think it's $30 more each way from NYC to Orlando, and it's well worth the money. The seats are in the front of the plane and there's a lot of extra leg room. And you get to board first and get off first. The last couple of times I did this, there were only 2 people in most of the 3-across seats. Makes a huge difference.

And have a great trip!
 
I’m similar in panic to you. I loved the train. I felt like my vacation started as soon as I got on. On planes I panic the entire flight- then a few days before return I start to panic again.
Completely irrational but witnessing something has me very stressed about flying.


I have a friend that swears by Xanax for flying.
I may try that.

But safe travels to you.

You should try it for a short commuter flight, not you vacation, in case it doesn't work.
 
BlueLilac, I was thinking about your trip and wondered if your plane tickets were in JetBlue. If so and if you're still thinking about flying, get the Extra Leg Room seats. I think it's $30 more each way from NYC to Orlando, and it's well worth the money. The seats are in the front of the plane and there's a lot of extra leg room. And you get to board first and get off first. The last couple of times I did this, there were only 2 people in most of the 3-across seats. Makes a huge difference.

And have a great trip!
My plane tickets are with Delta, not JetBlue :( but I think I’m leaning towards the train. It’s too bad that we’ll be out money because of my fear, but we did get a really good deal on the plane tickets so they weren’t expensive at all.

Good to know about the Extra Leg Room seats though for the future! I’m sure I’ll be traveling to places in the coming years that I definitely cannot train to!
 
I’m similar in panic to you. I loved the train. I felt like my vacation started as soon as I got on. On planes I panic the entire flight- then a few days before return I start to panic again.
Completely irrational but witnessing something has me very stressed about flying.


I have a friend that swears by Xanax for flying.
I may try that.


While I like the train, it does add a lot of time to the trip where you could be really vacationing (IMHO). I take XANAX for plane rides as well. Keeps you completely calm. I have gone from complete panic to actually enjoying the flight. I would highly recommend trying. Trains have worse crash records and fatality records, and cars are the most risky. Not to mention all the recent train derailments
 
Last edited:
Hi everyone!

I figured I’d give a quick update on my trip. I ended up taking the train, which wasn’t bad at all and much less stressful than flying for me. It was a little difficult to sleep but overall it was okay. However, I just was diagnosed with the flu this morning at the urgent care just outside of the Disney Resort I’m staying at. Needless to say, my vacation has pretty much come to a halt as I’m now confined to the hotel room. I was supposed to be at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter today, which I was looking forward to the most so I’m really bummed, but I have no choice to sit it out. I don’t want to spread the flu and I need to rest.
 
I like train travel. Though not having a dining car is weird.


Just plan on a long delay. Going up/down the west coast it gets more and more delayed with every single stop.


The fear you have about the train can happen. Just did in my area. I probably wouldn’t fear train travel bc of it, but then don’t have anything planned right now so that’s easy to say.
Realise that some would consider this a zombie thread but in searching for some Amtrak info found this and decided to add to the general knowledge not related to Autotrain.

They dropped the dining car from the Silver Star to give more options to travelers at a lesser cost. It started as a 6 month study and when they realised there was a market the decision was made to make it a permanent change. Personally I prefer the Silver Meteor because it has both sleeping accommodations and table service but it does cost a bit more.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top