Auto-Train Travel
 

Is this a good way for family travel? Will the kids enjoy it?

Does anyone know of promo-codes for the auto-train or for children?

It depends on how long you are spending in Florida. If only for a few days, it is cheaper to fly and rent a car or take the regular Amtrak Silver Service to the city of your choice in Florida. Some people who live in the NE ship their cars on a car carrier and fly out 2 days later. (snow birds)
You have to wait for over an hour to get your car unloaded in Sanford Florida before you can drive to your destination.
Check the fare for your car to ride along vs. car rental for however long you will be there. You also have to be in Lorton Virginia more than an hour ahead of time to load the car.

Lots of issues to consider:

price of the auto-train and do you get sleeping accommodations or not?

price of flying (of course thast depends on origin and destination and there are, for example, some relatively cheap fares from both Washington and Baltimore to places like Fort Lauderdale; Orlando? another thing entirely)

Do you really NEED a car in Florida? if so, how much less expensive is having yours vs. using a rental?

Will the kids enjoy it? If they've never traveled by rail before, perhaps but remember this, if you drive DOWN either on the train or road, you also HAVE to drive back.

We took the auto train when our boys were midteens and loved it, then two of the boys - on their own - took it again as late-teen/early 20s. When we did it as a family we got rooms which was really nice - but it only paid off (equal to airline tickets plus rental car) because it was about a 2 1/2 week trip. The boys did not get a room - they did it on the cheap and just had the seats. They were young, so it was fine with them - and there were 3 drivers (I can count! a friend went with them!) so when they got off the train they could switch off driving - they didn't get as much sleep in the airplane-type seats. I can't remember exactly when you leave and arrive (maybe 4PM and 10AM0?), but between the excitement of leaving, looking out, and supper (sit down dinner came with the roomettes) that evening, and breakfast in the morning - it went by really fast to us. It seems like in Lorton we checked in, then went out to lunch - but it was still a fairly lengthy wait for the cars to be loaded and unloaded. We had books and older kids, so it was ok - might be boring for young ones. What age are your kids? I just checked the Amtrak site - we didn't have a roomette - we went one level higher so that we had a (tiny) toilet and shower in the room.

Announced today by Amtrak: Kids travel for $19 on the Auto Train. 1 Kid age 2-15 per full fare paying adult for travel from June 1 to August 30. You must book by June 5.
This sure beats the half adult fare for the kids.

We've taken the Auto Train (in winter) for the last 4 seasons. We love it, and our 4-week stay makes it cost-effective, plus we can comfortably take whatever crap we might need.

In the winter, probably 95% of the pasengers are retirees. I'm sure that skews quite differently in summer.

As the great majority of people sleep in their (assigned) seats, it's imperative that children be under control. It's not really a kid-friendly environment. We've never used any of the pullman units. They're pricey, and from what we've heard, quite cramped.

An album, from our first trip several years ago, is at http://bit.ly/f1MZ5b .