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On my way to Disney World this May with my 7 year old son. We will be departing from Pittsburgh....(30 plus hour trip). We have booked a sleeping car. Anyone with experience on Amtrak sleepers? Whats it like....sleeping accomodations etc??? Thanks in advance.
Has been a few years but I doubt if much has changed. In the sleeper cars there are the regular rooms and roommettes. The regular rooms have a sofa that converts into a bunk. There is an upper bunk that folds down. There is also a bathroom with a shower. I believe the bathroom and shower uses the same space and is quite small. There is also an easy chair. The roommette is nothing more than 2 seats facing each other which makes into a bunk. There is a second bunk that pulls down. When the seats are made into a bunk you only have a space maybe 6 inches by 15 inches to stand. There is one community bathroom on the upper level and 2 more on the lower lever. There is also a community shower on the lower level. Each sleeper car has it's own attendant. The community bathrooms were kept very clean. FYI...the shower had no shortage of hot water. I was by myself so the roommette was all I needed. The foot space for 2 adults would be crowed. However an adult with a 7 year old would be fine.
Some things to consider...The roommettes have no real storage space. There is room to stow a day pack maybe 2. There is not anyplace to put a full size suit case. There is a community storage area on the lower level. It is unsecured. Both the rooms and roommette doors can be locked from the inside. While you are out of the room there is no way to lock the doors. You can check bags thru to your destination only if both the boarding station and the destination station both offer check baggage service. Otherwise you have to lug your bags onboard and use the unsecured storage. The car attendant makes up your bunk. There is an electrical outlet in the room. However it is usually recessed so you can not plug things like cell phone charges. Bring a short extension cord and you will not have any problem using the outlet. The door has a window looking into the hallway. There is a curtain. Bring a couple oversize office spring type clips as the curtain does not always want to stay closed.
Basicly the cars are old and tired. However if you look past this you can have a lot of fun on the train. You can get to know the other people riding in the same car. If you smoke, the attendant will allow you off the train during stops. Most stops are only a couple minutes. A couple times a day the train stops much longer for service. Passengers are allowed off during the service stops.
Last edited by Alaskan Mutt; 02-16-2010 at 03:40 PM..
We were on (and have booked again) a 48 hour trip L.A-New Orleans. We had a roomette with no shower. A little crowded but as Alaskan said, you should be fine with a 7 year old.
My concern would be keeping said 7 year old amused for the trip. It's really easy to meet other travelers though. Make sure you spend lots of time in the viewing car, it's very comfy and your 7 year old can probably spread out a bit with toys, crayons, etc.
The attendants usually seat you with other people at mealtimes, so you should have plenty of ways to keep yourselves amused. At least you can walk around, and you don't need to worry about the back of your seat being kicked.
Thank you for the advice...We will be boarding the train Saturday morning at 7AM arriving in Orlando 1PM the next day. I dont really like the idea of leaving my sleeping car unlocked esp while showering(unable to secure valuables). Im thinking that we can hold out until getting to the hotel the next afternoon. In terms of entertainment for my child I plan to bring his Nintendo DS and our portable DVD player (both of which can be stored in my Vera Bradley bag during meal times) and some toys in his backpack. I will be fine with my Droid cell phone which is a mini PC. The internet is great!!!! Plus there are many papperbacks and magazines that I have been meaning to read.
Thank you for the advice...We will be boarding the train Saturday morning at 7AM arriving in Orlando 1PM the next day. I dont really like the idea of leaving my sleeping car unlocked esp while showering(unable to secure valuables). Im thinking that we can hold out until getting to the hotel the next afternoon. In terms of entertainment for my child I plan to bring his Nintendo DS and our portable DVD player (both of which can be stored in my Vera Bradley bag during meal times) and some toys in his backpack. I will be fine with my Droid cell phone which is a mini PC. The internet is great!!!! Plus there are many papperbacks and magazines that I have been meaning to read.
For some reason I thought you were heading west. I believe the trains used on the east coast are single level cars. Thus no up/down stairs. The only difference I can think of is the roommettes do have a toilet of sorts. However still no shower in the roommettes. Not sure about the east coast trains but the community showers on the west coast trains also have a quite large dressing room. If you are concerned about your valuables while showering just bring them with you. Also remember to bring a short extension cord. The outlets are useless with out one.
My boss whose husband works for AMTRAK just got back from Florida. She enjoyed it. Had a sleeper. She said they were 2 story train cars. My question--if you do not have a sleeper & you use the communial restrooms how are they set up??? Like is it one big one for ladies & one for mens or what? ALso, any place to watch TV or surf the net or excercise?
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