mommy rainbo.....Bo

Its Friday December 7, we are on our way back to the Magic kingdom. We are on the Princess hunt again. We got up and ate breakfast. Since we were late getting in last night we didn’t get over to the MK until about 10:30. (I think) I do not remember how the boat ride over was or if but I think going over was fine. Once we got there and on Main street we had run into the Parade. There were not a lot of people here so we were able to get a pretty good spot for watching.

-G- wanted to try Pirates, Jungle ride and I was looking for things –J- would enjoy. So off to Adventure Land we go.

-J- and I decide that the flying carpets are a good place to start.

-G- takes the camera.

The line wasn’t too long, about 2 turn waits.

-J- gets in an as soon as it starts cranks it up to the top. It seems so far off the ground when you first go up and there isn’t much in front of you. Ack.

Next off to Jungle Ride.

The wait on this one was showing about 20 minutes. Which was about right.

I wasn’t sure how –J- was going to do with this one but she was good.

Our Boat for the cruise

-J- looking a little concerned for everyone in the camp.

Elephant

**Small rant. The Jungle Cruse waiting areas are really starting to look shabby. The plants in the corners are mostly dead, or need a update there was trash in the planters and corners. **

I do not have any pictures of Pirates. This was –J-‘s first time, the wait was less than 15 minutes. We were seated towards the rear of the boat, and here it is very hard to see the mermaids. They look very clear if you sit upfront. –J- screamed when we went down the floom and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

We then went over and did the Hall of Presidents. It was good as usual and –J- even enjoyed seeing all the Presidents she has been learning about. She can name the first 10 off the top of her head. (I can’t) lol

We ate at the Columbia House. It was crowded and I went to order for everyone and hubs took –J- to find a table. I ordered the Anchors aweigh tuna sandwich, -G- had the fried shrimp and –J- the Kids tuna sandwich.

I had fun trying to find where they found a table. Cell phones were not working inside this building. Ended upstairs. I found the grumpy daddy and the tired and hungry kid. Mine was fantastic. –G- would not admit he liked his because he was grumping and –j- ate over half of hers, the yogurt and her chips.

After that we went on the Carousel again.

**another rant here. The horses are dirty. You cant see it but the head of the horse is absolutely filthy.

-G’s- opinion of the wait and the crowds.

He realizes I am taking pictures of him.

-J- is now paying attention to Daddy

We then strolled over to Peter Pan and the wait is over an hour, so ah….no. We did go on It’s a small world. I have no pictures of this even though I know I took some. The clock was chiming when we first entered and I got a picture of that somewhere.

(I hate this camera.)

We asked a cast member where is Rapunzel (the favorite) she was going to be our last thing for today. We were happy to find out she was on the way out at the town

Square theater.

We walked up and I could see that the wait was listing 55 minutes. (there was no way that –G- was going to go for this. I wasn’t happy cause I was tired and so was –J-

I could see inside and didn’t see many people so I asked the cast member how long the wait really was in her opinion.

She smiled and said “GO, quickly it is less than 15 minutes” we have not changed the sign yet. Always ask if the time seems wrong. We had a lot of pixie dust moments with long posted waits not being that long.

So I snatched –J- out of the stroller and started in. We kept weaving and weaving thru empty ropes. That same cast member actually let us through a couple of places to help us along. We walked all the way to the back and into the Princess room with no wait. Yup, you read that right . 55 minutes posted, sprinkle some pixie dust = no wait.

-J- was jumping up and down as soon as she saw rapunzel. There were about 4 sets of people in front of us.

First up Rapunzel

She was very nice and took time with-J-

To say I have a ton of pictures of this meeting is an understatement. She was so happy to meet her girl.

Then we met her old long time favorite(until the viewing of Tangled) Aurora.

I do want to say. This girl was neat to watch. We had a couple go thru before us and they kept trying to pose with their hands behind her and she easily and professionally moved everyone where she wanted them.. The guys didn’t seem to notice her manipulating them.

At last Cindy.

Who spent time with –J- and danced with her a little bit. (because Cindy had already signed -J’s- book she didn’t have to so she had time to spend with her.)

It was a cluster getting back to the Fort. We had missed a small boat (packed) and were waiting for over 20 minutes for another boat. The Monorails were down and they kept stealing the forts boats to get the wheelchair and scooter people to the Floridian and Poly. Hubs was not happy…..again.

This caused us to decide to drive our car to Beach club for dinner. –J- was going to the Sand Castle Kids club for dinner and play time while we got our grub on, as –G- would say.

**rant, my updated and from what I understand everyones GPS do not work on Disney property. So you can’t easily get from point A to B.**

We had to use Google Maps on our phones which is not something we normally do. It was a rough but pretty quick ride over to the Beach Club.

** second rant. We pull up to the gate house and the guard is having seriously long conversations with every car he is letting in. We get up there and he has a long conversation with my husband since the guard is from NJ and sees we are too.

Hurry it up guards… people are on a schedule and have reservations.**

We have just enough time to drop –J- off at the much bigger kids club.

-G- and I ate at Cape May Café. This was our best meal of the whole trip. The buffet was fantastic.

Yummy. I can’t say enough about the food.

We picked up the Kid and headed back to the Fort. Getting lost and pulling a look kids Big Ben moment. Ugh. Fix the gps problem Disney.

Good night to Friday. On to Saturday…

Hey ... Hey... love the photos.... J with Ariel is just awesome.... but... what's wrong with Philly... :rofl2: :rofl2: we's be polite and all in Pennsyltucky.... heck.. ids da city of brotherly love for gods sake.... Wanna cheese steak?.... Name any other city that would elect a Mayor named Nutter.... I dare ya....

Hubs says there are only 3 parts of Pennsylvania, 1 Pittsburgh, 2 Philadelphia and West Virginia.

We are from NJ but I grew up on the river with a view of Philly and the Walt Whitman Bridge.

I liked and shared.

"We also found out later that when we tried to tip the girls they refused. We kept at it until they took it. (Disney requires them to refuse 3 times before they can accept.) How many people are going to keep trying after 2-3 attempts?"

In Minnesota it's common practice to refuse things several times before accepting. It's considered polite.

"Would you like some more cake?"

"No thank you, but it's very good."

"Then you should really have some more."

"Thanks for offering, but I really shouldn't. I should leave some for the others."

"Oh, there's plenty! Please have some more!"

"Oh, okay, if you insist!"

It's just how we are up here, can't help it.

Well you normally don't call Philly people polite. Lol

My husband was getting cranky that they wouldn't take it. is. He said I'm going to leave it on the counter and yous guys can fight over it when we leave. Because it is not going home with me. Lol

The second kids club supervisor explained it to us. So now we know.

I'm here. I'm here. Hoping for page 2 but anywhere is fine on a TCD trip report. You make it look easy.

We took short naps and got ready to for dinner at Whispering canyon in the lodge. I had made a reservation for –J- at the Cubs den. It is a nice but small playroom in the Lodge for kids 4-12. My daughter liked it so much. She is an only so she didn’t have a ton of interaction with other kids.(aka time to play).

My only complaint is that it is hard to get a reservation. We booked as early as we were allowed and they kept saying that the Cubs den was booked up. There were 6 kids there when we arrived and 3 when we came back. That is not full capacity and the cast member said they usually have room. We also found out later that when we tried to tip the girls they refused. We kept at it until they took it. (Disney requires them to refuse 3 times before they can accept.) How many people are going to keep trying after 2-3 attempts?

Funny thing on the way across the lobby. (potty humor skip if you dont like this stuff)

Hubby says I need to go to the rest room before we eat. It was right next door so we are heading in that direction and a very agile middle age gentleman is hustling his way to the restroom. My hubby goes in and comes out laughing, like tears rolling down your face laughing. The poor guy is doing commentary to his little incident. Oh no, Oh no, no, no, no. Please, no, ect.... this makes my hubby laugh. I am sorry if this was you or yours, but you made our night.

We ate at the Whispering Canyon. No I did not ask for ketchup.

We had a funny and good server Carlos. No useable pictures again. We had the family trio platter. We got the ribs, chicken and beef. It was good but nothing special to write home about. The desert was lime cheesecake (yummy), chocolate cake(cake) and apple crisp that was delicious.

When we were done we had a few minutes to spare before picking up the kid. So we had our picture taken in front of the big Christmas tree by the Disney photographer.

I cropped it. I was doing something weird with my hands.

We then picked up my very happy kid and went to get a boat to MK and the Party.

The monorail was not working again so they kept stealing the boat for the Floridian, Contemporary and Poly, We finally had a small boat show up and I thought we were going to the contemporary but we went straight to MK. It was about 8:15 or so. We walked into Main Street prepping for the parade. We headed down Main street to find a good place to watch

.

We could see kids in the street dancing so off –J- went to dance with the other kids.

she is the kid with the glowing eyes

It is starting to snow…

Here comes the parade. (and my really bad picture)

Tigger and Pooh

The Mouse of the hour.

Mickeys backside

Chip and Dale

ok you get the idea. Disney parade and bad pictures.

Hey Dave your girlfriend is dancing with that guy again

My husband after having to stand in the crowds

Then we walked by Arielle’s ride

It had 45 minutes posted but the castmember could see us debating it and said it hasn’t been updated go quick…pixie dust. We walked right on. Bad camera again.

And right next door Arielles meet and greet had a 15 minutes posted and I don’t think it took that long.

And on the way out we got these taken.

It was a little after 10:30 and we were calling it a day. Back to the MK tomorrow.

ugh, just lost a huge update. I will be back when I calm down.

Back for a short update.

We then strolled over to the American pavillion. The drum and fife band was playing so my daughter started dancing...

and stalking the white birds.

When the band was done we went inside to wait for the holiday singers.

-J- danced some more.

She was really getting into it here.

While -J- danced Daddy checked his phone.

Finally the singers were ready. This is always one of the must see's of our trips.

Sorry for the fuzzy pictures.

I am very bummed that the camera stunk.

I do not have pictures but we ate next door. The food was very good. I had the ceaser salad and -G- had the BBQ hamber and -J- had a cheesebuger which she actually ate.

We then headed over to the Seas to see Nemo and turtle talk.

We basically walked onto Nemo.

Jordie liked most of the Nemo ride. The glow fish that chased Dory was too much and I just covered her eyes. We then went to Turtle talk with Crush. Not one even half way usable picture was taken. The Castmembers made a fuss over her outfit calling her the Nemo Princess, but she was not picked to talk to crush. I don't think she would have anything to say anyway.

We decided to call it a day and go back to the cabin. We rode spaceship earth one more time with out being VIP's and had to wait 10 whole minutes in a moving line...ugh people.

We also had mickey icecream... yummy.

We missed the bus. It was pulling out as we were walking around and had to wait about 20 minutes. A lifetime in my husbands eyes. Then we had a driver change. Yeah, we lost the pixie dust.

Next is my review of Whispering Canyons for dinner and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

It is Thursday 12/6/2012 the opening day of Fantasy Land. Yeah, my hubby and crowds so not happening. After having breakfast in the cabin are off to Epcot. We motored our way down to the marina to catch a boat to MK.(less than 5 minute wait) We did get to see some of the fireworks of the opening, and the crowds. The boat ride was nice and quick.

We then took the ferry to TC to catch the monorail.

We get to the TC and the monorails are down... :banghead:

I can hear Lou in my head saying see I told you soooooooo.

We hopped a packed bus where we didn't get a seat over to Epcot)no bus wait. I talked to a nice couple that were celebrating their 45th anniversary. They were nice. We arrived in a timely manner.

This is the one and only foliage picture I have of the whole trip...

We were standing around under space ship earth, wondering where to start and a very nice cast member named Mikiey said come with me you are now VIP's. He took us in Spaceship Earths VIP entrance and made our day. The wait at that time was 20-25 minutes and to have this happen on our first ride was soooo cool. I didn't think to get his picture but we did thank him. Pixie Dust is awesome.

This became my daughters favorite ride.

After Spaceship Earth we wondered over to the countries.

We found a few more Princesses and a prince.

First was Casual Belle (in her everyday blue dress)

Admiring the outfit.

And the HUG

My daughter was on cloud nine.

to be continued. have to work on dinner.

Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoVhgaj6PiE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I, er, hum...ok. Not sure if I...well ok..

Lone Ranger...not sure what I think from the trailer.

Be very, very careful lurking can lead to 16,000 posts before you know it! Welcome!

It looks like you did 800 in the last couple of hours.. 16,812 is your current total.... :banana: :raspberry:

I was a Lurker, Yes I admit it. I've been hanging out here for years. I have now opened up the curtains, turned on the lights and hung the Snarky sign in plain sight, just because of this thread. I retired in March from a one of the largest crime labs in the US. We live in SE Georgia, however we still have our Home in Miami. Can’t buy my Travel Trailer until we sell the Florida house and get our residency straighten out. I've really enjoyed the forum. Thank you for the invitation.

Welcome to the family

Ok, now that -G- had coffee we are off to the Magic Kingdom. I do not have a lot of pictures from our times in the park that I am willing to use. I will not show -J's- full face. I also had bought a new point and shoot camera for this trip and I think it was defective. Out of 800 or so pictures I only have less than a hundred that are usable. I have zero pictures of the first boat ride or us getting into the gates. I was a little busy trying to do everything...lol

So here it goes.

We gathered up what we needed and headed to the marina.

Here is -J- waiting on the boats arrival.

It was about 3:00 when we headed out from the cabin. The big boat came within 5 minutes of us being at the dock. It was really neat to take a boat to MK. This was our first stay at the campground so this was all new.

The crowds were light. We didn't wait to long to get thru bag check.

My daughter was in shock trying to see everything and not being a brave soul was trying to figure out what this was all about. We headed down main street towards the Castle. -J- was so wide eyed it was great to see. We stopped and looked at it for a moment. She asked if Cinderella was home. I said Im not sure but we will see here at dinner tonight because she invited us to dine in the Castle.

**Small rant. I made all my arrangements 180 days out. I booked the trip thru AAA and we had special passes for the special viewing area for the 8pm fireworks. So our dining reservation was at 6:45. Disney was having a private party for the grand opening of Fantasy Land and the times changed for the fireworks to 6. If I had not looked it prior to our trip we would not have made the special viewing area. No one told us of any changes when we got to Disney. Strike one. **

We strolled around and finally she saw something she was willing to try DUMBO. There was no line and we almost walked right on.

Us flying high.

Then we wandered around some more and found another favorite the Carousel.

We strolled by Peter pan and decided to try the Winnie the Pooh ride. Or should I say nightmare. Ugh, -J- did not like Pooh's acid trip so we will not go back to that one for a few years.

Told you about the bad pictures.

So at about 5:30 we strolled over to the little area to the right of the castle and took a seat up front.

-J- waiting.

Our view

Still waiting

She loved them. We didn't even have to use my shooting ear muffs that we brought. The music made it work for her. We live a quiet life and she doesn't like loud noises.

my one semi cool picture

another one I wish was focused better

Wow that was cool and so glad -J- enjoyed it. Hubby and I use to come into MK just to see the fireworks then hop on the monorail to Epcot or bus to HS.

Fireworks were now over so off to the main event, Cindy's round table. Lets go meet a princess. To say that my daughter is princess crazy is like saying you like the Fort. She is crazy about them. Our Reservation was for 6:45 and it was almost that. We still didn't know where to go for this. At the bottom of the ramp a nice castmember let us behind the rope and we walked up to the front of the castle. (wish I had taken pictures). We checked in and got in a short line. After about 5-10 minutes out came our hostess. It was so cute, she nearly flipped her lid when she saw Cinderella. Hopping up and down she was so excited.

.

We took our photos and went upstairs for the meal. It was pretty good. We were seated on the left side toward the front of the castle I think. What we didn't know was that we were seated next to some VIP's (secretary of something and the governor of Florida, plus a bunch of people with funny ear pieces.) So we had a great seat for the princesses who came right to our area.

Snow was first

Then Aurora

and then Jasmine(I fixed this picture so I can use it.) doesn't she have a big head.....

And we cant forget Arielle

Surprisingly the food was excellent.

-J- had pizza

-G- and I had the grilled chicken pasta.

**another annoying thing. -J's- chair was broken. The cross spindles on the bottom were completely undone, unglued and separated from the leg of the chair. If a heavy person sat on that chair they were going down. I did point it out to the server when we were getting ready to leave, so no one else could get hurt.** #2 maintenance problem..

We finished up. It was about 8pm. When we went downstairs we were told that they have to escort us out since the park was closed due to the private party.

WHAT EVER... actually the girl was very nice. She really seemed to like working there. She left us at the front near the train station, because -J_ needed a potty break before leaving. She said it didn't seem like we were going to try to crash the party or anything.

Per other talks with castmembers(on later visits) it was a giant drunk fest and it was a long night for them.

It was really cool to see the park without anyone really in it.

I wish a photographer was around for the party I would have had them take a picture for the photopass.

We all slowly..., it was a long day, walked out and walked on a boat to the Fort(pixie dust).

It was a good first day.

We made it. To say it was interesting from the train station to the Fort is an understatement. My updated GPS could not find the Fort, or its address. I couldn't find anything Disney. So we almost missed that first turn after the Magic Kingdom sign. But we made it and a very nice older gentleman cast member checked me in. I had done the online check in but still had to do some things. Our cards were not in the packet so they had to be remade. My daughter and husband started a checkers game while we waited to get everything straight. We got our assignment and were off to the 2800 loop with our map. I called Kenny and left a message letting him know we made it and we would be looking for our Kenny Cart. Willow Way aka 2800 loop was easy to find. Our home away from home is cabin...

We moved right in and unpacked. I hung my Mickey decoration.

Again out of order. This picture is "after the incident" on saturday. It was taken on Monday after our down day Sunday, when we spent time picking up the pine cones and decorating.

Here are some of my Cabin pictures for those that need to know what it looks like.

(ok the pictures are from day 2 or 3, pardon the mess) but they fit here...

behind the shoe caddy thing. Is housekeeping's closet in case you needed anything. I think they had a broom and a small step ladder.

Then it was time to eat we were starving. We decided to walk out to the bus pick up. While walking out from the back of our loop Kenny called and let me know where our cart was. Hubby grumbled but it was an easy walk over to it, so we picked it up and we were off to the settlement.

Our ride for the week.

-G- wondering why I am taking pictures...Duh my trip report.

Hubs got the catfish plate, he said it was good. I loved the mixed fries.

-J- got the grilled cheese with fruit and salad. She wasn't a fan of the grilled cheese. It didn't taste like home, but I took a bite and it was pretty good. She loved the grapes and salad though.

I got the pulled pork I think. It was tasty as you can see by the picture.

It wasn't crowded at all and the service was slow but I think most of that was we were feeling rushed to get started on our way to the MK. We rode back to the cabin to put the charger away, get a cup of coffee for -G- and we were going to be off to the MK. It didn't quite happen that way. I was putting more things away and he said the coffee maker has MOLD. We called house keeping and had to wait for someone to come out. The pot was clean but inside the tank area was growing this..

The head of house keeping came out. She saw what we were saying. She took our old coffee maker and left. She came back with a new in the box one. She washed it up and left us a ton of coffee and supplies. (delay was about and hour). Now we are off to the Magic Kingdom.

To be continued.....

I hopefully will be posting the cabin portion of the trip in the next day or so. Having -G- home and -J- out of school has slowed me down, not to mention that holiday. Lol

Me neither. They looked a lot better. Was the cost of the food included in your ticket?

Yes, the meal is part of your ticket, dinner up and back was very good, steaks cooked to order, free wine with dinner, white or red. That is one of the great things about the auto train. There was a free coffee machine in each train car, ice with popcorn style bucket, fruit in the lounge car with a movie playing on the TV's(ours was the remake of sabrina, I think?)

We move in. I was able to pretty much find a space for everything and everyone. It is pretty comfortable. It is about 3:00 and we have about a half hour before they start hooking up the pieces of the train so we can go. This is our view.

They shut off the power for a few minutes to hook up. Then they power up and in a few minutes we are OFF. The time is 3:50pm so we are leaving early.

Bye bye Virginia.

The train moves very slow at times(this is one of them) and for quite a while. We are eating, snacking and looking out of the window. Mostly looking at back of warehouses..lol.

We then settle down for a long long long trip. Remember me telling you about my traveling companions "hurry up and wait" issues... -G- is as bad as the 5 yr old.

We colored.

We played with the princesses.

After dark we played a game. Looking for Christmas lights. My daughter loved it. Some of the houses where close to the train tracks and had nice decorations. No pictures, the train was moving too fast for good ones.

It got dark outside early so we were waiting on the 9pm dinner seating (since the train was full it was a late dinner, and employees eat last) by 9 my daughter was fried. She was a hot mess and even though we walked over to the dinning car she didn't eat a thing, even the ice cream they offered. All the seniors in the lounge made a fuss over her as she walked thru to eat. It was cute, I wish she was in a better mood to play up to them. The food was really good. I didn't get pictures but I did get menu's.

First is the Sleeper cars menu-

Coach cars Menu

This just about what our dining car looked like if no one was in it. Ours was packed.

Per my husband the wine wasn't bad. I just had a soda. -J- Didn't drink her chocolate milk. I just ate as fast as I could since I felt that -J- was just about to have her first melt down. I did eat half of my cheese cake dessert. It wasn't the worse or the best, but not bad. DD and I headed back to the sleeper to put her to bed. It was about 9:30 or so.

The train uses CSX tracks. This train bumps, and sways and rolls. So please be careful walking around.

When we go back our beds where made by the attendant Justin. (a very nice guy who has been working the auto train for years). I borrowed this photo from the internet sorry it is so small)as was the room now...lol

My daughter crawled into the bottom bunk and was asleep in less than a minute. I turned down the lights and piped in satellite radio music and crawled in with her. The bottom bunk is wider than the upper. It was fun watching -G- get himself up in that bunk...

We slept good until about 6 when the light started coming thru the shades. It was still pretty quiet on the train. We all got moving by 7. -G- went to the dining car for breakfast while we straightened up. Justin came by and put our beds back to benches. -G- brought us a few muffins and my DD favorite fruit. We did not try out the shower part of the bathroom. We would wait until Disney for that. We ate, played with the Dolls and colored for a while. We watched the farms and towns go by. We pulled into Sanford at about 8:50. It was 9:30 by the time everyone got off the train. Sanford is a smaller version then the Lorton station. I was updated in the last 2 yrs and they look alike. Our car was back to us in 15 minutes or so. We piled in an we are off. In about 40 minutes or less we saw this.

Then this.

Then this.

Then the best of all. The Fort sign. Ah... We made it.

I will say the crew on the auto train are great(even before we were outed as employees). They pretty much stay on the same shift, more like a family, per our conversations with the crew. Very different from the regular Amtrak trains.

My husband works for Amtrak. So it works out cheaper than flying for us. On the plus side we have our car(which we needed), no gas spent on ride down, we didn't have to pay for a hotel, or drive thru the night with a 5 year old or my husband and arrive reasonably rested.

Holy moly, that room is small!

But, it looks like you have everything you need.

Love the retro colors-very 70's.

TCD

It is small but cozy, we were able to switch positions pretty easily, seat to bench or bathroom without falling all over each other. The bottom seat is the fold out bed. It is longer than it looks and quite comfy, so DD and I ended up laying across it a ton. Our bags fit under the seat and above on the one shelf. I will warn everyone. The water is under pressure in the sink and comes out with force.

Two comments about bathrooms! This is a trip report by a mom who has her priorities straight!

Can't wait to read more. :D

I am a woman and a Mom. I know what is really important...lol

Cost:

I picked a random day in september of 2013, prices are one way. (My husband is an Amtrak employee so what we pay is deeply discounted and why we get the superliner.)

Adult $100 each

Kids 2-15 $50

Vehicles were $175.00

Roomette : 2 beds no bath $136 (great deal to have some privacy, I would travel this way.)

Family: 4 bed room no bath $360

Superliner: 2 beds and a bathroom/shower $444

Basic facts:

Amtrak Auto Train is an 855-mile-long train service for passengers and their automobiles between Lorton, Virginia (20 miles south of Washington, D.C.), and Sanford, Florida (near Orlando, 1 hour or so to Disney).

Passengers ride either in coach seats or private sleeping car rooms while their vehicles (car, van, sport utility vehicle, motorcycle, small trailer, or jet-ski) are carried in enclosed automobile-carrying freight cars.

The train also includes lounge cars and dining cars, and is the only Amtrak route to allow smoking while on board the train. Make sure you don't sit above the smoking car if you don't smoke,

What to expect

The train operates every day. At 11:30 am, the station gates are opened to allow the passengers for the next trip into the vehicle staging area. Here, the vehicles are assigned their number, which is affixed to the driver's door magnetically.^[ The vehicle is typically video surveyed to document any preexisting dents and other damage, in the event a damage claim is later filed.

The passengers leave their vehicles here and take their carry-on bags with them into the station to await boarding. The vehicles are then staged near the ramps by size and length for optimal loading order, and are then loaded onto the car carriers. (I didn’t see this. They just loaded how they came, or so it seemed)

In the case of motorcycles, the owner assists with tying their bikes down to a dedicated motorcycle carrier which is then loaded into the train. Passengers do not have access to their vehicles during the trip.

Boarding begins at 2:30 pm. At 3 pm, a WINE and CHEESE tasting is offered in the lounge cars.

So go, G did and brought back some cheese for us, he hogged the wine which is ok by me not my drink of choice.

The last vehicles and passengers are accepted at 3 pm, So don’t be late, at which time the autocarriers are closed and coupled together, the passenger cars are coupled together. At 4 pm,(or a little before) the locomotive engineer is given clearance to occupy the main line, and the train departs the station to begin its run.

There are 2 or 3 dinner seatings, depending on how full the train is. Dinner (included in the ticket price^[16]) is served in the dining cars at 5, 7, and when there is a third seating, 9 pm.(in our case going down we were at 9) Each seating is announced over the intercoms in each car, and in each sleeping compartment. After the first dinner seating, a recent (Liars) movie is shown on televisions in the lounge cars, which is repeated later in the evening, (FYI fruit is available in baskets in the lounge, wish I had know this on the way down, J was too tired to eat at 9 and loves fruit). After midnight, the train arrives in Florence, South Carolina, where it stops briefly to be refueled and re-watered. A crew change also occurs here for the locomotive. (your Attendant does not change, they go round trip, please tip well for good service)

At 6 am, the dining car crew serves breakfast. No announcement is made for this seating until 7 am, however. Breakfast is served until 8 am (box cereal, muffins and fruit).

As the train approaches the destination station, announcements are made concerning arrival time updates, and a general call for the passengers to gather up their personal belongings.(We got in before 9, They average an early arrival, but it depends on the CXS trains, CXS own the tracks Amtrak uses. CSX has right of way) At 9:30 am the train arrives in the destination station. Passengers may not immediately detrain at this point, as the autocarriers are first decoupled from the train, and in the case of the Sanford station, the passenger cars are split into 2 sections to fit on Sanford's shorter platforms.

At this point the passengers are then allowed to detrain and move to the auto claim area. Cleaning crews move into the train once all passengers are off, and the train is re-supplied with that day's food and water.

At this point vehicles begin to roll off the train and come to the claim area, where they are identified and announced by a vehicle number that was attached to the vehicle at the origin station. Vehicles are not unloaded in the same order they were loaded the previous day. It normally takes 2 hours to unload all vehicles from a full train.

We where out of the station and on our way, in about 20 minutes of getting off the train in both directions. Last car loaded is one of the first unloaded.

I am working on some facts of the auto train for everyone.

We had decided to go a little ways up the road from the train station to get lunch and burn some time. (it was 11:30 and the train doesn’t leave til about 4, and we cant get on the train til 3) If you go back out the train station road and go left. I think the next intersection with a light is the strip mall(on right) We went in and ate at Glory Days Grill, it was at the far end.

Sorry there is no Pood Forn as I am new with this reporting thing and forgot to take pictures. G- ordered the BBQ ribs plate, I had the pulled pork sandwich and J had cheeseburger sliders. All the meals were good. Not too pricy. About $38 and hubby had a beer of some sort. Service wasn’t fast or slow so plan accordingly. We tried to eat slow. It was now just before 1pm. We walked down to the Supermarket to get a few things we overlooked(chocolate candy). It is a full sized market. You can buy wine in the market and this row of stores has a liqueur store if you need it. On our stroll back we stopped at the Baskin-we are out of a lot-Robbins ice cream shop.

I wanted a chocolate shake. She had no milk. DD wanted mint chocolate chip icecream she was out. DD settled for strawberry. G- got some carmel something or other. I didn’t get anything. We went out and sat at a bench to eat.

We finished up and walked back to the car. I let J play for a little while before we went back to the station. It is 17 hours on a train in a small room.

It is now 2pm and we loaded up to get back to the station and turn in the car. We pull in to the booth check in with our tickets and ID. The woman there is very bubbley and quickly does her part. We are then directed to pull up to the main building to turn in the car and off load what we were taking on the train. Just like any other thing, do not leave valuables in your car unless they are secured(locked in the trunk) The trip south is pretty good about this.(actual amtrak employees not outsourced) They put a magnetic number on your car and write that on your ticket packet so you can claim your car on the other end. (I am not positive but was told last cars on are the first off and that worked for us) So if you get there early you and check in you car you will be waiting on both ends of your train trip. Timing is everything….

We re-enter God’s waiting room to wait for boarding. Here is your waiting room. Side note the bathrooms were pretty clean and plentiful.

It was warm that day at 64 degrees. The building was warm so I took J outside to play on the little area they have.

And before long it was time to load up. Handicap people go first and get settled, then they call for everyone. I didn’t explore enough to get the pictures of the platform. I will do this next trip. So see the little picture I found on the internet

Our room was on the second floor. The stairs are tiny and steep so plan what you have to carry up. Most people just take their pillows and maybe a blanket. I am traveling with a 5 yr old so I have a ton. (I will be cutting back on what we take on the train with us, before the next trip). This is our train car.

and the hallway you have to travel to the lounge and dining cars.

Ah…. our room with a view. I don’t know why I said that they all have a view.

After we move in. The upper bed is folded up. The bathroom/shower is on the opposite wall you enter from that far end.

Yes it is as small as you think, but it is ours for the trip. I am glad to have it and not have to walk to the coach bathrooms. I have heard that is the one draw back to the coach seats.

Off to do todays post. The Train.