Wow! As a mother of 2 year old twins and a 6yr old, I couldn't even fathom spending that amount of time on a train.
I much prefer the 2.5 hr flight! I think the excitement of being on a train would wear off pretty quick for a 2/3 year old. I like to limit the mount of time my kids are contained, 2.5 hrs to Syracuse, 2.5 hour flight. Good luck with your decision!! Jen
I understand your point about the excitement wearing off ... which is why a trip that is scheduled to take less than 24 hours - with a good portion of the trip being in the evening/overnight with a morning arrival - seemed like not a bad option.
Perhaps you can look into the train to get there and then fly back?
Thanks for the suggestion ... we would have to drive to Buffalo anyway. The only potential issue is getting back to our vehicle when we return to Buffalo by a different means of mass transit.
No-I haven't but I have a friend that lives in NYC and won't fly. She loves to cruise so she Amtraks it all the time from NY to MCO/FLL etc and she says it is really LONG...she has a sleeper (?) and says that is the only way to tolerate it.
So far you are the only person (on this or the thread I started on the transportation board) that even knows of anyone who has taken the train. We had assumed that sleeper/bunks would be the way we would have to go b/c of the 3 little ones. Apparently their are "family berths" which while smaller than hotel rooms would give the kids room to move around in.
A train ride from Northern Ontario to Orlando (return) with or without very young kids seems to me like an excruciating way to torture everyone. Have you ever been on a long train ride?
What would those little ones do for that amount of time?
You say it would be a trip within a trip. All you get to do is sit there! It's not like they can run and play through the train.
Honestly, if I were you I would rethink that plan.
Oh no, we would not be taking the train from Northern Ontario. We would drive to Toronto or Buffalo and catch a train from there. (Even if we choose to fly, we would be driving to TO or BUF, so that part of the trip is equal for all options.)
Since you asked, yes I - and some of the other adults in my family - have taken train transportation ranging from 6 hours to over 12 hours - in both Ontario and Europe. As for what the little kids would do in that time, well pretty much what they would do during an 8 hour car ride or a 6 hour layover at an airport ... be entertained by us adults, eat, sleep, and watch the world go by. And while I understand that you can't "run and play" through a train, you can walk from car to car when a change of pace is needed. We would opt for a sleeper cabin (which would give us a private place for the kids to rest and play).
As for rethinking the plan, it was never set in stone. (Or even written in pencil as a rough draft.) It was just an option we threw out there and decided to explore. It seemed only natural that I would ask about people's experiences here on the DIS.
If you are looking to save money, why not drive. You are looking at the same amount of time, plus you can do it on your kids schedule. Stop when fresh air is needed, food. The can sleep in quiet verses a noisey strange train. Trains are neat and can be fun, but with the ages of your kids you may regreat that not long into your trip. I have 3 kids all 21 months apart in age and we have flown and driven to Florida with them. We always perferred the drive with them. It kept them on schedule and we could take what ever was needed and not have to worry about getting it all through the airport. We have done this since they were babies.
You know your family best, but i think before you undertake such a long trip on a train, maybe you should venture on one in the areafor a short trip to see how your family would fair.
Good Luck
As I mentioned in my original post, we've driven before and that really isn't an option for us. (We're looking at about 35-40 hours of driving each way - excluding pit stops - and the drivers in the family aren't into that kind of long haul.)
Oh well, there's still plenty of time to sort out our plans.
