We had spent 5 wonderful days in Washington DC and had enjoyed the accessibility of the city. It was time to move on and continue our holiday in Florida, with the whole family looking forward to the excitement of Orlando. We’d selected to travel via Amtrak for the trip and had booked the overnight sleeper from Union Station directly to Orlando.
Checking in at Union, was very straight forward and there was a lounge to wait in or we were free to enjoy the railway station, shopping or dining. The Amtrak Red Cap Service had proved very good on the previous journeys, so we were confident of being looked after on this occasion.
Nervous about the sleeper having space for the wheelchair and being able to manoeuvre was always going to be a slight concern, but I was pleasantly surprised when I boarded my carriage. The cabin was large enough for me to get into with the bed away, the toilet facility was certainly large enough for a manual chair and an independent user – those needing assistance might find space limited. From my cabin I had good access to the dining car and there was a table available for the wheelchair to pull up to. The restaurant car was very close and we had the option to use room service if desired. Food quality wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t enough staff to cope with all of the passengers. Long queues ensued and these were very difficult to navigate, without the possibility of room for people to step aside, it proved a real challenge.
All of the staff offered help and told me that they would attend my cabin whenever I wanted, in order to make up the bed and make sure the sleeping arrangements were comfortable. All we had to do was sit back and enjoy the journey.
With a large picture window and a moderate speed, we were able to enjoy the countryside as it seemed to float by. As the cabin was two birth, I chatted and played games with our son, Jennifer and Georgia, were enjoying the journey from their own cabin!
It wasn’t long before night fall and the steward came along to make up the bed, I had a spacious floor level bed and Noah had the use of the bunk. There was still room for my wheelchair and we were able to relax and watch the towns pass by with all the glory of town lighting and cars using the roads.
The gentle rocking of the train and the constant noise of wheels rolling over the track all helped with the journey into slumber and before we knew it, the sun was up and we were in Florida.
The station in Orlando wasn’t as I expected it to be. Being a tourism destination, I expected a large bustling station. Not a bit of it, it was more like a county railroad station from a western movie. The service was no less for it though, the same professionalism as at Union Station in New York.
It was the last time we would see Amtrak on this holiday and it was a sad moment, because as a family we’d enjoyed every journey and most certainly recommend it to anyone considering taking an Amtrak vacation.
Post Categories: Travel Advice
