[nthdesign]

I recently booked an Amtrak trip for my family from Trenton, NJ to Kissimmee, FL for a Disney vacation. There are 7 of us, so we qualified for a decent discount. It ended up being just under $150 per person round-trip. We chose Amtrak because my dad cannot fly due to some medical issues. For the week we're traveling, it's significantly cheaper than airfare, we get more space, more bags, and it feels like an adventure.

[fatnoah]

I spent a bunch of time trying to get my family to take the train from Boston to Florida, but didn't have any luck until a couple years ago. Our "flight" ended up requiring sleeping on a bench at the airport and driving for 6 hours. The trip ended up being about 25 minutes faster than the train.

Next time, we took the train, and had a few hours (intentionally) to kill in DC, so we checked out the Smithsonian. We then went to bed somewhere in Virginia, and woke up in FL. It does take a long time, but a fair amount of that was devoted to meals and sleeping. I was also surprised at how many stops the train made, and how many people got on or off at those stops. For many places, it is the most convenient way to go.

EDIT: I also knew we were on to something when it was my teenage son, who's by no means a train buff, suggested taking the train for our next trip to FL as well. I think there's something about our very busy and hurried lives that a train addresses.