Once we decided to take the family to Disneyworld (I love how I say "once we decided" as if I wasn't a huge Disney dork who had been planning this since F left the womb) the next question was "how to get there?" With airplanes you have to deal with baggage and baggage fees and fussy kids. The car ride takes 15 hours. So when our neighbors told us about Amtrack's car train to Florida, we were pretty psyched. The train leaves the station at 4:00 pm from Lorton, VA and arrives around 9:00 am in Sanford, FL (about 30 minutes from Disneyworld). Accomodations run the gammet from coach seats to a family bedroom (click
here to see the options). We booked
the family bedroom (it sleeps two adults and two kids) which was surpisingly roomy for train travel (though, obviously not "huge"). There were two small tables to color on and two large windows to check out the scenery. Most importantly, T was CONTAINED in a destruction-proof space, so I could relax for awhile.
The ticket price includes - a wine/hor d'oeuvres happy hour, dinner, and a continental breakfast. A family-friendly movie viewing takes place in the lounge car after dinner (our movie was about the Everest expedition, which wasn't exactly "fun" for preschoolers). The dinner was not four star but they served it on real plates and the meal came with free wine, thus giving us the feeling of a nice night out.
All in all, I loved the train. I read my book and stared out the window for hours. Unfortunately, T had a cold and was up most of the night (yes, while we were all stuck in the same bedroom) so I saw A LOT of the lounge car (which really isn't very fun at 2 am). Further, once we let the beds down the space did start to feel a little claustophic (which really wouldn't have been an issue if we were sleeping). Oh well, no travel is perfect.
HAPPY TUESDAY EVERYONE!! More on Disneyworld tomorrow . . .
. Luckily, the kids self-entertained better than I expected (you never know), but still when fuss occurred I'm glad we had this wonderful activity set. The book contains over a hundred punch out pieces, allowing you to make: finger puppets (don't forget to bring tape), tons of little boxes (which also work well as blocks for toddlers), connecting monkeys, a whole town, and lots of other stuff. The paper toys are incredibly easy to put together and great for lots of ages. A toy box in a book for under $15, how cool is that? 
