Coast Starlight to Disneyland!

[PRR 60]

I did make an account! Then it logged me out and I didn't notice, and I had a couple of posts as Guest_hamster before I figured out I wasn't logged in. Then I forgot again and happily typed in the wrong name entirely. My newbieness is showing! I'll try to keep me logged in properly from here out. At least I'm botching it all up in my own thread.

Still stewing over my Surfliner conundrum. I can't believe that if I walk right up to them and say HERE I AM, I am not a no-show, please don't cancel my ticket but I'm going to skip this one leg. IN PERSON. That they'd cancel my return ticket. There must be some difference between a legitimate no-show and someone who is asking, in person, ticket in hand, for a break/some flexibility.

But other than that, I'm finding that I can hardly stand the wait. I ride the Cascades all the time, and love it, but I think that I am about to become a big time train enthusiast. I wish I had started when I was younger and had more free time and disposable income.

Has the fare gone up since you booked? You can check on-line by starting a new reservation and seeing how it prices. If the fare is the same as what you paid for the round trip, you could call and have the agent rebook you as two one-way reservations. That would involve canceling your existing reservation and applying the value to two new one-way reservations. It is possible that you will not get the same rooms (and possible that you will). With two one-way reservations, skipping the Surfliner on your trip to Anaheim will not impact your return trip to Seattle.

 

[Hamster]

The fare has gone up. I had been watching for a month or so and one day back in August it just tanked to the lower price, and I jumped all over it. Round trip from Seattle to Anaheim for me and the child ... $867. I don't suppose it gets much cheaper than that. We'll just hang onto it and I'll make use of the Red Caps I guess. Still might call and just see what is possible though. I'm sure I could cancel the Anaheim leg of the trip entirely from this reservation without too much hassle. We could just pay the $100 for a cab to LA on the return. But Ratzel Fratzel Dag Nabbit Yosemite Sam Tantrum. I'm a "have a backup plan" kinda girl.

 

[TrainLoverJoy]

The fare has gone up. I had been watching for a month or so and one day back in August it just tanked to the lower price, and I jumped all over it. Round trip from Seattle to Anaheim for me and the child ... $867. I don't suppose it gets much cheaper than that. We'll just hang onto it and I'll make use of the Red Caps I guess. Still might call and just see what is possible though. I'm sure I could cancel the Anaheim leg of the trip entirely from this reservation without too much hassle. We could just pay the $100 for a cab to LA on the return. But Ratzel Fratzel Dag Nabbit Yosemite Sam Tantrum. I'm a "have a backup plan" kinda girl.

May 2, the day I'm going, still has a $238 roomette left (in case you'd want to change your dates, as well as make your trip 2 separate tickets instead of round trip.)

 

[Hamster]

We're pretty locked into our dates, hotel is booked and time off from work arranged. Also, the Peter Pan ride reopens after a long refurbishment just as we're arriving, and I am looking forward to Mother's Day at Disneyland too. And I'm a big geek who plans my vacations around Peter Pan. Hehe. We ARE going to miss the big 60th anniversary celebration by about a week, but I'm not really very upset about that.

If anyone is on the 14 CS out of LA on May 16th, you will not be able to miss us. I will be traveling with Elsa, and you'll recognize her because she will have some Elsa with her Elsa, and extra Elsa. (Yo Dawg, I heard you like some Elsa with your Elsa!)

 

[chakk]

Hamster, that possible cab ride would be a lot farther than Anaheim to LA. If you are a no-show on the LA to Anaheim leg, then amtrak will cancel reservations for ALL of your return journey, meaning BOTH the Anaheim-to-LA segment AND the LA-to-Seattle segment.

Sorry. It doesn't seem fair, as you pointed out. But it is the way Amtrak does things.

So, it sounds like you will need to reticket completely to a Seattle-LA roundtrip (or better yet one-ways in each direction) and purchase separate one-way tickets for the LA-Anaheim segments.

 

[PRR 60]

One possible work-around is to call Amtrak and tell them you do not need the Los Angeles to Anaheim segment and see if they can take it off the reservation without raising the fare. If your ride from LAX falls through, you could simply buy the Surfliner segment at LAX. Unreserved coach LAX-ANA is $15 ($7.50 for kids 12 and under), or you could take Metrolink (the LA commuter rail system) for $8.75.

 

[njulian]

We're pretty locked into our dates, hotel is booked and time off from work arranged. Also, the Peter Pan ride reopens after a long refurbishment just as we're arriving, and I am looking forward to Mother's Day at Disneyland too. And I'm a big geek who plans my vacations around Peter Pan. Hehe. We ARE going to miss the big 60th anniversary celebration by about a week, but I'm not really very upset about that.

If anyone is on the 14 CS out of LA on May 16th, you will not be able to miss us. I will be traveling with Elsa, and you'll recognize her because she will have some Elsa with her Elsa, and extra Elsa. (Yo Dawg, I heard you like some Elsa with your Elsa!)

Love it..I feel like I'm back on my Disney boards. I just got back from a quickie trip to experience Frozen Fun. It was great!

Ps..when I missed the Surfliner that one time many years ago, the cab from Anaheim to LA was $75.00. Oh yea, the new Anaheim station is open but not really done. From what I can see you pretty much need to take the elevator or stairs to cross over the tracks to the new bubble. When I arrived there I followed some folks under and around, but I think we went where we weren't supposed to and there was an open gate with warnings on it that we passed through.

 

[PaulM]

Still stewing over my Surfliner conundrum. I can't believe that if I walk right up to them and say HERE I AM, I am not a no-show, please don't cancel my ticket but I'm going to skip this one leg. IN PERSON. That they'd cancel my return ticket. There must be some difference between a legitimate no-show and someone who is asking, in person, ticket in hand, for a break/some flexibility.

Two points here. Since the PSL's are not reserved, how will the system know you aren't going to take the next train out or one a year from now (I believe that is the eligibility).

Also, if it were a situation where the reservation would be cancelled, I believe all you have to do is call Amtrak or stop at the station in LA and ask them to make the change. You should get a partial refund, if only a voucher for future travel. Just don't let then over think the situation and try to increase the price.

In any event, you should call Amtrak now so you can relax.