Philly to Florida--a few questions

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Mystic River Dragon

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My Florida trip, from Philadelphia to Winter Park (on the Silver Star), is coming up soon! I haven't been to Florida since last winter, so I have some questions along the route:

I will be leaving PHL on a Sunday--do they have Sunday newspapers in the Acela lounge, or should I buy one elsewhere? Has anyone figured out how to take the elevator up to the lounge? I can deal with the stairs but would prefer the elevator if possible.

Is the coffee on the train turned off at 9:30? I like a midmorning cup around 10:30 (the coffee and the newspaper on the train are the amenities I'll miss), but if the train is on time, I will already be in WPK by then! But if it's late, coffee would be nice. A couple of the veteran SCAs I've had on the Silvers have taken great pride in having the coffee on all day, so I was curious as to how they are dealing with this.

When I'm in Florida, I am considering doing a points run from WPK to Orlando, then taking SunRail back. (I will do a test run the day before on SunRail from Winter Park to Maitland to see how the tap on/tap off thing works.) Does SunRail share the Orlando Amtrak station? Or is it a walk?

Also, I see the Orlando Museum of Art is nearby--is it walkable from the station? Do you have other suggestions for walkable museums or other interesting places nearby? I am not a theme park person--something quieter and smaller would be nice. Although I walk a lot at home, I will be getting used to the Florida sun and heat, so half a mile might be the limit.

Finally, and this has nothing to do with my trip in particular, are many of the veteran SCAs on the Silvers still around? I saw Rodney a few months ago in TRE waiting for his passengers for 97 (that is where I switch commuter trains, and 97 sometimes comes in when I'm there), but the past couple of years I haven't run into Vic, Leo, or some of the others I used to see.

Thanks in advance to all of you Florida (and Philly!) experts for whatever suggestions or information you have.
 
At 30th St. station the elevator requires a key so you may want to ask Customer Services if someone can operate the elevator to the lounge for you! Of course the CA Attendant will send you down to the train from the Lounge!

Sorry, no more newspapers, the bean counters won! And good SCAs still keep the coffee on till @ least lunch time in spite of the dumb Amtrak policy about coffee!

I can't give you specifics about Orlando but several of our members live in and around the Orlando area ( paging pennyk)!

Leo ( best SCA in Amtrak!)is still working the Silver trains but according to penny Vic no longer works the same schedule!

The Sunrail platform in Orlando is across the tracks from the Amtrak Station so shouldn't be a problem!
 
Brand new Sunrail station and the soon to be remodeled Orlando Amtrak station are right together, just across the tracks as jimhudson said.

Have a great trip. (We are heading down from Boston to Orlando, catching the Silver Meteor in NCY, in a couple weeks.)
 
I am using my phone now, but will provide more complete answer later.

I have a lot to say. :)

Leo is still around on 92 and 97, usually in 10 car. Vic is also still around but he is not traveling with Leo any more. Last time I saw Vic, he was on 92, so I assume he is also on 92 and 97.

There were newspapers in the CA in WAS last weekend. I am not sure if there are any in PHL lounge.

Art museum is too far a walk from WPK and ORL stations, but not too far a walk from Florida Hospital SunRail station.

I do points runs from WPK-ORL-WPK fairly often. It works when 97 is running on time (more or less).

If you have more questions that you think I can answer, please post them or PM me. I have lived in Orlando since 1979 and used to live sort of across the street from the art museum.
 
Last time I was in the lounge it was a Wednesday, and there were some newspapers. On a Sunday before noon, there should be plenty of papers. The Sunday Inquirer is, I think, $2 now. But it's not much of a paper anymore.
 
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Thank you all for the excellent information and advice!

I think I will take the stairs up to the lounge in PHL after all (it just occurred to me that will be the last real exercise I get till the next morning!) and will check to see what papers they have. I doubt that they will have my Burlington County Times (a local south Jersey paper), so I will try a new one and save some of it for the next morning. And I am very glad about the coffee not being turned off at 9:30! (I can save part of my paper, but it would be pretty hard to save some of my coffee!)

It looks like my choices going south for a day trip from Winter Park are either an Amtrak points run WPK to Orlando and back or getting off SunRail at Florida Health and going to the art museum. I will see if I feel like dealing with the Orlando crowds or just want a nice quiet museum day when I'm there. If I do a points run, will I have to track down the conductor to get my ticket scanned to make sure I get my points? Also, is there anywhere to eat lunch close to the Orlando station if I do that (since the museum is too far a walk)?

I have been very lucky with my SCAs on the Silvers--they have ranged from good to wonderful. I don't know if it's just luck, or if the veterans do a good job of training the newer ones. Perhaps having their days off in Florida helps to keep them cheerful! Maybe I will meet new ones and also see some familiar faces! Vic was my very first SCA, so I got spoiled from the beginning! He and Leo were working in adjacent cars, and they were efficient and professional, but also entertaining!

Scott, I wish you a great trip, too! The cold has finally caught up to us in the mid-Atlantic, so it must be worse in New England, and Florida sounds very good about now. Maybe we will pass each other going up or down!

Thanks again to all of you--you have made planning a lot easier.
 
Mystic River Dragon said:
Has anyone figured out how to take the elevator up to the lounge? I can deal with the stairs but would prefer the elevator if possible.
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I was told to just go back in the elevator area, and "snag" any red cap. They will gladly allow you onto the elevator, and send you up to the lounge. I have done this several times.
 
Guest said:
I was told to just go back in the elevator area, and "snag" any red cap. They will gladly allow you onto the elevator, and send you up to the lounge. I have done this several times.
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Let me add, same holds true for an elevator ride from the train platform up to the lounge. Since you can use the lounge that same day, I will go up there to wait for my connecting bus travel to my home.
 
Thanks--that's another great idea! I will pass the red caps anyway on my way to the lounge (I'll be coming down from the SEPTA platform) so will check with them. The platform to the lounge by elevator sounds even better for the way back--I always seem to be going in the direction the escalator isn't and end up taking the stairs!
 
There is a cafe across the street from the Orlando station and a hot dog stand just outside the station. There are much more (and much better) dining options near the Winter Park station.

I agree with you, Vic and Leo are the BEST!!!!!! Leo has a great memory. I think jimhudson and the_traveler were in his car a few years back. Although Leo does not remember their names, he remembers them. Every time I travel in Leo's car, Leo asks me about them. (they are pretty memorable :) )
 
Thanks, pennyk--I am staying in Winter Park (I decided to do one "splurge" trip this winter instead of a few shorter ones, and Winter Park will be my "splurge" place!). I could get something at Panera to bring with me and eat at Orlando. I think right now that I am leaning toward the art museum, though.

Judging from their posts, jimhudson and the traveler do seem pretty memorable! I am looking forward to meeting AU people at National Train Day and/or the Gathering later this year!
 
pennyk said:
There is a cafe across the street from the Orlando station and a hot dog stand just outside the station. There are much more (and much better) dining options near the Winter Park station.

I agree with you, Vic and Leo are the BEST!!!!!! Leo has a great memory. I think jimhudson and the_traveler were in his car a few years back. Although Leo does not remember their names, he remembers them. Every time I travel in Leo's car, Leo asks me about them. (they are pretty memorable :) )
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Why am I not surprised? :giggle:
 
We just returned from SM trip to Fla.
We had Reggie for SCA on 97. He was friendly and efficient. Newspapers were available in WAS. Staff was friendly but Acela Lounge was ungodly hot both directions.

We had Marcus for SCA on 98. He too was friendly. :)

Unfortunately we had the same bedroom B on the 9710 and 9810. Everything rattled loudly all night. They finally were able to wedge some things in the door on 98 that helped a little. Definitely need some new sleepers :(
 
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FriskyFL--

I love the Morse Museum, actually enough to become a member even though I don't live in Florida! I usually stop in Winter Park on my way down or back from South Florida and stay overnight just to visit the museum. My plans for South Florida changed this year, though, so that is why I decided to stay longer in Winter Park and see more of the town, and I planned my dates around going to a lunch at the museum.

Railroad Bill--

Just my luck that I will be in a bedroom for the first time, and it will be B! I had some vouchers from cancelled trips and decided to put them all together and spring for a bedroom to see what one is like. I will be on 91 instead of 97, but doubt that will make a difference. I may be awake most of the night anyway, because I always wonder where we are every time we stop and want to look out the window. I haven't met Marcus, but Reggie was my SCA once and was very good.
 
The Morse museum looks wonderful, to my shame had never heard of it. We have a spare day at the very end of our US trip, think we'll be heading across there before flying back to London out of Orlando.
 
v v said:
The Morse museum looks wonderful, to my shame had never heard of it. We have a spare day at the very end of our US trip, think we'll be heading across there before flying back to London out of Orlando.
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The Morse Museum is great and if you are there on a Friday, it has free admission between 4pm and 8pm and sometimes some cultural entertainment.
 
v v--

I hope you can get to the Morse Museum before you fly back to London. Here is information from their website on hours and admission:

Public Hours9:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday (Open until 8:00 p.m. Friday, November through April)
1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. Sunday
Closed Monday and most major holidays

Admission$5 Adults
$4 Seniors age 60 and older
$1 Students
Free for children younger than 12
All visitors free 4:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. Fridays (November through April)

It is worth viewing the short film on how it got started (I usually don't watch those, but this one is worth it). If I remember correctly, Tiffany opened his home on Long Island to art student interns, and they would live there in the summer for free as his guests. He was an old man at the time, but he would stop by the studio each day and take an interest in the work each person was doing.

One of the interns became the president of Rollins College in Winter Park, and when the Tiffany home in Long Island was destroyed by fire, long after Tiffany's death, this man and his wife went up there and saved as much as they could, which is how the museum got started. A lovely story of "What goes around comes around" I think.
 
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