the train to orlando
tommyWe made it to Orlando without incident. A nice smooth train ride that took the promised two hours. TheFirstGrader thought it was excellent! But once we got to Orlando, things slowed down considerably.
There may be a city bus that goes from the Amtrak station to International Drive, but the clerks aren’t aware of it. In fact, when I asked about it, they looked at me as if I were crazy to be askin’ such a thing. So we walked a couple blocks (with bag in hand) to Orange Av. The bus stop sign there says “7, 11, 18″ and nothing else.
It was at this point I thought that for a guy who uses the internet quite a bit, I’m sure I could have figured out the exact route, including bus numbers, times, and all that. But, “How hard could it be?” had been the prevailing thoughts. Read on…
When the first bus came by (#18), we asked the driver. He thought and thought. And hte thought some more. Just as he seemed about to give up, the rider in the first row rolled her eyes, and explained that we could catch the #7 to the Florida Mall and from there take the #42 to I-Drive.
Forty minutes later, #7 came by and took us to the Florida Mall, where we caught the 42 pretty quickly. That bus took us to our hotel. It was 8:00pm.
Two hours and change from Tampa to Orlando. For the 12 mile trip from Orlando to I-Drive, another four hours.
Just wait ’til you hear of the ride home!
Tags: city, Florida, tampa, transportation
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July 24th, 2006 at 12:19 am
Just think of the stories your kids will tell: “Remember the time we took the train to Orlando? Dad had that crazy obsession with public transportation…four hours to get to our hotel…”
July 24th, 2006 at 4:12 am
But hey, that bullet train would have been great….
July 24th, 2006 at 7:33 am
Had to laugh at Meredith’s comment–I was thinking the same thing. You guys are brave! Waiting to hear what happened on the ride home!
July 24th, 2006 at 8:03 am
I’m thinking that maybeeee, just maybe a cab might have been in order, lol.
July 24th, 2006 at 8:03 am
But then again, I also think that whoever said “getting there is half the fun!” should be drug out in the street and shot.
July 24th, 2006 at 8:49 am
A cab would have saved a lot of time, for sure. And the FirstGrader says we should drive next time, cuz it would be a lot faster.
July 24th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
last time I went to orlando i drove a friends lexus. I must recommend it, if you have the means of course.
shit they have beenworing on I4 for so long I wanted to finally use it now that it is completed. Took 1 1/2 hrs to get there and 1 hour to get back, most of that kind of close to the speed limit.
July 24th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Through all of that waiting the firstgrader never comlpained. She did make up a hurry up song about the number 7 at the end though! All in all it was fun!
July 24th, 2006 at 5:59 pm
I think Tommy’s effort to use mass transit shows what a pitiful state it is in in OUR STATE. Too bad Amtrak and connections are not more user friendly. I want to congratulate Tommy, Wifey and adorable little one on being brave pilgrams in this voyage. As previously discussed with Tommy ands Wifey, there is a group of us that really want to get a train car full of folks and go to Orlando, party and come back the next day. Maybe we’ll have some chase vehicles at the other end to haul us around in Orlando!!
July 26th, 2006 at 10:46 pm
Considering Orlando is among the top international tourist destinations in the world, I think it is pathetic how inefficent (and almost nonexistant) public transportation is there. The same could be said of Tampa, although it does not recieve the amount of visitors that Orlando hosts. The Orlando area recieves tens of millions of visitors from around the world every year, and the population of its metropolitain area is nearly two million. This isn’t a small town we’re talking about, and yet its public transit network is poorer than many small cities in third world countries.
June 25th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
I agree public transportation is truly pitiful in Florida especially in Tampabay and Orlando so we need to do something about it.
So first we should look at cities with good public transportation and you note two things they all have trains and or trolleys
The second they run very frequently and almost every hour of the day,
On every day of the week.
First broken argument
Public transportation should make a profit
This is not at all true public transport should never be required to run at a profit
It is need to provide transportation to all those who can not safely put a car on the road
Here in Tampa we have too many poorly maintained cars with minimally insurance if insured at all
People would not be driving these accidents waiting to happen if they could get to and from work with public transportation
But sadly that not possible for the many who work the late shits or even those who work two jobs.
Second broken argument
I never ride public transportation so I should not have to pay for it
Bus and light rail offer a major advantage off set by a small disadvantage which
Is every one on a bus or trolley are not in a car or a cab. The small disadvantage will be the more frequent buses and trolley crossings
But that a smaller problem compared to all the cars that would be on the road instead
July 20th, 2007 at 3:42 am
how u go on a train to orlando
May 5th, 2008 at 7:33 am
[...] me of our trip to Orlando, but at least she planned it out before she left. Read the rest of Margie’s No Car Florida Adventure at the Miami [...]