More coming soon!

Anyone who stumbles upon this blog and wonders why there haven't been any new posts in a few weeks...I've been very, very busy lately.  I have a LOT more material to share with everyone, including more train travel tips!  They will be coming.  For now, enjoy some photos from past trips of mine:

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Disneyland vs Disney World

Before I post more about the rest of my trip across the country, I really want to compare Disneyland to Disney World, because I think this is something that people are genuinely curious about.

For me, a California native, I have a pretty good perspective on Disneyland and California Adventure.  I have visited the park fairly consistently once a year or more during my life, I bought my first season pass a few years ago, and will be buying my next one sometime soon.  Just this past Tuesday I went to Mickey's Halloween Party in Disneyland, and having both parks fresh in my mind (I went to Disney World for the first time about a month ago and attended their Halloween Party), I wanted to compare the different parks/rides and which ones I preferred.    

I will compare the major differences between Mickey's Halloween Party (Disneyland) and Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (Magic Kingdom) in a later blog post.

There are some things I did not get to experience in Disney World, such as the Swiss Family Treehouse (in Disneyland it's Tarzan's Treehouse) or Tom Sawyer Island (in Disneyland this is Pirate's Lair).  I really like these features in Disneyland, and I have visited the originals (Swiss Family Treehouse and Tom Sawyer Island) while they were unchanged in Disneyland, so my guess would be these areas are fairly similar in experience.  I also did not go on Splash Mountain at Disney World, so I can't compare it to Disneyland's Splash Mountain.

I also did not stand in line to meet with any characters except Pluto, so I won't be comparing the different characters you can meet in the various parks.  I will say this: it's pretty cool that you can meet characters in their "native" lands in EPCOT, such as Mary Poppins in England, Mulan in China, etc.

Disney World

I am going to start with the park that is by far the biggest.  With 4 different theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and EPCOT) and 2 water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon), Disney World has a lot to offer guests.  I did not visit either of the water parks, and as Disneyland really has nothing to compare to those places, they aren't too relevant to this discussion.

Now an outline of what each parks main attraction(s) are; these are generally considered "E-Ticket" experiences, or the rides that most people make a fastpass reservation for:

Magic Kingdom

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train 

Space Mountain

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Splash Mountain

Main Street Electrical Parade (might be leaving for Disneyland soon)

Various Firework Shows

Animal Kingdom

Expedition Everest

Kilimanjaro Safaris

Kali River Rapids

DINOSAUR

Festival of the Lion King

Finding Nemo - The Musical

Hollywood Studios

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith

Star Tours
Toy Story Midway Mania!

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Fantasmic!

Lights, Motor, Action! Extreme Stunt Show

Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular!

EPCOT

Test Track

Soarin'

Mission: SPACE

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth

Disneyland

The original park has several rides and experiences unique to this park, such as meeting Thor or Captain America in Innoventions, and rides like Alice in Wonderland, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage, and Mickey's Toon Town.  

Now an outline of what each parks main attraction(s) are; these are generally considered "E-Ticket" experiences, or the rides that most people make a fastpass reservation for:

Disneyland 

Space Mountain

Splash Mountain
Matterhorn Bobsleds

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Indiana Jones Adventure

Pirates of the Caribbean

Various Firework Shows

Fantasmic!

Disney's California Adventure

California Screamin'

Grizzly River Run

Radiator Springs Racers

Soarin' Over California

Toy Story Midway Mania!

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

World of Color

Ride Comparison

Now let's compare the different rides that the parks share in common.  I will also give my impressions on some of the rides/shows that only Disneyland has, and some of the rides that only Disney World has.  To differentiate with ride goes with which park, I will use acronyms to show which ride belongs where.

DLR: Disneyland Resort 

DCA: Disney California Adventure

MK: Magic Kingdom

EPCOT: EPCOT

HS: Hollywood Studios

AK: Animal Kingdom

NOTE:  If any sections are in quotes (“ ”) it was taken directly from the theme parks ride description.

Space Mountain
DLR: A high-speed turbulent ride through outer space.	MK: A high-speed turbulent ride through outer space.
Winner: DLR The MK version of Space Mountain is very similar to DLR’s Matterhorn.  There are two cars connected together and each car seats three, like (X | X | X) – (X | X | X); so you ride alone.  What makes DLR better is that the track is WAY smoother than MK, it takes your picture in a better place (the end of the ride rather than the beginning at MK), and felt faster overall.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
DLR: The wildest ride in the wilderness, a mine train ride that rips through tight curves and climbs up steep mine shafts.	MK: “Dash in and out of desert caverns and rumble through a haunted mine aboard a speeding train.”
Winner: DLR Before the renovation of this ride in DLR, MK actually had a slight edge over the DLR version due to what I consider a slightly better track design.  However, the new effects and incredibly smooth track make the DLR ride experience the clear winner.

Indiana Jones/Dinosaur
DLR:  Take an adventure on a bumpy jeep ride and help Indiana Jones along the way.	AK: Travel back in time to save a dinosaur from extinction.
Winner: DLR/Indiana Jones The overall storyline of this ride is much better presented than the slightly cheesy Dinosaur ride.

The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure/Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
DCA: “Pack your dinglehoppers, tune up your snarfblatts and journey under the sea to be part of Ariel's world.”	MK:  “Descend below the waves for a splashy musical adventure featuring famous scenes from this cherished animated classic.”
Winner: Tie These rides are virtually identical in every single way except the outside set up in the ride.  MK has a better ride queue with more details and a better nautical/cave theme.

Disney’s Railroad (this circles the park)
DLR: “Celebrate Americana—and all things red, white and blue—as you steam away on a vintage train for a full circle tour of Disneyland Park.”	MK: “Celebrate classic Americana as you steam away on a vintage train for a full circle tour of Magic Kingdom park.”
Winner: DLR Both train rides are fun, but DLR has some great scenes of animals, dinosaurs, and inside Splash Mountain that make it an overall better ride experience.

Enchanted Tiki Room
DLR: Four colorful parrots narrate a singing journey with flowers, birds of the jungle, and tikis.	MK: Four colorful parrots narrate a singing journey with flowers, birds of the jungle, and tikis.
Winner: DLR I was so sad when I went to the Enchanted Tiki Room in MK; they completely cut out one of the songs!  I believe it was “Let’s All Sing Like the Birdies” that was cut, and thus no guest sing-a-long.  For that reason alone, DLR wins.  However, I do love the volcanic window scenes that MK has over DLR’s bamboo shades and fake rain.

Peter Pan’s Flight
DLR: Explore Neverland with Peter Pan and the Darling children.	MK: Explore Neverland with Peter Pan and the Darling children.
Winner: MK By a narrow margin, MK edges out this classic ride at DLR.  I liked the different track layout at MK and some of the slightly different scenes compared to the DLR scenes.  These two rides are also very similar, so either experience will be enjoyable.

Soarin’ (over California)
DCA: “Feel the wind race across your face during a breezy airborne adventure above California’s natural and manmade wonders.“	EPCOT: “Take flight and feel the wind through your hair as you fly above breathtaking vistas of California.“
Winner: Tie These rides are identical in every way, except for the name, which is just “Soarin’” in EPCOT.  The only way DCA might edge EPCOT out is the inside décor of the queue is more interesting to see and read than in EPCOT.

Autopia/Tomorrowland Speedway
DLR: “Put the pedal to the metal in your very own car and cruise along a scenic miniature motorway.”	MK: “Put the pedal to the metal in your very own hotrod and cruise along a scenic miniature motorway.”
Winner: DLR This is mostly personal preference, as the rides are very similar.  Autopia offers a better themed roadway, with plenty of natural features such as trees, tunnels and an off-roading section versus the   Speedway’s racetrack design.

Pirates of the Caribbean
DLR: Set sail on a swashbuckling voyage to a long-forgotten time and place when pirates wrought havoc on the high seas.	MK: Set sail on a swashbuckling voyage to a long-forgotten time and place when pirates wrought havoc on the high seas.
Winner: DLR The ride at DLR felt slightly longer in experience, but both rides are incredibly similar.  What edged DLR to the front is the fact that this track has 2 drops in it, which make the ride more of a thrill ride than a sit-and-watch ride.  However as far as overall theme goes, MK has a much more pirate-y outside décor.

Jungle Cruise
DLR: “Set sail for high adventure in Asia, Africa and South America during a guided tour of the world's most remote rivers.”	MK: “Set sail for high adventure on a tour of the most exotic and “dangerous” rivers in Asia, Africa and South America.”
Winner: MK While the ride and jokes are pretty much the same (slightly outdated and corny), the MK ride has a couple different “rooms” with a better theme, which gives MK the edge in this experience.

It’s a Small World
DLR: “Embark on a whimsical boat ride past a jubilant confection of singing children from around the globe.”	MK: “Embark on a whimsical boat ride past a jubilant confection of singing children from around the globe.”
Winner: DLR While the song in both rides is never-ending, DLR has added a few touches which kick this ride up a notch: they placed characters in the respective land they are from.  So you’ll see Peter Pan flying in England, Lilo and Stitch in Hawaii, Mulan in China, etc.  I’ve also been told by cast members that MK does not dress their ride up for Christmas like DLR does, which is one of the best times to ride this ride.

Grizzly River Run/Kali River Rapids
DCA: A thrilling whitewater raft adventure that takes you roaring down a California river in the Sierra Nevada mountains.	AK: A rip-roaring, river raft ride that takes you on a tour through a lush jungle landscape ravaged by illegal logging.
Winner: DCA The DCA ride is a noticeably longer ride with two small drops in it, compared to AK’s one sort-of-drop-but-more-of-a-slide.  I was incredibly disappointed with this, most particularly because the ride is much shorter than its DCA counterpart.  However, the theme of AK’s ride is definitely well done.

Haunted Mansion
DLR: Take a haunted journey through a stately mansion in a doom buggy, see ghosts and perhaps take a hitch-hiker home with you.	MK: Take a haunted journey through a stately mansion in a doom buggy, see ghosts and perhaps take a hitch-hiker home with you.
Winner: DLR Again, these rides are incredibly similar.  What gave DLR the lead over MK comes down to the fact that DLR dresses up their ride for Halloween and Christmas with Jack Skellington and friends, which makes this ride very fun/cute.  I do like the “attic” room more in MK, though, with footprints walking along stairs and ceiling above you.  The ride itself also feels bigger in MK.

Test Track/Radiator Springs Racers
EPCOT: Design a virtual concept vehicle and then go for a high-octane spin at this attraction that’s thrilling and creative.	DCA:  Start your engines! Zoom through the desert landscape of Cars Land, inspired by the Disney•Pixar movie Cars.
Winner: DCA/Radiator Springs Racers These two rides are incredibly difficult to compare.  The tracks where the cars go fast (aka the outdoor portion) are very similar, however DCA track has some nifty hills and practically sideways portion of its track.  If it were based solely on track, EPCOT would win.  What edged DCA over EPCOT is the fact that Cars itself, like Lighting McQueen and Tow Mater, are more fun to see than randomly testing a cars features that you “designed” yourself.  The speed you feel on Test Track is quite thrilling, though!

Star Tours
DLR: Take a trip (no one trip is ever (usually) the same) through outer space Star Wars style, with C3P-O as your guide.	HS: Take a trip (no one trip is ever (usually) the same) through outer space Star Wars style, with C3P-O as your guide.
Winner: Tie Both rides are identical, and even the queue leading into the rides is remarkably similar.

Toy Story Midway Mania!
DCA: “Step right up! No ride is ever the same twice. From expert to beginner, everyone's a winner!”	HS: “Ride and shoot moving targets at this midway-style, 4D shootin’ game starring your favorite Toy Story characters.”
Winner: Tie Both rides are exactly the same, with the only difference being that most of the HS queue is indoors and DCA queue is outdoors.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
DCA: “Lunge up and down into the Twilight Zone aboard a haunted "elevator" ride.”	HS: “Hurtle up and down into the Twilight Zone aboard a haunted "elevator" ride.”
Winner: HS The rides are nearly the same when it comes to the dropping part; what makes HS the better experience is the tour you get of the hotel before you rise up for the great view of the park.

Fantasmic!
DLR: “The forces of good and evil battle in Mickey’s dream during this extravagant musical, pyrotechnic spectacular!”	HS: “The power of dreams blazes before you in this breathtaking 30-minute fireworks and water   extravaganza.”
Winner: Tie While each show was slightly different, there really is no clear winner in Fantasmic.  It comes down to personal taste.  The HS version has stadium seating and scenes from Pocahontas.  The DLR version has causal seating around the Rivers of America and Peter Pan dueling Hook on the Jolly Roger.  Many other parts of each show are nearly identical, with the only differences being which scenes they show in the water spray and which villains they feature.

California Screamin’/ Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
DCA: Tear through the air aboard this high-speed thrill ride that recalls the great wooden roller coasters of yesteryear!	HS: Blast off in a super-stretch limousine through the darkened freeways of Los Angeles to the rockin’ tunes of Aerosmith.
Winner: DCA The rides overall are very different experiences, but the smoothness of the tracks and similar turns/twists/upside-down nature of the two rides begged comparing.  That being said, DCA was a better experience as the ride was longer and the ups and downs were more intense as this ride was outdoors.  Both rides are really fun, though, and picking a winner out of these two was tough.

Rides Unique to Parks:

There are rides that are unique to each park; I’ve listed them below along with the park they are in.  This is a short list which highlights some of the more unique and interesting rides that are found in the various parks. 

Expedition Everest (AK)

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (HS)

Matterhorn Bobsleds (DLR)

Kilimanjaro Safaris (AK)

California Screamin’ (DCA)

Alice in Wonderland (DLR)

Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride (DLR)

Pinocchio’s Daring Journey (DLR)

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (DLR)

The Great Movie Ride (HS)

Maelstrom (EPCOT)

Journey into Imagination with Figment (EPCOT)

Mission: SPACE

Dinoland U.S.A. (has some common fair type rides)

Notable Mentions:

Expedition Everest – Located in Animal Kingdom, this is probably the most thrilling and intense roller coaster in any of the Disney parks found in America.  The backwards section of this ride is particularly intense, with a lot of pressure building up as you zip along in the dark.

Matterhorn Bobsleds – A classic ride, they recently renovated the ride cars so that they are similar to MK Space Mountain: ( X X X) – (X X X).  Each X represents a person sitting in their own seat, NOT in someone else’s lap!  The right track is a little bit smoother and noticeably faster than the left track.  It would be more accurate to compare Space  Mountain MK to this ride, than to Space Mountain DLR in terms of track roughness and seating arrangements.

Kilimanjaro Safaris – An incredibly unique ride which offers you about as authentic an African safari you can get without leaving America.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – I was highly disappointed with this ride because of its length.  This ride is about 60 seconds long, which is far too short for how long you have to wait to go on it.  It’s a beautiful ride and incredibly smooth, with a few fun drops.  Just wish it was longer!

Shows

Not that big on seeing shows, but here are a couple that didn’t get mentioned up above that I really enjoyed:

IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth (EPCOT) – This show probably comes the closest in terms of relating to World of Color.  It’s a great fireworks and laser show.

World of Color (DCA)- This is probably my all-time favorite show that Disney has ever done.  The colors, the flames, the fireworks, the projections onto screens of water, are just incredibly well done.  Don’t miss any opportunity to see this show!

Food

I am not a food expert, so I will briefly talk about some of the things I enjoy about Disneyland and Disney World in terms of food.

Both parks have some incredible food choices, but just by the fact that Disney World (this being all 4 parks) has so much more square footage of parks means it has that much more in terms of food to offer.  In particular, EPCOT has some spectacular places to find food.  I really enjoyed the Werther’s store in Germany; their chocolate cookie filled with caramel, rice crispy treats drizzled with Werther’s caramel and chocolate, pretzel rods dipped in caramel and chocolate, all were to die for.  I even bought an overpriced but delicious bottle of Werther’s caramel drizzle to take home!  The variety of food in EPCOT is astounding, and each country features food eaten in that country, from Italian and French gelato to Norwegian pastries, English fish and chips, Mexican empanadas, Chinese orange chicken...I think you get the idea.  Go to EPCOT with an empty stomach!

Both Disneyland and Magic Kingdom have Dole Whips, another favorite of mine.  However, Magic Kingdom also offers orange and vanilla as flavors in addition to the Dole pineapple flavor.  I actually prefer the orange/vanilla swirl flavor.  It’s heavenly.

One thing I noticed, the cream cheese filled pretzels were $5.00 at the Florida parks and were extremely hard to find.  In Disneyland, they were $3.85 and found in the Coca Cola shop, among various other pretzel stands in the park.  These pretzels are one of my favorite treats in the park.

Magic Kingdom vs. Disneyland: Who wins?

So, which park wins?  I am biased with my views, as I have been multiple times to Disneyland and only once to the Magic Kingdom.  That being said, in my opinion the winner is:

DISNEYLAND

Disneyland is the better park (again, in my opinion) for a variety of reasons.  One thing I really like about this park is that it IS small.  You don’t spend half the day (and ¾ of your energy) walking around the park trying to get from one ride to the next.  With attractions closer together, you are able to ride things faster and get to them quickly.  Secondly, Disneyland has a sort of wheel-and-spoke approach to organization.  While the Magic Kingdom has a similar setup, personal experience visiting this park last month made me realize it’s not nearly as convenient as Disneyland’s.  Again this relates to the size of the Magic Kingdom; the different attractions are very far apart in each land, so visiting things in an orderly fashion is difficult.

For example, in the Magic Kingdom, Space Mountain feels like it’s off all by itself in the middle of nowhere.  The new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride sort of blocks off Fantasyland so you have to walk all the way around the ride from the entrance to get to that part of the park.  Then there’s that new circus area which is also kind of off by itself.  There are so many little paths that seem to go off for you to explore, which is great because it means more stuff to see, but also not so great, as you can get lost easily (at least, those unfamiliar with the park).  I do have to say, I really love the Magic Kingdom’s newly expanded Fantasyland: it’s awesome.  I wish Disneyland had as much space as the Magic Kingdom so we could get some of the nice features like this!

Everyone loves to point out how much bigger the castle is in the Magic Kingdom compared to Disneyland, and it’s true.  On Tuesday when I was in Disneyland I was like, wait, what?!  THAT’S the castle!?  It looks very puny compared to the Magic Kingdom’s soaring spires.  That being said, I do like that you can explore Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty castle interior, and see scenes from the movie in diorama form.  You can’t walk inside Cinderella’s castle at the Magic Kingdom; the only way to really “get inside” is to dine at Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Last thing: the weather.  I’m sure Florida is great in the winter or whenever the humidity is much lower, but it’s not that fun visiting in September or any other month when the humidity is so high.  I had no problem with the thunderstorms or sudden downpours.  Not a big fan of ‘stand-still-and-sweat’ humidity, because you don’t need to move in order for it to look like sweat is dripping down your body.  It seems to just zap your strength and energy, which is not okay when you are planning on spending 12+ hours in the park.  The nice thing about California is that there is never humidity like that.  We get rain (lots of it, sometimes), and thunderstorms too, but no hurricanes or tropical storms, either. 

And hey, Disneyland tickets are still $3 cheaper!  Just one other reason why Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth, and the best theme park.

I hope you enjoyed reading my park comparison.  I know I left out some things, so feel free to let me know in the comments section what you think of my review and any important details you felt I left out.  Please remember that this is my personal opinion!  If you think Disneyland is second rate to the Magic Kingdom, that’s fine by me :-).  Just don’t take my opinion as a personal attack on “your park”.  Thanks!

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8 Days on a Train: A Report on the Western Side of the Tracks

I am back from my cross country train trip!  Let me tell you, it was quite the experience.  Mostly positives, but some negatives along the way.

Traveling across the country by train is one of the most unique experiences of my life.  Nothing quite like seeing that much of America in a few days.  Parts of the train trip were incredibly beautiful.  In particular, the stretch from Emeryville, California to Denver, Colorado were just amazingly picturesque.  On the east bound portion of my trip, we had two docents on board who we picked up around Sacramento and dropped off in Reno, Nevada.  They narrated and talked about the Gold Rush (among other things), because this particular stretch of the tracks was very important during that era.

My recommendation:  if you have never traveled by train before and you are looking for a positive first time experience, pick up the California Zephyr at the beginning of the line (around Emeryville) and take it to Reno, Nevada.  Hop off the train, spend the night (or two!) and explore this historic town before taking the California Zephyr back to your starting destination.  From Emeryville to Reno is about 4 or so hours (if I remember correctly!).






The section through Nevada and Utah was also very interesting and pretty in it's own way.  I am not a huge fan of the desert, but even I can see the beauty in these sparsely populated areas.  What was cool is that I saw some wild horses and pronghorn antelope along the way, among various other wildlife I could not snap a picture of.  I slept through most of this part of the train ride, as it was made during the night, so I was unable to see some of the more unique features of the land.  I woke up around Green River, Utah and was able to see Arches National Park off in the distance.  I visited this park last year and it is AMAZING; I highly recommend a visit to anyone able to go!

 

Wild horses (above)

Pronghorn antelope (above)

My second favorite part of the train ride was the part in Colorado.  In particular the stretch through the Gore Canyon in Colorado is just breathtaking.  Now I want to go back and river raft, like hundreds of people were doing the day I traveled through!  A brief blurb about it on Wikipedia, for those interested, click here.

The last picture on the bottom that looks very sparse is a very dangerous stretch of the road along this canyon.  You can see past cars that have crashed along the steep hillside there.  The train conductor said that a guard rail was added which has drastically cut down on the number of accidents occurring in this area.

During the Colorado portion of the ride, you pass through Moffat Tunnel.  If you're like me, I never knew this was a unique and rare tunnel.  In fact, I had never heard of it before passing through it.  This tunnel is 6.2 miles long, 24 feet high, 18 feet wide, and took Amtrak about 10 minutes or so to pass through it.  It took 48 months to bore through the mountains and complete the tunnel in 1927.  The conductor asks everyone to stay in their seats/car during this part of the ride, as passing through the doors connecting the different train cars can let in a lot of diesel fumes.  They also run fans to try and clear out the air in the tunnel after a train passes through.  The tunnel peaks at 9,239 feet high and crosses the continental divide.  If you take note of which way the water is flowing before you cross, you can see that it does flow the opposite direction once through the tunnel.

This image from Wikipedia shows really well how much time/length was cut off with this new route through the Rockies:

After the portion through the Moffat Tunnel, you have some equally amazing views on the other side of the tunnel.  According to the conductor, you can see about 2/3 of the state from this incredible vantage point the California Zephyr has along the edge of the mountains.

On my eastbound portion of the train ride, I was sitting on the wrong side of the train to get this great view.  So, note to all of you potential California Zephyr train riders!

Where to View and When

NOTE: The sides of the train listed below are for EAST BOUND train travelers unless otherwise noted!

For good views up to Reno, both sides of the train offer excellent views, however the left side might slightly edge out the right when you get closer to Donner Lake.  If you want good views of the Gore Canyon in Colorado, the right side of the train is very good.  The left side also has some good views, but many times you end up looking at cliff face going straight up.  When you exit the Moffat Tunnel, you’ll want to sit on the left side.  This side has the incredible views of Colorado as far as you can see.  After this point, both sides of the train offer fairly decent and unique views.

On the westbound portion of my trip, I made sure I sat on the right side so I’d get the good views of Colorado from high up in the mountains.  I feel like, however, the eastbound train seems to get a better view over all, coming in to Colorado, rather than the westbound train, which is leaving Colorado.

The following pictures are from the westbound portion of my trip through the Colorado region.

 












The trees were just starting to change color, too!  You can see the aspens are very yellow.

Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot to report on the rest of the trip from Denver onward.  The most notable portions of the train ride after Denver were my layovers in Chicago and Washington, D.C.  I will talk more about the eastern half of the train and share some pictures in a later post.

For now, I hope everyone enjoyed my description and photos of the Western portion of the California Zephyr's route!



(For anyone curious, the camera I used to take these photos were either my Canon D10, a camera I bought mainly for it's underwater use, and my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone).

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What to eat on long trips (specifically a train)

One of the most challenging things of going on a long car ride (or train trip) is finding the right kind of snacks or food to bring with you.  In my particular case, I needed to find things to bring that did not require refrigeration or microwaving, as I won't have access to a refrigerator or microwave on the train.

The train does sell hot meals in their dining car, but I would rather save myself $10+ per meal and eat my own food as much as I can.  I do plan on buying one hot meal per day, however, so I will update folks later on just how good or bad train food is.  All my culinary 'Chopped' and Food Network experience is going to come into play for that post (and future ones about the cuisine aboard the Disney Fantasy and at Walt Disney World ;-) ).

The next trick: coming up with foods that taste good and travel well.

One of the best travel foods to take along on the road are PB&J sandwiches.  Also known as peanut butter and jelly, to those of you who have forgotten what it is to be in kindergarten.  Or even college; PB&J is the staple of most college kid pantries.  For my upcoming train travels, I bought individual peanut butter packages, and the smallest jelly I could find that squeezes out.  Two great items that don't have to be refrigerated.  For the bread, I bought some sandwich thins.  I think they will hold up to travel better than wheat bread, which is prone to squishing.

If you are not into PB&J, you could try tuna or chicken sandwiches.  They have packets in the condiments isle of StarKist tuna which you only need to add mayo to in order to enjoy.  Buy (or hit up your local Panera Bread) some individual sized mayo packets for a very easy and portable tuna sandwich.  There are also many brands of pre-cooked soup that, if you don't mind eating it at room temperature, could also be consumed on the train.  If you are friends with anyone in the military, you could always beg a few MRE's off of them!

Most veggies and fruits will hold up fairly well without refrigeration as well.  I am a big fan of carrots and ranch, and finding small, travel-size ranches is easier than you think.  Just head to your favorite fast food and order something to eat; ask for a couple of sides of ranch, and you're good to go!  You might want to order more than just one thing off the dollar menu, though, if you ask for more than 2 or 3 ranch sides.  Whole apples and bananas also travel well to a certain extent; just pack them as best you can so they don't bruise.  There is no weight limitation to what you carry on the train with you, so you can bring some of those little fruit cups or even an entire can of crushed pineapple if that's your thing.  Just don't forget a spoon!  I am bringing some fruit leather, as it tastes just as good as real fruit, but is easier to transport.

I've read mixed reviews about the taste of water on the Amtrak trains, so to combat this issue, I bought a water bottle that filters water.  I liked the size of this water bottle compared to some of the others; it holds 600 mL of water.  It's big, but not huge, and it was cheaper than many other filters (at Target it cost $19.99).  It also comes in several colors like teal, pink and black; I bought the blue color.  According to the packaging, it helps with the chlorinated taste that many public water sources have due to cities treating water mainly with chlorine.  The filter lasts for about 300 refills, or 3 months, if you refill the bottle 3-4 times per day.  The bottle is BPA free, and dishwasher safe.  It can contain liquids ranging in temperatures from 34°F to 100°F.  It is important to note this bottle is only intended for use with potable water.  Don't stick it in the nearest river and think you'll be fine!

Lastly, don't forget to stock up on things like granola bars, protein bars, something salty like pretzels and chips, and a good supple of healthy snacks like fruit leather.  Chocolate is always good to bring along for a quick pick me up, as well.  The very first picture in this post is a sample of some of the stuff I bought.  I didn't take a picture of the fruits, protein bars, and veggies that are also packed in my bag for this extensive trip.

I hope this posting helps people come up with some good ideas for travel food :)  Let me know what your favorite travel foods are in the comments!

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What to do for 88 hours

88 hours is how long it takes to get from San Fransisco, CA to Orlando, FL by train.  To give a better understanding of how long 88 hours is, it's just over 3.5 days in length.  One way!  And that's assuming there are no train delays, which I hear Amtrak is notorious for.

So that brings up many important questions:

• What to do?
• Where to sleep?
• What to eat?
• Where to get water?
• Is there WiFi?
• What kind of train is it, anyway, and what is there at a reserved coach class seat?
• Can I take a shower?

What to Do
This was probably the easiest question to answer, as anyone who has ever been on a long car ride has faced a similar condition: boredom.  For some, sitting around reading all day sounds extremely boring.  Not so to me.  I quite enjoy reading, and I have loaded up my phone with several book series I have yet to read, and quite a few old ones I have read, just in case the new stuff is bad.

But I don't want to read all day for 4 days.  So I downloaded movies from my Vudu account (www.vudu.com) to watch on my laptop.  The best thing is that once they are downloaded on to your laptop, you don't need an internet connection to watch them*.

*For those unfamiliar with Vudu, it's a video streaming service that, after creating a free account, allows you to upload those digital copies that come with most DVD/BluRay discs.  You can then access them from anywhere with an internet connection via your online Vudu account.

Which brings me to another point I was not terribly sure about:

Is There WiFi?
Sadly, no.  Some trains do have WiFi, but the particular trains I am going to be on do not.

So, what can I do about that?  Lucky for me (and most people with a smart phone these days), I have a tethering app on my phone that allows me to create a mobile hotspot, thus providing me with internet access of sorts.  I probably won't have great service in some of the flyover states, but in major cities and suburbs I should be well covered.  Make sure you have an unlimited data plan, or know about how much data you plan to use if you go this route!

Where to Sleep
As I have mentioned in an earlier post, I could not afford a sleeper car.  So for those who go on long, over night trips, you sleep in your seat, which does recline.  How much it reclines, I am not entirely sure.

Amtrak has this interesting chart picture posted on their website, depicting reserved coach seats:

Are There Bathrooms on the Train/Showers
Yes, there are!  And from past experience of close friends/family, I hear there is a changing room of sorts in addition to the restrooms located on the car.  Also from the same sources, the restrooms are single person rooms, so not like a traditional womens/mens room with multiple stalls.

Yes, there are showers! However, to the best of my knowledge, you must pay for a sleeping accommodation (like a car, roomette, etc) in order to use the shower.  Luckily I don't plan on breaking a sweat or working out too much and I don't smell after only a day (at least, no one has complained!) so I should be ok.  To combat odors and dirty hair/face, I'm going to take dry shampoo and facial cleanser towelettes.  A bottle of spray isopropyl alcohol will also kill the bacteria that cause the bad smelling odor (spray this on any clothing, etc to help combat stinky smells!).


Where to Eat/Drink
On the long distance trains, they do have a dining car.  According to the Amtrak website:

On long-distance trips, passengers are asked to make reservations for lunch and dinner. Reservations are taken in 15-minute increments for a more pleasant dining experience, assuring passengers of receiving quality service from Amtrak staff and preventing the Dining Cars from becoming overcrowded during peak meal times.
After boarding, a dining car staff member will go through the train asking passengers to select a preferred time for dining. Reservations are taken during each meal's service hours, except for breakfast. Passengers will be seated as they present themselves at the dining car. If the dining car is full, names will be taken, and passengers will be called in order from the lounge.

So I will have to let people know how this goes!  I have found a menu online, so I know what to expect for food/prices.

Here are some good links if you are curious about what kind of food the different trains offer and their prices:
Amtrak (quick menu glance)
Amtrak (menu and prices in PDF format)

Other good news: you are allowed to bring your own food onboard!  So I know I will be bringing plenty of snacks, as I am a fairly picky eater.  I will post more about what snacks I plan to bring in a later post.

Lastly, after doing an extensive search on the internet, I found that most people agreed there is a water fountain on board you can fill up water bottles at.  Some people said the water tasted bad, others didn't mind it at all.  So a note to those picky water drinkers:  consider bringing a water bottle that filters water.

What Kind of Train
Here is a fairly decent chart that depicts some of the differences in a reserved seat on the different types of train:

I will be on either a viewliner train or a superliner train the entire time.  The differences between the two are not that big.  Another excerpt from Amtrak:

Short / medium-distance trains and single-level / Viewliner trains offer reserved coach seating featuring wide comfortable seats with fold down trays and many other amenities.
Famous for the bi-level sleeping cars, the Superliner trains also offer coach seats on both levels. While most passengers ride in the upper level for a panoramic view of the passing scenery, the lower level coach seats provide convenience:

• well-appointed restrooms within the car and

• accessible seating for passengers with mobility impairments.

I think I covered all my topics mentioned at the beginning of this post.  Stay tuned for more information on my upcoming trip!

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First Cross Country Train Ride

This September I will be making my first cross country train ride, and I am super excited.

As I have mentioned before, I strongly dislike flying.  I planned a pretty neat trip to Walt Disney World and a Caribbean Disney cruise that my mom, dad, and sister will be going on with me.  The only problem:  I did not want to be stuck on a flying tube thousands of feet above the air for 7 hours, give or take an hour.  And before some kind soul tells me: I know that airplanes are safer than cars and trains and bikes and walking...basically I have been told it's one of the safest things you can do.  It's probably safer than sleeping at night, who knows!  That still doesn't mean I can't have a very strong aversion to flying.

So I thought this trip would be the perfect way to test out Amtrak cross country, from San Fransisco, CA to Orlando, FL.

This is a LENGTHY train ride, let me tell you.  And I was too cheap to splurge for a sleeper car, so you'll all be getting my first hand experiences sitting in a chair that reclines.  It should be very interesting!

I was a little shocked to realize how many states and cities I'll be traveling through.  Sure, logically I realized I'd be training across the country and so I must be cutting through a good deal of states.  But seeing it on a map and then listed out makes it much more real.

On my east bound portion of the trip I am taking two different trains than on the west bound.

East Bound	West Bound
California Zephyr	Silver Meteor
Capitol Limited	Cardinal
Silver Star	California Zephyr

I did this because each train takes a different route, and I wanted to see as much as I could see from a train.  For those trying to shorten their travel time, the north/south-bound Eastern trains tend to be very similar in length of time traveled.  Pay close attention when booking on amtrak.com and you will notice this.

What better way to illustrate this, though, than with some maps?  So below are the routes I will be taking for my east bound portion and the west bound portion of the trip.

East Bound

West Bound

Look closely and you'll notice that between Chicago and Washington D.C. one train takes a more northern route and the other slightly more south.  For the train between DC and Orlando, one heads in towards the west for a short distance while the other remains a bit closer to the east coast.

Each of the cities highlighted is either the start (San Fransisco, CA), a train change (Chicago, IL and Washington D.C.) or the train end (Orlando, FL).

But wait!  There's more!

Because I am a very curious person, and with the help of Amtrak's route atlas, I zoomed in as close as possible to see exactly where I am going.  I then compiled a list of the states and cities with Amtrak stops I could be visiting.  I don't think Amtrak stops at every location they have a train station unless they are picking up/dropping off passengers.  But I could be wrong, and if so, I will post it here after my trip!  

So below is a list (very long) of the states and what cities I will for sure be passing through.

East Bound

West Bound

California                 Emeryville                 Martinez                 Suisun                 Davis                 Sacramento                 Roseville                 Rocklin                 Auburn                 Colfax                 Truckee Nevada                 Reno                 Sparks                 Winnemucca                 Elko Utah                 Salt Lake City                 Provo                 Helper                 Green River Colorado                 Grand Junction                 Glenwood Springs                 Granby                 Fraser                 Denver                 Fort Morgan Nebraska                 McCook                 Holdrege                 Hastings                 Lincoln                 Omaha Kansas (Just barely edge into, no stops) Iowa                 Creston                 Osceola                 Ottumwa                 Mount Pleasant                 Burlington Illinois                 Galesburg                 Kewanee                 Princeton                 Mendota                 Plano                 Naperville                 La Grange                 Chicago (Union Station) Indiana                 Hammond                 Michigan City                 South Bend                 Elkhart                 Waterloo Ohio                 Bryan                 Toledo                 Sandusky                 Elyria                 Cleveland                 Alliance Pennsylvania                 Pittsburgh                 Connellsville Maryland                 Cumberland West Virginia                 Martinsburg                 Harpers Ferry Maryland                 Rockville Washington, DC – Union Station Virginia                 Alexandria                 Springfield                 Lorton                 Woodbridge                 Quantico                 Fredericksburg                 Ashland                 Richmond                 Petersburg North Carolina                 Rocky Mount                 Wilson                 Selma                 Raleigh                 Southern Pines                 Hamlet South Carolina                 Camden                 Columbia                 Denmark Georgia                 Savannah                 Jesup Florida                 Jacksonville                 Palatka                 Deland                 Sanford                 Winter Park                 Orlando

Florida                 Orlando                 Winter Park                 Sanford                 Deland                 Palatka                 Jacksonville Georgia                 Jesup                 Savannah South Carolina                 Yemassee                 North Charleston                 Kingstree                 Florence                 Dillon North Carolina                 Fayetteville                 Selma                 Wilson                 Rocky Mount Virginia                 Petersburg                 Richmond                 Ashland                 Fredericksburg                 Quantico                 Woodbridge                 Lorton                 Springfield                 Alexandria Washington D.C. (Union Station) Virginia                 Burke                 Manassas                 Culpeper                 Charlottesville                 Staunton                 Clifton Forge West Virginia                 White Sulfur                 Alderson                 Hinton                 Prince                 Thurmond                 Montgomery                 Charleston                 Huntington Kentucky                 Ashland                 South Shore                 Maysville                 Maysville Ohio                 Cincinnati Indiana                 Connersville                 Indianapolis                 Crawfordsville                 Lafayette                 Rensselaer                 Dyer Illinois                 Chicago (Union Station)                 La Grange                 Naperville                 Plano                 Mendota                 Princeton                 Kewanee                 Galesburg Iowa                 Burlington                 Mount Pleasant                 Ottumwa                 Osceola                 Creston Nebraska                 Omaha                 Lincoln                 Hastings                 Holdrege                 McCook Colorado                 Fort Morgan                 Denver                 Fraser                 Granby                 Glenwood Springs                 Grand Junction Utah                 Green River                 Helper                 Provo                 Salt Lake City Nevada                 Elko                 Winnemucca                 Sparks                 Reno California                 Truckee                 Colfax                 Auburn                 Rocklin                 Roseville                 Sacramento                 Davis                 Suisun                 Martinez                 Emeryville

For those not keeping track (or too overwhelmed to) that's 20 different states traveled through on this trip.

This was a pretty long (and hopefully informative post), so I'll end it for now.  Thanks for reading, and be sure to check back as I post more information about my upcoming cross country train travel vacation!
Feel free to ask questions in the comment section :)

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