Advice about taking the train to NJ for Thanksgiving

[Anonymous]

We are taking Amtrak with our almost 2-year old over Thanksgiving weekend. We only bought two seats for the 3 of us. Any advice on where to sit? In the first two seats by the door and maybe try to see if he will nap in the stroller? Or just sit in any row since he will probably be walking around for the whole trip anyway.

[Anonymous]

If riding Amtrak at TG is anything like I remember, you will be lucky to get two seats together, let alone have a choice of where to be. That train gets super-crowded, and I imagine it will be even more so this year given budgets etc. That said, I would go for any row - near the door will get jampacked with people standing and luggage by the end of the trip, so you don't want people looming over the kiddo or to have him get accidentally stepped on.

[Anonymous]

Any place that's clean. Everytime I take Amtrak, I find it disgustingly dirty. I hope you have a better experience. Also, PP is absolutely right in saying you'll be lucky to get seats together. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

you might try the cafe car-- some people seem to camp out there for the entire trip, and there are tables.

[Anonymous]

11:32 poster here - I do not agree with 11:35 - I love, love, love Amtrak - and so do my boys. I think the bathrooms, the dining car, and everything else has been clean and nice when I've ridden it. That said - TG is a tough time to travel - no matter which way you decide to go - and I would take the train over driving any day of the week.

[Anonymous]

Amtrak might allow pre-boarding for people with children, so you may want to ask about that. Also, if you get in line early in DC, then you shouldn't have a problem getting seats together (it won't work for getting on in NJ, because the train is coming from NY and it will be pretty full).

My recollection is that most of the seats right by the door face each other with mini-tables (at least on the Acela), so it isn't like being in bulkhead with a lot of space for a stroller. You may need to fold the stroller up and put it in the luggage space at the front of the car.

[Anonymous]

Did you buy seats or just tickets? I remember sitting on the floor many times around Thanksgiving because Amtrak sold more tickets than there were seats. I think you are guaranteed a seat if you buy in business class, though.