The proposed route would run from the Orlando International Airport over to the Orange County Convention Center, then down I-4 to Tampa. The route would take the train past all the Central Florida theme park resorts, though you'd need to take shuttles from the various stops to the parks and their nearby hotels. (The longest haul would be from the Lakeland stop to Legoland Florida - which would likely be 30 minutes or more. Then again, I've been stuck in International Drive traffic before that's made the trip from the Convention Center to Universal nearly that long....)
How do you get to your destination from the airport when you visit Orlando? And would you be likely to switch to the high-speed train once it's available? Proponents estimate that the trip from the airport to Tampa would take 45-50 minutes, if that gives you a feel for the travel time involved. Let's leave cost out of the equation for the moment; assume that the fare would be reasonable for the service provided.
If you now use hotel or park shuttles, such as Disney's Magical Express, and would likely continue using that in the future, select that option. If you're a rental car customer and plan to stay that way, pick that. But if you're willing to switch from those options, let us know. (I've added a fifth option for folks who live in Orlando, or have family or friends who pick them up at the airport. Update: forgot about those who drive down. Those can pick the fifth option, or sit this one out. Readers who don't visit Orlando can sit this vote out.)
The rail line's going in because (a) Obama needs to get unemployment down and construction projects such as this employ a lot of people, (b) the I-4 corridor has been a key swing vote region in the past two Presidential elections and is getting hammered by unemployment in this recession, and (c) the area's flooded with tourists in rental cars and if you're trying to get people to switch from cars to rail, it's a lot easier to get someone to give up a rental car for a week on vacation than to get them to stop driving their personal cars to and from work everyday.
The numbers for the first and second options in the vote should give us a sense, at least among Theme Park Insider readers, how many are willing to make that switch. The third and fourth numbers will show us how much people might switch from existing road-based mass transit to rail.
Let's hear in the comments what you would like to see from this project, and how parks should work with it, if at all.
Once again, thanks for reading Theme Park Insider, and have a great weekend!
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A high-speed rail network connecting Orlando's major tourist destinations to the airport would be fantastic, especially for those visitors who can't afford, or who do not want to be burdened with, a rental car.
I'll certainly be using this when it's up and running.
There are alot of college students that come to the parks for Spring Break.
The closest thing we currently have to a bullet train in the U.S. is Amtrak's Acela line, which connects Washington with Boston. Although designed to run faster, Acela's top cruising speed is 130 mph, but that's only on two short stretchs in Rhode Island and Massachusetts; the train's average speed is 80 mph.
With so many stops between Tampa and Orlando, it's hard to imagine Florida's high-speed train will exceed Acela's average speed. In other words, the train isn't going to get you to Disney World much faster than your rental car.
If Orlando/Tampa Bay want high speed rail then these cities and the state of Florida should pay for it, and not burden the cost of this on taxpayers from across the country.
No wonder our country is trillions in debt and it just keeps getting bigger when the federal government is spending money that isn't a federal responsibility.
I would guess that when this rail line goes live, Disney will likely provide guests access to it via their packages, and maybe even phase out Magical Express. The problem with this new rail line though, is like I pointed out, more guests might decide to take a day trip to Busch or Universal or any of the other area attractions. So, while it's a plus for Disney in having a stop right on property, it could also benefit their competitors just as well. Because, while it makes it quicker and easier to get to Disney, it also makes it quicker and easier to get to other places as well.
I would guess that when this rail line goes live, Disney will likely provide guests access to it via their packages, and maybe even phase out Magical Express. The problem with this new rail line though, is like I pointed out, more guests might decide to take a day trip to Busch or Universal or any of the other area attractions. So, while it's a plus for Disney in having a stop right on property, it could also benefit their competitors just as well. Because, while it makes it quicker and easier to get to Disney, it also makes it quicker and easier to get to other places as well.
That said the train needs to come downtown to the Lynx station and not just stop in tourista-land or the airport - it needs to be convenient to the locals, not just airplane arriving touristas.
Doug D.
Orlando, FL
I would much rather use a train to get to disney from the airport than a bus, as the bus queues are terrible most times. If you could leave you bags and jump on a train that takes you to a set point in disney then use disney transport from there it would be a lot quicker and easier
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