Amtrak with Kids

Are you kidding me people!!!??! Amtrak is soooo much fun! Last time I was on it, I was 9 so I probably had a different experience than my parents. I do remember having to buy a blanket though. But it's been around my house since then! It's a great reminder of memories.
Take snacks. I remember I was very snack-y. Even when we were up at 2 am to get to the station (that is the only time it rolls though here in UT)
Take tons of pictures. My parents didn't, and I wish they had. It was such a fun vacation.
Hope you have fun!!

I travel from chicago to ann arbor with my daughter, she's 2 1/2.
First, travel light. You dont get to check your baggage and there isnt always someone there to help you with getting it on and off the train!
Second, bring lots to do. I have my daughter fill up her own backpack(and i make her carry it) with books, coloring, and her dvd player!! I dont think i've ever traveled on Amtrak and it was on time, there is always some type of delay!!!
Also bring your own food/snacks... food on the train is yucky and expensive! And i cant imagine traveling to the food cart with 2 kids, alot of work!!! Try to sit by the restrooms too so you dont have to travel so far!

Good luck and have fun! I'm sure your two yr old will love it!!

So I will give you the positive part of Amtrak. It is the only way my husband and I travel and we love it. Your two year old should enjoy looking out the
window. If I recall, the trip should only be about 7 hours or so. I would
bring lunch and snacks. Food in the dining car can be expensive. We are
always in sleeping cars so food is included. The motion of the train may
even put the kids to sleep. I also find the people do not mind children on
the train, unlike on a plane! Hope your experience is a good one. We
traveled around the entire perimeter of the country and was only delayed
once and that was due to an earthquake, so they had to check the tracks.
That being said, with trains, anything can happen. On one trip we had a
pickup truck play chicken with the train. We were held up for a while but
the staff was wonderful. Flying these days is no fun, so I think you will do
just fine. Enjoy.

I took Amtrak from NY to Fl. Horrible trip. They kept the a/c so cold you needed a ski coat. They sold blankets for 15 dollars and sold out within an hour of leaving station. The food they had sucked. Get the reservation for the seating for one meal. The kids will go nuts because they are stuck in an area. The middle night when you are trying to sleep they pull in somewhere and make all this noise to switch engines or something. My suggestion if you have to take it then bring warm clothes, a blanket, and a bunch of decent snacks.

We just took a 5-hour train trip with our 5 and 3 year old. Pack snacks. Many snacks. Also drinks. And Lysol wipes (the bathrooms can get kind of nasty). If you can, head to the back of the train, there might be some open floor space back there where your two year old can run around a little bit. We've never used portable DVD players, but you might find it comes in handy (just make sure you bring headphones.) There are 120-volt outlets at each seat so you can plug in a laptop or whatever. They have a "quiet car" on most Amtrak trains (minimal noise allowed) so don't accidentally end up in that car!! I wish they had a "family car" where the kids could run amock without disturbing other passengers. Bring your sense of humor. The train can be a lot of fun, and is a lot less hassle than flying or even driving. Maybe get some special new toys that you can bring out on an as-needed basis. Have fun!

Oh you brave woman! As far as baggage goes, the less the better. And put your very necessary things, wallet, phone, etc. in pocket or a waist bag. Do not bring excess books, toys, etc. you are going to need both hands unless you have a very sedate two year old I remember chasing them as they climbed ran, etc. I hope you have someone meeting you at the other end to help you. As far as Amtrak goes, or any other way to travel, there are always nice people and snotty people. Pick out the nice people haha if you need to communicate. Not a grouchy conductor. Have fun and it doesn't sound like it is a horrible long trip so you should be fine.

The only time i experienced amtrak it was not fun. It was supose to be a four day trip from tacoma washington to LA. We waited over six hours for our train to show up. After sitting six hours we decided it would be faster to drive. I was almost five months pregnant and was traveling with my 15 month old and my mom and little sister. The train is not that great down the coast due to the fact there is only really a two way track. at least that is what i came to understand while we waited. I dont know how long people ended up waiting but I sure was happy to drive:)

I've done that same leg before over Memorial Day Weekend, but hopefully you aren't travelling during a busy period. They did allow us to move to the front of the line since we had a small child with us, so that helped us get a jump on others boarding and get better seats.

Unfortunately you can't check your bags from Chicago to Detroit, you have to carry-on, so don't take too many suitcases or anything too heavy. Once we were on the train, I tried to sit near the luggage rack in case I needed to get anything from the suitcase.

I brought a soft cooler with drinks and snacks, but they do have a bar car you can purchase from. But definitely bring lots of activites for the kiddos! It helps that there's an outlet at every seat.

I hope someone is picking you up from the train station in Detroit. The taxi drivers are crazy at that station and will try and jack up the prices.

Last time I took Amtrak was with my son (3.5 at the time) and daughter (1 at the time). We loved it! There is more room than on a plane, the route is different than you take by car, and you can actually spread out. We took our own snacks and I had small travel blankets for the kids. My neices have traveled Amtrak numerous times as that was the most economical choice for them to visit my husband and I. My mom also used to take it quite often for visits. We all had great experiences.
My only suggestion: if you are taking car seats/numerous bags with you find an efficient way to transport them, i.e. strapping the carseats on top of wheeled luggage or something in that vein. My only problem was getting 2 kids, 2 car seats, & 2 bags from the terminal out to the train. Once we were at the train someone loaded everything for me but getting out there was a bit of a beating.Have a wonderful trip!!