A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take my first Disney cruise, departing from their new Port Everglades station in Fort Lauderdale, South Florida. After the cruise, I decided to visit the Walt Disney World parks, and I thought that the best way to get to that second destination was to use the new Brightline company train service, so here I want to tell you about my experience.
To purchase the train ticket, I booked directly from Brightline’s official website, traveling from their station in Fort Lauderdale to Orlando. The online purchasing process is quite simple. For my travel dates, the price was US$79 one way, including luggage (a 50-pound suitcase) in the economy cabin, although Brightline offers special promotional fares as well as first-class seating, which I didn’t experience on this trip.
30 days before my trip, Brightline’s reservation system allowed me to add transportation from their Orlando station, located in Terminal C of the Orlando International Airport (MCO), to my hotel in Disney World via Mears Connect, for an additional fee of $17.
From the Port Everglades cruise ship station in Fort Lauderdale, I took an Uber to the Brightline station. The trip took 10 minutes and cost me $16.
Once at the station I requested a change in my train schedule, as I had booked for 12:20 pm, but I arrived at the station at 8 am. The change was free and I was able to leave for Orlando on the 9:20 am train.
The process of boarding the train is quite easy and comfortable. You go through security after scanning the electronic ticket that you can get from their official app or in the email they send you after making the purchase. After that, you arrive at a small waiting room where there is a bar/cafe, a small mini market and places to sit and work with air conditioning and many power outlets to charge your electronic equipment.
When the train is about to arrive, you are allowed to go down to the boarding area where the cars are numbered. I simply looked for mine, boarded the train, dropped off my luggage, and sat in my seat. The car has space above each seat for carry-on luggage and larger spaces for bigger bags.
The train is very clean and comfortable and has an excellent Wi-Fi connection, even for video calls. I know this because I had to do a video meeting during my trip. There are no carriages with a cafeteria or bar, as on most European trains, but they do pass through the corridors, offering food at an additional cost, as on any plane.
The trip lasts approximately 3.5 hours. As mentioned above, you arrive at the MCO Terminal C station, from where you must walk to the main building of Terminal C with your luggage to board Mears Connect, which is on level 1 (about a 5-minute walk).
Once at Mears Connect, they told me they didn’t have my reservation, but they informed me that this has happened recently with reservations purchased through Brightline due to an error in the system. For that reason, they gave me a new reservation at no additional cost. My recommendation is to check with Mears Connect that the reservation is activated before the trip to avoid problems, but mine was resolved quickly.
I had a very good and comfortable experience on the Brightline train and I would use it again without a problem.
Remember that you can book your Disney cruise and your Walt Disney World vacation with Dreams Unlimited Travel to have the best advice and special benefits, all at no additional cost to you.
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