How nice would it be for a train to take you from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Disney World? Or even from Orlando to Miami? Well, according to a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel, Virgin Trains is saying this just might happen.
Virgin Trains President Patrick Goddard said recently that Virgin is planning to link to Disney World and SunRail at the same time it opens its station at the Orlando International Airport.
Goddard said he expects the train line to run from South to Central Florida with stops at Walt Disney World and SunRail’s Meadow Wood station just south of downtown Orlando, giving the commuter-rail system a link to Orlando’s airport.
The time frame of the project will depend on permits and financing. The top priority is getting the 30 to 36 months of construction started “imminently.”
Virgin Trains officials said that the company has been in negotiations with several landowners in the region to find a site for the new station, but that Virgin Trains last year signed a letter of intent with Disney. “They are big supporters of our project,” Goddard stated.
Goddard added that a Disney station would likely integrate with Disney’s transportation system, hotels and theme parks.
Do you think the area needs train service connecting Orlando to the airport, Miami and elsewhere? Let us know your thoughts on the project in the comments below.
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I can’t hardly wait for the Virgin Trains USA to Orlando and Walt Disney World Station awesome news.
Hi great topic I believe if the Virgin train has a route from Orlando international MOC to Tampa. They should incorporate Orlando, I-4 corridor, 1-92 celebration area maybe have a stop there. Then to Disney areas, then further stops till it reaches Tampa.
Dr K DBA
That would be really nice , please consider Brevard county as well
Cocoa beach , Cape canaveral, Rockledge FL
we are really in need of a great connection too.
Absolutely! A great start.
As Orlando has experienced a population surge, freeway commute times are significantly longer. The duration of prime commute times have also increased in duration.
The traffic issue is not only isolated to I4 either. Areas along the Turnpike and 429 corridors have seen an Influx of traffic. Reviewing the SUN PASS data will undoubtedly prove invaluable in determining traffic trends.
The continual building of new residential areas such as Winter Garden , Independence, Clermont and Hamlin Grove, to name a few, will only serve to add to the traffic issues.
While train service from MCO to Downtown Orlando and Miami would benefit the tourists ease of access to these areas , it will not serve permanent residents of Orlando.
In an effort to reduce commute time for those residents , in-depth consideration and implementation of a “LIGHT RAIL “ system would serve the entire community in addition to the tourism in Orlando.
San Diego is a community similar Orlando in size , demographic and distance from one community to another. There is a “ Light Rail , THE TROLLEY” in place. The Trolley serves many popular tourist destinations as well as outlying communities with other attractions and Universities. Implementing an infrastructure and system such as this will have far reaching impact on traffic issues, ease of commute , and revenue earning potential.
Denver has a great light rail. But, they keep jacking up the price to the point it is now cheaper to just get a Lyft. It’s going to be a big tax burden also.
Daytona beach And jacsonville airports along with Tampa . This way it will reduce the amount of cars on the dangerous i4 corridor , help improve the regional international airports ( like DAB) and will allow them to bring direct flights from Europe to less expansive airports.
Would love to see connections to the east coast. Port Canaveral, Cocoa Beach for start.
Yes, please add the west FL coast to the equation!!
Regardless whether or not the high-speed train has a stop at WDW, it is needed to connect the three major cities in Florida – Tampa, Miami and Orlando. If people think about the efficient high-speed trains in Europe, they will see the big picture. Either that or they never had to drive to those other cities in Florida for a business meeting and come back the same day… exhausted!
This would be amazing and probably cut out so many accidents and traffic between the airport and Disney.
Disney, I am sure will help with the challenges ie transporting luggage- drop off point etc etc- they have done such a good job within the parks!
Can you all start this tomorrow???
Yes we need sun rail transportation it needs to run 24 7 as it does not now and only during the week and not many people can use then need less road congestion
Although it would bring jobs and ease highway traffic and bottlenecks, can you imagine the bottleneck it would cause at WDW. The parks are over crowded as it is. This will bring more people to an overcrowded, high priced theme park. I agree with Jim, they need to pay their employees better, especially if they’re putting more stress on them. BTW, I’m from up north and getting disgusted with WDW, even being a DVC owner.
At Disney. Where at Disney? Front gate of MK? A resort, which one? Just get dropped off and still have to take other transportation to your resort? Too many questions….
It would be just like the Magical Express buses that take you and all of your luggage from Orlando International Airport to every single resort. Only difference is an airplane and a high-speed train.
You are asking the big questions. Saying that there is a stop at Disney is very vague. Is it at Magic Kingdom or all the way by Animal Kingdom? Will it be possible to connect from Disney to Cocoa Beach directly for a Disney World to Disney Cruise connection. This could be the greatest thing for traffic congestion or the biggest nuisance due to noise and waiting for the train to pass the tracks.
It wouldn’t matter where the train station is on Disney property because they would have buses to take you and your luggage to your resort or I’m sure even Disney Springs. You don’t have to worry about waiting for the train to pass the tracks because I highly doubt Disney would have the track on one of their roads. They have plenty of land to build on. And you don’t have to worry about the noise because speed trains are generally silent.
The most logical stop is at / near Disney Springs – they already have buses going to all the Resorts & Parks from there. Luggage would still be handled by the same company and get dropped at your resort. So land in Orlando, then hop the train and either head to your Resort or a Park. It’s a High Speed train so there won’t be many stops.
The trains would be terrific! Especially if it made stops in various places like Tampa, Fort Myers & other coastal cities!
I hope this happens. All of Florida needs rail service. I would love to see a train from Tampa to Orlando also.
This would be a nice option.
No we don’t need train this will kill taxi transportation business and only good for Disney not for people. Disney first need to pay 18.00$ to the employees fist they make billions and pay minimum wage to employees disgusting
Um, that’s not what this is about at all…
I really hope this happens.