What You Must Know About Traveling on Brightline
So, you want to hop on the Brightline? Choo-choo!
I’m kidding. You’d never have time to yell “Choo-choo!” before the high-speed train zoomed past you.
Westgate
Brightline goes comically fast as the trains knife through the Sunshine State, connecting guests to tourist destinations.
For Disney fans, they’ve become a must now that they connect Orlando to Fort Lauderdale.
Photo:visitorlando.com
Vacationers can spend a few days at Walt Disney World and then hop on a train.
Three hours later, you’ll be at the beach and ready to board a Disney cruise.
Pixar Day at Sea – Disney Fantasy
Seriously, this new transportation option allows guests to book three different vacations in one.
Here’s what you must know about traveling on the Brightline.
What’s Brightline?
Florida’s newest form of transportation is a high-speed train system, with two different kinds of fares.
Brightline’s SMART tickets are the cheaper ones, with trips from Orlando to South Florida costing as little as $69.
Premium – what we’d call first class – tickets cost about twice as much.
However, they do offer special amenities such as complimentary pre-ride drinks and snacks.
Originally called All About Florida, the name tells the story as well as the intent of the Brightline project.
Florida is a distinctly north/south state with numerous tourist destinations along the way.
The problem is that they stretch across hundreds of miles, with notorious traffic bottlenecks.
The introduction of Brightline solves this problem by providing nonstop transportation.
Photo: Brightline
This high-speed train service features six stations in the Sunshine State, thereby connecting the dots.
Locals and tourists alike can sidestep traffic bottlenecks by taking the train.
You won’t save a noteworthy amount of time, presuming that the flow of car traffic remains steady.
However, you WILL save yourself the aggravation of driving in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Photo: Brightline
You can kick back, relax, and read the internet while the train takes you from Point A to Point B.
Of course, tourists may not have a car, which makes the Brightline a superlative option.
OBJ
You can start in Orlando and then take a direct train ride to one of the other five stations. They are:
- Aventura – 190 minutes
- Boca Raton – 162 minutes
- Fort Lauderdale – 183 minutes
- Miami – 210 minutes
- West Palm Beach – 144 minutes
Brightline
The Brightline vastly expands your vacation options, presuming you don’t mind leaving the Disney Bubble.
For Disney fans, the key part is the station-to-station travel to Fort Lauderdale. So, let’s explore that.
What Disney Fans Must Know about Brightline
At various times, four different Disney Cruise Line ships have used Fort Lauderdale as a port.
Currently, the Disney Destiny calls Fort Lauderdale its home port, which explains this conversation.
Many tourists want to combine a Walt Disney World vacation with a Disney cruise.
Brightline proves ideal for this, as it’s a vacationer’s dream come true in terms of convenience.
Disney
You’ll find the Brightline station at Orlando International Airport. So, you’ll already be heading that way.
Take the train to Fort Lauderdale, and you’ll arrive in approximately three hours.
Port Everglades Florida
From there, your destination will be Port Everglades, which is roughly seven miles away.
Since you’ll want to arrive at the port as early as possible, I strongly recommend staying at a hotel.
Some of them offer free transportation to and from the port, an added convenience.
However, most ride-share drivers in the area do tons of business at Port Everglades.
So, this part of your trip should be easy, once Brightline gets you to Fort Lauderdale.
As for the ride itself, you can find innumerable reviews of Brightline on YouTube. Here’s one:
We’ll discuss the boarding process in the next section, but please note the race to the luggage rack.
People who ride Brightline frequently know to prioritize this part of the boarding process.
Otherwise, all the reviews note how much more relaxed this style of transportation is.
Brightline
When you drive, you tend to feel tired and a bit ground down by the time you reach Fort Lauderdale.
By taking the Brightline, you’ll enjoy plenty of free time/Me Time instead. Since you’re on vacation, that’s more of the vibe you desire, right?
Other Factors about Brightline
Brightline
My brother and sister-in-law recently pressed me for information about Brightline.
Like many of you, they struggled to conceptualize how it works, especially in two regards.
Brightline
The first aspect is stoppage, as there’s plenty of exaggeration and misreporting about this topic.
Your Brightline train will perform brief stops at the stations along the way to the destination.
Photo: janschroder.com
You’re heading to Fort Lauderdale, but the train will accept new passengers at West Palm Beach.
Later, guests will hop on board at Boca Raton before eventually arriving in Fort Lauderdale.
Photo: janshroder.com
The nature of Brightline’s design is clever in that it’s built for quick boarding and departures.
This process legitimately takes about two minutes at each stop, which leads to the second point.
You must be prepared to board, which won’t be easy. The staff will notify you to go outside.
Everyone will be standing at the boarding areas when the train approaches. It’s a seamless process.
However, there is one essential part of this you should know, one that impacted me.
I’d injured my left arm right before my first Brightline trip, but I had fully packed for a cruise.
So, I had tons of heavy luggage. Based on where I was sitting, I couldn’t store said luggage.
That rack was full, which is totally fine. I just needed to lift my bags to the overhead storage compartment.
Well, that can be a bit hectic and frankly intense during a quick boarding process.
You’re supposed to do it in a minute, and if I hadn’t gotten help, it would have been a problem.
Fortunately, Brightline hires staff for just this reason, but you should be aware of this potential concern.
Getting your luggage in place is legitimately the only potentially problematic part of Brightline. The ride itself is smooth, relaxing, and highly efficient.
Final Thoughts on Brightline
I’m one of the many Disney fans who can say that I’ve ridden the Brightline to take a Disney cruise.
After that experience, I knew that I’d always pick the option when possible.
Brightline’s comfort and convenience remove all the stress of vacation travel.
I could pull up my tablet, check social media, and read a book rather than worrying about traffic.
Disney
I highly recommend these trains for those of you marrying theme park and cruise vacations.
Speaking of which, Disney is currently offering two of these deals.
Disney
They’re like the opposite sides of the same coin. You can speak with a MickeyTravels agent to learn more.
Remember that MickeyTravels never charges for its services but knows all the best discounts.
MickeyTravels
They can set you up with the combination Disney vacation of your dreams!
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Feature Photo: Disney
