Our Experience on the Brightline Train to Orlando
Back in February, Fred and I decided to take the Brightline train to Orlando for a few days to celebrate our 2 year wedding anniversary. The service from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando only began in Q4 of 2023 so it’s still a fairly new route.
I was able to snag us discounted tickets (50% off) for their “smart rider” seats for just under $120 roundtrip total for both Fred and myself.
Our journey began at the Fort Lauderdale station, which we conveniently live less than a mile from. We arrived about an hour before our train was scheduled to depart so we could explore the train station & see what it had to offer. The station was spacious & very clean which was nice. We had to go through security similar to how you would at the airport. There is a public bar called ‘Mary Mary” as well as multiple lounge areas. Had we booked their premium seats, we would’ve had access to the private lounge with complimentary snacks & beverages (including alcohol) but those tickets were much pricier.
We hung out in the lounge area until they announced our train was arriving then we headed downstairs to the platform to board.
If you want to watch our vlog on my Youtube channel, click here. Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button. 😉
Once on board, I was pleasantly surprised by how spacious the seats were. Not only the width of the seat (which us curvy gals appreciate) but also the leg room! I am 5 foot 9 and felt that I had plenty of space for my long legs.
The train ride from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando was about 3 hours - the same as driving - but without the fuss of all the traffic. We watched the Florida Panthers (NHL) game while en route and the train attendants came through a few times during our ride to offer snacks and beverages (for a charge). We only bought a bottle of water, even though I did pack our own snacks and water, I drink a lot of water!
Once we arrived at the Orlando station (which we learned is located in the Orlando Airport) we grabbed an Uber and then headed to our hotel. During this trip, we stayed at the Orlando World Center Marriott.
I’m not going to lie, we planned this trip pretty last minute so we didn’t do a lot of research on the hotel, and mostly chose it for the location (close proximity to Disney Springs) and also the price. So when we arrived we were quite shocked at just how large this resort was - it even has its own waterpark!
If you are traveling to Orlando with children this would be a great place to stay. All of the amenities this property has to offer would certainly keep them entertained.
The most exciting part of our trip was our evening at Disney Springs. We learned that our hotel provided a complimentary shuttle, a very large bus that could accommodate at least 50 people, so we opted for that instead of taking an Uber.
We wanted to go a few hours before our dinner reservation so that we could walk around a bit and also so I could do some “window” shopping.
I was happy to see that one of my favorite jewelry brands had a pop up shop. I had to stop by and take a look at what they had and ended up purchasing a new bracelet to remember our trip.
After a bit of shopping we stopped by the Coca-Cola store. Another thing we miss from our Disney days was the “around the world” soda tasting that we used to do at Epcot. We took this opportunity to stop by and see if they still offered it. To our surprise, it was there and even bigger than before. They now offer 16 different sodas from around the world. Although Fred and I aren’t big soda drinkers, this was always a little treat and a fun way to discover flavors from around the globe.
Then it was off to dinner at our favorite restaurant in Orlando - Morimoto Asia. We would always eat here when we had annual passes to Disney World & Universal Studios but it’s been 4 years since our last visit so we were eager to dine here again.
Our go-to order is the Sake Sangria to begin and then we tried their lemongrass chicken dumplings for the first time which were so good! It was then time for the main event - their signature Peking Duck! The portion is big enough for two and comes accompanied with rice, flour tortillas, apricot sweet chili, and hoisin miso sauces. Fred and I often literally dream of this succulent dish!
After dinner concluded we went back to our hotel and called it a night. The next morning it was back to the train station in Orlando for our train ride home. We arrived early so we could see what this station had to offer and check out their lounge & bar. The station in Orlando is much larger than the one in Fort Lauderdale but was just as clean.
Overall, our experience with taking the Bightline was pleasant. We are certainly happy to have an additional means of transportation between South & Central Florida and I can definitely see us taking the Bightline again the next time we want to travel to Orlando.
I hope that you all enjoyed this post and found it helpful if you’ve also been curious to take the Brightline. I would also love for you to considered subscribing to my blog! 😊
I also wanted to add that I received an email with another opportunity for the discounted rates on both the Smart & Premium fares so I wanted to share that. You do have to book your ticket by April 30 for travel until June 19. Also important to note, this discount only applies to rides between South Florida & Orlando. Use promo code “PJKLSU” to receive the BOGO 50% off discount!
