I’m back on a train today, which is somewhat surprising given our questionable experience with Amtrak on the California Zephyr a few months ago. The romance of train travel is a hardwired sensibility that must be embedded deep in the Amygdala, where memories with emotional weight are tagged. This is why intense or emotional experiences like train travel feel “deeper” or more vivid and are recalled more easily.
A few things converge to make train travel especially appealing later in life. To begin with there is less physical strain than driving or flying. No white-knuckle merges, no hauling bags through security, no cramped economy seats. You can get up, walk around, stretch, which matters more as joints and stamina change. Nostalgia and continuity are another big reasons since trains were often the dominant way people traveled or commuted decades ago, so there’s a familiar, almost meditative pull to them…a link back to earlier chapters of life. I’m not sure linking back to my LIRR days into Penn Station occupies a positive part of my Amygdala, but it’s in there somewhere. Also, the pace of train travel matches a different relationship we tend to have with time as we get older. Earlier in life, travel is often about efficiency in order to get there fast. Later, the journey itself becomes worth savoring rather than something to endure. Watching scenery unfold at ground level feels different from a flyover. That’s particularly the case as I look out onto the crashing surf along the Camp Pendleton corridor, which is pretty pristine California coastline. And then there’s the social and sensory richness. Dining cars, observation cars, conversations with strangers (assuming that appeals to you). It’s inherently more social and less isolating than sealed-off air travel. And let’s not forget the lower cognitive/logistical load involved with train travel. No driving decisions, no navigating unfamiliar highways, all of which reduces fatigue and stress, especially on long trips.
So far, so good on all fronts. Our hilltop is 20 minutes from the Oceanside Amtrak station and given traffic patterns, we were driving there without much resistance. We parked for free about 100 feet from the platform and except for being incorrectly directed to the northern end of the train for the Business Class cars, we were incredibly close to our destination. The 6:57 was 4 minutes late, but not too crowded. We had our choice of seats (neither of us is too particular about seating direction), and we are on our way in comfort with free bottled water and coffee. Amtrak WiFi seems fine so these days…what else does one need? We’ll arrive at the Anaheim station and see if the bus connection to Disneyland is as seamless as it is billed.
Someone in Anaheim has decided that their train station needs to be extra special. It’s a very zoomy structure that at 8:30am is decidedly not crowded. In fact, no one was to be seen or found. We found our way to the 533 bus and rode it the 12 minutes to the communal Disneyland/California Adventure entrance. Disney never discloses actual attendance figures, but estimates indicate that Disneyland Park draws roughly 17-18 million visitors/year, averaging ~47,000-49,000/day skewed heavily toward summer and holidays. Disney California Adventure draws around 11-12 million/year, averaging ~30,000-33,000/day with the same skew. Disneyland’s practical capacity is often cited around 85,000-90,000 with DCA around 55,000-65,000. I would say the place is well attended today, but not packed to capacity by any means.
We’ve walked a lot of DCA so far today in the first 5 hours. I’ve ridden three or four rides (all Lightening Pass rides where we didn’t have to wait in line too much) including the Cars and Soarin’ rides. No crazy roller coasters or flaming tower stops for us. Right now while the kids are getting soaked on the Rushin Rapids ride, Kim and I are literally chilling in the AC of the Animation Academy, where we’ve found a padded seat to our liking. I’m at about 8,000 steps so far and am estimating 12,000 for the day…which may not impress some, but impresses the shit out of my middle back.
I’m guessing we will wander the park a bit more and find some dinner spot before finding our way back via the 533 bus to that fancy Anaheim transit center to catch the Surfliner south back to Oceanside and my waiting truck. We have already decided that we were too aggressive with the 7:49pm train, and have shifted that to the 5:49pm (phew!).
The San Clemente-to-Oceanside stretch of the Surfliner is the payoff on this route. The train runs right along the bluffs, close enough to the water that you can watch surfers at San Clemente State Beach and San Onofre. It’s one of the few places in Southern California where a train genuinely hugs the coastline like that. The views start at San Juan Capistrano: the historic mission town, with brief glimpses of the old Spanish mission and adobe-style depot as you pass through. At San Clemente Pier is where the views get good. The tracks run right along the bluff edge, ocean on one side, with the pier and beach town visible below. Surfers watch the train and vice versa. Then there’s the San Onofre stretch with more open coastal bluffs and beach, plus a view of the old San Onofre nuclear plant domes (decommissioned, but still visible from the tracks). It’s an odd but memorable landmark. Then it’s all about Camp Pendleton with the occasional Marine platoon running on the dirt trails by the dunes. That 20 mile stretch is a short ride, but it’s genuinely one of the prettier commuter-rail stretches in the country.
I suppose we could use the train to go to L.A., but otherwise I’m not sure we’ll ride the Surfliner too often since me and my back are unlikely to want to spend too many days at Disneyland.
Given your interest in Switzerland’s rail passes and scenic routes like the Bernese Oberland, this tracks — first-class European rail especially leans into comfort, view, and unhurried pace rather than raw speed.