The Fate of The Florida Fun-Train

[@freekeefox]

If Walt Disney were around he would have loved the idea. It had trains.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

He would given all the money.

[@doodlesandstuff9159]

True

[@freekeefox]

@gregory hatton I know, but sadly Walt Disney was long dead by the time this idea popped up

[@sotomanuel3]

Is true 😂

[@cartercollins923]

Who wouldn’t want to trap themselves on a moving train with a clown named Bubbles?

[@onegirlarmy4401]

I wonder if the story would have been different if Disney would have owned it? They could have treated it like their cruise ship where you went from the World to a Disney owned beach resort on a special "Casey Jr" circus train (or whatever theme). Guests could book certain character meals on the train with different themes, too. If the price was all scooped into a package like Disney's other vacations, I could see people paying for that experience.

[@cookode]

No matter how hard the service flopped, there is one thing that is undeniable: those F40s were in one of the coolest schemes to ever be on them. The weird curvy lines just make them even more appealing to me

[@oakrail8100]

Agreed

[@the_autism_express]

Yes. I bet other F40PHs were jealous.

[@MatecaCorp]

Its pure 90’s cheesiness and I love it

[@alexandratramonti4995]

Being a Florida native and a huge train buff I've been trying to find info about the fun train for years and there's virtually nothing! Thank you for putting out this video!!

[@Meatball2022]

It wasn’t open very long. My ex wife and her brother worked there when it was open. I’ve ridden on it twice.

[@JS82211]

My mother took me on this train on the way to Disney - we were visiting from another state. Thank you Rob! I had nearly forgotten I even went - but it brought back some amazing memories! I distinctly remember that NASA space shuttle on top of the indoor play structure. We probably have pictures somewhere.

[@twixieshores]

A Florida Fun train that Walt had nothing to do with? Say it ain't so

[@rmannayr2129]

WALT WOULD HAVE LOVED THE IDEA BECAUSE HE LOVES TRAINS!

[@jgatzby4263]

Not a bad concept. Something like a adult version of this for a rail line between Los Angeles and Las Vegas might be interesting

[@JoshDoesTravel]

That’s actually happening! Brightline, a rail company partially owned by Richard Branson and the Virgin Group, is currently working on getting a line built between LA and Las Vegas. Brightline is already running trains from Miami to West Palm Beach, and are expanding to Orlando in 2022, with plans to go all the way to Tampa afterwards

[@hairlesscat6458]

@@JoshDoesTravel dude that’s hella cool

[@j-train13]

@@JoshDoesTravel as a highspeed rail line yeah but I certainly wouldn't call it "An adult version of Fun Train"

[@nigelrichardson4327]

This was very interesting to learn about! At face value, I always assumed the Flordia Fun Train was some experimental summer train conducted by Amtrak, considering the fact the engines that hauled the FFT were repainted Amtrak locomotives. Learning that it was a private business investment blew me away!

[@cup_and_cone]

Same here. I could have sworn they may have even leased Amtrak power/rolling stock as necessary, which may have also led to confusion.

[@astroguster5522]

I love that the only pictures from this 90s business are these awful, creepy, black and white photos..makes me feel old! 😄

[@JoshDoesTravel]

Now Brightline is trying to do the same thing, running trains from Miami/West Palm Beach to MCO, Disney World, and eventually Tampa, just without all the “fun” amenities the Fun Train had

[@porcelainthunder2213]

Might work better for them. Disney is discontinuing the free shuttle bus from the airport, so the brightline would be an ideal replacement as it will actually have stations at MCO and are building one on Disney property. Plus, they are moving towards high-speed.

[@alexanderip1003]

to install the amenities Siemens should develop a taller coach similar to the ones used on the fun train

[@linuxman0]

I believe the Brightline train service will fill this niche today.

[@Bazil4444]

Cool topic, I can't believe I've never heard of this before

[@ScottysAir]

Either do I! I never ever heard that before. I can't remember when they did start service.

[@oakrail8100]

I am a simply man. Whenever trains are mentioned, I click

[@RRM_Personal]

Saame

[@PencilStash]

LMAO at your 90’s VR on a moving train comment 🤣

[@benlawson6156]

Fun train, sounds like an adult themed ride.

[@dreamtension]

I rode this with my brother and grandparents when i was 14. It was ok, cool to be on a train i guess. Thanks for the video!

[@Meatball2022]

I remember this well. My ex wife worked there at the time. I remember thinking that it will be out of business soon. She would sit there in the ticket office handling walk ups and answering phones for hours with nobody calling or going up.

[@ebf82234]

Interesting coverage of a very vague railroad topic. In the backwash of his original Auto-Train's failure, railroad "luminary" Eugene Garfield pressed-on with the creation of the "Florida Fun Train", hoping -- I imagine -- for a rebound. Thank you for mentioning him in the "intro" (wow...how he aged, appearing in that still photo @1:45)...so little was ever reported about Mr. Garfield in the wake of Auto-Train.

[@PoseidonEntertainment]

I think one of the issues isn't just the underwhelming entertainment, but the time it takes to actually travel. Why travel 4 hours on a train from Orlando to Miami when you could do so with a car and still have the freedom to drive around once you reach your destination. If you take the train, wouldn't you likely have to pay for parking at the station as well? It would negate saving on parking costs elsewhere. A high speed train that takes you to these locations in an hour or less would likely see far more success I suspect.

[@malerbia]

I went on this!! I actually have a model of the train on a shelf in my room. I use to drive by the train every week going to school in Florida. Good times!

[@Jay-xb1vc]

I use to live right off Sheridan street in Hollywood, Right whree the fun train used to depart .lol The station is still there its a tri rail system now ..

[@loraleistandish]

I just love the name. Florida Fun Train. Straight to the point, and alliteration! What more could you ask for?

[@emjeebutterz4405]

It's a great name, and although you couldn't ask for more, they did get a lawsuit from Carnival lol

[@loraleistandish]

@@emjeebutterz4405 that sounded like the least of their problems!

[@2012CHR2012]

Built this train in denver co. With Rader railcar co. And Rader Railcar II in ft. Lupton. During the same time as the marlboro unlimited. They opened RRC II due to Marlboro unlimited. It was specifically opened for the florida funtrain project.

[@UmmYeahOk]

A 90s fun train? All throughout this video I couldn’t stop my mind from inserting Quad City DJ’s “Come N Ride It (The Train)” as part of the soundtrack. Missed marketing opportunity. I swear that song was at every single school dance I went to.

[@shockedcurve453]

Hang on, I **live** between the beaches of Miami and the theme parks of Orlando! (There isn’t anything here)

[@slimcourage901]

I’m a Miami native and never heard of this. But as mentioned in the end, the drive to Orlando really isn’t that bad and we made the trip regularly when I was a kid. I still make that drive today as an adult with no problem.

[@Meatball2022]

It departed from just off i95 in Hollywood. It took near 5 hrs to get to Orlando, and the drop off point was not at all convenient for anything. I rode on it twice. My ex wife worked there.

[@Davanthall]

2:54 I think I got motion sickness just from hearing that sentence....

[@DuchessRococoPuff]

*Come On Ride the Train plays, but it’s in minor key.* (Great video, Rob!)

[@abrandenburg10]

Lmao this was just a beautiful disaster of a company. Great video Rob

[@tommyg8018]

So interesting. Hopefully the high speed rail can make it some day

[@ScottysAir]

Yes, they will. They will be there in late 2022. They will extending from Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach to Orlando, FL.

[@AveryTalksAboutStuff]

I've never even heard of this train before but I feel bad for it for not working out. 😂

[@cesariojpn]

I completely forgot about this train. It got a feature in TRAINS magazine in the 90's IIRC. I might still have the issue somewhere.....

[@Shilly_JD]

As a follow-up ... maybe show us the ideas to replace "Disney's Magical Express®". It really breaks my heart to think I have to rent a car and pay to park or pay UBER $60+ each way for a family to stay at a "Disney Priced" Resort???

[@JoshDoesTravel]

Well you could take Brightline once it’s completed in 2023. That’ll link you directly from MCO to Disney Springs, as well as Miami and eventually Tampa. There’s a pretty good chance Disney might strike some sort of a deal with them to get free tickets for resort guests

[@Shilly_JD]

@@JoshDoesTravel I have a feeling that Disney may be terminating a contract and taking this into their own hands - to deal with the cost... at least for the year or 3 until Brightline is actually completed? It seems odd that Disney would rather you rent a car? Why would they want you to be able to drive between Disney, SeaWorld, Universal, etc...?

[@Shilly_JD]

@@JoshDoesTravel The point of Rob's story is that that has been tried before, and "Brightline" may fail just like the FunTrain? I would love to see it succeed, but history tends to repeat itself.

[@JoshDoesTravel]

@@Shilly_JD Potentially. Rob didn’t bring up Brightline in his piece, nor is Brightline trying to do the same thing the Florida Fun Train did. Brightline is trying to be a true transportation company for both Floridians and tourists. They’re not necessarily trying to make the travel experience a destination in it of itself, but rather they are trying to provide an alternative to driving or even flying across south central Florida

[@lilithcal]

Some years ago I had a dream that I was on a train and one car had a complete amusement park in it. Shades of a Tardis.

[@michigandon]

Sounds like something that would be found aboard Snowpiercer.

[@nordisk1874]

I think it’s funny last week there were lots of Fun train photos posted on Florida Railfan Facebook page and bam you have a video!

[@MidwaytoMainStreet]

Bam! Sometimes the stars align. I've been meaning to cover this topic for a while now. A few years back I came across an article about Disney considering doing a themed train like this. I ended up leaving it out of this video since ultimately nothing came of it aside from them thinking about it, but it's what motivated me to look into the Fun Train.

[@nordisk1874]

@@MidwaytoMainStreet well hopefully brightline will work out better! I know I will hop on the train in Tampa if and when the service begins! How else am I going to get to White Castle?

[@MattMcIrvin]

It seems like not such a bad idea, but with one big flaw--what they're really competing with is car rental, and they certainly beat it on price... BUT they'd need to link locations where people won't want to rent cars anyway. If one of those is Disney World, then, yeah, Disney World's set up so that a tourist can easily enjoy the place without a car. Is that true of Fort Lauderdale or the Space Coast? I suspect most tourists planning a vacation like that figured they'd want the convenience of a rental car regardless, so the car rental is a sunk cost and using it for the trip between locations isn't a huge additional cost beyond gasoline.

[@FuchsiaMuffin]

If Carnival felt “fun train” was somehow too close to “fun ship” wait until they hear about the phrase “fun times”.... they somehow never caught on with that phrase with their cruises.

[@rmannayr2129]

FLORIDA FUN TRAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@rj9955hi]

We need a high speed railway from Atlanta to Orlando

[@debbabe2254]

From Anaheim to Orlando. 😉😁

[@EclecticInventor]

I would love it if there was a high speed rail from Tampa to Orlando. The drive is uninteresting and usually conjested.

[@JoshDoesTravel]

It’s on the way! Brightline, a rail company currently running between West Palm Beach and Miami, is expanding to Orlando and Disney World in 2022, and have plans to expand to Tampa soon after. The West Palm Beach to Orlando section is planned to be at 125 mph, so expect similar speeds on the Tampa expansion

[@EclecticInventor]

@@JoshDoesTravel Yes I saw that news, but I'll believe it when they break ground

[@JoshDoesTravel]

@@EclecticInventor Yeah, the Tampa section is definitely a few years off from becoming a reality, however the West Palm Beach to Orlando extension is well under way, so at least there’s something to look forward to soon

[@dwellspompano]

Soon the BrightLine train will offer a similar service minus the entertainment.

[@alexanderip1003]

some of the coaches wound up in Quebec and reused as dining cars (tall repurposed gallery coaches)

[@walkingmiracles9706]

37 years in broward, and never heard of this!

[@GinEric84]

I miss Rob Plays

[@DavidNodenHooper]

A very interesting episode... here's hoping Brightline don't decide to offer a VR experience when the Orlando to Miami route is finished

[@playboymaxim]

People just love their cars too much lol

[@RandomKidYouNeverHeardOf]

i hate car crashes

[@SignalLightProductions]

Neat video! Please do a video on Walt Disney's railroad interests!

[@coachken6130]

I agree marketing could have solved this. Instead of saying "isn't driving the worst?" How about "leave the driving to us! You'll be there in no time!" With so many amenities on board, this would been more fun than the Hogwart's Express

[@sami87]

I'm still not over the accident happening on it's INAUGURAL TRIP 😱

[@briansivley2001]

What right a way did this train used? Did it use the same tracks that Amtrak used or different tracks?

[@JoshDoesTravel]

Most likely the same Amtrak tracks. There’s not many right of ways in Florida, so it was most likely a mix between Florida East Coast and CSX owned track

[@MsDisneylandlover]

Truly know the meaning of party train now lol.

[@gordonwilliamson4234]

Another great story.

[@josephforest7605]

They should have a fun train from New York City to Florida .

[@DarthDaddy-cg6ro]

Thanks.

[@Clay3613]

Right when I saw the paint and name, I thought this sounds like something tacky Carnival would do.

[@TweetsieRailroader]

Is it wrong that I kind of want to model that colorful F40PH for my model train layout?

[@paulj6756]

That F40PH went back to Amtrak for awhile. I have photos of it circa 1999-2000 in Lagrange IL and Glenview IL.

[@rebeccacronan]

Is the fast train ( I forget the name) currently being built from Miami to Orlando Airport going to have enough interest??

[@JoshDoesTravel]

The train you’re referring to is called Brightline, and yes, it does! The tracks are actually being built as we speak, and the Miami to Orlando Airport section will be completed in 2022, with the Disney World extension finished in 2023

[@glenbjack]

Dang I like this

[@fifthrider]

6:45 - "The Fun Train struck a tow truck that was sitting on the tracks in Polk county, killing the driver." ....well that sounds fun.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

5:09 ouch. Edit: The president quit!?

[@RichManSCTV0]

What is this an AmtrakGuy video

[@merrivideo]

Now that magical express doesn't exist, it could make a comeback. My family lives to go to fortlauderdale before going to WDW, so it sounds good to me. However, as a family we found it easier to rent a car. I would target this for solo and couple travelers and would sell it as a green transportation. This might be a silly question but, are there local trains in Orlando?

[@JoshDoesTravel]

That’s actually happening! Brightline, a rail company running between West Palm Beach and Miami, is expanding to Orlando in 2022, and Disney World in 2023, with potential further expansion to Tampa. As for look rail in Orlando, they have the SunRail system, but that’s more of a commuter train connecting the north and south suburbs of Orlando with downtown

[@Taydar]

The Florida fun train ended up being not so fun for investors

[@Schmalfonzo]

Imagine if disney owned brightline and used loco hauled stock with F7 locomotives

[@sonic23233]

It should have been Amtrak that owned it

[@Brandis13]

So this was basically a precursor to Snowpiercer? :-)

[@GreatMewtwo]

Swamp Piercer

[@stevenkramer6217]

Let’s just put it this way: there’s a reason private railroad companies no longer run their own passenger trains.

[@Geforce2187]

"Florida Fun Train" does not sound like an appropriate term for the general public

[@SaturnCanuck]

That was interesting. Trying to solve an problem that doesn't exist. Is the Alaskan Train still running?

[@JoshDoesTravel]

Yup! It’s owned by the state of Alaska, and draws a lot of tourists during the summer season, so it’s gonna keep running for a long time

[@SaturnCanuck]

@@JoshDoesTravel That is awesome. Nice to know trains and planes are kept going. Thanks for the update

[@Cedrickr]

seems to me that if you're in Orlando and want to hit the beach, Daytona is a hell of a lot closer than Miami

[@slimcourage901]

Cocoa Beach is even closer.

[@alexburrow2052]

It sounds like brightline

[@christopherfrias183]

Wow u’ve grown a lot since the last time i watched u good job (i couldn’t find ur channel after u changed ur name from Disney dan to midway to main street)

[@otsenres1636]

What a "train-wreck" of execution and failure! 🤔😁 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃

[@crankychris2]

I'm a 70 year old Miami Native; Florida is damn boring when it comes to scenery. It's flat, and that's that!

[@2012CHR2012]

I built that.

[@orlandoracer407]

Brightline >>>>>>>>>>> Florida Fun-Train

[@SylviaRustyFae]

The florida fun train wasnt just a failure. It succeeded in creating headlines tags such as "Death on the Florida Fun Train" "Florida Fun Train ride ends in tragedy!" and "Florida Fun Train ends in pain"

[@TitoTimTravels]

Who comes up these ideas? It is barely a 3 hour drive from Orlando to Miami. I love trains and would not bother with that while on vacation. 😎