Trainer wrote:Orlando.
The station itself is okay (if a bit small), but the location is terrible..... This station should really be on Church Street....Maybe people would then feel inclined to consider starting their vacation adventure with a train trip to one of the east coast's most popular vacation destinations....?
Mr. Trainer, you acknowledge that the former ACL station structure is OK, and since there are no connections to be made other than the Ambus transfers, this means no one will be required to spend an inordinate amount of time at the facility.
The neighbor Mr. Trainer notes is Orlando Regional Medical Center; that various medical specialties have offices on its perimeter is quite "the norm". If some of the area appears "dicey", well an Amtrak passenger will only be there during Daylight hours. The "four a day' (down from "6.43 a day" ten years ago) all arrive and depart more or less on one another's markers. An important convenience of Orlando is that Hertz considers there is adequate volume of traffic to have the only staffed facility, with autos ready to go, at an Amtrak station anywhere in Florida. Access to I-4 from the station is "quite convenient"; sorry 'bout the potholes especially since there are not too many of 'em in Florida.
As far as "reloing" to Church Street, and even the former SAL Station (once on a Wildwood-Lake Charm line and from which passenger service was gone "many moons" before A-Day) that is part of the entertainment complex, good luck navigating the Ambuses, or even taxicabs, and someone just "plopped' behind the wheel of an unfamiliar rented auto in an unfamiliar location.
Now I realize I view things from the perspective of one who arrives somewhere, whether by train or plane, and is gone in a taxicab or rented auto essentially upon arrival. Possibly I should be more mindful that some, especially our younger members, are not yet qualified to rent autos and "get rides that show up when they show up" (yes, I too was once a college student) and have greater need for station facilities. But for my needs, the existing facility is quite adequate.
Finally, FWIW, there are good railfanning vantages immediately North of the station. Although I no longer photograph, I've observed in the past and have never been bothered pre or post 9/11.