Trip Report Disneyland by way of Alaska

Hello everybody. Let me start out by saying that I have been a member of the boards for many years and post occasionally but have never written a trip report (gasp, I know!). I never seem to find the time to write it. But I have read and benefitted from so many wonderful trip reports over the years that I felt I needed to write one, especially for this trip of a lifetime. Warning before you start reading – this will be a very long trip report since our trip was 2 weeks (actually 16 days total) and may take me a while to complete. I will add pictures in as I go but some of my pictures may not be the best quality.

Ok, now for the introductions. There is me, Kris, self-proclaimed Disney fanatic and mother to a wonderful daughter.
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And my wonderful daughter, Shallon, who is 24 and was born and raised under my Disney fascination and I think she may be even passing me up with her Disney obsession.
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We are true Disney buddies. By the way, a few weeks before we left Shallon broke her foot bike riding so she is in a boot cast. It could have been a lot worse and she seemed to be moving around pretty well, although I did refer to her a couple times on the trip as hop-along-Shallon.

We have been to Disney World many times and go twice a year and usually spend a couple weeks each trip. We have been WDW Annual Passholders for quite a few years and really get our money’s worth out of those passes. A few years ago, a fellow board member and helpful planner turned me on to Disney Cruise Line. We had never cruised before and once I took the leap I was so hooked there is no turning back. So I blame (or thank) my helpful planner friend who I will refer to as “she who must not be named”. Now we have taken 5 cruises in the past 4 years which is quite a feat because I never thought I’d be able to swing taking a cruise in the first place. I have learned so much about cruising from the boards and from the trip reports that have helped me prepare in immeasurable ways. In addition, “she who must not be named” has answered so many questions for me over the years that I couldn’t have done it without her, plus she has the best trip reports ever. For those who have cruised with Disney, you probably know how addicting it can be. We have cruised on the Dream 3 times, Fantasy-Eastern Caribbean 1 time and most recently we cruised on the Wonder to Alaska. Now Alaska has always been a dream of mine since I was very little and what better way to experience Alaska than on a Disney cruise.

So once I decided to take the Alaska plunge, I figured we might as well go to Disneyland too. Since we live in Michigan and would be going all the way over to “that side of the country” we may as well go down to California too and experience our very first visit to Disneyland (makes perfect sense, right). So we spent a week cruising Alaska and a week in Disneyland, after all I didn’t know when we’d make it way over there again. This really was a trip of a lifetime. I planned the cruise 1 ½ years in advance so I had plenty of time to learn more. This was also a surprise for Shallon so as the trip got closer it became more difficult to pull things together without her knowing. Shallon has Down syndrome and is very much a kid at heart, which means I have the advantage of experiencing Disney life through the eyes of a child over and over, even though she is 24. But this is also why I can’t tell her too far in advance because she just can’t stand to wait for the next Disney fix (who can). For a seasoned WDW vet who can plan a trip there with my eyes closed, I was completely out of my comfort zone. This was a trip of firsts…. first time in Vancouver, first time on the Wonder, first time in Alaska, and first time to Disneyland. I sure did a lot of homework before this trip, thanks to all the trip reports. Even though I was very excited about this trip, there was also something completely terrifying about it. But the very things that made this trip scary were the same things that made it fantastic, discovering new territory. So let’s get started.
 

stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Dog sledding is quite a sport and we learned a lot. The owner of the camp is actually the grandson of Joe Redington, the man who started the Iditarod race in 1973. Then we got to hold the puppies, some of the future Iditarod racers who were only about 2 weeks old.

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We got some hot drinks and hung at the campfire for a bit and then were on our way back to the ship. We really loved this excursion.

We got back to the ship around 6:45 and we already knew ahead of time we would be missing out MDR dinner due to the excursion time. We were really tired from the long day anyway so we went up to the quick service and grabbed cheeseburgers and ice cream. It was cold and rainy so we brought it back to the room and chowed down. Soon after that Shallon was sleeping and she snored so loud tonight that I had to keep turning up the TV. I guess she was super tired.
 

stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Well 5 days down and 11 to go. It will take me a while to finish this report but I'll keep plugging along.
 

mrdrift

Well-Known Member
What a great start to your report. The pictures a breath taking, I just can't stop going back to look at them again and again. Following along.
 

TrolleyFollower91

Well-Known Member
This trip report gives me so many warm and fuzzy feelings!! I did the Alaskan cruise in the summer of 2012 and it is SO great to relive it through your trip. It was a trip of a lifetime for me, and I got to experience it with my grandmother which just made it so much more special.

You and your daughter have such a special bond- it is so wonderful to read! I can't wait to read all about the rest of your trip!!
 

stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
This trip report gives me so many warm and fuzzy feelings!! I did the Alaskan cruise in the summer of 2012 and it is SO great to relive it through your trip. It was a trip of a lifetime for me, and I got to experience it with my grandmother which just made it so much more special.

You and your daughter have such a special bond- it is so wonderful to read! I can't wait to read all about the rest of your trip!!
Glad this will help you relive your trip. Alaska is truly a trip of a lifetime.
 

TheMouseFan

Well-Known Member
Loving your report! My husband and I want to take an Alaskan cruise with our kids someday, and it will of course be on DCL! I agree with your assessment of the bathrooms on the Wonder! I was on the Dream in June and loved how spacious they seemed, then we just got off the Wonder on Monday, and that was one of the first things I mentioned to my husband!! Can't wait to read more!
 

stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Loving your report! My husband and I want to take an Alaskan cruise with our kids someday, and it will of course be on DCL! I agree with your assessment of the bathrooms on the Wonder! I was on the Dream in June and loved how spacious they seemed, then we just got off the Wonder on Monday, and that was one of the first things I mentioned to my husband!! Can't wait to read more!
The cruise was such a great way to see Alaska.
 

Maggie Mae

Active Member
Enjoying your report... I hope to go on an Alaskan Cruise one day! DH and I will be enjoying a cruise on the Wonder in April! and our room is actually just a couple down from where your room was we will be in 7626, so I am totally looking for your opinions on the location and noise! Can't wait to read more!!
 

stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Enjoying your report... I hope to go on an Alaskan Cruise one day! DH and I will be enjoying a cruise on the Wonder in April! and our room is actually just a couple down from where your room was we will be in 7626, so I am totally looking for your opinions on the location and noise! Can't wait to read more!!
We loved the location. We were close to the aft elevators which was easy access up to deck 9 for Beach Blanket Buffet, drink station, quick food counters and pools. Also 2 of the Main dining rooms were a quick ride down in the elevator. Because it was in the back, there wasn't much foot traffic so it was pretty quiet. There was a little motion but not much so we weren't bothered by it. Plus we have felt motion in other staterooms before too. Laundry room is real close if you need it which we did in Alaska. The room is also on the starboard side which makes for an ideal location and view when backing into port like Castaway Cay. And don't forget the secret deck on deck 7 that you'll be very close to. This is a great location and we really enjoyed it.
 

stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 6 – Friday, September 5-Juneau
Today our excursion wasn’t until later at 10:15 so we could sleep in a bit longer today. We had breakfast this morning at the breakfast buffet in Parrot Cay. Much better that up in Beach Blanket Buffet. The food was pretty much the same but there was actually tons of room to sit and to move around. After breakfast we stopped at Guest Services to check on the 4 main character greetings which were scheduled shortly. We missed the character gang in their Alaskan clothes when they were roaming the deck on Tracy Arm day. We got lucky and they would be once again dressed in their Alaskan finest for this morning’s greetings.

(I'm having probs loading pictures, I'll be back)
 

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stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Our excursion was going to be the Taku Lodge Glacier Floatplane which included a flight over 5 glaciers and then landing on the water outside Taku Lodge and a big freshly cooked lunch of salmon, chicken and other goodies. Then there would be time to explore the lodge grounds & trails. It was cold and foggy but we checked at the Port Adventures desk and our excursion had not been cancelled, but the helicopters excursions had been. So we went at 10:15 to check in for the excursion and waited in the chairs with the others only to find out about 10 minutes later that they had cancelled it. Bummer, I was really looking forward to this. But it was real foggy and I’m sure visibility would have been bad anyway. So we headed with the masses over the Port Excursion desk to see what else was available for that day in Juneau. We chose the Medenhall Glacier and Whale Watching tour which had a check in time of 15 minutes. No prob, we were already dressed warmly and had our gear so we headed right over.

We took a bus ride to the Mendenhall glacier and walked out to Photo Point for some beautiful shots of the glacier and the massive waterfall.

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To get an idea of how big that waterfall on the right is, take a look at this one (those little dots on the bottom are people).

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They had some trails around to hike, including one to the waterfall but we were only going to be there for 45 minutes so we didn’t take that trail, especially with hop-along-Shallon and her broken foot. This was a very beautiful glacier and the surrounding land and water only enhanced it. We stopped in the visitor center and checked out a few exhibits and the gift shop.

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Then we were on our way back to the bus for the ride to the boat dock.
 

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stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We boarded our whale watching boat which was 3 stories. The first 2 floors were indoors and were heated with nice soft cushy seats and a pair of binoculars for every two seats. On the second floor you could also walk around the perimeter outdoors too. The 3rd floor was completely outdoors and was an observation deck that was opened up when we got to a viewing area.

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But everyone was free to get up, move around, go downstairs, upstairs or outside at any time. There was also a snack bar with a few hot food items for sale and free coffee, tea & cocoa. The tour had about 100 people on the boat and we headed out to sea sailing out quite a ways. We saw a whale spout and break the surface and then we saw a sea lion swimming. Now this tour is listed as guaranteed to see a whale so I was hoping that this wasn’t all we’d see. We kept sailing out past a few glaciers which were great photo ops. We got out to an island with hundreds of sea lion lounging on shore and quite a few playing around. Boy are those things loud, especially in numbers like this. We saw a couple of bald eagles on the same island too.

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stillgoofy

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
We then sailed to another spot and saw a whale or two but this was just the beginning. We started seeing whales in groups of 4-5 and this went on for about the next hour in this spot. These were humpback whales. They would spout, come to the top of the water (sometimes just floating there for a bit) and diving so we could see their tails.

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I was amazed how close they came to this small boat that was also in our area.

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