MarkTwain goes to Alaska: a WONDERful Disney vacation

Hey everyone! Well, usually on forum sites I like to do something special for my big "number" posts, and since with 1000 posts you become a senior member on WDWmagic, I thought I would do something I don't usually do and post a trip report. But don't think this is going to be just another trip to WDW... or even out west to that other place down in Anaheim. Nope. Not this time.

...We're goin' to Alaska!

We sailed on the July 5 - July 12 on the Disney Wonder (hence the delightfully cheesy thread title), and what a cruise it was! This was our 7th Disney cruise so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect, but I'll admit the gloves and coat weather definitely seemed strange on decks I'm more used to strolling in shorts and tshirts. And I don't think I've ever spent so much time on a cruise sipping hot chocolate (no complaints here!). It was definitely a different kind of Disney cruise, but a very fun and magical one.

Our cruise departed from Vancouver, where we decided to spend a few days before the cruise to get adjusted to the time zone and just take the city in. We were blessed with very beautiful weather in Vancouver, as we were for much of the cruise. But enough chitchat... let's bring on the pictures!

This was the airport terminal that greed us in Vancouver. WOW. Quite the introduction for a city I knew very little about. We realized throughout our stay in Vancouver that the city got quite a little TLC in prep for its 2010 Olympic Games, and apparently much of that TLC went to making sure they gave the right first impression to all the people coming for the first time.

Speaking of Olympics...

The Olympic torch was on full display right by our hotel, so we got to see it at many different times of day.

The park around the torch was equally lovely.

Here's the view from our hotel room. It was nice to be able to look out the window at any time and see the boats and seaplanes taking off.

One of the famous Stanley Park totem poles:

But what about the cruise, MarkTwain!? Ok, I'll skip to the cruise then. Here we are a few days later, on the decks of the Disney Wonder. Sorry about the lack of me being in the pictures; I do most of my own picture-taking, so I don't appear in many of them, lol. But I promise I'll be in a few pictures coming up!

This clever bird found a way to get a free Alaskan cruise.

So before long, we'd pulled up the anchor, set sail out of Vancouver, and welcomed a fun-filled week ahead. Coming up: sailing into Alaska!

 

[MarkTwain]

After a restful day at sea, everyone was getting up early on the day in which we left Canadian waters and entered Tracy Arm, Alaska, a beautiful waterway surrounded by mountains and originating from a glacier. We all got nervous when we entered a thick blanket of fog, wondering if we would see anything for the rest of the day. Fortunately, the fog lifted just as we entered the mouth of Tracy Arm, where we were treated to this gorgeous view... including our first glimpse of an iceberg!

Sailing into the Tracy Arm:

Our friends on the Carnival passed us as they made their way out of the Arm:

I think I see a glacier up ahead!

Since pretty much every cruiser and their grandmother had gone up to Deck 9 to watch us sail into the Tracy Arm, the characters were out on deck in full force. Here's me with everybody's favorite goof (no, the other guy, the one with the white coat):

The anticipation's building as we get closer to the glacier:

As the icebergs grew in size and number, we noticed that humans weren't the only things in Tracy Arm that day. Look!! A seal!!

And here's a family of seals! It was funny to watch them gawk in wonder at the 11-story hunk of steel floating right by their iceberg (I know I would).

And now the glacier is within plain sight. Iceberg ahead, cap'n! Uh... captain??

We sat in the harbor of the glacier for quite some time, admiring the view and snapping away.

 

[MarkTwain]

More pics of the Tracy Arm glacier:

Impressively, the captain popped a K-turn in the tight squeeze of the harbor (is that what the term is? It was basically an aquatic cul-de-sac), and before long we headed back the way we came out of Tracy Arm.

At this point in the afternoon, most cruisers had gone back under deck and out of the cold, since we were now only going to see what we had already seen going in. I chose to stay on deck though, because the brighter lighting and emptier decks made for way better pictures.

We found this beautiful waterfall on a rock jutting into a bend in the Tracy Arm. I thought we would simply pass this magnificent piece of nature:

...But the captain had other plans. :lol:

I was one of the few people left on deck to appreciate this impressive feat of boat steering, except for the group of navigational crew who came out and congratulated each other and admired the view next to me.

Making a tight turn in the Tracy Arm. Whoah!! Never seen the boat lean this much!

Also: Can you spot the hidden Walt Disney in this picture?

Coming soon: Going on land in Alaska for the first time, as we ride the famous White Pass Railroad, and then we'll check out Juneau and Ketchikan. Stay tuned!

 

[joanna71985]

Love the pictures!

 

[PeoplemoverTTA]

I've never been on a Disney cruise, and I've never even come close to Alaska - can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip! I'll live vicariously through your adventures

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Another cruise trip report! Excellent!

We loved our Alaska cruise. Your glacier pictures are stunning!

Keep it coming!

 

[Disneygal1]

Great start! I really want to go on a Alaskan cruise, but no one in my family wants to go on one. Maybe one day... Also, I love your photos! What kind of camera do you use?

 

[happymom52003]

Your pictures are fantastic! We did this cruise in June and LOVED it. I want to do it again!

 

[MarkTwain]

Goooooood morning everyone, and welcome to Skagway! We're getting up bright and early today, because we have a 7am excursion on the White Pass Railroad. The good news is that's we're in Alaska, so the sun's already bright and sunny even when you wake up at 5:45.

The Disney Wonder in the morning sunlight. Wait a minute, is that the Carnival ship again??

To be perfectly honest... I was asleep for about the first half hour of the train tour, so my photos start when we're already partway up the mountain range. Realizing that sleeping away such a once-in-a-lifetime experience probably wasn't a good idea, I stood up and walked out to the balcony-thing behind our train car. You can rest assured that the cold wind kept me awake from that point on.

The White Pass & Yukon Railroad was built during the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897, as a more convenient option for the thousands of prospector-wannabes wanting to get to Dawson, Canada, the supposed epicenter of gold-finding activity. Most prospectors had previously been taking year-long hikes up through the mountains in Alaskan weather, so the train obviously came as a major relief for everyone making the trip.

Today the train serves more as a historical artifact and tourist attraction, where you can see views like this to your left...

...and views like this to your right.

Rickety looking bridge ahead... don't worry, we won't be crossing it. That's the original bridge from 1897. We'll be crossing a more modern one.

Eventually, the forests thinned out and were replaced by alpine tundra.

Getting a first look at glacial water, which is distinctive for its bright minty green color. What a nice shade of blue!

 

[MarkTwain]

Finally, we departed our train by a beautiful lake on top of the mountain (our tour didn't pay for the several days it took to Dawson). Technically, we're actually in Yukon Territory, Canada now - we had to present our passports on the train.

We could have done a tour that included a train ride back down the way we came, but we found something else instead - a historic village between the train departure point and Skagway. That means we drove back down the mountain range by coach.

A nice road sign on our way back down:

Now we've arrived in Liarsville, a historic recreation of a town that sprung up as a kind of base camp during the Klondike Gold Rush. The town got its name due to lazy reporters from the mainland USA that were hired to cover whether prospectors were finding anything in Dawson. Instead of making the difficult hike up the mountain to find out for themselves, reporters just stayed here and wrote down all the tall tales they were told by prospectors on their way back down, many of whom wildly exaggerated the amount of gold that was actually there. The town then became pretty unpopular by prospectors who had been lured to Alaska by those very reporters - ergo, Liarsville. Today the camp is maintained to provide an insight into this colorful era of Alaskan history.

Now wait just a bear-toe tappin' minute... is that Big Al from the Country Bears on the right?

Yep. Sure is.

Don't worry, he said it was all part of his costume.

While here, we got to pan for gold, which I apparently forgot to get pictures of, and then we were treated to a performance of some of the folk songs sung by prospectors back in the day...

Then we got to spend some time in the port of Skagway itself. We didn't do much here besides some touristy shopping. You can see the ship there waaaaaay in the back...

One last look at Skagway on our way back to the ship...

Next up: making our way to Juneau!

 

[MarkTwain]

Now we've arrived in Juneau, Alaska - the only U.S. capital not to be connected to the rest of its state by road or rail (boats and airplanes only!). We've got a great excursion today, so let's get started!

Nice day for a helicopter ride, eh? ;-)

Super excited about this.

Below - our first glimpse of Mendenhall Glacier, the massive icefield which looms in the mountains above the city of Juneau. We'll be landing on the glacier to partake in a unique experience.

Wow - can't believe the camera actually managed to capture a helicopter blade.

Touchdown!

So why are we here, you ask? Well, although most of the glacier is protected, this part of the Mendenhall Glacier acts as a permanent training ground for many of the dogs used in the Iditarod. And who better to do the training... but tourists like us!! :-D

This right here is the way most Alaskans get around snow today.

The dog camp:

Me with the fam checking the dogs before we depart...

...And we're off!!

Does MarkTwain ride to glory by dogsled? Or does he steer himself off the glacier and into the Pacific Ocean? Stay tuned for these answers and more!

 

[MarkTwain]

Welcome back! You didn't miss much; we were just taking a break with our guide so the dogs can rest...

Well, looks like we've reached the trail's end... Here we are pulling back into camp.

This one was definitely posed, lol:

Our very nice tour guide let us do something we technically should have only done on one of the more expensive tours, and let us hold one of the puppies...

Well, every excursion's gotta end sometime...

Before too long we were landing back at the heliport. We actually ran into someone here who I'll explain more about in later pics.

Thanks to another early excursion, we had plenty of time to roam around Juneau after it was over.

The Governor's Mansion - aka Sarah Palin's former home! The current governor's daughter was actually getting married at the house when we were there. If you look closely you can see the "Just Married" car and some of the guests.

Here's a pic of downtown Juneau... not a huge capital city by any means.

Now it's time to say good-bye to Juneau as we sail out...

But the fun's not over yet... still ahead, Ketchikan and a * special guest appearance *!

 

[MarkTwain]

Thanks for the comments so far everyone! If you're undecided on a Disney cruise, then I highly recommend it - definitely as magical as a trip to any of the theme parks.

Great start! I really want to go on a Alaskan cruise, but no one in my family wants to go on one. Maybe one day... Also, I love your photos! What kind of camera do you use?

Just a Sony Cybershot DSC-WX1. Nothing too fancy but it gets the job done. If I can't fit it in my pocket, then I don't have much use for it. :lol:

Your pictures are fantastic! We did this cruise in June and LOVED it. I want to do it again!

Thanks! The cruises were always promoted onboard as the "Alaskan inaugural cruises," so I'm sure you'll get the chance to do it again.

 

[WDW_Princess24]

Enjoying your trip report so far! So awesome that you went sledding!

 

[jhoff3405]

Keep it up, I'm following along!
Great pictures! I love the puppy one!

 

[fractal]

That helicopter excursion looks awesome!


Love the pics.

 

[MarkTwain]

Hello WDWMagicians! Sorry about the delay for the rest of the trip report, I got caught up a little bit in the "real world". We left off departing the glaciers and dogsleds of Juneau for our final Alaskan destination.

That brings us to Ketchikan, a pleasant coastal town that was actually surprisingly warm. Our whole family agreed that if we had to move to any of the cities we had visited on our cruises, we would most want to live here.

The popular excursion choice for many cruisers in Ketchikan was to rent a floatplane and be piloted through the majestic scenery around Ketchikan. We had already broken the bank a little bit for our helicopter ride the day before, but since we still wanted to see the wonderful Alaskan scenery, we compromised and did a group boat rental tour instead. It turned out to be an excellent choice.

Walking over to our boat rental shop:

...And off we go!

They think they can beat us... We'll show them!

Stopping with our tour guide to talk about some of the wildlife:

And there's some of the wildlife right there... some sea lions are resting on the rock, watching us curiously. (That's them on the right!)

The tour included a stop at a forest camp, for some smores, hot chocolate, beer, and surprisingly, lobster spread. :slurp:

Time to go!

 

[MarkTwain]

Shot of me having fun in the speedboat:

Spotting some more wildlife along the waterfront... this was definitely one of the highlights of the day, if not the cruise:

What I wasn't expecting was for the eagle to fly off its perch and snatch a fish out of the water in front of us!

Camera just wasn't fast enough, I guess.

Finally, after a fun few hours of boating, it was time to head back into port...

But that doesn't mean we've seen the last of the eagles!

Pulling up alongside our beautiful ship...

...and back into port.

Like in the other ports, we had a bit of time to walk around the city after the excursion:

I could definitely live here.

And so we say good-bye to Ketchikan. But the fun's not over yet! Stay tuned!

 

[MarkTwain]

Finally, we had a nice day at sea to rest after four fun-packed days in Alaska. I'll put pictures of the ship from other days on this post too.

Remember that "special guest" I alluded to a while back? Well, when we had just gotten off our helicopter and arrived back at the heliport in Juneau, I thought I saw someone there I recognized from the Academy Awards. I didn't ask him to be sure, because he was signing insurance waivers and getting pre-flight instructions, and frankly I didn't want to bother him at the time. But it turns out, the man was indeed Pete Docter, director/creator of Pixar films Monsters Inc. and Up (I recognized him from his acceptance speech for Up's Best Animated Picture Oscar). It turns out he was onboard our ship for a Pixar seminar in the Walt Disney Theater, which was held on the Day at Sea on the last day of the cruise.

That's Pete Docter on the right. On the left is Jerome Ranft, talented Pixar sculpture artist and brother of the late and legendary Joe Ranft. Standing in the center is our cruise director, who I believe was named Clayton. I'm at a loss as to who the fourth man is, and I don't even remember his job title so I could google him.

Pete Docter going over concept drawings he made for Up:

In true Disney fan fashion, once the presentation was over, I kept an eye on where they went backstage (having a bit of knowledge of backstage Walt Disney Theater, from being picked to be in shows a few times as a kid). I won't say I followed them there, but I, uh... well, let's just say I increased our circumstances of meeting.

So long story short, I ended up meeting Pete Docter:

He was very nice about the fact I had basically just snuck backstage to meet him, asking me questions about myself and my opinions of animation, etc. Even the cruise director was laughing along and offered to get a picture of us.

LOL I'm not sure he was ready for it:

Is this worth something?

Also a highlight of the cruise: the world-famous Pirate Night, complete with Pirates of the Caribbean deck party. Here's me and Dad with Jack Sparrow:

 

[MarkTwain]

On the last night of the cruise, all of the characters come out to the atrium for one final, giant meet and greet, which has a wonderfully chaotic spontaneity to it that would never be allowed at WDW. Basically crowds of people surround the very in-character Peter Pan or Belle or Captain Hook, interacting and rubbing elbows with them in equal measure to getting pictures with them. It has an almost Hollywood afterparty type feel to it, which you might find either very hectic or much more fun than a normal meet and greet. I found it the latter.

In the end, all of the characters get on stage and wish their farewells to the crowd, and then they sing the closing song of the Mickey Mouse Club (M I C - See ya real soon! etc.). Then the crowd is sprinkled with glitter as they wave goodbye. Very touching finale for such a small show.

After that was something that was new to me, being old enough for the first time: the hilarious and completely inappropriate (in a good way) Pub Skit, where several of the cruise staff do a performance of what they would be doing if they weren't at sea.

Maybe this picture explains it better:

Finally, a few pictures of a quiet ship on our last night:

And with breakfast on the morning we depart, comes the end of a wonderful Disney cruise.

But don't think it's over just yet! One more post coming right up.