A WONDERful Alaskan Adventure - Sept 4th Last Day at Sea

Embarkation!!!!: Day 3
Yes, this post gets a lot of exclamation marks. How could it not? We were so excited and the day started with a crazy moment to get us going.

We were laying in bed and of course, the kids started waking up as the sun came up. My son jumped out of bed and started pulling back curtains saying, "you guys, lets see the Disney boat." I looked at the clock, 6:20AM. I had heard the Wonder typically pulls in around 5:45, so I thought there was no way. To be honest, I was a bit dissapointed myself. Well during this time, my husband had gotten up, to help my son not fall off the chair he was standing on, and pulled the curtains completely open. I was laying there just talking to him when suddenly I spotted her! I literally sprang up (about rolling over my daughter next to me) and my son was full on ecstatic. It was a gorgeous sight! And it was really neat thinking we were among the first guests to see the Wonder arrive!





Obviously at that point, the kids were up. So it was time to get dressed and have a light breakfast in the lounge before heading over to the pier. We thought killing time at the pier would be perfect because we could walk right up to the Wonder and continue to build the excitement. It was really interesting to see them unloading bags and hearing debarkation announcements from the crew. My son loved waving hi to all the crew members cleaning rooms. We also made guesses at which window was ours. This was our first time with an Oceanview on DCL and we were really ready to see it!


Is it time yet?

After hanging out at the pier, it was time to head back to our room for the final pack up! We hailed a taxi and headed to the port around 10 AM. Yep, a full hour before our 11 AM check-in time. We figured it couldn't hurt to be early AND again, our kids were going crazy in the small confines of the room. :simba::ccat:

So again, let's talk about the Port of Vancouver. Our taxi backed into the unloading area and porters took our bags the second we arrived. We kept both bookbags only, having re-packed things the evening prior. We had included swimsuits, diapers, the basics.

After the porters greeted us it was upstairs to Disney Check-in. At this point, Avery (4 year old boy) was almost bursting with excitement. He kept telling everyone good morning. A lady stepped out of a breakroom on our way up commenting that they could hear him inside and everyone was laughing. We went to the Silver/Gold check-in but there wasn't really any line and got boarding group 4. This part was the easiest of the day. The young lady who had greeted Avery in the hallway, Brooke, came walking up while we were checking in and knelt down in front of the kids with a duffle. "Do you guys want one?" It was full of different stuffed animals! Audrey chose Minnie and Avery chose Olaf. Not a bad way to start a day right?

After our moment with Brooke it was down another hallway to Customs. Again short lines, just tough with kids in tow. Then it was down one last hallway to the waiting area!!!!:smickey:

This waiting area was so much bigger than Port Canveral or any others we have sailed from. Just all-around more open. My in-laws took a few seats in the chairs provided on one end while we opted to wait for the characters. We were first in line when Mickey came out. You will notice there isn't a picture. Audrey wasn't really feeling that particular meet. Pluto was out next and you can tell she was quite shy! We figured this was better than the meltdowns she had in February at the Walt Disney World Resort. At least now she was letting us approach them!


The family in all the boarding excitement!

My son loves the characters, so when Pluto didn't have a line, he was happy to keep him company! It was just the two of them for a bit, which was really fun to watch!




We took a spot on the floor in the waiting area. It was wide open, and we thought it would be better if the kids could run around a bit. Two Cast Members walked up and started talking to us about our day. I told them it was nice to just sit after a few lines and a fun morning. Alex, one of the Cast Members, stopped me mid-sentence and walked away. I honestly thought it was an emergency or something. He returned with a boarding card and told me we should have a magical day... It was the first boarding group! Seriously, at this point, I was worried about the voyage because who gets that much pixie dust at the start! :tinker:



Boarding group 1 was called, and we were on our way!!



Since our in-laws paid for our cruise fare, we wanted to thank them. My husband was on a mission the second we were on the ship. Rainforest Room couples pass. He ran up to the Senses Spa, and I took the elevator with them to Cabanas. We've heard these are hard to come by, so we wanted to be sure to get them first thing. My in-laws were thrilled and completely taken by surprise. For those that don't know, Senses Spa offers passes to the Rainforest Room. There are daily ones you can get before the sailing, but you can get one for the entirety of your trip when you board. The couples pass was $193 plus upfront gratuities, and my in-laws will tell you it was worth every cent. They were up there probably 2-4 times each day!

After Cabanas, and since we boarded earlier than planned, we had some time to look around before the rooms opened. Audrey was late for her nap, so in an attempt to distract her, we went to the Oceaneer Club Open House. Avery's favorite princess is Ariel. Who do we see as we walk in??? Again, my husband and I were just beaming at this point! :tinker:

Making things more emotional (we are only on Day 1 right?) Audrey totally warmed up to Ariel. She gave her a hug almost instantly! Avery got to give our favorite mermaid a tour of the club as well. It was really amazing. We must have had her to oursevles for about 15 minutes or so!







We also stopped by "it's a Small World" nursery and registered Audrey. We knew she wouldn't hold up well during dinners, so this was our first time utilizing the facility. The great thing is you can cancel your reservations or change them up to four hours in advance, with no penalty! It really helped us out, as things change daily, and the facility is adorable!



Our room was ready as scheduled. We were in room 5512 and our in-laws were in 5514. There was no connecting door. Would you believe I don't have a picture of the room itself?! I have porthole shots that I will share later :sad2:

The room was great though. We loved having the couch in the back as opposed to the front of the room when you walk in on the Inside Cabins. There was so much more storage space, too! I don't know if we will ever go back to Inside Cabins now... :love: Also, apparently rooms on deck 5 aren't booked as quickly because guests are worried about being close the kids' clubs. Well, we didn't hear a peep. I'm telling you it was one of the quietest rooms we've had on any line period. The only thing I would do differently is to book an aft room, rather than forward. Our room was on the opposite side of Cabanas, Oceaneer Club, Nursery and theater. While it didn't seem like a long way when we booked, it kind of was. It was also down a side hallway, which just made it feel a bit longer. Regardless, it was a fantastic room.

My husband sat with Audrey for her nap while I took Avery to the pool area. Yep, it was gorgeous out, so we put those swimsuits to good use! He went on the waterslide and swam in the main pool. Of course, as he was getting out of the main pool, he completely hit his head on the safety rail. I mean a welt-creating-hit. :headache: Poor guy was wailing. At first the lifeguards didn't see, but once they did, it was a quick chain of events. The Manager came over, interviewed Avery and gave me the rundown in case he had a concussion. Fortunately he was fine, but it was great to know he was in good hands should anything develop. I should note, he loved the ice packs that they gave him. They were the break and cool kind. He liked to shake it, and it made for a good distraction to the bump on his head.



When Audrey woke up, we ran back downstairs, changed and waited for the Muster Drill. The drill was over, and it was off to the fun. Whatever you do, don't miss the sail away from Vancouver. It is a stunning port, and people were just in really good spirits. Ready for Alaska!









Waving to all the folks on the bridge we saw the day before!



Dinner for the evening was Animators Palate. Mickey made his appearence, but man, I don't know if we noticed. We were on such a high from the day!



The scenery continued to improve, and my husband took this that evening!



Side note: Time changes are rough! We had been up since 5 so nearly all of us were ready for bed by 8/9 PM!

Next up: Disney Wonder Day 2: At Sea and on our way to America's Last Frontier!
 
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Loving your trip report! We have never been on a cruise and are considering Alaska in 2019. Stalking all the Alaska TRs to get the details.
 
Loving your trip report! We have never been on a cruise and are considering Alaska in 2019. Stalking all the Alaska TRs to get the details.


We are doing the same - we sailed DCL in 2014 and did the western carribean on The Fantasy. In 2015 we completed south pacific islands on carnival and it just doesn't even compare. We are doing the mediterrain cruise in Sept 2018 on RCCL as we are traveling with other family members (haven't cruised with RCCl before).

Planning our 20th wedding anniversary cruise and we are looking at Alaska on The Wonder with DCL - so looking forward to planning this one. On the bucket list so it will be great to tick it off.
 


You probably had the best first day ever! that's amazing! I'm in a porthole room for the next Alaska cruise, it will be our families first cruise ever, we are very excited.
 
So happy the forest fire smoke cleared out for your trip. We sailed 8/7 and the smoke was bad!
 


We are doing the same - we sailed DCL in 2014 and did the western carribean on The Fantasy. In 2015 we completed south pacific islands on carnival and it just doesn't even compare. We are doing the mediterrain cruise in Sept 2018 on RCCL as we are traveling with other family members (haven't cruised with RCCl before).

Planning our 20th wedding anniversary cruise and we are looking at Alaska on The Wonder with DCL - so looking forward to planning this one. On the bucket list so it will be great to tick it off.
Ours would be a 30th anniversary trip. Since we've never cruised before I'm not sure how much we'd like it but cruising is definitely the way to do Alaska.
 
Ours would be a 30th anniversary trip. Since we've never cruised before I'm not sure how much we'd like it but cruising is definitely the way to do Alaska.


You will luv it. We have completed 2 with our 3rd one booked. We have 2 girls aged 11 and 5 and its the best way to holiday and see other parts of the world. We live in Melbourne Australia and apart from the long haul flights to get on a cruise that leaves from ports on the other side of the world we just luv everything about cruising. I guess we have been lucky that we have had some wonderful experiences so far and have meet some wonderful families who we still keep in contact with. You will get to do Alaska before I do so definately would luv to hear about your trip and planning if you book Alaska. Happy planning!!! Never too early to start.
 
You probably had the best first day ever! that's amazing! I'm in a porthole room for the next Alaska cruise, it will be our families first cruise ever, we are very excited.

Oh my gosh, we were seriously stunned. Embarkation can be a bit stressful sometimes but we didn't even notice! The porthole room is the type of cabin we had this sailing and we absolutely loved it. You can really see a great deal and you don't have to combat the weather to do it. The cast of the Disney Wonder made being inside the ship amazing. There was always something to do! All the best during your sailing!
 
Talk about a great start! Tuning in for more!

Thanks! We really couldn't believe it ourselves!

So happy the forest fire smoke cleared out for your trip. We sailed 8/7 and the smoke was bad!

Totally agree! We had been following it. There was actually a bad fire the day we took our tour in Vancouver. We had thought about the tour that went out to Whistler but our guide said it was a good thing we didn't. They were stuck en route back with no way of knowing when the roads would open again! :scared:

Ours would be a 30th anniversary trip. Since we've never cruised before I'm not sure how much we'd like it but cruising is definitely the way to do Alaska.

Definitely! You will love it if you go! There is a lot to do for any type of vacation! Actually on the Fantasy, during our first sailing, I realized on the last night that I had never even seen the adult only area! I walked up and explored for maybe an hour but that gives you an idea of how much there is to do!
 
Disney Wonder: At Sea and on our way to America's Last Frontier
If you have been on a Disney cruise, you know there is a LOT to do on sea days. I was actually up first, at 5 AM. I laid there and thought, "okay, seriously, go back to sleep." But then I realized it was 8 AM at home so I was pretty much going to either lay in bed and try to sleep or enjoy some mommy time. As my daughter was in prime mommy-clingville (don't mind it but she literally chose the day we left to start so I was re-adjusting to the extra love), I got up and decided to try out the jogging track.

The jogging track is located on Deck 4. Three laps equal a mile. I found myself to be one of the few people awake and I really enjoyed the peace and quiet to mentally prepare for the day ahead. Plus, the sun would usually rise around 5:45 or so, which is always nice to watch!


After I had my morning run/walk, I headed over to Cove Cafe. Cabanas doesn't open until 6:30 on Port Days and 7:30 AM on days at sea. The coffee dispensers on Deck 9 are available but I thought I would treat myself. I've never gotten anything from Cove Cafe and the prices are actually reasonable. I also loved that they gave me a punch card. After five drinks the sixth was free. I ordered a double cappacino daily the rest of the trip (about 4.95 each). And yes, it came with a hidden Mickey!



By the way, this is what I came back to one morning... seriously are we floating in the clouds???? Gorgeous :boat:



So let's talk about whales. Did we see them? The answer is yes! Both on the ship and as a surprise treat on an excursion later on the trip. The best time to see them on the ship is either the first day at sea or the last, as you enter the channel.

Now that said, I was up and running around ship at 5 AM. Of course, I was looking for them but to no avail. I even took a photo of this because I thought for sure the area creating white caps was a whale... wrong Ashley, so wrong. It was most definitely a pile of rocks :headache: I know because I grabbed my binoculars to check it out and literally almost laughed out loud. Well, after searching to no avail, I thought it probably wasn't going to happen. When we met my in-laws at breakfast, they asked us if we had seen the whales! WHAT? Remember they are only the room next to us - view is the same. We were in the room at the same time, how did we miss it? Then, we heard stories from several other guests, apparently they were everywhere that morning? :(:(:(


The whales! I mean, pile of rocks...

First order of the day was the Character Breakfast. We were scheduled at 8 AM. We have done this on both of our sailings on the Fantasy and Magic. I was happy to see that they've officially altered it to a V.I.P. Character meal. On the other sailings, we had Disney Junior. I love the characters (young kids here) but could see how this doesn't appeal to everyone. This time, we had Mickey, Minnie Mouse and Pluto. We were excited and ready to see everyone! Also, our server was making napkin hats! I had read about it but we had never had it done for us so that was fun!





My in-laws headed up to the spa and we were off to meet more characters. The lines weren't too bad today. I will note that we always arrived about 10 minutes before the character was due to appear - with the exception of the days later in the cruise that were very special meet ups. Characters will keep their line open roughly 15 mintues after they arrive. If you show up in that timeframe you are typically okay! Disclaimer: Does not apply to glacier character meets!

First up - SpiderMan! :charac4: Avery was so excited to meet him. All of the Marvel characters had events in the Oceaneer Club. Avery attended them all! We made sure we arranged things so he could. Very cool note: If you ask, the Oceaneer Club will give you a Marvel ID card! They actually take the picture there and it says Agent Avery and a specialty on it. It's not paper, it's plastic. There are logos on the back that coordinate to a sticker they get at the end of each activity. Avery really loved it! Totally a part of the club, no charge or anything you just have to ask. And yes, I've been told they do this on other ships too!



We popped in to see Wake Up with Disney Junior. We have always done this on the other ships but we just didn't have time to participate this go around! Again, there was so much to do! I loved seeing Goofy in his PJ's though!



Sofia was greeting near Preludes and Jake came out right after. So we met Sofia and hopped right back in line for Jake. The line maybe took 15 minutes for both of them.





While we waited on Marvel characters to arrive, we were able to explore the lobby. Avery loved the statue on this ship, can't imagine why :) He was in the kids club so Audrey got to see it up close. We are going to be watching The Little Mermaid weekly now...



Black Widow and Captain America were next. We will see much more of them throughout!





After we sent Avery to the kids club for a quick activity, we took Audrey down to the After Hours (adult only) area to explore that.



She loved the lights.



By the end of all this, Audrey was pretty tired. I took her back to the room and Alex took Avery to the waterslide. Again, our weather was almost as if we were in the Caribbean but, different scenery. It would change when we got to Alaska but we definitely enjoyed it those first two days.

We ordered room service every day at nap. Alex and I swapped each day. So whoever had nap had the night free after bedtime. I will say room service does a great job of gently knocking! We never had an issue with her getting up. It takes about 30 minutes to arrive once you place the order so you just have to play a guessing game as to when they will go to sleep.

After she woke up, I met the boys up at the pool. We were able to try out Dory's Reef. I still love that these areas for the littlest sailors, are undercover. It's so nice not to have to smother them with sunscreen! The water was heated throughout the trip so it never felt too chilly! Yes, there were kids swimming every day. We also were sure to stop by and say hi to Donald. He's my son's other favorite and we hadn't seen him yet!




Funny story, every time we met Donald, Avery had a Mickey shirt on. Yet, he would always tell Donald that he was his favorite. It made for some really funny interactions. Donald, we aren't lying, he really does adore you! :donald:

Oh and this was right after I had seen a whale! Tip: look for the blowhole steam or you could do what I did and keep close watch on your fellow guests! I saw a group pointing and stopped by to look too. Sure enough it was a whale! This is a great way to make friends too. I literally met so many great people throughout just by striking up conversation about whales at lunch etc! Everyone seems to be looking for them and we all enjoyed swapping stories about rock piles :magnify:

Remember what I said about the scnery getting better and better?





Tonight was Formal Night and we were at Tiana's Place. I went to the Captain's Gala with Audrey while the boys changed and got ready, as I didn't want to miss it! First up, we had to see Goofy and pay respects to his evening attire.



While greeting the officers, I was offered a Cosmopolitan. Of course, I accepted and of course, Audrey was all over it. I guess it does look like juice. This was our first interaction with Pierre, the Hotel Director. He was so sweet and actually went to grab Audrey a juice that they have on the trays for kids! I camped out in her favorite area of After Hours and we just sat together as we waited on the boys.


Note the Minnie Mouse next to her?
:tinker:Did I mention how amazing this cast was?

We tried to dress down this cruise but I still wanted to do something a little more dressy for the evening. We were so excited about Tiana's Place and it definitely lives up to it's name! It was so much fun and Tiana was wonderful! The first night you go is just an overall celebration, like a grand opening. The beignets and the Mardi Gras Celebration are the second night you visit.




Our hostess! Avery had made Mardi Gras masks in a cruise activity for everyone that afternoon while Audrey napped. Perfect accessory!




I love that she wears her white dress!

After that, it was time to head to bed. I got to spend some time walking around and saw Pluto so I had to say hi! He's my favorite after all!


No shame in taking photos without the kids! Grown ups can be kids too after all! And the characters don't mind in the least! I actually was behind two adults doing the same thing!

I should also note, we booked our fourth sailing on this day! I was alone with Audrey and noticed that the line for Onboard Booking was totally open. When you see that, take advantage! One of the agents (Ann Marie) actually sat with Audrey and played with her while I booked! We are sailing November 10, 2018 on the Fantasy in an Extended Verandah! We cannot wait to return to Castaway Cay. But for now, back to Alaska! :thumbsup2

Next up: Disney Wonder Day 3: Endicott Arm!







 
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We stayed at the Fairmont waterfront. We had amazing service and they took our bags to the port for us so we did not have to drag them. They said they did that for ALL the guests not just the ones Disney booked.

t

ahen - I would love to stay at the Fairmont (any Fairmont in fact)!
 
Awesome! I definitely hope I help some folks out as there are not a lot of these reports around. Especially of the Wonder post-dry dock. I struggled because the reports from last year had a different rotational main dinning option etc. So, if this helps that's awesome to hear!
Mariott Pinacle was amazing in regards to the view. Delta Downtown Suites by Mariott (we stayed there on the return) was amazing for service :) Both are great though, I'd recommend them to anyone.

Thanks for hotel info - I will look in to those options
 
Joining in!!! We were on the Alaskan cruise before yours, we got off the same day you got on :sad::sad::sad:

I'm supposed to be writing my own trip report but keep getting distracted :sad2::worship: teehee

Loving your report so far, am reliving our cruise through yours ;-) Oh and funny story: we were originally booked on the Nov 10 2018 Fantasy cruise! We changed it to two weeks earlier, however and now we are about to change it AGAIN as we already have one cruise booked for 2018 and dh thinks I need to slloooow down. So we're changing it to Feb 2019 Western Fantasy (SWDAS) when the dates are released in a few weeks. I don't know why I told you all that, haha:offtopic:
 
Joining in!!! We were on the Alaskan cruise before yours, we got off the same day you got on :sad::sad::sad:

I'm supposed to be writing my own trip report but keep getting distracted :sad2::worship: teehee

Loving your report so far, am reliving our cruise through yours ;-) Oh and funny story: we were originally booked on the Nov 10 2018 Fantasy cruise! We changed it to two weeks earlier, however and now we are about to change it AGAIN as we already have one cruise booked for 2018 and dh thinks I need to slloooow down. So we're changing it to Feb 2019 Western Fantasy (SWDAS) when the dates are released in a few weeks. I don't know why I told you all that, haha:offtopic:

How cool! You may have seen us waving then! Debarkation day is so tough! I never want to leave! :sad:

I can't wait to read your report! I'm still adjusting to the time change so I absolutely hear you on the distractions. And it would have been so cool to meet up! When is your next one in 2018? I'm jealous of anyone who does multiple sailings in a year. Are you in Florida? My husband and I strongly considered giving up our WDW vacation in February in favor of another cruise! I'd be lying if I still wasn't trying to convince him to do a land and sea vacation. :earsboy:
 
Disney Wonder: Endicott Arm
Darren made the announcement on Tuesday evening that we would be venturing to Endicott Arm rather than Tracy Arm on this voyage. I really didn't mind either way as I had heard both were lovely. We had set our clocks back yet another hour so I was expecting a early wake-up call today. Actually, I had come back from my jog and opened the door to the stateroom to check. Well everything was dark so I headed back upstairs for another 30 minutes. Come to find out, they actually had been awake and Avery was going to surprise me... oops! :confused3 Alex said he had thought I just popped into the restroom but fortunatley I made up for it as I brought everyone breakfast snacks when I came back!

With the kids ready to go we headed upstairs for some quick character meets. We weren't going to be entering the really awesome scenery for another few hours so we had some time.

We visited with the Marvel team again.





Black Widow was so fantastic with Audrey. Her line was shorter today so we circled back and had a few extra minutes of agent training. Audrey actually took her hand! We have a very independant toddler so I made sure to tell Black Widow that she didn't even do this with me! It was really cool to see them connect more with each meet.







Family shot!


Avery had gone to Color Yourself Heroic in the club. They made their own capes. We had a bit of a hard time keeping it on him but it was still a fun activity and he seemed to enjoy it. Around 11:30, we sent Avery to Captain America Origin and headed to Cabanas to grab a seat as we entered the Fjord.




Goofing off pre-nap


Scnery is starting to get prettier

Audrey was ready to nap so Alex headed down to our room with her and I headed up to the club to pick up Avery to meet Mickey Mouse!

Glacier Character Meets: These meets happen on Deck 10 and feature the characters in their Alaskan gear! Boy, does that line build. We got to Mickey 20 minutes early and still waited in a line about 30 or 40 so deep. The character team did a great job keeping things moving and we did have some amazing scenery to distract us. They were also walking around with blankets and Split Pea soup! I don't like peas and I actually did enjoy this a little bit. I had texted my in-laws about halfway through the line so they were able to join us. There are more opportunities to see the Alaskan attire throughout the voyage but the scenery certainly makes these meets special!


Waiting in line for Mickey Mouse


Nana and Pa-Pa joined in on the fun


MICKEY!






After meeting our favorite mouse, we headed to Cabanas for lunch and a viewing spot. I strongly recommend hanging out at Cabanas as you enter the fjord. Not only do you see the same as the guests on the front of the ship but they don't seem to realize it! We had a great spot and didn't have to fight for it. We could also see the Glacier Excursion boat pull up which was interesting. One of my group members on our Facebook Sailing Group took these amazing shots. I was glad we didn't go on the excursion as the kids were just a bit too young to really enjoy it but they certainly got to see some really cool sights!


Seriously stunning! (photo: Facebook Cruise Group)


(photo: Facebook Cruise Group)


Waterfalls!


Really it was gorgeous


As we neared the glacier, it began to rain but only for a little bit, and we were under the Cabanas deck so we didn't mind too much. Just as we got to the glacier, the rain stopped and it was clear skies for the reaminder of the day! :boat: Weather note: Fleece jackets hats and gloves did the trick. It was cold but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The kids handled it really well too.

We started seeing seals as we came into the fjord. They were so cute and the fact that they seemed to be just hanging out and watching us made them even cuter!


2;30 PM: Audrey finally woke up! Of course, this was one of the days she chose to take a three hour nap! Alex was able to watch the scenery from our stateroom but I knew he was more than ready for her to be up and at it again on this particular day. We took a lot of family pictures as we neared the glacier and then got in line to meet Donald.


Be sure to take photos from the back of the ship and where you just came from! There is really great scenery everywhere!



Hanging out on deck with my lil man!

Family shot



With everyone!


Glacier!


Eating some pizza is WAY more important than what everyone is looking at (in line for Donald)

As luck would have it, the ship started turning right when we met up with Donald which made for an amazing shot!



Today was the day I had booked Shutters Portrait Studio. However, the evening before I had gone in and asked about pricing. I couldn't find anything online so I just wanted an idea. While the sitting is free, the packages start at about 500 dollars. I cancelled the appointment and thanked the gentleman who runs it for allowing me to come in and look. Apparently he says that happens pretty often. I can see where it would make for some amazing shots but it just wasn't one we were able to do this particular voyage.

So back to the trip. After seeing the awesomeness that is the glacier, we headed back downstairs. Avery went to S.H.I.E.L.D. Secret Agent 101 and I took Audrey to see Tinker Bell! If only she had let me get out of this picture. Tinker Bell was fantastic with her but she still was getting used to things at this point.





Dinner that evening was Tritons. It was good but the glacier views were really the talk of the day. We did like that there were perogies on the menu! Each evening the menu featured "Regional Inspirations." I tried to order something from this section each evening as we didn't know when we would be able to have it again. Everything was really tasty of course! I'm always eating too much food on these sailings! :rotfl2:




He loved them!

It was a great day! The scenery is just as good as they say if not better :thumbsup2

Next up: Skagway and some old-fashioned gold panning!



 
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Gorgeous glacier-day photos! I think your weather was a bit better than ours the week before. The day started out pretty clear but by around 1pm it got quite drizzly. Still, it was an amazing day! Jealous of your Marvel photos, the lines were always so long for those characters we skipped most of the Marvel characters :sad2:

Oh and we live in Vancouver so Alaska was even better for us, no plane ride! There is no direct flight from Van to Orlando so our trip in January took hours :sad2: Van to San Fran to Orlando. But we're going to do it again in 2019 :flower1:
 
Gorgeous glacier-day photos! I think your weather was a bit better than ours the week before. The day started out pretty clear but by around 1pm it got quite drizzly. Still, it was an amazing day! Jealous of your Marvel photos, the lines were always so long for those characters we skipped most of the Marvel characters :sad2:

Oh and we live in Vancouver so Alaska was even better for us, no plane ride! There is no direct flight from Van to Orlando so our trip in January took hours :sad2: Van to San Fran to Orlando. But we're going to do it again in 2019 :flower1:

Thanks! I'm thinking that we were in the height of school season because there weren't a lot of kids on the ship that were elementary age. A lot of the younger crowd (1-4) though. That could have had something to do with the shorter lines. I will say that any of the characters wearing their Alaskan gear drew huge lines if you didn't arrive early. The longest lines I've seen for Marvel characters were on the Magic last year in November. They were really intense and went down the hallway!

How cool! I loved Vancouver! It was a gorgeous city!
 
Disney Wonder: Exploring Skagway
We arrived in Skagway at 7:15 AM. It was nice to have such long days in ports. Caribbean ports tend to be a little shorter. We had booked the Liarsville Gold Rush Camp with Disney Characters at 8:45 AM. This was our first excursion ever with the kids and also with Disney. I was very impressed by the organization. We met in the Walt Disney Theater, checked in and received a Pluto sticker so we could be identified easily. It's possible nearly every family with young kids on the ship was on this excursion but at least we were in good company! We were on our way on schedule and left the ship as a group.


We saw Sea Otters on the way off the boat and a Sea Lion having some salmon for lunch on the way back. I love that there was so much wildlife around!

The camp is only about 7 minutes outside of the port but still far enough away to get away from some of the wind at the pier. As we went through town, the guides on the bus talked about the city and its history.


Upon arrival, we were greeted by one of the four Liarsville players. Roasting marshmallows was first on the list along with cookies and cider. The kids have never done this before so it was defintiely a treat for them. Then we sat down for the show. Now fair warning, the show is a little cheesy, but it entertained the kids for sure.




She loved the marshmallows!

After the show, they had a scavanger hunt for the kids. I found this excursion to be very educational actually. Everything we did had a story behind it which mae things more fun.

Finally it was time to pan for some gold. They provided stumps for the kids to stand on which was really helpful And let me tell you, gold panning is tough! They are probably the tiniest flakes of gold you've ever seen but we did find six of them! ::yes::



After gold panning, everyone kind of went their own way for some free time. They had a salmon bake but personally I didn't find it to be out-of-this-world or anything. However, excursion food tends to be a little bland for me so it's quite possible this is just me. At this point, we started wondering about those characters we had heard about. All the promotions show Chip and Dale panning with the kids so I was a little confused. One of the players said he thought they may not come out because it was really wet out. :(

Much to our happiness we found them near the show stage. There was not an announcement of their arrival so we could have missed them had we not been looking. The line was short and the kids were happy so a win all-around.


After that, we had a few more minutes before it was time to load up to head back to the ship.

I have to say this excursion gets an A+ in our book. The kids loved it and we had fun too. At three hours, each activity seemed to be spaced out appropriately to give you just enough time to enjoy it. Definitely worth the money (which was reasonable by the way)



When we got back to the ship we were happy to see the train hadn't departed yet. I had booked my in-laws on the Welcome Aboard Steam Train for the afternoon. This would have been our first pick too but four hours on a train is esentially the same as being on a plane at that age. I didn't want to disturb anyone's experience with a crying baby or bored toddler. :littleangel: It's so neat that the train pulls right up to the pier! My in-laws absolutely loved the trip. Everyone got to toast with champagne when they reached the middle of the journey and each passanger received a beautiful brass ornament to mark the journey. They gave it an A+!




Hi Nana!



Just a heads up if you are nearby when it departs, the whistle is LOUD! I was thinking more along the lines of Walt Disney World's train but this was much louder. The kids weren't really sure how to react but they kept it together.


I love how close we were able to get to the ship during this voyage. You could definitely see more of the details!

After we got back in the ship. We were surprised to find this in our stateroom. :tink:Each coloring book was themed to girl or boy. The kids loved them! Thank you again Disney Wonder Entertainment Team!



Audrey went down for her nap and Avery headed to the Lab. He also went to Olaf's Summer Day in the Club which he really enjoyed.

Before dinner there was a LOT to do. First up was Mickey and Minnie.::MickeyMo::MinnieMo Yep, they met together and in Alaska attire! They came out at 4:30 and we got in line around 4 PM. We were about five back but when we left the line was wrapped around the corner! They met upstairs on Deck 5 in a corner and it still saw this much attention. I've never seen them out together in any past sailing for a meet so that was really cool!


We flew down a deck and said hi to Tink again.


We dropped Avery off for A Royal Fronzen Coronation with Anna and Elsa and decided to divide and conquer. We started with Chip and Dale since we arrived just as their line was about to end.


I waited in line for Goofy and Pluto while Alex ran upstairs to wait for Daisy. Seriously, we are way to dedicated to meet and greets for our own good. I was sweating after this! :earboy2:

Peek-A-Boo Pluto! The characters were so wonderful with Audrey! By Day 3, they were all about getting her to warm up!




Daisy!



Tonight we were back at Animator's Palate. I've never been in this restaurant for a themed evening and enjoyed the scenery from Arandelle. We decided to try and take Audrey to dinner this evening. It went pretty well but our waitstaff didn't really seem to get that we were on a time schedule. It was very clear that we were the last table in our grouping and while I don't mind waiting for food, keeping toddlers waiting 30 minutes for bread is another story. That was actually the only issue I had this sailing (more on that later).



Someone stole my Mickey Bar!

After dinner it was upstairs for Freezing the Night Away. We actually really enjoyed this show. I prefer it over the Magic's Pirate Deck party! (Not the Fantasy though, cause that one is amazing) :woohoo: Instead of bandanas, we found light up snowflake necklaces in our room. The kids are still playing with them and they really looked cool the night of the party.


Front Row


Say cheese Avery!

Let it Go! And the snow was intense by the way! They really did a great job.


Another day was in the books. Next up: Juneau and Tracy's King Crab Shack!
 
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