lauridg
Registered: June 2012
Location: Missouri
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Thu June 7, 2012
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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scenery, riding on the dog sled, puppies!
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Cons:
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none
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We did the Dog Mushing Camp excursion. They take you on a bus on a beautiful drive to the camp. Then you get on a different vehicle, for a steep climb up the mountain to where the dogs are hooked up tho summer training sleds. Basically sleds with wheels. Then we get to ride in those, with a dog musher....controlled chaos is what I believe he called it, and it was AWESOME! Definitely an amazing experience! My 8 yr old and I got to sit in the front (a bit muddy, okay a lot muddy), but what a ride! They stopped half way and took pictures, finished the ride, we got back down the mountain, learned about the sport of dog sled racing, and got to hold puppies! It was a wonderful experience, and everyone there was so proffesional and nice. It was my daughters favorite excursion by far!
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Sparrow
Registered: October 2009
Posts: 20
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Review Date: Fri October 28, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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White Pass Railway
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Cons:
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none
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We had a great time in Skagway. The White Pass Railway is amazing - we really enjoyed that. The town itself is very cute and the shopping was great.
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ptpdrn
Registered: July 2006
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Posts: 8
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Review Date: Thu August 11, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Cozy little town, interesting stores.
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Cons:
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Horseback riding was lame
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Great day in a quaint little town. Stay away from the horseback ride though, that was lame and the refreshment, if you can call it that, afterward was really lame.
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ldeglian
Registered: August 2006
Posts: 85
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Review Date: Wed August 10, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Great day, something for everyone
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Cons:
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None
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We participated in the Adventures by Disney excursion package for our Alaska cruise so the excursions are different than the over the counter experiences, but I wanted to review these as they were all fantastic. We met early and took a train ride on the White Pass train into Canada. We were treated to some local history from a local guide, coffee, hot chocolates and scones while on the train. Once we got into Canada, we took a short trip to the Yukon Suspension Bridge....lovely area. Then we went to an organic local garden (Jewel Gardens) where we had a tour, a fantastic lunch and a lesson in glass blowing. We finished with a gift of a glass ornament from Jewel and a hat from the White Pass railroad as gifts. Of all the great adventures on this trip, my 18 year old said this was her favorite day. We really enjoyed this day.
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dvcnut
Registered: July 2010
Posts: 46
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Review Date: Fri July 22, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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White Pass Railway
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Cons:
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Yukon Suspension Bridge
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Skagway was our first port of call in Alaska and I chose the Yukon Suspension Bridge, City and White Pass Railway adults only excursion. This really is an adults only excursion.
Our bus driver was hillarious and gave us lots of great info about Alaska and Skagway. We took a bus to the Yukon Suspension Bridge and had several photo stops along the way. The suspension bridge itself isn't much to look at, but you can say you went to one. We had more than enough time to view the bridge and get snacks if we wanted.
Next we went to the train depot to take the train back down the mountain. Each group has their own cars, so we were told which two train cars Disney had. There is a narrator on the train and someone who is assigned to answer any questions the guests have. You get a very different view on the train coming down the mountain than you do on the bus. The train drops you in town, so you can look around or walk or ride the bus back to the ship. For the most part this was a good excursion.
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IMGrumpy
Registered: June 2011
Location: seacoast New Hampshire
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Thu June 23, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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White Pass Railway
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Cons:
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What's with all the jewelry stores?
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Our excursion was Best of Skagway. We started out on a motor coach which took us through town (pretty small downtown area, short walk from the ship) and we headed up into the mountains, with spectacular views along the way, stopping once for a great photo opportunity, and then continuing on over the US/Canada border to Fraser, BC where we boarded the White Pass Railway to journey back down to Skagway. In a space of a little over 20 miles, we had climbed from sea level to an elevation of almost 3,000 feet. At that elevation, there are still patches of snow on the ground adjacent to the tracks. As we descended, we were treated to spectacular scenery, and tales of the hardy souls that had trekked the trail over 100 years ago in search of their fortune. We even spotted a couple of black bears along the way. After arriving back in Skagway, we boarded the coach once again for the short trip to Liarsville. Liarsville was a tent village that really existed back in the gold rush days, it was the last level area before the prospectors began the trek up White Pass trail and their last opportunity to stock up on supplies, get a bath (fresh bath water 50 cents-used, 25 cents) and enjoy some of the other luxuries of civilization. Upon arriving at Liarsville, we were treated to a salmon bake lunch, took in a show that explained what Liarsville was and threw in some entertainment as well, and then went out to pan for gold. We ended up with 3 small flakes each, then boarded the coach and headed back into "downtown" Skagway to the Red Onion Saloon and Brothel (due to this portion of the trip, children were not allowed on this excursion). Back "in the day", the Red Onion had a saloon downstairs and a brothel upstairs. We visited the brothel area, now a museum, greeted by the "madam" and several of the "working girls", dressed in period costume of course, then were free to visit the saloon if we wished, or shop and walk back to the ship (not a bad walk). There are something like 30+ jewelry stores in Skagway-not sure what the big attraction for jewelry stores is, but we bypassed them and visited some of the other shops. The weather was nice, partly cloudy and in the upper 50's. I would highly recommend this and the White Pass Railway is an absolute do-not-miss.
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zakerdog
Registered: February 2008
Location: Kingston, ON Canada
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Mon May 23, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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The White Pass Railway
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Cons:
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The excursion we did on the DCL Alaska cruise was called Yukon Suspension Bridge, City and White Pass Railway.
Our bus driver and guide, narrated as we toured through downtown (and uptown and suburban) Skagway in about 5 minutes. It is a little town of 800 people, which was a bustling seaport during the Klondike Gold Rush but now subsists on tourism. He pointed out many points of interest in the town and then we began our climb up the Klondike Highway toward Fraser BC. The highway follows the Skagway River as it winds through the White Pass. In many places we could see the White Pass Railway across the valley. There were steep grades; high rock faces to our left and sheer drops to our right. As we approached the summit, about 2,865 feet above sea level, we were driving in thick cloud, and then it began to snow.
Soon we began to descend again and crossed the border into British Columbia. We cleared Canadian Customs at Fraser, a village where the only residents appear to be the Customs Officers.
Several miles past Fraser, we stopped at the Yukon Suspension Bridge. A steel suspension bridge; oddly enough located in British Columbia, not in the Yukon. There are displays depicting the White Pass area during the gold rush days and of course a gift shop.
We boarded the bus at 10:00 and headed back the few miles south to Fraser where we boarded the train for our descent back down the mountain to Skagway. This narrow gauge railway was built in the late 1890’s and opened in 1898 to transport prospectors and their gear into the Yukon and Klondike gold fields. By the time the railroad was finished the gold rush was almost over so it never really served the intended purpose, but it continued to haul cargo through the White Pass until 1982. In 1988 it was revived to show tourists the amazing beauty of the area. By noon we were back in Skagway and the tour was over.
We still had lots of time so we stopped at the Red Onion, a former brothel, for lunch. The place is decorated to recreate the brothel in it’s hay-day from the 90’s and the waitresses are clad in appropriate costumes. We shared a plate of mediocre nachos.
We explored many of the shops in this old frontier town. They look much the same as they did in the 1890’s but since they now cater to tourists not prospectors, the majority of them are jewelery shops. We wandered down Broadway, the main street, toward the harbour. It was quite unique to stand in these frontier style buildings and look down the street to see the bow of the Disney Wonder with the mountains right behind the ship.
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jayme_34474
Registered: April 2010
Posts: 13
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Review Date: Mon May 23, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? Yes
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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White Pass Railroad, Lairsville, Horseback Riding, small town
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Cons:
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nothing
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We had the best time in Skagway. It was a little chilly at 55 degrees but we layered up and had some fun.
We started out on the White Pass Railroad taking a one way trip to Fraser and the bus back down. We chose to book excursions on our own and not through Disney. We found it was a little cheaper and took less time. We had the entire train car to ourselves on the way up and the whole bus to ourselves on the way back. Great scenery and tons of snow.
We then went on the Liarsville for a salmon bake, show, and gold panning. The food was ok, not really for me since from the Midwest originally. The show was pretty cute and of course we found a few flakes of gold. The kids had fun but I do not think we would do this one again.
We then took the kids back to the boat and we went horseback riding on our own. We got picked up a little early so the drive stopped a couple places along the way where we could take pictures. They do not usually do that. We got special treatment again as we were the only two going out on the ride. Our own personal trail ride with 3 guides. Pretty cool.
Between tours we spent a little time walking around town looking for gifts and souvenirs. It was a quaint little town with some old style buildings. Really easy to walk and good shops. Not many places to eat so make sure you grab a bite to eat on the boat.
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sasmmb
Registered: March 2006
Posts: 27
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Review Date: Wed May 11, 2011
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Would you recommend the product? No
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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beautiful scenery on the railway
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Cons:
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bus part
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City Tour, Yukon Suspension Bridge and White Pass Railway
This tour starts out with a big bus picking you up at the ship, you then are driven thru town 6 blocks long, 3-4 blocks wide. We were in the back and the driver did not have a mike so we only heard every 3rd word. At a picture stop we mentioned this to him and he felt bad and didn't talk the rest of the way up. It was about a 30 minute bus ride into Canada (passports required), where we got to the Yukon Suspension Bridge. Not as long or as high as the Capilano outside of Vancouver. I much prefer Capilano over Yukon as once you reach the other side of the Yukon, there is a viewing platform and nothing else. With Capilano there are some nice trails and multiple viewing platforms.
After doing the bridge it was back on the bus for a 10 minute ride to the train. The train part was AWESOME! you can sit in the narrow cars, as well as go out on the platforms as the train is moving and take pictures. The scenery is breathtaking.
So I would recommend doing a tour that was only the train and skip the bus and Yukon Suspension Bridge part.
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