Our Intinerary

Our Itinerary for Vancouver/Alaska

August 4: Travel from Portland Maine to Vancouver, BC.  Check into our hotel ( The Sutton Place) and have dinner.  We are planning on an early night after a long day of traveling.



August 5, 6, 7 & 8: Explore Vancouver.  We are taking the hop on/hop off trolley around town and will visit places like Stanley Park, the Vancouver Aquarium and the Dr. Sun-Yet Sen Chinese Garden. 

August 9: Board ship around 11 and then have lunch.  Get to know our ship (the Disney Wonder) and then sail away around 4 pm

August 10: At sea.  Who knows what we will do?

August 11: Cruise Tracy Arm Fjord

August 12: Skagway, AK.  We are scheduled for the Alaska Nature and Wildlife Expedition.
From the Disney Cruise Line website:
On this tour you will:
*Cruise approximately 45 minutes down the glacial fjord between Skagway and Haines on a catamaran, enjoying a narration and close-to-the-water views of scenic waterfalls and marine wildlife.
*Arrive in Haines and travel by expedition bus to a location where seasonal wildlife viewing is the best. Explore 6 wildlife habitats including: ocean, estuary, river, lake, old growth forest and muskeg.
*Use binoculars and powerful spotting scopes (photos can be taken through the scopes), as guides search for and identify: mountain goats in alpine meadows, bears along the river, bald eagles, colorful song birds, shore birds and waterfowl. This is a great opportunity to photograph the stunning scenery and wildlife in their natural habitat. Historic photos of Tlingit villages are available to compare the current landscape to how it appeared 100 years ago.
*Watch a fish technician count and sample the run as they net, measure and weigh one in ten salmon crossing the weir. On the shore of a picturesque lake, experience the living tapestry beneath towering hemlock and spruce trees on a nature walk through an ancient muskeg. Learn the relationships between species, their edible or medicinal uses and identify the carnivorous plants along the trail. Check off the day's discoveries with complimentary checklists for the wildlife and birds of Haines.
*Enjoy a leisurely pace where enough time is taken for exploration, photography, observation of animal behavior and lots of questions.
*Relax during a picnic-style lunch with your experienced naturalist/guide who might be a biologist, a forester, a published botanist, a science teacher, an environmental educator or the former head ranger for Glacier Bay National Park.
*Learn about the small Alaskan town of Haines and the National Historic Landmark Ft. Seward during the drive back to the Haines dock.
*Return to Skagway on a 45-minute, scenic catamaran cruise.

August 13: Juneau, AK
We are doing the Whale Watching, Mendenhall Glacier and Salmon Bake Excursion!
From the DCL website:
On this tour you will:
*Journey to the spectacular ice wall of the Mendenhall Glacier and its adjacent Visitors Center. Roam the grounds, take in the interactive exhibits, and ask questions to a ranger who can satisfy your curiosity about the natural wonders of the Mendenhall during the approximate 1-hour visit.
*Board your vessel in Auke Bay Harbor and set out on a search for humpback whales, Orcas, porpoises, sea lions, eagles and other wildlife during an approximate 2-hour expedition. In the comfortable heated cabin, surrounded by huge view windows, a naturalist will explain wildlife behavior and point out the sights. Grab a pair of complimentary binoculars (for onboard use only) and venture on deck for a closer view and amazing photo opportunities. Your captain knows these waters, and where to find whales  a sighting's guaranteed or you receive a $100 refund ($50 for a child)!
*Next, a short transfer ride takes you to the Gold Creek Salmon Bake, set in a beautiful lush rain forest alongside a creek, under translucent domes that protect you from the elements, rain or shine. Savor the aroma of wild salmon, grilling slowly over fires of fragrant alder wood. And settle in for a feast for all your senses!
*Choose from Grilled Salmon, Cheechako Chicken, Chilkoot Baked Beans, Tongass Wild-Rice Pilaf, White Pass Pasta and a robust selection of other sides. Come back for seconds, or thirds, while a local musician sets a festive mood. And, just when you think you've had enough  bring on the blueberry cake for dessert!
*After your meal, stroll through forest to lovely Salmon Creek waterfall. Explore the remains of the Wagner Mine, learn about the natural history of the area, and try your hand at panning for gold (souvenir gold panning kits are available for purchase at the Salmon Creek Trading Post). Have your picture taken with our resident Alaskan malamute, Mac.

August 14: Ketchikan, AK
We are going to do the Saxman Native Village excursion! 
From the DCL website:
On this tour you will:
*Board a motor coach for an approximate 15-minute scenic drive to Saxman Native Village.
*Get an exclusive look at the fascinating culture of South East Alaska's original inhabitants. The Tlingits welcome Guests in the traditional style that defines the culture of Southeast Alaska. Children will be able to collect exclusive stickers throughout the different exhibits.
*Be invited into the Community Center for a welcoming video and presentation. Visit with elders as they create their native crafts or enjoy a gentle stroll through Ketchikan's exquisite rainforest and learn about the region's flora.
*Become entranced by the Cape Fox Dancers as they perform traditional dances in their clan house. *Your guide will make the Totem Pole stories come alive as you listen to the legends of each pole.
*Visit the carving shed to learn about the art of totem pole carving.
*Enjoy some free time (within your approximate 2-hour visit) in the Native Faces gift shop before returning to your cruise ship pier.

August 15: At sea.  We hope to be able to do a special brunch this day, but if we can’t we won’t be too upset about it.  We are going to relax and enjoy the scenery.

August 16: Return to Vancouver and disembark our ship.  Head to the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, where we will relax some more...we’ll need it! 

August 17: Leave Vancouver at 6 am!  Fly back to Maine.  Arrive in Portland approximately 5 pm.  (Can anyone pick us up?)

Making More Plans

Since getting back from Disney World, I have been immersed in planning for Alaska and Vancouver.  We've looked at places to visit, places to eat, places to stay, places to buy souvenirs.  It's been fun for me, but I am an OCD planner anyway.

In addition, I booked Columbus Day weekend at the Bar Harbor Inn for us.  The Seacroft had no vacancy, and I've always wanted to try to Bar Harbor Inn, so it seemed like a good fit.  My school has a furlough day on that Friday, so Dave and I can drive up, spend a couple of days in Bar Harbor and then drive home.  We'll be celebrating the 14th anniversary of our first date!

 Meg in the gardens of the Bar Harbor Inn

We also have looked at dates for our Disney World/Wizarding World of Harry Potter trip with Jess next summer.  Right now, we are planning on about 8 days with Jess, and then 3 or 4 days of just Meg and Dave time.  It will be a Meg and Jess only day at Harry Potter, and I am SO excited to experience that with her!  Plus, she will be my thrill ride partner!  Yay!

Finally, we started looking at plans for the great 2013 road trip.  We are going to stop in Oneonta (and get Brooks BBQ!!!) and we are going to try to visit in Rochester for a few days to see Susan and Alan Butenhof.  I'm really excited about both of those opportunities.

Oh!  And I may get an Apple iPhone today so I can keep people in the loop during our Alaska trip!

Until then, happy travels!

Our Last Day

July 5

We are all starting to transition to “going home” mode today.  In the morning we separated, with Kim and Gary going into Epcot to get another ride on Soarin’  and Dave and I going to Hollywood Studios to ride on Toy Story and Star Tours again. 

I tried to print the boarding passes, but I had neglected to bring photo ID, so I could not do that.  This incident made me want to get an iPhone so that I could have gone online and checked in on my own from anywhere.  As it was, we got B boarding passes, but Kim and Gary sat together and Dave and I were able to sit together, so it was all good.

After that, we met at Beaches and Cream for lunch.  Kim and Gary just had ice cream for lunch.  Gary had a banana split and Kim had the No Way, Jose (a peanut butter and hot fudge sundae).  I had a hot dog and onion rings and Dave and I both had a chocolate ice cream soda.

Then Dave took a nap while Kim, Gary and I went back to Stormalong Bay.  We spent a few hours there, and then went back to our rooms for a little rest and a shower.  That night we had dinner at Teppan Edo in Japan.  It was good, but Dave and I both felt that the Clambake was a better meal and better value for the money.

On our way out, we looked in a few shops and stopped at the bakery in France for a chocolate mousse (which was light, fluffy and very chocolate-y).  Kim and Gary stayed to watch the British Revolution again, while Dave and I headed back to our room.  I did some packing, and then it was lights out.

Happy Birthday, America!

 July 4

Magic Kingdom was opening at 8 am, so we got up and got going early. It was well worth it to get to the parks early on one of the busiest days of the year. (In fact, we found out that the Magic Kingdom closed due to maximum capacity on July 3rd). 

We had several things we wanted to do today.  Kim wanted to get one last ride on Splash Mountain, and we all wanted to see the Hall of Presidents, since that seemed to be a patriotic thing to do on July 4.  We were able to walk right on to both Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain, which we thought was fantastic on July 4.  Kim and Gary wanted to do Country Bears, but Dave and I had no interest in that, so we said that we would meet them at the front of the park.  As we were leaving, masses of humanity were streaming in!

After that, we hopped on the monorail for a quick trip over to Epcot.  Epcot is the largest park, so it seemed less crowded, but it got more and more congested as the day went on.  In Epcot, we went to the America Garden Theatre to hear the Voices of Liberty sing a Fourth of July concert.  They did Proud to be an American, Battle Hymn of the Republic, the National Anthem and several other patriotic songs.  They were an a cappella group and they were just incredible!  (You can see some video of them on my Facebook page).  They were followed by the Fife and Drum corps, led in by Mickey, Donald and Goofy.  It was a really great concert.

We went back to the Beach Club for a swim, rest and shower and headed back out to Epcot.  We got supper at the Mexican pavilion and then Kim and Gary went to listen to the British Revolution (a band in the UK pavilion) while Dave and I went to ride on Spaceship Earth (the “giant golf ball”) and Living with the Land.  After our ride, we got something to drink and a little dessert (Dave had carrot cake and I had pineapple upside-down cake).  Then we went to stake out a spot for the fireworks.  All the benches were taken, but we found spots on the steps near the Italy pavilion.  We waited two and a half hours for the show, but the people watching was great and the time passed fairly quickly.  (An example of great people watching?  A conservative Muslim woman, her headscarf topped with black sequined Mickey Mouse ears!) 

The fireworks show was absolutely stunning.  The special salute at the end was spectacular.  There were so many shells going off you could feel the pressure wave!

After that, we walked home.  It was so nice to just have a few minutes walk to our hotel and not have to fight to get on busses!

Moving Day!

July 3

Today was moving day!  We said goodbye to our animals and took our luggage to bell services to be transferred to the Beach Club.  We packed up a few things that we might need in our carry-ons (like swimsuits, PJs and a change of clothing) and went to catch a bus.

We had to take a bus to a park and then get a bus to our new resort.  This was a fine idea in theory, but for some reason, the Animal Kingdom bus took 35 minutes to arrive!  In that time, we saw three Magic Kingdom buses, two Downtown Disney buses and a bus each to Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios!  We had chosen to go to Animal Kingdom because it was the closest park to Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we thought it would be a quick trip.  We were wrong!  But the bus eventually came and we successfully made it to Beach Club where we were pleased to find that our room was ready.  We requested a room near the lobby for ease of walking and we had a prime location in room 206.  It was close to everything and only about a 5 minute walk to Epcot!

We decided to try out the pool complex (Stormalong Bay) at Beach Club that afternoon and we had a grand time exploring.  They have a lazy river section which we floated in for a while and a sandy bottom section, with little coves and waterfalls.  We even had some ducks swimming with us, which I thought was adorable (but Kim did not enjoy too much). 

After that, we had reservations at the Cape May Clambake for dinner.  We had a great server named Genesis from the Philippines and we stuffed ourselves silly.  I know that we are from Maine and it seems a bit odd to go to Florida to go to a “clambake” but this meal is really worth it!  There were crab legs, PEI mussels, clams, a fantastic mahi-mahi, and lots of other delicious foods.  And then there is the dessert bar!  The Oreo bonbons are to die for!

After we rolled out of the restaurant, we decided to walk around the World Showcase in Epcot in order to let our meal settle.  We ended up staying and watching Illuminations that evening.  We got a nice spot on a bench near Germany and watched the show.  I even was able to get some good fireworks pictures by using the advanced sports setting on my camera.  Then it was a quick walk home and off to bed...we were getting up early to go the the Magic Kingdom in the morning. 

Animal Kingdom Villas vs. Beach Club Villas

We have points at two different Disney Vacation Club properties, and they are very different but both wonderful in their own unique ways.

Animal Kingdom Villas are exotic, full of dark woods and prints of deep reds, yellows and browns.  The rooms are reminiscent of something you would see at a safari lodge in Africa, and you can stand on your balcony and watch animals such as giraffe, wildebeest, zebra and ostrich.  It is beautiful, peaceful and far away from almost everything.  It is also a huge property with 458 villas. 

Beach Club is light and airy, with blond woods and shades of light blue and seafoam green.  The rooms are comfy, with the air of a beachfront cottage.  Beach Club has the best pool of any Disney resort (a mini water park called Stormalong Bay) and it is only steps away from one of our favorite parks, Epcot.

We love them both for different reasons.  We loved being at Animal Kingdom Villas earlier in our stay just as much as we are loving being at Beach Club now. 

Yes, life is good. :-)

July 2

This morning we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios.  We really aren't big fans of DHS, but there were several rides we just had to get on.  First off was Toy Story Midway Mania.  It was insane, proving it's nickname for Disney insiders of "Toy Story Insania"!  Gary and I got Fastpasses, then jumped in line with Kim and Dave.  We rode once and then headed to Tower of Terror so that Kim and I could ride that.  Kim went on once, but since it was only a 10 minute wait time, I hopped on and rode again. Love that ride!

By that time, our Fastpass time was up, so we hoofed it back to Toy Story and rode again.  By 9:15 in the morning, the Fastpass return time was 1:45 to 2:45 that afternoon!  Good thing we got there early!

Then Dave and I went to the new (and vastly improved) Star Tours.  For Star Wars geeks, IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!  Our tour took us to Hoth (and we sped through and around Imperial Walkers (AT-ATs) and then to Coruscant.  Really, if you know and love the Star Wars universe this ride is amazing!!!

On our way out of the park, we were able to score dinner reservations that night for the Yak & Yeti at Animal Kingdom.   We then headed back to the Lodge and took showers and naps.

We got up and headed to Animal Kingdom where we ate.  Our meal was fantastic.  I had the crispy mahi-mahi and Dave had the duck.  It was delicious!  Then Gary and I went to ride Expedition Everest.  It was only a 5 minute wait, so we hopped on.  Gary was scared, but he did it!  I love that ride, so I went on again. 

Then we all rode Kali River Rapids and got SOAKED, but it felt good.  Then back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.  We are moving to Beach Club tomorrow!

Epcot and Animal Kingdom

Today, we hit Epcot at opening for a chance to get on one of our favorite rides, Soarin'.  We headed over to the ride, got right in line, and were on in about 5 minutes.  Then we picked up FastPasses for a ride later in the morning and went to Test Track.  We rode Test Track after about a 20 minute wait (not bad for Disney in July) and then went shopping in one of our favorite stores, Mouse Gear.  Then we headed back to Soarin' for another ride, just as delightful as the first.

After that, we were getting hungry, so we walked to Beach Club and ate at Beaches and Cream, an old fashioned 50's style malt shop.  We all had burgers and fries and various different ice cream drinks.  Delish!  We then showed them around Beach Club a little, giving them a preview of the resort before our move on Sunday.

Kim and Gary headed off to Downtown Disney to meet up with friends of theirs, while Dave and I headed back to our villa for showers and a nap.  When we woke up, we got ready and went to Animal Kingdom.  I rode Expedition Everest twice and then we had a nice supper at Anandapur Local Foods.  It serves Chinese style food that is really good.  Dave had the Orange Beef and I had egg rolls and chicken fried rice.  Yumm!

We walked out of the park slowly and went back to the villa for another shower.  Tomorrow is another early morning...we head to Hollywood Studios to try to get a couple of rides on Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror!

Until then....