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For our Disney World Adults Only Trip – Day 2, we slept in until around 8:00am.  I’ll be honest – this may be the latest I’ve ever slept when in Disney World!  I almost didn’t know what to do with myself not getting up at the crack of dawn and catching a bus to a park!   It was sunny outside and we were excited (forecast had been horrible with a tropical disturbance).  We got our bathing suits on and cover ups and went down to The Mara to get some breakfast before heading to the pool. We were surprised that the pool had as many people as it did, but I guess everyone doesn’t utilize early morning park hours like me!  We found us some seats and spent the next few hours here relaxing and enjoying the views: Around 12:30pm, it started raining.  We debated waiting it out or just going on to get lunch.  We opted to go get lunch and see what the weather was like after we ate.  We split a turkey sandwich (no pic) and then I also got a Jambo Juice Slushie and some Zebra Domes!  Oh my, these are so good and just another reason Animal Kingdom Lodge is the BEST! After lunch we decided to go back up to the room to relax because it was still raining.  Eddie turned on the tv and I took a nap (I love vacation naps!).  We laid around until around 3:00pm when I got up and took a shower and got ready to go to Epcot for the evening. We arrived at Epcot around 4:00pm and stopped out front from some pics: Next we headed over to the Disney Visa Meet & Greet spot.  If you have a Disney Visa card, there is a special character meet and greet in Epcot (Future World).  You never know what character you’ll see, but usually it is two characters, and it will certainly be the shortest character line you will have in the parks!  Ours today was Mickey & Goofy!  My favorite and Eddie’s! We made our way over to the World Showcase since we had a dinner reservation at Via Napoli at 5:30pm.  We enjoyed looking at the topiaries from the Flower & Garden Festival on the way: We also stopped for some more photopass pics: Our favorite: We stopped in Norway to ride the Frozen ride.  I had gotten a fastpass for this ride since Eddie had never rode this one.  We had planned to do the single rider line on Test Track, but when we walked over there, the ride was down.  The other Fastpass option was Soarin’ and although I enjoy the ride, Eddie doesn’t really care for it.  Frozen is a cute ride, very well themed, but definitely not worth waiting in a long line for, and normally not wasting a Fastpass on (over Soarin’ or Test Track) unless you have a little one who loves Anna & Elsa.  Our ride photo (Eddie being crazy like usual): We stopped in France and did a wine tasting: More World Showcase Photos on our way to Italy: We arrived for our Via Napoli reservation right on time and were taken back after a few minutes. Pizza Ovens One of us got Chicken Parmesan and the other got the Margarita pizza and we split them.  The food was pretty good, but it’s not a restaurant we would do every trip. Afterwards we walked more around the World Showcase on the walk over to Beaches & Cream for our dessert reservation!  It’s a cute throwback soda shop that serves a few hamburgers / sandwiches and tons of ice cream.  They have a “Kitchen Sink” ice cream that is huge and serves like 10 people.  It’s a very small place so very hard to get a reservation here: I got the “No Way Jose” Sundae and Eddie got the banana split.  They were both delicious! Banana Split No Way Jose Chocolate and Peanut Butter Goodness! After our dessert, we made the long walk back to the front of Epcot to catch our bus back to Animal Kingdom Lodge – we needed the long walk after all we’d ate! Up next – Disney World Adults Only Trip Report – Day 3

Our Review of Whale Watching Excursion with Captain Paul & Hoonah Travel Adventures Blog Post by:  Eddie When Tammy and I started planning our first ever trip to Alaska, the discussion of scheduling a whale watching excursion was at the top of the list. Not all Disney Alaskan Cruises stop in Icy Straight Point (Hoonah, AK) so we knew this would be a great opportunity to schedule a whale excursion. We arrived in Hoonah, AK to the mystic scene of light fog rising through the trees, as if to point towards the zip line high above the mountain top (Icy Straight Point is home to the World’s Largest Ziprider; over a mile long and soaring at speeds exceeding 60 mph). Upon hearing the “all ashore” announcement around 12 noon, we departed the ship and took a quick walk towards the Adventure Center for our 12:15 appointment with Captain Paul and Hoonah Travel Adventures. Once inside the Adventure Center, which was very open and clean, our directions were to walk through the center and back out through door #2 (see picture below). See door #2 in the background. The monitors on the table is the “Smart Waiver” process for all the excursions There was a short walk along a granite dust path to the Excursion Hub (think bus loading area) for Hoonah Travel Adventures. Along the route there were signs leading wanderers to paths for exploring the island. Nature trail to the left The walking trail was short and the scenery was great, and there were a few signs directing us in the right direction. Just around the bend was an open area surrounded by large logs forming a circle, and in the middle were the friendly faces of the Hoonah Adventure staff members. There were also other groups of people waiting for their bear excursions to begin (Sorry, I couldn’t find the picture I took of the waiting area!) After a 5-10 minute wait, a clean, comfortable commuter bus pulled up. We all hopped onboard and traveled another short five minute ride (1.5 miles) to the Hoonah marina where Captain Paul and his two daughters were waiting to share with us the natural beauty of Icy Straight Point. Our boat is circled We couldn’t have asked for calmer waters, and the weather was perfect: overcast and cool. Captain Paul and his two daughters were wonderful hosts. The boat we were on was new, clean, and very spacious, offered a nice restroom, and free snacks were included (bottled water and granola bars).  Our group consisted of about 20 people, and there was a seat for everyone onboard. There were plenty of windows for viewing from inside the boat, and ample space at the bow and aft of the boat for outdoor viewing; in fact, the aft has an elevated platform for even better views. The selfie below was taken on the aft platform. As advertised, siting a whale was guaranteed, and it didn’t take long at all. A short 15 minute boat ride North of Hoonah to the Point Adolphus area put us right in the middle of several whales for viewing. We quickly learned that one of the easiest ways to spot a humpback whale was searching for what looks like a mist of spray on the surface of the water (see picture below). Once Captain Paul sited a whale, he would calmly position the boat to give us all a great vantage point to watch and photograph the whales. There were several other whale watching boats nearby, and all of them were careful not to crowd and impede the whale’s path of travel. There were plenty of whales nearby, so there was no rush or worry to get a good photograph. A humpback whale will breech the waters surface 5-6 times before making its famous dive that produces the iconic tail view. On the way back to Hoonah, we were treated with a spectacular scene of seeing the Disney Wonder moored to the Hoonah gangway. This was a fantastic excursion and one that my wife will be recommending to all her Alaskan cruise clients! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you.

If you missed Day 1 of my Trip Report, you can read it here. Today is all about Day 2 at sea!  This morning we woke up pretty early since our bodies were still adjusting to the time change.  We were up around 6:00am and decided to go to the gym to run first of three Incredibles Virtual 5k Runs!  We had signed up for the Disney Virtual Shorts Series, so we thought of no better place to get started this summer!  The gym on the Disney Wonder is really nice, with lots of treadmills facing the water for some spectacular views (especially when in Alaska!).  The treadmills all have tv’s, with the same channels that you get in your room.  There were lots of movies to choose from, including Pitch Perfect 3 (I caught the end of that) and Iron Man 2. Eddie also watched Iron Man 2 because we’re in sync like that. For tall runners (6’1 or taller), the treadmills pictured below do not provide a lot of head clearance, but there are a couple of treadmills a row back with plenty of head room. After our run we went back to get Hunter, hoping he was awake, to go grab some breakfast at Cabana’s.  (I didn’t take any pictures at all in Cabana’s this week!)   Eddie and I didn’t eat a big breakfast this morning, as we were wanting to save room for our delicious brunch at Palo! After breakfast we went back to the room to take a shower and get ready for the day.  I finished up before the guys and decided to go to the Mickey Mouse Animation Class in the Promenade Lounge.  I got there at the end of the Disney Trivia game they were playing so I grabbed a table and waited until 9:30.  Eddie surprised me and showed up to take the class with me (he’s sweet like that…sometimes).  We’ve done the drawing classes past cruises and had a lot of fun.  This time though, we were at a table further back and the instructor was using a very light pencil, so it was hard for us to see what she was doing on the screen.  We both gave up, our pictures were terrible, lol. Next, we wanted to go to the 10:00am naturalist presentation “Into Alaska’s Wilderness – Southeast Alaska” by Doug Jones.  Doug lives in Alaska and he’s given presentations on the Disney Alaskan cruises for several years.  He spoke about all of the different ports we would be visiting and what we should expect to see.  We thought it was a great presentation and loved his personal stories and pictures. After the presentation we went to the gift shop to check out what Alaskan souvenirs were available.  We are big pin collectors so that was the first thing on our list.  We got 2 cute pins, one with Mickey and one with Minnie: We also got the Alaskan Christmas ornament (this is something I get every trip we go on).  Our main Christmas tree is quickly becoming a “travel tree.”  I have a separate Disney tree in my dining room.  You’ll see some additional ornaments I got at the Alaska ports later in the trip report. We also got the 2018 Disney Alaska blanket: After we finished browsing around the gift shop, it was time to change for our Palo brunch so we headed back to the room to get ready.  We arrived at Palo at 12:00 noon and were seated quickly at a table by the window.   Our server took us up to the buffet to show us everything available: When we got back to the table our server took our drink orders (you get a complimentary champagne or mimosa with your brunch).  Eddie got a mimosa and I got Prosecco.  We were given the a la carte menu to decide what we wanted next: I always get the Parmesan Crusted Chicken at Palo….it’s so good I just can’t bring myself to get something else! Eddie got the Roasted Red Snapper Filet and really liked it (I forgot to take a pic!).  Our server also brought us a Calzone to try (no pic). After that, we went to the dessert buffet: Our server asked us if we wanted the Chocolate Lava Cake that they normally only serve at night in Palo and we said “Yes, please!” While we were in Palo, the Captain made an announcement that we were getting ready to go through an area with some beautiful scenery so we might want to position ourselves to get a good view.  Lucky for us, we were right by the window so not only did we enjoy a fabulous meal, we also were surrounded by beauty outside! As you can imagine, after all that food we were stuffed!!  It was about 1:30pm and we were going to walk outside for some pictures, but it started drizzling and was fairly cool.  We didn’t have our jackets on and were dressed in our nicer clothes, so we changed our minds.  We went back to the room to take a nap, hoping it would help us adjust to the time change and be able to stay up later to enjoy the adult activities.  We got back to the room and Hunter had planned to go see “Solo” in the movie theater at 1:45pm, but he was still waiting on room service to arrive (he had ordered around 1:10pm).  I asked why he waited to call it in so late knowing he wanted to go see the movie….?  He said he didn’t think it would take long, lol. We woke up from our nap around 3:30pm and got ready to go sit in on the DVC Presentation in the D Lounge.  I looked into the Disney Vacation Club a few years ago, but we’ve never been to a presentation so we decided to go check it out.  Just for attending the presentation they gave us this limited edition Copper Creek pin: At the presentation they didn’t have time for individual questions, so you had to make an appointment if you wanted to learn more.  We didn’t make an appointment at this point, but did later on in the cruise.  Hunter stayed in the room and watched a movie while we were at the presentation. The presentation concluded at 5:00pm, so we went back to the room to get ready for Formal Night!  We got ready pretty quick and went to get our picture with Mickey in his tux before dinner.  The Captain’s Welcome Reception was also going on, where we enjoyed the free adult beverage service while we waited in line for pics: Picture with Mickey: Eddie always likes to do some crazy things in his pictures….here he’s pretending to tell Mickey to wait, he needs to take a phone call, lol. Our dinner tonight was in Animator’s Palate.  I must not have taken any pictures of our meal tonight, probably because we ate the same thing we always eat at Animator’s!  lol  So the pics below are old pics from another cruise. For the appetizer, I always get the Black Truffle Pasta Pursettes.  Me and the girls love these, but the guys don’t like them?!  They are nuts! For my meal:  Pennete Bolognese & toasted garlic ciabatta I didn’t get pics of what Hunter and Eddie got, but Hunter got the Sirloin Steak and Eddie got the Ginger-Teryaki dusted Angus Beef Tenderloin.   They both enjoyed their meal. They also came by our dinner table for more pics: Sorcerer Mickey came by to visit: After dinner we went out for more pics in our formal wear and we may have grabbed another adult beverage from the late reception going on, lol.  Our pics: The show tonight was the Golden Mickeys, which we love, but have seen several times now.   The guys didn’t like being dressed up either, so we went to the room to change and went to the theater to see Beauty & the Beast (the movie). Buena Vista Theater We’ve all seen it before and it’s a great movie.  I found myself struggling to stay awake…being in the dark theater and the time change was still wreaking havoc on me, lol.  I managed to stay awake until the end though and then we headed to Azure for “Snippets” (playing a clip from different tv shows and you would try to guess what they were) and then for the adult show:  Matt Baker (Juggling & Comedy Act).  Matt put on a great show and we were glad we stayed up for it!  The show ended at 11:00pm so we went back to our room to turn in for the night and get ready for our first port day! Up next:  Day 3 in Icy Strait Point (Hoonah, Alaska). Go to my Trip Reports page to read about all of our other adventures! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you. #DisneyCruise #TripReport

In case you missed it….. Day 1 – Boarding Day Day 2 – Day at Sea Day 3 Stops in Icy Strait Point in Hoonah Alaska!  This morning we woke up around 7:30am to get ready for our 8:45am Disney Character Breakfast.  This breakfast is only offered on 7-night or more Disney cruises.  There is no extra charge for this breakfast, but you must reserve tickets online ahead of time.  Tickets usually sell out pretty quickly, so first time cruisers don’t always get to secure tickets ahead of time.  Since I had booked late (past my 90 day check in), there were no tickets available.  I kept checking every few days and the last day to reserve any activities (3 days before sailing), I was able to get tickets!  It looked like they had added quite a few tickets that last day.  There are usually extra tickets available at Guest Services the first day of the cruise as well if you are unable to get them online. The breakfast was in Animator’s Palate which is perfect for a character meal.  Our server made us all some fun napkin headwear: Minnie bow for me! Goofy ears? Peter Pan maybe? The characters started coming pretty quickly.  First we had Pluto: Then Minnie: Eddie thought he’d ask for Minnie’s hand, lol: Goofy: Mickey was last: Selfie with Mickey! I didn’t take any pictures of the food!  First they bring around a platter of pastries to choose from.  I got the chocolate croissant which was good.  Then you can choose as many items off the menu as you’d like: Our breakfast started at 8:45 and we were completely done by 9:15am.  We went to get our jackets on and headed outside to view the scenery. There was hardly anyone up on Deck 9 that morning.  It was a little chilly outside, so we grabbed some hot chocolate at the drink station and then walked over to speak to one of the crew members who was looking out at the water.  He had a good eye and pointed out some wildlife, including a whale: See the water spray from the whale? We watched as the ship pulled into port: The natives were there to greet us when we disembarked (the population in Icy Strait Point is only about 750 people!): All ashore was at 12:00pm and our whale watching excursion with Hoonah Travel Adventures was scheduled from 12:15pm to 3:15pm.  I booked this excursion outside of Disney knowing that we had plenty of time to return to the ship (all aboard was not until 7:15pm).  It was less expensive booking outside of Disney, and I knew that sometimes the whale watching excursions booked through Disney are on larger boats that hold 50 or more people.  We wanted a more intimate experience and our excursion was perfect with about 20 people total.  My husband has written a separate blog post on our excursion that you can read here:  Hoonah Travel Adventures Whale Watching Excursion See the whale behind us? After our excursion we took a shuttle back to the main port and walked around a few minutes in the gift shop area.  We had to get back in time for our 4:00pm Martini Tasting, so we didn’t have a lot of time to look around.  Some pics we took on the walk back: Back on the ship, we headed to the martini tasting was in the Cadillac Lounge while Hunter went back to the room to watch some TV: We sampled 5 different martinis.  We were informed that we were “fake martini lovers” because we are not fans of the classic martini’s made with gin.  Instead we like the fake martini’s, aka fruity cocktails, lol.   Our first two were more of the “classic” martini with vodka and gin and the next two were fruity with vodka and our last was a dessert martini.  We loved the last 3, but didn’t like the first 2. Notice #3 is completely gone while #1 and #2 are still full, lol! After the tasting we went back to the room to get Hunter to go to the Know it All Trivia with Rod in the Crown & Fin Pub. Upon return to our room, we saw our stateroom host had left the Frozen snowflake light up necklaces (tonight was the Freezing the Night Away Party).  We stopped to get some pictures before dinner (I am wearing my necklace): Our dinner was in Tiana’s restaurant: Tiana and the Crawfish Crooners The menu tonight wasn’t the traditional Mardi Gras menu (we’d have that later in the week), but the Prince & Princess Dinner menu For the appetizer, we all got the Louisiana Hot Crab Dip: Verdict: Good Hunter got the Lime Marinated Jumbo Shrimp: Verdict: Good I got the New York Sirloin Steak: Verdict: Good Eddie got the Oven Roasted Turkey Breast: Verdict: Sweet Potatoes were great, everything else just okay For dessert, I got Prince Naveen’s Flourless Chocolate Cake: Verdict: Very good Eddie got the Banoffee Cream Pie: Verdict: Very good We finished up dinner and got our seats for the Frozen Musical in the Walt Disney Theater: I’ve seen the show before and really enjoyed it, but again this cruise, I was struggling to keep my eyes open.  The guys liked the show, but both agreed it wasn’t their favorite (men!). Heath Hyche was doing an adult show in Azure tonight that Hunter really wanted to go see.  I was really tired tonight so I decided to head to bed, but Eddie and Hunter went to see the show.  They both enjoyed it. Up next:  Day 4 – Skagway, Alaska.  Beautiful scenery….and a bear! Go to my Trip Reports page to read about all of our other adventures! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you. #DisneyCruise #TripReport

Sanaa is a Table Service restaurant located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge – Kidani Village.  This restaurant goes along with the theme of Animal Kingdom Lodge and takes you to South Africa where you can dine while watching animals walk by outside.  Recently my husband and I took an Adults Only Trip to Disney World where we dined at Sanaa for the first time. We had a reservation for 7:00pm but we arrived a little early, so we decided to head over to the bar area to have a drink while we waited on a table.  I ordered the mango margarita which I had heard really good things about – and it did not disappoint!  This ranks as one of the best alcoholic drinks I have ever had! Bar area Mango margarita – yum! We were only at the bar about 10 minutes before we received a text letting us know that our table was ready. Restaurant with big windows where you can see animals walk by The menu is African food with Indian flavors, you can view the menu here. We started out first with the Indian Bread service with all 9 accompaniments.  This gave us three types of Naan bread (traditional, garlic-ginger and spiced) and 9 different sauces.  Our favorite sauces were Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Mango Chutney and Tamarind Chutney.  All three of the Naan breads were outstanding and we had to stop ourselves from filling up on this! Indian Bread Service For our entrees, we both got the Potjie Inspired Dish, with choice of meat and sides.   For my meal, I ordered the Butter Chicken, Chickpea Wat and Basmati Rice Butter chicken was amazing! Eddie ordered the Spicy Durban Shrimp, Basmati Rice and the Lentil Dhal. Eddie said this was the best shrimp he’s ever had!  I’m not a huge shrimp fan, but I did taste it and oh my, it was delicious (however, it was also very spicy like it’s namesake).  The Butter Chicken I ate was so tender and flavorful, my fork would glide right through it. When in Disney…eat!  That’s what we did.  We decided we’d get dessert as well, so we tried the Caramel N’dizi, which was Banana Financier with Caramelized Milk Chocolate Crémeux, Hazelnut Crunch, Banana-White Chocolate Chantilly, and Ginger Raspberries.  Although it sounded delicious, we didn’t love it. We were so full after the bread service and delicious meal, we should have just stopped, so maybe we should try it again when we are not so full? All in all, this has been our absolute favorite Disney restaurant.  It is the perfect setting for a date night, and the food was amazing….not only was it the best chicken and shrimp we’ve ever had at Disney, it was some of the best we’ve tried anywhere!  Even if you aren’t staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge, this restaurant is worth the trip.  It is definitely a hidden gem – reservations aren’t too hard to get here!   If you have picky eaters, there is a kids menu that offers items such as pizza, burgers & mac and cheese. Check out my other Disney restaurant reviews here! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you.

Tusker House is a Character Table Service buffet located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom featuring a mix of African and American cuisine where you can dine for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Click here to view the menus.  Characters include Safari Donald, Mickey, Daisy & Goofy.  Recently my husband and I took an Adults Only Trip to Disney World where we dined at Donald’s Safari Breakfast at Tusker House.  I have eaten here several times for breakfast, but this was Eddie’s first time. Entrance to Tusker House (taken on our way out) Our reservation was scheduled for 8:00am (right at park opening) and we were some of the first to be seated.  Some pics of the buffet area as we walked in: Buffet area Our server came over and took our drink order and brought us my favorite – Jungle Juice!!  Jungle Juice is a mixture of orange juice, guava juice and passion fruit juice.  Tip:  Animal Kingdom Lodge serves a Jungle Juice Slushy! Inside the restaurant at our table: We proceeded up to the buffet to get started.  Some of the buffet offerings: Tator tots, bacon, sausage Roasted potatoes, Ham & Cheese Frittata, Potato Leek Frittata, Sweet Potato Casserole Banana Bread Pudding (one of my favorites!), Sausage Gravy & Biscuits Mickey waffles, Sausage, Scrambled Eggs, Bacon Some of the African inspirations: Beef Bobotie, Basmati Rice, Red Chicken Curry Their pastry selection also includes Krispy Kreme Doughnuts! Eddie’s plate: Soon the characters started coming by.  First we had Mickey: Then Donald: Goofy: Eddie pouring some coffee for Goofy We skipped out before Daisy came by so we could get our favorite rides in and head back to Animal Kingdom Lodge and lay out by the pool. On our way out they were doing the parade, where kids can join in with the characters playing instruments around the restaurant: We ran into Goofy again on our way out: As always, Donald’s Safari Breakfast at Tusker House had plenty of breakfast options and fun characters.  We paid out of pocket and our meal was around $80 including tip for the two of us.  I doubt we would do it again unless we are on the dining plan, as breakfast is breakfast to me.  Yes, there were some unique and tasty offerings and I do love my jungle juice, but I don’t eat enough for breakfast for a $40 price tag.  If you have kids and are on the dining plan, I would definitely recommend giving Tusker House a chance! Be sure to check out my other Disney Restaurant Reviews! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you.

Yak & Yeti is a Table Service restaurant located at Disney’s Animal Kingdom featuring Pan Asian Cuisine.  There is also a Quick Service location available as well with a limited menu.  This restaurant is also a part of the Landry’s Select Club.  Card Members will receive priority seating and earn reward points.  Secret tip:  Yak & Yeti can be a hard reservation to get, but you do not have to have a reservation if you have the Landry’s card and still get priority seating!  Recently my husband and I took an Adults Only Trip to Disney World where we dined at Yak & Yeti for the first time. Our reservation was scheduled for 5:30pm and we were seated right away.  You can view the dinner menu here.  We started out with some drinks.  Eddie ordered the Rickshaw Rickie and I ordered the Kiwi Kimono.  We both liked what we got. For an appetizer we ordered the Pork Egg Rolls.  They were delicious and tasted very fresh! For my entrée, I ordered the Lo Mein Chicken. Eddie ordered the Crispy Honey Chicken: Just like the appetizer, both of our meals were great and you could tell they were freshly prepared.  We both agreed that we enjoyed the Lo Mein Chicken the most out of the two. For dessert, we HAD to get the Fried Wontons.  I’ve heard so many good things about these so I definitely had to try!  They are Skewers of fresh pineapple and cream cheese wontons, vanilla ice cream, honey-vanilla drizzle – is your mouth watering yet? Famous Fried Wontons! Oh my goodness, I was not disappointed – these were delicious!! We both agreed that Yak & Yeti had just moved up to the top of our list for places to dine at Disney World.  There are so many other things on the menu that we want to try, we will definitely be back! Be sure to check out my other Disney Restaurant Reviews! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you.

You can start from the beginning of this trip report here. Disney World Adults Only Trip – Day 3, we had an early morning breakfast reservation at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom.  Our reservation was for bright and early at 8:00am (same time as park opening), so we were out at the bus stop by 7:30am. We were one of the first to check in at Tusker House and were called after about 5 minutes. Entrance to Tusker House (taken on our way out) Some empty pics as we walked in: Tusker House Buffet area Tusker House is a character meal featuring Safari Donald, Mickey, Daisy & Goofy.  The breakfast buffet has a lot to offer, and the best of all – they have Jungle Juice!  I seriously love this stuff!  It’s a mixture of Orange Juice, Guava Juice and Passion Fruit Juice.  We went to grab some food from the buffet and the characters came by quickly.  You can see more pictures in my Tusker House Restaurant Review. Breakfast went pretty quick and we were off to Kilimanjaro Safaris for an early morning ride.  The safari ride just gets better and better each time I go.  We had a great driver (funny & did a great job making sure we saw all the animals), and the animals were out and about this morning and some were up close! See how close giraffe is?? Afterwards we walked over to Expedition Everest to use our Fastpass.  On the way we took some pics of Dinoland and the Rivers of Light stadium: Path to Dinoland Seating for Rivers of Light Show We rode Expedition Everest once – another one of our favorites: At this point it was around 10:00am and we wanted to head back to Animal Kingdom Lodge to lay out by the pool for a while.  On our way out, we stopped for some pics – we had to get some pics with our matching “Soul Mate” shirts of course! Once back at Animal Kingdom Lodge, we got our swimsuits on and headed outside.  We were able to get a couple hours in until the rain came.  At first we thought it may be a brief shower, so Eddie stayed in the pool while I stayed up under an umbrella: After about 10 minutes and the rain only getting heavier, we decided to head back up to our room.  We stopped at the Mara first to grab a snack (neither of us was terribly hungry after our big breakfast at Tusker House). We weren’t scheduled for any more reservations until around 5:30 that evening, so what is the best thing to do while it’s raining?  Take a nap, of course!  So that’s exactly what I did.  I woke up around 3:00pm and had to process some final cruise payments for a couple of clients, then got ready to head back to Animal Kingdom.  We wanted to get there and do some shopping, eat dinner at Yak & Yeti and to use our Flight of Passage fastpass that I had scheduled for later that evening.    Some pics of the wet savannah outside our room before we left: Lots of activity outside! We got to the bus stop around 4:20pm and the rain was back….and didn’t look like it was going anywhere.  We were disappointed, but determined to make the best of it.  Thankfully we both had our rain jackets with us which were lifesavers.  Side note – as soon as we came back from this trip, we did order some nice ponchos that cover a good portion of our legs – we figure we will get plenty of use out of them on our Disney trips!    We waited under the bus shelter hoping that the rain would stop or at least lighten up, but it never did, so we headed toward the entrance. Our first stop was at the gift shop.  We spent about 30 minutes browsing around until our dinner reservation and found several things we wanted to come back and get, but thought it best to wait until we were ready to leave so we wouldn’t have to carry the items around with us. We arrived at Yak & Yeti right on time for our dinner reservation: Click to read our Yak & Yeti Review. After dinner we walked towards Expedition Everest again knowing we could do the single rider line and get through quickly before our Flight of Passage Fastpass.  On the way we stopped for a couple of rainy pics: Going through the single rider line, we were on within 5 minutes….Eddie found a new friend from England and they decided to do a goofy ride photo: I had this guy, who apparently decided to do a goofy photo also, but didn’t coordinate with me, haha! Next we were off to Pandora for Flight of Passage – love this ride!!  We had never ridden Na’vi River Journey and the app said the wait was only 30 minutes – so we decided we would wait.  The app was wrong, we ended up waiting 45 to 50 minutes.  I didn’t get any pics of the ride.  It is wonderfully themed, but it is just a slow boat ride (think Small World).  We both said that we wouldn’t wait in a long line to do it again.  We snapped this pic of Pandora at sunset: Next we were off to the gift shop and then back to Animal Kingdom Lodge for the night!  Even with the rain, you can’t beat park time in the morning & night, along with naps and pool in the middle of the day! Up next:  Day 4 (Departure Day). As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you.

In case you missed it, click here to start with Day 1 of the Trip Report. Day 4 – Skagway. This morning we were up early to shower and get our day started.  All ashore was at 7:15am.  In the planning stages, we had scheduled a Jeep rental with DIY Jeep Tours to do a self-guided drive of the Klondike highway, so we were excited to get the day started.  The tour route is similar to that of the White Pass Railway excursion, but this way we could stop whenever we wanted to for pictures, eating, etc.  Our Navigator gave us this information for the day: We finished breakfast in Cabana’s around 7:45am, then headed out to pick up our Jeep.  It was a short walk to the Jeep rental location, maybe around 10 minutes.  Below are some pictures of the Disney Wonder on our walk over: This picture was taken from the Jeep rental place We arrived around 8:15am to pick up the Jeep (you can read a detailed review on the DIY Jeep Tours excursion here). Soon we were off!  On our way out of town, we spotted this “Welcome to Skagway” sign so we stopped to take a photo (we discovered a more official “Welcome to Skagway” sign on our return trip but didn’t stop): Back on the road again, the scenery became more beautiful with each mile that passed: It got a little cooler at one point! There were tons of tour buses all along the route as well.  We decided to make some stops on the way back to hopefully avoid some of the bus crowds at the pull-offs.  We did stop at the Yukon sign: Starting to see some blue sky! The route takes approximately 1.5 hours (3 hours roundtrip) and your final stop is at Emerald Lake.  The skies had turned blue and the weather had warmed up nicely to the lower 60’s. Emerald Lake was beautiful! We made it to Emerald Lake around 11:00am and discussed stopping for lunch in Carcross on the way back, but we knew there might be a lot of tour buses stopping there as well, so we decided we would head back to Skagway and eat lunch in town.  This worked best, because we also wanted to spend some time in Skagway and do some shopping.  All aboard wasn’t until 8:00pm, but Eddie and I had a massage scheduled for 6:30pm and wanted to grab dinner before our massage. On our drive back we stopped at the “Twilight Zone” sign showing the time change between Alaska and Canada: We stopped at the “Welcome to Alaska” sign since we hadn’t stopped in the morning: Shortly after crossing the border we saw this on the road ahead: A grizzly! (We learned that a brown bear and a grizzly bear are one and the same from Captain Paul during our whale watching tour the day before).  We were so excited to see some wildlife.  The bear had crossed the road so we pulled off and were able to get a pretty close up picture: We stopped by this waterfall on our way back and ran into some cyclists.  They took off as we were pulling up and we passed by them later on the road.  I would be scared to death to do that!  The road is downhill to Skagway and so many tour buses go along that route, not to mention the bears! We made it back to town around 1:15pm and went ahead and fueled up the Jeep and returned it, then walked to try to find something to eat.  We ended up stopping at Bites on Broadway.  It was a little sandwich / pastry shop.  I ordered chicken salad on an everything bagel and Eddie ordered a breakfast bagel.  Hunter didn’t want a sandwich, so he just snacked on some chips and a coke.  I forgot to take pictures of the food! After we ate we went to some of the gift shops. Hunter was wanting to look at the collection of knives with the hand-carved woodworking. After walking around, Hunter ended up buying two small knives.  I was looking for a Christmas ornament, and ended up buying this one: Afterwards we headed back to the ship.  It was around 4:00pm when we boarded, and there were a couple tables set up when we walked back on, one with hot mulled wine for purchase, the other with hot chocolate.  The hot chocolate was free, but the wine was $5.50 (or $10 if purchased with souvenir mug).  Before I knew what was happening, Eddie had bought the $5.50 glass (had I known he was going to buy some, I would have bought with the souvenir mug – but he says we have too many cups/mugs at our house already, lol).  I drank a few sips of the wine, but it wasn’t something that I loved.  I prefer hot chocolate. We went back to our room and decided we would like to go to the dining room for dinner – the Frozen menu that we didn’t care for was switched to the following night – so we called the spa to see if we could change our massage appointment from 6:30 to 5:00pm.  We were able to change it without a problem, so we told Hunter we would meet him in the dining room as soon as we were finished.  Our dining servers (Svetlana and Istvan, whom we LOVED) had told us we could come as late as 7:00 and they could serve us.  Our massage was for 75 minutes, so we finished up around 6:15, took a quick shower in the spa locker room and headed straight to dinner.  We weren’t terribly late, arriving around 6:30pm.  Hunter was already on his entrée.  We were in Triton’s and the menu was the Captain’s Gala Menu with Regional Inspirations.  As a side note – we enjoyed the massage, but both agreed that we most likely won’t do it the next time we cruise.  It is very expensive and we decided we’d rather spend that $$ on something else and get our massages a lot cheaper at home. For my appetizer I ordered the Aged Prosciutto: Verdict: Okay Eddie ordered the Alaskan King Crab Legs: Verdict: Good For my entrée – Fettuccine with Parmesan Crusted Chicken: Verdict: Very Good (I asked for extra sauce because some of my other pasta was a little dry earlier in the week) Eddie’s entrée – Roasted Red Snapper Verdict: Very Good Svetlana also brought him an Oven Baked Lobster Tail to try: Verdict: Okay. We are not big lobster fans. For dessert we shared the Chocolate Lava Cake: Verdict: Very Good. Needed the ice cream as it was very rich! After dessert we headed over to Azure for TV Tunes Trivia.  After that was over, we stayed and waited for the Matt Baker Juggling & Comedy Act for families.   We were glad we didn’t leave and come back, because it was a packed house!  They ended up asking all the children to come up and sit on the floor to free up some chair space for some adults.  I really enjoyed Matt’s shows and this was particularly hilarious with his on the spot humor after pulling up different kids and adults on stage to help with the act. After the Matt Baker show, we ended up staying in Azure for the adult games.  Tonight was “Seriously?!” followed by “The Feud.”  I had went to “The Feud” on my last Disney cruise and thought it was a lot of fun, so we were looking forward to that.  Eddie and I ended up getting picked to participate in “Seriously?!” with another couple.  Each couple had to take off their shoes so that each person was holding one of their shoes and one of their partners shoes.  Then Rod would ask questions like “Who gives better gifts?, Who stays mad the longest after a fight?”, etc.  The women were standing in front with the men in the back.  The men would answer first, then Rod would let us know when to hold up the shoe for our answer.  We were on a roll getting most of them right, and at one point we were tied with the other couple.  Then Rod asked a few final questions and we bombed, well, Eddie bombed.  LOL.  One question was “Who is more wild when sleeping?”  Although neither of us are particularly wild (when sleeping that is, lol!), I held up Eddie’s shoe.  Well he of course held up my shoe saying it was me.  I turned around and said “What?!  You tell me all the time that I don’t even MOVE when I’m asleep!”  Oh well.  It was a fun game and Hunter got a kick out of watching us up there.  The Feud was next and is basically Family Feud and Rod split the room in half, and would call different people up to play, then the crowd would help whoever was on their team with the rest of the answers on the board. Karaoke was next, but we were all pretty tired after our early wake up, and tomorrow was another fairly early day, so we went to our room to rest up for the day ahead! Up next:  Juneau & Endicott Arm Click here to read my other Trip Reports! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you. #DisneyCruise #TripReport

The Disney Wonder was the second ship to join the Disney fleet, entering service in 1999.  It is nearly identical to the Disney Magic with 11 decks, accommodating 2400 passengers in 875 staterooms.  The Disney Wonder is the ship used for specialty sailings such as Alaska and Panama Canal, as well as the Bahamas and Caribbean. Pools – The Disney Wonder sports the Goofy pool on Deck 9 along with 2 whirlpool spas. Quiet Cove pool is the Adult Only Pool with a bar area close by.  The Aqua Lab is a play area that has a “Twist ‘n’ Spout” slide and Dory’s Reef, a splash pad area for toddlers 3 and under. Quiet Cove Pool for Adults Only Kids Clubs: The Wonder has kids clubs available for all ages.  The Oceaneer Club and Oceaneer Lab are for children ages 3-12, the Edge for ages 11-14 and Vibe for ages 14-17.  It’s a Small World Nursery is available for children ages 6 months to 2 years, but does require reservations and a small fee per hour.  For ages 3 and up, all of the kids clubs are free.  Castaway Cay also has a kids club available on the island. Adult Bars/Lounges:  The Wonder has several adult bars/lounges available with plenty of activities to keep adults busy such as Music Trivia, TV Tunes Trivia, late-night games such as “The Feud,” “Match Your Mate,” “Intuition,” and more.  Azure is where the nighttime entertainment takes place, while Cadillac Lounge is used for the beverage tastings (Mixology, Champagne, Martini, etc).  The Crown and Fin Pub is where most of the daily adult trivia is held.  You can also catch the latest sports game live at the Crown & Fin. Inside Azure where late night adult games are held, as well as Family Bingo games during the day Cadillac Lounge where beverage tastings are held Crown & Fin is where you can catch the latest sports, as well as partake in some adult trivia games throughout the cruise Senses Spa & Workout Room:  The Disney Wonder has a spa onboard where you can get treatments from acupuncture to massages, as well as a Rainforest Room where you can purchase a day pass to use the sauna, sensory showers and hot stone lounge chairs.  A workout room is also available for those 18 and older with the latest equipment and some spectacular views. Treatment Room Couples Villa Whirlpool Couples Villa Lounge Chairs Couples Villa Treatment Room Sensory Showers Waiting Room Locker Rooms Hot Stone Loungers Singles Treatment Room Workout Room Family Spaces:  The Disney Wonder has separate spaces for adults and kids, but they also have some family areas too.  The D-Lounge is used for family trivia, family karaoke and talent shows among many other activities.  The Promenade Lounge is used for animation classes, some trivia, live music and more. D-Lounge Promenade Lounge Theaters:  The Disney Wonder has two theaters onboard (three theaters if counting the outdoor movie screen by the pool).  The Walt Disney Theater is where the live entertainment is held each night.  The Buena Vista Theater is where you’ll find the newly released Disney movies, and if you’re lucky, you can see a Movie Premier onboard! Inside the Walt Disney Theater where you’ll find live broadway caliber entertainment Buena Vista Theater Dining Rooms:  The Disney Wonder has 3 Main Dining Rooms, with guests rotating between each restaurant.  Triton’s, Tiana’s Place and Animator’s Palate.  The dining rooms are beautifully themed and have their own unique menus. Tiana’s is the newest restaurant on the Disney Wonder, with a New Orleans Inspired Mardi Gras atmosphere and menu as well as live music Animator’s Palate starts out in black and white, and slowly colorizes as dinner goes by. The drawings come to life at the end, with Sorcerer Mickey dropping by for a visit Triton’s is the most elegant of the three dining rooms with an Art Deco theme Adult Only Restaurant:  Palo is the adult only restaurant that requires reservations and a nominal fee.  Brunch is the popular reservation that can be difficult to get (read my Palo review here).  The food is great and a nice romantic getaway for adutls. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique:  Just like Disney World, the cruises also offer the experience for girls (and boys) to get a makeover.  Offerings include princess & pirate makeovers, as well as special experiences such as Star Wars for special sailings. Miscellaneous:  Check out some miscellaneous pictures of the Disney Wonder. Chandelier in the Atrium Shutters Photography where you can tap your Key to the World card to view your photos Hallway with gift shops Carpet design that helps you navigate where you are on the ship (Forward or Aft) by using the direction on the map. Thanks for taking the time to Tour the Disney Wonder!   Be sure to check out my other blog posts for some Disney Cruise Tips & Tricks! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you! #CruiseReviews #DisneyCruise

In case you missed it, click here to start with Day 1 of the Trip Report. Day 5 – Juneau & Dawes Glacier (Endicott Arm) We were up early again this morning to shower, eat breakfast and then meet our representative with Coastal Helicopters for our 9:15am appointment.  We walked off the ship around 9:00am to a cold and rainy day in Juneau with lots of low clouds. We walked out to our meeting spot and discovered our helicopter tour was cancelled due to low visibility.  Boo!!  We asked the rep if tours were cancelled often and he replied “Yes. It rains 300 days out of a year here, so we have to cancel a lot.”  Bummer!  We were really looking forward to this.  That just means we have to go back soon, right? The guys just wanted to go back on the ship and forget about exploring Juneau entirely, but I didn’t!  I won that battle, we got in line for one of the shuttle buses to town, lol.  On the way we were debating whether we should go to Mendenhall Glacier or just stay in town.  Since it was 9:30am at this point and all aboard was 1:00pm, we decided to skip the Glacier since it wasn’t the best weather.  Some pics of Juneau: We shopped around a little and then stopped for some coffee/hot chocolate from a coffee shop.  We killed time until around 11:15, when we decided we would go eat lunch at Tracy’s King Crab Shack and hopefully avoid the lunch rush.  We were happy with our decision to stay after eating this delicious lunch!  Seriously the best crab we’ve ever had!  The crab legs and crab bisque were delicious.  The mini crab cakes were good, but I’ve had a lot better.  We ordered two lunch buckets to split.  A lunch bucket came with one HUGE crab leg, a cup of crab bisque, four mini crab cakes and two rolls.  For the two buckets and drinks, we spent around $100.  It was expensive, but it was worth it and probably the best meal we had during our trip. Tracy’s King Crab Shack – order at the counter and then find a seat Outdoor Seating Soooo good. We headed back to the ship around 12:30pm.  The all board was earlier on this cruise, because the day is split between Juneau and Tracy Arm (which ended up being replaced with Endicott Arm due to the amount of ice at Tracy Arm).  I don’t think Disney has been able to get to Tracy Arm the past couple of years.  Eddie and I went to the Port Adventures Desk (which was closed) to see if they were offering the excursion to take the Glacier Explorer Boat up close to the Glacier.  I knew I had never seen it online for cruise, but wanted to make sure it wasn’t something they only allowed to book onboard.  Unfortunately, we learned at Guest Services that it wasn’t offered at all for this sailing. We decided to go to the 1:00pm presentation by Scott Foster:  Fjords, Glaciers & Icefields in the Buena Vista Theater.  It was a pretty good presentation with a lot of good personal pictures, similar to the presentation we went to earlier in the week by Doug Jones. Next we had a Champagne Tasting at 2:00 in the Cadillac Lounge.  This was organized in our Facebook cruise group.  We both enjoyed this a lot better than the martini tasting.  The presentation was a lot more interesting, and we liked all of the champagnes that we tasted.   Our first was Moet Imperial, next was Veuve Clicquot Brut (which I believe was our least favorite, but still good), followed by Bollinger Special Cuvee, then Moet Rose, and finally Moet Ice Imperial – which was our favorite!!  This one is actually served with ice.  We really liked it a lot!  All of the champagnes we tried are priced around $50 – $70 a bottle and most of them contained about 12% alcohol.  The Champagne tasting was $35, compared to $20 for the martini tasting.  This is due to the higher cost of the champagnes. Don’t you love his shirt? After our champagne tasting we met Hunter in Azure for our first round of Bingo!  We always play Bingo every cruise (we’ve been jackpot winners before!).   We bought the family pack which gave us two electronic sets, and 2 paper packs. There are four rounds of bingo, and the prize increases a little with each round.  The first round, we were lucky winners!  Unfortunately, so were two other people, so we had to split the prize three ways – but still walked away with $88!  That paid for our family pack and then some! After Bingo it was around 4:00pm, and that’s when the Captain said the viewing would get good for Endicott Arm.  I have lots of pics to share, so I’m going to do a Part 2 for Day 5, otherwise this post would get really long!  Part 2 will be up soon! Click here to read my other Trip Reports! As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you.

Skagway! The port that lays farthest North along our cruise of the Inside Passage and home to the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. Skagway was built on the Klondike gold boom in 1897. Even though the White Pass Railroad is considered one of the most amazing railways in North America, we opted to try the DIY Jeep Tours (formerly Alaska Green Jeep Tours) because we could travel the same route as the train, plus stop whenever we wanted too to take pictures or stretch. Our destination was Emerald Lake 75 miles North in the Yukon.  The price for Jeep rental is $250 per day (plus city and rental tax).  There is also an additional fee for reserving online.  We ended up paying a total of $312.50, which is a great deal considering the price of other excursions available.  The Jeep can be picked up as early as 7:30am, and has to be returned by 6:00pm.  There is a 200 mile limit, which is more than enough to get you to Emerald Lake and back.  The trip takes approximately 1.5 hours each way (not accounting for stops to take pictures and take in the scenery). You could choose whatever color jeep you wanted. We originally wanted the blue jeep on the front row but the guy in front of us got it first! So we opted for the cool red Jeep on the end. The distance from the cruise ship was a brisk, easy walk. I took this picture standing in the road at the DIY check-in hut. I took this picture while standing in the Main Street This is a picture of the check-in hut from the same spot in the road that I took the previous picture of the Disney Wonder at the dock. Gas station across the street from DIY Jeep Tours. We will come back to this later. Our confirmation email stated that we should bring proof of insurance to rent the jeep, but I was never asked to provide it during the check-in process. I would make sure to bring it just in case. The rental process was smooth and easy. After completing some necessary paperwork, the staff member and I performed the orchestrated, yet familiar, walk-around of the jeep looking for any dents, dings, and scratches. All the Jeeps were in great shape and clean inside. A few had some minor scratches and a road wash up around the wheel wells, but that’s expected knowing the usual weather conditions in the area. We were given this notebook with a CD and written directions for our tour towards Emerald Lake. The CD contained some great historical information but it was challenging for the CD to stay synced with my driving. So I asked my wife Tammy to just read the information written in the notebook which seemed to work well for us. The book was easy to read with convenient pictures to accompany the text. Before we left town, we decide to drive down State Street. Since there were only two cruise ships in port, we had the town all to ourselves to start the day. So much so, the streets looked like the backdrop of a Hollywood movie studio. View of the Disney Wonder while driving towards dock along State Street We soon turned our Jeep around and headed North on Highway 2 (South Klondike Highway) towards the Yukon. The scenery immediately turned majestic just a few short miles outside of town. Torment Valley. Imagine traveling this rough terrain in 1898 with 1,000 pounds of supplies. Crazy! Our red Jeep still looking good Fourteen miles North of Skagway is the Summit (3,290 feet); however, because the weather elements are harsh, the Canadian Customs Station is nine miles farther North. Remember your passport! Canada Customs Alaska is on Alaska Time, while the Yukon is on Pacific Time. We saw this great sign roadway sign and had to stop for a picture. Once you pass through Canadian Customs, it’s 36 miles to a beautiful spot to view Bove Island. Bove Island was known as a menace for boatmen heading to the Klondike. Bove Island straight ahead Bove Island in Tagish Lake Almost there. We made a quick pit stop in the town of Carcross (short for Caribou Crossing – herds caribou once migrated through this area between Bennett and Nares Lake).  There are restaurants, restrooms, wildlife museum and dog sleds with husky puppies available if you choose to stop here. Carcross Commons/Tagish First Nation. Photo Credit: Pixabay Just a couple of miles North of Carcross was an unexpected site…a desert! In the Yukon? Yep. Proudly known as the “world’s smallest desert (one square mile); although it’s not technically considered a real desert because the environment is too humid). I forgot to take a picture of my own but this is exactly what it looks like! Photo Credit: YukonInfo.com We made it! Well, at least we thought we had arrived. There is no “welcome to Emerald Lake” sign, and honestly, I was a little underwhelmed by its size…so I wasn’t 100% sure this was THE place. Based on the views we experienced during our journey 80 mile journey north, and having passed by Tutshi Lake, Tagish Lake, and Benett Lake, I think I was expecting something spectacular and large but I’ll concede the turquoise water was impressive to see (reminded me of beaches in the Caribbean…with snowcapped mountains outlining the distant views). Even the map at the end of the parking area doesn’t refence anything related to “Emerald Lake” (see below), but based on our handy dandy notebook from the DIY Jeep Tours, we figured out this was the spot. View of Emerald Lake from overlook parking area See, no mention of Emerald Lake, but it’s clear “You are Here” If we had wanted to, I think we might have had enough time to travel further north to Whitehorse but we weren’t sure…and we didn’t want to miss our ship leaving port! So, after spending a few minutes at the lake, we decided to head on back to Skagway the same route we came. Even though the route is the same, the scenery always looks new from a different angle. Because there was little to no traffic during most of our commute, we would stop several times for me to capture some pictures from the roadway. Having the Jeep in the picture helps give some scale to the sheer size of the mountains One last photo op as we head back into Alaska We did have a bear sighting near a rock pile close to the U.S. Customs Check Point. There was only one other car nearby, so we were able roll within a safe distance and capture this picture. I think this was the highlight of the day for my wife Tammy. Thanks to her for scouring the roadside and first seeing the bear! Brown bears and grizzly bears are the same U.S. Customs Border Oh, remember that gas station photo I shared with you early in this blog? Well, that’s where you will want to top of the Jeep before you turn it back in. Don’t forget, or you’ll end up paying more per gallon if you let the Jeep tour company do it. The gas pumps do take credit/debit card. We would most definitely recommend this excursion while in Skagway – we will do it again on our next trip to Alaska!  You can read reviews on other excursions here. As an Independent Travel Agent with Mouse Counselors, an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, I offer concierge travel planning for Walt Disney World® Resort, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland® Resort, Adventures by Disney®, Aulani and all other destinations at no cost to you.  Message me today if I can help book a magical vacation for you. #Alaska #DisneyCruise #Excursion #Skagway