Juneau – Taking Flight
(Part 5 of our Disney Cruise Series)
The Great Escape — to the Air
The morning began in the Crown and Fin Pub, where passengers gathered to get stickers and wait for their assigned Disney characters to be called — that’s how they organize the shore excursions.
We had no idea which character we were and couldn’t easily Google it, since the ship’s Wi-Fi barely worked and AT&T roaming was spotty at best. Thankfully, when our turn came, the Disney crew held up a sign with our character name, and off we went, marching off the ship to meet our tour bus.
Everything was going smoothly… until two of the three families from our infamous train ride in Skagway showed up and boarded our same bus to the heliport. Apparently, there is no true escape from the Disney Cult.
Upon arrival at the Temsco Helicopters base, we learned that luck was not on our side again — one of the couples with a two-year-old and a four-year-old was matched with us in the same helicopter for our 25-minute glacier walk tour.
Despite the less-than-ideal company, the scenery was absolutely spectacular. The pilots and guides were professional, knowledgeable, and clearly loved what they did. Walking on the ice surrounded by the bright blues and whites of the Mendenhall Glacier was unforgettable. If you ever have the chance, I highly recommend the Mendenhall Glacier and Guided Tour Walk with Temsco — it’s a top-notch experience.
Exploring Juneau
After the glacier tour, our bus driver kindly offered to drop us in downtown Juneau instead of returning directly to the ship — a much-appreciated gesture.
We wandered along the waterfront, admiring the contrast between the various ships in port: Royal Caribbean, Seabourn, and ours — the Disney Wonder. Watching passengers from other cruise lines, we couldn’t help but assume they were enjoying a more adult, less “magical” experience.
After a short walk, we snagged a booth at The Hangar on the Wharf, one of Juneau’s most popular waterfront spots. I went for the fish and chips, while my wife opted for a salad. We shared a bottle of red wine and spent a relaxing lunch watching the seaplanes come and go — along with two more massive cruise ships gliding into the harbor.
A bit of shopping followed (including some locally made glacier soap, of course), before we reluctantly made our way back to the ship.
Reflections on Juneau
Juneau is a beautiful city and distinctly different from other Alaskan ports. While it’s just as busy when the ships are in, it has a larger year-round population, so it feels more like a real town and less like a pop-up tourist trap. Sure, there are plenty of souvenir shops, but there’s also a sense of local life and rhythm underneath the cruise-day madness.
The Mendenhall Glacier was breathtaking, and The Hangar was a great find — a simple, satisfying lunch in a perfect spot to people-watch and plane-watch alike.
Tomorrow marks our final port call in Ketchikan, where we’ll explore the historic brothels of Creek Street, catch a lumberjack show, and feast on all-you-can-eat Dungeness crab (sadly, not King crab). We’ll see what surprises Disney — and Alaska — still have in store for us.
