webtraveler

Thanks I showed dh the connoisseur that they are offering next year and the only train ride is anchorage to mckinley lodge or mckinley lodge to denali lodge and he said he wants the glass domed cars going to Whittier and knows it's a long train ride but he loves trains...as ir is right now only the denali explorer option offers that. Will see if it changes when we do book. We will be celebrating our 20 yr anniv so need to make sure we get a mixture of both getting what they want. : )

The train is a must for train lovers. We did the Denali Explorer tour last month from Whittier to Denali Lodge to start our tour and loved it. Also lookup up the Yukon & White Pass RR excursion to Bennett Lake (Skagway) if time permits. Both are extremely scenic rides. Happy anniversary, our trip was our 25th!

Spoiler Alert, do a Youtube search for "Summon the Force show on Disney Fantasy Cruise Ship" to view the show.

Hi Susiecruisey. This will be our first Disney cruise as well, 3rd overall. We are now hooked with a Celebrity (for us) and Carnival (for kids) cruise under our belts. We wanted to sail Disney first but they are so dang expensive that we basically are paying almost the same for this one as the previous 2 combined. Disney fans say it is worth it since so much is included but since we are more health conscious we drink water most of the time and we have no requirements for a casino even on no-mouse lines, so it took a little extra for us to bite the hook.

That being said we booked early too when the rates were a bit more reasonable and were drawn in from the theme. With two boys (11,14) that love Star Wars and a Disney+SW fan Dad, we are now looking forward to another cruise, and being Disney back by a lot or research through reviews I know it will be fun. I fully expect the ship to be at capacity but Disney excels at crowd control to ensure everyone has great memories, and they go to great lengths to ensure everyone has memories that will last a lifetime. I fully expect it to be your Disney Cruise first, with theme parties built in that can be fully avoided if one chooses. I also suggest you tell your cabin steward you are not big fans, as they are usually on of the most memorable people on any cruise and generally go further than anyone to customize service to your liking.

For the one day I fully expect to be extremely heavy in Star Wars and even as the others say I fully expect a lot of hype building up to it, but this is Disney so I really doubt they will stray too far from their core offerings everyone is accustom too. If you ask me the not so Star Wars enthusiasts will have some great stories to tell afterwards from people watching. Expect a lot of kids carrying glow sticks, just extra large ones they refer to as lightsabers. Also expect more kids in the 18-60 age range, but do not let that hinder your experience as with Disney they tend to bring out the kid in all of us, theme or not. The theme will just focus that service more into a particular area. I am curious about the pirate party as I can see that potentially not being as focused as if it were the only costume party, but again this one will be more more unique because of it.

Also expect the Episode 7 movie to be more of a reboot of the franchise, Abrams excels at that and Disney has a lot invested to refresh the mass audience appeal. You and your daughters may even like the new movie, for better or worse ;). I am not promoting anything here but I would suggest even if you are not a fan, you may want to see the newest movie with your family before the cruise, I expect more of a focus on it and even if you do not enjoy it, at least you will not be totally lost in conversation should you be near a conversation about it.

We will be on the March 19th sailing over our Spring Break as well.

I better stop here as I could go on forever.