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Denali TWT and food

Ratdoggie

By Ratdoggie,
in Alaska

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Ratdoggie

Ratdoggie

Posted
Posted

Let's face it, vacations are more fun when you are well fed! I have a couple of food related questions for the day of our TWT in Denali...

 

1. BREAKFAST: We are staying at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge and our tour leaves at 6-7am according to the itinerary. Does anyone know if there will be anything open at the lodge or near the bus loading area where we could grab a quick bite? A muffin and OJ would suffice.

 

2. LUNCH: According to posts on CC, the box lunch provided on the TWT doesn't quite cut it and we should bring extra food. We will arrive at the lodge the day before and I would like to take a shuttle to the Visitor Center that afternoon. Will there be shops in the area (considering we won't have a car) where we could grab a couple of items for the next day?

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have!

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Momj47

Momj47

Posted
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There are small shops and carry-out's and restaurants across the road from the lodge as well as in the lodge. You shouldn't have any trouble eating well. We had a 730 TWT and had no trouble getting breakfast at Subway. The box lunch was fine, but if you want more, you'll have no trouble getting it.

 

Here's a satelite view of the Wilderness Lodge area.

 

Enjoy your trip.

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ellbon

ellbon

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there are no fridges in room to buy the day before.. there were two sub shops in 06 across the street and the non subway was grea. Also in the main lodge there is fast food... never had any.. had late night pizza and went for ribs one night.

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negc

negc

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If my memory serves, and it was almost 11 years ago so it might be a bit faulty, we had no problems getting breakfast in the dining room of the Denali Princess lodge prior to boarding the bus at 7:30 for our Denali tour. They are pretty much geared to the early risers who will be taking bus tours and will have food service available on the property. There were also some places up on the roadway across from the Denali Princess lodge that can accommodate you.

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Budget Queen

Budget Queen

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there are no fridges in room to buy the day before.. there were two sub shops in 06 across the street and the non subway was grea. Also in the main lodge there is fast food... never had any.. had late night pizza and went for ribs one night.

 

Bubb's Subs.

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happytrails42

happytrails42

Posted
Posted

Our first trip to Alaska:D :D

 

We are on the TWT tour as well leaving the Denali Princess lodge btwn 6:00 - 7:00 am. We also wondered what our food options would be at that early hour.

 

According to the Denali Princess Lodge site, River Run Expresso & King Salmon restaurant opens @ 5:00 am. They also have something called the Denali Sourdough Expedition Breakfast @ $14 pp -- it's a breakfast buffet also open at 5:00 am

 

Denali Sourdough Breakfast Expediton is an all you can eat buffet breakfast featuring our Alaskan blueberry sourdough pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, reindeer sausage, country-fried potatoes, biscuits with Alaskan fireweed honey, orange juice and coffee.

 

For those that have been on the TWT, can you share what the box lunch/snack consisted of?

 

Another question re the TWT -- does the tour bus stop for stretch/bathroom breaks :o?

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PennyAgain

PennyAgain

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Yes you will have scheduled stops at port-a-pots along the way. Not at all fancy but reasonably tidy. Take along Purell for hand cleaning.

 

The mention of sourdough pancakes in the post above made me very hungry for them! They alone would get you to about 11 am.

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Budget Queen

Budget Queen

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Posted
Our first trip to Alaska:D :D

 

We are on the TWT tour as well leaving the Denali Princess lodge btwn 6:00 - 7:00 am. We also wondered what our food options would be at that early hour.

 

According to the Denali Princess Lodge site, River Run Expresso & King Salmon restaurant opens @ 5:00 am. They also have something called the Denali Sourdough Expedition Breakfast @ $14 pp -- it's a breakfast buffet also open at 5:00 am

 

Denali Sourdough Breakfast Expediton is an all you can eat buffet breakfast featuring our Alaskan blueberry sourdough pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, reindeer sausage, country-fried potatoes, biscuits with Alaskan fireweed honey, orange juice and coffee.

 

For those that have been on the TWT, can you share what the box lunch/snack consisted of?

 

Another question re the TWT -- does the tour bus stop for stretch/bathroom breaks :o?

 

With a 6am tour, you may want to consider being lined up by 5:30am. These buses usually have every seat filled. And you may want a full selection of a seat preference. The shuttle buses have several open seats held back and I am very fussy about my seating, Just a suggestion, you may not have considered.

 

The rest stops, are about every 90 minutes.

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Ratdoggie

Ratdoggie

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All of these great food suggestions are making me hungry! I had no idea there would be so many options and I appreciate all the responses.

 

I have another question for anyone that might know. Our itinerary shows our TWT leaving at 6am-7am. Does that mean there are several buses leaving during the hour and the earliest people get the earliest bus, and then on down the line?

 

I'll probably follow Budget Queen's advice and line up at 5:30, but I was just curious about the vague time frame.

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Budget Queen

Budget Queen

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Posted
All of these great food suggestions are making me hungry! I had no idea there would be so many options and I appreciate all the responses.

 

I have another question for anyone that might know. Our itinerary shows our TWT leaving at 6am-7am. Does that mean there are several buses leaving during the hour and the earliest people get the earliest bus, and then on down the line?

 

I'll probably follow Budget Queen's advice and line up at 5:30, but I was just curious about the vague time frame.

 

The buses leave every 15 minutes. I have heard that people get "tickets" for specific times. But verify this with last year's visitors.

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wolfie11

wolfie11

Posted
Posted
All of these great food suggestions are making me hungry! I had no idea there would be so many options and I appreciate all the responses.

 

I have another question for anyone that might know. Our itinerary shows our TWT leaving at 6am-7am. Does that mean there are several buses leaving during the hour and the earliest people get the earliest bus, and then on down the line?

 

I'll probably follow Budget Queen's advice and line up at 5:30, but I was just curious about the vague time frame.

 

The park requires a spacing of about 15-20 minutes between buses going into the park to cut down on traffic jams. Dispatch won't know until a day or so before how many need to be picked up at which hotel, so they give you a time range. You'll be assigned a specific bus when you get your tickets. The best seats are those just behind the driver as you get to see out the front window as well as the sides. Sometimes a driver will save the seats in the front row for passengers with mobility problems though. They try to max out every bus, so you definately want to be in line early to get a good seat.

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happytrails42

happytrails42

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Last year we were given a specific bus number and time. Not everyone in tour will be on the same bus, hence the range of times.

 

Will the bus/tix info be given in the am or the evening before?

 

If the tix are given out in the am, I think we will take BQ's advice about getting to the "holding" area by 5:30 am -- if given out the night before, it may leave a little leeway.

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Lookingforfacts

Lookingforfacts

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Will the bus/tix info be given in the am or the evening before?

 

If the tix are given out in the am, I think we will take BQ's advice about getting to the "holding" area by 5:30 am -- if given out the night before, it may leave a little leeway.

 

I was on a Princess cruisetour. You get an envelope on the bus/train enroute to your hotel. Your included tour information is printed on the envelope. Inside the envelope is a resort map, your room key and other information.

 

In other words you'll get the information while you're enroute to the Denali Princess. Not sure about guests who drive to the hotel. Maybe when you check in?

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frugaltravel

frugaltravel

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The best seats are those just behind the driver as you get to see out the front window as well as the sides.

 

Maybe that is true with the TWT buses, but definitely not always the case with the shuttle buses. Many of the shuttle buses have extremely limited legroom in the first row due to a metal sheet between the front seat and the driver that blocks the leg room. Also, the seatback of the shuttle bus driver is quite high so you really can't see well out of the front window from the front seat when seated directly behind the driver.

 

I know some people adore those seats. I certainly don't. But that is why there is vanilla and chocolate ice cream. And window and aisle seats on airplanes.

 

All this to say, what is the "best" seat for one person is by far not the "best" seat for someone else - it is very subjective.

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wolfie11

wolfie11

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Actually, I meant any of the first four or five rows of seats on either side. Often the only view you get of an animal is it crossing the road in front of the bus, and those first rows may be the only ones to see a lynx or wolf.

 

I am aware of the bump in the first row seats on the shuttle which is why I love sitting there. I am almost always solo when I go to the park and always bring a lot of food and camera gear and usually get the front row to myself. I make nice with the driver and my fellow passengers up front and let them use the window for pictures, loan them my binoculars, etc. In exchange, the driver will often open the door for me at animal stops and let me sit on the steps to take photos.

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