Anyone taken young child to Denali? - Help!

[frostwalker]

Just reading the Denali park website about the buses and it says our 4 year old (b/c he's less that 65lb and 57 in.) will have to be in a booster seat. We really don't want to pack a booster seat for a one time use!

 

Anyone know if Grand Denali Lodge perhaps can provide one???

 

Or perhaps anyone know if they don't strictly enforce this??

 

What should we do? Miss out on the park?? :confused::confused::confused:

[cruisestitch]

I would contact Grand Denali Lodge for advice.

[pal4404]

Just reading the Denali park website about the buses and it says our 4 year old (b/c he's less that 65lb and 57 in.) will have to be in a booster seat. We really don't want to pack a booster seat for a one time use!

 

Anyone know if Grand Denali Lodge perhaps can provide one???

 

Or perhaps anyone know if they don't strictly enforce this??

 

What should we do? Miss out on the park?? :confused::confused::confused:

 

The trip is not going to be of interest to a 4 year old. It will be very long, uncomfortable and boring.

[tuggers]

Isn't there another option? Something not as long or uncomfortable for a 4 year old? If not then I would say it would be best to not do this. A tired, bored 4 year old is bound to be cranky. Not too much fun for the others on the tour.

[SI Cruiser]

I would leave the child home.

[FortyNinerLiz]

Isn't there another option? Something not as long or uncomfortable for a 4 year old? If not then I would say it would be best to not do this. A tired, bored 4 year old is bound to be cranky. Not too much fun for the others on the tour.

 

I would agree with you. We did the long tour last year and it is not for kids. It is on school buses and it is rough! How have you been? Haven't read your postings since our infamous Noro Cruise on the Mercury in 2006! You must be very busy or on different boards. Enjoyed your leadership on that cruise because we were at a loss as to our rights on the really lousy service. What are you up to now?

[tuggers]

Hey Liz! Great to 'see' you!

I was on the last two Mercury cruises (21 nights, how cool was that???), wrote my normal 'Live From' thread. I've been doing less but longer cruises.

Booked on last Infinity to Alaska and then staying on for the Seattle to Ft Lauferdale repo in September. Nothing until then.

So what have you been up to? Funny we haven't run into each other in all this time!

[dmwnc1959]

Keep in mind that Denali is not a 'park' in the sense of the word like you find in a city, but a vast National Park and Reserve with large expanses of unpaved roads through tundra and incredible scenery dominated by Mt. McKinley. If you take a tour into the National Park expect 6-8 HOURS on a school bus through scenery a 4-year old could care less about except for the occasional bit of wildlife you might see. And Denali is not a 'zoo' with wildlife at every turn so I wouldn't expect the child to be entertained by the one moose they might see. This additional information from Wikipedia:

 

Several fully-narrated tours of the park are available, the most popular of which is the Tundra Wilderness Tour. The tours travel from the initial boreal forests through tundra to the Toklat River or Kantishna. A clear view of the mountain is only possible about 20% of the time during the summer, although it is visible more often during the winter. Several portions of the road run alongside sheer cliffs that drop hundreds of feet at the edges, and there are no guardrails. As a result of the danger involved, and because most of the gravel road is only one lane wide, drivers are trained extensively in procedures for navigating the sharp mountain curves, and yielding the right-of-way to opposing buses and park vehicles.

 

While the main park road goes straight through the middle of the Denali National Park Wilderness, the national preserve and portions of the park not designated wilderness are even more inaccessible. There are no roads extending out to the preserve areas, which are on the far west end of the park. The far north of the park, characterized by hills and rivers, is accessed by the Stampede Trail, a dirt road which stops at the park boundary. The very rugged south portion of the park, characterized by enormous glacier filled canyons, is accessed by Petersville Road, a dirt road that stops about 5*miles (8.0*km) outside of the park. The mountains can be accessed most easily by air taxis that land on the glaciers.

[Lsimon]

Anyone going to Denali should spend a little time in the Alaska port of call forum here on cruise critic and make sure they understand the different tours going into the park and what is available on their crusie tour, or alternatives they can take.

[dmwnc1959]

Anyone going to Denali should spend a little time in the Alaska port of call forum here on cruise critic and make sure they understand the different tours going into the park and what is available on their crusie tour, or alternatives they can take.

 

Couldn't agree more. With five Alaska cruises under my belt I am always surprised at the wide range of advice (and responses) people ask for and get on something so critical to a complete Alaskan experience: the TOURS. So many others seem more concerned over choosing the 'Best side balcony' with little focus on the shore excursions, which are even more important that which side ones cabin should be on for the best view on a roundtrip cruise.

[jenlynmc]

I would not advise taking a small child on this trip. I would either reroute or let one parent go on the trip while the other took the child to the visitor center and then chilled out for the day. The Denali bus tour is a great way to see nature and SOME wildlife, but it is not comfortable and it is long. Once you get on there, your options are limited on getting out except to stay on the bus and keep riding until turnaround. If you went on a later bus, you would have the opportunity to get off before the trip finished and catch one of the earlier buses on their return. This would ONLY be possible if there was a seat on that bus. The biggest factor for me in taking a small child on this would be that you have no control--not on scenery, schedule, comfort, bathroom breaks, etc.

[phoenix_dream]

The other factor to consider is there will be portions of the tour (if you are lucky) where wildlife like moose or caribou will come very close to your bus. They ask that everyone be very, very quiet or the animals will be scared away. As a four year old would not be very good at quiet, you could expect a whole busload of folks giving you some very dirty looks for partially spoiling their possibly once in a lifetime experience. I agree with other posters, leave the child at home for this trip or keep them back at the ranch so to speak with one of the parents or other adult while you tour Denali.

[frostwalker]

I love these boards! Thanks everyone! :p Those are things I had not thought of and while our 4 year old is fairly well behaved and can be quiet when he knows its important (unlike most little undisciplined brats these days), I do think the point about it being long and uncomfortable is well taken. Not to mention that we already will have been on plenty of other transportation that involves lots of sitting (the motorcoach to get to the lodge for one!).

 

I have re-thought the whole thing and while I don't seem to see much else in the way of great (paid) excursions in Denali that would be suitable for kids, I think just tooling around the Visitor's Center and the trails by it will be fun enough.

 

Too bad there isn't a hot air balloon company operating out there...but maybe the weather is too unpredictable. I have counted how many different modes of transport we will be taking on this trip and it blows me away...jet, rental car, ferry boat, float plane, tramway, trains (two types), bus, hand-crank tram, whale-watching boat...whew! Hey, we could do the dog sled tour! That would make 10! LOL:D

[teajak]

I love these boards! Thanks everyone! :p Those are things I had not thought of and while our 4 year old is fairly well behaved and can be quiet when he knows its important (unlike most little undisciplined brats these days), I do think the point about it being long and uncomfortable is well taken. Not to mention that we already will have been on plenty of other transportation that involves lots of sitting (the motorcoach to get to the lodge for one!).

 

I have re-thought the whole thing and while I don't seem to see much else in the way of great (paid) excursions in Denali that would be suitable for kids, I think just tooling around the Visitor's Center and the trails by it will be fun enough.

 

Too bad there isn't a hot air balloon company operating out there...but maybe the weather is too unpredictable. I have counted how many different modes of transport we will be taking on this trip and it blows me away...jet, rental car, ferry boat, float plane, tramway, trains (two types), bus, hand-crank tram, whale-watching boat...whew! Hey, we could do the dog sled tour! That would make 10! LOL:D

What a sensible Mom you are. With your great attitude I am sure you will never make mountains out of those pesky mole hills.:cool:

[FortyNinerLiz]

Hey Liz! Great to 'see' you!

I was on the last two Mercury cruises (21 nights, how cool was that???), wrote my normal 'Live From' thread. I've been doing less but longer cruises.

Booked on last Infinity to Alaska and then staying on for the Seattle to Ft Lauferdale repo in September. Nothing until then.

So what have you been up to? Funny we haven't run into each other in all this time!

Where is your "live from" thread??? I would love to read it!!! We have been everywhere on long cruises: the Med, Greek Isles, Transatlantic, Alaska, South America, Panama Canal, Caribbean, etc. Great cruises!!! Just got back from a two week Caribbean on the Constellation. Fabulous!!! In November we are hopefully going to do the transition cruise from Barcelona, to Egypt and then on to Dubai. Obviously, things may change on that one!! Then it is on to the Equinox for another two weeker to the Caribbean. We are waiting for the itinerary release for the Solstice in Australia.

Liz

[pal4404]

I love these boards! Thanks everyone! :p Those are things I had not thought of and while our 4 year old is fairly well behaved and can be quiet when he knows its important (unlike most little undisciplined brats these days), I do think the point about it being long and uncomfortable is well taken. Not to mention that we already will have been on plenty of other transportation that involves lots of sitting (the motorcoach to get to the lodge for one!).

 

I have re-thought the whole thing and while I don't seem to see much else in the way of great (paid) excursions in Denali that would be suitable for kids, I think just tooling around the Visitor's Center and the trails by it will be fun enough.

 

Too bad there isn't a hot air balloon company operating out there...but maybe the weather is too unpredictable. I have counted how many different modes of transport we will be taking on this trip and it blows me away...jet, rental car, ferry boat, float plane, tramway, trains (two types), bus, hand-crank tram, whale-watching boat...whew! Hey, we could do the dog sled tour! That would make 10! LOL:D

 

You and your chld will have a much more enjoyable time. Many adults cannot handle the Denali tour as in many cases the only wildlife you see is on the video screen on the bus.

[ddpe]

Please be aware that you can see wildlife right on the trail from the visitors' center. When we were walking along that trail we saw a mama moose and her two babies. Some stupid people with children were trying to get close to touch them. Very dangerous. So my warning is to not let your 4 year old run ahead on the trail or get out of sight - even close to the visitors' centers. The tour really was very long. I don't think it was a highlight for my older kids. Our helicopter ride up to the glacier, however, received high marks. Unfortunately, I think four is too young for that as well.

[agabbymama]

I love these boards! Thanks everyone! :p Those are things I had not thought of and while our 4 year old is fairly well behaved and can be quiet when he knows its important (unlike most little undisciplined brats these days), I do think the point about it being long and uncomfortable is well taken. Not to mention that we already will have been on plenty of other transportation that involves lots of sitting (the motorcoach to get to the lodge for one!).

 

I have re-thought the whole thing and while I don't seem to see much else in the way of great (paid) excursions in Denali that would be suitable for kids, I think just tooling around the Visitor's Center and the trails by it will be fun enough.

 

Too bad there isn't a hot air balloon company operating out there...but maybe the weather is too unpredictable. I have counted how many different modes of transport we will be taking on this trip and it blows me away...jet, rental car, ferry boat, float plane, tramway, trains (two types), bus, hand-crank tram, whale-watching boat...whew! Hey, we could do the dog sled tour! That would make 10! LOL:D

 

If you don't do the dog sled tour anywhere else, there are a couple options at Denali. We did Jeff King's Husky Homestead tour (and I think it's still in operation, even though Jeff has retired from the Iditarod) or the Park itself does sled dog demonstrations (they have their own kennel of dogs for Winters in the Park). I think a 4 year old might enjoy either one (seeing the pups and dogs).

[bqkali]

Another great option would be to take the FREE Savage River Shuttle, about 15 miles into the park (each way). If you go at dusk, you have great opportunities for seeing wildlife - we had quite a show of moose in September. It would still give you an opportunity to see at least part of the park, but at a duration your child could likely sit through.

 

If your son gets antsy, you can get off the bus at Savage River and walk around a bit and then return on a later bus.

[celle]

Please be aware that you can see wildlife right on the trail from the visitors' center. When we were walking along that trail we saw a mama moose and her two babies. Some stupid people with children were trying to get close to touch them. Very dangerous. So my warning is to not let your 4 year old run ahead on the trail or get out of sight - even close to the visitors' centers. The tour really was very long. I don't think it was a highlight for my older kids. Our helicopter ride up to the glacier, however, received high marks. Unfortunately, I think four is too young for that as well.

 

We saw a mother moose and her baby right in the car park at the visitors' centre. The calf was curious and wanted to look at people, but the mother moose called to it and made it stay close behind her.

 

Female moose with young are very protective and can be dangerous, so keep your little ones close to you.

[travels with mimi]

We took our 7 yr old grandchild ...she lasted about a tenth of the way and they had to get off. Then there was nothing to do for the remaining long hours It is about 8 hrs round trip and it was hard for me to sit still that long. Our younger grandchildren stay at the hotel with the dad and we were so glad they did not have to suffer the boredom and make the other travellers miserable as well.