losfp
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 25, 2014
2015 trip PTR: http://www.disboards.com/threads/ptr-2015s-usa-trip-the-disneyest-holiday-ever.3301479/
2015 trip Report: http://www.disboards.com/threads/tr-lee-family-mousefest-2015.3468407/
As promised on my last PTR, the planning for the next trip started very quickly!! Actually the first ideas started being discussed during a dinner on the second last night of our Western Caribbean cruise on board the Disney Fantasy, halfway through our 2015 trip!
We had always figured on a 3-year cycle between trips so we could save up money and leave. 2017 would have been lovely as it would be the 10th anniversary year, but we always figured that it was too soon. Well we were loving the Disney cruise so much that we started seriously thinking about doing Alaska so we could recreate our 2007 honeymoon. We even put down a deposit on a next cruise to lock in a discount!
Well, when the schedules and prices for 2017 summer came out, it quickly became clear that we would be priced out of DCL. This was disappointing as we'd enjoyed the Caribbean cruise so much.
My folks were looking at Alaska cruises as well - they had a cruise booked a couple of years ago but cancelled it as it would be around the time that Granddaughter The Younger (or The Hellbeast as we normally call her these days) was due to be born. They looked into prices as well and offered to pay for us to cruise with them to Alaska... as long as it was on Princess, their preferred line. We loved DCL, but with Princess offering a cruise that was literally half the price.. and that went one-way with a stop at Glacier Bay to boot (DCL only had 7-night round trip cruises that didn't cruise Glacier Bay)... it wasn't a hard choice to accept the offer. It would allow my parents the opportunity to spend time with the kids on holiday, and give us babysitting options for when we wanted some alone mum and dad time.
Of course once that was in place, it started getting bigger than Ben Hur. Given the cruise start and finish locations, it would allow us to do the Canadian Rockies and inland Alaska just like we did for our honeymoon back in 2007. Afterwards, of course we had to organise a few days in Anaheim before flying home.
So this is what the trip looks like right now:
Days 1-8 : Fly into Calgary. Stay a couple of nights with a relative in Calgary, then a few days driving in the Canadian Rockies. A few days in Banff, a day or two at Lake Louise, and maybe a day or two up at Jasper before driving down to Vancouver.
Days 9-11 : Vancouver. I liked it when we were there in 2007, lots of things to see and do.
Days 12-18 : Cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage (Whittier)
Days 19-26 : Get a car and drive around in Alaska for about a week. Not sure of the order of stops, will have to work out what is best in terms of driving times, car rental rates etc. Will do a few days near Denali NP, perhaps a day or two in Fairbanks, and a couple of days in Seward.
Days 27-30 : Los Angeles. We want to do a day at Universal, maybe a day shopping and another day at other LA attractions like the La Brea Tar Pits or the Science Centre.
Days 31-36 : Six nights booked into the Grand Californian
Day 37 : Fly home
Right now the only things locked in are the cruise and the nights at the Grand Californian. A bit more research before we confirm the rest.
2015 trip Report: http://www.disboards.com/threads/tr-lee-family-mousefest-2015.3468407/
As promised on my last PTR, the planning for the next trip started very quickly!! Actually the first ideas started being discussed during a dinner on the second last night of our Western Caribbean cruise on board the Disney Fantasy, halfway through our 2015 trip!
We had always figured on a 3-year cycle between trips so we could save up money and leave. 2017 would have been lovely as it would be the 10th anniversary year, but we always figured that it was too soon. Well we were loving the Disney cruise so much that we started seriously thinking about doing Alaska so we could recreate our 2007 honeymoon. We even put down a deposit on a next cruise to lock in a discount!
Well, when the schedules and prices for 2017 summer came out, it quickly became clear that we would be priced out of DCL. This was disappointing as we'd enjoyed the Caribbean cruise so much.
My folks were looking at Alaska cruises as well - they had a cruise booked a couple of years ago but cancelled it as it would be around the time that Granddaughter The Younger (or The Hellbeast as we normally call her these days) was due to be born. They looked into prices as well and offered to pay for us to cruise with them to Alaska... as long as it was on Princess, their preferred line. We loved DCL, but with Princess offering a cruise that was literally half the price.. and that went one-way with a stop at Glacier Bay to boot (DCL only had 7-night round trip cruises that didn't cruise Glacier Bay)... it wasn't a hard choice to accept the offer. It would allow my parents the opportunity to spend time with the kids on holiday, and give us babysitting options for when we wanted some alone mum and dad time.
Of course once that was in place, it started getting bigger than Ben Hur. Given the cruise start and finish locations, it would allow us to do the Canadian Rockies and inland Alaska just like we did for our honeymoon back in 2007. Afterwards, of course we had to organise a few days in Anaheim before flying home.
So this is what the trip looks like right now:
Days 1-8 : Fly into Calgary. Stay a couple of nights with a relative in Calgary, then a few days driving in the Canadian Rockies. A few days in Banff, a day or two at Lake Louise, and maybe a day or two up at Jasper before driving down to Vancouver.
Days 9-11 : Vancouver. I liked it when we were there in 2007, lots of things to see and do.
Days 12-18 : Cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage (Whittier)
Days 19-26 : Get a car and drive around in Alaska for about a week. Not sure of the order of stops, will have to work out what is best in terms of driving times, car rental rates etc. Will do a few days near Denali NP, perhaps a day or two in Fairbanks, and a couple of days in Seward.
Days 27-30 : Los Angeles. We want to do a day at Universal, maybe a day shopping and another day at other LA attractions like the La Brea Tar Pits or the Science Centre.
Days 31-36 : Six nights booked into the Grand Californian
Day 37 : Fly home
Right now the only things locked in are the cruise and the nights at the Grand Californian. A bit more research before we confirm the rest.
