What To Do The Night Before Your Disney Alaska Cruise
Just in case you haven’t been following along, let me take a moment to catch you up! Fellow TouringPlans Blogger Erin Foster and I went on an amazing Disney Alaska Cruise this summer with our families. We had an incredible time aboard the Disney Wonder and in Alaska experiencing some fantastic Port Adventures like dog sledding, the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, and viewing the Misty Fjords National Monument by float plane.
Before we set off on our exciting voyage, we each spent the night in Vancouver; Erin and her family at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport and my family at the Fairmont Waterfront. My family arrived early on the day before our Disney Alaska Cruise so we had some time to check out Vancouver. Please read on to find out all about our adventures exploring Canada Place, walking the Sea Wall and touring Gastown!
Directly across the street from the Fairmont Waterfront is Canada Place; the Vancouver cruise terminal. We thought that it would be the perfect place to start exploring. We spent lots of time wandering around the outside areas of the terminal. There were so many fun things to check out like interesting photo opportunities, historical information and entertaining things to try. One of the best things we found at the terminal was FlyOver Canada. It is basically Epcot’s Soarin’ set in Canada. Of course, as soon as we spotted it, we knew we had to ride it. The attraction was terrific! It is expensive, $19.95 for adults and $14.95 for kids, but it includes a spectacular preshow and then a ride that is equally as good as Soarin’ and twice as long.
After we were finished investigating Canada Place, we headed off for a walk along the Sea Wall. The Sea Wall is a 22 kilometer (about 13 1/2 mile) paved path along Vancouver’s waterfront. It is divided into two sides; one for walkers and joggers and the other for bicycles. We spent about two hours walking from Canada Place to Stanley Park and back. We thoroughly enjoyed the peaceful stroll and stunning scenery. For a little change of pace, here are some of the black and white photos I took along the way.
By this time we were all starting to get hungry and tired, so we decided to make our way to Gastown. This historic area is said to be to the birthplace of Vancouver. With its quaint shops, beautiful flowers and cobblestone streets, it was an excellent place to end our night. We had a delicious dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory, did some souvenir shopping at Hudson House Trading Company and checked out the famous Gastown Steam Clock.
So if you ever find yourself in Vancouver the night before a Disney Alaska Cruise, be sure to check out Canada Place, the Sea Wall and Gastown for a fabulous fun-filled evening!
Do you have any favorite places to visit in Vancouver that are walking distance from the cruise terminal? If so, please leave a comment, we would love to hear about them!
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Oh my, Kristi – your pre-cruise report is exactly what I’ve been thinking of for my cruise next May, even down to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner! This is why I’m enjoying your reports so much. The one thing l’m looking in to that you did not mention is a tour in Stanley Park via either the trolley or the horse drawn carriage. Thanks so much for another great post about your trip!!
Hi LG! So glad you are enjoying my Disney Alaska Cruise posts. I still have about three more on the way. That’s hilarious that our plans are so similar; great minds think alike, huh? 😉 Although I didn’t experience the horse-drawn carriage tour while I was exploring Stanley Park, I did pick up a brochure and checked out the carriage. Here’s the scoop: It looks like lots of fun, the carriages seem to be in excellent condition and everyone I spoke to that had just wrapped up their ride had really enjoyed it! The carriages hold 26 people, the tour lasts about an hour and they depart every 20 to 30 minutes, starting about 9:30am daily. The current rates are $32.99 for adults, $31.45 for seniors over 65 and students, $16.99 for children ages 3 to 12 and lap-sit kids age 2 and under are free. The tours are fully narrated and provide detailed information about various sites in the park like the Totem Poles in my picture above. For more information, you could check out their website at http://www.stanleypark.com. I hope you have a wonderful time! 🙂
Thanks for the info & link to the Stanley Park tours; I’ll check it out!
Your welcome! 🙂
We stayed at the Fairmont Waterfront before our 9 night cruise in May. We arrived around noon at the airport and were able to enjoy some time at the Capilano Suspension Bridge park. It was fantastic. The scenery was beautiful and they also provided free transportation from Canada Place. We also enjoyed Fly Over and DeDutch for breakfast, which we did the morning of our cruise.
Hi Steve! Thanks so much for sharing more great ideas. I loved all of the scenery in both Canada and Alaska. It reminded me a lot of my home state of Colorado that I love so much. Did you enjoy Fly Over? If you’ve ridden Soarin’ before, how did you think it compared? And how was breakfast at DeDutch? Any recommendations on foods to try there? 🙂
Hi Kristi,
I’ve enjoyed your and Erin’s articles about Alaska. I thought Fly Over was great. It was a bit different with the smaller size of the theater and the unfamiliar scenery. The best part was there was no standby line! DeDutch was great. Very clean and delicious food – we saw a good mix of people (families, couples, etc.). They are famous for the large Dutch pancakes. Also, I have to mention my first Tim Horton’s experience in the hotel/mall food court. Timbits were awesome!
I’m so happy you’ve been enjoying our articles! Thanks for the info about DeDutch. I really enjoyed Fly Over also and we didn’t have a wait either. I noticed that they were selling a higher priced ticket to go in an express line. I wonder if that is ever necessary. We tried Tim Horton’s for the first time, too. My kiddos loved it! 🙂