Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions – Dog Sledding

If you’re planning a Disney Cruise to Alaska, you’re probably aware of all the amazing Disney Alaska Port Adventures to choose from. Everything from historical train rides, to Rainforest hikes, Lumberjack shows and glacier viewings are all on the list! There’s so much to do! But for us, one of our highest priority Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions was dog sledding on a glacier. Including cute dogs, a quick lesson on mushing, and a ride in a helicopter to get there, this once in a lifetime experience was a bucket list item to be sure! But could we afford it? Would it be worth it? Here’s everything to know about the Dog Sledding Excursion you can book on your Disney Alaska Cruise.

It’s no surprise that Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions can get pretty expensive. And if you’re going to Alaska on a Disney Cruise, chances are you want to see more than just the cute port towns you’ll see along the way. This is where Disney Alaska Port Adventures come in. We’ve already shared a bunch of our favorite Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions in our 7-Day Itinerary Disney Alaska Cruise post, but if you’re looking for extra special, this is it.

Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions

You may be wondering if you need to book a Disney Cruise Excursion at all. Of course, Disney Cruise Port Adventures aren’t such a huge priority when you’re cruising to the Caribbean. In Alaska, however, chances are you want to actually see as much of the real Alaska as you can, while you’re there. Especially since it’s such a “once in a lifetime trip” for many. As such, you’ll want to make sure you budget a decent amount for excursions on your Alaska Cruise.

Disney Alaska Port Adventures come in all shapes and sizes. You can choose between things like whale watching, guided tours, ziplining, helicopter excursions and more! One of the fan favorites is the Helicopter Dog Sledding Adventure. This tends to get booked pretty quickly on the Disney Cruise site, even at the hefty price tag. The chance to fly up to the top of glacier and do some dog sledding is such a rare experience. And many people take the chance to do it when they can.

Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions Booking Window

Just like for all Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions, be sure to double check when your Disney Cruise Excursions Booking Date Window opens. This is based on your Castaway Club Membership Status. And knowing it ahead of time will give your best chance at getting your top excursions.

• Silver Member: 90 Days prior to sailing
• Gold Member: 105 days prior to sailing
• Platinum Member: 120 days prior to sailing
• Pearl Member: 123 days prior to sailing

We recommend taking a look at what’s being offered a few days prior. That way you have a chance to make decisions and be ready to book right at midnight on the day your window opens. Some of these go fast! The excursions that tend to sell out the fastest are anything with the word “helicopter” “dogs” and “whales”. So if those are on your list, you’ll want to be ready!

Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions Booking Directly

One thing that’s great about the Disney Cruise excursions in Alaska is that you can book directly. And often for a fraction of the cost. Often people don’t like booking directly because they are worried about the quality of the experience. Or the possibility that their excursion will return too late and the ship will leave without them. But Disney themselves usually hires those same local tour companies to provide the excursion anyway! While these are valid concerns, something to consider is that you’re still in the U.S. As a result, it’s really easy to find valid reviews of any tour company. And as long as you give yourself plenty of time to get back to the ship, you’ll be fine.

While we loved everything about this trip, the dog sledding excursion on a Disney Cruise to Alaska was our favorite thing we did on this trip. Though my daughter and I were initially very nervous about it being our first helicopter ride, once we got going, it was amazing! One thing I had read consistently while researching this trip was, “get up in the air”. And I have to say, now that I’ve done it, I completely agree! Seeing Alaska from that viewpoint was incredible.

Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions Dog Sledding Experience

We actually booked our Alaska Dog Sledding Excursion directly through Temsco in Skagway, Alaska. This saved us about $220 per person than if we booked it through Disney. Now, there is a little caveat to this. When you book directly, you have to pay to reserve your spot. This is different than when booking through Disney Cruise Line because they don’t charge you until after you board the ship. So if you plan to book directly, just be aware that you’ll need that money upfront. 

Temsco is the only helicopter excursion company in Skagway. So, when you book through them, you’re booking the exact same excursion as other cruisers. You’re just saving a lot more! People also tend to worry about how to get to Temsco. But luckily, in Skagway, their office is literally right across from where the Disney Wonder Cruise Ship docks. You can actually see the helipad area from the ship! It’s about a 5 minute walk as soon as you disembark, and super simple! 

Dog Sledding Experience by Helicopter Excursion Details

When you arrive at Temsco, you’ll check in and get weighed. Yes, they have to weigh you so they know how to split people up into the helicopter. For guests over 250 lbs, there is a surcharge that you’ll need to pay and they do let you know this prior to booking.

Get Checked In

Once you’ve been checked in and weighed, they’ll call your group when ready and you have to watch a safety video. Then you are given a life jacket and boot covers. You’ll be split into groups based on which helicopter you’ll be in and they’ll go over with you how to load up into the helicopter. You’ll be given headphones once inside. Then away you go! 

Helicopter Ride

The helicopter ride is actually pretty quick, being about 15 minutes or so to get from the ground to the top. The views during this journey are stunning, and we suggest taking it all in!

When you reach the glacier, you’ll see the little summer camp that’s been set up for the dogs and their mushers. The only way to reach this area is by helicopter, so everything is flown in at the beginning of the season. And everything is flown out at the end of it. So neat! 

Meet the Dogs

Once you’re off the helicopter, you get to meet the dogs you’ll be working with. And then you get to mush! The handler will go over how to operate the sled and they stay with you the whole time on their own sled that’s connected to the line.

Depending on the size of your group, you can take turns driving or take turns sitting and just enjoying the ride. Since it was just my daughter and myself in our group, we were each able to mush and ride twice. It was a ton of fun! And we loved being able to see the dogs do what they do best- run! These dogs are professional athletes and it’s so impressive to see them work.  We got to meet a couple of Iditarod veterans and that was pretty cool!

Duration

You get to spend about 30 minutes mushing with the dogs and about 30 minutes with the mushers to ask any questions you have and just learn about their summer camp. The whole excursion experience is about 2 hours long.

Dog Sledding Experience by Helicopter Cost

As one of the more expensive Disney Alaska Port Adventures, you should expect to pay more. Booking directly with Temsco cost us $629 each. And if we had booked the same Dog Sledding Excursion thru Disney, it would have cost us $849. These prices can change depending on demand and time of year. But that was the pricing on our specific itinerary in early June.

Skagway Mushers Summer Camp

If helicopters aren’t your thing, that’s ok! There are other ways to experience sled dogs in Alaska that don’t require riding in a helicopter. One of the most popular dog excursions is the Skagway Mushers Summer Camp that’s held a bit closer to sea level. You get to see how the dogs are trained on more solid ground. And you get to meet puppies! We didn’t experience this one but had heard great reviews from other cruisers. You won’t get the dramatic backdrop of being on a glacier. But it’s also considerably less expensive and you still get to spend time with sled dogs. 

Is the Skagway Glacier Dog Sledding Experience by Helicopter worth it? As with all things, worth is subjective. For us, yes it was. This was a bucket list experience and one we’ve been wanting to do since we started researching our Disney Cruise to Alaska. That being said, the entire excursion time, including the safety video, is just about 2 hours. So it’s not very long.

In fact the shorter excursion time allowed us to do other things in Skagway during that same port day. We got to see the shops, get treats, and even take the White Pass Railway Tour which was awesome.

Skagway Glacier Dog Sledding Experience by Helicopter Review

If you love dogs, can budget it in and are ok with a helicopter ride, then we absolutely think it’s worth it. It was our favorite experience on our entire trip! The Helicopter Dog Sledding Excursion through Temsco is such a unique way to experience Alaska and take in some of its natural beauty! We reviewed this whole experience over on our YouTube channel. Take a look to see if this makes your Disney Alaska Cruise Excursions Must Do List!