The train in Skagway questions

[tigerchic89]

I'm trying to decide on an excursion in Skagway. I'm interested in one with a train ride "up" and a bus/ride that stops a few times on the way back. I looks like there are three possible places that you can ride the train... to White Pass then Yukon and then a 3rd stop. Is this correct? It also seems that you can possibly see (walk on?) a suspension bridge, pan for gold or see/pet sleigh dog puppies on the way back.

How far do you need to go on the train to see all 3 of these on the way back? Is there a 4th thing to see that's a non miss? Can you recommend a train up/ride down excursion (through DCL or otherwise)? Is there any advantage dis/advantage to riding up and taking the train back down?

 

[disneyfaninaz]

I would recommend looking into a third party vendor for the Skagway Railroad excursion. On the way back, if you decide on a bus, the driver can be flexible on where you can stop. We stopped several times on our way to the Yukon and on the way back to Skagway. You'll find you have a lot more flexibility going independent. We used Frontier Excursions and were very happy with them.

 

[abayaflowers]

I would recommend looking into a third party vendor for the Skagway Railroad excursion. On the way back, if you decide on a bus, the driver can be flexible on where you can stop. We stopped several times on our way to the Yukon and on the way back to Skagway. You'll find you have a lot more flexibility going independent. We used Frontier Excursions and were very happy with them.

So, I looked into a DIY for the train ride. Then, I found out that there's only one train and Disney has booked the entire day. I emailed them (train service in Skagway) last year and that's the message I received.

 

[HarborBlvd]

So, I looked into a DIY for the train ride. Then, I found out that there's only one train and Disney has booked the entire day. I emailed them (train service in Skagway) last year and that's the message I received.

There is more than one train and Disney has not booked the entire day.

You can contact a third party and book a train and bus combination outside of your cruise line. Chilkoot Charters and Frontier Excursions both offer a full-day Yukon tour that incorporates many of the OP’s interests - train up, bus tour with photos and narration, the Yukon, sled dog puppies, etc. There are also several private van tours you can contact to customize your own tour. Either way, you can’t lose. The Yukon is gorgeous and the train is excellent. I hope you have a great time.

 

[Geomom]

We used Chilkoot Charters in Skagway. https://chilkootcharters.com/

They have a variety of excursions that are the train/bus combos. We did the Yukon rail/bus with dogcart experience in August 2016. We did bus up to the Yukon, train down. It ticked off lots of 'musts' for us...a chance to go to the Yukon, doing a dogcart ride, holding puppies, scenic train ride, and multiple scenic bus stops. It was the highlight of our trip! Pics/details are in my trip report in my signature.

 

[ivanp91]

There is more than one train and Disney has not booked the entire day.

So, I looked into a DIY for the train ride. Then, I found out that there's only one train and Disney has booked the entire day. I emailed them (train service in Skagway) last year and that's the message I received.

It depends on the type of train. If it's the White Pass & Yukon Route steam train, then it is correct that there is only one and that cruise lines will charter the entire train for their excursion. I did the round trip on it in Sept '17 and the staff on the train confirmed it was exclusively for Disney that day (Princess and HAL were also in port). Whilst it's just the one steam engine, there are numerous other types too which aren't for a specific line.

 

[Geomom]

I'm trying to decide on an excursion in Skagway. I'm interested in one with a train ride "up" and a bus/ride that stops a few times on the way back. I looks like there are three possible places that you can ride the train... to White Pass then Yukon and then a 3rd stop. Is this correct? It also seems that you can possibly see (walk on?) a suspension bridge, pan for gold or see/pet sleigh dog puppies on the way back.

How far do you need to go on the train to see all 3 of these on the way back? Is there a 4th thing to see that's a non miss? Can you recommend a train up/ride down excursion (through DCL or otherwise)? Is there any advantage dis/advantage to riding up and taking the train back down?

We went with the bus up/train down vs train up/bus down for multiple reasons--an hour later start time with the bus first (more sleep, more time for breakfast, etc), morning fog has a chance to burn off before you come down the mountain in the afternoon, and we found we were tired after a full day of sightseeing and it was nice to just sit and relax on the train back to Skagway.

 

[anricat]

We were on the same excursion as Geomom and I am in 100% agreement with what she said. We had an amazing day. It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. Chilkoot was wonderful. I really enjoyed doing the bus up (for all the same reasons she listed) and I will also add that I had a hard time following some of the commentary on the train so it was really nice that we had already had a lot of it on the bus so we knew what we were looking at (just from a different angle). I think that Yukon trip is a great length and you get to see a lot of amazing vistas. Lunch at Caribou Crossing was tasty and fun and we also did the dogcart ride. My trip report is also in my signature if you want to see my photos and further info on the day. I highly recommend Chilkoot Bus and Rail with Dogcart.

 

[HarborBlvd]

It depends on the type of train. If it's the White Pass & Yukon Route steam train, then it is correct that there is only one and that cruise lines will charter the entire train for their excursion. I did the round trip on it in Sept '17 and the staff on the train confirmed it was exclusively for Disney that day (Princess and HAL were also in port). Whilst it's just the one steam engine, there are numerous other types too which aren't for a specific line.

The steam train is never chartered out by just one cruise line. That was a miscommunication with whoever you were speaking with. There would have been exclusive cars on the steam train reserved just for DCL, but there are also other cars reserved for passengers off other ships, as well as independent travelers who have booked directly through the depot.