As the routine had become, Brett and I got up and got our coffee and breakfast and then returned to the room with plates for the kids. We had a little extra time to get ready this morning, because we didn’t have to meet our excursion guides until 10:15am.

On the agenda for the day was a helicopter and dogsled tour on Mendenhall Glacier. I did A LOT of research when booking this one and we booked our excursion through the Alaska Shore Excursion site. This is a stupid expensive excursion, but “when in Alaska…” you spare no expenses. That being said, by eliminating Disney in the booking process, we saved $800. That’s insane. Essentially the price became a “buy three, get one free” compared to booking through the ship. Absolutely worth it. AND the tour was with the exact same outfit that operates the Disney tours.

Unfortunately, in Juneau we landed at the more industrial dock, which required either a mile walk or a quick shuttle ride (basically a Disney parks bus). It was constantly running, and really very easy to navigate, but not quite as picturesque as the other ports.

We were supposed to meet our guides at the base of the tramway (right where the shuttle dropped us off - you can’t miss it). As soon as we got over there though, I got a text to call about an update to our tour, and my heart sank. It was grounded due to visibility, and no chance of rebooking for the afternoon. A) they didn’t know if any tours would go up for the day, and b) those were already booked solid.

This was a heavy blow. We knew it was a distinct possibility and happens quite a bit. Weather is weather. But it still took the wind out our sails, and Penelope was absolutely heartbroken. Not sure what to do, we decided to hop right back on the shuttle, and go see what are other options were through the ship.

Kids walk back to shuttle bus in the port of Juneau, Alaska.

We sent the kids to lick their wounds with some ice cream, while we figured out how to pivot. It wasn’t unlike scrambling at the airport when you get a cancelled flight. There was quite a line at the guest services desk, so we went straight to the source and booked through the app (afraid if we stood in line, things would fill up).

Both the summer dogsledding excursion and the helicopter/glacier tour were still available for later in the afternoon. We knew it was a risk to choose the glacier tour, but decided we’d rather swing and miss at that one than do the summer dogsleds.

A quick note on the booking… all that money I saved by booking direct pretty much flew out the window. We paid nearly the same price (via Disney) for the helicopter/glacier tour as we initially paid for the more extensive dogsledding excursion. But c’est la vie! Oh, and another note, Alaska Shore Excursions had a full refund back on our card within 24 hours - so that process was started immediately upon the cancellation. I would 100% book through them again, no issues whatsoever, even when something went wrong.

We bided our time on the ship until it was time to report to our meeting point for the excursion. Soon enough we were on a bus out to the airfield.

View of mountains in Juneau, Alaska from a bus.

Once there, we were ushered inside a building to listen to a safety briefing and get suited up. And then we were lined up to board our helicopter. The crew determines your seating position based on weight (something we wrote down and handed over to them when we boarded the bus). We were in a slightly larger helicopter with the four of us across the back and another couple up front with the pilot.

We were quickly ushered outside, strapped into our seats, and airborne. I was definitely nervous for this excursion. But everything happened so quickly once we were at the airfield that there wasn’t much time to get too freaked out.

I love the photo below. Lucas looking to Penelope, and her reaction to our sudden lift off the ground, is gold.

Family boards a Temsco helicopter for Mendenhall Glacier.

Family takes off for a helicopter tour in Juneau, Alaska.

The cloud cover was pretty low. Our pilot apologized to those of us who had to cancel our dogsledding excursions, saying that the dogsledding camp was at a higher elevation and no one was getting up there today. He also told us that absolutely no helicopter excursions went out the previous day, due to weather. So, we were feeling pretty lucky to get to go up at all. It may have been a dreary day, but the views were still spectacular.

In the pictures below, we are going up and over Mendenhall Glacier, before landing on it at a higher elevation. After being so up close and personal with Dawes Glacier earlier in the week, I’m glad we skipped the Mendenhall Glacier excursions that approached it from the ground. I feel like it may have seemed small and far away after the boat experience in Endicott Arm.

View from helicopter looking back towards the cruise ship port in Juneau, Alaska.

Family flies over Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.

Looking out a helicopter at Alaskan views.

Mountains in Juneau, Alaska seen from above.

View from the second row of a helicopter in Alaska.

Green mountainsides seen from a helicopter in Juneau, Alaska.

View of Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.

Family looks out over Alaska from a helicopter.

View from above Mendenhall Glacier looking out across Mendenhall Lake.

View through the helicopter windows in Alaska.

Looking down on rugged glacier ice from a helicopter.

Once the helicopter set down (we were the first of I think five choppers), a guide opened our doors, ushered us out and told us to walk carefully to a spot where the Alaskan flag was standing. I didn’t quite realize it at the time, because I was taking in my surroundings and it was happening quickly. But as we were ushered away from the helicopter, another group was brought out and put onto it. So they basically flipped two excursion groups in the span of five minutes or so.

Glacier ice and boots with ice picks on them.

Kids stand with an Alaskan flag on the surface of Mendenhall Glacier.

Helicopter lands on top of Mendenhall Glacier.

Siblings pose for a photo on top of Mendenhall Glacier.

Helicopter soars above Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.

We hung at the flag until that took place and then one of the guides passed out walking poles and started sharing some fun facts bout the glacier. Then we walked a little ways up a slight incline, where he told us some more things and then gave us some time for photos.

Group listens to a tour guide on Mendenhall Glacier.

Boy uses walking stick to walk up glacier in Alaska.

Kids answer questions for a tour guide on Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska.

Father and son have a duel with their walking sticks on Mendenhall Glacier.

Father and son laugh together on top of an Alaskan Glacier.

Father and daughter walk across a glacier in Alaska.

Maybe ten minutes later, we wandered over to another area to taste the glacier water (if we so pleased). And then it was time to go. I’d say we were on the ice for 25-30 minutes.

Kid slides down the slope of a glacier in Alaska.

Kid poses with his walking stick on a glacier in Alaska.

Tourists drink the glacier water in Alaska.

up close photo of glacier ice and water.

father and son drink glacier water on Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska.

This time we were the ones being ushered back to the helicopters, as a new group arrived.

Kid walks across a glacier with helicopters soaring in the sky above.

Siblings pose on top of Mendenhall Glacier.

Was it really cool to stand on a glacier and experience something so foreign to me? Absolutely. There was a lot to marvel over as we looked around and soaked up the scenery. That being said, compared to the glacier expedition we did a couple days prior, this kinda felt like a photo op. On that excursion, I felt like we got to really sit in the natural environment and breathe deeply. And this one felt a little bit like it was over before it started. I’m glad we did it. And it felt like a great consolation prize considering we didn’t get to dogsled. But it’s not an excursion I would book again; whereas, I would book the glacier boat tour again in a heartbeat.

The helicopter ride back was shorter… the pilot told us it would feel a little bit like we were falling out of the air, because the elevation change was steeper. And he wasn’t kidding. We went up over the top of a mountain and almost immediately found ourselves back on sold ground on the other side.

Boy talks on headset on a helicopter tour of Alaska glaciers.

Views looking out of a helicopter in Alaska.

Temsco helicopter tours in Juneau, Alaska.

Family selfie on a helicopter tour in Alaska.

From there we changed out of our gear, grabbed our stuff and made it back to the port in record time. The kids were not interested in exploring Juneau, so we got them settled on the ship and we took off for a snack. Deckhand Dave’s, a food truck spot, was on my list to check out and it did not disappoint. Great atmosphere and great tacos. From there, we found ourselves at a small table outside the Griz Bar (right across from the main port) sipping on old fashioned’s, before making our way back to the ship for dinner.

Deckhand Dave's food truck court in Juneau, Alaska.

View looking down the Main Street in Juneau, Alaska.

Tacos from Deckhand Dave's in Juneau, Alaska.

Couple enjoys beers at Deckhand Dave's in Juneau, Alaska.

That night we hit up family karaoke and Lucas brought down the house with Don’t Stop Believin,’ the best karaoke song ever. There was also some trivia and a game similar to Heads Up where Brett and Penelope were so in sync they got double the points of any other team, which was fun to watch.

Up next: we explore Ketchikan!

The Last Frontier: A Disney Wonder Cruise Report - June 2025 (Day 05: Juneau, Alaska)