Skagway Excursions - Help me decide

[rdefensor]

Hello Everyone,

We will be going to Alaska in September. I'm undecided on which port excursion to do in Skagway. It will be my DH, a 4 year old and a 10 month old. Both kids are well behaved and travel well. I'm debating on the following:
Liarsville Character Exp & Salmon Bake (SW36) - I'm hesitating on booking based on research that it's cheesy, awkward and often times inappropriate for the kids but then there are reviews where the food is great and young kids will love it.
Klondike Family Challenge (SW58) - This seems better than Liarsville from what i read, but is it age appropriate for my 4 year old. Are the "family challenges" easy enough for us or are they more for older kids? I'm bummed that this is chicken versus salmon for the meal.
Yukon Expedition (SW31) - Is this too long of an excursion or is it varied enough that it might be entertaining for the 4 year old and for us adults who love nature?

Thoughts? Input? Is there something else we should do instead? Please help me decide.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

We rented a Green Jeep and drove it up to the Tagish Lake Kennel where we pet the puppies and did the dogcart run and gold panning for my eldest. I would absolutely do that again. You can go at your own pace, stopping only when you want and let the kids out when they need a run around. We could have kept the car all day but we came back and had lunch on the ship. The Yukon should not be missed if you are in Skagway, and Liarsville is really close to where the ships dock.

 

[daveyc150]

I’m booked on the dog sledding helicopter tour. I’ve heard it is common for this to get cancelled so I’m planning the Yukon as a back-up. I’ve heard that Liarsville is a bit hokey but I guess everyone likes different things.

 

[dad of 3 addicted to DCL]

We did the Liarsville breakfast (thereby minimizing the cheese factor). The eggs & steak were cooked over the fire (yum!) while they sang camp songs (cheesy!). Afterwards was the best part, we all panned for gold with salted pans. Everyone got a flake or two to take home. Very fun. It was just an hour or so, then we hit the town for fun shopping and whatnot. My wife and I wanted to do the White Pass rail excursion, but knew our kids would be bonkers 1/2 way through. The breakfast was just right.

 

[tanya0369]

We did the Disney liarsville excursion this May. I was very torn. Most things I read said it was very cheesy but I went ahead because Chip & dale are my kids favorite characters & I thought the gold panning would be fun. This was our least favorite excursion of the cruise. When we arrived we had 10-15 min to walk around and take pictures & look in the general store. Then they gathered for a song and puppet show. It was very cheesy & boring. The puppet show was way too long for any age range. Then they had a small scavenger hunt around camp. Afterwards you went gold panning and chip & dale & Donald joined in. This ended up not being as fun as I thought. We had so many interactions with the characters on the boat already that non of my 4 kids were that excited to see them. Especially for the price. Next they roasted smores while the lunch was getting prepared. Out of our group of 7 nobody ate the food. Grandmas fish was totally raw. The mosquitos were also bad in the lunch area. We chose not to do the train because I thought the kids would get bored, if I could do it again I would have done something different.

 

[GPaLarry]

We also did the Liarsville excursion with son/wife & three Gkids (7, 11 & 13). The skit was somewhat cheesy but the kids soaked it all in and didn't complain. While they went to pan for gold, wife and I went into the gift shop. The woman there gave us a clue for the panning, "look in the creek"...she would say no more. We returned to the rest of the family but paused before crossing a small bridge to the water toughs. I looked down and, sure enough, small "gold" stones were scattered in the stream. I told my youngest Gkid and she quickly filled her small plastic bag. Word got out and the rush was on. Later, as we walked through the Liarsville recreated village I spotted the origin of fake news...a tent with a "Press" sign attached...remember, we were in Liarsville. The food was somewhat limited in choices (we had a very picky eater in the crowd), but survived. I wouldn't do this adventure again, but felt it was worth the time and $$ for one time.