**** Vancouver FAQ Thread **** A few updates in main post!

[Mackie Mouse]

So awesome to read your trip report after having read about your planning, and I am so happy you enjoyed your visit to our fair city! It's too funny that you were not that overwhelmed by flyin over Canada because it is exactly like Soarin with different scenery....we poor Disney deprived Canadians are soooooo thrilled with it because it is exactly the same! We always end up riding Soarin several times when we are down south as it is one of our favourite attractions.
We decided to stay home this summer and do the touristy things here we have not done in years and reading about it through a strangers eyes really is fun!

Too funny to hear it from your perspective! I am sure that Soarin'-deprived Canadians (and huge fans of the ride in Epcot) will love it. I think I was just hoping for a bit more of a novel twist on a favorite ride at WDW (and I did also ride it just in March in DCA, so that could have something to do with it!). Thanks so much for the kind words...I'm glad a local appreciates it!

Feel free to make it down to Kitsilano and the Chinatown garden to tell me what I missed I also desperately wish we'd had one more lunch so we could have eaten at Meat and Bread - we heard great things about it from at least 3 or 4 people while we were in town.

 

[TwingleMomFl]

I have to say how much I loved, loved Vancouver! We stayed at the coal coast harbour hotel pre cruise and it was in a fantastic location! Walking distance to everything! The people are super friendly every where! The people are also so good looking too! We took ferries and busses and trains. Super easy to get around and navigate.

I did find food pricey. And cabs are not easy if you are a family of 5 or larger. They can only accommodate up to 4. And they and mostly all priuses.

We took the taxi from Amtrak (2 of them) to the city and with tip aBout $10 each. My husband took the taxi with all our luggage, to he airport and it was about $35.00. No highway just side streets. I took the kids in the train and it was so super easy and only cost us less than $10.00. Great view on the train. And puts you out across the street from the terminal.

We rented a car and went to whistler which was amazing!! We went to grouse mountain and zip lined. We also did the 2 day big bus toyr for pre and post cruise. It is good for two weeks. We also went to the Lynn suspension bridge because its free.

I wish I had more time. I would have taken the ferry to one of the island about 2.5 hours away. I guess I will have to return!!!

Post cruise we stayed at the Renaissance but the people were friendlier at the coast coal harbour.

 

[bumbershoot]

I did find food pricey. And cabs are not easy if you are a family of 5 or larger. They can only accommodate up to 4. And they and mostly all priuses.

We took the taxi from Amtrak (2 of them) to the city and with tip aBout $10 each.

When we've cabbed it from the train station there are generally taxi-vans that are either there in line or that you can request. They might not have been there for you, but it is something others can see if they can work out.

Thanks for the info on flying into Seattle. Does anyone have current information on the bus transportation from Seattle to Vancouver that is mentioned on the first page of this thread? Is this a decent option or is it better/easier to drive?

Quickcoach and Amtrak are still good answers. Now there's Bolt Bus, but I'm not sure where exactly it picks up. I think it drops off in the International District of Seattle, which is somewhat convenient to transit continuing on to the airport.

 

[TwingleMomFl]

When we've cabbed it from the train station there are generally taxi-vans that are either there in line or that you can request. They might not have been there for you, but it is something others can see if they can work out.

I saw the mini van taxi's , even took one myself to the airport. They only have 4 seats in them.the driver said its a law they can't have 5seats in the van/car. So you can't assume because its a mini van that it has more seats in this city.

 

[DisneyDream2B]

Sorry, about the tax unfortunately it's 12%.

WDWLVR glad you liked your trip to Victoria. It's a great place to live. The whales you saw are a local pod that are in the Gulf Islands area in the summer. I saw about 12 of them a few weeks ago while on the ferry. You see them around Active Pass quite frequently from the ferry in the summer.

Do you know if the whale pods are likely to still be there in late summer (last week of August)?

 

[bumbershoot]

I meant to update!

I was talking with a cabbie in Vancouver a few weekends ago, and he said that when they get a larger group at Amtrak, it's recommended that the group ask the person at the cab stand to call a local limo company. That it's always (his words) going to be cheaper than using two cabs. So there we go. Make sure you find the person at Amtrak who does that, and do it.



OK I did not mean to EDIT my post, I meant to quote it. Here's what WAS in this space until today, LOL.

When we've cabbed it from the train station there are generally taxi-vans that are either there in line or that you can request. They might not have been there for you, but it is something others can see if they can work out.

I saw the mini van taxi's , even took one myself to the airport. They only have 4 seats in them.the driver said its a law they can't have 5seats in the van/car. So you can't assume because its a mini van that it has more seats in this city.

 

[Cmbar]

When we've cabbed it from the train station there are generally taxi-vans that are either there in line or that you can request. They might not have been there for you, but it is something others can see if they can work out.

I saw the mini van taxi's , even took one myself to the airport. They only have 4 seats in them.the driver said its a law they can't have 5seats in the van/car. So you can't assume because its a mini van that it has more seats in this city.

Just returned today and the cabs, no matter what size can only fit four people. The Vans however can fit more luggage. So if you have a family of 5 or more you may want to look into town cars or shuttles. All depends on where you hotel is in Vancouver how much it costs and whether you can take the light rail system. The workers outside the Amtrak station convinced us to go the Train System but we ended up walking a very long distance with luggage. I don't recommend it.


After completing this vacation I would like to say that if we had to do it all again we would easily choose to fly directly into Vancouver. The train to and from Seattle, was very time consuming and between every time we had to get a taxi to get to and from the train station it started really adding up. The Seattle Train station worked much more smoothly than Vancouver. It was exhausting pulling our luggage all around so much. In the Vancouver train station you have to load your own luggage and when on the arrival trip to Vancouver you have to retrieve your luggage. Basically they line up all the luggage in No Order and they call you off by cars and then you search for your luggage.

 

[TwingleMomFl]

The city of Vancouver has a taxi law of 4 max in a cab/taxi. That also includes the area here Amtrak picks up. However, if you fly into YVR it is outside of the city limits and may find a taxi with more seats.

I agree with the whole finding your luggage with Amtrak in Vancouver. It was very disorganized!

We flew out from YVR and took the train from Canada place. It was super easy!!

In fact my son left his backpack with an iPad mini and an iPod in it. When we realized that we did not have I before going into the security check point, I let the rest of my family continue on to clear customs and I went back to the station. The person working the platform was so super helpful. He radioed every station and back to Canada place. Someone actually took the backpack to lost and found , back in downtown Vancouver. They had one of heir employees drive It back to the airport and they checked it in with my airline so I could make my flight. I could not believe that all electronic devices were in the bag, when I got it at our home airport!!!

Everyone I encountered there were so super friendly! Not all tourists are taken advantage of everywhere.

 

[Never to old]

I wanted to post about our excursions. Prior to sailing we spent 3 days in Vancouver.

1st day we did Capilano Suspension bridge and Grouse mountain. Both were wonderful. We caught the lumber jack show at Grouse mountain as it was included in our admission and skipped the one in Alaska. We spoke to people who did the one in Alaska and it seemed simiar to the one we did. My tip is take the first bus out in the am to Capilano. Then go to their guest services to get exact change for bus fare to Grouse mountain. Currently 2.75 per person. Bus stop is just a few feet up the road from Capilano. Make sure you take sunscreen for Grouse mountain. If you will be up there at dusk, take bug spray. Last free bus back to Canada place is 5:30. Don't wait til the end, it is first come first serve. The 5:00 bus was filled and we had to wait for the last one.

2n day- Stanley park- this is a wonderful park. It has a minature train, aquarium, 3 beaches, and a large swimming pool. There is additonal fees for these things. I don't think that they charged for the beach. We spent the entire day at the park. There is also food places within the park and a lovely sea wall to walk around. You can also rent bikes and ride around the park. I think you rent them elsewhere.

3rd day- We walked around the city of Vancouver and also went to the Fly over Canada attraction. That was really good.

If you are staying at the Pan Pacific or Waterfront Fairmont there is a food court underneath. Highly recommed eating breakfast at the Pita Express. He uses fresh eggs and no microwave. You get omlet, hashbrown, toast, fruit and juice. Cost for 2 people was 22.98 this included tax. Cost for breakfast at the Pan is 30.00 per person.

Alaska

Skagway- We did the best of Skagway tour- The white pass train was great. If you start at the top and go down the summit sit on the right side of the train. If you are going up the summit on the train, sit on the left side. There was 32 people on our bus. We were assigned 2 train cars. There was only 12 people on our car. Most everyone went to the second car. So you might want to hang back and see where everyone goes before jumping on one. I was able to move from side to side and go out on the platforms without difficulty. There are 2 platforms one at the front and one at the end of the car. Most everyone went on the front one. Complmentary water in the back of the train car. After the train we were taken to Liarsville. We were served lunch, which was okay. The show was hokey, we found 5 flecks of gold. I do mean flecks. Lots of bugs there including flies. Next we went to the Red Onion salon. We were offered complimentary beer, wine, lemonade and water. It is a very small museum. It was okay. The only part of this excursion that I recommend is the White Pass train.

Juneau- Enchanted Taku lodge- I give this excursion 10 stars. We took a floatplane to the lodge. Flight was cool. You have time to walk around the grounds before and after the meal. We saw bears. The food was great. They provided a short hike with a guide after lunch. They also provided bug spray if you wanted it. It was buggy there, but we didn't use it. I missed the story about the lodge. There were 2 bears licking the salmon oil off of the sand, i went to watch them. My husband said the story was very good.

Forgot to mention that before this tour we did the Mount Robert tram on our own. Just aheads up the tickets cost 2.00 more at the place than on the ship. I didn't buy them on the ship because I didn't know what we were going to do. I didn't feel like taking the bus back to the ship to buy tickets. Disney did provide a complimentary bus from the dock to the town and back to the ship.

Ketichan- We walked around the city ourselves. We saw creek street and the fish trying to swim up stream. Noted it would be a very easy walk from the ship to the lumberjack show. Our excursion this day was with a private company called Island wings of Ketichan. We took a float plane to Misty Fjords. There was a public dock there that we were able to get out and spend about 15 minutes on it before other planes arrived. This trip was good unfortunately after our Taku lodge experience, it just didn't blow me away. The company is very good and easy to work with. I would fly with them again. However, I would want to go on there bear trip instead of the Misty Fjords.


Just an observation- I think the characters stuck to deck 4 during Tracy Arms. We did not see any on deck 10. Also people were reserving viewing spots early. We were able to get a spot along the rail, but we did not have a great back drop for pictures. There was this pole or part of the ship in it. Just keep that in mind if you were hoping for good pictures. On our trip the left side of the ship saw the glacier first, then the ship was turned and the right side saw the glacier next.

I hope that you find this information helpful. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[MermaidsMom]

Where are the best spots for glacier viewing? We really dislike 'jockeying' for space at things like this and would like to find an out of the way spot if possible. Thanks

 

[Never to old]

Where are the best spots for glacier viewing? We really dislike 'jockeying' for space at things like this and would like to find an out of the way spot if possible. Thanks

On our sailing everyone went towards the front of the ship when the glacier came into view. It was so deep with people I didn't try to get through. I don't know what deck 4 was like but there was a lot of people on the upper deck no matter where you went. But we were still able to get a spot along the rail

 

[richmo]

Where are the best spots for glacier viewing? We really dislike 'jockeying' for space at things like this and would like to find an out of the way spot if possible. Thanks

In case you don't feel like jockeying for position, the second the ship gets all the way in and starts heading out, everyone (almost) runs away to their room or whatever. You see just as much heading out as in, and its far less crowded.

 

[DisneyDream2B]

About what time does the ship turn around in Tracy Arm?

Thanks

 

[richmo]

About what time does the ship turn around in Tracy Arm?

Thanks

I think it can vary. Only one cruise ship is allowed in at a time, so it depends on other cruise lines itineraries, as well. If I recall, on my cruise (and it was two years ago), turn around time was somewhere around 3:30-4:00.

 

[DisneyDream2B]

Does anyone know if its possible to get to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge from Canada Place, using public transportation? And then from Lynn Canyon to Grouse Mountain?
Many thanks!

 

[bumbershoot]

Apparently I don't know Edit from Quote, so this is already in the post above, but I'll put it here for those reading only the most recent posts.




I meant to update!

I was talking with a cabbie in Vancouver a few weekends ago, and he said that when they get a larger group at Amtrak, it's recommended that the group ask the person at the cab stand to call a local limo company. That it's always (his words) going to be cheaper than using two cabs. So there we go. Make sure you find the person at Amtrak who does that, and do it.

 

[Mackie Mouse]

Does anyone know if its possible to get to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge from Canada Place, using public transportation? And then from Lynn Canyon to Grouse Mountain?
Many thanks!

To get to Lynn Canyon, you will need to get to Lonsdale Quay using the Seabus, which leaves from the Waterfront Terminal - about an 8-10 minute walk along the Seawall east of Canada Place. Then, from Lonsdale Quay you will want to pick up the 229 bus, which drops off right at Lynn Canyon. Looks like you should leave yourself about an hour total for travel.

See: http://lynncanyon.ca/directions/

To get to Grouse from Lynn Canyon my guess would be to take the 229 bus back to Lonsdale Quay, then pick up the #236 bus, which take you directly to Grouse. There may be another bus route that results in a slightly shorter ride, but that's the easiest way I know from my all of three days in Vancouver this summer

 

[DisneyDream2B]

Thanks, Mackie Mouse!

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Unfortunately, while I got a great rate at the Pan Pacific for the night before our cruise, I didn't get a harbor view room.

Where is the best place to watch The Wonder come into port in the morning? Is there an observation deck that overlooks the harbor? TIA

 

[C&Apriputin]

Where are the best spots for glacier viewing? We really dislike 'jockeying' for space at things like this and would like to find an out of the way spot if possible. Thanks

That's why we got a nav balcony... And loved every minute of it... Was room 7628 in 2012 and booked 7128 for 2014