Denali Bus Depot — Attraction in Alaska

We purchased the 7 o’clock bus tickets on August 7th, got there on time but were refused to board on the bus. After the bus left, we talked to the manager for reasons and solutions. He complained that we missed the boarding reminders and said they always let people know that they’d better get onto board 15 mins earlier when they purchase the tickets. The fact is nobody told us to be there 15 mins earlier when we purchase the tickets. He said Oh I didn’t know who sold you the tickets. When we said that we were there on time at 7:00 am. He said no you were there at 7:05. The truth is that we were there 7 on time. A few suggestions to the bus station at Danali national park: 1. Improve this manager’s attitude to the customers. Offer positive solutions instead of blames. People travel around the world to Danali often time with little kids and tight schedules, if they can’t get onto the scheduled bus even they’re there on time(no private cars or cabs are allowed to get into the mountain)they may miss the opportunity to see the scenery in the deep mountain for a whole life. It’s not too much to ask some reasonable explanations and positive solutions. 2. Inform customers to get on board 15mins earlier when they purchase the tickets not as a curtesy notice but as a rule to follow. 3. Put a sign in the middle of the lobby to suggest customers to get on board 15 mins earlier because when customers travel with little kids, sometimes they couldn’t hear the reminders when the lobby is overcrowded. It’s 9 o’clock and we’re still here waiting to get onto the next bus. We’re very disappointed with the bus station, especially this...

The Denali Bus Depot was clean and nice decor. My 1 Star rating was because of the young lady behind the counter. We approached and asked questions about the different tours available and what was the difference between each tour and the availability. We were at the counter for less than 5 minutes with no line of people behind us. Her answers were short and abrupt and basically uninterested in helping us. Her answers were "I don't know", "All tours are booked" and "There is nothing available". Then she turned and said, to the next person that just walked up, "How can I help you?" She did this while I was in mid sentence asking her to please check for availability. My wife and daughter felt like I did that she was very rude. We waited a few minutes later and then approached the other young lady behind the counter and asked her check and availability and what a surprise, there was plenty of availability for us on a tour. There were literally 3 other parties inside the Bus Depot other than us. It was not busy at all. The next morning while waiting for our tour bus to arrive, I saw the same young lady working outside as the coordinator/announcer for all the different tours. I saw a customer walk up and ask her where they can catch their bus, her reply to him was, "I don't know!" looking very annoyed at the customer. Then she gets on the mike and announced in a very pleasant voice where to line up for my tour. I regret not getting her name or reporting her, but it's my vacation and I don't want to have to do something like that. She should not be in Customer Service or have public contact. Very rude...

We didn't book any tickets ahead of time so we weren't sure we would get any. Luckily it wasn't too busy and we got tickets for the transit bus no problem. I can't say enough about our driver Dale. He was great. Funny and very informative. Transit bus drivers are not required to provide any narration as it's not the tour bus. However, he enjoyed sharing his knowledge of the park. It's 2 hours out and 2 hours back so it does take a while. It only took about 10 minutes until we saw our first 2 moose. Dale stopped and allowed plenty of time for everyone to get pictures. We also saw a bear, sheep, and a wolf which apparently is pretty rare. You can ask to get on and off pretty much anywhere to get out and explore the area. You just wave down the next green bus when you want to get back on. Just be aware not every bus has available seats and you may need to wait for the next bus or two to come along.

My only negative about it was the view is obstructed by the metal bar in the window. So you either needed to slouch down below it or look up over it the whole time.

Lastly there were many reviews about people complaining the bus drivers asking them to be quiet. When you come up to wildlife and people hang out the window yelling it does scare away the wildlife. It's exciting to see but please observe quietly and...