Denali reservations jump on opening day

Five days after Black Friday’s much-hyped post-thanksgiving sales, a new midnight opening approaches. However, this opening is less likely to pose the same personal safety concerns as a consumer hullabaloo. It’s more like making sure you get your tickets to Phish the day they go on sale.

Reservations for Transportation and Camping in Denali National Park opened at midnight. Park Concession management specialist Jim LeBel says that while it may not be a door-busting, blowout sale, the first day of December is still the highest volume day for reservations until much later in the season.

[Clip: Reserve 1

            “… after about december 7^th”

Last year the call center had more than 100 calls, the highest volume of reservations until the park opens 5 months later in May.

All camping spaces in the 4 biggest campgrounds in the park can be pre-booked, so anyone dead-set on getting site 13 at Wonder Lake for Labor Day weekend will likely be sitting in front of their computer watching the seconds tick by.

The call center for phone reservations is in Arizona and opened at 4 this morning,  Alaska Standard Time. Any dedicated Denali fans who weren’t morning people very likely stayed up all night.