Been on the Denali tour buses twice, both times came away with lots of wildlife seen, a great driver and tour guide,
SOB:
The Park Highway tour is a "must see". A visit to Denali Nat'l Park would be incomplete without that. I recommend that you discard your aversion to busses and take the tour. The wildlife viewing, Wonder Lake and the Ranger Cabin are worth the trip even if the weather does not allow viewing of the mountain.
In addition to that you might want to spend a couple of nights at Denali Backcountry Lodge in Kantishna and/or charter a bush plane in Talkeetna for a flightseeing tour of the mountain. These are both expensive adventures but they are alternatives to the bus tour.
If you rent a car, you can drive the Parks Highway to Trapper Creek and then drive the Petersville Road where you might get a look at the south side of the mountain and certainly see some pretty country along the way.
KC
