Some people have asked for a schedule of our passage thru the Canal…

This is our projected schedule thru the Panama Canal. It should be noted that our start time is guaranteed… to be within 4 hours of the scheduled time, and our projected transit completion time is guaranteed… to be within 72 hours of our start time. It is very likely that we will be quite close to the projected times. The ACP – the Association Canal de Panama (or something like that) – does a fair job of keeping the cruise ships right on schedule, but if there is a big ship coming the other way thru the cut then we’ll have to wait for it in Gatun Lake, as they don’t let “Panamax” ships pass in the cut.

For a detailed map of our transit, please check out the Google Map that I built prior to our departure, here: Chris’ Google Map.

So, without further ado: 

Pilot Arrival	5:00 am
Approaching Gatun Lock	6:00 am	Official Cam - Alt Cam
Departing Gatun Lock	8:00 am	Official Cam - Alt Cam
Approaching Pedro Miguel Lock	1:00 pm
Departing Pedro Miguel Lock	2:00 pm
Approaching Miraflores Lock	2:30 pm	Official Cam - Alt Cam
Departing Miraflores Lock	4:00 pm	Official Cam - Alt Cam
Passing under Bridge of the Americas	4:30 pm
Disney Magic departing for Acapulco	5:00 pm

Note: All times are for May 16^th – Central Time.

We’ll also be passing under the Centennial Bridge at some pont between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm at a guess. It isn’t listed on our itinerary so I’m guessing based on it’s location. We’re on Deck 8 Aft (one below the pools, two below the sports deck), Port (left) side. If I remember we’ll mark our cabin with two red baseball caps attached to the rail of our balcony.

Some people have asked for a schedule of our passage thru the Canal…

This is our projected schedule thru the Panama Canal. < more... >

First I will tell you that yes..  as predicted…  I do have a solid dislike for Mathew. But that means he did his job very well. I worked on a new leg torture device that managed to find muscles I didn’t realize I had and they were making sure I didn’t forget as I crawled out of bed this morning.

Of course, being a gluten for punishment I figured the best way to combat a tired muscle is to wake it up again,  so off to the treadmill I went.  (I think it was Vickie who was asking in the comments on a previous post for proof that I was actually spending large amounts of sea time doing something besides sleep…) Here ya go! and with a not-so hidden Mickey to boot!

While I have been on 40 plus cruises, this is the longest voyage to date. To be honest I wasn’t sure how I would do with so many sea days on this journey, but there are plenty of things to do during the day that appeal to everyone.

Some of the items of the agenda includes a presentation from Imagineer Jeff Kurtti on the design of the The Walt Disney Museum opening next year, wine tasting events, and daily specialty talks like photography tips and the art of entertaining series.

We even had the pleasure of listening to Ken Pucket, a senior pilot serving 16 years ushering ships thru the Panama Canal. He did a presentation on the history and construction of the canal.  In a couple of days he will do another talk on what we can expect on our crossing.

Tomorrow.. the port of Aruba!

First I will tell you that yes..  as predicted…  I do have a solid dislike for Mathew. But that means he did his job very well. I worked on a new leg torture device that managed to find muscles I didn’t realize I had and they were making sure I didn’t forget as I crawled out of bed this morning. < more... >

I am really enjoying this itinerary and its only day 3! Its the first sea day with lots of activities and items on the agenda, including such strenuous to-dos as; should I have breakfast in or go up to the buffet? Should I take a nap in the cabin or take my glass of asti out on the balcony? decisions, decisions….

Todays agenda started with an invite from Deb to join her along, with Ann & George another couple from out group, at the Concierge Reception at 10:30 am. We met in the lobby and made our way towards Sessions where cocktails and a nice spread of fruit, breads and other yummies were available for consumption. We spent a while chatting and enjoying the company of friends and halfway through the visiting ritual, a special guest arrived.

Cinderella spent about a half an hour taking photos and chatting with the guests. 

After our encounter with royalty, naturally we went shopping!  We had to check out all the Panama canal specialty items that are on sale to help plan the souvenir budget over the next few days.

Sorry to have to break the news…  but no matter what they say, Disney’s food does indeed have calories.  and the constant offerings of buffets, dinner seatings and yes… the infamous chocolate souflee can take a toll on anyones routine. So I decided I would test my self control and challenge myself to exercise everyday.

To help me on this quest, I decided to sign up for a personal trainer as soon as there was a spot available.  At 3:15 pm I was in work out gear and ready to meet Mathew.  A very fit 20–something with a great personality and a ton of energy. We started on cardio and we though a circuit of machines so I would have a good starting point for the next 2 weeks.  And I have a feeling I will wake up hating him tomorrow. 

Tonight was formal night for dinner, and of you know anything about my vacation habits, that means ‘Beci’s Room Service’ night. I stayed in and enjoyed my dinner watching the latest news and catching up on my email.

 

 

 

I am really enjoying this itinerary and its only day 3! Its the first sea day with lots of activities and items on the agenda, including such strenuous to-dos as; should I have breakfast in or go up to the buffet? Should I take a nap in the cabin or take my glass of asti out on the balcony? decisions, decisions…. < more... >

Monday I was able to attend the AP preview of Toy Story Mania and I have to say I was completely blown away with the attraction!  There is now another ride in Hollywood Studios that will draw you in again and again!  While other AP guests had waited in line for a couple of hours on Sunday, Monday after lunch was a perfect time to go - 15 minute wait!  This is one que line you will really enjoy standing in.  (This is where I give a little about my age)  The games I loved as a kid - Chutes and Ladder, Barrel of Monkeys, MR POTATOE HEAD!  The detail is amazing in this room.  Toys, games, puzzles are on all four walls. 

I didn’t spend a lot of time in front of Mr. Potato Head to get to interact with him, but he really does keep talk to you while in line.  He was quizzing those of us in line on our favorite attractions in WDW.  One guest said he made him tug at his ear when he was in line earlier, so this should make standing in line for this ride more enjoyable.

The ride itself is a 3D attraction where you play carnival type games at every turn.  First you are tossing balls at animals to knock them over, another screen you are at you are popping balloons with darts, then another time you are breaking plates, and then the one I never quite got the hang of, was tossing rings.  The last two screens are a rapid fire round… just when your arm is about ready to fall off from all the shooting!

Now, you are asking yourself why the title?  Because with every shot you make you have to pull a cord at the back of a small cannon looking gun. The cord has to be pulled out to make it shoot and then it has to retract back before you can shoot again!  Sounds easy, but after the first two screens, you are hoping you are ambidextrous because your one arm is very tired from pulling the cord so you could shoot.  You are also hoping that you can aim with the other hand!  So my advise to you is to start training that weaker hand and arm now to get a better score!  Learn to look for the small far away items for a higher score, and above all….. Have fun!  Because after all, you are riding around in Andy’s room and playing with all his toys!

 

Monday I was able to attend the AP preview of Toy Story Mania and I have to say I was completely blown away with the attraction!  There is now another ride in Hollywood Studios that will draw you in again and again! < more... >

Before I kick off today’s post, I wanted to share a strange picture I took yesterday during the life boat drill…

Today was fantastic weather, if perhaps a bit humid (it’s the ocean, there’s lots of water, what was I to expect…). Beci and I slept in a bit, and then at about 10 decided to head out to the adult beach at Serenity Bay for a swim and a bit of a layout. The Island is looking great right now. The trees and smaller plant life have all fully recovered from the two hurricanes that have come thru in the past 10 years, and the little improvements they have made all add up to an even better day on the Cay.

The most interesting thing about or day as Castaways this trip was the demographics of the ship. We’re still in the school year, this is a very long cruise, and I think that parents are just not willing to take their kids out of school for two weeks to go on a cruise. So almost everybody is a member of the Castaway Club, and the ratio of adult to kids favors the adults more than on any cruise on which I’ve been. And they were all out on the beach at Serenity bay. Just about every lounge all the way out to the end of the beach was full, at 10:00 in the morning. Luckily Beci remembered that the Family beach hadn’t looked all that full, so we headed there to see what was up.

Empty. We walked onto the Family beach and beci asked me where I wanted to sit, and I told her “Under an umbrella, in the front row, not a pink umbrella.” No problem. We had a choice of about 6 umbrellas. perhaps one in 15 lounges was occupied. The Teen beach was deserted. So we had a pleasant afternoon on the beach and in the water. I didn’t bring the camera along, but you all know what Castaway Cay looks like.

Later in the day Beci turned in the new pin purchase form. This form is Disney’s way of saying, you all have a chance to get all of the pins, and you can all have one of each of the port pins. Please don’t sleep on the floor waiting for the pin sales to open. The form is a bit confusing still, but the idea is sound and there were plenty of staff available to help figure out the finer points of the form.

Once the pins were done we decided to go to the fitness center to work off our lunch on the island. This was (shockingly) the first time I’ve been in the fitness center in my 12 or 16 Disney cruises. If you’ve never been up there, I think one of the best views on the ship is found while standing (walking) on the treadmills in the fitness center. We both did a couple of miles on the treadmill, and then beci did some weights while I did about 5 more miles on the Cycle. I’ll be going back every day, and every cruise, because frankly, an hour in the fitness center is more fun than the hour I normally take napping, and I feel better after I get of the stationary bike than after the nap.

Dinner tonight was at Animator’s Palette, and just as somebody at the table commented about 10 years of exactly the same show they threw us a slight curve. When the restaurant staff came out of the kitchen for their nightly march around the room they were lead by everybody’s favorite mouse. It’s amazing what a little Mickey can do for an old show…

 

Tags: panama+canal

Before I kick off today’s post, I wanted to share a strange picture I took yesterday during the life boat drill…

Today was fantastic weather, if perhaps a bit humid (it’s the ocean, there’s lots of water, what was I to expect…). Beci and I slept in a bit, and then at about 10 decided to head out to the adult beach at Serenity Bay for a swim and a bit of a layout. The Island is looking great right now. The trees and smaller plant life have all fully recovered from the two hurricanes that have come thru in the past 10 years, and the little improvements they have made all add up to an even better day on the Cay.

< more... >

Thursday night we jetted out from Seattle (after a 60 minute delay to fix a bad light on the coffee maker or something) and winged it on one of the only two direct flights from SEA to MCO. We both wanted to get to Florida early, because finding alternate flights at the last minute from Seattle is both difficult and wicked expensive. So we arrived in Orlando early Friday Morning and made the long trek to the airport Hyatt, where we both went to work remotely. Luckily, the view wasn’t about to distract either of us. While the view of a runway may not be everybody’s choice of perfect, the walk from the security exit of the terminal to the hotel is all of about 75 feet, and we were able to check into our room and then walk down to baggage claim and still get there a few minutes before our luggage came out. The free wifi is nice too.

This morning we got up early-ish and marched down to get in line for the ship. The amount of baggage in the halls of the Hotel was impressive, and so was the line when we got to the lobby. The first bus full of people (the Capt. Mickey bus) left just as we got into line, and the second bus (Pluto) filled just before we got to the front of the line. That put us as the first people on the third (Goofy) bus.

As we left on the bus I sent a simple text message to several of the rest of our party that were already on their way toward the port in a town car, simply saying “The bus is rolling”. This started a text-storm the likes of which has never been seen outside of the popular girl’s lunch table at the middle school of your choice. I was not involved, but Beci was getting what seemed like several texts per mile, and sending as good as she got. A few thousand messages later, we rolled into the port, about 5 minutes behind Deb’s group in the town car. Beci had managed to get us into the first row of seats on the bus, so we were first off, and right into the right-hand security line, which was surprisingly short. As we neared the front of the line I spotted our other group who had been ahead of us on the road swamped near the back of the left-hand line. So Karma had balanced out our line experience for the day. By the time the other group had made it through the security line, we had finished our check-in.

Boarding was the normal smooth Disney process, and shortly after noon we were were starting to board. This was my first experience with the (relatively) new numbered boarding card method, and while some of us went right at the start, most of the group were in the 11th and 12th sets. Those of us that got on early went right to Parrot Cay for lunch, claimed our table, and started the feeding frenzy.

  

After lunch we predictably started to run out of steam, so the night was quite and short. We did the sail away party, had a nice dinner at Lumier’s, and then went to bed. I did get some nice clean cabin pictures and a look at the swag they gave to Castaway Club members for this special sailing.

  

More tomorrow.

Thursday night we jetted out from Seattle (after a 60 minute delay to fix a bad light on the coffee maker or something) and winged it on one of the only two direct flights from SEA to MCO. We both wanted to get to Florida early, because finding alternate flights at the last minute from Seattle is both difficult and wicked expensive. < more... >

Although I love Walt Disney World and it is like home to me (wink to the CA girls), I find myself giddy to get to place where it all began. I’m heading to Disneyland this month before my Disney Mexican Riviera Cruise to pay homage to Walt.

I’m returning to the Grand Calfornian, which I had the pleasure to stay the first year it opened. I was so impressed with just the front door to this resort (and of course all that is beyond it) that I have a pin to commemorate it. The whole resort is done in the Arts and Crafts style and was designed by Peter Dominick, who also did the Walt Disney World Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge. The door to which I refer is a gorgeous sliding glass door that I literally have sat in the lobby and watched open and close as the guests arrive.

The private entrance to California Adventure and being in such close walking distance to either park is a special perk that I savor. But once I’m off for the day, it is the charming dark rides that draw me. There was a time when I’d head straight for Soarin’ Over California. But this time, being a bit older and more sentimental, my first stop following Main Street USA will be to photograph my foot on the spike that marks the center of the "land" just past Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Watch for that photo at the end of the month!)

From there, I must take a spin on those rides I just can’t find at the "World". Alice’s Mad Tea Party, Pinocchio’s Daring Adventure, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin and Storybook Land Canal Boat are at the top of my list. And yes……….there’s the Toad. I have to admit, I fell in love with Mr. Toad at Walt Disney World. And although I do enjoy an occasional ride on "the Pooh", I feel Mr. Toad’s departure from Walt Disney World did leave a gaping hole where wild used to live. There’s a little bit of a dark side with this ride that appeals to me. I mean, where else can you have such a great time in hell? I’d like to know how come I never get to experience the heaven ending to this ride??!! What kind of secret meter did the Imagineers invent to determine that this is where I should end up?

And of course, there’s the modern dark ride that I will experience in a row until my travel mates scream "no more"! Indiana Jones Adventure is hands down one of my favorites at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World. And my timing couldn’t be better!! With the release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Skull to theaters on May 22nd, I’m hoping to ride IJA until my body gives in to my vertigo-esque motion sickness and then swoon over a still adorable Harrison Ford for a late show that evening!

Joanne
Joanne at MouseFanTravel dot com

Although I love Walt Disney World and it is like home to me (wink to the CA girls), I find myself giddy to get to place where it all began. I’m heading to Disneyland this month before my Disney Mexican Riviera Cruise to pay homage to Walt. < more... >

Of course, Beci has been out and about at least once per month so far this year. I think she’s already been to Disney World three times, on a cruise once, and two weeks ago she was in LA on the Backstage Adventure. But the last time I saw any of the Magic was at MouseFest 2007, where I surprised Beci by showing up when I was in the middle of trying to release my latest game.

So where is the magic leading us this time? Well, to the Magic of course. Or maybe the Wonder. I can never remember which is where and doing what any more. But whatever ship will be taking me from Port Canaveral thru the lovely Malarially de-infested waters of the Panama Canal is the ship I’ll be on. I suppose I should figure out where exactly we’re going, and how long we’ll be gone, sometime soon.

So I’ve got my new camera that takes lovely little videos also, and if the bandwidth on the ships has been improved I may try posting some video to YouTube. If the bandwidth is the same as the last time we were on-board together (The Mediterranean last year) I may try posting some thumbnail photographs instead! Here’s my first picture posted with the new camera. I’m the one behind the Pepsi can…

And if you’re on the ship too, look for Beci and me in the Vista Spa every day. Heck, join us on the treadmill or a bike and pre-discount that night’s dessert!

Of course, Beci has been out and about at least once per month so far this year. I think she’s already been to Disney World three times, on a cruise once, and two weeks ago she was in LA on the Backstage Adventure. < more... >

    As on my last ABD trip they get you up and out fairly early. This morning we were told once again to meet at TWIST in the Renaissance at 7:50am in order to make it to our breakfast spot.  Ah, breakfast this morning is across the street at Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store. An old fashioned ice cream parlor, located right next to the El Capitan Theatre and it has a studio store filled with fun studio merchandise. There are open this morning just for our group and set up full length tables instead of their normal smaller fountain tables.  We get a choice of eggs, oatmeal or a Mickey waffle. I opt to stick with the eggs and wait for the waffle until later in the week.  The fun surprise here is having our photo taken with Ariel who is set up in the back of the store. Other fun things going on for kids are coloring and mobile making at the counter… OK, I had to jump in and color some since the kids things seem so fun…

After eating we head next door to the El Capitan Theatre and Ed is our Host here.  He tells us about the original history of the theatre built in 1926 by Charles Toberman and more on the history of this Hollywood era of big new movie houses like the Egyptian & Grauman’s Chinese Hollywood’s home to the first spoken drama this is an amazing house of long time movie premiers, stages shows, and now even rock concerts.  In 1989 the Walt Disney Co. undertook a two year renovation to take the theatre back to its original state of the 1920s.  The only real original pieces still housed here are cast iron light the lower level old “smoking room.  One cool fact we learned is that when a Disney movie premieres, even though this is a single screen theatre, the El Capitan makes more money than any other movie theatre in the US. This is truly an amazing piece of period architecture with a Spanish influence that is not to be missed if visiting Hollywood.

Again, we are surprised by their organist who comes out and plays a huge Wurlitzer organ.  He plays an array of percussion sounds along with sirens, bells, whistles, birds you name it.  He even surprises Brent one of the guests by singing Happy Birthday to him !  Ahhhh…. We get to walk up and “behind the scenes” here meeting a Stage Manager and viewing their newly installed sound system.  Very Cool!  Heading from backstage to downstairs to a party room of sorts, that used to be the smoking room for guests who would come to this theatre.

Next on our stop is again, right next door, the Jimmy Kimmel live show.  We meet up with Chris who tells us the history of the building where the shows is held.  It’s an old Masonic temple built in the 1920s and has been many different things over the year.  One notable Disney thing is it used to be a playhouse of sorts for post movie premieres shown at the El Capitan.  During Toy Story they broke the theatre up into several subgroups rooms each featuring a fun aspect from the movie.  This is the first of a few places where we were not allowed to have any cameras at all.  BUT we really got behind the scenes at the studio and walked through each production area with full access to sound, mixing, make-up and the cool Green Room.  The cool part here was while we were looking at the green room Uncle Frank and Guillermo (World Record holder for the most Underwear worn at one time) came in to say hi.  If you watch the show, they are regulars.  Uncle Frank is a colorful character with a colorful past.  He really is Jimmy’s Uncle too.

 During lunch the guides hold a lottery drawing for the 10 VIP tickets they have been given for some of us to be part of the audience at the Jimmy Kimmel show for tonight.  Guests playing are Eric Dane  from Grey’s Anatomy (McSteamy) and the band Vampire Weekend.  On our way out of the studio we stop by a permanent band venue in the backlot of the show house.

Next stop is Jim Henson’s Studio…but that will have to wait until Part II 

    As on my last ABD trip they get you up and out fairly early. This morning we were told once again to meet at TWIST in the Renaissance at 7:50am in order to make it to our breakfast spot.  Ah, breakfast this morning is across the street at Disney’s Soda Fountain and Studio Store. < more... >

Well to say I could not sleep is an understatement. There is always the fear I’ll miss the flight or wake up late, etc. Luckily I set both my phone and an alarm clock at my sisters and I was only flying in from San Francisco, so no huge time change. One of the best things I did on this trip so far was book Virgin America for my flight from SFO to LAX. All I can say is wow! The airline also had a few 1st class available for only a $50 upgrade charge so of course I had to do it. When you walk in all the cabin shades are shut and they have black lighting overhead so its almost like walking into a lounge or club. The stewards are all dressed in black on back with Red accents, even the pilots which was very contemporary and cool. The massage seats are amazing as are the video consoles in each chair. The 1st class seats even have a power outlet plug in for your laptop. I think this could become my new favorite airline for any cross country travel and will definitely compete with low cost carriers out west. And since it was Earth Day they handed out green reusable grocery bags with small gifts inside.

Ok - so now the fun stuff. I landed in LA and was greeted by one of our Adventure Guides Diana holding an ABD sign. She got my luggage and we headed over to Terminal 3 to wait for Beci to land from Seattle. We talked alot about ABD, Disney, family and had a lot of fun. Once Beci landed we were then met by our Towncar driver Nelo from ITS -Intl. Travel Services who wisked us off, as best you can in LA traffic to our hotel in Hollywood.  The old Hollywood has definitely changed and cleaned up nicely in this area of town. The Renaissance Hollywood hotel sits adjacent to the Hollywood & Highland Center and Kodak Theatre, home of the Oscars, the Hollywood walk of fame, and is also across the street from the El Capitan Theatre, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, and Jimmy Kimmel Live show. Great shopping and food area. This hotel is very comtemporary, with colorful geometric decor throughout, nice outdoor pool and brand new Spa opening May 1st.  Request a room with a view of the Hollywood sign for added fun.

We meet with our second guide Quinn upon on arrival at the hotel. The ABD guides have a table set up in the lobby and hand us our Adventure Storybook (Daily Itinerary and Meeting time Bible!) and room keys. This is really the true plus of these vacations. You are pre-checked in to every hotel and they handle your luggage!!  The rooms are nicely renovated with gold tones, and what they call modern comtemporary 50s style decor.   There are gifts in your rooms from the Adventure guides but I don’t want to spoil all the fun of what’s included.

We have about 2 hours to relax, work, chat, work…before having to go to our first Meet and Greet at 4pm in the Twist lounge. This is a full Adventure with about 36 guests on it.  We pick up an ABD lanyard, name tags and get some snacks provided by the hotel. The first icebreaker is fun and gets you moving around the room to meet other guests on the trip. The first people we meet are Brent and Brock both from Nashville, TN.  Once that is over we all make our personal introductions add tell what we are most excited to see on the Adventure….

Moving from the ice breaker we head into the Highland center to our dinner spot Trastevere. We are escorted to a private room and sit down to tables decorated with toys and gifts, all from recycled material. Again, my second earth day theme for the day.  They start us off with salad and breads and wine/ beer for the adults too. Our menu choices consist of Salmon, Veal, Chicken Marsala or a Pasta dish, I choose the Veal which was very good. We are seated with a family group from Massachusetts and again Brent and Brock. *spoiler alert* While waiting for our dinners we are entertained by a local comedian of is the host of a mock trivia game show set up. Matt, the comedian, is very funny and has the crowd definitely entertained while waiting for food. We also get our first Pin for the day! which is a really cool Mickey Mouse one. Once dinner is over and dessert served we sit around and chat with our new friends and Quinn. Lots of fun! Beci and I walk around the Highland Center more, then around the hotel to see the Gym, pool and other areas.

Back home now in our room, I’m very sleepy so will sign off until tomorrow and our first full day of studios and tours! Can’t wait!

Well to say I could not sleep is an understatement. There is always the fear I’ll miss the flight or wake up late, etc. Luckily I set both my phone and an alarm clock at my sisters and I was only flying in from San Francisco, so no huge time change. < more... >