THE TRIP DL via PC 7126 miles total

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Good thing Linda is reading this, she caught an informative omission regarding the arrows used to tell the ships Capt and Pilot what is going on.  In the picture of the first lock you can just see the arrow, but in the last picture it shows up really well. Here are those pics. Notice the green and yellow arrow

Here it is in green and red for the ships heading North.

 

Here are the various signals that are used as the ship approaches the lock.

 

Ok on we go, Miraflores locks and then the Pacific and the bay outside Panama City, as well as our "fuel stop".  Yep the Capt found a gas station or it found us.

 

The Miraflores area is where the main canal operation offices are located.

 

 

The sky-scrapers of Panama City are also coming into view.

 

The red roofed buildings were the U.S. Army baracks and they are now used as housing for many of the people who work the canal.

 

Better late then never I remembered I had my photo binoculars so I snapped a close-up,

 

Here you can see the lock next to us that is filled for the ship  heading out.

 

As we work our way through you can see the observation tower come into better view as well as the control building for Miraflores.

 

Many people have come out to see the Wonder since this only happens twice a year.

 

Here is a close-up of the locals who came out to watch us complete our journey.

 

We complete the journey and head out into the Pacific and the bay at Panama city and Linda relaxes with her afternoon refreshment.

 

Here are a couple pictures of the new locks being constructed at Miraflores.

 

We then pass one of the large container operations in Panama City.

 

It started to turn overcast and we even had a few drops of rain as we go under the Bridge of the Americas.

 

There are many smaller craft tied up in the bay. Many may be waiting for the signal or radio call that it is their turn to journey Northward.

 

 

Here you can see more of the Panama City skyline.

 

We cruise past the cultural center as we continue our search for the gas station.

 

One last look at the Panama City coast line as we venture farther out to sea.

 

 

 

Photo limit

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Suddenly we are being pursued by fast and loud yellow boat, is it someone trying to get pictures?

I run in and grab the binoculars and there are people and luggage on the deck, nobody with a camera. Suddenly the boat cuts behind us and I no longer have an opportunity for pictures. If you notice however there is a blonde lady and a dark haired man in the sun glasses. Turns out it is our entertainment for Monday night. More on their act later.

There are a couple small islands in the area.

Hey, the Capt found the gas station, more in the next update.

But before I end here is some info on the Bridge of the America's

The Bridge was built by the U.S. in 1962 at a cost of 20 million and was the first permanent bridge to link the continents. It was originally named Thatcher Ferry since that was the name of the ferry it replaced. It now has a sister connection with the construction of the Centennial Bridge that we passed under earlier. It has a total span of 5,425 ft in 14 different spans. The main span is 850 ft long and at it's highest point it is 385 ft above sea level. In 2010 a ship hit one of th bridges protective bases and partially blocked this section of the canal. The Pan American highway runs across the bridge and runs from Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to the Southern tip of Chile and Argentina. The road is said to be quite safe in Panama there are other areas however that are impassable during the rainy season and other areas quite unsafe particularly at night. And for the record we have no plans on taking that drive. :rofl2:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

How the heck do people board the ship from that little boat chasing you??  No way!

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

All caught up.

The canal pics are very interesting Dave.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

 

That picture looks very familiar

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great job on all the photos of the canal crossing, Dave.

 

It's a very interesting process.

 

Do you know who's paying for all the expansion work?  It doesn't seem like the government of Panama could be paying for it.  I'll bet it's China.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Considering the canal was completed 100 years ago, it had to be quite the engineering marvel of its time!

 

Dave, how long did it take you to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific?  

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Great job on all the photos of the canal crossing, Dave.

It's a very interesting process.

Do you know who's paying for all the expansion work? It doesn't seem like the government of Panama could be paying for it. I'll bet it's China.

TCD

Thanks and it is interesting. As to who's paying. Panama deposits $2 billion into their treasury annually from the fees, so they very well may be fitting the entire bill.

Considering the canal was completed 100 years ago, it had to be quite the engineering marvel of its time!

Dave, how long did it take you to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific?

Also it continues to function with minimal break downs. Our crosssing was a little under 10 hours.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thanks and it is interesting. As to who's paying. Panama deposits $2 billion into their treasury annually from the fees, so they very well may be fitting the entire bill.

Wow. What a deal for them. Thanks Jimmy Carter.

Also it continues to function with minimal break downs. Our crosssing was a little under 10 hours.

Wow again. I thought it took 20+ hours. I guess that extra DCL paid for the Fastpass really works.

TCD

[Duane 152]

How the heck do people board the ship from that little boat chasing you??  No way!

 

Dave,

 

Its a pretty cool thing to see when folks transfer from a small boat to a cruise ship...  The cruise ship never slows down, and if you notice the tires attached to the side of the small boat.  The captain of the small boat maneuvers along side the cruise ship while maintaining the same speed, physically contacts the side of the ship, the crew opens a doors on the lower part of the ship's hull and they just step off of the small boat onto cruise ship.... At an expedited pace I would add...

 

I watched them perform this operation when we were on a Disney cruise several years ago...  I think we were coming into Grand Caymen or Cozumel... The harbor master had to come aboard to help direct the ship into port...  Its pretty amazing to watch this...

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Dave,

 

Its a pretty cool thing to see when folks transfer from a small boat to a cruise ship...  The cruise ship never slows down, and if you notice the tires attached to the side of the small boat.  The captain of the small boat maneuvers along side the cruise ship while maintaining the same speed, physically contacts the side of the ship, the crew opens a doors on the lower part of the ship's hull and they just step off of the small boat onto cruise ship.... At an expedited pace I would add...

 

I watched them perform this operation when we were on a Disney cruise several years ago...  I think we were coming into Grand Caymen or Cozumel... The harbor master had to come aboard to help direct the ship into port...  Its pretty amazing to watch this...

 

If you ever see me doing that, look just behind me and you'll likely see a man with a gun pointed at me. 

[jmaul 65]

WOW.  100 years old.  We make some good junk.....

 

Thanks for sharing this trip.  Can't wait for more.

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

If you ever see me doing that, look just behind me and you'll likely see a man with a gun pointed at me.

Or someone with a bottle of Chevas Regal in the doorway of the cruise ship would probably work too! :rofl3:

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Or someone with a bottle of Chevas Regal in the doorway of the cruise ship would probably work too! :rofl3:

 

Good point.  You'd likely see me not only leap before the boats are side by side....but I'd probably shove a few people into the ocean using them as leverage. 

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Short up-date.

 

As I mentioned the Capt found the "gas station" shortly after we passed Panama City. Capt Puckett (the Canal Pilot) had mentioned during his one presentation that we would probably drop anchor either in Miraflores lake or outside of Panama to re-fuel. He said one reason is the fuel is so much cheaper.  Since we had early dining it was during dinner we dropped anchor and the tanker pulled along side. As I came out of the dining room I snapped these pictures throught the large windows. Had I been a little smarter I would have gone up to deck 4 and taken them there. It tool several hours before we were back underway. 

 

 

The entertainment that evening was

 

and Linda I really had no interest in that movie and now we have a nice 4 days at sea ahead of us with Monday being the long awaited "Pirate's Night". 

 

Our First day at sea after the Canal, Saturday started out a little rainy. 

 

 

 We decided this would be a good morning  to see FROZEN which we thought was very cute. I personally passed on the "TANGO" dance class and as usual we spent the largest part of the day either relaxing on our verandah or we would make an occasional trip up to just sit by the pool.

 

However not only did we have Capt. Puckett on board, but we also had a DISNEY animator, who was raised in Panama, George Scriber, who would make several presentations. His first Saturday was on the making of Mickey's Philharmagic.  Since I assumed (dumb move) photo's would be verboten I did not take my camera to his first presentation.  Didn't make the same mistake when we went to his second presentation.

 

Mr. Scriber showed us many of the story boards that were used and informed us that the original concept had TINKERBELL as the  instigator in disrupting the orchestra.  He mentioned the fact that Michael Isner was in charge during the years that PHILHARMAGIC was designed and produced and he had a very good mind when it came to animation and story line. Isner was the one who said no to TINK and that the show needed DONALD.  Disney rented a hangar at the Van Nuys airport and assembled a full scale prototype to be sure it all worked. He also discussed how the subtle little disruptions, of darkness, light flashes etc allow them to move curtains etc without the audience ever noticing. He also discussed how the entire show is designed using various animated panels which allows for easier changes/updates as needed one example was how at the end of Ariel the sun becomes the sun for Lion King.  It was a very interesting presentation and for his second one on the making of the Gran Fiesta Tour in EPCOT I had my camera.  Of course going to that presentation would force me to miss the "SALSA" dance class.  :rotfl6:

 

That afternoon we also decided to get some wings to enjoy with our afternoon beverages.

 

And as usual DCL makes sure you get a nice picture of your next Port of Call.

 

We also had this bird "stalking" the ship most of the day. Not sure where it was landing to take a break, but as we looked out to sea on numerous occasions it was there.

 

Saturday evening's entertainment was "TOY STORY the MUSICAL" and this was the same show that was presented on our Alaska cruise 2 years ago and as we are always told "NO PHOTO'S"....

 

When we returned to our cabin, the "infamous monkey" was hanging around.

[LORNADUCK 261]

Dave, love this TR you always do such good ones, maybe it's because you always go on such good trips?

I love the pictures and your information is always interesting, can't wait for more.

Glad you had a great time.

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Dave, love this TR you always do such good ones, maybe it's because you always go on such good trips?

I love the pictures and your information is always interesting, can't wait for more.

Glad you had a great time.

Thanks. Really looks like you guys had a good time in Townsend too.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This reminds me of watching The Love Boat as a kid.  I can hear Julie the cruise director announcing Puerto Vallarta over the intercom.  

[jmaul 65]

This reminds me of watching The Love Boat as a kid.  I can hear Julie the cruise director announcing Puerto Vallarta over the intercom.  

 

I absolutely loved that show.  That, and Fantasy Island.

[Duane 152]

If you ever see me doing that, look just behind me and you'll likely see a man with a gun pointed at me. 

 

Dave, don't want to hijack your TR too awfully bad, but just remembered that I had some pictures of the Harbor Master transfer that I spoke about earlier... Who knows, DIT, may need a career change... crunching numbers all day may get old at some point... He may have a change of heart once he sees how easy it is....

 

 

 

 

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

Sunday was day 2 of 4 at sea and this was our scenery.


That morning while walking around the ship I was able to get a picture of Ariel before she left the photo session.


Linda started a "tradition" when we went on our first DCL cruise and that was to get a photo of our cabin steward with "the monkey". While we were sitting on the verandah our cabin steward Sulastra came in to make up the cabin and I told him Linda wanted the pic.



After lunch we went to the presentation "Making of the Gran Fiesta Tour" and I did take the camera. Some of the pictures are a little out of focus partly caused by my camera and also they did not have the presentation well focused
.

Here's George, he is one of a special group of artist/animators that has directed a feature film for DISNEY.


Here he is as he worked on the project while in Mexico.


Oliver and Company was one of the those features he directed in 1988. After working on other features he also directed the Lion King.


This picture shows the various points along the boat ride that had to be syncronized so each boat heard and saw the same video.


In 1941 Walt and his creative team went to South America on a Goodwill Tour at the request of the U.S. Government.


A documentary was made about the trip in 2008 thru the Walt Disney Foundation and I think George said it was released in 2009.

In 1944 the "Three Cabaleros" came out and this was used as an idea base for the attraction at EPCOT.


Here are several pictures of the various stages as the ideas for the ride progressed
.

A story board used in setting the scenes.


Then off to Mexico to shoot actual footage used in the attraction.

Eric Goldberg, another artist/animator/director was also involved in this project. George had his picture (which went by too fast) as well as this caricature. Mr. Goldberg also has a long list of DISNEY projects that he was involved in.
URL]

The next two pictures were videos, the one with the roses was to emphasis how they use slight distractions as you work your way from one scene to the next in the attraction.

Notice how the hearts almost fill the entire frame.


These two pictures, the first is again Mr. Scribner, pushing one of the boats thru the attraction when they were setting it up in order to get the speed and timing correct. The second show how they use simulated people as well in order to get all coordinated.


These last two are again short video clips that show various scenes from the attraction.
http://s901.photobucket.com/user/mnsprk/media/Panama%20Canal/100_3939.jpg.html]

At the end of his presentation he had a question and answer session so I asked about the new movie for Soarin at EPCOT and all I got was a couple coughs and then "next question".


Footnote:

Mr. Scribner has been commissioned by the Panama Canal Authority to execute a series of large oil paintings that will chronicle the various stages of the expansion construction through 2015. This is an 8 year project that will document the work from dry excavation to the construction of the locks and they will hang in the Canal Administration Bldg.

As we understand his works are available in both Art of DIsney Stores, Disneyland and WDW. He also had another workshop one day that I'm sure our "crabby bus driver" would have enjoyed since it taught people how to draw various DISNEY characters. Since we do not have the talent for that we did not attend.

Photo limit

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

This was our night to go to PALO's. We did not do it on past cruises so we thought with the extended days at sea this would be the time to go.

 

The hallway leading to the resturant.

 

Here we are and all I can say we were not impressed. Not sure if they were having a bad night, but the menu was the one we have seen on line numerous times and it is still listed today.  We tried and that's all I can say.

 

After dinner I was out on the deck and we had a freighter pass by.

 

Next up another presentation by Capt. Puckett about operation of the canal and first Pilots. 

[Lou... 3,118]

And you even wore a tie to Palos.

Was it the items on the menu or the taste?

[Grumpy and Grandma 740]

And you even wore a tie to Palos.

Was it the items on the menu or the taste?

It's been so long I almost forgot how to tie one. As to PALO's both.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Is there any video of you asking about Soarin? :)

I wonder what kind of cheap plastic crap was on that freighter?