from coast to coast with your host Westbound Panama Canal Cruise - Page 4 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Just got caught up on your TR - and reminded me that I need to update mine!! It was such a thrill to meet you and Peter and enjoy your company during the cruise!!
Aruba, Jamaica, ooh I wanna take ya …
When thinking of this island I always have this Beach Boys song in my head.
Our booked excursion did not start until noon so we decided to explore the capitol Oranjestad on our own. You could easily walk around. Even the parliament building was not far away from the cruise terminal.
After lunch we joined our see & sea island tour of Aruba.
At first we climbed the Casibari rock formation.
The Magic is far in the distance.
Here it is zoomed.
Then we visited the Natural Bridge which was formed by the wind and the sea.
My DH used the break to taste the local beer and he liked it.
The following stop was the California Lighthouse.
The last part of the tour was a ride with the Seaworld Explorer. This semi-submarine took us to sunken wrecks and reefs. Viewing the underwater world pleased us very much.
This was a perfect day because we saw different parts of this beautiful island.
The great day was topped by a tropical deck party with Mickey & Minnie.
May 15h – day at sea
This day we went to second talk of Captain Ken Puckett: Transiting Trough the Panama Canal.
Again it was very informative and it gave us an idea of what to expect the next day.
The days at sea we also used for doing some exercise in the Fitness Center. One reason was the excellent food onboard. The other was: where you can do your workout while watching the open sea ?
Tonight was French Dinner at Lumiére. Besides exquisite food there was a special appearance by the Beauty & the Beast. Sadly my pictures in the dinning room were not so good. But I got the chance to take a photo from outside before they enter.
will be continued …
__________________
with Daisy in Disneyland Hong Kong
Last edited by cruising_Minnie; 10-20-2008 at 01:36 PM..
Beautiful photos! I loved the shots of the wreck...and the license plate made me smile too! I remember a few years ago there were several commercials on radio for Aruba tourism...and the final line was always "Aruba....where happiness lives"
Sulley will be excited to try the beer. He loves to try new ones. He used to brew his own.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful pictures! Looking forward to more!
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Ohhhh, I am LOVIN' this TR! Its lots of pleasure but some pain too because we still have TWO WEEKS til we leave to create our own memories of this special voyage! I can't believe it's getting so close and there is still so much more I have to do!
Although there were so many highlights during the cruise, passing the Panama Canal was definitely the top of it all.
This day we got up very early. Mickey’s wake up call was at 4:30 a.m.. The tentative schedule started with 5:00 a.m.. When we went on deck it was still dark but we could see other ships which were also in a waiting position.
It would take 2-3 hours until our passage starts. On the Wide World of Sports Deck pastries and hot drinks were offered this morning. That was a very good idea. Later that day refreshments were offered there. Even Pinocchio’s Pizza had a breakfast pizza on this special day.
After the break of dawn one flag after another was flew.
An American submarine was one reason for our delay, it had the right of way.
Now was our turn. Here came the pilot boat.
The weather became hot and humid. Therefore the landscape looked very tropical.
These are the electric locomotives which uses cables to tow the ships.
During the day characters appeared on deck. Also a lot of cast members were seen on deck taking pictures. This was a great day for everyone onboard the Magic.
The left lane shows how narrow the chambers are.
Gatun Locks
very close to the roof
another Panamax is entering the chamber
For lunch a BBQ was arranged on deck 9.
will be continued immediately …
__________________
with Daisy in Disneyland Hong Kong
Last edited by cruising_Minnie; 10-20-2008 at 11:59 AM..
Reason: links changed
Due to the amount of pictures I split the report in two parts !
Gatun Lake
the t-shirt of the day
the view from our stateroom
one of our shutter's pictures
Centennial Bridge
Pedro Miguel Locks
Miraflores Locks
These people were waiting not only to see Mickey’s ship but also see himself. They called his name. Then Mickey appeared on the bridge. Together with Captain Thord he waved to them. That was so nice.
Panama City
Drink of the Day: Panama Hat – yummy
Bridge of the Americas
Tonight’s dinner menu was named ‘East Meets West’, a very delicious dinner. But there was also another decoration in Animators’s Palate this evening – Mouseketeers.
As we entered our stateroom at the end of this remarkable day a surprise was waiting for us: a limited litho by Don “Ducky” Williams honouring this special day. WOW !
will be continued …
__________________
with Daisy in Disneyland Hong Kong
Last edited by cruising_Minnie; 10-20-2008 at 12:19 PM..
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the underwater photos. Beast looks nice in a tux 
Can't wait to hear more
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