Day at Sea – Disney Magic Panama Canal EB Cruise

Thanks again for all of your notes! I love fan mail! Up to this point, I’ve only been a celebrity at my local Starbucks drive-thru and that’s just because of my car.

A special thanks to my friends at home – pdxmavs (do we have a date in Feb???), Craig (275 days!!!), and Sara (Barley’s mom).

One person asked about Panama Canal crossing times. Here is what I know so far. Crossing day is Monday, Aug 25. The “Report from the Bridge” says we arrive at 6am and depart at 7pm. I promise to pass along more info as I find it. There is also a link to cameras along the Canal to enable you to watch the ship move through the locks.

This morning I finally went to the fitness center. I had planned to run on the treadmill, but since this ship is still a-rockin’ and a-rollin’ I was lucky to be able to walk holding on! I think I’ll go back to running on deck 4.

After breakfast, Michael and I attended a very special adults-only presentation by Don “Ducky” Williams. Fabulous! I’ve read reviews from other folks that have heard him speak and seen him draw. What a thrill for us to see him in person! We didn’t win the drawings for his sketches.this time, but he let slip that something special is coming to all of us in a day or so. A lot of his artwork will be auctioned in a special session later in the cruise. Michael and I talked about getting each other something for our anniversary. I think we just decided on some artwork……perhaps we’ll be able to get his autograph, too.

So, Aaron is back among the living now (almost 1pm). He came in about 2:45am this morning! The teens got to take over the Oceaneer Lab and make flubber! I’m thinking the big kids enjoy this stuff at least as much as the little ones. Tonight they get to take over Ocean Quest (the place for pre-teens). Should be another wild night for him! He’s having a blast.

We grabbed a quick lunch and headed to Animator’s Palate for a wine tasting – the wines of Italy presented by Michael Jordan (no, not that one). This Michael Jordan is the Master Sommelier at Napa Rose at the Grand Californian at Disneyland Resort. He was very entertaining while he educated us on a few of the wines of Italy. We tasted 4 and then they unveiled a 5th called “Magic-ally”, a sparkling red that would be delicious with chocolate covered strawberries or that decadent soufflé from Palos. This one was a little too sweet for us, but we did discover another new red that we like.

Next up we have a Disney Vacation Club mixer in Rockin’ Bar D. I just poked my nose outside and it is beautiful! No rain, little bit of a breeze. Shoot, too much going on! I haven’t seen a schedule for tomorrow yet. I think we have another wine tasting; France this time. Afterwards I think I’ll schedule a nap and a dip in the pool.

One thing I just have to say. Is there anyone reading this that thinks Disney cruises are only for families with children? WRONG! We are having such a fabulous time doing adult activities, keeping waaay too busy, and, to be perfectly honest, I hardly ever see any children. I did pass by a photo session with princesses this morning …so sweet! My turn will come; we have been invited and RSVP’d to a princess party next week!

The DVC mixer was fun. Free drinks and snacks and we visited with some very nice folks. When that ended, we were able to pick up our limited edition pin sets. Each stateroom was guaranteed one complete set, if you wanted it. Since Michael and Aaron are both pin collectors, we were able to secure a second set. AND, we were able to secure one of the limited edition framed prints (only 10 produced). Yeah!

Hey, I wanted to tell you about one of those little Disney touches that will put a smile on my face every time I walk down the hallway. Music. In the stateroom hallways they always have a Disney tune playing softly in the background. This afternoon I heard Jiminy Cricket singing “When you wish upon a star”, “You’ve got a friend in me” from Toy Story, and “So this is love” from Cinderella.

So, Michael and I were going to skip the show tonight, but Aaron popped in and insisted that we go. It turned out to be great fun! Ron Kalmon, a hypnotist, entertained us. He put about a dozen folks under and had them doing some funny things (nothing too embarrassing).

Dinner was the island theme in Parrot Cay for us. Instead of naming woods, tonight I got Michael and Aaron started on movie titles: take turns naming movies with single word titles like Dumbo, Tarzan, Crash, Goonies, etc. They carried on for a long time!

Have you ever noticed Sebastian on the lights before?

(I’ve also included a photo of a “sanitation station”. As I mentioned, these are everywhere usually with a crew member handing out the wipes.)

Aaron headed to the Stack and Michael headed to deck 9 for a cigar. I wasn’t ready to sleep yet, so I went to the Buena Vista Theater for a movie: Made of Honor. The theater was packed! It was your basic chick-flick and, even though I had never seen it, I could guess the ending. It was still an enjoyable show.

Tomorrow we have another day at sea and then we’ll be at the Canal!

Lori

P.S. To our friend, Jim, we’ll be thinking good thoughts and sending positive vibes your way on Monday. Good luck!

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Follow my journey from LA to FL via the Panama Canal!

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