Making History! A 2017 Westbound Panama Canal Trip Report **Complete**

arielmomma

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 4, 2009
Welcome fellow Disney fans to my 2017 Westbound Panama Canal Trip Report! This is my second trip report. I wrote my first after my family’s 2016 Eastbound Panama Canal cruise. My family was fortunate enough to be on the last Disney cruise ship through the old locks of the Panama Canal and the first passenger ship ever to pass through the new locks. We made history! (Hence the title.) Join me as I once again recount sailing from one coast of the United States to the other aboard the marvelous Disney Wonder, only this time, in the opposite direction.

Let me begin by introducing my family.

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First, there is my husband, James. It is his career as an automotive engineer that supports our ever-growing Disney addiction. Next, there’s me, Joy. I am a stay-at-home, homeschooling mom who plans our incredible vacations. Our son, Jimmy, is 13. He is all about sports, video games, and convincing us to take our next vacation with the mouse. Mickey has a teenage agent and doesn’t even know it! Our daughter, Emily, is 10. She was born knowing in the depth of her soul that she was meant to be a Disney princess. She does her best daily to live up to her destiny by being kind to woodland creatures, singing everywhere she goes, and designing ball gowns she wants me to sew her.

Our vacation began on Friday, April 21, 2017. The plan was for James to only work a half day so that we could all go out to lunch and have a fun day out before heading to our hotel by the airport.

Needless to say, it didn’t work out that way.

A crisis happened at James’ work. There was no way he could escape halfway through the day. We were all bummed, but the kids and I made the most of it. We went out to lunch by ourselves. This was truly the beginning of our vacation because we rarely eat out otherwise. They picked the restaurant – Ponderosa. My kids love their sundae bar.

After eating our fill (and beyond), we returned home and waited for James to get out of work. We waited…and waited. Let’s just say he put in a looong day and then had to put in yet another hour after he got home. None of us were pleased, but what could we do about it? We wanted to be able to take more vacations.

Eventually, his work day did, in fact, end. The instant he shut down his computer, we loaded our bags into the van and escaped before anything else popped up that might prevent us from leaving. We live in rural Michigan. It took us just under an hour to arrive at the Holiday Inn Gateway Center in Flint.

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We reserved a king-sized bed with a sleeper sofa. We also booked parking for the duration of our cruise. Normally, we prefer to stay in Hilton brand hotels rather than Holiday Inns. However, this particular hotel is the exception and it’s not because of their rooms, though they are clean and comfy. The Holiday Inn Gateway allows their guests to park a vehicle in their parking lot for up to a month for a total of only $25. Not $25 per day. That’s $25 for the entire 18 days that we travelled. The best part was that we booked on points, so we only had to pay the parking fee. It was a great deal!

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Our view of the lobby from our room.

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As soon as we got settled at the hotel, the kids and I got dressed in our swimwear, while James ran out to grab dinner and pick up my cousin who lived nearby. It had been hours since we’d eaten lunch so these pizzas were practically inhaled. (Imagine a kill scene in a Disney Nature Video.)


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We spent the evening swimming and visiting. It was an ideal way to end the first day of vacation.

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Around midnight, we decided it was best that we call it a night. We said goodbye to my cousin and nestled into bed. Tomorrow we fly to Orlando!

Up next....Florida here we come!
 
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Saturday, April 22

We woke around 8am. As usual before a big travel day, anticipation kept me from sleeping very well. At the same time, as usual, excitement gave me the energy to get me moving. We dressed and headed to the hotel restaurant, J. Porter’s, for breakfast.


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Fortunately, upon check in, we received coupons for all of us to eat the breakfast buffet as part of our stay. I would have been extremely disappointed if we’d paid for this meal. It wasn’t very good. The sausage was gross, the eggs were powdered and dry, and the baked goods weren't fresh. We all agreed that the free breakfast offered at Hampton Inns is better. However, we were hungry and free breakfast was free breakfast so we dug in. We all found enough to satisfy our bellies. I will say, though, that the fresh fruit was sweet, ripe, and really hit the spot!

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After breakfast, we returned to our room long enough to gather our belongings and catch the complimentary 10am shuttle to Bishop International Airport.

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Emily wanted a picture with this car before we checked our luggage. The check-in procedure was quick and painless. before we knew it we were through security and patiently waiting for our flight.

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Its hard to tell in in most of these pictures but my family was all donned in Hogwarts t-shirts. Last cruise, we all traveled in Superman shirts in homage to our favorite non-Disney superhero. This time, we paid tribute to one of our favorite non-Disney book series - Harry Potter. James, Jimmy, and I have read the whole series multiple times. Emily is currently reading book #5 The Order of the Phoenix. As soon as she finishes the series, we'll plan a trip to Universal Studios. Disney, if only you'd purchased rights to Harry you'd be able to collect even more of our money!

Anyway, back to this vacation.

We managed to claim four of the comfy chairs by a window. We didn't wait too long. Before we knew it, our Southwest flight was boarding. We paid for Early Bird Check-In so we were in the A boarding group and on the plane in no time.


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The kids were ready to take off.

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The nonstop flight was uneventful. I enjoyed my complimentary cookies and orange juice and watched the movie Joy. It was a "joy" to watch. I recommend it.

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Our flight landed on time at Orlando International Airport. Soon we were on the tram ready to collect our luggage. Jimmy was so proud that he was finally tall enough to grab the straps on the tram.

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Emily wasn't quite there yet. Maybe next time.

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From the airport, we took yet another complimentary shuttle to the Homewood Suites at Gateway Village. The shuttle was packed! I ended up squeezed into the far back corner where the air conditioning failed to reach. It wasn't the most pleasant ride, but thankfully, it was a short one.

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We reserved a 1-bedroom suite. Once again, we had a king-sized bed and sofa sleeper. The room was very clean and comfortable.

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Here is the view from our window.

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We weren't in the mood for steak, but we were hungry. So, we followed the parking lot behind our hotel to TGI Friday's.

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We ordered all-you-can-eat-appetizers for the table. Believe me, we ate all we could! In our ravenous state, I forgot to take pictures of the food. However, I did take one of the aftermath.

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Here is a copy of the receipt. It doesn't even include our final round of potstickers, boneless wings, mozzarella sticks, and fried pickles. We were obviously hungry. Everything was very good.

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Some of us might have gone a tad overboard.

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We settled our bill and walked back to the Homewood Suites. The boys decided to chill in front of the TV, while Emily and I headed to the pool. It was a gorgeous evening. I began my first novel of this vacation and Emily swam. The water was very warm.

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I decided it was time to go back to our room when I began nodding off in my lounge chair. Emily was less than pleased to get out of the water, but that was nothing new. We returned to our room and settled in for the night. Tomorrow we would be boarding the Wonder!

Up Next...All Aboard!
 
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Sunday, April 23

It's the big day! Soon we would be aboard our home at sea. My whole family woke bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. We dressed and headed to breakfast.

The food was much better today. Unlike what this stock photo shows, the breakfast area was packed, but the food was constantly being replenished.


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James' 1st breakfast plate

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Here's mine. Everything was very good, especially the lemon pound cake.

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Jimmy's breakfast. There are Mickey waffles buried under all that whipped cream.

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After seeing Jimmy's waffles, James needed some, too.

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Emily's breakfast. We both sported Princess Leia buns for embarkation.

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Emily expressing her excitement.

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After breakfast, we gathered our belongings and made our way back to the lobby to take the complimentary 9:30am shuttle back to Orlando International airport. There were two shuttles ready to take passengers. The first was already full so we ended up being the only family on the second shuttle. This was nice as we had plenty of room to spread out.

Within minutes, we arrived at the airport. We arrived just in time to be the last passengers on a departing DCL bus. It was getting real!

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Posing with my children is the true star of DCL (according to himself). This is Nick, our DCL bus driver. He made the ride to Port Canaveral so much fun. I would agree. He truly was a star in his own right!

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Since we were the last people on the bus, we were not able to sit together. Jimmy sat by me near the middle of the bus, while James and Emily sat closer to the front.

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That's James' head directly beneath the TV on the left. As mentioned, between Nick's hilarity and the provided video it felt like we were at Port Canaveral in no time.

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Our first glimpse of the Wonder!

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Our PAT began at 11am. We disembarked the bus at the port precisely on time and entered the security line.

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There was no line at check in. In minutes, we'd received our Key to the World Cards, our first gold Castaway Club lanyards, and our boarding group - #4. The kids did not want their picture taken with Captain Mickey, but they were excited to see the model of the ship.

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We found approximately where our cabin would be.

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James remained inside with our carry on bag playing on his phone, while the kids and I went outside to get a better view of the ship. What a beautiful lady!

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SO excited to follow you on this trip, I LOVED your 2016 report and you inspired me to book the 2018 WBPC, can't wait!!
 
Also while waiting to board, I decided to check out our first Navigator of the cruise. There were plenty of movies I wanted to see. I was also excited to see that I wasn't familiar with many of the entertainers. Many new experiences awaited!

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Boarding was delayed briefly for inclement weather, but once it started, our boarding group was called quickly. We passed on the embarkation photo and were onboard at 11:40am. Once again, we decided to have ourselves announced as the Skywalker family. (Hence the Leia buns.)

We only took a few steps onboard before we joined the line forming outside of Triton's restaurant for lunch. Since our last cruise, the Wonder has done away with the second embarkation buffet in Parrot Cay, which is now Tiana's Place. They now offer a sit down meal with limited offerings at Triton's. We had to try it.

Before I move onto lunch, let me give you my first impression of the refurbished atrium. While I preferred the old chandelier, I otherwise liked the remodel. I loved the new carpet and it definitely did look bigger without the second staircase and the smaller chandelier. It was still beautiful.

Onto lunch.

We only waited a couple minutes before we were seated. I did not take a picture of the menu but you can find a copy of it here: http://disneycruiselineblog.com/menus/embarkation-lunch-menu/


Emily loved the folded napkins at all of our meals.

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She also enjoyed constructing unique structures with the items on the table.

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The kids and I all ordered the seafood and chicken gumbo. Jimmy was scared of the abundance of okra. I, however, thoroughly enjoyed the soup. The cornbread, though, was dry and tasteless.

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James, Emily, and I all had the sliced smoked salmon. The salmon combined with the accompanying spicy mustard was delicious.

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For a main course, James and Emily both ordered the Roasted Beef Sirloin. They both gave it thumbs up.

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Jimmy ordered the Muffuletta Sandwich. Jimmy concluded that he was still full from his gluttonous breakfast waffle so he ended up not eating it. James and I tried it, though. It was a tasty sandwich.

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I had the Pennette Pasta. This was delicious.

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For dessert, I had the carrot cake. Yet another winner.

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Emily had the cookies -n- cream cheesecake.

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James had the ice cream sundae.

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We really enjoyed starting our cruise with a peaceful sit down lunch. We will definitely begin our cruises with this meal in the future.
 
Great start Joy. I can't help but look and see if I recognise any of the other members of our group in your pictures ;)
 
Bellies pleasantly full, we went exploring. I didn’t take too many pictures as there are many photos of the refurbished Wonder online, but here are a few from deck 3.

The new atrium chandelier. I know its supposed to represent the flower in Ariel's hair, but it reminds me of Christmas time.

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Jellyfish-like chandeliers in the hallway of what used to be Route 66.

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Azure (the old Wavebands) - I spent a good share of my cruise in here.

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The phone booth outside of Crown and Fin (the old Diversions).

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Even the bathroom is beautiful.

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Emily checking out our neighbors.

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Prior to this cruise, I wasn't sure I'd like the changes to Route 66. I can now say that I really like the refurbishments. They solidify the "under the sea" theme that is now carried throughout the majority of the ship.
 
The guy behind you at breakfast doesn't look very happy about it either!

No one seemed particularly happy about that breakfast. I don't blame them.

Can't wait to read more, thank you for taking the time to do another trip report, I really enjoyed your 1st one. 156 days until we do the EBPC. :yay:

Your welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed my last report. I hope you enjoy this one, too. May you have as much fun on your upcoming cruise as I did on mine.

SO excited to follow you on this trip, I LOVED your 2016 report and you inspired me to book the 2018 WBPC, can't wait!!

Thank you. Glad to inspire others to share in my cruise addiction. You'll have a "Wonderful" time!

Great start Joy. I can't help but look and see if I recognise any of the other members of our group in your pictures ;)

Thanks! I do the same thing with the other trip reports. I look forward to reading more of yours.
 
Enjoying your report! I'm going next year,so this really gets me excited!
 

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