So the canal is pretty boring, which should not come as a surprise to anyone. It is something that you have to see to say that you have done it. Ironically, it is not owned by anyone as technically it is considered international waters. The Panamanian people definitely collect the funds.
There are boats littered everywhere waiting to get through it and it can cost over a million dollars to cross. The city itself use to belong really to the US before it was given back to Panama in 1999. Oddly enough, the US still has the ability to take it away if Panama misbehaves.
Due north of the the Miraflores locks is Monkey Island. An island that has three different species of monkeys on it that are friendly to tourists.