On my way back from Star Wars, Electrical Parade, and Nightastic

[Groucho]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH excuse me for a moment while I break the laptop in half. I accidentally hit the back button, then hit forward again and didn't realize that my login had timed out, and lost about 15 minutes of entering a message. grumblegrumblegrumble

Anyway. I suppose that fits the rest of today. We had to get on the Magical Express bus at 8:15am for an 11:25 flight... which has now been delayed by an hour and twenty minutes... and the rain is coming down sideways outside so who knows if there'll be more delays. :(:sad1: Oh, and my web host, which started having serious issues before we left, still doesn't have my web site functional. Not happy!

Anyway... the good news is that the rest of the trip was quite good. SWW was great. Hyperspace Hoopla was hilarious but the crowd control was not great. It was great to see MSEP on Main Street again. The Nightastic fireworks were great, and I even got to see them from Splash Mountain last night. The kids were mostly good (Jack suffered from the usual Disney deafness and Leila did a good amount of crying on the flight down and is preparing herself for screaming her head off on the flight home)... weather was pretty good but hot... and photos? How does over 1,600 sound... on first day! :) The rest of the days were way less, but I think I kept up the Groucho tradition of photos that may not be the best but are certainly ones that you haven't seen before!

Looks like our flight has finally arrived so it's time to get ready to board... more later!

[annnewjerz]

Have a safe trip home! I'll be anxiously awaiting a post with pictures from the trip---sounds like you guys had a great time.

[Groucho]

Thanks Ann! Yep, I'm definitely glad that we went. Even though this was one of our more expensive trips... we went a little nuts on souvenirs, much more so than usual. I did pick up a lightsaber and kept it on my belt whenever we were at Hollywood Studios!

Back home now... about 95 minutes late. Oh well, at least we made it... and I was even able to keep Leila fairly calm! Only 2-3 minutes of hysterical crying. :)

Now, to start copying the, oh, 50+ gigs of pics and video to my main PC, and start tagging... and processing... or maybe just relaxing on the couch, going to bed early, then starting the real work tomorrow. :thumbsup2

[RBennett]

Congrats and welcome home!! WOW!!! 50+GIG??!!!! :scared1: I don't want to know how much storage you have at home!! Can't wait to see 'em!

[Daisy14'sDH]

Awesomw! I cant wait to view your always impressive photos!

[Groucho]

Congrats and welcome home!! WOW!!! 50+GIG??!!!! :scared1: I don't want to know how much storage you have at home!! Can't wait to see 'em!
Well, some of that is videos... and the K-7 takes fairly large (and quite nice!) videos. (And storage? Well, I did recently add a new drive to my main PC - I had to in order to get back to scanning photos as those take up insane amounts of space - like ~130 megs per picture!) The current setup is 160gb + 640gb + 750gb + 2tb. I've got most of the raws backed up on Mozy... once it finishes these new pics, that'll put me at over 600 gb backed up with them! I'm getting my money's worth in terms of my "unlimited" storage with them. ;)

The total on pictures (well, pics and videos):
Day 1 (late night at Downtown Disney): 107
Day 2 (all day at Star Wars Weekends): 1,624 (!!!)
Day 3 (Chef Mickey's then Magic Kingdom including MSEP and Nightastic): 915
Day 4 (late start, SWW then back to Magic Kingdom): 252

I've got my work cut out for me. :) There are definitely a few I'm eager to share, though, including a few that I can almost guarantee that no one else has. :teeth:

[DznyFan]

can't wait to see the pics! :thumbsup2

[WillowBelle]

HOLY COW that's a lot of pictures. I can't wait to see them processed!!!

[Groucho]

Oh, and one last note before I head to bed - I realized on the third day that I had never changed the clock in my camera since daylight savings time! :sad2: Thank goodness for Exiftool, which makes it fairly trivial to correct that... but I also have to go through and change all my pics from the past couple months, too. Remember - change the clocks in your cameras as well as the one on your nightstand on daylight savings! I'm sure that someday we'll have wifi-enabled cameras that can automatically sync to an internet time server... but we're not there yet.

[Gianna'sPapa]

Welcome back! I can't wait to see you images. Tomorrow we start on the first leg (overnite stay in Milwaukee) and then to WDW on Wednesday for ten days!:yay: This is what we are taking plus two P & S' and a video camera. (taken with cell phone :guilty:)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4068/4660638176_85a49dd6ea_b.jpg

[Groucho]

Looks good! You've got some big lenses there - is that a Sigma 70-200?

[Gianna'sPapa]

Yes, there is a Sigma 70-200 and a Sigma 100-300 f4. On the right side camera (mine) is a Sigma 28-70 f2.8. next to that is a Pentax M50 f1.4 and a DA 18-55 AL. On my DW's is the DA 18-55 AL II and next to that is the DA 50-200. Being the mule I carry the heavy stuff.:rotfl2:

[WDWFigment]

Hurry up and get the pictures posted. I need to...uhhh...borrow...some of your unique shot ideas before I leave on Sunday! ;)

[zackiedawg]

Didn't see you there - I was looking for a red KX on anyone, but never saw one! Our day 1 and day 4 overlapped...I too was at Downtown Disney all night the first day, and MK all day the last day. Day 2 for me was AK, and day 3 was Epcot.

That's a serious load of shots. My whole trip I took 650 shots...and 120 of those were at the MSEP. I did much night shooting - when the sun wasn't trying to bake me! Though it wasn't much cooler at night either.

[Groucho]

Gianna'sPapa: You have the quite the taste for big Sigma glass. :) I went relatively lightweight this trip... I only took the 10-17mm, 16-50mm, 50-150mm, 31mm, 50mm F1.4 (never used), and the LensBaby. I really wanted to bring the huge old 300mm F4 but just couldn't handle the idea of lugging it around in the heat! I also looked longingly at the 105mm macro but barely used it last trip in 11 days and it's pretty heavy... I worked it so that when I did go back into the parks solo, I could fit the lenses I wanted in my belt lens pouch and in the pockets of my cargo shorts and not need a camera bag, just the tripod. My wife also brought the "kit" 50-200mm for her K-x but never used it.

I did one night of shooting until about 2am... but that's not big quantity-wise.

WDWFigment: I'll try to get a few but no guarantees. :)

zackiedawg: We definitely weren't the other red K-x there... I saw at least one other, and we were behind someone with a white K-x at Hyperspace Hoopla. My wife didn't have hers out all the time though... but most of the time. I don't think I saw anyone else with an R-Strap, so I suspect that we would be easy to spot - two R-Straps, two Pentaxes (one red), my blue Subaru bucket hat, and pushing a new orange Joovy stroller (which was worth every penny!!!) I'm sure that we were quite the fashion plates. ;)

I did one night of night shooting, until 2am on Friday night. I had planned to do Sunday as well but an 8:15 M.E. pickup kind of killed that idea, after getting little sleep any of the nights! And even at 2am, it was still hot enough to keep me sweating!

The high quantity of photos were due in a large part to Star Wars Weekends... I got a zillion photos during the parade and some of the other Star Wars stuff. The big number on the next day was MSEP and Nightastic - I'm going to have to do some serious cropping as I was zoomed way out to make sure to catch the perimeter fireworks. Plus, someone bumped my tripod early on so not only was it crooked, but it cut off the little bit of crowd that I had in the foreground, so I won't have much room for straightening. Oh, the things we go through. :teeth:

I've got no new WDW pics online yet but I did get pics online from the Rochester airport... they recently (since our last trip in January) added a kid's play area, which was a very good diversion for Jack and Leila, especially when our flight was delayed an hour. I wish there was something like that in Orlando, what with the early Magical Express drop-off plus delays.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53309-2/WDW2010SWWfam-002.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53315-2/WDW2010SWWfam-004.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53321-2/WDW2010SWWfam-006.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53345-2/WDW2010SWWfam-014.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53348-2/WDW2010SWWfam-015.jpg

[Groucho]

The first evening is done and first full day's photos are tagged (all 1,618 of 'em!) - it's relatively easy to tag when most are parade or show pictures! :)

Checking in at Pop...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53364-2/WDW2010SWW-001.jpg

We went straight out for dinner.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53368-2/WDW2010SWW-002.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53377-2/WDW2010SWW-005.jpg

I got the chicken pot pie again, which was even fluffier on top than before. Very good!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53380-2/WDW2010SWW-006.jpg

Apparently one of the dinosaurs attempted to eat Jack. (The kids is bonkers!)

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53360-2/WDW2010SWWfam-019.jpg

[Golf4food]

Keep 'em coming. Always fun to see your photos / reports.

Sadly, I only took 1,849 photos in four days last month. Granted, I left the camera in the car (on purpose! gasp!) on our last half day after breakfast - my back hurt and it is nice to spend some park time sans camera to just enjoy the park without trying to line up shots (though it still happens in your head...). It was as much for my DW as anything. ;)

[Groucho]

Left the camera behind? Perish the thought! I have nightmares about that! :)

1,849 is a pretty darn big number, too!

Now, I'm heading back to Lightroom to make a dent in mine...

[NYY2SMP]

Groucho I have a question for you. Where can you buy a pentax dslr from besides from their website?

[Groucho]

Pentax has chosen to focus on online sales so they don't have as much of a presence in brick & mortar stores, but they are available from almost all online camera retailers - Amazon, B&H, Adorama, Beach, Buydig, NewEgg, Abe's, etc, etc.

[Groucho]

OK, got a decent chunk of the first full day done...

We got to Hollywood Studios at around 8am (early EMH) and found the lines for autographs. We talked to CMs and apparently folks had been waiting in line for Billy Dee Williams since 2pm the previous day, and at this point, they were 45 minutes from handing out the signing fastpasses and there was a good chance that we were far back enough that we wouldn't even get a standby pass, so we decided to just go in. We made a beeline for Toy Story Mania since Jack loves it, grabbed fastpasses, and waited about 20 minutes. (My score: 183,600. I think I have yet to hit 200k.)

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53398-2/WDW2010SWW-012.jpg

Next was wandering around a bit then heading to the SWW special stores that were set up, then grabbing an early spot for the parade.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53413-2/WDW2010SWW-017.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53431-2/WDW2010SWW-023.jpg

While waiting, we caught some of a Jedi Mind Challenge, and I was happy to see Deevy See as one of the hosts:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53455-2/WDW2010SWW-031.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53458-2/WDW2010SWW-032.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53476-2/WDW2010SWW-038.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53485-2/WDW2010SWW-041.jpg

Darth Goofy trying to remember what he forgot to put on that morning...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53491-2/WDW2010SWW-043.jpg

Here's some of the fan costumes:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53512-2/WDW2010SWW-050.jpg

You had to feel a little bad for the Tuskan Raider baby in the heat...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53518-2/WDW2010SWW-052.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53551-2/WDW2010SWW-063.jpg

I didn't notice at the time, but R2-D2 could even pop some tools out of his dome.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53554-2/WDW2010SWW-064.jpg

Ray Park, who really seemed happy to be there.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53557-2/WDW2010SWW-065.jpg

Billy Dee Williams.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53566-2/WDW2010SWW-068.jpg

Ashley Eckstein.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53596-2/WDW2010SWW-078.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53602-2/WDW2010SWW-080.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53629-2/WDW2010SWW-089.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53641-2/WDW2010SWW-093.jpg

Jeremy Bulloch, who also seemed really happy to be there.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53647-2/WDW2010SWW-095.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53656-2/WDW2010SWW-098.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53665-2/WDW2010SWW-101.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53671-2/WDW2010SWW-103.jpg

That's enough for one post!

[amyy]

Nice pictures. I found your thread since you replied to my thread about buying a Pentax today. Reading how many pictures some of you take I am thinking I did not buy enough memory. I assume we can pick up the the extra cards at a store?

[ukcatfan]

Nice pictures. I found your thread since you replied to my thread about buying a Pentax today. Reading how many pictures some of you take I am thinking I did not buy enough memory. I assume we can pick up the the extra cards at a store?

I would not pick up extra at a Disney store if that is what you mean. They are way overpriced. I almost always buy from Newegg and they usually deliver within a week. The Walmart prices are not too bad anymore, but I doubt they have fast memory. Some place like Best Buy or Office Depot might be your only option if you need it fast.

Also consider that Groucho takes more pics than the average person and shoots in RAW, which takes more space than JPG. If you are only shooting JPG you might have more than you realize. I personally shoot RAW+JPG, which takes the most space but I at least have something to share to my wife right away :thumbsup2

[giantstu]

Hey Groucho, im in your Boba fett photo!!

I am the guy with the white Canon lens behind the girl in pink (my DD) to the right of Fett behind the girl in the Princess Leia costume.

[Groucho]

Hey Groucho, im in your Boba fett photo!!

I am the guy with the white Canon lens behind the girl in pink (my DD) to the right of Fett behind the girl in the Princess Leia costume.
I checked and you are in a bunch of the shots I took, but usually well outside the depth of field. Most of the shots didn't make the cut as usually I was looking at the back of the characters by that point. You're probably in that last fisheye photo too, if you get out the magnifying glass. :)

[giantstu]

I checked and you are in a bunch of the shots I took, but usually well outside the depth of field. Most of the shots didn't make the cut as usually I was looking at the back of the characters by that point. You're probably in that last fisheye photo too, if you get out the magnifying glass. :)

I think i got you in a yellow t shirt with a Pentax with grip hung on a black rapid strap? ( i zoomed in to look at the make of camera whilst we stood waiting for the parade, sad eh :rotfl: )

[Groucho]

I think i got you in a yellow t shirt with a Pentax with grip hung on a black rapid strap? ( i zoomed in to look at the make of camera whilst we stood waiting for the parade, sad eh :rotfl: )
Heheh - yep, Susquehannock Trail Pro Rally yellow t-shirt, blue SWRT hat, R-Strap, and K-7 with aftermarket grip (exact clone of factory minus weathersealing.) Grips and the R-Strap don't really get along well but that's a topic for another day. :)

I check out the DSLRs too - your might be the only "white" lens I saw this trip - maybe one other. Usually there are a few of them running around. Actually, I usually through a "DSLR report" in my trip reports... this trip, the main thing I noticed was that Nikon seems to be dominating the entry-level market now; I saw a lot more basic Nikons than Canons. Highend-wise, probably similar numbers of FF Nikon and Canons - but few of each. Pentaxes, Olympuses, and Sonys were pretty equal, probably a few more Pentaxes but not by much. I didn't notice any film SLRs or rangefinders unlike most previous trips.

[mom2rtk]

Awesome shots!! I still would like to make it there myself one day for the SW parade. Alas, my boys are now too old to care, but I'd sure like to see it!

I'm sitting here downloading my countless pics from our westward journey (volume 4!) and it's been nice to be able to peruse your shots while I wait. I can't wait to see the MSEP shots!

[SrisonS]

Awesome parade shots!!!! You were standing in the spot I usually go for. Too bad I was behind a few people each time I went this year. It did make for an interesting shot or two though.

[DznyFan]

Groucho as always, your work is fantastic! I was thrilled to see this thread pop up... I have to live my SWW vicariously through everyone else this year. Thanks for the great shots, I'm looking forward to seeing more! :thumbsup2

[lumpy08]

awesome photos. Can't wait to see more.

[Groucho]

Thanks so much, mom2rtk, SrisonS, DznyFan, and lumpy08! SrisonS - I'm really happy with that location. We have a nice straight-ahead view as the parade came down the road and a good view of the stage, too. DznyFan - I've been living it vicariously up until now I feel your pain, and we probably won't make it back for SWW for quite a while, so I'll be back to just looking at everyone else's next year. :)

I got some more shots done...

I tried to get some Star Tours shots since it will be changed by next time I'm there.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53697-2/WDW2010SWW-106.jpg

While I was nearby, a Bith from Figrin Da'n and the Modal Nodes came by and checked out the Star Tours warning sign, going through line by line and checking his heart, back, etc - quite funny. He then attempted to climb into our stroller but upon measuring his butt, realized that he was too big. You kind of had to be there but it was fun. :)

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53712-2/WDW2010SWW-111.jpg

R2-D2 was taking pictures near the Fastpass machines. We went over by them to get a closer look, while Jack had his new R2-D2 spinner going making a bunch of noise, and R2 came over to say hi inbetween seeing the kids in line.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53718-2/WDW2010SWW-113.jpg

We had lunch at 50s Prime Time - I am very glad that I made afternoon dining reservations, to give us a break from the oppressive heat! It doesn't hurt that their pot roast is incredible, too. :thumbsup2 We then went to the Indiana Jones show, which was cut short due to lightning in the air. All the did was the opening scene, no picking volunteers or anything, but they did a good job of explaining why and apologizing.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53736-2/WDW2010SWW-119.jpg

Next up, MuppetVision 3D, always a must do.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53865-2/WDW2010SWW-121.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53874-2/WDW2010SWW-124.jpg

We then caught the tail end of a Jedi Training, a Jedi Mind Challenge which was cut short due to rain, and another Jedi Training while waiting for the Hoopla. A couple times during the training, Ventris would come over and glare at Jack, who would promptly try to hide under the stroller, pulling the canopy over him - pretty funny.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53760-2/WDW2010SWW-127.jpg

Apparently Oopla can levitate!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53883-2/WDW2010SWW-131.jpg

A rather unconvincing Luke Skywalker squeezes Snig a little too hard. You can see a few raindrops in the air if you look closely.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53886-2/WDW2010SWW-132.jpg

The rain was starting to really come down now.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53895-2/WDW2010SWW-135.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53904-2/WDW2010SWW-138.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53928-2/WDW2010SWW-146.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53931-2/WDW2010SWW-147.jpg

Next up - a zillion Hoopla photos. :)

[Pea-n-Me]

Great pics. :thumbsup2

[DznyFan]

Yay!!! Hoopla photos! Can't wait!

[Daisy14'sDH]

Great pics so far! We have to get there someday.... maybe next year wont be as hectic and we can take off for a weekend!

[giantstu]

Heheh - yep, Susquehannock Trail Pro Rally yellow t-shirt, blue SWRT hat, R-Strap, and K-7 with aftermarket grip (exact clone of factory minus weathersealing.) Grips and the R-Strap don't really get along well but that's a topic for another day. :)

I check out the DSLRs too - your might be the only "white" lens I saw this trip - maybe one other. Usually there are a few of them running around. Actually, I usually through a "DSLR report" in my trip reports... this trip, the main thing I noticed was that Nikon seems to be dominating the entry-level market now; I saw a lot more basic Nikons than Canons. Highend-wise, probably similar numbers of FF Nikon and Canons - but few of each. Pentaxes, Olympuses, and Sonys were pretty equal, probably a few more Pentaxes but not by much. I didn't notice any film SLRs or rangefinders unlike most previous trips.


I have to agree with all you said,Nikon seem to definately have the market on the entry level DSLR.
I only saw one other white lens and it was a 70-200 F4, i did regret carrying the 400 2.8 the day of the parade!! , it did make the 70-200 2.8 IS feel light though. :headache:

[Groucho]

Thanks folks! I'm glad you're enjoying.

I think I am setting a personal record for post-processing - I've finished the Hoopla photos tonight! The bad news is that I had a minor tragedy - it looks like I accidentally locked the ISO to 100 at some point before the Hoopla began, and between being frustrated at the crowd pushing forward ahead of us, the heat, the holding of my son up so he could see, and the absolute hilarity of the show (probably the funniest 20 minutes in any Disney show ever?), I didn't notice the problem until halfway through the show. It happened once more later on in the show but I noticed it more quickly. I don't know how it happened - maybe I meant to adjust exposure compensation, as they button is right next to the ISO button? Either way, it meant that the main three dances were at ISO 100, F2.8, and usually somewhere about 1/60th - and that means blur! Especially with a telephoto lens.

OK, enough excuses! First, a couple more Jedi Training shots.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53937-2/WDW2010SWW-149.jpg

Yeah, so we waited an hour and twenty minutes, pressed against the rope, then 5-10 minutes before the show, the rope moves and this is where we end up. Argh.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53946-2/WDW2010SWW-152.jpg

Then again, we were still a lot closer than most people... It seems to me that they should maybe put up a "Jumbotron" or similar somewhere further back, since there is so little room for spectators with the stage where it is.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53952-2/WDW2010SWW-154.jpg

Here they are... Snig and Oopla.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53955-2/WDW2010SWW-155.jpg

Chewie doing "Walk This Way."

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53973-2/WDW2010SWW-161.jpg

This is one of my favorite shots... one of the Modal Nodes wandered through the crowd during the Chewbacca and the Jawas routine and was rocking out! :rotfl2:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53976-2/WDW2010SWW-162.jpg

The ladies do some "Material Girl"...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53985-2/WDW2010SWW-165.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54000-2/WDW2010SWW-170.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54006-2/WDW2010SWW-172.jpg

Darth and the stormtroopers do a little "Beat It". It was getting really hard to take any photos, I was laughing so hard!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54012-2/WDW2010SWW-174.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54036-2/WDW2010SWW-182.jpg

Now, the following is making me scour YouTube every couple days to see if soemone posts a video of the show from this day (6/4) - so far, they've all been other days. On this day, there was a big group of people with "Let the wookie win" stickers and a big sign saying the same, and their cheering was enough to let Chewie win instead of Darth. Naturally, Chewie and the Jawas are jubilant...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54042-2/WDW2010SWW-184.jpg

Then, as Chewie takes the mike to give his victory speech, it's snatched out of his hand by a stormtrooper...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54048-2/WDW2010SWW-186.jpg

...and in front of the shocked contestants, says something along the lines of "I'm sorry, Darth Vadar did the best dance ever..." I don't remember all the lines but it was, of course, a parody of the Kanye West/Taylor Swift awards controversy from a couple months ago. I am barely aware that such a thing even happened but it was hilarious and I'm hoping that video of it appears online one of these days!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54054-2/WDW2010SWW-188.jpg

The rest of the show is a non-stop parade of silly dancing.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54072-2/WDW2010SWW-194.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54081-2/WDW2010SWW-197.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54090-2/WDW2010SWW-200.jpg

Check out Amidala in the background! :rotfl2:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54093-2/WDW2010SWW-201.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54099-2/WDW2010SWW-203.jpg

Finally, the stormtroopers come to break it up.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54114-2/WDW2010SWW-208.jpg

A goodbye from the Modal Nodes...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54126-2/WDW2010SWW-212.jpg

...with an appearance by Boba at the very end.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54132-2/WDW2010SWW-214.jpg

This show alone is worth the whole trip, people! :thumbsup2

[Golf4food]

Sounds hilarious. :)

[Groucho]

Golf4food - yes it is. :) Search YouTube for "Hyperspace Hoopla 2010" to get an idea of what it's like.

I haven't posted many kid shots yet - here's a few to make up for that. :)

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54138-2/WDW2010SWWfam-020.jpg

Leila loves to play with plastic bottles; this helped amuse her while we waited for Jack and my wife to ride Star Tours.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54150-2/WDW2010SWWfam-024.jpg

...then Jack and I rode it.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54153-2/WDW2010SWWfam-025.jpg

Jack spent a lot of time on the seat in the back of our new stroller, buried behind a camera bag and a misting fan. He loved it!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54165-2/WDW2010SWWfam-029.jpg

The kids were sweaty messes the whole time but never complained about the heat. OK, some of the wetness here is the misting fan, but not all!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54174-2/WDW2010SWWfam-032.jpg

Back to the other shots... after the Hoopla, I had just enough time to get over to the Tower of Terror and get in one ride before the park closed.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54185-2/WDW2010SWW-217.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54191-2/WDW2010SWW-219.jpg

We all went back to our hotel, got the kids in bed, then I headed out, tripod in hand, to the Magic Kingdom for the 2am Extra Magic Hours. Since it was closed last trip, I headed straight for Splash Mountain and "tested" my camera's weathersealing again... note the big splashed of water coming at us! I got pretty wet just after the pic was taken.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54203-2/WDW2010SWW-223.jpg

Here's going down the big drop; the flash for the on-ride photo froze the rocks a little.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54212-2/WDW2010SWW-226.jpg

Speaking of flash, here was one experiment... a long exposure, and I manually fired the flash as the train went by, hoping that it would "freeze" it. Unfortunately, between the distance and my camera settings, the flash did not light it up nearly as well as I had hoped. It's there, but hard to see. If I try the shot again, I will have to go for a higher ISO and bigger aperture, to let in more light for the flash. Using a larger flash (which I don't have) or even triggering two flashed via Cactus triggers may help, too.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54215-2/WDW2010SWW-227.jpg

Another flash experiment, this time using Disney's own flash. In this case, I should have gone for a smaller aperture and/or lower ISO in order to not blow out the ride vehicle as much.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54218-2/WDW2010SWW-228.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54233-2/WDW2010SWW-233.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54239-2/WDW2010SWW-235.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54248-2/WDW2010SWW-238.jpg

The dangers of spinning dials in the dark and being in a rush - I had been in Manual mode and wanted to switch to Program mode (which can then be instantly put into Aperture priority with the rear dial), but accidentally ended up in Green mode, which is like Auto and which sets you to jpg instead of raw. Fortunately, the auto WB works awfully well so I didn't need to mess with that.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54251-2/WDW2010SWW-239.jpg

It took some time to get this shot... I'm pretty happy with the result.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54263-2/WDW2010SWW-243.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54272-2/WDW2010SWW-246.jpg

That's it for the biggest day of photos. The next day is all Magic Kingdom.

[Daisy14'sDH]

Now I gotta get a wide angle!!! You have me drooling with the possibilities.

Thanks for posting your attempts as well, its nice to read the thought around the process, and maybe some other Pentaxians may try the shot as well... or DISers :lol:

[zackiedawg]

Nice work so far - nice to follow along your thread, especially since I was up there at the same time though creeping around different spots than you were at any given time.

Too bad the folks waiting in line for Billy Dee Williams didn't know they could hang around the Boardwalk lobby and catch him several times a day. Funny - I'm not a Star Wars fan so I know very little about it - I actually didn't really connect him with the films at first. I saw him walking through the lobby, thought 'hey, that kinda looks like Billy Dee Williams but older'...then when I saw him again later that evening, he was signing a few autographs and some folks were taking photos with him, and I thought 'I guess that is Billy Dee Williams, I wonder why he's here?'. Only the next day did I piece together that he was in the Star Wars series, and that it was probably related to that.

[Groucho]

Now I gotta get a wide angle!!! You have me drooling with the possibilities.

Thanks for posting your attempts as well, its nice to read the thought around the process, and maybe some other Pentaxians may try the shot as well... or DISers :lol:
Love my fisheye. :) I actually just grabbed a lens correction preset that someone created for Lightroom 3 and the Pentax fisheye - I just tried it quickly this morning and it does a very good job of making a fisheye look like a normal UWA. Maybe I'll experiment with that and post a few of those...

Nice work so far - nice to follow along your thread, especially since I was up there at the same time though creeping around different spots than you were at any given time.
Thanks!

Too bad the folks waiting in line for Billy Dee Williams didn't know they could hang around the Boardwalk lobby and catch him several times a day. Funny - I'm not a Star Wars fan so I know very little about it - I actually didn't really connect him with the films at first. I saw him walking through the lobby, thought 'hey, that kinda looks like Billy Dee Williams but older'...then when I saw him again later that evening, he was signing a few autographs and some folks were taking photos with him, and I thought 'I guess that is Billy Dee Williams, I wonder why he's here?'. Only the next day did I piece together that he was in the Star Wars series, and that it was probably related to that.
Man - that would be cool, but with only three days and with two kids, I doubt we would have taken the time out to hang around the lobby to see him, especially since like I said, I'm not a big autograph hunter. It still would have been fun to get a pic and have him sign one of my Empire Strikes Back trading cards from my childhood. :)

BTW, my first reaction when you said that you were not a Star Wars fan was "well, why come during SWW then?"... but actually, it probably means that other parks are less crowded. Certainly MK was not too bad Sunday, especially at night. Gay Days meant that it was very crowded on Saturday, though.

[mom2rtk]

Gorgeous shots as always!

I'm curious, do you switch lenses around a lot when you're in the parks? Or do you plan a day to do mostly wide angle stuff, and try to avoid too much changing?

This was the first trip I didn't just use an all-in-one lens and found myself constantly wanting whatever lens wasn't on the camera at the time!

I'm guessing this will be easier for me in December when we go for a week. We only had 2 1/2 days at Disneyland.

[Victoria3]

Awesome pictures!

Thanks folks! I'm glad you're enjoying.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/53946-2/WDW2010SWW-152.jpg



Omg! There's me in this pic, I'm in the bottom left corner, black shirt, hair in pony-tail.

[mom2rtk]

Awesome pictures!



Omg! There's me in this pic, I'm in the bottom left corner, black shirt, hair in pony-tail.

That's cool! Those new-fangled fish-eye lenses pick up everything don't they!! :rotfl:

[Groucho]

Gorgeous shots as always!

I'm curious, do you switch lenses around a lot when you're in the parks? Or do you plan a day to do mostly wide angle stuff, and try to avoid too much changing?

This was the first trip I didn't just use an all-in-one lens and found myself constantly wanting whatever lens wasn't on the camera at the time!

I'm guessing this will be easier for me in December when we go for a week. We only had 2 1/2 days at Disneyland.
It depends. This trip, I did quite a bit less lens switching than usual - I mostly used my 16-50 and 50-135mm F2.8 lenses. The 50-135mm was used for all the parade and Hoopla photos. The fisheye got some but not as much as it might usually, and the Lensbaby and the 31mm F1.8 only got a little bit of use. I also brought the 50mm F1.4 and only mounted it once.

On a "normal" trip, I change fairly often but not constantly. It depends on the circumstance. I try to stay with whatever lens I have mounted and adapt my shooting to the lens, but change when I need to, like if I need a low-light lens or a longer or shorter focal length. But I like the challenge of using a specific lens.

Awesome pictures!

Omg! There's me in this pic, I'm in the bottom left corner, black shirt, hair in pony-tail.
Heheh - it's a small world. :)

[zackiedawg]

Love my fisheye. :) BTW, my first reaction when you said that you were not a Star Wars fan was "well, why come during SWW then?"... but actually, it probably means that other parks are less crowded. Certainly MK was not too bad Sunday, especially at night. Gay Days meant that it was very crowded on Saturday, though.

That's one consideration...but in general I just go whenever I feel like heading up, and don't really pay much attention to whether there are any 'special' events happening. If I happen to coincide with one, I deal with it or work around it. With Star Wars Weekends, I don't notice it being too awfully crowded - the first few weeks in June aren't all that bad despite it, so I often go that time of year. I do tend to just avoid DHS, spending no more than 1/2 day there. Same with Gay Days...the only time it seems to feel more crowded is if you're at the chosen park for the chosen day...if you just go to one of the other parks on that day, it's pretty quiet.

I've gotten used to working around event crowds...I have visited during ESPN weekend, Gay Days, Star Wars Weekends, Food & Wine, Flower & Garden, Pop Warner, Christmas Parade filming, MVMCP, MNSSHP...other than enjoying seeing the F&W and F&G displays, I don't really participate in any of those. I just happen to be there at the same time, and work around the crowds!

[Groucho]

I've gotten used to working around event crowds...I have visited during ESPN weekend, Gay Days, Star Wars Weekends, Food & Wine, Flower & Garden, Pop Warner, Christmas Parade filming, MVMCP, MNSSHP...other than enjoying seeing the F&W and F&G displays, I don't really participate in any of those. I just happen to be there at the same time, and work around the crowds!
Must be nice being so close. :)

Just for fun, and to tide over before I get more shots posted (it's going to be a couple days at least), here's an example of what you can do with Lightroom 3's lens correction. Thanks to "attilaworx", the creator of this profile that I used.

The original 10mm fisheye shot:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54248-2/WDW2010SWW-238.jpg

After defishing:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54275-2/WDW2010SWW-238-flat.jpg

Who needs a separate UWA lens? :teeth:

[mom2rtk]

Must be nice being so close. :)

Just for fun, and to tide over before I get more shots posted (it's going to be a couple days at least), here's an example of what you can do with Lightroom 3's lens correction. Thanks to "attilaworx", the creator of this profile that I used.

The original 10mm fisheye shot:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54248-2/WDW2010SWW-238.jpg

After defishing:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54275-2/WDW2010SWW-238-flat.jpg

Who needs a separate UWA lens? :teeth:

That's awesome Groucho!

[Master Mason]

Must be nice being so close. :)

Just for fun, and to tide over before I get more shots posted (it's going to be a couple days at least), here's an example of what you can do with Lightroom 3's lens correction. Thanks to "attilaworx", the creator of this profile that I used.

The original 10mm fisheye shot:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54248-2/WDW2010SWW-238.jpg

After defishing:

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54275-2/WDW2010SWW-238-flat.jpg

Who needs a separate UWA lens? :teeth:

That's not too bad, it does distort the lights at the outer edges, but you have to be looking for it.

[Groucho]

Yeah, I think it's pretty serviceable. I tried one or two other shots and it can show a bit of distortion in the far left and right edges, but that's normal for an UWA, too (with varying degrees), so I'm not bothered.

I did notice that there are a huge number of Sigma lens profiles in there - even for unreleased lenses like the 85mm F1.4 (which I have my eye on!) There is a profile for their 10mm fisheye, which produces quite similar results; it does show a little more at the corners. I'll have to try them side by side or at least compare the settings.

Supposedly, profiling your own lenses is fairly painless - I'll have to give it a shot one of these days and see how it does.

[MinnieForMe]

Was that really a baby in costume or a doll? I can't imagine doing that to a baby in the Florida heat. We've never been to Star Wars Week but I'm thinking we may have to one day. Thanks for sharing your incredible pictures.

[Groucho]

Was that really a baby in costume or a doll? I can't imagine doing that to a baby in the Florida heat. We've never been to Star Wars Week but I'm thinking we may have to one day. Thanks for sharing your incredible pictures.
At the time, I had thought that it was a real baby. Looking at the pictures, my wife declared that it was a doll. I guess that I would hope that it was! I'll have to take a closer look; I got a couple pictures of it.

A doll would make sense - that would be a pretty serious costume to make for a baby who would probably only be able to wear it once.

[Quicklabs]

Groucho--Awesome pics! You are the master of the fish-eye Love the pics of your kids, as well. You really captured Star Wars weekend--gave me a mini-vacation. Thanks so much.

[Groucho]

Thanks Quicklabs!

I've got the pics from our third day online now and there's a ton of 'em! There won't be many from the fourth (and final) day, so I'll go overboard here...

We started the day with breakfast at Chef Mickey's, which is always fun.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54580-2/WDW2010SWWfam-035.jpg

Our first stop was the barbership, to cut down the mop growing on Jack's head. Leila was already ready for a nap.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54607-2/WDW2010SWWfam-044.jpg

She eventually got slightly more comfortable.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54616-2/WDW2010SWWfam-047.jpg

Jack chose purple again, this time it was a bit brighter than his last cut there.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54634-2/WDW2010SWWfam-053.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54637-2/WDW2010SWWfam-054.jpg

We headed up to Frontierland and rode Big Thunder... then, of course, what better ride to go on with a head full of purple goop but Splash Mountain... we ended up battling purple drips running down his forehead!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54643-2/WDW2010SWWfam-056.jpg

Another defished shot... this place is always closed when we go in January... and now I see they only have "soft" tacos, which I can't stand. Sorry, no sale!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54313-2/WDW2010SWW-255.jpg

We managed to ride Pirates just after it came back from being offline. (Apparently, a lightning-related power surge took a ton of rides offline briefly.) I was happy that the Davey Jones mist screen was working - it was not functioning when we were there in January.

That reminds me - to jump back to day two's notes - I was curious if I'd see any changes on Tower of Terror for Nightastic, since it was usually mentioned... I didn't notice anything new on the ride, except that in the scene where you go forward through the Twilight Zone objects (the "fourth dimension" scene?) before moving into the ride shaft... there were curtains over all the areas with stars on them, so all you saw was a starfield. The soundtrack was the same, which didn't fit (ticking watch sound, etc)... I was a bit disappointed.

Back to day three... we hopped onto the Jungle Cruise and I got a rather fishy look at the back side of water.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54325-2/WDW2010SWW-259.jpg

At some point around here, we got our usual lunch from Columbia Harbour House. My wife has been wanting to try the Tomorrowland Noodle Station for a few years now but yet again, it was closed! We took a ride on Buzz and picked up our special Annual Passholder Summer Nightastic viewing glasses for the fireworks "preview" that would show that night.

We decided to stake out a spot for the Main Street Electrical Parade which we still had room. Jack loved wearing the glasses...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54658-2/WDW2010SWWfam-061.jpg

I think they were a little over the top for MSEP. Here's the opening Tinkerbell float as we'd normally see it...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54334-2/WDW2010SWW-262.jpg

...and here it is through the glasses! Whoa!

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54337-2/WDW2010SWW-263.jpg

The kids were very excited to see MSEP. Jack knew the music and right away said "The electrical parade!" Ah, it does a father proud. ;) Leila bopped away in the stroller; she loves the music and watching the night parades.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54346-2/WDW2010SWW-266.jpg

Unfortunately, I had a number of issues with shutter speeds and exposures. Initially I was using center-weighted metering, then switched to spot - that was a mistake as I was mostly getting underexposed shots. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that was the problem at the time and eventually switched to full manual, picking a good intermediate exposure that worked fairly well - except that the shutter speed was too slow (1/30th) so I got a good amount of blurring. Next time, I'll leave it on center-weighted! Still, I think I got some decent enough shots.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54364-2/WDW2010SWW-272.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54376-2/WDW2010SWW-276.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54379-2/WDW2010SWW-277.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54391-2/WDW2010SWW-281.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54397-2/WDW2010SWW-283.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54409-2/WDW2010SWW-287.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54421-2/WDW2010SWW-291.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54433-2/WDW2010SWW-295.jpg

We decided to stay exactly where we were to watch the Summer Nightastic fireworks. Continued in the next message...

[Groucho]

...and on to the fireworks! We had a fairly decent view, though there was a lightpole in the way. We were on the sidewalk on Main St, about halfway between the hub and the ice cream shop. I kept my lens pretty wide which means that many of these shots are pretty heavily cropped - but I also got most of the perimeter fireworks, so that's the price you pay. At some point, the tripod got bumped and the shots weren't level, then it got better again. I've tried to straighten out the photos best I can.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54442-2/WDW2010SWW-298.jpg

Here's how the fireworks looked through the special glasses.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54448-2/WDW2010SWW-300.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54457-2/WDW2010SWW-303.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54511-2/WDW2010SWW-321.jpg

Another glasses shot.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54523-2/WDW2010SWW-325.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54529-2/WDW2010SWW-327.jpg

They're blowing up the castle! If you look closely, you can see pirate skulls on the castle, too.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54535-2/WDW2010SWW-329.jpg

Grand finale.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54562-2/WDW2010SWW-338.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54571-2/WDW2010SWW-341.jpg

It was a lot of fun - I'd love to see the show replace Wishes but I suspect that it will end after summer does. I could see MSEP sticking around though but that's just a guess.

We stopped by the bakery to grab some cinnamon rolls and other snacks for the morning, then fought our way out to beat the crowds who'd be leaving after the 11pm MSEP performance.

The final full day... mostly Hollywood Studios and more Star Wars stuff, then finishing the day at MK again.

[Gianna'sPapa]

As always, great photos!:worship: I love the skull and crossbones on the castle. I don't think I captured that.

[Groucho]

As always, great photos!:worship: I love the skull and crossbones on the castle. I don't think I captured that.
Thanks! The castle projections are sometimes tricky as they are often moving, so they wouldn't show in a long exposure. I think stars are projected on earlier in the show, too - I know they were in Wishes. I was afraid that they wouldn't show in my photos with the angle I was at, but they turned out to be fairly clear.

[seashoreCM]

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH excuse me for a moment while I break the laptop in half. I accidentally hit the back button, then hit forward again and didn't realize that my login had timed out, and lost about 15 minutes of entering a message. grumblegrumblegrumble
Submit the half baked (or quarter baked) post. Then edit it and add a bit more and resubmit. Then edit it and ... you get the picture (no pun intended).
Unfortunately, I had a number of issues with shutter speeds and exposures. Initially I was using center-weighted metering, then switched to spot - that was a mistake as I was mostly getting underexposed shots. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that was the problem at the time and eventually switched to full manual, picking a good intermediate exposure that worked fairly well - except that the shutter speed was too slow (1/30th) so I got a good amount of blurring. Next time, I'll leave it on center-weighted!
Looks like you simply need a faster lens or a higher ISO; metering isn't the problem here.

Can you process the underexposed shots on your computer to be better? I forgot who on The DIS suggested intentionally underexposing when the lens maxed out, in order to get a faster shutter speed when taking the picture. Doesn't work with all cameras, though.

[DebºoºS]

Love,love,love the pics! Kids are soooo cute!

JMHO, Hoopla is the best outdoor show.

You sure had a great spot for the fireworks. Whenever I setup the tripod on Main St. I get bumped or someone puts their kid on their shoulders right in front of me. Last August they turned around and started the exit stampede before the show ended. Bumping right into me. I was able to pick it all up quickly and move out of their way. How did you manage with the crowds?

[Groucho]

Submit the half baked (or quarter baked) post. Then edit it and add a bit more and resubmit. Then edit it and ... you get the picture (no pun intended).
I've never had the issue where Firefox hasn't saved the form information (unlike IE), but in this case, because I accidentally navigated to another page and could no longer back/forward to the page where my text was. I knew that the trick was to log back in in another tab then go back and re-submit, but it was too late after the navigation error.

Looks like you simply need a faster lens or a higher ISO; metering isn't the problem here.

Can you process the underexposed shots on your computer to be better? I forgot who on The DIS suggested intentionally underexposing when the lens maxed out, in order to get a faster shutter speed when taking the picture. Doesn't work with all cameras, though.
The shots posted either had the exposure altered or were OK to begin with. What happened was that the first few shots were done with center-weighted, which was working fairly well for the floats. Switching to spot metering led to underexposed shots (some of which were corrected and posted), and then I switched to Manual mode with a fixed exposure which was pretty good but sometimes a little too much or too little. I should have switched back to center-weighted.

Love,love,love the pics! Kids are soooo cute!

JMHO, Hoopla is the best outdoor show.

You sure had a great spot for the fireworks. Whenever I setup the tripod on Main St. I get bumped or someone puts their kid on their shoulders right in front of me. Last August they turned around and started the exit stampede before the show ended. Bumping right into me. I was able to pick it all up quickly and move out of their way. How did you manage with the crowds?
Thanks! Glad you like the kids - we do too. ;) For the fireworks, I stayed in exactly the same place we were for MSEP, with the tripod right at the edge of the sidewalk (on the sidewalk, not the street.) Having a stroller was a slight advantage as I was to place the tripod partially over the stroller to help keep the legs out of traffic; I also did not have the legs fully spread apart. It helps, too, that I am fairly tall and that I intentionally bought a tripod that can go up pretty high, so I can position it over most of the crowds. My biggest concern with the location was that there's a lightpost right between me and the castle, but it turned out to be fairly unobtrusive in the final photos.

I have had good luck in the past by setting up right behind a bench - that can help protect your tripod from being bumped. There aren't a ton and the areas usually fill up quickly, but it's an option.

I had forgotten to mention, in the first grand finale, you can fairly clearly see that someone bumped the tripod halfway through the exposure - it's like two sharp images laid on top of each other. Oh well, fortunately I'm just doing this for fun. :)

[Todd_H]

Excellent shots, Groucho. I always enjoy your photo trip reports.

[Groucho]

Thanks Todd! I really appreciate it. :)

Hopefully I'll get some more shots up soon... but already, every day between now and Monday is completely booked up. But I'm gonna try!

[Groucho]

Time to finish this up...

First, a couple minor photo things that I thought were kind of amusing. First, there are a few photo nut CMs floating around - at one point, we hopped onto Big Thunder Mountain when I had my Lensbaby Composer mounted and the CM making sure we were in safe stopped to ask me what the lens was (and seemed to know it - he said "oh, cool!" after I told him...) and I talked to one of the Photopass guys for a few minutes while waiting for a Jedi Training to begin. I noticed that he was using an Op/Tech strap and asked if they all were. He said yes, and I kept an eye out and found that some are using the Op/Tech and some seem to be using some more basic strap - so maybe it's the photographer's choice? I don't know.

Annnnnnnnnyway... So for the final day, we grabbed the goodies we'd bought from the bakery on our way out the night before and headed for the Pop Century food court. It is probably the best one on property, but I admit that I was disappointed in the chicken and penne pasta I got one night - merely passable. My memory was that the "Mom's night out" specials were great but the ones they had while we were there did not appeal to me. Anyway, we picked up some extra food for the kids and chowed down there. Jack was still wearing his Nightastic glasses...

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54712-2/WDW2010SWWfam-062.jpg

We headed for Hollywood Studios. Without really trying, I got a decent spot to see the parade again, almost the same as last time.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54724-2/WDW2010SWW-343.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54736-2/WDW2010SWW-347.jpg

We hopped into the line very early (over an hour) for the Stars of the Saga show. It was behind Muppetvision 3D - there's a number of small touches there that I hadn't seen before. "Hidden Muppets"?

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54748-2/WDW2010SWW-351.jpg

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54754-2/WDW2010SWW-353.jpg

Check out the crazy conduit path here! And those furry things on the lamp - those are actually eyebrows that have fallen down a little; underneath are eyes. They are more visible on some of the other lamps.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54757-2/WDW2010SWW-354.jpg

Some characters circulated through the line a little collecting questions for the stars. It was terribly hot in the sun so I was glad that we were there early enough to wait in the shade - here, a clone troopers borrowed someone's umbrella.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54766-2/WDW2010SWW-357.jpg

Inside, the stormtroopers do a routine before the stars come out. It was very funny - you can find it on eBay but the ones I've seen so far have muffled sound or other issues that impede the enjoyment. The nature of it makes it tough to get a good video of it, but trust me, it was fun. :)

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54775-2/WDW2010SWW-360.jpg

I tried using my external flash a little but wasn't terribly pleased with the results. You probably need the top-of-the-line that has even more power... I did what I could in PP to bring 'em back.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54787-2/WDW2010SWW-364.jpg

The boys sang a quick round of the Mickey Mouse Club song.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54790-2/WDW2010SWW-365.jpg

We stopped in very early for a reservation at SciFi Dine-In and hung out in Writers Stop while waiting. We had another very good meal there. Leila certainly enjoyed hers.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54718-2/WDW2010SWWfam-064.jpg

We made our way to the front of the park, stopping briefly to look at R2-MK.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54799-2/WDW2010SWW-368.jpg

...and took a bus to the TTA then a monorail to the MK.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54802-2/WDW2010SWW-369.jpg

We took it fairly easy and rode some rides, mostly Big Thunder and Splash Mountain. Leila and I caught a little bit of MSEP while the others were on BTMRR.

http://www.groucho.org/pics/54814-2/WDW2010SWW-373.jpg

Splash Mt had essentially no line. We rode it during the Nightastic fireworks (fun!), got off and rode it again immediately, and then were told that we could stay on if we wanted to ride again. Since my wife was waiting, we skipped. But now, it was pretty late and we had to leave early in the morningn, so we decided to just head out. IIRC, we ended up making a mad dash to get out before the second showing of MSEP to beat the crowds!

The next morning was a scramble to get going to make our 8:15 bus to the airport where our plane ended up being delayed 90 minutes... between that and the initial delay, we ended up each getting $50 credit from JetBlue - and I've always used that to book our January 2011 trip. :lmao: :thumbsup2

[Gianna'sPapa]

Again, great work. I hope one day to reach your expertise!!:worship: