Our 3rd Annual Holiday Trip to DL in November - November 22nd - 25th, 2013 Post #3416

[mvf-m11c]

Day 2 – November 16, 2012 – Part 8​

We left off at Disneyland where we are riding It’s a Small World Holiday. This is one of our favorite rides during the Holiday season at DL where it is decorated with Holiday decorations. Not just the outside but also the inside of the ride which is decorated. It is so magical during the Holiday season with the holiday decorations. Now we are on the ride going through IASWH.

Now back with more pictures from IASWH and we are almost at the end of the ride which is the best part of the ride.

Now we were back outside of IASWH and waiting to get back to the dock so we can exit the boat.

We got off IASWH and now about to head on our next attraction which you will find out on the next post.

 

[franandaj]

What amazing details you captured on your journey!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Great shots inside IaSW.

I looked at my settings from IASW and the ISO settings were set at different setting during each different scene. I let is on auto while I left the f/2.8 and the shutter was at 1/30. I look at the settings and I thought that it would be okay if I left it at that. I thought that I left the ISO at a specific speed but it went on auto for each different picture

Here is one of the pictures with the settings.

ISO: 1100 f/2.8 1/30

Thank you for telling what settings you have used when you were on IASW. So it is the ISO which is the biggest one that I need to do.

Bret - In dark rides, you want to let in as much light as possible to hit the sensor. You can do this by either increasing the ISO setting, opening up the aperture (lower f-stop setting) or by increasing the time that the shutter is open for (or a combination thereof).

If you're leaving the ISO on auto, the camera will calculate that based on the internal formulas for exposure.

Everyone will have a different preference for which one of the three - ISO, aperture or shutter speed - to set first. My personal preference is to set the ISO. The tradeoff for setting a high ISO is an increase in noise. In dark rides, I can use ISO 1600 or 3200 as I think that the noise level is acceptable for me. I could go to 6400, but I personally find it very grainy above this point.

I usually start with ISO1600 and then adjust the f-stop to 2.8 as that is the widest my zoom lens will go to. With your 35 mm, you could go wider but the tradeoff will be depth of field.

After I set the ISO and aperture, that just leaves me the shutter speed to play with. The longer you open it for, the more light you will let in. So, in the darker rooms, I will go down to 1/40 or 1/50 sec; but only if I have to. I can hold the camera steady at lower shutter speeds but in a moving ride, I find that any lower will then increase the likelihood of blur. From your settings used, I would say that you'll know what I mean.
In the rooms with more light, I will increase the shutter speed (and reduce the amount of light hitting the sensor) to get the correct exposure.

In the last trip (November) I did experiment shooting Buzz with an ISO of 800. You might remember those pictures in my TR and I thought that those pictures were too dark (for my liking). So, I'm going to stick with ISO of around 1600 for the moment.

There are other settings you could play with on your camera to increase the exposure of your picture. I'm still learning about those; so you might want to post a question on the photoboard section for someone else to answer (with a heap more experience than me).

Hope this helps.

 

[mvf-m11c]

What amazing details you captured on your journey!

Thank you Alison.

Great shots inside IaSW.




Bret - In dark rides, you want to let in as much light as possible to hit the sensor. You can do this by either increasing the ISO setting, opening up the aperture (lower f-stop setting) or by increasing the time that the shutter is open for (or a combination thereof).

If you're leaving the ISO on auto, the camera will calculate that based on the internal formulas for exposure.

Everyone will have a different preference for which one of the three - ISO, aperture or shutter speed - to set first. My personal preference is to set the ISO. The tradeoff for setting a high ISO is an increase in noise. In dark rides, I can use ISO 1600 or 3200 as I think that the noise level is acceptable for me. I could go to 6400, but I personally find it very grainy above this point.

I usually start with ISO1600 and then adjust the f-stop to 2.8 as that is the widest my zoom lens will go to. With your 35 mm, you could go wider but the tradeoff will be depth of field.

After I set the ISO and aperture, that just leaves me the shutter speed to play with. The longer you open it for, the more light you will let in. So, in the darker rooms, I will go down to 1/40 or 1/50 sec; but only if I have to. I can hold the camera steady at lower shutter speeds but in a moving ride, I find that any lower will then increase the likelihood of blur. From your settings used, I would say that you'll know what I mean.
In the rooms with more light, I will increase the shutter speed (and reduce the amount of light hitting the sensor) to get the correct exposure.

In the last trip (November) I did experiment shooting Buzz with an ISO of 800. You might remember those pictures in my TR and I thought that those pictures were too dark (for my liking). So, I'm going to stick with ISO of around 1600 for the moment.

There are other settings you could play with on your camera to increase the exposure of your picture. I'm still learning about those; so you might want to post a question on the photoboard section for someone else to answer (with a heap more experience than me).

Hope this helps.

Thank you PiO.

Thank you for helping me with all the settings when I take pictures of IASWH this upcoming trip. I will be using your tips of taking the pictures.

I did remember seeing those pictures of Buzz that it was a little dark.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Looking forward to seeing more of your awesome shots from this coming trip, Bret. Have fun!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Looking forward to seeing more of your awesome shots from this coming trip, Bret. Have fun!

Thank you PiO.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I still have the Boo to You...and Food & Wine Too! - October 26 to November 2, 2012 trip report going on at the WDW thread and Our 2nd Annual Early Holiday Trip to DL in November - 11/16-18/12. These two trip reports are still in work of progress and I am still not even close to being finished with both trip reports so this upcoming trip which is the next day or today wont be started until I finish up both the WDW and DL trip in November. During the WDW trip which is was during the Halloween season and the Food and Wine Festival at EPCOT. There is a lot to cover from this trip which the highlights of the trip were from Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party and the F&WF at EPCOT. The one that was the best was the Party for the Senses event at EPCOT.

Now I am planning my pre-trip for January 12-14, 2013.

Cast: Me Bret 31, my aunt 65, DM30 and DD2

This will be my first trip to DL this year. This will be my DA first time to DL since the 80s. DM first time since the 80s and DD2 first trip to DL.

Our trip is this upcoming Saturday and we will be there until Monday. This is a special trip for DM and DD2 since it is DD2 first time trip to DL. My aunt who came with me during my WDW trip in October/November wanted to take her BF and DD2 to DL and this was the best time for them to be able to go to DL. It will be during the slow season in mid January which I have been to in the past since 2010. There will be some rides and shows down during the off season at DL. But this was the best time for them to be able to take some time off and go to the DLR. They asked me if I wanted to come down with them for this trip since I can be there guide. I was excited to be able to go with them for this trip since it is DD2 first time going to DL and I want to make sure that she will never forget this trip. This will be a very interesting trip since I am doing it for them and not myself. There might be times that I want to do some things at DL where I usually do all the time like the Monorail & DLRR. This is mostly for them and I should not forget about it.

We will be flying from Sacramento International Airport to Orange County Airport on Saturday. We will be taking the Supershuttle bus to Anaheim. Mostly in the past when I go to the DLR, I always like to drive since I can bring more things than by flight. But this time my aunt, DM and DD2 are not long distance riders so this was the best option for them. So I will have to pack cautiously of what to bring that is important to me. We will be flying on Southwest Airlines which is one of my favorite airline companies when I go flying. We will be leaving at Sacramento at 9:30am and head to Orange Country around 10:40am. Then we will take the Supershuttle Bus to our hotel. I was about to use the Disney Express Bus but my aunt have better deals with the Supershuttle Bus. I had no problem with the Supershuttle instead of the Disney Express Bus.

We will be staying at Best Westerns Park Place & Inn. I have stayed at BWPPI a lot in the past and I always like this hotel since it is the closest non Disney hotel. They were considering one of the Disney hotels at the beginning but the price for staying there was just too great for them that they said that BWPPI was the next choice at $100 a night which is not a bad price for staying at BWPPI. The reason like I have said on my pre-trip reports of staying at BWPPI is because of the location. We got a suite room which has two queen size beds and a sofa bed which everyone will have their own bed at night. They are also glad that there is a continental breakfast at the top floor of Captains Kidd so we can get some juice, cereal, pastries as a snack when we head on over to the parks.

We will be in the parks for all three days of the trip. My aunt and DM have three day passes with a Magic Morning which comes in handy. Plus since DD2 is only 2 and a half years old she will get in the park for free which is a big difference of saving another $200 in tickets. I also found out a while ago that the Annual Pass holders would be able to get inside DL & DCA during MM on the weekends. So I would be able to go to DL during MM on Sunday which is a big thing.

Our goal for this trip is for my aunt, DM and DD2 to enjoy a great time at DL while I will be the guide for them during the trip. The main thing is to try to do a lot of different rides and shows during our three days at the parks. We also plan on doing a lot of character meet and greets around the resort. We do plan on seeing shows like Soundsational parade, Remember Dreams Come True fireworks and World of Color. We were hoping that Fantasmic! would be running but it is down during our trip. We are also having a few character breakfast during the trip. Our first one was going to have breakfast at Goofys Kitchen and Ariels Grotto. My aunt and I called for reservations at AG today this morning and were able to get a reservation.

Right now, we are not going to set a plan up until we decided of what we want to do at DL. But here are some plans that we will be doing on this trip.

Saturday
When we get to the DLR, we will be having lunch somewhere on Harbor Blvd after we check-in at BWPPI. Than we will head on over to DL and go on some of the rides at FL which have the short wait times since we will be going on them the next day during MM. We do plan on seeing the 4pm Mickeys Soundsational parade and will be seeing it around IASW Plaza since there will not be too many people around that area. Later that night we will try to get a good spot in front of SB Castle for RDCT fireworks at 8:45pm. Than after that we will try to do some rides that night until it is time to call it for the night.

Sunday
This is the most important day of the trip since we will be doing a lot of different things. First we will go to DL during MM at 7am to 8am to go on as many rides at FL. Later when the parks opens at 8am, we will head on over to DCA to get FPs for the first show of WoC and our plan is to get the blue section. After getting the FPs we will head on over to Goofys Kitchen for the character breakfast at 9am. After breakfast, we will head on back to the parks to go on the rides that day. Later during the nighttime, we will have dinner at Ariels Grotto for dinner and be able to meet the princesses . At 8:00pm will be the first show of WoC. Than we will do other rides that night.

Monday
Which will be the last day of the trip and we will be there until 1:30pm since we have to catch our flight at 4:40pm back to Sacramento. The park will be open at 10am since it is an off season date so we will try to get as much done during our limited time at DL.

I will write more about my TR and ask for any advice of what I should do with my time at the DLR during the Holiday season.

Thank you

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sounds like a great 3 day trip, Bret. Looking forward to the updates.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Sounds like a great 3 day trip, Bret. Looking forward to the updates.

Thank you PiO.

It was very nice to be home after a 3 day trip. This was a very nice trip where I got to experience it with a young child where I don't experience it too often when I go to the DLR. I wasn't able to do any live updates since we were having a lot of fun during the trip and met a lot of Disney characters at the parks and the restaurants. The highlight of the trip was at Ariel's Grotto where DD2 was so happy to meet all the princesses and the DM was so emotional of seeing her daughter meeting the princesses. DD2 was able to get a lot of pictures with the Disney characters at the park and character restaurants.

We mostly did everything on the plan where we watched RDCT fireworks, Mickey's Soundsational parade and WoC which everyone liked a lot. We had breakfast at Goofy's Kitchen and AG for dinner. Plus we had a another family member who lives in SoCal join us on Sunday and Monday. She was great to be with during our trip and she is called K on the trip report.

There were a lot of pictures of the DD2, DM and K. I barely got some pictures of myself since I was doing all the picture taking for them. This was a great trip and I was glad that I got to go with them during this trip.
The weather was a little cold on Saturday and later on it started to get a little better. At least the weather in SoCal was way better then in NorCal. The crowd levels were not that high during the whole trip where the longest line I have saw all week was Radiator Springs Racers (of course) at 45 minutes which wasn't that bad. We didn't ride RSR since DD2 can't go on the ride.

The trip was during the off season where a lot of rides and buildings were in refurbishment from the MS RR station where it was not open but the DLRR was still running during our visit. BTMRR is under it's long refurbishment where it won't be open till later this year. HMH is closed for the Holiday removal.

The interesting thing about our trip was that there were more CM's outside the turnstiles at both parks where they are scanning guests tickets to see if those tickets belong to the person. I at first thought that we had to show an ID when we got to the turnstiles. But they had CM's outside with iPod Touch to scan the tickets. My aunt and DM had to get a picture from the CM for the ticket so the CM's know that the ticket belongs to her. It was a little annoying that they had CM's outside the turnstiles to scan tickets and take picture of the guests. I do understand the situation of the ticket renters in the past that Disney wants to crack them down. But it does slow down the time to enter the park. Since I had an AP I didn't have to get my AP scanned. I was also annoyed by one CM when we were walking to DL where he told me to show my AP closely. This new process really slows everyone down when you enter the park.

Here are some pictures from the trip with DM, DD2, my aunt and myself.

DD2 with Cinderella

DM and DD2

Me, DD2 and DM. The castle still had the snow while the decorations have been take down during our visit.

My aunt, DD2 and DM waiting for Soundsational Parade

A lot of the Holiday decorations at IASW Plaza were still up during our visit

DD2 sleeping on Minnie's bed

Minnie and DD2

Here is a picture of RDCT fireworks that night

Before I start showing more pictures of this trip report, I still have to work on my November trip as well as finishing up my WDW trip report which are behind.

 

[ACDSNY]

Brett the little 2 yr old is adorable! Wonderful pics.

 

[PrincessInOz]

That is one gorgeous DD2. I hope we see more of her in your pictures.

 

[Sherry E]

I agree with ACDSNY and PiO - that little girl is adorable! Soooo cute! I can only imagine how excited she must have been to meet the Princesses.

Just looking at what you've posted of the photos so far, it looks like everyone was having a great time.

I'm also glad that Goofy's Kitchen went over well (from what you said in my TR). I hope it was a day when at least a couple of Princesses were there too, but if not then hopefully everyone was happy with the food selection and the other characters.

You know, I had a question for you and I almost forgot to ask it until I just read what you posted about Cast Members scanning tickets at the entrance...

When I was at DLR in November and again last month, on both trips I noticed that the Cast Members at the turnstiles of both parks kept greeting me (and other females) with a "Hello, Princess" or "Have a wonderful day, Princess." That sort of thing. I do not recall ever hearing this on any of my previous trips. And it's not like I'm a 5-year-old child, where being called a Princess might be exciting! No one was calling me "Princess" at either park prior to this past November. They didn't even do it back in June, when Cars Land opened. It is definitely a new thing to address the females as "Princess."

So my question is, what are the Cast Members calling the males who walk through the turnstiles? Prince? Are they saying, "Have a wonderful day, Prince"? Or is there some other sort of title they are using? Did they refer to you as Prince?

 

[mvf-m11c]

Brett the little 2 yr old is adorable! Wonderful pics.

She is adorable. You can't believe that she is 2 1/2 years old and will be 3 in April. Luckily that she was free when we entered the park during our trip this past weekend. I thought that we had to show her birth certificate to prove that she is 2 1/2 years old. You can tell that she doesn't look like a 2 1/2 year old child. She is also smart where she had the mind of a 5 year old.

That is one gorgeous DD2. I hope we see more of her in your pictures.

Thank you PiO. I will be showing more photos of DD2 when I upload more pictures from flickr which does take awhile since I have over 2000 pictures during this trip mostly from RDCT, WoC, and the rides.

I agree with ACDSNY and PiO - that little girl is adorable! Soooo cute! I can only imagine how excited she must have been to meet the Princesses.

Just looking at what you've posted of the photos so far, it looks like everyone was having a great time.

I'm also glad that Goofy's Kitchen went over well (from what you said in my TR). I hope it was a day when at least a couple of Princesses were there too, but if not then hopefully everyone was happy with the food selection and the other characters.

You know, I had a question for you and I almost forgot to ask it until I just read what you posted about Cast Members scanning tickets at the entrance...

When I was at DLR in November and again last month, on both trips I noticed that the Cast Members at the turnstiles of both parks kept greeting me (and other females) with a "Hello, Princess" or "Have a wonderful day, Princess." That sort of thing. I do not recall ever hearing this on any of my previous trips. And it's not like I'm a 5-year-old child, where being called a Princess might be exciting! No one was calling me "Princess" at either park prior to this past November. They didn't even do it back in June, when Cars Land opened. It is definitely a new thing to address the females as "Princess."

So my question is, what are the Cast Members calling the males who walk through the turnstiles? Prince? Are they saying, "Have a wonderful day, Prince"? Or is there some other sort of title they are using? Did they refer to you as Prince?

Thank you Sherry. She is very cute and very smart. She was really excited during the trip and the most excited for her was at Ariel's Grotto to meet the Disney princesses for dinner. That was her highlight of the trip of meeting them.

We all had a great time during this trip during the off season at the DLR which wasn't that crowded on all of our days at the parks.

We had a great time at GK and it was nice to ear there again since I was a kid. It does bring a lot of memories to eat at GK. We did see Snow White and Mulan at breakfast but unfortunately they didn't come our way which was a shame. But we did get to meet a lot of Disney characters like Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Baloo, & Rafiki. The food selection was very nice where there was a lot of choices to choose from than Minnie & Friend's character breakfast at the Plaza Inn.

Having extra CM's to scan and take pictures before you enter the turnstile is kind of annoying during this trip which was enforced last week. I can understand why they are doing this and it just causes more delays when you enter the park. Luckily for us we didn't have to wait a long time to get through the turnstiles with the ticket scanning to see if the ticket belongs to that person.

That is so great that the CM's at the turnstiles are greeting you with "Princess" when you enter the park. I don't think during this trip that the CM's said "prince" to me during this past trip or my November trip. I always try to get in the park when I am in the turnstiles. I did remember one time during our trip at DL that one of the CM's said princess to DD2 when she was in the stroller where I was right behind them. To try the experience a pleasant one at the parks, some CM's will call the guests prince or princesses when they enter the turnstiles. Those CM's are very friendly and great to have at the turnstiles while some of them don't care as much.

I would assume that the kids might be called "prince" by the CM's as you enter the turnstiles. I They did not address me as prince during my trip but they always say "have a wonderful day" when I got back my AP from them. The CM's always say the same thing when I enter the parks like "Have a wonderful day" or Magical time like they do in the past. But maybe if I came with a young child that they might say prince to them.


I was also going to say to you during my visit that they did have some Holiday decorations still up in mid January. One of them was the Christmas lights at A Bugs Land which was kind of surprising to see. The huge ornaments were not there but just the lights.

Here are more pics from the trip including some from GK, AG and random pics at the parks. I didn't get in a lot of the pictures since I was taking most of them.

At It's Tough to be a Bug

At Ariel's Grotto

Here is all of us waiting for WoC and with the Glow with the Show Ears which I bought for everyone.

 

[ACDSNY]

Another great set of pics! I love the ones with the Glow with the Show ears.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I agree. Fantastic update and even better pictures. That little DD2 is really adorable. I love seeing the pictures of her with the princesses.

 

[franandaj]

That little 2 1/2 year old is definitely adorable and so nice to see that she loved the characters instead of freaking out when she visited them.

I'm glad you had a great time and I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures from your trip. They are definitely stunning! I think this is the first time in many years that we didn't make it to the DLR during the holiday season to see the decorations.

At least I'm going to fix that next week and get in a quick visit before my trip to WDW. I miss the place!

 

[mvf-m11c]

Another great set of pics! I love the ones with the Glow with the Show ears.

Thank you Angela.

I did like the pictures with the Glow with the Show Ears. Everyone really like them during the trip.

I agree. Fantastic update and even better pictures. That little DD2 is really adorable. I love seeing the pictures of her with the princesses.

Thank you PiO. DD2 was a very nice young child and had a blast at the DLR. There were times where she was a little grouchy where she didn't get some nap time during our time. But that was expected from a young child where she gets a lot of nap time during the day. There were some photos of DD2 with the Disney characters that are not great where she didn't smile. But I will tell what happens during those time. It might be a while until I get to that since I have to finish the November trip and the WDW trip.

That little 2 1/2 year old is definitely adorable and so nice to see that she loved the characters instead of freaking out when she visited them.

I'm glad you had a great time and I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures from your trip. They are definitely stunning! I think this is the first time in many years that we didn't make it to the DLR during the holiday season to see the decorations.

At least I'm going to fix that next week and get in a quick visit before my trip to WDW. I miss the place!

She had a great time at the DLR and meeting all the Disney characters.

Thank you Alison. It will take some time until I get to write up this trip report since I am behind on the other two trip reports. Sorry to hear that you and Fran didn't make it to the DLR during the Holiday season. It was amazing with BVS and CL getting Holiday decorations. Maybe next year that you and Fran will be able to see the Holiday decorations at the two new lands.

That is nice to hear that you will do a quick trip to the DLR before you upcoming trip to WDW. Hope you have a great time.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Day 2 – November 16, 2012 – Part 9​

On the last update, we just rode It’s a Small World Holiday. It is always fun to ride IASWH during the Holiday season at DL. After getting of IASWH, it was time to look for more Holiday decorations around DL.

We left off just getting off It’s a Small World Holiday and now we are on our way over to our next destination which was the Jingle Jangle Jamboree at the backside of Frontierland which is right by Big Thunder Ranch.

AT Fantasyland where we were heading on the backside, it was not that busy where rides like Dumbo was at 20 minutes wait which was a little long that morning.

After passing through FL, we were now on the backside of Frontierland right at Big Thunder Ranch. During the Holiday season, BTR is decorated with the Holiday decorations which are so amazing. They decorate everything around the area including Big Thunder Ranch BBQ. While we were in the area, I looked for any Holiday decorations for the quests.

When we were about to enter BTR, there was the Jingle Jungle Jamboree sign on top of the sign which is new to the Holiday season.

Wreaths around the BTR BBQ area

While we were heading on over to JJJ, there is a lot of decorations on the way which the wagons are decorated.

Over on the left hand side which is the area where they have the Reindeer Round-Up in the past and it looks so empty in that area while most of the Holiday decorations are still up. I was surprised to see the area not so busy like it has been. But this is the first time in a long time that the Reindeer Round-Up is empty. Also they didn’t bring back the reindeers in the pen area which was sad to see.

The two of us now entered JJJ. My first impression of JJJ is that it in the back of the Festival Arena where they have special events at DL. This time it is the place where they have games, Disney characters, crafts and entertainment.

Hours of Operation of JJJ

There were a lot of Christmas decorations around the area and I started taking a lot of pictures as much as I can. My DA didn’t want to stay too long in the Festival Arena so I had to take as many pics as I can. I was getting as many trees, wreaths, garlands, etc. for the quests.

There was an event going on stage but we didn’t stay too long to see it.

Also around the area, there were the Country Bears which I haven’t seen them in a long time. It was neat to be able to see the Country Bears at JJJ character meet & greet area.

There were a lot of different games at Reindeer Games which is standard games that you do outside.

We didn’t stay too long in JJJ so we head on out and over to the cottage where thee Reindeer Round-Up used to be during the Holiday season.

My first impression of JJJ is that it is no where near Reindeer Round-Up during the Holiday season. Even though it is a good idea to use the Festival Arena for JJJJ but I don’t like changes a lot and I did miss Reindeer Round-Up this time of the season.

Around the cottage building still have it’s Holiday decorations which is nice to see during the Holiday season.

That’s it for this post and I will have more from DL.

 

[PrincessInOz]

It's the middle of January and I'm sitting here during a hot, dry summer in Melbourne. The country feels like it's burning.......


BUT.....your pictures at JJJ are taking me back to Christmas again. Great shots!! Love the decorations.

 

[mvf-m11c]

It's the middle of January and I'm sitting here during a hot, dry summer in Melbourne. The country feels like it's burning.......


BUT.....your pictures at JJJ are taking me back to Christmas again. Great shots!! Love the decorations.

I would like to be where you are right now with all the cold weather going on in NorCal.

Some of the pictures from Jingle Jangle Jamboree didn't turn out well and I didn't get too many up close pictures of the event. It was nice to use the Festival Arena for the event just like they did for the Halloween season. Glad that you are enjoying the pictures of DL during the Holiday season.

I still have a lot to finish including trying to get to my trip this month which was great.