Discovering A Whole New World of Disney-An October 2013 Photo Safari **Updated 2/20

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Awesome pics!

Thank you!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Looking through my MK photos I decided to group Pirates of the Caribbean and It's a Small World into one update. Two boat rides that couldn't be more opposite of each other. One sings about unity, peace, and friendship. The other about plundering, setting things on fire, and booze. Both are however classics so I guess they have that in common!

I think I mentioned that I stopped by PotC on my way to the Haunted Mansion when I entered the park for MNSSHP. I was eager to try out the 35mm f1.4 I had rented so I took the slight detour. Always enjoy this ride although as a photographer I could do without the first dip. You should see me bracing for impact as I hunker over and shield my camera with my entire body from any chance of splashage. The last couple of times I went on this ride by myself the CMs would usually put me in the last row by myself which was awesome because I could slide from one end to the other taking pictures. This time however I was delegated to the right hand side of the boat with two other women seated on the left hand side. Hmmm, so much for getting the shot of Jack at the end.

I tend to take more pictures when the line stops moving - I get bored and usually my cell doesn't get great signals inside the buildings. It's one of those moments when I happen to catch a glimpse of this amusing view where the canon is squarely aimed at the guests entering the boat.


IMG_9879 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

At first glance it looks like Jack is hiding in between two headless women which is what made me do a double take and snap this scene.


IMG_9890 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The Booze Mule as I like to call it.

IMG_9891 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_9896 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_9898 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

I don't think I could sing and dance when there's that much fire behind me.


IMG_9901 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

I have vivid childhood memories of this ride because my parents couldn't stop laughing at this scene. My mom also used as an opportunity to ease my fears of the ride. Yeah, I got scared easily as a child. I also remember riding through the entire Haunted Mansion with my eyes closed until the Hitch Hiking Ghosts showed up. Is it any wonder that DD is the same way?


IMG_9912 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

And of course the signature scene of the ride. Never gets old.


IMG_9916 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

I got a chance to ride It's a Small World right before I started my prep work for the Wishes Whirlwind Tour. I've been on this ride countless times but this particular go through was quite odd and eerie because as I later found out when disembarking that they decided to close the line for reasons unknown right after we boarded our boat. I was in the last row of our boat. So that means they cut the line and closed up shop right after me. There were no boats following behind us. The lighting through out the ride seemed to be only at half strength. The volume of the music was also turned down and was echoing through the chambers in a very weird way. And our boat moved very very slowly. I wonder if they lost power to the ride and we were on emergency back up power?

In any case, the low lighting kind of created very creepy looks for the dolls. You know, like Chucky. Between that and the echos and no other boats in sight before and after us - yes, I was sufficiently creeped out.


IMG_1192 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1199 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1202 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1224 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1227 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1231 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

See what I mean? Don't they look like they're about to jump out with a knife with some Psycho string music in the background?

And I swear he's thinking about getting me with a blow dart.


IMG_1221 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Remember how I was sitting the last row and no boats behind us? This is what it looked like looking backwards.


IMG_1219 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1247 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

I did get to see more friendlier scenes.


IMG_1207 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1236 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1242 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1245 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_1251 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Needless to say, I was happy to finally get off the ride which took an extra 10 minutes to go through because how slowly we were moving. I think I may have been traumatized enough to stay away from this one in January.

 

[Simba22]

Yikes! How creepy! Although I have to say, I love the shots from behind you without any other boats in them!

 

[MEK]

You got "hey kitty kitty" and the dog with the keys! That's pretty cool that you rented a lens just for the trip. What a great idea.

Once again - wonderful pics!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Yikes! How creepy! Although I have to say, I love the shots from behind you without any other boats in them!

I figured that I may never get another chance with a view of the canals free of other boats so went ahead and snapped away.

You got "hey kitty kitty" and the dog with the keys! That's pretty cool that you rented a lens just for the trip. What a great idea.

Once again - wonderful pics!

Thank you!

I'm planning on renting another lens for our upcoming trip but can't decide on which one I want to try. I may end up with the same lens I rented in October. We shall see.

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Hmmm, your description of the 2 boat rides makes me a little embarrassed to love one and be scared of the other (the other being Small World of course).

Haha, I absolutely love that first photo with the canon. Again, embarrassed, but I still love it.

I tend to think you were all the sacrifices no doubt presented to the valley of the dolls of Small World daily. So glad you survived.

Holy cow, you're saying it was going slower than normal? I would have thought that would be a dead stop.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Hmmm, your description of the 2 boat rides makes me a little embarrassed to love one and be scared of the other (the other being Small World of course).

Haha, I absolutely love that first photo with the canon. Again, embarrassed, but I still love it.

I tend to think you were all the sacrifices no doubt presented to the valley of the dolls of Small World daily. So glad you survived.

Holy cow, you're saying it was going slower than normal? I would have thought that would be a dead stop.

I love PotC! Be proud!

Hmmm. Sacrifice. Yes I didn't think about it that way but now that you say it I'm extra grateful I came out in one piece!

The boat did stop a couple of times during It's a Small World. I thought my ears were getting stabbed from the music each time the boat stopped.

 

[emmysmommy]

Too funny about your PotC photo captions and comments. You could have asked the ladies obstructing your Captain Jack photo opportunity to please duck down. If they knew this was done in the name of your photo safari I'm sure they would understand! I never noticed the canon ready to fire at the loading boat before. That's such a cool shot. (ha ha! I didn't mean that pun but we'll go with it.)

Being a nominal IaSW fan I can honestly say that if that boat moved any slower towards the exit dock I'd not be very happy.

I missed commenting on your DHS photos..... bummer about the shooter thingy on TSMM but glad that you had an opportunity to take some random photos. I already learned that if I take a photo of the gallery scenes, yeah, they don't turn out. Silly me for trying.

As always, loving all of your superb photos!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Too funny about your PotC photo captions and comments. You could have asked the ladies obstructing your Captain Jack photo opportunity to please duck down. If they knew this was done in the name of your photo safari I'm sure they would understand! I never noticed the canon ready to fire at the loading boat before. That's such a cool shot. (ha ha! I didn't mean that pun but we'll go with it.)

Being a nominal IaSW fan I can honestly say that if that boat moved any slower towards the exit dock I'd not be very happy.

I missed commenting on your DHS photos..... bummer about the shooter thingy on TSMM but glad that you had an opportunity to take some random photos. I already learned that if I take a photo of the gallery scenes, yeah, they don't turn out. Silly me for trying.

As always, loving all of your superb photos!

Thanks Brenda!

I never noticed the canon before either but to tell you the truth not entirely sure if I've ever ventured over to that side of the queue after it splits off into two loading areas.

I knew we were going way too slow on IaSW when I had ample time to read ALL of the good byes written in different languages at the end.

 

[khertz]

Awesome shots inside PotC! It's always so dark in there, I know it drives DH crazy trying to get clear shots. Especially love the icon scene of the prisoners and the dog. DS loved that scene the most every time we rode!

I love Small World, but that kind of atmosphere would have totally creeped me out too! I remember riding once, I think in DL, and there was a CM in the shadows adding empty boats to the circulation. I almost screamed when I turned and saw a freaking PERSON sitting there!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Awesome shots inside PotC! It's always so dark in there, I know it drives DH crazy trying to get clear shots. Especially love the icon scene of the prisoners and the dog. DS loved that scene the most every time we rode!

I love Small World, but that kind of atmosphere would have totally creeped me out too! I remember riding once, I think in DL, and there was a CM in the shadows adding empty boats to the circulation. I almost screamed when I turned and saw a freaking PERSON sitting there!!

Oh, that would have freaked me out too if I saw a person sitting among the dolls!

I share your DH's frustrations. PotC and HM will continue to be a source of and for me when it comes to photographing them!

 

[RatherBeInAK]

I’m not caught up yet but I have made some progress!
Ooh, I love the picture of the tiki statues. They look so mysterious.
Your pictures of the fireworks above the Tangled bathrooms are just amazing. I love them.
I’m really going to miss the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade too. I love the music. The poor fox, that must have been uncomfortable to have his head stuck in his cape like that. He apparently hasn’t heard Edna’s rant on the dangers of wearing capes.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I’m not caught up yet but I have made some progress!
Ooh, I love the picture of the tiki statues. They look so mysterious.
Your pictures of the fireworks above the Tangled bathrooms are just amazing. I love them.
I’m really going to miss the Celebrate a Dream Come True parade too. I love the music. The poor fox, that must have been uncomfortable to have his head stuck in his cape like that. He apparently hasn’t heard Edna’s rant on the dangers of wearing capes.

Love Edna Mode! No Capes!! http://youtu.be/Jy2YhxXn7NY

 

[afwdwfan]

I believe this Etch a Sketch is relatively new.

I've certainly never noticed it if it has been there.

I ended up going through this ride twice in a row because the first ride had a defective gun that wouldn’t aim. Not sure if any of you have experienced this because it was actually quite amusing to go through the entire ride looking at the various theming in the corner that you would never notice otherwise because you’re so preoccupied shooting and scoring. I only got one photo from that ride probably because I was stewing and grumpy about the situation.

Well, it is too bad your gun malfunctioned, but at least you got 2 rides out of it and a chance to get a few pictures. On second thought, I guess the gun malfunctioning was a lucky break!

There are so many props I don’t think I got through half of them before we were let in.

I love that pre-show area. You could probably take hundreds of pictures just getting various sight gags they have in there!

A little more complicated than I had anticipated so I ended up going through the ride twice just to get this picture. There’s an area in the queue that juts out a bit right by the launch area and the fence height is a good feet shorter. I braced the camera on the top lining of the fence and aimed by looking at the live view on my LCD screen. Purposely went for a long shutter time to try to get that dragged out look when the coaster speeds away.

You had to go twice. Too bad.

It is my favorite ride and you did it justice. Nice shots from the pre-show area and you did a great job catching the launch!

One sings about unity, peace, and friendship. The other about plundering, setting things on fire, and booze.

And the one that sings about unity, peace and friendship makes you want to plunder, set things on fire and drink.

The Booze Mule as I like to call it.

And of course the signature scene of the ride. Never gets old.

In any case, the low lighting kind of created very creepy looks for the dolls. You know, like Chucky. Between that and the echos and no other boats in sight before and after us - yes, I was sufficiently creeped out.

Ever read the Kingdom Keepers books?

Remember how I was sitting the last row and no boats behind us? This is what it looked like looking backwards.

Ok, the dolls are creepy, this is cool.

I think I may have been traumatized enough to stay away from this one in January.

You've got kids. Good luck with that.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I've certainly never noticed it if it has been there.

Well, it is too bad your gun malfunctioned, but at least you got 2 rides out of it and a chance to get a few pictures. On second thought, I guess the gun malfunctioning was a lucky break!

I love that pre-show area. You could probably take hundreds of pictures just getting various sight gags they have in there!

You had to go twice. Too bad.

It is my favorite ride and you did it justice. Nice shots from the pre-show area and you did a great job catching the launch!

You've got kids. Good luck with that.

Yeah, I know. It's a Small World will be inevitable with the kids.

Hoping to go on RnR three times when we go in three weeks! Thank goodness for Riderswap passes!

 

[mecllap]

Dave -- you probably know this, but you can ask (nicely, of course) the ride loader for the row you want or inside or outside, front or back, etc. When I do that, I offer to wait (like for row B1 on Soarin'). Maybe it helps because I'm generally alone, and a "little ole lady", but I've seen other people with companions do that also.

 

[teekathepony]

Love the pics on both rides. That shot down the barrel of the canon is really neat! Great perspective! You got some great shots with the f1.4 in Pirates! It's so dark in there.
Aww I love iasw! My DH would probably agree with you on the creepiness though, he's not much of a fan.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Dave -- you probably know this, but you can ask (nicely, of course) the ride loader for the row you want or inside or outside, front or back, etc. When I do that, I offer to wait (like for row B1 on Soarin'). Maybe it helps because I'm generally alone, and a "little ole lady", but I've seen other people with companions do that also.

Thanks for the tip! I have occasionally tried to gently ask for specific rows but to be honest I've been met by some mixed reactions. Most of the time they'll let us have the row but about half the time there's an audible sigh or an expression of frustration that comes across the CMs face. So I now I like to scope out the CM first before asking.

Love the pics on both rides. That shot down the barrel of the canon is really neat! Great perspective! You got some great shots with the f1.4 in Pirates! It's so dark in there.
Aww I love iasw! My DH would probably agree with you on the creepiness though, he's not much of a fan.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Thanks Wendy! The f1.4 really worked well in Pirates. I think I'm going to rent it again one more time. Had some difficulty with it for other pictures and couldn't figure out if it was my inexperience with such a fast lens or if it the lens was a bit defective. There was a big ding on the UV filter that came with it.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Some of you already know this because I mentioned oh about a millions times in my past TR and PTRs. The Festival of the Lion King is by far my favorite stage show at Disney World. And to think that the show was at first hastily put together a long time ago by Disney to find a way to fill in the vast empty lot that is Camp Minnie and Mickey after plans for Beastly Kingdom fell through. Or the story goes. I’m also very happy for that the show is getting a new theater more fittingly located in Africa.

As most of you know the show officially went on hiatus after their last show on January 5th. Camp Minnie and Mickey was also closed afterwards. Back in October rumors were swirling of these closures so I had to find a way to squeeze this show in to my itinerary since it may be a couple of years before I get to feast my eyes and ears with the beautiful colors and the wonderful songs. A big thank you to Elton John. When I first saw the film version of the Lion King in theaters 19 years ago I had no idea it would spawn this beautiful production.

In celebration and in memory of the show's Camp Minnie and Mickey version, I have a MEGA update for all of you this week. This being my favorite (did I say that already?) I kind of went nuts on the photography during the show. How nuts you ask? Ohhhhhhh only about 800 pictures attempted. Yes my dear readers, I filled an entire memory card during that one sitting. That's what happens when you let me loose in FotLK with a camera that has a very high shutter speed rate in continuous mode.

I've managed to distill the photos down to about 65 for you. So I'll break this one up into three separate updates.

Our past trips we would arrive at the round theater about 10 minutes before start time usually huffing our way back from Africa after a safari ride and trekking through the Pangani Forest Trails. By then the front half of most of the sections would be already filled. This time I arrived before the doors opened and found myself standing near the front of the pack. When we were let in I had a lot of seats to choose from. After a brief deliberation I went for the elephant section on the side next to one of the two stage entrances. About 5 rows up, the bench juts out more to the aisle which was perfect for my photography positioning. Since no one was sitting in front of me and I had the aisle space clear to my right I had a decent range of angles without someone’s giant head obstructing my pictures! Trust me, I know about giant heads since I carry one myself above my shoulders. The problem was that CM managing the seating in our section was hovering and telling people to “Move all the way down the middle!” I’m usually very obedient at these shows with CMs. I get it that they have a tough job where half the people either don’t hear them or pretend not to hear them. So I turned around and looked at her with my best charming smile plastered on my face and said “I know you want me to move down. But I would reeeeeally love to keep this seat because it would be perfect for taking some great pictures (showing her my big fat camera with the 70-200mm zoom lens already on and hoping that she thinks I’m sort of professional photog). I’m just by myself and I will keep the aisle and row clear for all other visitors. Can you let me stay here?” At first she gave me this look that said “Seriously?” but then she cracked a faint smile in the corner of her mouth and said “Ok”. SCORE!

One more photography thing that I’ve made a habit of from when I first started taking pictures during stage shows is I absolutely make sure that I eliminate any light source from my camera. That of course means double checking my flash is off which is less of a concern these days since I’m on the manual mode 90% of the time. My LCD screen is kept off during the whole time for the people sitting behind me. I also turn off the automatic image review function so the camera does not automatically pop up the image on LCD after each shutter. I know how distracting it can get in dark theaters when someone’s phone LCD lights up so I make sure mine is off. After each set change I do review one image briefly with my hands cupped around the screen to make sure I’ve adjusted my exposure setting correctly to the new lighting.

The theater eventually was packed in. The four leaders led us through the animal sounds – I always feel sorry for the volunteer who is asked to do the giraffe sound. There’s always that awkward grimacing smile when they realize that there’s an animal sound that was never taught in kindergarten.


IMG_8578 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8586 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8588 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Our section's fearless leader in the elephant bleachers!


IMG_8600 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Then the lights went off and my animal friends entered in beautifully choreographed fashion. These characters (so to speak) are my favorites of the show. The supporting cast if you will. But they are the reason why the show has that pop and energy that I absolutely adore. Their costumes are intricate and colorful. And for most of the show my camera was aimed at them.


IMG_8615-2 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8620 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8621 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8629 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The rest of the troupe making their colorful entrance!

IMG_8648 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8657 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8676 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

My favorite shot from this update

IMG_8682 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Enter the monkeys

IMG_8688 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

A little flea picking before jumping

IMG_8693 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

High shutter speed set. Here we go!

IMG_8704 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8725 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8766 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The expressions on the monkey CMs are just priceless

IMG_8787 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8792 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8810 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

"I believe I can fly"

IMG_8813-2 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8814 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_8821 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

I'll try to post the next batch of photos and update in a couple of days including the FIRE GUY!

 

[wiigirl]

Wonderful pics!