DisneySuiteFreak's Summer Nightastic Photo Intensive Trip Report; updated 3-17-2010!

[stenogoddess]

I'm glad you're back. Great POC shots!

 

[KCmike]

Always love your shots.

 

[thmar]

Thanks!! Looking forward to September TR. I agree with KCmike.."always love your shots."

 

[Robert TG]

Not sure if anyone is still interested, but I thought I should at least attempt to finish up this TR so I can move on to September 2009's TR.
Again, as before, the majority of photos are straight of out the camera as I have no time to post process and don't really know what I'm doing anyway. I promised RobertTG more POTC pics, so they will be posted here. I hope he sees this.) Anyway, on with the TR....

June 16 2009 Day 6

...

Oh WOW! What GREAT pictures. Fantastic, just looking through them makes me feel like I've just been on the Pirates ride and Haunted Mansion..... Thank you for the extra trip to Disneyland.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

I'm glad you're back. Great POC shots!

Thank you so much! I'm glad to be back and glad you're here!

Always love your shots.

Thank you Mike! I really appreciate it especialy coming from you!

Thanks!! Looking forward to September TR. I agree with KCmike.."always love your shots."

Thank you thmar! I appreciate it. Glad to see you back here!

Oh WOW! What GREAT pictures. Fantastic, just looking through them makes me feel like I've just been on the Pirates ride and Haunted Mansion..... Thank you for the extra trip to Disneyland.

Thank you Robert! I was hoping you'd stop by. I posted all those POTC pics just because you asked me to and because I said I would. Better late than never huh?

I've got lots more to come because we were there all day and night and then we added an extra half day the next day!

 

[PrincessDeb]

Thanks for posting all this info and also the great pics! My DH and I went to DL for the first time in Nov 2008 when the crowds weren't too bad...until the Friday before Thanksgiving-yikes!
We're hoping to take our kids this July. I was thinking we should try to do DL during the middle of the week-maybe Tuesday or Wed? We are early risers when on vacation-especially with being East Coasters. Did you notice that the crowds were any better in the middle of the week versus the weekends?
Also, how late is DL usually open til?
TIA!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Thanks for posting all this info and also the great pics! My DH and I went to DL for the first time in Nov 2008 when the crowds weren't too bad...until the Friday before Thanksgiving-yikes!
We're hoping to take our kids this July. I was thinking we should try to do DL during the middle of the week-maybe Tuesday or Wed? We are early risers when on vacation-especially with being East Coasters. Did you notice that the crowds were any better in the middle of the week versus the weekends?
Also, how late is DL usually open til?
TIA!

July should be better than when I went in mid June. The So Cal AP holders come out in droves during the middle of June because they will be blocked out all summer until late August. There were reports that July 4th, which is a notoriously busy time normally, was slow this past year because for the first time all the APs were blocked out except for Premium AP holders. In my experience, Saturdays are now even better than Sundays because all the SoCal Aps, and during certain times of the year (The busiest times), the Deluxe Aps are blocked out too. Sorry, when I went in June, it was crazy busy during the weekdays but again that's because the SoCal APs were going to be blocked so they all came in for one last fix before being blocked out. When I normally go, in the winter during the Xmas holiday rush, the weekdays are better than the weekends except for Saturdays. Saturday is the new Sunday because most APs are not blocked out on Sundays.
Thanks for reading the TR and HTH!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Got off of HM and decided to go to Fantasyland to ride another favorite IASW. On the way there, we passed a bunch of interesting sites...

Whoa look at the sea of people in the background!

Just missed the train:

Lots of cool elements in the ride queue!

Inside the ride:

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Just heard Princess Fantasy Faire will be opening back up again...

Went to Toontown:

And enjoyed more sights:

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

When we left to go to DCA to pick up some Soaring FPs and ride SR, we saw this dreaded sign:

Went back on one of our favs, HM again, and this time even though the sign still said 13 minutes wait time, it was more like 25 minutes which still wasn't too bad. Here are some pics of the outside ride queue which I never had to walk through up until this point in our trip:

The park was starting to get crazy busy and it was only around noon.

OMG look at all the people just coming in!

After riding HM, we went back to DCA to ride Screamin Single Rider. (Or rather DS rode, and I took pictures.) I can't ride this ride.

Passed Grizzley:

This area didn't look too bad from a distance...

Until you're in it then you realize how busy it is!

Waited for these people to move, but they didn't, so I took some shots anway. They were Disney employees standing around talking. The all had name tags.

DS rode a couple of times, so I took more pics of the area. This was before they filled the water back in.

World of Color info:

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

It was starting to get hot and we were getting tired, so we decided to leave for a bit and go back to the hotel. Here is some of what we saw on the way out:

Long lines of people waiting to get in

And what we saw on the way back in; like Duh tell us something we didn't know, LOL!

We went back to the hotel and rested for about 3 hours and then went back to the parks.
We caught a glimspe of the Lilly Belle as she went by:

Nemo:

That psuedo parade Celebate a Street Party was going on so we had to go all the way around through TL to get past it only to end up crossing paths with it near Matterhorn. I figured I may as well grab some shots as they literally stop traffic for it.

The CM saw me taking photos so he positioned himself in front of me to discourage it I guess...

Here comes Tigger:

So we decided to go use our previously collected FPs for Roger Rabbit because when we went earlier the ride had been shut down. We get there and are 2nd in line. Another family comes up and gets in line behind us. The CM tells us the ride is still down but should be opening shortly. So we decided to wait. About 10 minutes go by and these 2 young diva chicks decide to cut in line. (They looked like Jada Pinkett Smith wannabes.) By then the line was getting long. They just about started a riot. The people behind us were getting so PO'd they actually confronted them and then told the CM about them cutting. The CM told them they had to go to the end of the line. They tried to play dumb and act like they were innocent but they knew there was a line behind them and when the family behind us said something to them about it they didn't move or care. The line was really long at this point, and they acted like they were going to the end. My DS and I were in the front of the line and sure enough, when they let us in to the boarding area, they somehow managed to cut in line again and got behind us. I was dismayed that the same CM who told them they had to go to the end of the line allowed them to come right back in. She was standing right there awnd she acted like she didn't know who the were. Meanwhile there was a long line behind them. Sad. They should kick them out for line cutting like they do at Knotts.
Here are some RR pics:

More Toon Town pics:

Golden 1/2 Hour shots, or what's left of it, lol:

More to come...

 

[Coach81]

Hey DSF! Just followed you to your TR! Quick couple of questions from a photo (newb) admirer of yours.. What camera did you use for these shots? Did you find yourself switching Lens a great deal? Did you use mostly a zoom or standard? How much did you have to mess with the settings of your camera?

Thanks so much!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Hey DSF! Just followed you to your TR! Quick couple of questions from a photo (newb) admirer of yours.. What camera did you use for these shots? Did you find yourself switching Lens a great deal? Did you use mostly a zoom or standard? How much did you have to mess with the settings of your camera?

Thanks so much!

Hi Coach81! Nice to see you here! Thanks for your kind comment. I'm still learning as well and made many mistakes in the photos I took while on this trip. I use a Nikon D90 and for these photos I used primarily the 18-200VR because I wanted an all in one zoom, and I thought at the time that it was good enough. Now that I know better, I would have to say I prefer to use my Sigma 18-50 2.8 HSM lens because it is much faster glass and better optics than the 18-200VR, so I tend to get better photos out of it. For the dark rides, I used the Sigma 30mm 1.4 HSM lens. Both of the Sigma lenses will auto focus with your Nikon D5000. IIRC, that's the camera you have right? The D5000 has the same sensor as the D90 so you should be able to get similar results using the high ISO capabilities that the sensor provides.
I used the 18-200 as a walk around lens so I wouldn't have to switch lenses as much when traveling with my family (laziness and not wanting to hold up the family), but on a subsequent trip I used the Sigma 18-50 2.8 and it was fine! I got much better photos out of it (IMO of course) and if I needed to get in closer, I just zoomed in by walking closer. Because of the f2.8 Aperture in the Sigma lens I didn't need VR. (Plus it only went to 50mm. At 200mm+ even w/ f2.8 I would think that for handheld shots you would still need VR or a tripod or monopod unless you have exceptionally steady hands.)
I want to hurry and finish this TR so I can move on and start posting some from my September trip. You will see a huge difference in those walk around shots compared to the ones in this TR because of the faster glass and nicer bokeh.
As far as switching lenses go, I only swapped lenses when I knew I was going onto a dark ride, otherwise the 18-200 stayed on my camera at all times for this trip.
As far as switching settings go, I would bump up the ISO for dark rides and lower it for outside daytime shots -- when I would remember to lower it! Seriously there are many shots that I took at way too high of an ISO and I didn't realize it because I would compensate by adjusting the Shutter speed or Aperture. Only when I got home and looked at them did I realize that I'd forgotten to adjust my ISO. There were also times I would take a shot and it would be completely blown out than I would realize it was still set for the dark rides. I'm much more conscious of it now than I was then. Live and learn. For the dark rides, it helps to put your camera on Auto ISO since the light levels change dramatically inside and you won't be able to see your settings to make adjustments. Just remember to take out of Auto ISO once you're outside.
Let me know if you have an other questions.
Good luck and have fun with your new camera!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Coach, just wanted to add that on my September trip, I really didn't change lenses much more than in this trip (June). I also found that using the shorter focal lengths allowed me to see things a bit more creatively.

 

[Coach81]

Coach, just wanted to add that on my September trip, I really didn't change lenses much more than in this trip (June). I also found that using the shorter focal lengths allowed me to see things a bit more creatively.

Thanks for the tips, DSF! I think I'm just going to work with my kit 18-55 mm lens for the time being and see how accustomed I can get with it. I'm just starting my photographic journey so I have much, much to learn.

Thanks again.. I'm enjoying looking at all your wonderful shots!

 

[Robert TG]

Wow! Just a wonderful set of photo's! I enjoyed every one of them as I travelled through Disneyland in my mind. It's a small world after all is STILL playing in my head.
Excellent photo's from Roger Rabbit car toon spin. My photo's of that ride are less cartoon and mostly spin.
I also love the photo's of the crowds and signs.... it makes me feel like I'm there.
Thanks again for my mini holiday.

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Wow! Just a wonderful set of photo's! I enjoyed every one of them as I travelled through Disneyland in my mind. It's a small world after all is STILL playing in my head.
Excellent photo's from Roger Rabbit car toon spin. My photo's of that ride are less cartoon and mostly spin.
I also love the photo's of the crowds and signs.... it makes me feel like I'm there.
Thanks again for my mini holiday.

Thank you Robert! I'm so glad you enjoyed the photos and I appreciate your kind comments!

 

[barefootmomma]

Gorgeous photos! I just got back from a day trip Monday, but have already been itching to go again and looking over all of your photos definitely reminds me why. Good thing we have another trip planned in a few weeks!

Sort of OT, I've been stalking the Picture of the Day thread and your contributions, along with a few others, have really shown me some parts of Disneyland in new ways! I've always been really interested in photography and definitely play around with it myself a little bit, but the photos here really make me want to get more serious with it. Thanks for sharing your work!

 

[DisneySuiteFreak]

Gorgeous photos! I just got back from a day trip Monday, but have already been itching to go again and looking over all of your photos definitely reminds me why. Good thing we have another trip planned in a few weeks!

Sort of OT, I've been stalking the Picture of the Day thread and your contributions, along with a few others, have really shown me some parts of Disneyland in new ways! I've always been really interested in photography and definitely play around with it myself a little bit, but the photos here really make me want to get more serious with it. Thanks for sharing your work!

Barefootmama, I'm so sorry, I only now just saw your post to my TR. I thank you for your kind complements; I do appreciate them! I hope you enjoy your photography as much as I do. It's a fun hobby!