• Controversial Topics
    Several months ago, I added a private sub-forum to allow members to discuss these topics without fear of infractions or banning. It's opt-in, opt-out. Corey Click Here

Magic in the Kingdom 2012! BIG 2/16/2014 FINAL UPDATE!

Love all the pictures from Under the Sea! I was so impressed by all the theming in it and in Ariel's new grotto. Did your husband end up liking it?

How smart to plan new things into the trip. I feel like there's so many new things I want to do but I never plan them in cause I'm rushing to fit in the old things I don't want to miss.

Can't wait to hear about the sleigh ride, sounds perfectly magical.

Amazing pictures as always, an update well worth waiting!

Thanks so much. I hope to finish out the first day soon.

He was sort of "meh" about Under the Sea. Keep in mind though that he's never even seen the movie. I'm not sure he'd feel the drive to do it again when we go back. It's funny though, he really likes Small World. :confused3 Go figure.

And what you described is exactly where I'm at with Disney. I can't bear to give up the old things we do at Disney, but I have a desire to add new stuff every time. That makes it SO frustrating to plan. But I'm pretty happy with our list of new things from this trip. Maybe I should start the list now. In fact, maybe I'll put it on the first page. I want to do a scrapbook page on all the new things and that will certainly make it easier! :yay:



Lovely pictures! I can't believe how grown up Katie looks-especially in those sunglasses.

Loving all of the new FL pics. I can't wait to see it in person.

If you don't mind-a quick sewing question. I don't sew cotton jersey often, and I don't have an overlock machine. Any advice for getting it sewn without the seams rippling? I've tried to be so very careful not to pull, I've tried using my seam ripper to guide the fabric through, but every time I get some ripple and pull. Not a huge deal since I'm only making AG clothes, but I'm a perfectionist. It makes me crazy every time I look at them!

Yeah, she was loving those sunglasses. That was one of her reasons for wanting contacts. And I can't say that I blame her. It's what I hate most about wearing glasses.

We were in and out of FL many times over the course of our 10 days there. But had I known then how few days of blue sky we would have, I would have spent more time there the first day taking photos. With 9 days ahead of us, it seemed like more than enough time.

Now, on to the sewing question. I mostly work with woven fabrics, which do tend to behave much better. I can see where jersey might cause some issues. Have you tried sewing between layers of something else? maybe tissue paper, or a tear away stabilizer?

I'm so sad you didn't enjoy the Plaza more! I feel bad! But that Sundae is adorable!!!

Dole Whip!! What I wouldn't give!!! I'm up with a sick baby right now, and that just sounds like a piece of heaven!!!

I loved taking the boat over to Wilderness Lodge too! Corey is convinced we are staying there in the future… Of course, we say that about a dozen or so places! We'll probably end up at AoA or Pop in the future though! :rotfl:

Well, it's not that I didn't enjoy it. I just wasn't wow'd by it. But then I didn't get dessert. I'm sure that would have changed my opinion! :rotfl:

I'm so sorry your baby is sick. Is she any better today? We've been really hit hard with sickness this year too. Katie is at 2 weeks on hers, but at least is back at school. She missed 3 days of school, but had a weekend in the middle of that, so would have missed 5 otherwise. And even when I did send her back she sounded AWFUL. But I had her checked for strep and decided she just couldn't miss any more.

This week it's Drew who's fighting it. And it just never seems to get better. It's been so long since my own similar illness in December that I'm thinking this might be something different, so maybe I'll still get it too. Who the heck knows at this point!

Fingers crossed your baby is on the mend soon. :hug:

We actually talked about staying at the Wilderness Lodge for a couple nights before our free dining started this trip. But in the end, we just couldn't justify the extra cost and the discounts just weren't there to help out. But it was pretty awesome to check it out. That entire evening was really quite wonderful. LOTS of WL photos to come! :cheer2:

Yay! :yay:

Loved the exterior LM pictures! I'm glad there was no picture of the dole whip- I've been craving one like mad lately!

Thanks! And LOL on the Dole Whip comment. So if I have a photo coming later in the TR...... do I need to warn yo uin advance??? ;) Not to worry though..... it's quite a ways down the line.

:cheer2:

Always glad to have an update, though had I not done this :badpc: I might of seen the pictures in color and not through a cracked screen :rotfl:

LOL! :lmao::rotfl2::rotfl:

Now that is seriously funny.
 
Now, on to the sewing question. I mostly work with woven fabrics, which do tend to behave much better. I can see where jersey might cause some issues. Have you tried sewing between layers of something else? maybe tissue paper, or a tear away stabilizer?

That's a great idea. I'll try that next time I'm making something for DD. I usually use wovens too and the jersey is really frustrating me!

Thanks for the help, and I'm not liking the sound of no blue skies over new FL during the next 9 days...
 
Just found your TR today and I'm really enjoying it. I LOVE your photos!!! :love:

How do you get those photos to turn out so colorful and clear, especially the dark rides? What type of camera do you use, if you don't mind me asking?
 
That's a great idea. I'll try that next time I'm making something for DD. I usually use wovens too and the jersey is really frustrating me!

Thanks for the help, and I'm not liking the sound of no blue skies over new FL during the next 9 days...

It's not like they were never blue again. But it almost seemed like it. Every single morning was the same. Gray, dreary, even misty. A days days it burned off, but most of our days there seemed gray.

Let me know if the jersey behaves any better for you!

Just found your TR today and I'm really enjoying it. I LOVE your photos!!! :love:

How do you get those photos to turn out so colorful and clear, especially the dark rides? What type of camera do you use, if you don't mind me asking?

Thank you and :welcome:

I appreciate the kind words on the photos. I have a Canon T2i. For dark ride photos, the trick is a combination of using a camera that does fairly well at high ISOs and a fast lens. I used a Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for most of my dark ride photos this trip. Although this trip through Little Mermaid I shot with a 2.8 lens. I think I used the 1.4 later in the trip. You guys will probably get sick of LM photos before this is over!
 


Your photos are amazing, as usual! Love the dark ride pics!! Can't wait to hear how your trip to WL lodge was. That is our "home" at Disney - we have stayed there our past two trips and I keep trying to book a value, but always end up back at WL! :lmao: Just seeing the pic of Katie walking up the walk from the boat dock toward the lodge gives me goose bumps!!
 

I love this pic, it looks so cool with that bird flying low to the water and the Resort and Monorail in the background...

I love the ride pics, you really got some nice shots on Little Mermaid. I can't wait to get on that ride when I go next time (Not till 2014, though :sad: )

Love your POTC pics, too, I just love one of the Hairy Leg guy! My Mom always got such a kick out of seeing him!
 


Your photos are amazing, as usual! Love the dark ride pics!! Can't wait to hear how your trip to WL lodge was. That is our "home" at Disney - we have stayed there our past two trips and I keep trying to book a value, but always end up back at WL! :lmao: Just seeing the pic of Katie walking up the walk from the boat dock toward the lodge gives me goose bumps!!

Thanks so much! :goodvibes I could totally fall in love with Wilderness Lodge. As I expected, it was just amazing at Christmas time. I had an idea of what it would feel like though, as we stayed at the Grand Californian for a few nights a couple years ago. And we stayed at the Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone a few years back.

Yay! An update :cool1::banana:

As always your pictures are amazing. I love the Little Mermaid pics! =)

Thank you! :) More LM pics to follow. I kept wanting to perfect my technique. It's better lit than most of the dark rides, but my challenge was to not end up with areas overexposed where the spotlights hit them.

I love this pic, it looks so cool with that bird flying low to the water and the Resort and Monorail in the background...

I love the ride pics, you really got some nice shots on Little Mermaid. I can't wait to get on that ride when I go next time (Not till 2014, though :sad: )

Love your POTC pics, too, I just love one of the Hairy Leg guy! My Mom always got such a kick out of seeing him!

Thank you so much! I loved that shot too. Even if it was a "happy accident" with the monorail and bird. Uh..... I mean...... I begged our boat's skipper (driver, captain????? not sure of the term) to sit and wait for both to appear! :thumbsup2
 
Janet, I love your HM photos!!! Great shots with such low light! Also, love the photo of the 3 of you in front of the Castle....You need to frame that one!

In January, I shot the Small World more from a distance from the rider's perspective showing more of the boats ahead along with the trail through the ride with the dolls off to the side, like you did. I had enough of the close-ups and this perspective made me feel like I was on the ride when I looked back at the shots.......I think (haven't uploaded them yet!)

Also love the shots of CR with monorail, bird, and lake! Great job:goodvibes
 
Janet, I love your HM photos!!! Great shots with such low light! Also, love the photo of the 3 of you in front of the Castle....You need to frame that one!

In January, I shot the Small World more from a distance from the rider's perspective showing more of the boats ahead along with the trail through the ride with the dolls off to the side, like you did. I had enough of the close-ups and this perspective made me feel like I was on the ride when I looked back at the shots.......I think (haven't uploaded them yet!)

Also love the shots of CR with monorail, bird, and lake! Great job:goodvibes

Thanks! I got a couple new shots on HM this time, so I was happy with that.

And thanks for the comment on our castle photo. That rose garden location has become a new favorite of mine. It's a great place to get mid-day shots without too much sun glare and without so many people blocking the shot. It's a great shot at night too. Except that might be the area they are going to be using for FP+ reserved fireworks viewing, so don't wait too late in the evening once that gets under way.

I have started to struggle with how to shoot some of these rides in a different fashion. Like you, I seemed to have a lot of close-ups from last year, so this felt like a good next step. Next time I might try my ultra wide angle to try and get even more in the frame. I hope you got what you were looking for!

Thanks for the kind words on the monorail shot. That's probably going to make the top 5 of my favorite shots this trip. It was fun to be out on the launch to the WL shooting around the area from a new perspective!
 
Love the installment. Funny about the Husband and the Castle shot. Can't wait to hear more!
 
Gorgeous pictures! I lover your small world ones. They are so clear. Well most of yours are clear anyway, but something about the small world ones is just beautiful.
I love that boat ride over to WL. I often forget too that you have to go over a road. Most of the time I don't even realize it.
 
Love the installment. Funny about the Husband and the Castle shot. Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks Mike! More to follow soon! :cool1:

Gorgeous pictures! I lover your small world ones. They are so clear. Well most of yours are clear anyway, but something about the small world ones is just beautiful.
I love that boat ride over to WL. I often forget too that you have to go over a road. Most of the time I don't even realize it.

Thanks Jen! I'm sort of *gasp* bored with shooting Small World every time we go now, so it was fun to try something different. :goodvibes

We'll probably go to Sanibel Island sometime this summer after Timmy graduates. He's not a big Disney guy, so it's killing me to think of getting so close to Disney but not stop. I'm wondering if he and Drew would like to take some jet skis out in the lagoon while Katie and I go to the MK one day.

My little brain keeps thinking up little schemes to make a stop there. Then I add up just what that one day stop would cost....... sigh. It is possible I might have to just wave as we drive right on by..... :drive:
 
Friday December 7th continued:


I had debated endlessly back and forth about Whispering Canyon Cafe. Our dining plan hadn't started yet, and they had recently changed the menu so that the all-you-can-eat skillet was the only dinner option. At around $33 a head, that didn't excite me with Katie included as an adult. But we just never seem to get there, and this was a good opportunity, so we gave it a go. I'm so glad we did. We were there a little early, so took the chance to look around the resort. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I can absolutely see why so many people love it. Fortunately it was early in the trip, so I had the energy to climb the stairs to the top floor and take all the photos I wanted of that gorgeous lobby. It felt like I was right back at the Grand Californian taking photos of that lobby on our trip west in 2010.


IMG_7373 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7384 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7388 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7389 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7393 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7406 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7412 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7427 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7430 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7435 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7442 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7454 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7463 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7465 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7475 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7479 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7486 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

Next we were on to dinner. Now let me just say that Katie has never met a bottle of ketchup she didn't love. A lot. But Katie is 12 and embarrasses easily. So I really wasn't sure about our dinner plans. But we were there..... so in we went.



IMG_7364 by mom2rtk, on Flickr

As I mentioned, our dining plan hadn't started, so I asked the waitress if Katie could order off the kids menu. She said sure, as long as she didn't also share form our skillet. Katie was happy since she wanted a hamburger anyway. And that's when it dawned on me that I was glad the waitress said yes. Without that hamburger, Katie would not have needed to ask for the............... KETCHUP! LOL. Actually, it wasn't as funny as it sounded. She didn't ask for it and get surprised. It was more of a slow gag. She saw the other kids around the restaurant ask for ketchup and have to endure everyone staring and laughing. I just kept telling her it was a shame she was going to have to eat that hamburger and fries dry. Eventually she caved and was showered with .......... KETCHUP!


IMG_7367 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7370 by mom2rtk, on Flickr



After checking it all out, we headed back to the boat dock and headed for the Fort. Try as I might, I could not get a clear shot of the Contemporary in the low light from a moving boat:



IMG_7491 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
 
Friday December 7th Continued:

Our timing was great. We had a few minutes to shop around the trading post and buy a few pins and the toothbrush Drew had forgotten to pack. Soon it was time for our 7 PM carriage ride. It had been warm that afternoon, but by evening it cooled off and it was nice our driver had some blankets in the sleigh. The campers displays were wonderful, and I'm glad I finally got to see the spectacle for myself.

One of my greatest reservations about taking the carriage ride was how hard it would be to photograph low light scenes from a moving carriage. I was right, it was indeed a challenge. But the enjoyment of the ride really made it worthwhile and I highly recommend it to anyone there during the holidays. Very unlique and enjoyable.


IMG_7493 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7494 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7498 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7507 by mom2rtk, on Flickr



IMG_7510 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7512 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7517 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7522 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7525 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7531 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7535 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7537 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7539 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7547 by mom2rtk, on Flickr



When we got back to AoA, we picked up our park tickets (the ones the CM at the MK printed there remotely by accident) without incident. We were helped by a trainer who was really very good, apologized for the hassle, and issued us another "any attraction" fastpass to use the next day at Animal Kingdom. And the "manager" who had failed to help us that morning was still there close by the entire time, but didn't say a word.

I apologize in advance if I post far too many photos of this tree. It's so pretty I just couldn't help myself!


IMG_7553 by mom2rtk, on Flickr


IMG_7554 by mom2rtk, on Flickr
 
Great photos of the tree in the Wilderness Lodge.

That is the first picture i have seen of the tree in AoA! It is pretty and definitely fits the resort. I wish It was a bit bigger/wider though. Was it small on real life or just in the photo?
 
Great photos of the tree in the Wilderness Lodge.

That is the first picture i have seen of the tree in AoA! It is pretty and definitely fits the resort. I wish It was a bit bigger/wider though. Was it small on real life or just in the photo?

Thanks! The AoA tree did strike me as a little on the small side. I think the one at the Pop was a lot bigger. And also had a photo op Christmas chair. I would have liked to see the same at AoA. But that white...... really made up for it. I just love white trees.

Maybe it couldn't be any bigger because of the light fixture?
 
Thanks! The AoA tree did strike me as a little on the small side. I think the one at the Pop was a lot bigger. And also had a photo op Christmas chair. I would have liked to see the same at AoA. But that white...... really made up for it. I just love white trees.

Maybe it couldn't be any bigger because of the light fixture?

I remember that photo opp chair at POP! That was a nice size tree.

The light fixture probably did get in the way. It is a pretty tree!
 
I remember that photo opp chair at POP! That was a nice size tree.

The light fixture probably did get in the way. It is a pretty tree!

I loved that chair too. We took photos in that chair many days when we were on our way out.
 
YOu got some great photos at WL!

So glad that Katie wasn't too embarrassed by the ketchup incident. :rotfl:

The sleigh ride sounds like a lot of fun! I think if we ever get there at the holidays we'll have to put that on the list.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Latest posts







facebook twitter
Top