Photo opps outside of the park?

[lhermiston]

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for suggestions on photo opportunities at WDW that don't require me to go into any of the parks. I'll be going in early January for the marathon and want to do some shooting the evening before the race after hitting up the expo for packet pick up.

I'll probably do Wishes from the TTC for sure, having never done shot from that location. Any other ideas? Will the resorts still be decorated for the holidays? Is there a good place to catch the sunset on Seven Seas Lagoon?

Thanks in advance and, if you have examples to share, please post. You guys inspire me with your photography.

 

[havoc315]

Take a look at google maps/google earth... And you can figure out the best angles for sunrises and sunsets. The resorts and Disney Springs are very photogenic.

For example, the Boardwalk area:
Disney Boardwalk sunset by Adam Brown, on Flickr

Disney Boardwalk at Night by Adam Brown, on Flickr

 

[klmall]

Don't forget the bright icons at Pop Century and Art of Animation resorts. Even the All Stars provide wonderful shots at almost any time of day.

 

[lhermiston]

Great advice. I'll be staying at Pop, so I definitely have time to explore.

 

[katt789]

All the Value resorts have awesome icons you can photograph
-Animal Kingdom Lodge is BEAUTIFUL and you can see animals from tons of places.
-I would do a loop of the Boardwalk area hotels, take some pictures of Y/B from the bw, and vice versa, play with angles, time of day, etc.
-Do a monorail trip around those resorts, they *might* still be decorated but even if they're not the Grand is my all time favorite photoshoot spot, SO MANY OPPERTUNITIES. If you hit up the Contemp, you can grab a drink and POTENTIALLY see Wishes from up there (I've never had a problem sitting at the bar/lounge and staying for wishes but we were there before the sun went down)
Untitled by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr(no tripod there... )

Sunsets from up there are pretty nice too, I played around with sun flares

Untitled by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

But I'm partial to sunsets/wishes from over at the Beach at Fort Wilderness
Untitled by Katt mccluskey, on Flickr

 

[lhermiston]

Gorgeous shots! Plans may have changed slightly and I may be in the parks instead, but quick question: where can I shoot from the Contemporary without having to, say, buy dinner at California Grill?

 

[katt789]

Gorgeous shots! Plans may have changed slightly and I may be in the parks instead, but quick question: where can I shoot from the Contemporary without having to, say, buy dinner at California Grill?

Those shots are from a day we actually just bought some drinks! If you are in the upstairs lobby area of the Contemp, there's a bridge connecting it & Bay Lake Tower, you can attempt to watch from there. What we did was go over to the little viewing area, it was super crowded but we went up a few levels of the fire escape stairs & had a nice private viewing of the fireworks. No music piped in though