Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[mvf-m11c]

Yes, how do you get those shots on the Pooh ride? Here's one of mine:



It's interesting that the rides in DLR and DW are different.

Both rides of Winnie the Pooh are different and luckily the one in DL doesn't have a long wait time like the MK version.

Here is one of my pictures of "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" when I rode it with PiO that Sunday.


For the settings I set the aperture at f/3.5 at it's maximum with a shutter speed of 1/80 and the ISO speed at 3200.

 

[dgbg100106]

The odds seem to not be in your favor, or maybe they were....

 

[ejud]

For the settings I set the aperture at f/3.5 at it's maximum with a shutter speed of 1/80 and the ISO speed at 3200.

What camera and lens???



Jud

 

[mvf-m11c]

What camera and lens???



Jud

I used a Nikon D5100 and the lens was a Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G lens.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Nice update. I love the sweet potato fries and I agree they were the best part of our meal there.

Both DH and I fell in love with the sweet potato fries on this trip. Just LOVED it!

OMG there are sweet potato fries at Disneyland??? Last time we were there DH and I were devastated that we couldn't get any fries Will definitely remember Hungry Bear for next time, thanks for the tip

Love all your pics from Winnie the Pooh - you are very talented at getting photos on the dark rides

When we were there last, that whole area was down for maintenance, so we never got to do Splash Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, or check out the shops and restaurants in the area.

Sounds like you have a few things to 'do' when you return to Disneyland.

It was fun to go to DL that afternoon where it wasn't that busy except for a few rides like Splash where DS wanted to go on and get wet.

That's what I like about Hungry Bear Restaurant where it has the sweet potato fries. It is so fun to eat at Hungry Bear Restaurant where you can see the Columbia or Mark Twain going down the Rivers of America.

It was nice to ride Winnie the Pooh two times in a row so we can get some nice dark ride pictures.

I also can't believe from that day at Star Tours of what are the odds that you would get the same ride experience.

Very nice update.

Bret - You could have blown me over with a feather when I realised I was in for the same Star Tours ride on those 3 elements!

I am SO envious of your nice crisp, colorful indoor shots!! They are absolutely brilliant and something I aspire to.

Did you like the sweet potato fries?! I've just started making those at home (not deep-fried, but still yummy). I wonder if they offer those at WDW anywhere?.....or, maybe it's just a California thing.

.

We loved the sweet potato fries. We found them in Arizona as well. We also went to stay with DH's cousins in Colorado. They live in Dallas but have a cabin in Colorado. We had dinner "in" most nights and they made sweet potato fries in the oven for one of the dinners. It is definitely something that is wider than Cali.

Sweet potato fries are the new rage everywhere..........at least west coast and where we live. Even the fast food places have added them.
Good for me.....I am not supposed to eat white potatoes, but do love fries!!
We enjoy eating at Hungry Bear and sitting looking over the water.

Fast food places? Really? That is a great trend.

I love the photos from Winnie the Pooh. They look really stunning. I can't believe that you had the same three elements on Star Tours three times running.

LegoMom3, they do amazing sweet potato fries at Kona Cafe. I don't normally eat sweet potato, but those were amazing.

Corinna

I missed the fries at Kona! But then again, I missed Kona on this trip.

Well I'm glad to see that you finally got lunch! I was getting very hungry reading your TR!

Nice shots on the Pooh ride. I should start playing with the DSLR and not rely so much on my P&S, but my life is complicated enough without having to worry about pictures!

Yeah, everywhere is serving those Sweet Potato fries now. Not being a fan of Sweet potatoes, they do nothing for me. The Hungry Bear starting serving them after they went down for rehab. I know we ate there with Arline in Feb 2012 because they put the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich on the menu and she really wanted to try that, it was served with the sweet potato fries. I had read about it on the Disneyland Food Porn thread for quite a while before we actually ate there.

I see why your DS was so keen to get on Splash the next day now! I hope that at least at WDW you got some different scenarios on Star Tours!


Hmmm what was going on at 5:30??

Okay. I completely missed the sweet potato fries movement in November last year, then. I don't remember seeing them on the menus much.

Different scenarios at WDW???

 

[PrincessInOz]

I came in late and haven't gone back yet, so excuse me if this was already covered, but having just seen your Pooh shots, dang girl! What camera lens and settings are you using???



Jud

I am SO envious of your nice crisp, colorful indoor shots!! They are absolutely brilliant and something I aspire to.

Did you like the sweet potato fries?! I've just started making those at home (not deep-fried, but still yummy). I wonder if they offer those at WDW anywhere?.....or, maybe it's just a California thing.

.

Yes, how do you get those shots on the Pooh ride? Here's one of mine:



It's interesting that the rides in DLR and DW are different.

Both rides of Winnie the Pooh are different and luckily the one in DL doesn't have a long wait time like the MK version.

Here is one of my pictures of "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" when I rode it with PiO that Sunday.


For the settings I set the aperture at f/3.5 at it's maximum with a shutter speed of 1/80 and the ISO speed at 3200.

What camera and lens???



Jud

I used a Nikon D5100 and the lens was a Nikkor 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G lens.

Seems like a bit of interest in photog speak. So for those not interested, keep moving along. Normal programming will resume shortly.




I have a Canon 7D that I shoot with. Really, any dSLR on the market and some of the micro 4/3 cameras or even some of the top end point and shoot can take decent shots in the dark rides.

You need a camera capable of shooting at ISO 1600 or 3200 or higher without too much noise. On my camera, 3200 is as high as I'll go although 6400 isn't bad either.

The lens I used on this ride is the Canon 17 - 55 mm, f/2.8. Hanging out on the photography sub-forum of the Dis (or any photography forum) is expensive. You'll need a lens capable of shooting at least at an aperture of f/3.5 or lower. Most of the shots taken on this ride were at between f/2.8 - f/3.5.

My shutter speed ranged from 1/40 sec - 1/125 sec.

I shoot entirely in manual; so I play with the ISO, aperture and shutter speed to get the exposure that I want for the shot. One of the things about Disney is that they allow you to take your camera into rides such as this and everything is consistent. So, if you muff a shot; go back in and try a different setting.

I had a privilege of doing the Winnie the Pooh ride at Hong Kong Disneyland last year as well; so I did come into the DLR version with a bit of practise.

You don't need to shoot manual to get the clear shots or if you have a kit lens, try it and see how you go without dropping a bundle on lenses. Just push your dSLR into time priority (Tv mode or the equivalent). Set your ISO to the highest you think you can go without it being super noisy (or at 3200 as a starting point), and set your time to 1/60 sec to begin with. See what the shots look like and adjust from there. If it is too dark, take the time down to 1/40 sec.

Hope this helps!

 

[PrincessInOz]

The odds seem to not be in your favor, or maybe they were....

Either way....I was ready for a change in the Star Wars universe!!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Both rides of Winnie the Pooh are different and luckily the one in DL doesn't have a long wait time like the MK version.

The Hong Kong version is different as well. Wait times can be long, like MK and it is one of the rides that has a FP ticket associated with it in Hong Kong. It definitely doesn't have the psychadelia rooms of the DL version.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Bret - You could have blown me over with a feather when I realised I was in for the same Star Tours ride on those 3 elements!

Out of the 54 different ride experiences on Star Tours, I thought that you would get something different when we rode it the first time.

The Hong Kong version is different as well. Wait times can be long, like MK and it is one of the rides that has a FP ticket associated with it in Hong Kong. It definitely doesn't have the psychadelia rooms of the DL version.

It amazes me how the MK version has a very long wait time while the DL version is a walk-on. Glad that the DL version doesn't require a FP while you have to get one for the MK unless you want to wait in the stand-by queue.

I still miss the Country Bear Jamboree at CC which is where the Winnie the Pooh ride is currently at.

 

[Aussie Wendy]

Sweet potato fries have been an in thing up here in Qld the past year or so too. Yum! I love them. Telling my DH your shutter speeds PIO in the hope that one day he might take some decent dark ride shots. I mean he has all this fancy camera gear  bout time he started using it again. I still love the Japanese version of Winnie the Pooh the best so far&and I also rode the new Star Wars 3 times in 2011 and got the same elements all of the time with just 1 element different once...makes me wonder about the "randomness" factor??

 

[rentayenta]

Nice update and great pics as usual. My family loves DL's sweet potato fries. Michael now makes them at home but a little thicker. I am not a huge sweet potato fan but my crew digs them.

Cool Pooh photos. Chloe loves that ride. She's my kid at heart and always will be.

The Partners statue at Disneyland warms my heart. You got a great shot and I like the pumpkins around it.

Looks like another great day.

 

[ejud]

Seems like a bit of interest in photog speak... Hope this helps!

It certainly does! One of the more informative and usable answers I've gotten to such a question! Thank you! I appreciate it!



Jud

 

[Meriweather]

Back to getting wet on rides.
We got DD this shirt because it was perfect for her

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sweet potato fries have been an in thing up here in Qld the past year or so too. Yum! I love them. Telling my DH your shutter speeds PIO in the hope that one day he might take some decent dark ride shots. I mean he has all this fancy camera gear  bout time he started using it again. I still love the Japanese version of Winnie the Pooh the best so far&and I also rode the new Star Wars 3 times in 2011 and got the same elements all of the time with just 1 element different once...makes me wonder about the "randomness" factor??

That randomness of Star Tours v2.0 is worrying. I wonder if they are trying to push certain tourist destinations to us???????


Hope that the camera settings help with your DH.

Nice update and great pics as usual. My family loves DL's sweet potato fries. Michael now makes them at home but a little thicker. I am not a huge sweet potato fan but my crew digs them.

Cool Pooh photos. Chloe loves that ride. She's my kid at heart and always will be.

The Partners statue at Disneyland warms my heart. You got a great shot and I like the pumpkins around it.

Looks like another great day.

We do bake whole sweet potatoes in the oven. I think I might try them as chunks next time.

I quite like the Winnie ride for practising; but given AussieWendy's comment about the Japan version.....I might need to go seek that out as well.

The day is not quite over yet.

It certainly does! One of the more informative and usable answers I've gotten to such a question! Thank you! I appreciate it!



Jud

Hope it helps! If not, don't blame me.

Back to getting wet on rides.
We got DD this shirt because it was perfect for her

That's such a cool shirt! Love it.

 

[PrincessInOz]

The Stark Tomorrow




Given the recent intervention by Occupational Health and Safety in Disneyland, I was totally incredulous at the cavalier attitude Disney was paying to civilian safety at our next stop point.


Afterall, everyone knows that Tony Stark’s house was completely destroyed
in April/May 2013…so why the heck are Disney storing the Iron Man suits in Innoventions???


Yes, I know. Tony Stark called and asked for help and given that Disney has now bought controlling rights into Stan Lee Industries, it seemed appropriate to store them here for the time being.




The Innoventions attraction at Disneyland is one that I don’t think I’ve been into since I can’t remember when!

In fact, if I’m charging up my Old Fogie memory, I would say that the last time I was in here might have been close to the time that the old Skyways was still running. And that was quite some years ago since that heart was filled!







The views of Tomorrowland are pretty decent from the 2nd level.

















It might well be somewhere that I’ll have to keep in mind next time I’m in SoCal for some night time shots.


The overt reason for us hitting this attraction was the “suits”; DH just loves the Marvel franchises. But in actual fact, we’d been away from home for about 4 days now and DS was displaying withdrawal symptoms.







It was a perfect place to let him indulge in his version of tomorrow fantasyland.












So whilst DS was enjoying a little Disney Infinity, DH….well, he was also indulging in his version of fantasy tomorrowland.






The suits were spectacular!































We didn’t queue for this; although DH did seriously consider it…..but how cool would this have been?







In the end, it was probably for the best. I can only cope with one boy living in virtual reality at a time.



And as a footnote to this post… it will intriguing to see what the Disney of tomorrow will bring now that it has a whole new franchise of characters to play with.




(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


A little Temple Time




Not that any of us were overtly religious, but sometimes, you’re better off making sure you pay the appropriate respect.


To the best of my knowledge, there is only one temple on the Disney site. When we left Critter Country, we took the long walk out and picked up some fast passes for a little temple time.

Okay…..any discussion of religion is verboten on the Dis…..but what the heck do you do when you want to go visit the Temple of the Forbidden Eye? And if Disney think it is okay to have a Temple on site, I’m happy to go with the flow.



I cannot avoid looking at the iconology along the way.





The pieces might be somewhat underground.....






......and contrary to appearances…..






…..it would seem that I’m not the only one paying respects at this Temple.






We can’t keep skirting around the topic or casting shadows.






Nor take the moral high ground.






Either….you’re off the jeep………or on…..and I didn’t see anyone taking the chicken exit!







In the Temple of the Blind, the one eye will shine.






But we need to face the fact straight on….






….no one should ever turn a blind eye to visits to this Disney temple.






And then stand up, talk about it on the Dis and hope that the posting you make will be counted.






And as we're now back on the Dis, all talk of religion will stay on the verboten list (not that there's anything wrong with that policy).





(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


The Adventure Continues




I think I must have pulled a set of Fast Passes for Star Tours before leaving Tomorrowland. Because….according to the photographic journal, we hit this attraction again.

I suspect that wait times weren’t too long and as our window opened up, I got another set so that the boys could get back on this ride again.

I was determined not to forget about the little people this time.



























Thankfully, this time round, I finally partially broke my astronomical streak and the adventure continued for me. It’s taken over a year; but I got to see the second option of the first sequence….Darth Vader at his blackest best. And then a quick spin off to Tatooine before settling back into General Ackbar and Coruscant.



Someday…..I’ll get to experience more of the options!




(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


The Original Americal Girl Doll Shop (without Cash Registers)




In a world where franchise is king and convenient cookie cutter rules, you can tend to forget that behind all the predictable sameness, an original gem of an idea once prevailed.


So it was when Bret went back to his hotel room to pick up the tripod that I decided it was worth paying respects to the original American Girl Doll Shop without a Cash Register. Afterall, it had been well over a year since I dragged the boys into one of these….and it was long enough that they had forgotten I made them do it three times in a row. Yes, I can be cruel like that.






I’d forgotten that the original store has you boarding outside.






This is the closest I’m getting to a cruise.






So I am faced with a 1st World dilemma here. With my snap happy trigger finger, seems like I ended up with quite a few snaps inside.


What to share and tell?????


Do I paint the big picture worldly view of cultural diversity?



























Do I consider the Disney Doll story?



























Hmmm…..







…it really is a juggling act to consider.







And then…..the light!







There was a definitely theme in the Hong Kong Disneyland version. There…..it was all about Asian dolls and their national costumes. I noticed that there was a theme in the original version…..at least in the pictures that I took.



(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


Seems like I took a number of dolls playing musical instruments.






I wondered if they had always been there from attraction opening and no one had blown the Disney stray cat out of the bag before.






And then I figured it was probably me…..being a little in the dark.











Afterall, I only picked up the camera a couple of years ago.






So, I was probably living in a different age, with different lenses on. Yes, even this Aussie can learn new tricks from time to time.






So, moving to the beat of the drum…..






….and stringing this along somewhat…..






……the old 3-instrument trick….






…of which there were a few of these groups of 3 players around….






….means that we can all eventually sing…..






….and dance along…..












…with the band and the musical instrument theme. And what a variety of dolls with instruments it has been in here!






The one noticeable difference about the original compared to the franchise shops is that these dolls are placed higher, on a pedestal.






At least, that’s the way it seems to me. The angles are pretty awkward in here for photography.

Still…..no flies on this Aussie. I’m having a blast of a time.






And with that, I left the store with money still in my pocket. There was no shopping experience here for me, either.






I don’t know if this original version had concentrated on dolls with musical instruments. But for me, it was the perfect theme for me to focus on. I certainly think that the Disneyland version has more variety and depth to the dolls on display than WDW; but the Hong Kong version has much more interesting costumes and it may be my Old Fogie memory….but I certainly think there are many more dolls in the Hong Kong version.

 

[ACDSNY]

OMG I feel like I've been through the Temple, soared through the Stars and sang with the Dolls. The pics were AWESOME!