Braved the Sept humidity in WDW - We're back! (new pics added 12/2/09)

[jordanyosh]

Thanks, Jordan! That's quite a compliment (and it makes complete sense). One of the things that photographers (and aspiring photographers like me) do with their pictures is to try to evoke some kind of emotion.

I guess you can say that you're doing a great job as a photographer then...

 

[oregondaddyof2]

Okay... I have decided that after seeing your first day of pictures, I am not going to post any of mine in my TR... You are going to make my pictures look like a 5 year old with a polaroid camera took them...

 

[sdchickie]

Teppan Edo is a possibility for us in December---either that, or Tutto Italia, so make sure to let us know what ya think.

We're doing Teppan Edo for the first time in Dec. too so I can't comment on that one, but Tutto Italia we just did in Aug. the food was really good if you like italian food but the service just wasn't there, it took forever for our waiter to come take our drink orders, they brought the wrong food the first time, and when the guy came to clear the table he spilt my drink on me. (Although I also got my drink spilled on me at Whispering Canyon) hhhmmm weird two times in one trip.

 

[Todd_H]

That picture of the park from the top of the ToT ride is Amazing. Awesome shot!!

Most of our time at the parks was during morning and afternoon, so I didn't get a whole lot of cool dusk/nighttime pics this time around. You definitely got some nice ones.

Thanks, crocko! Sorry I missed your post earlier. Glad you guys had a great time last week too!

Enjoying all of your photos. Your family is just too adorable.

Thank you!

Okay... I have decided that after seeing your first day of pictures, I am not going to post any of mine in my TR... You are going to make my pictures look like a 5 year old with a polaroid camera took them...

Nah, I know you came back with some good ones. I can't wait to see your pictures! Glad you guys had a great time and made it home safe. Again, sorry we missed each other at DHS... maybe we'll find ourselves back down there at the same time again on the next trip.

 

[Todd_H]

Some final thoughts on Day 1 - I think that DHS is currently my least favorite park mainly because I can't stand the layout. I find it incredibly confusing. Also, it's really sad that the Disney Animation branch is not still there. I found that walkthrough (where the character greeting spot is now) to be very entertaining and educational, plus you got to see Disney animators working on real Disney projects. The last time I went through there (10 years ago), we saw the artists working on Tarzan. As a matter of fact, if it weren't for the ToT and RnRC, we would probably skip this park altogether. But I will say that the street performers are fantastic.

It's hard to not go straight to the MK as soon as you get to WDW (at least, it is for us) and I think we're going to change our routine for our next trip to do just that.

Day 2 - The Magic Kingdom

We slept in (well, until about 8am) on Monday because we had a 9:50am ADR at Chef Mickey's. Ali and I thought this would be a great way to spend our first full day and a good prelude to heading over to MK... it definitely was. The only thing I would do different is try to book an earlier ADR because we didn't make it to the MK until about 11:30am, which is a very late start for that park.

The kids were still waking up

As we were heading to our seats, Mickey walked by. He gave Caroline a quick wave.

We had to pick up some autograph books in the WL Mercantile before we went to Chef Mickeys. Leighton loved the pin that came with his (it was Goofy's profile on the top).

Goofy liked it too

We got to meet the fab five (Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, and Goofy) so we felt like our trip was officially under way!

After breakfast, we boarded the monorail and headed for the MK. Now, somewhere during the course of the morning, Caroline had talked us into letting her get into pin trading. Our first stop in the MK was at the Emporium so the kids could pick out a lanyard and a starter pin set. Caroline picked out a Tinkerbell lanyard with some baby character pins and Leighton picked... you guessed it

(that's actually not the set he ended up getting, but they were still pirates)

I knew we'd eventually get pulled into the pin trading realm... just didn't realize it would be THIS year. Actually, I found myself trying to search out a cool Haunted Mansion pin the rest of the week to attach to my camera bag, but never found one I liked.

I thought these statues looked neat

After picking up the pins, we figured we had kept the boy waiting long enough, so we decided to go ride PotC. When we got there, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee were signing autographs. The line was pretty long, so while Ali and the kids waited in line, I ran to get FPs for Splash Mountain.

While there, I ran into these guys. I asked them who they were looking for and they told me annnewjerz.

I got back just in time for the character picture

Leighton challenged Captain Hook to a fight later in the week. Will it happen? Stay tuned...

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Just found your TR and I must say I'm totally envious of the shots you've taken so far. Can't wait to see more!

 

[scoot241]

We're doing Teppan Edo for the first time in Dec. too so I can't comment on that one, but Tutto Italia we just did in Aug. the food was really good if you like italian food but the service just wasn't there, it took forever for our waiter to come take our drink orders, they brought the wrong food the first time, and when the guy came to clear the table he spilt my drink on me. (Although I also got my drink spilled on me at Whispering Canyon) hhhmmm weird two times in one trip.

I'm nowhere near our dinner at Teppan Edo on my trip report yet (and at this rate it might be January before I get there), but it was great. Best hibachi I've ever had.

 

[annnewjerz]

There are so many things I love about this update, I have no clue where to start.

First, I agree that MK is the best way to start a trip. Unfortunately, we won't be doing it that way this year either. But out of a 7 day trip, 3 are spent in the MK so I think that makes up for it.

Second, I'm on board with your DS' pin selection. Pirates are awesome, much more so thank Tinkerbell.

Third, OMFG why is everyone getting pictures with Smee?! I love Smee and have never seen him out. I thought he was one of those hard to find characters but apparently not.

Fourth, I love that Brer Bear, Fox and Rabbit are all looking for me. I sincerely hope that you told them I will be there in two short weeks and that I will be sure to see them time and time again, since Splash Mountain is, as the young kids these days say, "da bomb"

As always, great photo! Your kids are so stinkin cute it's really hard not to get a good shot if they are in it.

 

[Todd_H]

Just found your TR and I must say I'm totally envious of the shots you've taken so far. Can't wait to see more!

Hey Rob! Glad you made it over. I started reading your TR too, but have only made it past thru the first 4 pages. Your photos at the beginning aren't showing up through photobucket, btw.

I'm nowhere near our dinner at Teppan Edo on my trip report yet (and at this rate it might be January before I get there), but it was great. Best hibachi I've ever had.

I'll get to this a little later in the TR, but I agree with Scott. Teppan Edo was really, really good. I definitely recommend it.

Third, OMFG why is everyone getting pictures with Smee?! I love Smee and have never seen him out. I thought he was one of those hard to find characters but apparently not.

I don't remember seeing him too much until we went down 2 years ago. Seems with the PotC movies, Disney really brought on the pirate emphasis. He's there all the time now. He and Hook are usually signing autographs across the street from PotC in a little shady area to the left of El Pirata y el Perico Restaurant.

Fourth, I love that Brer Bear, Fox and Rabbit are all looking for me. I sincerely hope that you told them I will be there in two short weeks and that I will be sure to see them time and time again, since Splash Mountain is, as the young kids these days say, "da bomb"

That I did.

As always, great photo! Your kids are so stinkin cute it's really hard not to get a good shot if they are in it.

Thanks! Actually, I've got some not-so-cute ones too. We tend to take less pictures of our kids acting the fool, but trust me it happens .

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Hey Rob! Glad you made it over. I started reading your TR too, but have only made it past thru the first 4 pages. Your photos at the beginning aren't showing up through photobucket, btw.

apparently I took too many I keep running out of bandwidth

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I just went to Photobucket and got a free upgrade to Pro from McDonalds for 90 days The pics show up now but I just looked at mine and went to yours.....I'm a little embarrassed! My P&S Pics shouldn't be on the same board as ones taken with your arsenal!

 

[Todd_H]

apparently I took too many

There's no such thing as taking too many pictures .

The pics show up now but I just looked at mine and went to yours.....I'm a little embarrassed! My P&S Pics shouldn't be on the same board as ones taken with your arsenal!

Nonsense. These trip pictures are more about emotion than anything else and yours capture the spirit of your trip perfectly. They make me feel like I was right there experiencing it with you guys. Nice work !

 

[Todd_H]

We rode PotC after all the smack talking to Hook. Leighton really liked it and seemed to remember a lot of the ride from two years ago. Caroline really liked it too; she’s like me and just likes them all! I took some pictures on PotC, but got some better ones later in the week so I’ll post them later in the TR.

After Pirates, we headed back over to Liberty Square to ride the Haunted Mansion. I thought Caroline was going to be nervous about it, but she showed no fear. Leighton, on the other hand, didn’t make it past the first room, the portrait of Master Gracey over the fireplace did him in and he and Ali made a quick exit while Caroline and I rode.

This is an eerily similar shot to one i captured back in May, but Madame Leota has her eyes open for this one.

At some point during the day, we had also picked up FPs for Peter Pan’s Flight so we made our way over to Fantasyland to ride it and the others in that area.

I’ve always loved the back of Cinderella’s Castle where you can see all the windows of King Stephan’s (oops) I mean Cinderella’s Royal Table.

Peter Pan's Flight

We then made our way through Fantasyland and hit Winnie the Pooh (which I think is a great dark ride), Snow White’s Scary Adventures (which didn’t scare the kids this time), and Mickey’s Philharmagic (which I love).

After those, it was time to use our Splash Mountain FPs so we headed that way. I decided to take my DSLR on the ride so I spent about 10 minutes prepping it with a ziplock bag cover that I had made to keep it dry. This made it a little tough to shoot the ride, but I think I got a few good shots

It was getting to be late afternoon and our plan was to take a break and relax a bit so we could come back to the MK that night for Spectro and Wishes. After a short break, we took the boat back over to the Contemporary and hopped aboard the highway in the sky back to the MK

We rode a couple of rides before Spectro, but I can't remember what they were (PotC again, maybe ). We staked out a spot in Frontierland and enjoyed the show (I really thought the lights from the Shooting Arcade across the street would go completely dark, but apparently not)

The cast members with the light toy carts are always fun to photograph

After Spectro, we decided to call it a day (both kids were tired and so were we). We figured we would have a couple more chances during the week to catch Wishes. We headed back to the main entrance and hopped on our boat for the WL and caught Wishes while we were on the water. I love the boat ride back to the resort at night.

Coming up in Day 3, Animal Kingdom...

 

[NateNLogansDad]

There's no such thing as taking too many pictures .

That's why God created external had drives!

(I remember, back when most of my hair was on my head, when the first 1GB internal hard drive hit the market for consumers. I kept thinking "Who in the world is going to need all that space!" Now I'm 1/2 way through my 300GB on the laptop and most of it is pictures! )

Nonsense. These trip pictures are more about emotion than anything else and yours capture the spirit of your trip perfectly. They make me feel like I was right there experiencing it with you guys. Nice work !

Thank you! It's not everyday I get a compliment from one of the photo board vets.......actually, that may be the first one I'm hopping next year I'll have a few nicer night pictures that may hold there own, time will tell.

Keep the updates coming. So far, excellent

 

[annnewjerz]

After those, it was time to use our Splash Mountain FPs so we headed that way. I decided to take my DSLR on the ride so I spent about 10 minutes prepping it with a ziplock bag cover that I had made to keep it dry. This made it a little tough to shoot the ride, but I think I got a few good shots

It was getting to be late afternoon and our plan was to take a break and relax a bit so we could come back to the MK that night for Spectro and Wishes. After a short break, we took the boat back over to the Contemporary and hopped aboard the highway in the sky back to the MK

We rode a couple of rides before Spectro, but I can't remember what they were (PotC again, maybe ). We staked out a spot in Frontierland and enjoyed the show (I really thought the lights from the Shooting Arcade across the street would go completely dark, but apparently not)

The cast members with the light toy carts are always fun to photograph

So, Todd---did you use the ziploc baggie on the whole ride during Splash? I was going to bring one on the ride and just put the camera in it for the last drop (or just cover it with a poncho) because IIRC, there aren't really any other places it would be wet except for around that bend outside where the water cannon sometimes goes off.

I really like the b&w shot of the monorail and the shot of the CM with the light-up toys on the cart before Spectro.

Looking forward to seeing more, you're so good about doing updates, it's nice to come into work each day with an installment to look forward to (after my morning work is done, of course).

 

[scoot241]

This is an eerily similar shot to one i captured back in May, but Madame Leota has her eyes open for this one.

I don't see the wires in the Leota shot this time either.

The B&W monorail shot is epic. Absolutely amazing.

Your Chernabog came out really well too. I think the light below his body was out when I shot Spectro, because you could barely see him (and he was quite close when he passed me).

 

[Todd_H]

So, Todd---did you use the ziploc baggie on the whole ride during Splash? I was going to bring one on the ride and just put the camera in it for the last drop (or just cover it with a poncho) because IIRC, there aren't really any other places it would be wet except for around that bend outside where the water cannon sometimes goes off.

I used the bag on the entire ride, which was complete overkill and I think it affected me getting some better shots. I really used the bag as an insurance policy and it worked... I barely got wet on Splash.

Your plan will work better... you're right about the two places where you're most likely to get really "wet."

I really like the b&w shot of the monorail and the shot of the CM with the light-up toys on the cart before Spectro.

Thanks!

I don't see the wires in the Leota shot this time either.

Yeah, I was pretty happy about that (and her eyes being open this time)

The B&W monorail shot is epic. Absolutely amazing.

Thanks! I like the way that one turned out too.

Your Chernabog came out really well too. I think the light below his body was out when I shot Spectro, because you could barely see him (and he was quite close when he passed me).

The past few times we have seen Spectro before this trip, the Chernabog float didn't even open. I guess they have some issues with this particular float ?

 

[jordanyosh]

.

These are my favorites!

Your pics of the kids are waay better than what a pro could take! So clear/sharp. Fantastic.

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Darn it, I didn't know you'd done updates! Great TR so far - I LOVE your photography. Did you shoot any around WL?

 

[Todd_H]

Your pics of the kids are waay better than what a pro could take! So clear/sharp. Fantastic.

Thanks Jordan!

Darn it, I didn't know you'd done updates! Great TR so far - I LOVE your photography. Did you shoot any around WL?

Thank you very much! I shot some around the WL late Thursday night... not much though. I haven't looked closely at those shots yet, but I may post a few of them later in the report.