Clearskies photographic Journey to the World and Beyond - 8 theme parks & much more

[clearskies]

When we last left off, we were headed from Adventureland to Tomorrowland to finish up our last section of MK before heading over to EPCOT.

On our way over to Tomorrowland I paused by the Partner's statues for a few seconds to capture some of the characters hanging around there.

Soon we were walking into here...

I actually prefer my Tomorowland experience when it is darker and the brightly colored neon lights are glowing everywhere. The atmosphere is a lot more magical at night. We have places to go though so our Tomorrowland visit will only be a daytime experience this trip.


Our first stop is a must do...

When we got to the entrance though my daughter decided she was not up for a rocket ride through space. I think she would enjoy it but we were not going to force her on so my wife took her over for a bit more relaxing experience on the TTA while my son and I headed in. I told my wife to keep going around until we caught up. Our ride wait Mojo was still with us and it was only a 10 min wait and we were soon ready to board our rocket. Good Grief, one thing about these rockets is that the space is tight! I am not a large individual but my backpack is a decent size and I had a devil of a time trying to stuff it in so that I felt it was secured. I was still working on it when we starting moving and slight panic ensued. I could not get the blasted thing stuffed in entirely so I clutched onto the straps with my dear life and off we went. Let me tell you that fearing for the life of my equipment made this ride even more of a thrill ride. Fortunately we all lived to tell the tale and we were back on earth all in one piece.

We next headed over to catch up with my wife and daughter at the TTA. We got in a fairly short ride line started looking for the girls to come around while letting others go past us. I was going to try to go over to the exit of the ride to wait but there was no way to get there. I guess there is really no need for a chicken exit on this attraction. So when we did see them coming around we motioned for them to stay on and we boarded their car when they came by. I am always happy to take a tour of Tomorrowland on the Peoplemover.

There are not too many photo ops though on the TTA. I tried one of the "City of tomorrow". It is a tough capture since it is so dark but I got some decent results. Here is one.

Another tough dark shot...

Of course I had to take a pic of this strange salon as well. I'd like to see her walking around the park in that new "do" when she is done.

After TTA it was time to get our "Buzz" on. This is our final "must do" Tomorrowland attraction and I think it is my son's favorite attraction in MK.

My wife and son boarded the space cruiser in front of us and my daughter and I followed. Sorry, I did not take the camera out much here. I was concentrating on battling the evil emperor Zurg and his minions. Oh, he had some dastardly plans to collect batteries to build some weapon of destruction and we had to focus our attention on foiling his plans. Ok, I guess I can pause our mission for a sec for one pic for you....

When we get off the ride and my son says he lost a shoe during the ride. How in the heck do you lose a shoe on Buzz? He must have been so excited he jumped out of his shoes. At least he knew where it was lost in the tunnel. So we tell a CM and they fortunately go and retrieve the renegade footwear for us. Thank you kind CM who probably thought we were wacko! How he lost the shoe still is a mystery to me but at least it gives us good ammunition to rib him with in our future battles.


By this time it was just before 4PM and we decide to head out of the park to catch the monorail over to EPCOT. Boy we got a lot done. Let's see... since we got to the MK at about 10AM we managed to get the following done before 4PM:


Pooh
Peter Pan
Snow White
Philharmagic
Haunted Mansion
BTMRR (twice)
Splash (twice)
POTC (twice)
Jungle Cruise
Space Mountain
TTA
Buzz


That's 15 rides on attractions (including all the "E ticket" attractions) in 6 hours with some time in between to eat lunch at CHH. Not bad! Granted we did not spent as much time taking in the finer details of the park, exporing the stores, stopping for characters, etc this visit.


Ok, that's it for now. I need to head out. When we pick up next we'll be in EPCOT. I have some World Showcase pics coming up that I really like. I am way behind in some TR/PTRs though and I need to catch up with some TRs first but that will have to come later today.

 

[TanzUnited99]

I love the pictures of the characters from the partner's statues!

A shame about not being able to explore Tomorrowland in all it's glory when it is lit up but hopefully you will get to do that on your next trip. Your story of clinging on to your backpack throughout the ride made me laugh but was glad to read there was no damage.

Great city of tomorrow pic (you now have me sold on going on TTA) and how did your DS lose his shoe on Buzz Lightyear?! You are right in that is a great thing to use in future battles

Can't wait to see your WS pics and thanks for sharing more pics of your mini vacation - they all look great!

 

[clearskies]

I love the pictures of the characters from the partner's statues!

A shame about not being able to explore Tomorrowland in all it's glory when it is lit up but hopefully you will get to do that on your next trip. Your story of clinging on to your backpack throughout the ride made me laugh but was glad to read there was no damage.

Great city of tomorrow pic (you now have me sold on going on TTA) and how did your DS lose his shoe on Buzz Lightyear?! You are right in that is a great thing to use in future battles

Can't wait to see your WS pics and thanks for sharing more pics of your mini vacation - they all look great!

Oh, sorry Tanz. I missed you last response.

Thank you for your comments. Hopefully you'll get to see Tomorrowland at night. Good to hear you are sold on the TTA. It is definitely worth a relaxing tour. If you find yourself in Tomorrowland when it happens to be raining it is a great place to escape. They usually let you keep going around and around.

Trying to wrap up my TR....on to my next post....

 

[clearskies]

When we left off we were heading from the MK to EPCOT for dinner and to finish up the night with a bang by seeing Illuminations and then some late night EMH. We were eating with the fishes this night at the Coral Reef. We got to the Living Seas a bit early for our ADR and as we approached I realized I had no clue where the restaurant was actually located. Since I thought we had to enter the main pavilion anyway I suggested we take the Nemo ride in since there was also no wait. After we got through the ride we were educated that you had to leave the building and go to a separate entrance for the restaurant. Oh well, at least we got another visit in with Nemo and friends. When we finally found the restaurant I went to the podium to check in only to find they could not find our ADR. Ugh...this was not an easy restaurant to book and I was worried we might get shut out and would be eating our last dinner somewhere else. I know we had a reservation though since I am extremely anal about these things and I at least quadruple check the numbers and the details obsessively. I started to pull my phone out to get the details and he said "don't worry about it. It happens all the time. We'll get you in". This was very nice of him but at the same time I knew I had the ADR.... yet I felt he thought he was doing us a favor since he probably thought I made a mistake. Now let me give you some insight into my warped mind...since I thought that he thought he was doing us a favor I somehow did not feel it would be appropriate to put in a special request for a table to get us closer to the tanks. So I just thanked him and we waited to be called in.

Of course, you know it, when we were led to our seats we were at the level furthest from the tanks. Oh, well at least you could still see the tanks with an ok view but I would have preferred to be closer. The set up is similar to the Shark's Underwater Grill (remember we ate there at Sea World waaaay back on our first night?). There are 3 tiers of seating with the huge tanks at the lowest tier. We were on the top tier. I really don't let these little things bother me though and we settled in and soon got our orders placed. I ordered the Grilled New York Strip Steak but substituted roasted potatoes for the mashed. I can't recall what the rest of the family ordered. While waiting for our meals it was time to get to business. I of course pulled out my camera to take some pics of the inhabitants of the tanks. I headed down to the lower tier but found there was really no good place to stand that would not be blocking the view of other tables and I was fairly certain the other diners were not interested in seeing my backside as opposed to the fish tanks. So I ended up turning around and I headed back to the table and hoped for the best with my longest lens. Fortunately I was able to get a fast enough shutter speed to get away with it. Here's a few of my results:

When our meals came out it was time to get back to my very important duty of my steak ratings.

On the positive side they threw some greens on the plate (even though it was only a few springs of some leafy green veg). As far as the steak was concerned it was just ok. It was not as tender and it did have some gristle that I had to cut around. So that takes some of the excitement out of what I am sure was nail biting anticipation of my final steak ratings from this trip. The final results that you all must be dying to see are........... ..........drum roll please.........




















1. Le cellier
2. Sharks Underwater Grill
3. Kona
4. Turf Club (pretty close with Kona)
5. Coral Reef
6. WCC

Note that I don't really hold too much judgement on a restaurant based on only one experience unless everything is completely horrible so I am willing to try just about anything again.

Before we leave the food though there is one more matter to discuss. My family LOVED the desserts. I can't partake in this but they had the following:


Cheesecake Napoleon - with seasonal fruit compote

Butterscotch Cremé Brulée

and of course.....the Chocolate Wave

Based on the desserts alone my family stated we must return to the Coral Reef.


One pic of my friends before we leave the area....

It was close to 7:30 PM by this time and I wanted to give us plenty of time to get a good spot for Illuminations since it was an EMH night and due to my issue with the crowds at MK the night before. My wife and kids decided they wanted to look in the stores for some items they wanted to purchase. So we split up and I headed over the WS to stake out a spot and they headed off to the Mouse Gear store.

Here is a pic on my way to WS.

When I got there there really were not many loons like me lining up 90 min early so I had my pick of the spots. There was a perfect unobstructed view spot between the Showcase Plaza and Mexico and it even had a few round tables with some chairs. No one was there yet so I grabbed a table and sat to wait. Now, waiting 90 min may not seem like a rip roaring good time for many of you (ok, most of you) but for me looking over the World Showcase as the sun sets and the sky changes is an absolutely beautiful thing to watch and there is no better way to spend your time (well, perhaps I can think of a few things better but not much). It is especially stunning as the lights go on in the various pavilions and the reflections glitter in the water in front of them. Here are some of my favorite pics of the day while waiting for Illuminations to start.

I'll pick up from here next time with Illuminations and some more EPCOT exploring to finish up the day.

 

[MNTwinsMom]

Now, waiting 90 min may not seem like a rip roaring good time for many of you (ok, most of you) but for me looking over the World Showcase as the sun sets and the sky changes is an absolutely beautiful thing to watch and there is no better way to spend your time (well, perhaps I can think of a few things better but not much).

I've been with you since the beginning of this trip report and I'm pretty sure you haven't sat still for 90 minutes at any other point in this trip.

Beautiful results from your time waiting for Illuminations - great pics of the individual pavillions.

Thanks for the "best steak" list. I have ADRs for Le Cellier and Kona for our next trip so I appreciated your reviews.

Have a great time on your upcoming trip!

 

[zianha]

I found your TR last week and I am all caught up now! I LOOOOOOOVE your pictures! I am also jealous because I have never dared take my DSLR to Disney World to get better pictures than my point and shoot takes. Years ago when I took my film SLR with me, it rained like crazy and I had my camera in a bag and wrapped it in a poncho but it ended up getting damaged due to a lot of condensation inside the camera and lens. I'll get the courage to take my DSLR one day and get some nice images, though I don't know if I'll get as great of shots that you have gotten!!

 

[clearskies]

I've been with you since the beginning of this trip report and I'm pretty sure you haven't sat still for 90 minutes at any other point in this trip.

Oh no, you're getting to know me too well. Yes, I usually like to keep on the move

Beautiful results from your time waiting for Illuminations - great pics of the individual pavillions.

Thank you very much! That was such a good spot I am torn with trying to go back to the same spot again this trip or head to the other side of the lagoon for a different viewpoint. It will probably be a game time decision.

Thanks for the "best steak" list. I have ADRs for Le Cellier and Kona for our next trip so I appreciated your reviews.

I am glad someone found it useful. We will be heading back to the same 2 again as well this trip. However Le Cellier will be for lunch. Hopefully it will be just as good.

Have a great time on your upcoming trip!

Thank you so much MNTwinsMom! I'll be excited once we are down there but for now it is coming up way too soon for me.

I found your TR last week and I am all caught up now! I LOOOOOOOVE your pictures! I am also jealous because I have never dared take my DSLR to Disney World to get better pictures than my point and shoot takes. Years ago when I took my film SLR with me, it rained like crazy and I had my camera in a bag and wrapped it in a poncho but it ended up getting damaged due to a lot of condensation inside the camera and lens. I'll get the courage to take my DSLR one day and get some nice images, though I don't know if I'll get as great of shots that you have gotten!!

zianha!!! Thank you so much for commenting. I don't use my DSLR too much at home so when I am going away you'll be hard pressed to see me without it. Yikes on your old film SLR!! You had is wrapped in a poncho and in a bag and it still got damaged? You must have been in a Monsoon. I can see why you are hesitant to bring your DSLR to Disney. Hopefully you find the courage to bring it again but I will asy that I have also seen great pics with P&S cameras as well.

Thank you again fro your comments!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Okay, so when I read about your son losing his shoe on Buzz, you took the words right out of my mouth. "How the heck do you lose a shoe on Buzz"?

I'm anal about my reservations too. I always have the ADRs on my phone for a record. I'm afraid of things being lost too. I love how he made it sound like he was doing you a favor.

Good to know about the steak ratings. I was underwhelmed by the Coral Reef the last time I ate there, but Farrell and I are contemplating adding an ADR to our October trip, and I was tossing Coral Reef around in my head...

 

[clearskies]

Okay, so when I read about your son losing his shoe on Buzz, you took the words right out of my mouth. "How the heck do you lose a shoe on Buzz"?

It will forever remain a mystery

I'm anal about my reservations too. I always have the ADRs on my phone for a record. I'm afraid of things being lost too. I love how he made it sound like he was doing you a favor.

Well, I actually think he did feel he was and I am sure plenty of people get mixed up on their plans. Just not me doggone it!!

Good to know about the steak ratings. I was underwhelmed by the Coral Reef the last time I ate there, but Farrell and I are contemplating adding an ADR to our October trip, and I was tossing Coral Reef around in my head...

Well, we are eating there again as well on my upcoming trip. It was a family request. I am willing to see if it is better this time around for me. It was not horrible last time just not as good as other places.

 

[clearskies]

Ok, I am sprinting to the finish line on this TR. Got to wrap this puppy up before I leave on Wed.......


At some point during my evening entertainment of the World Showcase transforming from day into night my family showed up with their bags of loot from the gift store. They joined me at my table and I set up for Illuminations. My son wanted to try taking pictures as well so I set up our other DSLR camera with a gorillapod on the table and helped instruct him on what settings to use and how to shoot. Illuminations is tricky since the globe moves around and you need to make some choices on how you want to shoot it. What I do is set a longer exposure for the fireworks portions and live with the globe as a blur. Then when there are no fireworks, I switch to a fast shutter speed. There are other settings I need to adjust in the process but that is the gist of it and if I get any more technical I am probably going to drive those of you left reading away.

Illuminations is my favorite night time Show in Disney. I love the entire show and I think that the music really fits in well with the whole show and it just hits home with me. This is what Disney entertainment is all about my friends and even though I have seen it multiple times by now I still can't help to get a little bit emotional by the end of the show. I have to say that I absolutely loved the impromptu solo Illuminations cruise I had earlier in my trip and it is a special memory for me but I still prefer sharing the experience together with my family as I did this night. It was also more special for me being side by side with my son taking pictures together.

Now for a disappointment.....After the trip we lost my son's pictures so I don't have any of them to show. I have no clue how we (ok probably I) lost them but I was seriously bummed.

As for my pics, I think I have had better results but here they are:

ok, we go on.....after this fantastic show I was planning on hanging around for EMH. My family was tired though and decided to head back to the resort. They were fine with me staying behind though so we parted ways and they were soon absorbed into to the massive flow of people making their way out of the World Showcase.

I stayed put for a little while since I figured I would wait for the crowd to thin a little. Here is a pic while waiting...

Oh my gosh there were a whole lot of people!! I eventually had a great idea to head over to see the American Adventure since I had never seen it before and I figured that this be a good way to spend some time while waiting for the masses to dissipate a little more.

continued in the next post.......

 

[clearskies]

Here's a requisite Japan pic along the way to American Adventure....

Even though I am getting better at it I still have a bit of a quirk about going to attractions by myself. So as I was standing in the building waiting for the show to start I was a little uncomfortable at first but fortunately another dad saw my camera equipment and struck up a conversation while waiting and the time passed by quickly until we were being let upstairs into the theater.

Boy what took me so long to see this show. It was very well done and I am looking forward to brining my family to see it on our next trip. The lighting was a bit tough for photography but of course I still try. Here are some pics...

Once the show was done the crowds were indeed much better and I could get to business taking some more pics.

This fountain was tough since there were still many people lining up to take pics. I stood of to the other side trying to get a pic but people kept coming. I eventually got into the line and when it was my turn I was the only strange one who was not taking a pic of someone else by the fountain but simply taking a pic of the fountain.

making my way around the rest of the WS.....

whew...where did the time go. It was after midnight at this point and time to call it a night. I made my way back through FW to catch the bus back to the resort.

I always have to stop first for a pic of this fountain on the way out.

Then as making my way past the magical sparkling pavement I tried for one last pic before leaving the park. I had a devil of a time trying to get one to come out ok and I am sure people thought I was a lying down low on the pavement to take some pics at 12:30 AM. Since I am indeed a wacko it is all good. Here is my last park pic of the trip.....

I do have one more morning to share but it is terribly anti-climactic. We have a Chef Mickey's ADR for breakfast and then we head out of town to visit my wife's uncle in Gainesville for the day. I don't have much to share regarding pictures of the AM but well finish that up in my final post. You can think of this night though as our big finale and we'll just treat our next day as an Epilogue. See you soon to wrap up.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Sorry clearskies but I have fallen behind and been catching up! First off on leaving on Wed - hope you have a great trip!

Now back to the last TR - I'm sorry to hear about the ADR situation with Coral Reef and how you had to sacrifice getting a seat nearby the tanks - I think your pics came out great though. Oh no on the steak rating so low on your list but wow those desserts look amazing!! We haven't booked an ADR for Coral Reef but if your family would go again for the desserts alone maybe I should look into this restaurant for a poissible future trip.

I love the Illuminations pics and can't wait to see the show. It's a shame your son's pics got lost but am glad to hear he also holds an interest in photography. Thanks for sharing the WS pics - the sunset pics whilst waiting are awesome as are the fountain pics.

I also like that you took a pic of the sparkling pavement on your way out Looking forward to the wrapping up installment but at the same time am sad to see your TR come to an end.

 

[clearskies]

Sorry clearskies but I have fallen behind and been catching up! First off on leaving on Wed - hope you have a great trip!

Thank you very much Tanz! I hope you have a fantastic trip as well! Your first trip will be so special for you. I will be looking forward to seeing a TR from you.

Now back to the last TR - I'm sorry to hear about the ADR situation with Coral Reef and how you had to sacrifice getting a seat nearby the tanks - I think your pics came out great though. Oh no on the steak rating so low on your list but wow those desserts look amazing!! We haven't booked an ADR for Coral Reef but if your family would go again for the desserts alone maybe I should look into this restaurant for a poissible future trip.

On our upcoming trip I will ask for a seat closer even if they can't find my darned ADR The food experience at some places can vary from visit to visit so I am hoping it is a bit better but I am torn between going for seafood on this trip or giving the steak another chance just so that I can compare to this last trip. I'll just have to live vicariously though my family on the desserts

I love the Illuminations pics and can't wait to see the show. It's a shame your son's pics got lost but am glad to hear he also holds an interest in photography. Thanks for sharing the WS pics - the sunset pics whilst waiting are awesome as are the fountain pics.

I think you will love Illuminations! I know many don't enjoy it as much as Wishes or Fantasmic but it holds a special place in my heart. Thank you for the comments on the pics!

I also like that you took a pic of the sparkling pavement on your way out Looking forward to the wrapping up installment but at the same time am sad to see your TR come to an end.

That's my artsy fartsy attempt. I am glad you like it. I may try different perspectives on it this trip.

Thank you for sticking with me throughout the entire TR Tanz. I truly appreciate your comments throughout. Seeing comments that people are reading really helped keeping me going to finish this up. Thank you!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Wow, you leave on Wednesday already! Woo hoo!

I love the pictures of WS at night. You truly are dedicated to great pictures, lying down on the ground and all. Turned out beautiful though.

American Adventure is one of my favorite shows. I have one of the Disney World albums, and Golden Dreams, the song from the show, is on there. I love listening to it when I want some Epcot pick me up.

 

[TanzUnited99]

Thank you very much Tanz! I hope you have a fantastic trip as well! Your first trip will be so special for you. I will be looking forward to seeing a TR from you.

You're welcome Clearskies! I can't wait for our trip and then to write a TR though will be a bit sad that our first trip is over - don't even want to think about that at the minute!

I think you will love Illuminations! I know many don't enjoy it as much as Wishes or Fantasmic but it holds a special place in my heart. Thank you for the comments on the pics!

Having seen many pics of Illuminations I think I will fall in love with it as well! I love all your pics and would be happy if mine came out half as good.

Thank you for sticking with me throughout the entire TR Tanz. I truly appreciate your comments throughout. Seeing comments that people are reading really helped keeping me going to finish this up. Thank you!

Again you are most welcome but think I should be thanking you for sharing the experience and finding the time to keep the TR going! It sure has been an enjoyable read and made me even more excited (if that is possible) for our upcoming trip. Like I have said before would love to see pics of your upcoming trip if you decide not to do a TR

 

[ntikos]

Thanks for sharing those great pictures.

and thumbs up on the sparkling sidewalk!

 

[shan23877]

Once again fantastic photos! They're a real treat to see. American Experience is my dirty little secret. DH doesn't know it exists . HoP is all the American history I can handle on vacation

 

[iluvwesties]

Fantastic TR.....LOVED ALL your pictures

Can't wait for 2011 TR

 

[SallyNeko21]

WHAT IS THIS??? Where did you get it? My husband is drooling looking over my shoulder at this.

 

[clearskies]

Thanks for sharing those great pictures.

and thumbs up on the sparkling sidewalk!

Thank you very much ntikos! Happy to share.

Once again fantastic photos! They're a real treat to see. American Experience is my dirty little secret. DH doesn't know it exists . HoP is all the American history I can handle on vacation

Thank you! I had wanted to see the American Adventure for some time but for one reason or another it never fit into our plans. I am glad I finally saw it. I think it is more interesting than HoP.

Fantastic TR.....LOVED ALL your pictures

Can't wait for 2011 TR

Thank you very much Carol! I appreciate the comments.
Regarding a 2011 TR, I am going to be taking some time off with this TR writing business. I have said previouslt that I was not going to write one for this trip and I definitely won't this year. However, maybe I will relive the 2011 trip in 2012. Next year will be a year without Disney trips for us since I am taking a week with my son sailing in the Bahamas with his Boy Scout Troop as well as taking another week with my parents to visit National Parks. So, no Disney trip is in the cards for me until 2013. It's possible I may need to fill a Disney void in my life by writing a better late than never TR in 2012.

WHAT IS THIS??? Where did you get it? My husband is drooling looking over my shoulder at this.

Ah, that was a special dessert from Chef TJ (Tjetjep) who at the time was at the Grand Floridian. I was at 1900 Park Fare and since I have a dairy allergy I see a chef at each meal to see what I can eat. He ended up making me both an incredible meal as well as that dairy-free dessert. He is amazing if you have dietary restrictions.