Discovering A Whole New World of Disney-An October 2013 Photo Safari **Updated 2/20

[princess_momma]

AK is so beautiful!! It never ceases to take my breath away! I love all the details on every little cart/snack stand/etc too. That's not something they HAVE to do but it makes all the difference. Love it!

Also&7 days!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

AK is so beautiful!! It never ceases to take my breath away! I love all the details on every little cart/snack stand/etc too. That's not something they HAVE to do but it makes all the difference. Love it!

Also&7 days!!! WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!

I think that's one of the reasons why we enjoy just taking a stroll through AK. The details and atmosphere.

It's just getting so close I can't stand it! :good vibes

By the way, congrats on the Broncos heading to the Super Bowl!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Remember how I was too shy to do any meet and greets by myself? Yeah, well that didnt change for MNSSHP but I still wanted to watch the Villain Mix and Mingle. More specifically I wanted to see the opening show itself. After spending the majority of the evening appreciating the pyrotechnics of Hallowishes and watching the Happy Haunts parade through twice, I found myself with only one opportunity to catch these infamous characters of Disney which was the very last show of the evening. The crowd had mostly cleared out of the park after the last Boo To You parade so it wasnt too bad up by the Castle by the time Dr. Facilier made his appearance with his dancers.

It's almost party time again!




By the way, I think this show is just about as risqué as Disney will ever get!








I also appreciated how they incorporated some castle projections into the show. I dont know if this was done last year or not but thought it was a great touch. I took these pictures earlier in the evening when I set up for Hallowishes in front of Crystal Palace and they ran an earlier show for the Villains.







I cant explain my fascination with these characters. I mean they are pretty horrible human beings if you break down their story, right? But yet me and everyone else just love seeing them in the flesh so to speak and want to take their pictures.

What? You tried to skin a hundred puppies to make a nice fur coat for yourself? Ooof, thats harsh but hey can I get a picture with you and your lovely fur coat? I wont ask where that piece of garment came from.



Oh look, youre the one that tried to poison a young princess out of petty jealousy. I would LOOOOOVE to take a picture with you  by the way do you have an apple I can pose with?



Im joking around here but there is a lot of truth to their theme song for the parade. Its Good to be Bad. Of course it also helps that we know every single villain here met their justice in each of their respective movies. We probably wouldnt be so forgiving for example if Tiana never broke her spell, remained stuck as a frog, and eventually swallowed whole by an alligator. Not Louie. One of the 1000 other alligators in the Bayou.

I really liked the dance sequences. It was fun watching these characters sort of break loose and have a good time. Sort of has that similar vibe to the Star Wars Hyperspace Hoopla where youre watching these characters behave slightly out of character. And I love it. I mean look at Captain Hook and his dancers here!









Heres my other burning question about this outing. How does exactly Frollo make the cut for this highly coveted spot?? I can hear still the echos of Daddy, whos THAT? when Frollo makes his entrance. The film by the way was released in 1996 which means pretty much everyone who hasnt graduated high school yet hasnt seen this movie. Sigh. Im getting old. I was a wide eyed college student all the way back then.



After the show ended, the characters came down the stage to do their brief meet and greets. There was an older couple standing behind me during the show. When they made the announcement that the villains would be coming down to mix and mingle, the woman let out an excited gasp indicating that she didnt know they would do that and quickly dragged her husband towards the stage. Thought that was pretty cute. Thats one of the things I love about Disney. Adults get to have plenty of fun too.

 

[teekathepony]

I never seem to catch the Villain show, but the one time I did, it was awesome! You're so right, it's weird how much we all want a picture with the worst characters to come out of movies, but there you have it. Wonderful photos, I especially love the ones of Maleficent!
Agreed about Frollo. I always have to remind myself who he is.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I never seem to catch the Villain show, but the one time I did, it was awesome! You're so right, it's weird how much we all want a picture with the worst characters to come out of movies, but there you have it. Wonderful photos, I especially love the ones of Maleficent!
Agreed about Frollo. I always have to remind myself who he is.

I think the problem is that the Villain show times are somewhat inconveniently wedged in between the parades and fireworks. When we go in October we'll have two party nights so should be a little easier to get it done at an earlier hour.

As far as Frollo goes, the first time I saw the character in the parks I had nooooo idea who he was suppose to be.

 

[wiigirl]

Great pics!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

I still have no idea what this show is about, but it's short and it's cool to see a bunch of villains all together, so I like it.

I totally get what you're saying. In the movies, these are pretty horrible people. In the flesh, they're fun. Go figure.

Honestly they need to add Oogie Boogie to this. Now THAT would be awesome.

 

[MEK]

So - you are the only person I have seen take and post pictures from Dinosaur. Bravo. How the heck did you hang on to your camera and NOT lose it? That is a feat in and of itself, let alone actually get pictures.

Tell me again about the lens you rented for the dark shots? I am very curious.

Love the Villan shots. They are really cool. Once again, great expressions from the cast.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

More great pictures Dave!

I can confirm that those pipes have the chemical symbols for the recipes for Ketchup, Mustard, and Mayo - it was a tribute to McDonalds which was one of the original sponsors for the ride

"By the way, I think this show is just about as risqué as Disney will ever get! " ... yeah, other than every episode of Victorious

 

[Valgoof]

I hate the villains!! They still scare me, especially Jafar and Maleficient. I do like Gaston though. He doesnt seem too villainous.
I was in college then too, but I had to google Frollo.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Great pics!

Thank you!

I still have no idea what this show is about, but it's short and it's cool to see a bunch of villains all together, so I like it.

I totally get what you're saying. In the movies, these are pretty horrible people. In the flesh, they're fun. Go figure.

Honestly they need to add Oogie Boogie to this. Now THAT would be awesome.

That's a great idea. I'm all for Oogie Boogie taking place of Frollo! Oogie Boogie deserves more than just a voice over during Hallowishes!

So - you are the only person I have seen take and post pictures from Dinosaur. Bravo. How the heck did you hang on to your camera and NOT lose it? That is a feat in and of itself, let alone actually get pictures.

Tell me again about the lens you rented for the dark shots? I am very curious.

Love the Villan shots. They are really cool. Once again, great expressions from the cast.

I rented a 35mm f/1.4 for my Canon 7D. It was great bringing in the extra light I needed but because I never used it before I had some issues bringing in focus the object I wanted.

I'm renting a slightly different lens for this upcoming trip. It's a 35mm f/2 IS. I think this will be easier to manage for me in the dark rides. The aperture is not as wide but this one has Image Stabilization which means I can go with a longer shutter time. Hoping it will work well! The very first ride I'm taking the kids on for our first park day? Peter Pan!!

More great pictures Dave!

I can confirm that those pipes have the chemical symbols for the recipes for Ketchup, Mustard, and Mayo - it was a tribute to McDonalds which was one of the original sponsors for the ride

"By the way, I think this show is just about as risqué as Disney will ever get! " ... yeah, other than every episode of Victorious

That makes much more sense now why the ketchup, mustard, and mayo were included in the details! Now they just remind me of those condiment pump stations at McDonalds.

I hate the villains!! They still scare me, especially Jafar and Maleficient. I do like Gaston though. He doesnt seem too villainous.
I was in college then too, but I had to google Frollo.

Yeah, Jafar up close is not a pretty picture. You know, I have yet to have met Gaston. Maybe something we need to include in our touring plan for our up coming trip!

 

[SAT887]

Ahhhh I went to your flickr account to check out most of your latest pictures... Well from the last two weeks... Just awesome and I love the "take your best shot" pic!

Now - for the Villians.... LOVE IT!! Oh my gosh makes me want to go back for MNSSHP.... Now.... However my favorite shot is the one of the clock

 

[afwdwfan]

It's almost party time again!

That is a really cool picture!

By the way, I think this show is just about as risqué as Disney will ever get!

But it definitely seems to work in that setting.

We probably wouldnt be so forgiving for example if Tiana never broke her spell, remained stuck as a frog, and eventually swallowed whole by an alligator. Not Louie. One of the 1000 other alligators in the Bayou.

Hmmm... so if that happens, is Dr. Facilier still the villain or is it the gator?

I really liked the dance sequences. It was fun watching these characters sort of break loose and have a good time. Sort of has that similar vibe to the Star Wars Hyperspace Hoopla where youre watching these characters behave slightly out of character. And I love it. I mean look at Captain Hook and his dancers here!

I know! I mean look at that! The Queen is twerking on him like she's Miley Cyrus or something!

Heres my other burning question about this outing. How does exactly Frollo make the cut for this highly coveted spot?? I can hear still the echos of Daddy, whos THAT? when Frollo makes his entrance. The film by the way was released in 1996 which means pretty much everyone who hasnt graduated high school yet hasnt seen this movie. Sigh. Im getting old. I was a wide eyed college student all the way back then.

Good question. I was IN high school in 1996 and I've still never seen that movie.

Thats one of the things I love about Disney. Adults get to have plenty of fun too.

Absolutely!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Ahhhh I went to your flickr account to check out most of your latest pictures... Well from the last two weeks... Just awesome and I love the "take your best shot" pic!

Now - for the Villians.... LOVE IT!! Oh my gosh makes me want to go back for MNSSHP.... Now.... However my favorite shot is the one of the clock

Yeah, I'm with you. Really miss MNSSHP but am happy that we are going to get to go this fall during Halloween no less!

That is a really cool picture!

I know! I mean look at that! The Queen is twerking on him like she's Miley Cyrus or something!

Yeah I almost wanted to wait until midnight to get that Cinderella shot but I was just way too tired.

Ok, did not notice the possible twerking by the Queen but now that you mention it.....

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Got one more update coming tonight before we head out to Disney in 3 days!!

Just had to post this. Something SAT887 found for me Have a great Saturday everyone!

 

[MEK]

Got one more update coming tonight before we head out to Disney in 3 days!!

Just had to post this. Something SAT887 found for me Have a great Saturday everyone!

That is definitely you and your pictures are so amazing that Disney should pay you to use them.

Now - back to the lens. Did you rent from a local place or did you do an online rental? I know, I know. I have tons of questions but this does some like a solution to some of those low light situations and an on line rental is certainly a cost effective way to solve the problem. Especially since I just looked at the retail price of the lens. OUCH!

 

[SAT887]

Got one more update coming tonight before we head out to Disney in 3 days!! Just had to post this. Something SAT887 found for me Have a great Saturday everyone! http://flic.kr/p/jtHvSm

This is definitely your Disneyside!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Now - back to the lens. Did you rent from a local place or did you do an online rental? I know, I know. I have tons of questions but this does some like a solution to some of those low light situations and an on line rental is certainly a cost effective way to solve the problem. Especially since I just looked at the retail price of the lens. OUCH!

For October I rented from our local store. I wasn't very impressed with the condition of the lens I received which was really worn down. So this time I'm renting online - have to pick it up on Monday as I'm having it shipped to another local camera store so that I don't have to be home for a delivery signature.

Yep! That's why I rented that lens. Couldn't justify the cost for a lens that I probably wouldn't use that much outside of Disney rides!

This is definitely your Disneyside!!

Thanks again for finding this Sarah! I love my Disneyside!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

For this update we go back to the morning of my only full park day at MK. I had just completed a series of back to back rides on Big Thunder Mountain and was ready to take things a little easy. I started making my way back towards Adventureland and decided to climb up the Treehouse. Thanks to our kids we have climbed up this tree mansion at least once for every trip we had taken. So even though my kids weren't with me I wasn't ready to break with tradition and I entered the Treehouse which was understandably deserted at 10am.



Looking down at the Swiss Family's water supply system.



The very top of the tree house does a provide a very nice and unique view of the park and the Castle.



The dining table.



I easily forget how fascinating this kind of tree house is to my 7 and 4 year old kids. But when I think back to when I was their age I can easily understand why they love to visit the tree house every trip.

After a relaxing tour of the tree house I next headed for a cruise through the jungle. Definitely need my fill of corny jokes at 10:30 in the morning. And I was looking forward to capturing some good photos from the ride.

Got brief glimpses of some tongue in cheek jokes decorating the queue.





Sadly for the first ride I was delegated to the bench that sits in the middle of the boat. Pretty much the worse spot for taking pictures because I am surrounded by other people 360 degrees. I didn't even try taking any pictures during that first go. In fact I wasn't even planning on going on it again until I came upon a scene around Inspiration Falls (not to be confused with Schweitzer Falls which is known for its back side ) that I really wanted to photograph. So much so that it made me get right back in line as soon as I disembarked the boat and brave the pun and corn all over again. I specifically requested to be seated on the left side of the boat so that I could get a really good look at the Falls. So what did I see?





It was pretty cool. The lighting and the angle the sun was shining through gave this really surreal and authentic look to the jungle.

One of the iconic scenes.





And finally good ol' Sam.



Well two times on the cruise was more than enough for one morning let alone for one trip.

I crossed over back to Frontierland with plans to hop the pond to visit Tom Sawyer's Island.



This sign greeted me upon arriving at the docks of the island.



I'm going to try to remember to bring the kids over to the island for this upcoming trip. I think they would get a kick out of this giant playground.







One of my favorite spots to visit on the island is a resting spot that's placed directly across the lake from Big Thunder Mountain. They have a couple of rocking chairs and you can watch the roller coaster go through over and over until your heart's content.



I also tried a couple of shots with my telephoto zoom lens on from this spot when one of the trains raced through this part of the tracks.



I might be motivated enough for this upcoming trip to position myself here while the rest of my traveling party goes on Big Thunder Mountain to grab a great on-ride shot.

As I was finishing up my photo shoot from this spot, the Liberty Belle happen to pass by. My favorite shot from TSI.

 

[SAT887]

I haven't been in the tree house in ages I really am too lazy because I don't want to have to carry a 2 year old up and/or down!! Very cool! So your second ride in the jungle cruise soooo worth those pictures with the light/mist!! The picture of the Liberty Belle with BTMRR in the background - completely awesome! You know if your current career choice falls through you could definitely be a Disney Parks advertising photographer!!!

Your trip is sooo close! I'm glad you were able to sneak in another update!!