FatCow's Photos and overall trip report

[MAGICinMYHEART]

I also have had trips that it seemed quite a few things went wrong, but still managed like you to find the Magic. Loved you photos.

 

[stitchthealmighty]

Did you find anything to your liking???

 

[FatCow]

Actually, I find quite a few things to my liking, but they are all related to daughter's enjoyment and excitement. I'm not saying that there aren't anything that I like, but seeing my daughter being happy makes them pale in comparison.

Rides/shows that my daughter and I like:

BTMRR: rode it about 7 times (thanks FastPass for that)
Splash Mountain: rode it 4 times
Mission: Space: rode it 3 times
Star Tours
Wishes: watched it three times
Spectromagic: watched it twice. Once we get to watch it from the special guests area (there were only about 15 people with us and we all got actual seats)
Buzz Lightyear: rode it twice

Rides/shows that only my daughter likes:
Test Track: rode it twice
Journey into the Imagination
It's a Small World: rode it twice
Peter Pan's Flight: rode it twice

But most importantly, the ride that all three of us find boring:
Dinosaur. I should've bought the picture because from the entire car, only the 3 of us who wasn't surprised about the ride at all. We looked like we're in comatose in the picture. We had a great laugh looking at the picture on the display.

 

[alliecats]

I have to respond to the two posts that faulted fat cow for being cynical and not liking anything. Fat cow, I felt your post was very matter-of-fact and gave examples. You didn't just say, I had a lot of problems, you told us why and how. That is just truth (ex:this ride was broken for 10 minutes) un-colored by personal perceptions. I have to say to the glass-half-full-post that I am a total optimist and always have fun on trips because I am so happy to be ON one but I would be p-o'ed too if all those rides broke while I was on them. I think it is unrealistic to expect fat cow not to be a bit upset by that, don't you??? Especially when it happened more than once. I appreciate hearing both good and bad experiences because all trips are made up of some of each. No use in having unrealistic expectations. Disney magic is what you get out of it despite AND because of these experiences, like the poster at the closed McDonalds. That was a horrible moment in context, but the family made the most of the humor and it turned out to be a highlight in some ways.
That said, I would rather be on a broken ride at Disney than just about anywhere else.

 

[bumcat]

If stating the fact is considered "being negative", I guess I just don't understand the English language.



Don't worry, you understand it better than some.

Alliecats - very well said.

 

[tkyes]

great pictures! you have an adorable little girl!


some rides will have delays or stop because of loading people with disabilities or in wheel chairs. Small World always seems to stop for us at some point, Pooh did once, as has Haunted Mansion. I don't mind it usually, it's nice to look around at all the detail while you are waiting.



tamie

 

[bunnyfoo]

Fabulous pictures! What kind of camera did you use (film or digital)? I couldn't get the timing quite right on my digi cam and I ended up taking a lot of the fireworks pictures one second before or one second after

Sorry to hear about all of the rides breaking down ... Maybe things will be better on your next trip. If it makes you feel any better, my manager who went to Disney last year went on It's a Small World and was stuck for about 20 minutes in the middle of the ride. He cringes when I walk by him and start humming the tune

 

[FatCow]

I use Canon A80 digicam, and used a tripod for all night-time pictures. The shutter settings were 1/2 second for the ones with people, 1 second for the ones without people (fireworks).

There is always a delay and you'll just need to get used to it and take the delay into your consideration. Being a producer helps too.

The pictures were taken during the 3rd viewing of Wishes. I taped the first one to study the rhythm and audio cues (I played it back like 3 times to get all the timing right and memorized the 12-minute piece), then I went for the second viewing to tape the fireworks based on the cues I observed from the first viewing (this one is simple, I just need to know the entire length and when Tink will 'fly').

Preparing for the third viewing, I practiced snapping the cameras for about 200 frames to get the timing as accurate as I possibly can (the delay time varies a bit from frame to frame).

Hopefully, if everything goes well, I can be there again for during the 2nd week of December '04. I have my fingers, toes and eyes crossed for this upcoming trip!

 

[bunnyfoo]

Wow! That's pretty hard core but you're pictures are amazing so maybe I'll have do the same thing I've noticed the delay on my camera is much longer on night shots than it is for day shots...

We were there last December during the second week... It's a great time to go! Make sure you go to MVMCP!

 

[FatCow]

MVMCP is available for the 2nd week of December? Tell me more (how much it cost, what's happening at the time etc).

PS: The delay will be longer for night-time shots because of several reasons:

1. It takes much longer time to focus properly at night time
2. The shutter opens for much longer time than during daytime (about half a second longer)
3. JPG compression is more difficult doing dark scenes than lighter scenes.

 

[bunnyfoo]

MVCMP started on November 30 and was held every Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We paid a little less than $40 for each adult ticket, I think the at-the-door price is $45. We thought the party was great... the parade was so much fun and there were no lineups for any of the rides! The longest lines were for the free family photos and the hot chocolate and cookies. I read on the boards that Fridays are the most crowded ... we went on a Tuesday, so I can't comment on that. There's more info on Deb's site... http://allearsnet.com/tp/hol_mk.htm

Thanks for the info on the JPGs ...

 

[njb1148]

Interesting post. You identify nothing that YOU liked, only those things that your daughter liked. I have to wonder if she would like more if you liked anything. But my question is you identified all of the things that you feel "sucked" about Disney, so why are you going back?? and in the same year??
Even if it provides family bonding time, aren't there other less expensive bonding trips to be made??
I think you actually love Disney but are afraid to admit it.