I used my Sony camcorder for the first time at WDW on my honeymoon this past June. Here are some very important tips that I learned after using it. Some of these tips are listed here and some I read before I left and didn't listen to-afterwards I wished I had!
1.) MOST IMPORTANT- Don't try to tape every ride, you really will feel like you weren't even there. If you want to tape a bunch of rides take turns and switch off who tapes them so that you can enjoy yourself. I taped the Lion King show and Kilimanjaro Safari in AK and since we only did these things once I feel like I missed the entire ride bc I was trying to hunt for the animals through the lens. I recommend seeing the shows or rides at least once before you decide to tape them so that you can see what goes on and then later do them again and you will know where to point your camera.
2.)Night shot was not needed half as much as I used it. I thought that in rides like the Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Splash Mountain I might need it on some or all of the ride but I discovered I didn't. I taped all 3 of these rides twice, once with and once without night shot. The time that I taped them without night shot ALWAYS came out better. I was surprised that even in the Haunted Mansion everything was pretty visible w/o night shot. When I used night shot in HM I saw a lot of the "tricks" they use and it made it not look as magical.
3.) Tape your loved ones. We taped so many rides and not enough of eachother enjoying WDW-if it wasn't for a few shots I took of DH and he of me on some rides you would never even know we were there.
4.)Don't bring the camera with you everyday. It's nice to have it for the unexpected moments but it can get heavy.
5.) Tape CMs whenever you get a chance. You will find that the more outgoing Cms will put on a show for you and it can be very entertaining.
6.)If you tape the fireworks at MK make sure you stand directly in front of the castle about half way down Main Street. Oh also, you don't need night shot for the fireworks. I had figured this out by the time I decided I was going to tape them and I knew that I didn't want to watch fireworks in black and white. They came out great in color with regular shot BTW.
Hope this helps-if you have any specific questions please ask me and I will help any way that I can
