Groucho? 11 days? Beach Club? 4-year & 8-month-old? Tons of pics? Yes! (finally done)

[Groucho]

While my wife and Jack rode Test Track, I pushed the stroller over to Mission Space and took some quick tripod shots.

After a couple other lenses, I decided to try the Lensbaby... and realized that being mounted on a tripod and focused via liveview seems to be a way to pretty consistently get the shot you want out of this lens! I made my peace with it after some initial frustration and learned a few tricks that made it easier later to get better shots with it handheld.

Here's an example of how the Lensbaby can make the same location look different. In the first shot, I also lighted the spaceship a bit (with Lightroom's adjustment brush) just to make it visible at all. These were shot at F2.8, which quickly became my favorite aperture for that lens - F2.0 is extremely difficult to get the shot you want with, and by F4, you're already starting to lose some of the effect.

I stopped back to Test Track to wait for the rest of the family.

Next, we stopped up to Mexico. Jack wanted to ride the Grand Fiesta Tour ride, which, let's face it, is not exactly an "E" ticket. I said something along the lines of "OK, we'll ride the cheeseball ride", and Jack picked right up on that and was asking why it was a cheeseball ride, what that meant, and afterwards, he said "I like the cheeseball ride!" My wife is almost mortified and I'm torn between embarrassment and laughter! Next, my wife looked at jewelry while Jack and I looked at the various wares.

We walked around a little, my wife got a Japanese drink that she didn't really care for, and we staked out a stop for Illuminations. One thing that I really did wrong this time was not zoom the lens for most of the show, so most shots are very wide (since I wanted to get even the higher fireworks in frame.) A top - zoom in a little for most of the show; the really high fireworks arent under right near the end.

How about the corkscrew flight of these fireworks?

A great show as always, and we packed up and made our way to the Beach Club - again, it's really great staying there when going to/from Epcot, since you don't have to deal with the usual crushing crowds at closing time.

We got back to our room and as putting Jack to bed, we realized that his stuffed Mickey was gone! We looked everywhere but couldn't find it. My wife thinks he had it on maybe day 2 or 3 and must have dropped it somewhere. I think my wife and I were more heartbroken than Jack was! He'd gotten that on, IIRC, his very first WDW trip (maybe his second) and it'd been on every one since, and was probably his favorite stuffed toy. To finish this part of the story - we called Lost & Found, they had one but when we went there, it wasn't the same style. We looked at new ones but they're not the same - and Jack didn't like them; he eventually decided on a Donald that he thought was silly-looking (he loves silly!) I've been meaning to try calling lost & found again just in case it got turned in later... his had a "genuine theme park" badge on the bottom of one of the feet, and they just don't make that style any longer, and I have to agree with him - the new one just isn't as cool.

So, we were pretty bummed, but I managed to summon the fortitude to walk down to Beaches & Cream to buy some ice cream. I also grabbed a cookie - in fact, I ended up with three, as they were about to close and the cast member offered more because they'd just be thrown away in a few minutes. I hate to see good cookies go to waste!

So that was day four, hope you liked it... next, day five - Animal Kingdom!

 

[mom2rtk]

I feel for you. One of my kids lost a comfort object on a trip, and it's just so hard to replace. I don't know about anyone else, but we've lost a few things in hotel rooms and NEVER have they ever turned up again.

You really were on a roll with the lensbaby! I LOVE the shots at Mission Space, and the Test Track shot as well.

I think I really like the fisheye and lensbaby shots at Disney because of the dreamy quality.....

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

So sorry about Jack's loss! . I hear ya...they already have made "cuts" on the plush at WDW...at our first trip to WDW in 2007 the boys each got a stuffed animal with the stamp on the foot...and then in 2008 I was excited to add to their collection of stuffed plush you can only get at WDW with the stamp and they had stopped it! . I had assumed to cut costs....but I noticed over here at the Disney Store last week they have stamps??

 

[Groucho]

I feel for you. One of my kids lost a comfort object on a trip, and it's just so hard to replace. I don't know about anyone else, but we've lost a few things in hotel rooms and NEVER have they ever turned up again.

You really were on a roll with the lensbaby! I LOVE the shots at Mission Space, and the Test Track shot as well.

I think I really like the fisheye and lensbaby shots at Disney because of the dreamy quality.....

Thanks! I agree, I always use the fisheye a lot at WDW and by the end of the trip, I was using the Lensbaby a lot, too. It's easy to get hooked on the "different" look.

So sorry about Jack's loss! . I hear ya...they already have made "cuts" on the plush at WDW...at our first trip to WDW in 2007 the boys each got a stuffed animal with the stamp on the foot...and then in 2008 I was excited to add to their collection of stuffed plush you can only get at WDW with the stamp and they had stopped it! . I had assumed to cut costs....but I noticed over here at the Disney Store last week they have stamps??

Hmm, strange. They closed the last Disney Store around here so I can't even check first-hand. I will probably call or email lost & found one last time but I don't have a lot of hope. Fortunately, Jack seems less upset than us - he was perfectly happy to go get a new one, though he was disappointed in the current Mickey. He has said that next time, he wants to get one of the big round ones - not my favorite but he liked it. The last time something like this happened, Jack managed to lose both of his favorite blankets - fuzzy on one site, satiny on the other - and he was pretty bummed. We hunted around to find replacements and couldn't find exact matches and eventually found one that wasn't quite as "cool" but still with the satiny side that he liked. A week or two later, as I was putting him to bed, he pulled the blankets out of his pillowsheet! Apparently he stuffed them in there one time and forgot that he put them there until much later.

Here's a shot from back in April '08 with him and his lost Mickey...

 

[DznyFan]

Oh, yay! More trip report! I'm sorry Jack lost his Mickey, though. It can be so disappointing for them if they lose one of their favorite things (or us, too...). Definitey keep up with lost and found - he might just turn up!

 

[Groucho]

On to day five...

Since there's not much exciting in terms of breakfast at Animal Kingdom (at least, not that I've found), we grabbed some chow from the food court at the Beach Club. We shared a ham & egg croissant and I had one of their coffee cakes - yum!

We hopped on a bus and headed for AK. Upon entering, we checked the tip board and found a pretty short wait for Expedition Everest, so we decided to head there first. Sure enough, it was a short line and I hopped on. Unsurprisingly, the yeti wasn't working - just strobe lights - but still, it's a great ride. Also not working was the mist over the top of the mountains. Hopefully they will figure out a way to get the yeti working reliably again; it seems a terrible shame to have gone to so much work to build and animate such a huge beast then just have it sitting there not doing anything. I think it was intermittently working a couple trips again, when AK was celebrating their tenth anniversary, and the story I read (on the internet, so take with a grain of salt) was that everything got tuned up for Joe Rhode's visit, then turned back off afterward.

After the ride, I pestered my wife a little - she's never ridden it (the big drop terrifies her) but yet she bought one of the T-shirts a few trips ago. Since it's not all that intense a ride, I usually bug her a little bit, and I was finally able to talk her into riding it. I did get a shot of her going down the drop but in the interest of preserving our marriage, I won't post it.

I was hoping to make a beeline for Safaris but naturally there were slowdowns along the way... first was walking by Flights of Wonder and finding that the show was about to start. So, we hopped in there... then stopped at the drums so Jack could play on them a bit while I played with my antique 300mm...

then stopped into It's Tough To Be a Bug... then grabbed lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue... we had planned on doing the "Picnic in the Park" picnic lunch, but apparently that only is available "seasonally". Oh well, Flame Tree is still very good. I embarrassed my wife halfway through lunch, though - there was a table with four kids (like probably 10-13 years old) next to us, and after a while, I noticed that they were feeding the animals - which is, of course, a big no-no there! I said to them "you're not supposed to feed the animals" and my wife was a bit embarrassed. They got fairly quiet and were whispering amongst themselves. The one who was doing it the most kept glancing over; after the first few times, I just looked him right in the eyes any time he looked over and kept staring as long as he did. To me, it was kind of funny. They mostly behaved afterwards but I did see one of them throw some more food out when they thought I wasn't looking, but it wasn't worth making a scene. I had made my point.

After that, I took a few photos around the area... Flame Tree has a nice Everest view so it's always a popular spot to get photos of it. I also like the hanging lanterns at Flame Tree.

Finally we got to Safaris. We had a great driver; he drove aggressively and had plenty to say.

After the ride, we, of course, walked the Pangani Forest trail.

After that, we wandered through a couple stores and walked around a little...

...then on to Maharajah Jungle Trek.

In the bat area, I was struck by that common photographer ailment - forgetting to double-check the settings! Somehow, I set my ISO to 250 and as a result, I was getting very slow shutter shutter speeds. Even with image stabilization, hand-holding 1/20th of a second at 300mm (equivalent 450mm) is just not going to cut it! It's a shame as the bats were very active and all the shots are blurry.

continued...

 

[Groucho]

By now, it was 5:00 already and the park was closing! Where does the time go? We took our time leaving and I grabbed some more shots. At one point, we were near that fountain (which was off, probably because of the cold) by the bathrooms near Safaris while my wife changed Leila's diaper, and Jack and a couple other kids started chasing each other and playing hide and seek. We were pretty exhausted from the walking and Jack had been exhausted, but he and the other kids ran full steam for about 5-10 minutes and didn't stop until the other family had to leave. I wish I could get some of that energy!

We packed up our stuff and caught a bus to the Ticket & Transportation Center in order to stop by Lost & Found, which is in the Kennel. We checked out the Mickey they had that was similar to Jack's, but it clearly wasn't the same one. Since we were there, we hopped on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom before heading to Downtown Disney... I bet you can't guess why.

Love those turnovers.

We headed back to Beach Club to drop our stuff and pick up jackets (it was getting cool quickly!), then went back out to Downtown Disney. Last trip, we had been hoping to try out T-Rex but having us sick for the second half of the trip kept that from happening! We made it this time. As I expected, Jack loved it! I expected it to be "OK" but not really anything special (rather like its jungle twin, Rainforest Cafe), but I have to say - we really enjoyed out food (and there was a lot, if you like that), we had great service, and we will definitely be going back! The thing you can't get in photos is just how loud it is - it's very bombastic and over-the-top, especially during the every-15-minutes "meteor shower."

I love sea monsters, and the tentacled beast over the bar certainly counts.

Video photography?

We stopped into the Lego Store briefly... this shot is kind of interesting as the walls are actually curved toward you, but the fisheye straightens it out nicely.

We did a quick run through World of Disney...

... then stopped at Ghiradelli for some ice cream. (Blame my wife. ) Both kids were completely asleep at this point; Jack in the stroller and Leila in my wife's Ergo carrier. We made our way back to the busses... it was past 11 by now and we were all pretty whipped, especially the kids! This was one of several nights where we carried two sleeping kids off the bus, which is always a blast when you're also carrying a stroller and a bunch of bags!

As usual, I unloaded the memory cards and stayed up later than I should have posting on Disboards before konking out. Next up - day six, Hollywood Studios again but probably not the most interesting day photography-wise. I could be wrong though, since I haven't gone through them yet!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

Wow... You're pictures are amazing!!!!!!

I feel like I am there at WDW with every picture you post

I am really enjoying your trip report!

 

[cdotla]

I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report. Your photographs are fantastic!!!

I am loving seeing the Parks through your lens!

 

[DisneyDaddio]

Indeed, gorgeous pics! Look forward to more.

 

[JJBEAN]

Subbing in so I can read more later! Your pictures are amazing!!

 

[cinderella crazy]

We said the same thing about T-Rex before we went. We figured it would be the same as Rainforest Cafe. We were also pleasantly surprised at how good the food was and how great the service was.

Our DS is really into Legos right now and looking at your pics of the Lego store made DH and I realize, we will never get him out of there!!

Great update!

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Wow..those AK pictures are AMAZING!! Something out of National Geographic!! Can't wait for more!!

 

[glennbo123]

Signing on....I'm digging the cool pictures in your first post. I'll have to get caught up.

 

[WillowBelle]

Love that you had a stare-down with some unruley boys in AK.....who blinked first?

 

[RBennett]

Great shots, but I LOVE this one. Was this at 300mm with a 1.5 teleconverter?

 

[RachelNinja]

I love how the fisheye makes the Lego wall straight! It's like an optical illusion of sorts for those who have actually seen the curved wall.

I'm so close to making the picture with the apple turnovers my desktop picture. However, if I do so, I'll be eating any substitution I can get my hands on, and I will be -sized because of you, Groucho.

 

[Groucho]

Thanks so much, everybody! Day six update coming soon.

We said the same thing about T-Rex before we went. We figured it would be the same as Rainforest Cafe. We were also pleasantly surprised at how good the food was and how great the service was.

Our DS is really into Legos right now and looking at your pics of the Lego store made DH and I realize, we will never get him out of there!!

Great update!

I have T-Rex on our "to do" list for our upcoming short trip. Jack will be thrilled, I'm sure! (He doesn't really know yet about the trip... I may keep it a surprise completely.) The Lego store is fun but the real timesucker for kids is the build area outside. The only problem is that, even in quiet times, it can get overly crowded.

Love that you had a stare-down with some unruley boys in AK.....who blinked first?

Not me - I can take a tableful of hooligans! Bring it on!

Great shots, but I LOVE this one. Was this at 300mm with a 1.5 teleconverter?

The only TC I have is a 2x one (I'd like a 1.4 or 1.7 but it hasn't happened yet)... that was shot on the Safaris ride with my 50-135mm lens, that one was 135mm. I think that trying to use a manual-focus lens on Safaris is a recipe for disaster - or at least for very, very few usable shots!

I love how the fisheye makes the Lego wall straight! It's like an optical illusion of sorts for those who have actually seen the curved wall.

I'm so close to making the picture with the apple turnovers my desktop picture. However, if I do so, I'll be eating any substitution I can get my hands on, and I will be -sized because of you, Groucho.

I'm fortunate enough to have a very fast metabolism so I can get away with eating that kind of stuff; much to my wife's frustration. I keep wondering why I can't find a bakery that good locally! Nowhere around here has turnovers nearly as impressive! The bad news is the they don't have the cherry turnovers anymore... hopefully they will make a return!

I do remember that they used to have much better danishes, too - the ones now are OK but a long time ago, they used to have much more decadent ones, with crumb toppings and such. I love danishes so I still lament that the old style is gone... but I usually get over it quickly with the cinnamon rolls, turnovers, coffee cake, etc, etc...

 

[Todd_H]

I slipped behind and had to get caught up with this thread. Very nice bokeh with that 300mm!

Excellent work as always, Groucho!

 

[Groucho]

I slipped behind and had to get caught up with this thread. Very nice bokeh with that 300mm!

Excellent work as always, Groucho!

Thanks! That 300 is fun - a nice new autofocus 300 F4 would surely beat it on a technical level but there's something about the look from a really old lens - and with all those blades, you'll never get anything but round highlights in the bokeh.

OK, day six... we'll start with a breakfast photo for RachelNinja.

We ate our breakfast that we picked up the night before, filled our mugs, and hopped on a boat for Hollywood Studios.

As we walked in, we noticed an area roped off... we got closer and saw a woman in their who looked familiar... I was trying to figure out if it was...

DEEVY SEE! We had met her a couple years ago at a local DVC event, but we've really become big fans since the "Deevy Packs Her Bags" website. She was inbetween shots so we yelled "We love you Deevy!" and she said that she loved us too, and offered to buy our kids. (It was funnier when she said it!) She is a riot! It was good to see Ariel See there too; she was great in the MVMCP episode. In case I forget to mention it, we saw them in the same outfits the next morning, filming at the Boardwalk tennis courts as we went by in the boat, so presumably that'll be the next episode.

We moved on and grabbed some Toy Story Mania fastpasses, then happened to catch a Little Mermaid show just as it was starting, then on to Beauty and the Beast. I mostly left the camera on my lap for these so there's not much to show. We wandered some stores afterwards...

This has got to be the goriest thing at WDW!

The Villians in Vogue shop has some nice photo ops. I've taken a bunch of shots of the cats before; this one is my F1.2 version.

We started thinking about lunch and DHS always seems a bit weak on the counter service locations... my wife and son both love SciFi Dine-In and we were right there, so we decided to stop in and see if they had an availability. They said that it's be about 15 minutes... then we were seated about one minute later. Can't complain about that!

This shot makes me laugh - this is a 10 second exposure, and look at the guy in the background - he didn't move a muscle for the whole time.

Next stop was Muppetvision 3D again...

...then Jack and I went on Star Tours together. After that, we hopped over to see Lights Motors Action. We were too late to get a decent seat... except that my wife is terrified of heights and the stands really bother her. She's seen the show a few times but this time she just couldn't take the idea of going up high in the stands and was ready to go take Leila and wait somewhere until it was over. She then happened to see a cast member standing there and got permission for us to sit in the "family of the handicapped" seats right in front, because the show was starting soon and there hadn't been many so far so the area was quite empty. Thank you CM!

A hidden Mickey?

continued...