Happily Ever After Begins Here -- An Oct. 2012 TR Updated! 11/17!

[natebenma]

Holy Smokes! What great updates! Thanks so much for sharing the wonderful pictures and really interesting information from the safari. That's really neat that you learned the profiles of so many of the animals.

The pictures of the ostriches cracked me up. And the vulture breeding pen. How much wine and Barry White do you have to pipe in to get creatures that look like that in the mood to hook up?

The meal at Jiko looked and sounded amazing! What a cool experience.

Loved the gift bag, but I had my own Jurassic park moment when I was reading what you received. Instead of African spices, I read African species. Wow, that really would be an interesting take-home!

Good for you for having the energy to do a little shopping.

 

[teekathepony]

Wow... that sunset safari looks really amazing. Look how close you got to all those amazing animals! And it's really cool that they told you so much about them (like Mary who lost an eye, and Wishbone, the old zebra -- 24! That's really old for a horse! -- and Marley with her skin condition, poor dear)
Jiko looks amazing! I never wanted to eat there because well, I'm super picky and DH is worse and there didn't appear to be anything on the menu we would eat, but some of the dishes you guys had look really good!
And then a fun evening at DTD What a day!

 

[PrincessAmongPrinces]

Great updates! That safari looked amazing, and it seems like you guys really learned a lot about the animals at the lodge.

Your Jiko dinner - wow! That sounds like a wonderful (and very adventurous) meal! But I am glad that you guys liked it.

Downtown Disney is always a great spot for shopping... And the boys and I do love our new pin trading lanyards! I've got them in my dresser drawer, just waiting to be packed for Disney World! Only 235 days to go....

Can't wait for more!!

 

[Wonders10]

Hi there! I'm a little late to the party, but I'm hooked after just your intro! Huge congrats on the engagement!

Off to read more...

 

[Wonders10]

I'm back already with a question from your first day...tell me how I can attend the disney snack party? It looks so fun...and yummy!

 

[khertz]

Somehow I missed the update before this one, so I had a bit of reading to do!

How great that you conquered Mount Everest! Well, the Disney World version, at least. Quite an accomplishment! That ride photo in conjunction with the "I can't believe you are making me do this" smile in the queue made for quite a funny update!

The Lodge looks simply gorgeous. It is one of the resorts that's been on my list to visit but we just haven't made it there yet. The private safari sounds really amazing! The animal photos and info you shared was really interesting. But OUCH for that poor giraffe with the skin condition! That looks horrible!

And I guess you can't beat getting to go to a restaurant you've been wanting to visit and getting to try almost everything on the menu! That's pretty awesome.

Great updates!!

 

[Missyrose]

I have always wanted to do that safari. It looked amazing and so did dinner !! We will have to check into doing that next time we stay at AKL.

It was an incredible experience. The really cool part about doing the safari early on during our stay at AKL was that we knew the animals we were looking at the rest of the trip. I could say, "Hey there's Wishbone," while standing on our balcony. That was very cool.

That safari looks beyond incredible. Thanks for sharing!

You're welcome. You are going to Disney so soooooooon! So excited for you.

Wow! That safari sounds great. What a cool way to get up close with the animals at AKL.

Dinner sounds amazing! I'm not sure if I'm adventurous enough to try Jiko though. It stays on the list for when I'm feeling brave.

Gorgeous DTD photos!

I was worried about not being adventurous enough to eat at Jiko too. But I just kept an open mind and tried almost everything. I ate more of what I liked and chose not to have any of what I didn't like. The restaurant is GORGEOUS and such a neat space for a meal. I highly recommend trying it once.

Holy Smokes! What great updates! Thanks so much for sharing the wonderful pictures and really interesting information from the safari. That's really neat that you learned the profiles of so many of the animals.

I sat there furiously typing on my phone because I knew I'd never remember half of what Christopher was saying if I waited until we got back to the lodge.

The pictures of the ostriches cracked me up. And the vulture breeding pen. How much wine and Barry White do you have to pipe in to get creatures that look like that in the mood to hook up?

The ostriches looked evil! I was sure they were plotting some sort of coup at the lodge, they don't seem scared by humans in the least.

Totally with you on the vultures, of all the animals to get lovey, they were not the first ones I'd ever think of.

The meal at Jiko looked and sounded amazing! What a cool experience.

Loved the gift bag, but I had my own Jurassic park moment when I was reading what you received. Instead of African spices, I read African species. Wow, that really would be an interesting take-home!

Good for you for having the energy to do a little shopping.

African species! I'm sure JetBlue would have loved having that on the plane home.

Dinner was amazing, it was so great to get to try that may things on the menu at just one meal!

Wow... that sunset safari looks really amazing. Look how close you got to all those amazing animals! And it's really cool that they told you so much about them (like Mary who lost an eye, and Wishbone, the old zebra -- 24! That's really old for a horse! -- and Marley with her skin condition, poor dear)
Jiko looks amazing! I never wanted to eat there because well, I'm super picky and DH is worse and there didn't appear to be anything on the menu we would eat, but some of the dishes you guys had look really good!
And then a fun evening at DTD What a day!

I loved hearing all the details about the individual animals, it really reinforced the idea that the animal keepers deeply care about the animals at the lodge.

Jiko is worth trying. The menu is a bit of an adventure, but so worth it!

Great updates! That safari looked amazing, and it seems like you guys really learned a lot about the animals at the lodge.

Your Jiko dinner - wow! That sounds like a wonderful (and very adventurous) meal! But I am glad that you guys liked it.

Downtown Disney is always a great spot for shopping... And the boys and I do love our new pin trading lanyards! I've got them in my dresser drawer, just waiting to be packed for Disney World! Only 235 days to go....

Can't wait for more!!

December is coming! It'll be here sooner than you realize.
​

 

[Missyrose]

Hi there! I'm a little late to the party, but I'm hooked after just your intro! Huge congrats on the engagement!

Off to read more...

and thank you!

I'm back already with a question from your first day...tell me how I can attend the disney snack party? It looks so fun...and yummy!

There's a blog called the Disney Food Blog, which I love because about 75 percent of our Disney trips are based on food. The Disney Food Blog hosts the Snack Attack party each year (here's the link to last-year's event page). It's a really fun event, I highly recommend it!

Somehow I missed the update before this one, so I had a bit of reading to do!

How great that you conquered Mount Everest! Well, the Disney World version, at least. Quite an accomplishment! That ride photo in conjunction with the "I can't believe you are making me do this" smile in the queue made for quite a funny update!

Thanks! I was pretty proud of myself. I know it's ridiculous for an almost-31-year-old considers riding a roller coaster an accomplishment, but I am one HUGE ride chicken.

The Lodge looks simply gorgeous. It is one of the resorts that's been on my list to visit but we just haven't made it there yet. The private safari sounds really amazing! The animal photos and info you shared was really interesting. But OUCH for that poor giraffe with the skin condition! That looks horrible!

The lodge is amazing, you truly feel transported to another place while you're there.

I know, I felt the same way about poor Marley. But Christopher swore she was getting better, so soon the condition should be cured.

And I guess you can't beat getting to go to a restaurant you've been wanting to visit and getting to try almost everything on the menu! That's pretty awesome.

Great updates!!

It was so lovely to not have to choose between all those wonderful things on the menu. The big problem will be when we go back, everything was so good, it will be so hard to pick just one!
​

 

[Tiggerrn2]

Thank you so much for the review of the safari. I wanted to do this but wasn't sure if it would be worth it. Now I know!!! And as always, the photos are gorgeous!
AKL is one of my favorite places to stay. If it weren't for the fact that I want to try new resorts, I think I would return there time and time again. I love the smells in the lodge, the CMs are always wonderful, and there is so much to look at and do.

 

[PracPerfPatricia]

Loved the Safari report... I so want to do that now... (I have to put it on my bucket list of Dis things... & Jiko is always amazing...)

Love the AKL ... I am a huge fan of the Boardwalk Resorts (our DVC home is the Beach Club) but I also have a lot of love for the AKL and the WL ... great theming and lobbies (I love that the same architect did them... as well as the Grand Californian... which I love as well... I'm kind of pathetic... I always get resort envy when we head over to another resort for dinner or breakfast... (the grass is greener syndrome...)

So EE made you a little nervous...? It's pretty intense...for some reason I don't seem to mind that (hmm... what did Franklin call it... the sharp curve...or something like that... because it's banked...it has something under it versus when a coaster is just empty beneath the drops... but you ride RnRc and that's pretty intense IMHO...

Sigh... had a bit of a rough day... wishin I was at Disney right about now...

 

[Missyrose]

Hi friends! My apologies, I'd hoped to put up another TR chapter before our trip, but the trip is now upon us! We leave at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning for five days in a one-bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower.

Like all of our Disney trips, Franklin and I will be live tweeting the trip with lots of photos (and the tweets will also flow into my Facebook account). If you want to follow along, feel free to friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Have a good week everyone!​

 

[disfanforlife]

Hi friends! My apologies, I'd hoped to put up another TR chapter before our trip, but the trip is now upon us! We leave at 7 a.m. tomorrow morning for five days in a one-bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower.

Like all of our Disney trips, Franklin and I will be live tweeting the trip with lots of photos (and the tweets will also flow into my Facebook account). If you want to follow along, feel free to friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Have a good week everyone!​

Have a great time!!!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Just followed you on twitter!!! Have fun at BLT...my dad and I were there at the beginning of April and loved it!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Sorry for another post but those safari pictures are AMAZING!!!! I love AKL!

 

[chunkymonkey]

Hi Missy! Just wanted to say I am loving the TR! The pictures are fabulous! Congratulations on the engagement, upcoming wedding and Disneymoon!
I absolutely adore Franklin's pictures of the fireworks from the Poly. How was he able to get such long exposures with no motion blur? Was a tripod involved? Your meal at Jiko looks fabulous. In fact, all your meals looked so delicious. Am incredibly jealous!!

 

[kaelalala]

Just found this thread and I absolutely had to subscribe - Franklin's photos are amazing!! Can't wait to read and see more about your trip!

 

[Pixel Dust]

Hi Missy! Just wanted to say I am loving the TR! The pictures are fabulous! Congratulations on the engagement, upcoming wedding and Disneymoon!
I absolutely adore Franklin's pictures of the fireworks from the Poly. How was he able to get such long exposures with no motion blur? Was a tripod involved? Your meal at Jiko looks fabulous. In fact, all your meals looked so delicious. Am incredibly jealous!!

Thanks for all the compliments! We have been pretty busy lately, with the wedding planing.
All of my fireworks photos are on a tripod and I use a remote to trigger the camera. The camera is in manual mode, so all the settings are the same: ISO 100, f/11, and shutter speed is bulb. I also use a neutral density filter to make it 3 stops darker (or 8 times less light). Fireworks are super bright. So, all these settings are an effort to make it darker and get more color from them. Instead of bright white blobs.

Since the shutter speed is in 'bulb', I would control how long it would stay open. When it is open longer, you get the long streaks. Too short, and all you get are dots.

The finale here, is a 12 second exposure.


This one is a 50 second exposure and captures multiple bursts.

​

 

[chunkymonkey]

Thanks for the tips Franklin, they truly are amazing pictures. I never thought to use the filter. I did use a tripod to photograph fireworks one day - and I did use bulb setting as well, but yes some of them were a little over exposed and came out a bit too bright in any case. I will try again sometime but experiment a bit more!! Thanks!

 

[Pixel Dust]

You're welcome. There are a couple of ways around it if you don't have a neutral density filter. You could try increasing the aperture to f/16 or f/22. But, going that high could make the photos seem soft, due to diffraction. Using a polarizer would help too, if you have one. That's about another 1 to 2 stops. Definitely shoot in RAW format. RAW will retain more detail in the bright and dark areas that you can bring back with software.​

 

[Missyrose]

Sorry for another post but those safari pictures are AMAZING!!!! I love AKL!

We love AKL too! It was an incredible resort. And so many people complain that it seems "too far away" from everything, but we never felt like that at all.

Hi Missy! Just wanted to say I am loving the TR! The pictures are fabulous! Congratulations on the engagement, upcoming wedding and Disneymoon!
I absolutely adore Franklin's pictures of the fireworks from the Poly. How was he able to get such long exposures with no motion blur? Was a tripod involved? Your meal at Jiko looks fabulous. In fact, all your meals looked so delicious. Am incredibly jealous!!

Awww thanks! I've read all of your past trip reports and LOVED them. Those were the days when I was just a lurker on TRs. Glad to have you join us here!

Just found this thread and I absolutely had to subscribe - Franklin's photos are amazing!! Can't wait to read and see more about your trip!

Thanks for joining in!
​