MNSSHP -- Pointers?

[Experiment_626]

I'm going to be at MNSSHP on October 18 (wanted to go on the 17th -- AP discount, smaller crowds due to Thursday night versus Friday, but she wasn't having it). I've been once or twice before, but there are some special photos I'd like to get on this trip, and was hoping some of you who have been before as well might have some pointers ...

The main images I'd like to get are of Main Street with the special colored lighting, Haunted Mansion with its special lighting, HalloWishes, possibly the parade, and the train station with the lighting and fog effects. The last time I was there I wanted to get Main Street as the night was ending, but the lighting at that point seemed to have been changed back to normal. What is a good point (or points) in the evening to try this? I'm thinking in the square looking back toward the castle, but if there's a better idea, I'll listen.

I know how to shoot fireworks, but do they do perimeter fireworks for the Halloween party? I can't recall from previous visits, but if they do I would like to include them, at least if I shoot from the boat dock. On a crop-sensor camera, what focal length range would I need for that?

I've found a video online of HalloWishes and have been studying it. As I'll have only one chance to shoot it this year (two if I'm able to make it to the TTC boat dock on the 17th), I am trying to map out the timing exactly, so I'll know precisely when to fire the shutter and when to close it (I'll be using an ND filter). Still trying to determine the best method for actually keeping track of the timing while I'm shooting. I have a little stopwatch and that might be best. It has a light that stays on for three seconds when you press the button dedicated to it, but it has a large LCD display that might be visible enough without having to press the button. The other option is to use my iPhone, but I'd rather not deal with the brighter light it puts out.

The geek engineer in me wants to create a sound file (using Adobe Audition) timed to the show, with sounds to indicate when to open and close the shutter, so that I won't have to watch a timer. Still haven't decided on that.

I know the Haunted Mansion will be popular, but I can work around that. I know they have a "ghost" on the lawn to interact with guests, but is she there all the time or most of the time, or does she come and go? I'd like to capture the vantage point seen below at least, preferably during blue hour, but I'm not sure I want the ghost hanging around on the lawn unless I can't avoid it.


Foggy Mansion Breakdown by Scott S. Baxter, on Flickr

Any particular times during the evening that might be best for the train station, probably from the turnstile side?

Main Street seems like the best place for the parade and the Headless Horseman, and would allow me to get some of the colorful facades as background. Without a doubt I'd be going for the second parade.

I guess they haven't done a special castle projection show for the party, though I can't imagine why not.

I'm more into buildings and landscapes than characters -- are there any other such things I should consider that are unique to the party?

Scott

 

[Experiment_626]

Double post

 

[Experiment_626]

Nothing?

"Do I just have one of those faces that no one listens to — again?" — The Eleventh Doctor

Scott

 

[Pic Stitch]

HI!

I'm not going to of any help here, but maybe my post will start the answers to your questions, to flow!!! LOL

Love the HM pic, great shot!

Also, would love to hear more about the Engineer side of what you are planning to do with the audio? Sounds intriging!!

In any case, good luck! and Enjoy!

B-

 

[kofslinky]

A note on the parade- it starts in Frontierland and ends at the train station, which is backwards from the MSEP. This link takes you to a video of the Boo To You parade so you will have an idea what the parade looks like. Remember- the Headless Horseman rides earlier than the parade, so if you want to try to catch him you need to be prepared. The last time I was at the party I took pictures with my little P&S that didn't come out great- it didn't do well in the dark needing a faster shutter speed, and I had a nasty orange light in my view that skewed the colors in many pictures. I was in Frontierland near the Hall of Presidents and the Liberty Boat on the water side. (Also a warning- that song will get stuck in your head!)

The ghost in front of the HM will come and go. When she's out, there can be a lot of people in front of her because she is quite entertaining. That being said, there is a PhotoPass photographer there to take pictures with the funeral carriage and there's a "special treat" for the PhotoPass pictures, so pictures are possible. That all takes place at the front of the HM, so pictures like yours from the side should be possible without too many people in the way.

That's all I've got for you. I've been twice, but not in a couple years now. I'm hoping to go back in the next couple years with my better camera and more awesome skills.

Can't wait to see your pictures! Have a great time!

 

[Experiment_626]

Love the HM pic, great shot!

Thanks! I loved getting that shot in the early morning fog — and I almost didn't think of it for concentrating on the castle.

Also, would love to hear more about the Engineer side of what you are planning to do with the audio? Sounds intriging!!

I just hope I'll have time to set that up. The show, like Wishes, is intricately timed to the music, of course, so the same bursts are fired each time pretty precisely. The more I think about it, I think audio cues would be the best way to go, and maybe the only practical solution I've thought up. I originally thought about just writing down the timing of when I should open and close the shutter, but that would mean being able to read a list in the dark and also watch a timer (either my stopwatch or my iPhone) while also watching the show and having a hand on the cable release. That sounds like a recipe for frustration. On the other hand, an audio file played through my iPhone's earbuds would only require I start the playback at the right moment. As for creating such a file, I have the Adobe Creative Cloud, so I have Adobe Audition. All I'd really have to do is make a new file of the appropriate length, then find a couple of distinct sounds online (one to signal when to open the shutter and another to close it) and insert them at the right points. I'll be using an ND filter, so I'd have a few rather long exposures — and if my timing turns out to be off by a second or two, it shouldn't make much difference in the images. I can watch a video of the show online to get the timings, probably as calculated from the first sound of the music or some other cue I pick out. I'd wait with the earbuds and start playback of the file at the same point when I'm down there watching the show. I'd still be able to hear the show just fine, listen for the sounds I chose to play in an otherwise silent file, and I could watch the show and have my hands free for the remote release.

Theoretically, it should be a great method to get what I want. If I can set it up and use it successfully, I'll let you know how it works.

Scott

 

[Cafeen]

I'm going to be at MNSSHP on October 18 (wanted to go on the 17th -- AP discount, smaller crowds due to Thursday night versus Friday, but she wasn't having it).

Just as an FYI, so you don't feel too bad. I attempted to buy my ticket for 10/17 the night before last, and it was sold out (I'm going on the 18th as well after rearranging some other stuff). So, Friday is not likely to be any worse than Thursday as far as crowds.

I've been chasing shooting MNSSHP for the past few trips, and I somehow don't get it done (well). Either I'm too tired, sick, or soaked from rain . Hopefully this year will be a better!

I don't really have any tips, other than not to photograph Hallowishes (or normal Wishes for that matter) from the right side of the patio down the hill in front of The Plaza. There's a big tree there.

 

[Experiment_626]

Just as an FYI, so you don't feel too bad. I attempted to buy my ticket for 10/17 the night before last, and it was sold out (I'm going on the 18th as well after rearranging some other stuff). So, Friday is not likely to be any worse than Thursday as far as crowds.

It probably won't make a lot of difference, but I've heard (i.e., read elsewhere on DISboards from posters such as Robo) that "sold out" during the week may have a lower ceiling than on Friday. Still, shouldn't be too bad, compared to a busy day without a hard ticket. It just means that my family and I will be unlikely to get any park time on Thursday at all. I have a full AP, and my wife and older son have the weekday pass, and we just bought a Seasonal AP for our younger son. So, when we get down there tomorrow -- whatever time that happens to be, we might have time to go and pick up the little guy's AP and I hope I'll be able to maybe go the TTC and shoot the fireworks from the boat dock, which is something I've wanted to do for a while but have never managed. If I can, it will also give me an opportunity to test the previously mentioned audio file -- presuming I'm still able to make said file! Then I'll know whether I need to adjust things when I'm the park the following evening.

I don't really have any tips, other than not to photograph Hallowishes (or normal Wishes for that matter) from the right side of the patio down the hill in front of The Plaza. There's a big tree there

I've found it virtually impossible to convince myself to shoot the fireworks from anywhere other than Main Street. I do want to try, at some point, getting right up to the edge of Partners to shoot it, but I doubt I'll be able to do that on this trip.

Maybe I'll see you there; I'll be wearing a bright green Haunted Mansion Hawaiian shirt and carrying a black sling bag.

Scott

 

[mom2rtk]

It probably won't make a lot of difference, but I've heard (i.e., read elsewhere on DISboards from posters such as Robo) that "sold out" during the week may have a lower ceiling than on Friday. Still, shouldn't be too bad, compared to a busy day without a hard ticket. It just means that my family and I will be unlikely to get any park time on Thursday at all. I have a full AP, and my wife and older son have the weekday pass, and we just bought a Seasonal AP for our younger son. So, when we get down there tomorrow -- whatever time that happens to be, we might have time to go and pick up the little guy's AP and I hope I'll be able to maybe go the TTC and shoot the fireworks from the boat dock, which is something I've wanted to do for a while but have never managed. If I can, it will also give me an opportunity to test the previously mentioned audio file -- presuming I'm still able to make said file! Then I'll know whether I need to adjust things when I'm the park the following evening.
I've found it virtually impossible to convince myself to shoot the fireworks from anywhere other than Main Street. I do want to try, at some point, getting right up to the edge of Partners to shoot it, but I doubt I'll be able to do that on this trip.

Just as an FYI, I really do think that "sold out" is "sold out". I have been to a lot of hard ticket parties, including Friday night ones and weeknight ones and haven't noticed a difference. I see no reason why Disney would be happy with less revenue for a sold out party just because it's not a Friday night.

In general, a sold out party WILL feel very much like a sold out party, and much busier than a busy park day. That's because traffic patterns for parties is different than a regular park day. On a normal day, crowds disperse pretty evenly throughout the park. Most who attend a party are there for the things they can't do on a regular park day (fireworks, shows, characters, parade). As a result, ride lines are still fairly short at a sold out party, but Main Street is crazy packed.

You can still have a great time at a sold out party, but do go into it knowing that it will very much feel sold out when you are on Main Street.

 

[Experiment_626]

Just as an FYI, I really do think that "sold out" is "sold out". I have been to a lot of hard ticket parties, including Friday night ones and weeknight ones and haven't noticed a difference.

It was said that on some busy party nights, Disney will sometimes reverse a "sold out" stance and release more tickets. No idea how often that happens. But yeah, I expect Main Street to be pretty busy all evening, as you say.

We were pretty spoiled for a while; the first hard ticket we attended was one of the Pirate and Princess Party nights — which Disney discontinued because people didn't go. The last couple hours of that evening, you could walk through Liberty Square or Frontierland and not see more than 10 other guests. It was surreal and heavenly.

You can still have a great time at a sold out party, but do go into it knowing that it will very much feel sold out when you are on Main Street.

Yeah, kinda figured that standard rules, more or less, will apply with regard to finding a place to shoot fireworks and the parade. We will likely try to do more rides than average guests would as opposed to the trick-or-treating.

Scott

 

[Experiment_626]

I created a simple sound file with a bell clang when I'd want to fire the shutter and an electronic "boop" when I want to close it. I tested it against a YouTube video of HalloWishes from this year, and it seems to work well. I just have to start the file playing on the third "knell" of the chimes at the beginning of the show.

Scott