NateNLogansDad + party of 25 + AKL + MNSSHP = a few thousand pictures (Bonus Video!!)

[NateNLogansDad]

We had a birthday boy with us so Cousin Gabriel brought out a cupcake with a candle for Jake!

Here is our big ol crazy Disney Family!

Here’s the low down for dinner, you get stuffed. Like REALLY stuffed. The main course consists of beef, pork, smoked turkey, huge shrimp, and different sauces to dip them all into. As I type this, I’m getting EXTREMELY hungry.

Just like food shopping, I should have eaten before I started typing.

I think the record for shrimp eating there is just over 100 shrimp at one sitting. Brian tried but only got around ½ way there. He ate way too many wings to try for the record with shrimp. I’m not sure about the record for Lapu Lapu’s, but I may have broken it….or at least tied.

Everything else is just a blurr……until…..

Every dieters nightmare...

The bread pudding.

Personally, I like bread pudding. Now add on ice cream, and dump a small vat of caramel on top. Oh. My. Goodness.

I think Jenny Craig herself would buy the place if she ate here just once.

Somehow, after eating the weight of a small animal AND desert, I managed to grab a few more shots while fighting off the urge to take a nap….

I am not exaggerating here. I just took a break from writing this to check my lottery numbers. If I hit, I was going to have dinner at Ohana’s tonight.

*sigh* I wonder what Tina’s making….

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Anyway.

Sorry about that.

Moving on!

With our belts stretched further than the last loop and buckles ready to break, we headed off towards the monorail. On the left, Brian looks just like we all felt.

The kids were ready for Magic Kingdom…

Even Brian was waking up a little…..

To me, nothing will ever beat the Epcot hotels, but it does seam pretty nice around the Magic Kingdom also…

A few short minutes later, we arrived at the entrance of the Magic Kingdom. The one thing everybody REALLY wanted was a group shot in front of the train station. Apparently there was a miscommunication somewhere. Somehow EVERYBODY knew that I was going to take this group picture.

Everybody but me.

I was still feeling really good from the Lapu Lapu drinks back at the Poly and my main focus was standing up strait. We all gathered together and went to smile and I heard “Where’s Rob and the camera?”

You want to talk about panic?

I honestly thought we were getting a photopass picture taken. Luckily for me I had brought my tripod for fireworks tonight and had the quick connect plate already on it. Within about 30 seconds I had the tripod, camera, and remote set up and than ran back into my place.

Quick question. Does anybody know how hard it is to get 25 people to smile, open their eyes, stop giving “bunny ears,” and look at the camera at the same time?

My tip…take at least 4 pictures and get good with Photoshop! Here’s my end result….

Oh yea, and take another picture of the background without anybody in it. It saved my but. At first I forgot to do one but as we walked away I turned around and grabbed this…

By now it was just after 7pm and the crowds were thinning out a bit for the Halloween Party….sort of.

We made our way down towards the hub to stake out some spots to see the villains show. Apparently the rest of the park was pretty empty, the hub however, was not. I tried to keep the crowds out of the pictures, but trust me, they were there.

I set my tripod up and we all played around the hub for a bit.

Danny got his face painted and was loving it!

The princesses posed in front of the castle….

Along with the scary pirates…

The best in-laws a guy could ask for…

Without these guys, there would be no trip…..

My reasons for living…

Tina and I…

And before we knew it, the show started up!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Sorry if some of these aren’t the best, but we were back by the partners statue and not up close. Well, that and those Lapu Lapu’s were…nevermind.

And just like that, it was over. It really was a nice show but I think most people over hype it. Am I glad we saw it? Absolutely. Would I go back and see it again. Of coarse. Would I buy a ticket just for the show? Without coming off like a downer, I probably wouldn’t. It was just way too packed.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

After the show was over, we hung out in the hub for a little bit and waited for the parade to start. I suggested grabbing a spot over there….

Yes I took a picture to document the spot I suggested, and no we didn’t try to go over until it was waaaayyy too late.

So, we hung around Walt and Mickey’s statue to see what was going to happen. With a few minutes to kill, any guesses what I did?

Yeppers, I played with the camera for a few.

Even played around with the flash off of the camera just to try it out….

There was an announcement that the parade was being delayed for technical problems, but before long it came rolling down the street.

This was where we really realized how bad our viewing area really was. I’m pretty sure that 90% of the park was watching the parade. Brian, Sean, and Chuck Jr skipped the parade and went on some rides. The zero wait times for everything they went to confirmed my theory.

I wanted so bad to use my 50 mm prime lens and forgo using a flash, but the crowds were almost unbearable. So, for now I figured what the heck and snapped the zoom lens on and my external flash and tried to get at least SOMETHING……

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I know he hates having his picture taken, but this is one of my favorites of John and his little girl…

So cute.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

After the parade was over, some of the group went off to go check out rides. The rest of us stayed put to catch the Hallowishes Fireworks.

Now, here’s my thing. I brought a tripod tonight specifically for the fireworks. The parade and the fireworks were my absolute must-do’s tonight and so far, I was striking out. So, I had my mind set for exactly what I wanted to do.

Skip the next sentence or two if you don’t need to be bored with camera stuff.

So, my plan was to set the camera up on “bulb” mode and put my black hat over the lens in between bursts so I could get more bursts in the shot and not totally blow out the highlights of the castle. To do this, I would need to be standing there with the remote in one hand and my hat in the other next to the camera.

As soon as the show starts, I heard “Hey Rob, you’re not going to stand there the whole time are you?” My father in law decided to have a seat right behind where I was standing! Wha?!?!?

Grumbling, I sat down.

I still had the remote and the camera was still in bulb mode. After the first few pictures, I couldn’t tell if I was opening or closing the shutter anymore! Time for what I do best with a camera….it’s called the spray and pray. Keep shooting and hope you get a keeper!

Here’s what I came up with. Maybe 2 were what I was actually going for….

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I know I could sit around with photoshop and make a couple really nice one’s if I wanted to, but I can’t justify the effort right now. I’d rather keep what I have basically right out of the camera so next time I can look back to see how far I may have come. Every once in a while, I’ll look at some pics I took a few years ago and just cringe. Eventually I hope to like my pictures….someday.

Sorry, I’m getting off track.

After the fireworks, we talked about a game plan. There were several things that everybody wanted to do but I had already made up my mind on what I was doing….with or without anyone else. A while back I had seen pictures of the Halloween Parade and I was determined to grab a few decent ones while I was here. I mean, I could do rides any day of the year right? How many more Halloween Parades would I get to see?

Tina, her parents and the boys wanted to go see the Haunted Mansion. I went to go stake out a viewing spot for the parade. After our incident the other night with the Electric Parade, I knew to stay on this side of the street, and away from the handicapped area…..

A few minutes before the parade started, Tina and the boys found my little spot and strolled on over. She let me know that out of our huge group, us and her brothers were the only ones still in the park! Everybody else started getting tired and cranky so they left! IT WAS ONLY 10:30!!! Maybe I’m just cheap, but it sounds like a lot of $$$ was put out for just 3 hrs of the party.

The 2nd parade was sooo much better for us because we could actually SEE the parade! My only regret with taking the pictures was not watching the parade ahead of time on YouTube to know how the whole thing goes down. From a spectator’s point of view, I’m glad I didn’t watch it on YouTube because if I did, I might not have had such a smile on my face the entire time! I loved being surprised and not knowing what was coming next. There were even a few times I forgot I had a camera because I was either waiving to a character or laughing about what they were doing with some guests.

Sorry, enough jibber jabber. Time for some pics!

Probably the hardest character to get a decent picture of…..

That was so cool watching him ride by. I’m glad I stuck with not using the flash. I’d love to try shooting him again, but for now here are some from the rest of the parade…..

 

[NateNLogansDad]

 

[NateNLogansDad]

I want my money back…..Barbossa wouldn’t look over here at all!

This float sort of made up for it though….

Jack never lets you down…

But Angelica….

My sweet sweet Angelica…..

Hugh?

What?

Wait, what were we talking about?

Parade? Oh yea, sorry about that.

Yea, after Angelica promised to call me, the parade continued…..

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Probably my favorite part of the parade…..

 

[NateNLogansDad]

LOVED the parade this time around!!! Watching it in the hub was for the birds. We missed so much back there. I’m so glad I staked out a spot early and actually stuck with it!

So the question was, where to go next.

With a certain pirate on the mind still, where else????

I loved the way it was all lit up that night. The fog machines were in full force and really had a cool looking effect!

Here’s a slightly different, albeit more realistic, version of the same picture. I think I like the 1st one better though…

The boys were right at home in their costumes….

And there was no wait time which made it even nicer! Granted, one day I really want to take some pictures of the queue area, but who wants to wait in line when you can walk right on???

I did grab this as we kept walking…

But that was about it till we got on the ride.

First one’s I had my focus off a little bit, and I apologize. But I still want you to join us for the whole thing, so here they are….

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Someday I wish I could get a hold of the security tapes from the Pirates gift shop from when we storm through. If you’ve joined us from previous Trip Reports, you might remember what happens in there. As soon as the boys and I got off the ride, we stormed the gift shop with swords drawn and guns a blazing. It’s becoming tradition. Yes, I have incorporated several children from families I don’t know. Yes, the battles span across the whole store. And yes, I probably look like a huge dork acting like a 5 year old again. But no, if you were wondering, I never win. Ever.

Somehow time slipped away from us. The battle had lasted well over ½ hour and by now it was just after midnight. The kids were starting to yawn and sleep was something that they were now starting to crave.

We headed down Main Street and I was totally digging the Halloween colors…

Sorry about the quality…..we were walking as I took them.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Walking through the gates was this big old Mickey Head…

I tried buy couldn’t really capture the fog effect with the Mickey Head but it really looked cool. I did kind of capture the fog over here by the tree, I loved the way the light shined through…..

A few minutes later we were on a bus heading back to Kidani Village. Normally, this is where I would end a typical update.

Not tonight.

Ever since the idea was thrown out there for us to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge, I REALLY wanted to head out one night with a tripod and see what I came up with. I knew they we were running out of time so I figured I had to go out tonight or I might miss my chance. Everybody thought I was nuts for wanting to go out this late but I had my mind made up. I did hang out for a little bit to indulge in a few cocktails with everybody first. As I sat on the chair, the large amounts of rum in my soda started having a conversation with Brian about photography. Suddenly I sound like I have a clue of what I’m talking about…..I think so anyway.

I started talking about tripods, and slow shutter speeds, blah blah blah, but than I took him out on the balcony to show him a little about what I was talking about. We did a couple shots like this where he stood very still and I traced around him with my cell phone.

Kind of cool huh?

I than turned the camera towards the bus stop and captured the taillights of a bus driving by. If you look above the far street, you can see the red streaks…

I than took a few long exposures of the tree line that looked completely black to us but the camera really lit it up nicely.

I had his attention.

We showed his brother Sean what we did out on the balcony and he thought it was pretty cool too so they both opted to go for a little photo walk with me around 1am!

We headed out to the Savanna to see if we could find some animals in the dark.

Please try to realize, these are pretty long exposures. Most of what you see in these pictures, we couldn’t see by just looking out there. It was DARK out there that late at night!

The Savanna…

There’s 2 giraffe’s out there in the trees if you look closely….

Than the sprinklers came on…

The animals were surprisingly active for being so late. I had to speed the shutter up a little bit to capture the animals before they walked away which makes the pictures a little darker…

 

[NateNLogansDad]

We were only out there for an hr but we could have stayed for several more. It was fascinating. Disney really did a great job making it look like the animals could walk right into the hotel if they wanted to.

Speaking of which, Let’s take a walk inside shall we????

The lobby…..

Out front…

Let’s head down to the pool area shall we?

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Let’s walk across the street over to the bus stop….

Hey, there’s our room! Top floor on the corner…..

It was at this time when a security guard showed up out of nowhere. I guess the rum may have clouded my judgment a tad. To someone walking by, it probably didn’t look good aiming a camera at the outside of a hotel late at night. I politely showed him that we really weren’t pervs and we all got a laugh out of it.

Still, it was getting a little late so we made our way down the side entrance…

Up the elevator and down the hall….

All in all, a pretty awesome day! From the Stunt Show and Indy in the morning till the Halloween Party tonight, I don’t know how much we could have crammed into the day!

Tomorrow we will doing a little down time, but tonight we will crack open some more rum and enjoy the night!

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Time for some coffee after that update!

 

[abcangie87]

Worth the wait!!!

Man, you take a lot of pictures

the update and the Halloween Parade pictures! We haven't made it to a night parade of any kind yet and it is on the short list of our 'must do's' this next trip. We're trying to not worry about hitting everything and enjoy the ride this time, so to speak! I loved the Goofy's Candy company float and things that went with it!


Enjoy what's left of your Sunday!

Yeah for the update!!

 

[Snappy in OK]

It was worth the wait! I enjoy reading your TRs, and you have some wonderful shots.

I am trying to figure out what night you were at MNSSHP. We went on 10/25. I had hopes of watching the parade & fireworks and trying to get some shots, but it was not happening!

And, so far, I have not seen my family in any of your pictures! I will keep watching & reading though.

Oh, and thanks for taking care of the popcorn!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Yes, an update. Great pictures as usual. I love seeing pictures of an empty Disney. With all the craziness going on during the day it's so nice to sometimes see pictures without the people so you can really appreciate what's in the photo.

 

[hjd0411]

Great update(s)..!!!
Loving your photos - the 2nd parade turned out great! Was that with your 50mm or zoom? And I love the AK long exposures! Very good - giving me food for thought!
I think you might need a Lapu Lapu after that massive update!!