New Camera? Sounds like a perfect excuse... (Sept 2011) (Completed...Rushed the end)

[Cafeen]

Wow Allan those flower pictures are so clear! You can see each petal no matter how fine it is. I can wait to see the rest of them.

Thanks, I really like them too

I did feel a bit odd in WDW taking pictures of local flowers, but hey, it's my vacation, I paid thousands of dollars, I can take pictures of every day things if I want!

 

[Cafeen]

Jiko for Dinner​

I got off the bus at Bus Stop 1 to pick up my luggage and find out where my room was. I have already mentioned that I never got the text stating which number I'd be in, so I didn't have much choice here.

I quickly went through the concierge line and got my room, 2456. Little did I know that I'd be the furthest away from everything I could possibly be.

At this time, I'm going to resort (no pun intended) to a visual aid.

Now, you're probably wondering what the heck is going on with all those squiggly lines. Here's the legend (in text):
Red Star: Check-in
Green Star: The room (4th floor)
Blue Star: Bus Stop #2
Yellow Circle: "Plaza Elevators" (Went to 4th floor)
Magenta Circle: "Tower Elevators" (Went to 3rd floor)
Red Line: My original path (1st Floor)
Yellow Line: The "right" path (1st Floor)
Blue Line: Path from Bus Stop (1st Floor)
Magenta Line: Path from Tower Elevators to stairs (3rd floor)
Cyan Line: Path from Stairs to room (4th Floor)
Green Line: Path from Plaza Elevators to room (4th floor)

Yes, I got horribly lost on the way there the first time. By the time I was around the Tower Elevators, I was on the phone with Mom again, and she was still looking for the room. Unfortunately, he cell phone reception was horrible and she couldn't understand me. Eventually, I ran into her and a CM she had enlisted for help (who wasn't being much help, she was just as lost as either of us) right about at that point where red, green, and purple all cross.

Eventually, we found our way to the Plaza elevator, went up to the 4th floor, walked BACK down the same hallways (just a bit higher now) and finally found the room. It was a hike. I thought it was just because I had gotten all turned around, but when we repeated it, not so much. To get back down, we essentially retraced our steps, following green, to red, then jumping off at blue to the parking lot.

Really, it was as confusing as I make it sound, and look.

(As a note, later on, going TO the bus stop, we simply walked down that flight of stairs to the ground floor, then out the building. This wasn't too bad, but there was no way that I was walking UP 4 flights of stairs to the room!)

So, anyway. Now we're all at the room and I call for a roll-away. Too bad I didn't quite get the service I got last year where this was free, but that's OK. That taken care of, my checked bag was standing there, so we were all set.

A little while later, after visiting, we headed on over to Animal Kingdom Lodge for Jiko. I checked in, and momentarily later our buzzer was going off and we were shown to our seats. Drink and entree orders occurred, and I ended up getting the Taste of Africa and the Filet. Mom ordered the pork.

As we started dining, I also decided to order a glass of wine. Now, this is something I rarely do. So when she asked "Which would you like?" I had absolutely no clue. All I know is that I don't really care for dark wines. I ended up with some white or something. I have no clue. Oaksomething it was called. It was pretty good, but I'm not a big wine drinker anyway.

All food porn here was shot with my 18-55mm kit lens. This would actually be the most common food porn lens that I'd use on the trip. They're not that great composition-wise, as I was still learning how to use the table, and not push everything off! They work though, and I like the balance in the wine shot.




​

So, we got our entrees, and then comes dessert. I order the creme brulee. Something I have actually never had before. I know that everyone always sings the praises of various brulees (brulii?) around WDW, but I had never had one. Not just at Disney either. Call me sheltered.

​

Everything was better than it looked. I picked off all the mushrooms, as I don't like mushrooms. I don't know why I didn't order it without them, but I guess part of me feels that I should at least try to eat it as the chef intended, if that means picking off the mushrooms, so be it. I did try some of Mom's pork as well, but it wasn't my thing. Verified that I'm still not a pork fan.

I finished up with my dessert, and before the check came, we started hearing a noise. It was some sort of alarm. The whole restaurant pretty much just sat there not knowing what to do, until we see the servers briskly walk up and open up the emergency doors. Apparently, a fire alarm was sounding in half the hotel!

I should mention that it started raining at some point on our way to AKL. In fact, I should have mentioned that a few paragraphs up, but taking a cue from Lisa, I'm not going to. You can use your imagination to cut and paste it where it belongs, suffice to say, it had been raining.

We got outside, and it was still raining. Of course, I don't have an umbrella (in fact, one of the many things that I've never owned), so I get a bit wet. Luckily it's a bit covered out there, but it was still pretty chilly and wet.

I quickly looked for a blue square area near the hot tub. Well, I looked for a blue square, and it was near the hot tub, I didn't really look for it there. At any rate, I'm hanging out, getting wet, taking care of my bad habit for about 10 minutes and then I find Mom again.

This goes on for about 30-45 minutes, to the point where she was asking if we should just leave. Of course, that's not entirely possible at this point, as we'd have to go through the evacuated resort to get to the car. (See, there's a reason that the emergency doors open into the pool area!) And it eventually cuts out and they let us back in. Luckily, it had actually stopped raining by this point so we weren't that wet.

The table next to us is still MIA, but we're ready to check out, so we wait, and wait, and wait a little more. Eventually they come back (they had to check on little ones in the little one club) as does our server with the check. No explanations or apologies. Of course, she's slammed at this point getting everything back in order, and I'm very laid back.

I picked up the check as Mom starts to get her credit card out, and put the whole thing on my room. This dinner was on me!

We head on back to CSR make the trek back up to the room (using the "Plaza Elevators" again, I hadn't discovered the "Tower" Route yet) and my roll-away is there, along with a bed rail for it. Like I'm a little kid or something .

Everything settled and squared away, it was time for bed. It would also be the last time I slept on that roll away as it was a bit shorter than I remember it.

We never did find out what set off the fire alarms, but it certainly wasn't a drill.

 

[sjs314]

Great start to your TR. Your pics are really good, I so need to go back to using and SLR ok now it would be a DSLR. Jiko looked good, but I love mushrooms.

What section were you in at CSR? We stayed in the Casitas and I loved how close it was to the lobby and food, I think we were in bldg 1 but it has been a long time so I could be wrong.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[Cafeen]

Great start to your TR. Your pics are really good, I so need to go back to using and SLR ok now it would be a DSLR. Jiko looked good, but I love mushrooms.

What section were you in at CSR? We stayed in the Casitas and I loved how close it was to the lobby and food, I think we were in bldg 1 but it has been a long time so I could be wrong.

Can't wait to read more.

Thanks . I'm loving using the dSLR over the P&S I used last year. Last year's photos came out decent, but these were definitely a step above. I did miss being able to skip the bag lines and not having to carry around a 10+lb backpack though . The fact that I also hit the "functionality cap" of my P&S made the switch that much better. I certainly did not hit that cap on my camera this year!

Jiko was pretty good. The risotto and sauce really make that dish. The meat was only so-so for a filet (which means, it was still quite good, but other filets I had on the trip beat it out).

I was in Casitas 2, 4th floor. One of the worst locations in the resort as that building does NOT have its own elevator. I was very disappointed considering I had paid the extra for a preferred location. It was a bit of a let down.

--
Going to get going on another update. We have Kona breakfast and MK day with MNSSHP coming up. And a bit of a let down at the party .

 

[MEK]

Hey Allan -

Thanks for the explanation on the angling of the lens. I will try to work with positioning a bit more.

If I was to add a third lens, what would you recommend? Or should I try experimenting with a filter over the lens?

I love you pictures and the macros are simply amazing!

 

[KatMark]

Nice update. Sorry about the room location; we've been in Building 2 once (I believe it was our first stay), but we were on the first floor, thankfully, with two boys.

Your meal at Jiko sounds pretty darn good. It is between that and California Grill as to which one we are going to try on our next visit.

 

[Cafeen]

Hey Allan -

Thanks for the explanation on the angling of the lens. I will try to work with positioning a bit more.

If I was to add a third lens, what would you recommend? Or should I try experimenting with a filter over the lens?

I love you pictures and the macros are simply amazing!

No problem at all . I did cull a lot out that were just not the way I thought they'd look as well, so there's a lot of trail and error involved. The lens angling thing though is pretty much exclusive to the ultra wides. While a normal lens will show some minor distortion at extreme angles, for example, the base of a building looking up it will seem to lean over you a touch, you aren't going to get the more extreme effects without a UWA or Fisheye.

As far as a new lens? It's tough really. I love both the 50mm f/1.8 and the UWA (I have the other two you listed as well) and it would be tough to choose one or the other. The 50mm ("Nifty Fifty") is a very good all around and low light lens, plus it's super cheap, although if I were to replace it, I'd look into the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 I think, or maybe it's a 1.8, something along those lines. It's not much more expensive than the 50mm (well, twice the price, so a couple hundred), but I did find 50mm a bit tight in spots. The UWA is super fun to play with too, but it was pricey (~$700). Tonika makes a highly recommended 11-17 that lots of the photo board guys use as well, and it's a bit cheaper (~600 I think).

Really, there's so many choices that it's tough to narrow down ><.

As far as filters, I actually pulled them all off my lenses on the trip. The polarizer is nice sometimes, but with the changing light conditions it made it difficult. The UV filters I saw that I was getting some reflection in (maybe it was dirty /shrug) so I pulled that off too. In reality, these days you can produce pretty much all the same effect in post (except polarizing), so they aren't that important. At least, that's what I've read and my rationalization to not use them and spend the money elsewhere .

Thanks again . I used the 55-250 f/4.0-5.6 IS lens and shot at 250mm. This was a great find for me to do, as up until then I was shooting them with my 18-55 and getting as close as possible, with mixed results. These came out much better and my back was thanking me for not having to bend over as much

Nice update. Sorry about the room location; we've been in Building 2 once (I believe it was our first stay), but we were on the first floor, thankfully, with two boys.

Your meal at Jiko sounds pretty darn good. It is between that and California Grill as to which one we are going to try on our next visit.

The location stunk, that's for sure, but now I know for next time. Of course, when that is, I don't know. Looking at BWI or POFQ for April, and CBR for when I bring Beth down (Emily will LOVE the Nemo rooms), and probably WL, AKL, or AKV if I pull a week with Mom. So CSR is on the back burner for now, but that's completely unrelated to the room location (the latter two I was already planning on beforehand).

Jiko was pretty good. I think it was better last year though. I also ate at CG on Tuesday and it too was pretty good. If you've never been up there though, and are OK with heights, the observation deck is amazing. I did get a little nervous taking pictures, holding my camera over the side though. I checked my neck strap every 2 seconds during that part .

In reality, you can't go wrong at either.

--
I lied about doing an update btw. I was going to write it, but then Disboards were flaking out on me (they've been horrifically slow lately, both at home and at work) so I decided to wait. Now it's almost midnight and time for bed.

 

[KatMark]

The location stunk, that's for sure, but now I know for next time. Of course, when that is, I don't know. Looking at BWI or POFQ for April, and CBR for when I bring Beth down (Emily will LOVE the Nemo rooms), and probably WL, AKL, or AKV if I pull a week with Mom. So CSR is on the back burner for now, but that's completely unrelated to the room location (the latter two I was already planning on beforehand).

Jiko was pretty good. I think it was better last year though. I also ate at CG on Tuesday and it too was pretty good. If you've never been up there though, and are OK with heights, the observation deck is amazing. I did get a little nervous taking pictures, holding my camera over the side though. I checked my neck strap every 2 seconds during that part .

In reality, you can't go wrong at either.

--
I lied about doing an update btw. I was going to write it, but then Disboards were flaking out on me (they've been horrifically slow lately, both at home and at work) so I decided to wait. Now it's almost midnight and time for bed.

Well, my vote would be for AKV without a doubt (you may never get me back to CSR). We've never stayed at CBR (although we have visited); just remember, they have the small beds--no queen size. My BFF (Nicki) loves POFQ.

I've been having a lot of problems with the DIS too -- at home and at work.

 

[MEK]

Thanks again for all the tips! You really know your stuff. If I am ever at Disney the same time as you we must do a photo session so I can get actual "hands-on" tips. I need them!

 

[Cafeen]

Well, my vote would be for AKV without a doubt (you may never get me back to CSR). We've never stayed at CBR (although we have visited); just remember, they have the small beds--no queen size. My BFF (Nicki) loves POFQ.

I've been having a lot of problems with the DIS too -- at home and at work.

The biggest thing preventing me from renting DVC is that up front money. I am so bad at month to month saving that I rarely have more than 1 paycheck in my account . This is why Disney works out great, as the payment program is perfect for crappy accountants like me.

Thanks again for all the tips! You really know your stuff. If I am ever at Disney the same time as you we must do a photo session so I can get actual "hands-on" tips. I need them!

No problem. I think I was wrong about the leaning though, I had it backwards. I think that the bus stop must simply be leaning over the road or something by itself. Right now, since I have 0 pictures other than that one, I have no idea ><.

 

[KatMark]

The biggest thing preventing me from renting DVC is that up front money. I am so bad at month to month saving that I rarely have more than 1 paycheck in my account . This is why Disney works out great, as the payment program is perfect for crappy accountants like me.

What about just getting a room at AKL? You don't necessarily have to do DVC points? My understanding is the rooms are the cheapest of the deluxes.

 

[Cafeen]

Chapter 2​

The Anti-Dentist​

The alarm went off around 6:30 am and Mom was up as normal. She's an early riser and gets up around 5am every day! I could never do that, although 6:30 - 7 is my normal at Disney. (Which, to my body is 5:30 - 6 since I live in Central time).

I hopped in the shower and got ready quickly, and we headed out to the bus stop by 7 or so. Since we had an ADR for Kona at 8am, I figured we'd bus to MK then ride the 'rail to the Poly and all would be great.

Unfortunately, it was now pushing 7:25 with no MK bus in sight. We made an executive decision and headed towards Mom's car. Of course, I kept a watchful eye on the road to see if an MK bus approached. Wouldn't you know it, none did.

So, we dove on over to the Poly, having to cross half the lanes to get into the resort lane at the MK gates (whoops!) and checked in.

We were seated soon enough and I already knew my order. It would be the Tonga Toast. Don't tell my dentist about this one please .

​

It was quite good and very filling (I didn't eat it all), and I was surprised when the bill came and the total meal was around $15. If I ever go OOP, this would be a place to go.

Cruising The Seven Seas Lagoon​

We headed out of the poly and did a lap around the MK parking lot (literally around it, not inside it) and went BACK through the entrance gate to get into the lot proper. We parked under the monorail in... some area. This "some area" would haunt us later, but suffice to say we did all these "We're straight out from the tunnel" and "next to last row" things to remember our spot.

We walked through the tunnel and decided to hop on the ferry instead of the monorail. Not sure why, but there was no line and the ferry was at the dock. I'm sure that played a big role.

I tossed on my 8-16mm and went to town.

As mentioned, this series of pictures were all taken with my Sigma 8-16mm lens. I was still learning it quite a bit. I was also bracketing my pictures at this point by 1 stop (for those non-photo nerds, this means that every shot was taken 3 times, one at normal exposure, one at 1 stop under, and 1 at one stop over. This allows me to then pick which I feel is a better exposure later on. Let's say this lens has a bit of a learning curve with metering...)

So, here we go across the Seven Seas Lagoon...














I kinda like this picture of Mom, far from your typical vacation photo, but it tells the story a bit more than smiling in front of the castle would.

(Note: This was hugely updated for the 2012 reprocessing. I cropped it down from the original, converted to black & white, applied a vignette (that I do with most of my black & whites), and cloned the crane away. The original picture can still be found here)


​

And then, we were there.

 

[KatMark]

Allan, great update. We did Kona for the first time this year and absolutely loved our breakfast here...we will definitely be back.

We have learned, in our "olden years" to take a picture of our parking lane and then I send a text message to myself to remind me about what part of the row we are in -- front, middle or end. It saves a lot of wandering at the end of the day.

Your pictures crossing the Seven Seas Lagoon are wonderful.

 

[sjs314]

I somehow missed your day two update until this evening. Everyone says Kona is the best for breakfast, I would go there but since I can not eat that tonga toast the temptation might just be too much for me.

Your pictures of crossing the water especially the one with Mom in it are lovely.

 

[MAD4EEYORE]

I have always wanted to try Kona. I like 'Ohana's breakfast.

 

[Cafeen]

Allan, great update. We did Kona for the first time this year and absolutely loved our breakfast here...we will definitely be back.

We have learned, in our "olden years" to take a picture of our parking lane and then I send a text message to myself to remind me about what part of the row we are in -- front, middle or end. It saves a lot of wandering at the end of the day.

Your pictures crossing the Seven Seas Lagoon are wonderful.

Kona was good, and glad that you guys finally got to try it! (I know you've been trying to get there for the past few trips )

I normally take a picture on my phone, but I figured, "Hey, it's easy! It's right there"... boy was I mistaken as you'll see... eventually.

Thanks for the comments about the pictures.

I somehow missed your day two update until this evening. Everyone says Kona is the best for breakfast, I would go there but since I can not eat that tonga toast the temptation might just be too much for me.

Your pictures of crossing the water especially the one with Mom in it are lovely.

Kona is pretty good, though I'm not that much of a breakfast person in general. Mom had the ham and cheese omelet (or some omelet if not ham and cheese) and said it was very good as well.

I have always wanted to try Kona. I like 'Ohana's breakfast.

You should try it .

---
Apologies for slower updates than expected, work's been keeping me busy lately as I get to play with the web app that I wrote last year. By "play" I mean spend good amounts of time updating, upgrading, and developing new features. It's a bit draining as it taxes my knowledge, but it's much more interesting and fun than the boring stuff I've been doing all year.

That, and I kinda jumped back into WoW... which sucks up a lot of time ><.

Going to try and get an update done for tomorrow evening after work. I have to call my brother too (I've been meaning to for over a month now!) to discuss stuff about a probable Boston/New England trip over Christmas. Yep, me, who's living in southern Alabama for about 3 years now, is planning to go up to northern Vermont and New Hampshire in the middle of winter.... wish me luck on that one .

 

[sjs314]

Kona was good, and glad that you guys finally got to try it! (I know you've been trying to get there for the past few trips )

I normally take a picture on my phone, but I figured, "Hey, it's easy! It's right there"... boy was I mistaken as you'll see... eventually.

Thanks for the comments about the pictures.


Kona is pretty good, though I'm not that much of a breakfast person in general. Mom had the ham and cheese omelet (or some omelet if not ham and cheese) and said it was very good as well.


You should try it .

---
Apologies for slower updates than expected, work's been keeping me busy lately as I get to play with the web app that I wrote last year. By "play" I mean spend good amounts of time updating, upgrading, and developing new features. It's a bit draining as it taxes my knowledge, but it's much more interesting and fun than the boring stuff I've been doing all year.

That, and I kinda jumped back into WoW... which sucks up a lot of time ><.

Going to try and get an update done for tomorrow evening after work. I have to call my brother too (I've been meaning to for over a month now!) to discuss stuff about a probable Boston/New England trip over Christmas. Yep, me, who's living in southern Alabama for about 3 years now, is planning to go up to northern Vermont and New Hampshire in the middle of winter.... wish me luck on that one .

I have to admit that I doubt I would have the will power to not order the tonga toast if I did go to Kona's after reading out it for so long. One reason I do not object to DH passion for breakfast buffets as I find it quite easy to eat and stick pretty much on my diabetic diet, omelets are great in my case.

Another WOW addict. I use to be into it heavy staying up all night to go on a raid. I finally had to just cancel my account and quit, it was taking over my life.

I think you will really enjoy being back where the weather is seasonally cold for Christmas, I have a desire to go to Florida for Christmas but somehow it being warm just does not seem quite right. Plan that Vermont/NH trip!

 

[racefanof88]

I am joining in. I love your pictures and I am trying to learn how to use my camera and lenses. I don't have a wide angle lens, but seeing your pictures sure makes me want to go out and buy one.

 

[Cafeen]

I have to admit that I doubt I would have the will power to not order the tonga toast if I did go to Kona's after reading out it for so long. One reason I do not object to DH passion for breakfast buffets as I find it quite easy to eat and stick pretty much on my diabetic diet, omelets are great in my case.

Another WOW addict. I use to be into it heavy staying up all night to go on a raid. I finally had to just cancel my account and quit, it was taking over my life.

I think you will really enjoy being back where the weather is seasonally cold for Christmas, I have a desire to go to Florida for Christmas but somehow it being warm just does not seem quite right. Plan that Vermont/NH trip!

I STILL have to talk to my brother about the trip, to see if he'll be in town (he works in Boston, but lives in NJ). Not sure if he'll be working those few days before Christmas.

As far as it being warm, it takes some getting used to, but it's really nice once you're used to it . Too many waking up to -20 up in Berlin NH (we visited family up there, I lived down near Manchester) when I was growing up. I'll take the 75 degree days thank you .

And, considering it was 27 in VT where my Dad and Step-Mom live today... while it was ~79 here... I'm gonna need all sorts of stuff that I used to laugh at southerners for wearing when I lived there!

I am joining in. I love your pictures and I am trying to learn how to use my camera and lenses. I don't have a wide angle lens, but seeing your pictures sure makes me want to go out and buy one.

Thanks . The key is practice... and practice BEFORE you go to Disney. You're seeing about the top 50% of my shots here (1400 at least decent or better, out of ~3000), I tossed many that just weren't that good. I guess that's one of the tricks to being a good photographer, don't show the bad shots!

The UWA was nice, but I actually got much more use out of my kit lenses (18-55 and 55-250) than I did the UWA, and especially the better, stronger shots. I think I needed to practice with it far more than I did, but oh well. Maybe next time.

I just wish I had places to practice around me... it's tough down here without a car. I gotta take care of that one of these days.

 

[Cafeen]

Chapter 2​

It's a Magic Kingdom Morning​

We walked down the ferry stairs and were soon on the dock. Once again, I was walking up to the Magic Kingdom. It had been exactly 364 days since I last did this, and that day tore up my feet, tossing the rest of the trip into slow motion. I was more than ready for a do over. And this time, I had a nice little toy to bring.

We stepped through the gates, under the tunnel, and we were there. On Main St. USA. With a great view of the giant crane.

​

We meandered up Main St and headed on over to the hub, after taking my obligatory blue square break in front of the Plaza. This spot would be a favorite haunt of mine over the coming 10 (well, 9 now) days.

Over at the hub, we visited with this guy. I took two pictures as I had forgotten I was still bracketing my photos. Both of these came out well though .

These were both taken with my 18-55mm kit lens. That little lens is actually pretty decent, far better than the kit lenses of old. The image stabilization is something I would come to miss dearly on my other 2 lenses (my 55-250 also has IS). Nothing too special in taking these shots. I walked up, fired, and called it a day (or, at least a couple pictures).


​

And now it was time to figure out what to do...

We headed on over into Adventureland and ended up at Pirates. Mom's favorite ride (and one of mine, although I used to be scared of the drop).

We sang (well, figuratively) along to the pirates and tossed on my 50mm lens. In the reverse order though. Otherwise it would have been pretty pointless.

All of these were taken with the aforementioned 50mm f/1.8 lens. Typically set to Tv (Shutter Priority) mode with a time of around 1/20s and ISO cranked up to 1600 or 3200. There was some pretty hefty post-processing work done to make them better, reducing noise, and some cropping as well. I never really noticed just how red it is in there! (And this was AFTER some color temperature correction was applied).

Pretty much just fired over and over again, and took what came out. I turn the display off, set it to not review any pictures, and just watch through the viewfinder. It makes it almost like the old film days where you wouldn't see what you got until you developed the film. Except, in this case, I looked right after we got off the ride.














​

After Pirates, we headed on over to Frontierland. I tossed on the UWA and went to town on Splash Mountain. As you can see, I haven't quite gotten the hang of using a UWA lens. Is that an ant hill?

Both taken with the 8-16mm lens (if you're counting, I've already made 3 lens changes today, and it's not even 10am!). The sign picture was taken very close to it and I kinda like it. It's not one of my 3+ star photos though.


​

After we watched Splash (I don't do wet rides, I have way too much expensive, water-sensitive stuff in my bags and pockets to get soaked), we took in another mountain. One that's going to need a whole second installment to detail.

​