One More Disney Day?

[SC Mouse Fan]

I really wish I was there. I should have planned a short trip since I already have Thursday and Friday off. I have been watching some twitter feeds and it makes me sad that I am missing this.

Have fun and I look forward to seeing your pictures.

 

[Experiment_626]

Met Marlton Mom and had lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Now back at the rental house to get some rest; I hope to be back in the Magic Kingdom in time for Wishes tonight, and I'll stay the rest of the night if can hold out.

The real test comes tomorrow -- we have a full day at Epcot and Magic Kingdom planned! How will I do that? I'll cross that bridge when I get there, I guess ...

SSB

 

[wbeem]

I'm watching the weather forecast for tomorrow morning. Dude says it will be a carbon-copy of today, so plan on more fog.

 

[Experiment_626]

I'm watching the weather forecast for tomorrow morning. Dude says it will be a carbon-copy of today, so plan on more fog.

Naturally, I missed a decent sunset today in a mostly futile attempt to rest. Amazing that I can get up at 4 am, get ready and leave without disturbing anyone else in the house, but when the rest of my crew try to leave in the late afternoon, they accomplish it with all the stealth of a freight train switching yard. On top of that, they decided to leave the six-year-old with me because he hasn't finished his homework (for their spur of the moment decision to get pedicures, even though they knew I rearranged our dates for this trip specifically so I could spend today shooting. So I'll most likely have to take him with me for a while this evening -- but if his homework isn't done, he won't be allowed to ride anything. So I'm sure he'll be a barrel of laughs.

I took a dip in the hot tub for a bit, then had a shower, so I feel somewhat refreshed. No telling how I'll feel at 3 am, but I'll go till I can't.

SSB

 

[wbeem]

Oh, how I could use a hot tub today. Yesterday was my first day back at the gym after a month of traveling. The alarm went off at 3:30am so I could get to WDW early and I didn't feel bad. After getting home and taking a nap, every muscle was sore from yesterday's workout.

At least one of my friends is going back out to get a shot of the Partner's statue in the morning mist, backlit by Main Street. I don't think I'm going to do it, though. I saw someone else posted that shot today and it's a nice image, but I value my sleep time tonight.

Good luck with your shots.

 

[wbeem]

Here's my shot from yesterday's sunrise in the fog.


I Put a Spell on You by wbeem, on Flickr

 

[Experiment_626]

Went back with the intention of shooting Wishes from the TTC. The traffic jam trying to get into the parking lot -- and once there, to park -- had other ideas. Couldn't make it to set up in time. The crowd was much larger than I would have guessed (and according to a couple of cast members, it was significantly larger than they were anticipating. Since I had my son with me and had promised him we'd ride a few things, I felt honor-bound to make good on it. Rode over on the monorail and there was a huge throng of people at the turnstiles. They had turned off the finger scanning to speed things up, so it still went quickly.

When the Peoplemover has a line that uses all its available queue space (both on the ground and up near the boarding area) and still extends out more than halfway to Carousel of Progress, you know there's a serious crowd. Anyway, we did ride a few things, including Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion. Then we left to take my son back to the house. Still a steady stream of cars coming in! This created a traffic jam trying to get out.

So I reluctantly decided that getting some rest and being able to go to the parks today with my family outweighed going back again. There were a few photos I had in mind, but none of them were dependent on sunrise. All I need is a really late night and the right weather, so I'll likely get another chance someday. And I'll do a little shooting today, I think.

All in all, I'm glad I went. Being there at 5:40 am and waling into the Magic Kingdom -- and getting the fog-shrouded shots of the castle and the Mansion -- were totally worth getting up at 4 am. If Disney ever does this again, I'll do my best to be there.

It strikes me that a hard-ticket photography tour of the park -- along the lines of Keys to the Kingdom -- might be worth it for them to do. Just offer it on mornings after the park had a relatively early close.

SSB

 

[Experiment_626]

Here's my shot from yesterday's sunrise in the fog.


I Put a Spell on You by wbeem, on Flickr

Cool -- can't wait to process mine. So, you were right there beside me part of the time. I had the green Hawaiian shirt ...

SSB

 

[ssanders79]

I am looking forward to see a foggy haunted mansion!

Anyone going to be at MK Friday? The plan is to pick our daughter up from preschool and head over for lunch. I've been wanting to try the waffle sandwiches at MK.

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

Here's my shot from yesterday's sunrise in the fog.


I Put a Spell on You by wbeem, on Flickr

Beautiful! Nice work.

 

[Azrael]

That picture really is breathtaking.

 

[Experiment_626]

This actually turned out to be a relatively frustrating trip for me. No sunrise on the 29th — though the fog was a compensation and much better than just overcast. I had a heck of a time getting any sunset photos as well — on family park days, everyone always wanted to be doing something else such that I was too late. On a couple of days, it was my own fault for cutting things too close. It wasn't until yesterday — when I hadn't planned on going to any parks at all — that I realized I could make a solo trip to the Magic Kingdom with plenty of time to set up and wait for what looked to be a promising sunset. So I drove over there with almost two hours to spare and was feeling pretty good … which is when I discovered my tripod was missing.



I remembered that I had stashed in the bottom of the stroller at one point the night before, so I thought it might have been there. And at that moment, the stroller was with the rest of my crew, at the Disney outlet store over near Universal! Ifigured I would have time to meet them,get the tripod and come back.

Except it wasn't with them either.

I knew it wasn't at our rental home, because we looked high and low for anything of ours before we left. At this point I realized that I didn't have my tripod because it was missing. Figured I left it on the monorail or at the Magic Kingdom the night before.I was near Lost & Found at the time, so I checked there. Nothing. I went over the MK anyway, thinking I might be able to approximate the shot I wanted using a railing or something, which I did, though I think I missed the very best color in the sky in the time it took me to walk around Cosmic Rays'! But still, something was better than nothing. The shot was crooked, but I can fix that.

It was at THIS point I realized I was going to go home with the requisite Disney cold. Sigh. Wasn't looking forward to driving five hours when I already felt like I'd been hit by a truck. But I made it without incident, and rolled into the yard about 3 am.

And this morning Disney called — they found my tripod! So that's good news (even though I was already trying to figure how I could use the opportunity to get a better tripod).

SSB

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Okay folks, all this lead-up to the big day and we only have one photo (although a stunning one!!)! Lets see some photos that we only get to see every four years!! Maybe a night shot of a clock at 3:00 a.m. or something!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Okay folks, all this lead-up to the big day and we only have one photo (although a stunning one!!)! Lets see some photos that we only get to see every four years!! Maybe a night shot of a clock at 3:00 a.m. or something!!!

I agree! I want photos of people passed on TTA!

Experiment 626, I'm glad you found your tripod. I left mine on a bus early in our last trip and was SO happy when it showed up. Before it leaves the house again, it's going to have my name attached to the tripod itself. I had used it right before leaving the park and didn't put it back in the bag, just carried it folded up. Oops....... I was really realieved when they found it. I bet you were too!

 

[wbeem]

Okay folks, all this lead-up to the big day and we only have one photo (although a stunning one!!)! Lets see some photos that we only get to see every four years!! Maybe a night shot of a clock at 3:00 a.m. or something!!!

Yes! I want to see those shots, too. There were six or seven guys around me when I took that shot, but I haven't seen anything posted yet.

My friends and I walked around taking a few other shots, but once that overcast sky got bright, I think it killed everyone's mood.

So, who got a shot of the Partners statue in the fog? I'm still kicking myself for missing that opportunity.

 

[Experiment_626]

Yes! I want to see those shots, too. There were six or seven guys around me when I took that shot, but I haven't seen anything posted yet.

You will, you will. I probably won't start my post-processing until Monday.

who got a shot of the Partners statue in the fog? I'm still kicking myself for missing that opportunity.

I took some that same morning. I had to set up the tripod and shoot many bracketed sets as people moved around, in the hope that I'll be able to create a version with no guests outside the relatively far background. We'll see how it goes. I shot in major overkill mode for that, but it is still not always enough … because it seems you always get one or two lolly-gaggers who stand in one spot for a long time for no discernible reason.

SSB

 

[Experiment_626]

I agree! I want photos of people passed on TTA!

Well, I know it was probably a rough go to stay the entire 24 hours, but I didn't hear anything about anyone dying during the night! And how macabre of you to want to see photos if they did! The very idea!



Sorry; couldn't resist!

SSB

 

[Experiment_626]

Just wanted to mention that we went to the Magic Kingdom the evening of the 1st and it was dead (not like the corpses on the TTA). I'm talking mid-week Pirate and Princess Party in a drizzle dead.

SSB

 

[wbeem]

because it seems you always get one or two lolly-gaggers who stand in one spot for a long time for no discernible reason.

This is one of the most frustrating things about trying to take a decent photo. Crowds tend to move in waves. I can deal with a crowd because I know that people move. However, those idiots who just stand in front of your shot with no purpose get under my skin. You can be within a second of getting your shot and they'll just ruin the moment until the next crowd comes along.

Then it starts all over again.

 

[Experiment_626]

This is one of the most frustrating things about trying to take a decent photo. Crowds tend to move in waves. I can deal with a crowd because I know that people move. However, those idiots who just stand in front of your shot with no purpose get under my skin. You can be within a second of getting your shot and they'll just ruin the moment until the next crowd comes along.

Then it starts all over again.

I feel the same way, but I try my best not to think of these people as "idiots" or other such derogatory terms. They're guests drinking in the moment, just like I am, but without a camera. They're just as entitled to be where they are and do what they're doing as I am.

Sometimes it gets really difficult to resist, though. There are definitely plenty of times where I look serene and patient on the outside, but on the inside I'm screaming at the top of my voice, "Come on! Get OUT of my SHOT!!! Let me take a picture; it lasts longer!

I do get a kick out of the people who try to duck out of the frame as they walk in front of me as I'm using a fisheye or an UWA — it's the difference between having au upright person or a hunchback in the shot! And then there are the ones who do that while I'm shooting signs over their heads, as I did quite a bit this trip — they wouldn't be in the shot without a ladder.

Anyone hear or see anything from the Disneyland contingent? It sounds to me as if the Magic Kingdom got the crowds that were expected for Disneyland — and that Disneyland was even worse.

SSB