Our Drama-Filled May 2010 Bay Lake & Beach Club Trip Report(OMG-ITS MY FINAL UPDATE!)

[TigerLaw]

We're planning a drinking trip around Epcot during our Dec. trip, thanks for mentioning the Grand Mariner slushie in France! Now I know what to order. Sounds yummy

Susan, if you do a phrase search, there are several threads which talk about what to order in each country - here are a couple:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2427729

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2373982

hope this helps!

 

[TigerLaw]

Wednesday, May 19th

Parks Visited: Epcot and Animal Kingdom
Dining: Seasons (lunch) and Flame Tree BBQ (dinner)

One of our traditions is me getting Melissa coffee in the morning. Given that we weren’t doing an EMH morning, I took my camera and got some morning pics of the resort (I blew up a couple of the shots I love):















I loved the reflections in this shot



A CM let me in B&C to take this picture of an empty restaurant




COMING UP - OUR SECOND EPCOT MORNING

 

[Markeymouses]

Oh my goodness!!! thank you so much for posting all of that! Finding this on my day off was awesome! It gave me the Disney fix I needed. We will be heading to the BCV for the 1st time in 40 days! sooooo excited to see all those beautiful pics. I loved DVC Mikes pics and now yours so I decided to ask my DH for a new camera for my Bday next week ......lets hope I get it so I can take some awesome pics and have those beautiful memories to remember. Thanks for taking all the time to post it is greatly appreciated!

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Stunning as always! Thank you for taking the time to post the pics and write your tr. If you ever find yourself bored feel free to add even more pics inbetween!

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I have enjoyed reading your TR and look forward to the next installment.

We are going on an Alaskan cruise this summer and my DS15 is an avid photographer with a Nikon D40 DSLR. He and I are going on a photography safari and I was thinking about a new camera. I absolutely love your pics and the clarity is amazing.

One question, are you using manual settings for each pic, or a more basic point 'n shoot setting?

 

[TigerLaw]

Oh my goodness!!! thank you so much for posting all of that! Finding this on my day off was awesome! It gave me the Disney fix I needed. We will be heading to the BCV for the 1st time in 40 days! sooooo excited to see all those beautiful pics. I loved DVC Mikes pics and now yours so I decided to ask my DH for a new camera for my Bday next week ......lets hope I get it so I can take some awesome pics and have those beautiful memories to remember. Thanks for taking all the time to post it is greatly appreciated!

You are more than welcome - we all need our disney fixes sometime!

Stunning as always! Thank you for taking the time to post the pics and write your tr. If you ever find yourself bored feel free to add even more pics inbetween!

I'll see what I can do!

I have enjoyed reading your TR and look forward to the next installment.

We are going on an Alaskan cruise this summer and my DS15 is an avid photographer with a Nikon D40 DSLR. He and I are going on a photography safari and I was thinking about a new camera. I absolutely love your pics and the clarity is amazing.

One question, are you using manual settings for each pic, or a more basic point 'n shoot setting?

Basically, the day pics for the most part were set on manual and the night pics were on the camera's intelligent auto mode. I just got it like a month before the trip and have never had a camera w. lots of manual settings, so I just didn't feel comfortable w. going there on this trip.

 

[marynvince]

till the end. It's like I'm in the middle of a good book and it gets snatched away.

You've motivated me to try to be your equal in the TR department when we head to HHI in several weeks.

 

[disneyeveryyear]

Darn! I was hoping the camera itself was this good.

I am very afraid of operator error.

 

[TigerLaw]

till the end. It's like I'm in the middle of a good book and it gets snatched away.

You've motivated me to try to be your equal in the TR department when we head to HHI in several weeks.

I would aim a bit higher than my trip reports!

Darn! I was hoping the camera itself was this good.

I am very afraid of operator error.

I screwed up my prior response - the camera is that good - everything was done on auto or whatever is the opposite of manual controls - the day pics were on the basic auto setting and the night pics the intelligent auto setting.

 

[DizGirl20]

The first thing I do every evening when I log on the DisBoards is to read your trip report updates! Thanks! I miss BCV so much, don't know if your reports are making it "better or worse"?!?!

 

[TigerLaw]

The first thing I do every evening when I log on the DisBoards is to read your trip report updates! Thanks! I miss BCV so much, don't know if your reports are making it "better or worse"?!?!

Thanks so much (even though I don't know if I am helping or hurting?!?)

 

[TigerLaw]

Wed. May 19th (cont.)

Wednesday was originally supposed to be a MGM morning, but we switched things around so we could have more time at MGM later in the week when RnRC was back open, so we ended up going to Epcot for the second morning in a row for a 9am open. The morning got off to a bad start, as they didn’t let us in the world showcase until like a couple minutes before nine, so we were way behind everyone who got in at the front gate. We ended up going over to the character spot first and getting our pictures taken with the fab five (maybe like a 10 minute wait) take a look (and no, I have no idea why my wife wore sunglasses in some of the pictures but not others!)





Anyway, from there, we headed over to ride Soarin, first getting a FP before going in the stand by line w. like a ten minute wait or so. From there, we headed over and did Test Track together using one of the DVC fastpasses and then I rode it a second time by myself using the single rider line. Crossing over future world one more time, we had an early lunch at seasons, with Melissa getting a turkey sandwich and yogurt (which Melissa loved for some reason) and I got some mix chinese plate (think panda express) and a cinnamon roll for dessert (yeah, I know, great mix, but I had it the morning before and it was really good!) After lunch, we rode soarin a couple more times, before calling it a morning.

We then came back to the pool for like 90 minutes, doing the lazy river with our funnoodles before taking a nap.

Here are some more pics of our second Epcot morning:



If I recall correctly, I took these two waiting to get past the security checkpoint at the IG. I kinda like the topiary pic.





[URL=http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2095204740101338200uAngvR][/URL]

These last two I believe were taken during our dash to the front at park opening

COMING UP - NIGHTTIME AT THE AK!!

 

[KyCruisinSusan]

Wednesday, May 19th

Parks Visited: Epcot and Animal Kingdom
Dining: Seasons (lunch) and Flame Tree BBQ (dinner)

One of our traditions is me getting Melissa coffee in the morning. Given that we weren’t doing an EMH morning, I took my camera and got some morning pics of the resort (I blew up a couple of the shots I love):















I loved the reflections in this shot



A CM let me in B&C to take this picture of an empty restaurant




COMING UP - OUR SECOND EPCOT MORNING

Your BCV photos bring back fond memories of the first time we ever visited B&C for our first ever Kitchen Sink. We found it hilarious that the hoity toity BC hotel (this was before we learned how affordable DVC can be) had a duck swimming in the pool, and now we see a duck is still swimming in the pool 6 years later

It looks like you have the pic of his lady.

Does that duck in the water/sand only have 1 leg, or is the other tucked up under him?

 

[TigerLaw]

Your BCV photos bring back fond memories of the first time we ever visited B&C for our first ever Kitchen Sink. We found it hilarious that the hoity toity BC hotel (this was before we learned how affordable DVC can be) had a duck swimming in the pool, and now we see a duck is still swimming in the pool 6 years later

It looks like you have the pic of his lady.

Does that duck in the water/sand only have 1 leg, or is the other tucked up under him?

Funny you should ask - I actually looked and looked and didn't see a 2nd leg - I could'nt get over how it was able to balance like that!

 

[chepic]

O.K. I am buying that camera!!!!!!

che

 

[TigerLaw]

O.K. I am buying that camera!!!!!!

che

Here's a link to a couple reviews about the panasonic FZ35

http://www.cameralabs.com/buyers_guide/superzooms_and_premium_compacts/best_high_end_compact_camera.shtml

http://www.dcresource.com/buyersguide/

its main competition in the "bridge" or ultra zoom catagory appears to be canon SX20. (for what's its worth, I had to order the FZ35 on amazon b/c they weren't even out here in st. louis (only to canon was)). I was used to panasonics before, so I trusted in it over the more "well-known" name

hope this helps

 

[CarolAnnC]

I am lovin your trip report! Thanks so much for sharin..

 

[2BoysMom]

Awesome! I got a bridge camera the first of this year, Sony HX1, and I love it! Did you do the nighttime shots with a tripod? If not, you have a very steady hand!

What does "bridge" camera mean?

 

[TigerLaw]

I am lovin your trip report! Thanks so much for sharin..

WOW! Even the moderators love my trip report - must be doin something right!

What does "bridge" camera mean?

I am far from a camera expert, but I THINK it means the camera is a "bridge" from a point and shoot to a DSLR camera (my camera for example has full manual controls like a DSLR, while P&S camera usually don't).

 

[TigerLaw]

Wednesday, May 19th (cont.)

Got to Animal Kingdom around 5pm Wednesday night. AK was set to close at 6pm and then have a 6-9pm EMH night. Headed over to Everest of course. Our first ride the line was like 5 minutes but the second time we got in line there was some issue so we bailed and headed over to Africa to go on safari. It was weird b/c at the front of the park, it said the last ride went out at 7:30, but when we actually go to the ride, it said it closed at 6pm - so whatever! Ride was a walk on - you could tell the driver was struggling a bit to find animals, but here are some pics:



Never saw one sleeping before!







This isn't a zoom pic - we were really that close!

After the safari, we headed back to the front of the park and killed some time looking at the two main AK shops before heading over to the 7pm EMH showing of the Festival of the Lion King. The show was great as always and even better, I thought at the time I got some really good shots of it, but looking at it now, I didn’t better than my usual, but not as great as I thought - take a look:











COMING UP - MORE AK!