Photo spots/tips specific to Disneyland, CA

[sharona]

Heading to DLR in April and looking for some advice and tips on photo spots for parade, fireworks, WOC, shows etc. Have only been once before for a 1 day too busy for photos visit a few years ago so not familiar at all with the parks there.

@mom2rtk really want to know your fireworks secrets! Love your DLR pics on Flickr.

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks so much sharona!

I love shooting fireworks at Disney. But each time I seem to come away with something I want to improve on for the next trip.

DLR presents some unique challenges. First off, just finding a spot with a view of the castle is a real challenge. How many days will you be there? First lesson at DLR is to plan fireworks viewing early in your trip so you have a fallback plan if they get cancelled. Because DL is in the middle of a densely populated area, the show gets cancelled. A lot. Couple that with the warm Santa Ana winds they've been getting lately and it can be a real challenge. My friend was just there for 2 park days and they got cancelled both days.

The other challenge right now is the projection show that is such a big part of the Disneyland Forever show. The projections make the show, but cause issues for photography. I had my neutral density filter out planning some great long exposure shots, and ended up with a muddled mess on the castle for most of those shots. I like my Halloween fireworks shots better from that trip because I changed up my approach and went for shorter shutter speeds that night.

Basic fireworks advice:

1) Lowest ISO possible
2) Set focus, then swap to manual so your camera doesn't have to refocus for each shot
3) Use bulb mode
4) Use a remote shutter release (and tripod)
5) I generally set my aperture at around 16

From there, it's really just a game for me. I like to experiment with different shutter speeds, timing it to the bursts, depending on how bright it all seems.

I would love to hear what others are doing with the projection shots during Disneyland Forever.

 

[mom2rtk]

We got lucky and had a view of the parade from the spot we had staked out for the fireworks. I would not plan on that though, because it's pretty rare that everyone stays seated like that.

I really want to shoot Paint the Night from Main Street still. But keep in mind that much of that area is blocked off now for the Blue Bayou package. Many report having good luck for last minute spots over by Small World.

 

[sharona]

Thanks so much sharona!

I love shooting fireworks at Disney. But each time I seem to come away with something I want to improve on for the next trip.

DLR presents some unique challenges. First off, just finding a spot with a view of the castle is a real challenge. How many days will you be there? First lesson at DLR is to plan fireworks viewing early in your trip so you have a fallback plan if they get cancelled. Because DL is in the middle of a densely populated area, the show gets cancelled. A lot. Couple that with the warm Santa Ana winds they've been getting lately and it can be a real challenge. My friend was just there for 2 park days and they got cancelled both days.

The other challenge right now is the projection show that is such a big part of the Disneyland Forever show. The projections make the show, but cause issues for photography. I had my neutral density filter out planning some great long exposure shots, and ended up with a muddled mess on the castle for most of those shots. I like my Halloween fireworks shots better from that trip because I changed up my approach and went for shorter shutter speeds that night.

Basic fireworks advice:

1) Lowest ISO possible
2) Set focus, then swap to manual so your camera doesn't have to refocus for each shot
3) Use bulb mode
4) Use a remote shutter release (and tripod)
5) I generally set my aperture at around 16

From there, it's really just a game for me. I like to experiment with different shutter speeds, timing it to the bursts, depending on how bright it all seems.

I would love to hear what others are doing with the projection shots during Disneyland Forever.

We'll be there for 5 nights and will likely have hoppers so we can be as flexible as possible. We'll plan the fireworks for the beginning of the trip, thanks for the tip. I noticed most of your fireworks pics are from dead center, how far in advance do you settle in? We can do the parade a different night. I haven't really done as much planning as I normally would for this type of trip - still need to look at an entertainment schedule and figure out my which park which days and make some solid plans as far as meals go. Getting my butt in gear this week. We leave in under 60 days!

 

[sharona]

What's the deal with the park hours and show schedule? How can I plan anything with no info beyond 4/6?????

 

[mom2rtk]

We'll be there for 5 nights and will likely have hoppers so we can be as flexible as possible. We'll plan the fireworks for the beginning of the trip, thanks for the tip. I noticed most of your fireworks pics are from dead center, how far in advance do you settle in? We can do the parade a different night. I haven't really done as much planning as I normally would for this type of trip - still need to look at an entertainment schedule and figure out my which park which days and make some solid plans as far as meals go. Getting my butt in gear this week. We leave in under 60 days!

We had been in the park all day, so decided to keep an eye on the hub area and get a spot as soon as others started gathering. Unfortunately that was about 3 hours out. But it was early enough to get a spot on a bench, and we made friends with the people around us and they saved us a spot the following night during the Halloween Party. It was really quite pleasant. I think we still could have found a spot on the ground a couple hours out. I chatted with friends, and my daughter walked to Downtown Disney go get Early of Sandwich for us. (She's THAT dedicated. It would have been better though if our original plan had worked and the monorail had been running.)

And not to worry about getting in gear. It's not like WDW in that regard! I know, that takes some getting used to.

 

[mom2rtk]

What's the deal with the park hours and show schedule? How can I plan anything with no info beyond 4/6?????

Yeah, that stinks. But it's pretty typical. Just make some guesses and go from there. It's pretty easy to swap plans around if you have to.

 

[sharona]

Thanks for the info. One more - Is F! canceled until all the construction is done?

 

[mom2rtk]

Thanks for the info. One more - Is F! canceled until all the construction is done?

The last I heard was to expect it to be down up to 18 months.