We're there; I started posting pics.

[MarkBarbieri]

I got all my camera gear packed and I'm ready to go. If you're in the World next week and see me, say Hi.

I started posting some pics here during the trip. The pics are virtually unedited, so don't expect much.

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

Have fun Mark! I'm extremely jealous and can hardly wait for the next 44 days to pass.

 

[HPS3]

Have a great trip Mark

 

[Marlton Mom]

I hope you have great weather and high energy for this trip....

~Marlton Mom

 

[SC Mouse Fan]

Have a great trip. It looks like the weather should be good most of the week.
We are leaving next Friday, October 21. I will just miss seeing you and your family. I look forward to seeing your pictures.

 

[klmall]

Have a great trip and can't wait until we read about your trip and see those pictures!

 

[ukcatfan]

My parents will be there, but we are not getting passes until the holidays

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Have a great trip. It looks like the weather should be good most of the week.
We are leaving next Friday, October 21. I will just miss seeing you and your family. I look forward to seeing your pictures.

Same here! Friday-Friday.


Have fun Mark!

 

[mom2rtk]

Have a great trip! I look forward to seeing some great shots! (no pressure......)

 

[C&B Young]

Have fun & happy shooting!

 

[KCmike]

Have a great time. You really need to get over to Disneyland sometime. I would love to see your photos from there.

 

[k5jm]

Have fun!! Great shots to be had over there this time of year! We just got back and we kept IAH warm for you.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

 

[theduck619]

Have fun and thanks for sharing

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Here's a quick rundown on the action so far. Keep in mind that the pics are essentially out of camera. I'll tweak more when I get home.

We spent the first day at Animal Kingdom. Our first ride was the Safari ride. We got lucky and the lion start moving around just as we showed up.

We followed that by going on Everest several times. Well, the kids did several runs. My stomach was only good for one. I can't do coasters like I used to.

I tried to get a shot of them going down the big hill, but they aren't tall enough. At least you can see Grandpa behind them.

After Everest, we did Kali River Rapids. We brought a couple of GoPros, so we'll have some video to share later. This shot is a couple of young ladies sitting across from me. I need to lighten it (the white water fooled the meter). For what it's worth, my camera is so old (3 years) and has seen so much use that I decided not to trust the weather seals. I wrapped the camera in a rain cover for the ride.

After that, we did the bird show.

After a few more runs on Everest (the kids couldn't get enough), we went down to Dino-Land. The kids love digging around in there. My youngest buried my oldest in the sand.

While the boys shopped (they love the stores as much as I hate them), I took this shot of my parents.

After lunch (what happened to the McDonald's fries???) we went on the Dinosaur ride.

This is not a very photographer friendly ride. Anyone got any killer tips? This was the best I could come up with.

After Dino-land, we went over to the Festival of the Lion King. We had just about the worst seats in the house. We were on the third row from the back and it seemed like a disproportionate part of the performance faced away from us. My wife also insists that the show is shorter than it used to be. I think it is because we are used to getting in at the start rather than the end.

After the FotLK show, we caught the Jammin' Jungle Parade. While we waited, I think I had the "cut through here" look. Everyone kept asking us to let them cut through where we were standing. We also had the usual late arrivers ask if their precious children could stand in front of us.

After the parade, I took my mother and the kids home while my wife and father stayed to catch the Nemo show.

After dinner, the boys wanted to head to Epcot. I was a bit surprised because we got in really late the night before and I figured that they would be wiped out. On the tram ride from the parking area, we had a beautiful sunset. Lousy location, but I did what I could with it.

I brought my tripod for Illuminations, but at about 8:00 PM, my older son abruptly ran out of gas. Knowing that we had the Halloween Party the next night, I didn't try to push him.

We started the next day at the Magic Kingdom. The boys wanted to go straight to Big Thunder Mountain. I sat ahead of them and shot behind me - not the most comfortable way to ride.

We followed our BTMR runs with a couple of runs on Splash Mountain. The kids were concerned about getting wet, so they wore ponchos. This is another backward looking shot going down the big hill.

We followed that with PotC. I took a bunch of shots, but nothing really different than the gazillion dark ride shots that have been posted here. I think I'm going to try video next time.

After that, we did the Aladdin ride a couple of times, the Jungle Boat, the Laugh Floor (I was That Guy), the People Mover, and Space Mountain.

We spent the afternoon at Blizzard Beach. My youngest (9) was finally tall enough for the Summit Plummet, so we went on that. I'm not really fond of painful rides.

Now we're chilling out for a while and gearing up for the Halloween Party. I told the kids that they need to get a lot of candy tonight. I'm not buying them any more food this week. We're dressing up as stick figures using electroluminescent wire costumes. I just hope that my soldering holds up.

 

[NateNLogansDad]

Awesome shots Mark! I'm pulling out the luggage tonight and you're getting me all psyched!!!

 

[HPS3]

Awesome shots Mark! I wish I could see your EXIF data.

 

[crz4mm2]

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Awesome shots Mark! I wish I could see your EXIF data.

If you go to my Smugmug site and look at the pictures there, you can see the EXIF. I think you have to move your mouse over the picture and click on the "I" on the flyout menu.


We had fun at the Halloween Party, but I have to say that it was too crowded for my tastes. We're not really night people, but the boys held up fairly well. Our costumes were a smash hit. We got stares and compliments everywhere we went. Here are a couple of shots of them:

Well, here would be a couple of shots of them if Smugmug wasn't down. Maybe in the morning.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Well, here's one. Smugmug seems to have dropped the other one.