What Means "Ay, Caramba?"--Famous for Family of the Day!,Sept TR-Cape May HooRay 4/14

[Queenofallthings]

Your poor back! My sister suffers from a bad back so I know all about how it can put a damper on her vacation time! Glad you got some help!

I can tell you that both Shan and I would have been screaming right along with Brynn! Good lord I had bugs, spiders mostly, but every bug I've encountered in Florida is much bigger than any bug we have here at home!! I guess our frigid LONG winters may have something to do with that

I do love travel/arrival day reading!

 

[beachphotog]

Phewf. So glad that's all out of the way so we can get to the good stuff. You're hotel on 192 sounds like the one we stayed at in August while house hunting. No bugs, but lizards, scary neighbors, continental breakfast at the Indian restaurant 3 doors down from the "hotel..."

Ugh, anywho. Thank goodness for those magic arches!

 

[MrsMuffinMan]

WHOA! That's spectacular!!
I get you on the fly thing. Brynn is like that, too. FUN. But some days, in her quirky way, she just decides to catch them mid-flight. I've been told that people on the spectrum see "more frames per second," so to speak, and she can just see where they're going and gently grab them out of the air. It's so graceful...and gross. Then she goes back to screaming at them the next day. The love bugs at WDW were also fun.

"More frames per second" sounds spot on. It seems like my DD Josefina senses are operating at 150% all the time. Nothing like having a super duper cute Mr. Miyagi in the house Note to self: Stay away from WDW during love bug season....excellent tip!!

 

[leftaslide]

Good grief, Jenn. So sorry about the crappy week before your trip, and the cruddy hotel. But, if anything, it should amplify your Disney experience. Leave the crap behind and escape reality! Looking forward to more!

 

[disneylvr4vr]

Wow! That is not a fun start to your vacation. Nasty bugs and mean people? I probably would have just slept in the van if I had to deal with that! Hopefully the rest of your vacation was GREAT and full of happy, nice CM's.Julia's sign was SO cute!!

 

[heatherlizz602]

Sad about your crummy start!!! But, nothing better than Disney at the end of it.

My sister and I had a crummy/ funny start to our trip in August....I'm so scatter brained and read our flight time wrong so we got to the airport as our plane was leaving....needless to say my sister didn't trust anything I told her the rest of the trip...I even studied all the maps!!! It turned out funny though. And it was a great first trip!!

I can't believe how big the kiddos are!! Goodness....adorable as always!! Can't wait to read more!!!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

So excited to read about your most recent adventure! Loved the last two Your reports make it seem like we're there with you guys! I'm so excited to take our girls next year for the first time (they are the same age as yours) so you're helping tide me over while I wait! Looking forward to reading more.

I hope you enjoy this one, as well!

Love, Love, Love; Julia's sign!!!
Totally get the gag reflex and the fear of those bugs.
Can't wait to read more.

She loves to make signs! They're constantly taped up all over my house, just in case I don't know where things like my bedroom are located. "This way to Mom and Dad's room."

Your poor back! My sister suffers from a bad back so I know all about how it can put a damper on her vacation time! Glad you got some help!

I can tell you that both Shan and I would have been screaming right along with Brynn! Good lord I had bugs, spiders mostly, but every bug I've encountered in Florida is much bigger than any bug we have here at home!! I guess our frigid LONG winters may have something to do with that

I do love travel/arrival day reading!

Haha, I know how you girls feel about spiders!

Phewf. So glad that's all out of the way so we can get to the good stuff. You're hotel on 192 sounds like the one we stayed at in August while house hunting. No bugs, but lizards, scary neighbors, continental breakfast at the Indian restaurant 3 doors down from the "hotel..."

Ugh, anywho. Thank goodness for those magic arches!

GOOD STUFF, coming up!
Uhm...your hotel sounds even worse.

"More frames per second" sounds spot on. It seems like my DD Josefina senses are operating at 150% all the time. Nothing like having a super duper cute Mr. Miyagi in the house Note to self: Stay away from WDW during love bug season....excellent tip!!

Absolutely that. Hey, I'm already handing out tips without knowing it! This is going to be a great TR!

Good grief, Jenn. So sorry about the crappy week before your trip, and the cruddy hotel. But, if anything, it should amplify your Disney experience. Leave the crap behind and escape reality! Looking forward to more!

Yeah, we were so looking forward to leaving the crap behind, and we totally did that.

Wow! That is not a fun start to your vacation. Nasty bugs and mean people? I probably would have just slept in the van if I had to deal with that! Hopefully the rest of your vacation was GREAT and full of happy, nice CM's.Julia's sign was SO cute!!

I wish I had thought of that, lol!!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Sad about your crummy start!!! But, nothing better than Disney at the end of it.

My sister and I had a crummy/ funny start to our trip in August....I'm so scatter brained and read our flight time wrong so we got to the airport as our plane was leaving....needless to say my sister didn't trust anything I told her the rest of the trip...I even studied all the maps!!! It turned out funny though. And it was a great first trip!!

I can't believe how big the kiddos are!! Goodness....adorable as always!! Can't wait to read more!!!

Aaaahhh!!! That's hilarious! I mean, now that you're away from it it's hilarious...ahem...
I know, they keep growing despite my best efforts!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

We'd just crossed under that glorious Walt Disney World sign when we left off. Today was what we called our "bonus day." Since we surprised the kids and left early, we technically weren't even supposed to be here yet! It was a great feeling. We decided that on our bonus day we should take care of lots of business that would make the trip go much smoother. Since we were considering the next day, Saturday, our first day, we wanted to get things out of the way before then...AND we wanted to have a little fun and park time!

Where was our first stop now that we were in the Promised Land?

Our hotel!



We were staying at All Star Movies for a few reasons:

1. Julia wants to be a director. Movies are her LIFE! As soon as she heard about this resort, she wanted to be here. Nowhere else would do. Here.

2. The girls LOVE 101 Dalmatians. Brynn actually LIKES Cruella. She must see through that evil facade or something.

3. We were broke, and this place is as cheap as they come. Brandon's job was less than secure over this trip, and our funds were getting tight. (No worries...he took steps to correct that while we were here. More on that later!) If we didn't have such a cheap hotel, we couldn't have made the trip.

We had never been to an All Star Resort before. We found our way there with a little bit of bumbling, and we saw that they are really more like three sections of the same resort rather than three separate ones. They share a guard shack and some parking lots, and guests have access to all pools and restaurants. Just an FYI for you.

Movies is the last driveway you come to, and there is a literal red carpet to welcome you in! We didn't park there, though. I didn't get my movie star moment; instead, Brandon and the kids sat in the parking lot as I made my way to the check-in desk alone.

I had done online check-in at 60 days out and requested the Dalmatians section, top floor. In the online check-in line, I was first! A nice CM pulled up my info, and then got on a phone...and waited...and waited...I thought this was supposed to be the quick way?! After mumbling to the person on the other end of the line, she let me know that I could take a second floor room that was ready right then, or I could wait for my third floor room to be ready later. I chose that option, as we really like no on above us. I gave her my cell number for them to text us when it was ready. She printed our Keys to the World right then, asked me if I needed her to explain the dining plan (she obviously didn't know who she was talking to!), and I headed back to my family with the good news that we'd gotten our requests!

On the way back to the van, I noticed our name on a double stroller sitting outside the door. I had rented one from Kingdom Strollers, so all I had to do was sign a clipboard really quickly, and I was on my way. Check one thing off our list for this "get things done" bonus day!

Now it was time to get some grub. It wasn't quite lunch time, but those Pop Tarts weren't really holding up well. You know what hits the spot?

CHOCOLATE.



Sawyer doesn't like to get his hands dirty, but apparently diving in face-first is fully acceptable.

The girls went for a danish of some sort, and they stole bits of chocolate that were flying everywhere as Sawyer demolished the muffin.





While we were here, I decided it was a good time to get our refillable mugs (told ya it was a taking care of business kind of day). I had no problem getting them. We were entitled to four, and we had to orange ones, a purple, and a green. We were a bit bummed that there were only three choices, but they were free, so who were we to complain? Well, who are we to complain about THAT, at least. Because when I went to fill them, they didn't work.

The Rapid Fill system is new, and I don't even think it's at all resorts yet. Basically, you're allowed refills every couple of minutes for however long you purchase days for, or length of stay if it comes with your package. The RFID chips in the cups keep track of all this information, and when you place your cup on the drink dispenser, you can only dispense your drink if you've paid for that day.

I placed one on the dispenser. I needed some Coke right then. It was all about me. Nothing came out. I moved the cup around a little. Nothing. I changed machines. Nothing. I tried the other cups. Nothing. At that point, I went back up to the cashier. She placed the cups on her little sensor, and it said we were good for ten days and that the cups should work.

Yes. Yes they should. But they don't.

Another CM tried his hand at them, and he had no luck. We put them back on the sensor, and it still said we were good to go.

Eventually, magically and out-of-the-blue, they all started working! It's a new system, and it definitely has its kinks.

Obviously I was in a great mood after this. I had just realized that they don't serve iced tea in the mornings. And what's worse, they never had my favorite citrus white tea the entire time we were there. WOMP WOMP.



But YAY, cups!





We finished up in the food court and still didn't have a text saying our room was ready, so we decided to look around the lobby a little, then head out to have some fun. Julia was in love with all the Hollywood details! She especially loved that they had a display for Star Wars and one for Muppets, two of her favorite franchises.

Since all of our luggage was still in the van, meaning there would be no room to put this double stroller and Brynn's single stroller, we decided to take a bus.

This was a HUGE deal to our kids. You see, we never take buses. Ever. There are a few reasons behind that, and the most important ones are that you can't strap down the wild children and hauling strollers on and off is torture. But the flip side of that is that buses are so much fun for the kids! Also, their parking lot is a madhouse on a good day, and I read that about 2/3 of it was going to be closed. I was glad we were giving the buses a try.

I instagrammed this:



As we walked up, a bus pulled off. We had to sit for about five minutes for another one to come. In that time, Brynn saw her first love bugs.

If you aren't aware, September vacations mean love bugs are out doing what they do best. And if you aren't aware, Brynn is terrified of bugs (see last update). Cue the screaming and flailing and trying to run, had she not been buckled in. Listen, I am a very understanding mommy in almost any situation. We all hate bugs. Brynn feels things more deeply than the rest of us, and I get that. I try to accommodate her (and all my children) as much as I can. I cannot, however, control bugs in Florida during their free love season. I just had to bend down, look Brynn straight in the eye, and tell her she was going to have to deal. Did she want to be at Disney? Yes. Was she aware most of it was outside? Yes. Do bugs live outside? Yes. So, logically (and this kid LOVES logic), if she wanted to be at Disney, she would be seeing these bugs. She got that. I explained that these were very friendly bugs, hence the name. I told her they were "friends" with each other and that's why they stuck together. FRIENDS. I won't say she lost all fear of the bugs over the course of the trip, because that would be a lie, but I can report that she did stay as calm as she could most of the time.

After our heart-to-heart, a bus pulled in, and we were on our way to Downtown Disney!









There were very few people on the bus, but those who were blessed to ride with our family got to hear rousing renditions of "Wheels on the Bus" AND "It's a Small World." They got to hear us yell, "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" as we pretended that this was a ride. They got to hear us chanting for pizza. They were so lucky that day.

After a while (okay, a long while), we pulled up to our destination...where we bolted for the restrooms. I know some of you will remember me for my epically small bladder. Well, it seems Julia has inherited the same thing and had to GO RIGHT NOW, MOM!!!

With that taken care of, we could start checking off other things on our bonus day list. We had pre-ordered PhotoPass+ and needed to trade in the voucher they mailed us for our special card. I had no idea where to do that, as they don't give the best directions when they mail it, so I asked a CM and was directed to Guest Relations.

About this time, I got a text from Matt (GrimGrinningStitch) that he and Dani (danimaroo) were on a bus to DTD! WOO-HOO!!! That put a spring in our step for sure, and we wanted to get our check-list done ASAP!

At Guest Relations, we split up. Brandon went to get a place in the loooooong line for PhotoPass+, and I went to the regular old Guest Relations desk to ask about getting a Disney Visa Rewards Card so I could transfer my rewards dollars. That process consisted of me asking for a card, which the CM gave me, and then calling a number while standing there to take care of the rest. It was easy, and I got my money pretty quickly. During this time, however, Brynn had a very special moment.

She was sitting in her stroller (which she uses like a wheelchair, really) and being very good as I talked. A nice CM noticed her sitting there and came to offer her a Mickey sticker. She was very thankful for it, but Brynn being Brynn, she asked her if she had any Ariel stickers. She said she was sorry, but she didn't. Then Brynn went into one of her long spiels about her love of sea creatures, including showing off her leg braces with the sea creature designs, and naming off facts about random fish. She told her that Ariel was her favorite character because she is a sea creature. The CM was so kind to listen and nod and oooohh and aaahhhhh at the appropriate moments. I mouthed a "thank you" to her while I was on the phone with Visa. As I finished up what I was doing, I saw the CM peeking through a door and talking to someone. She came back to Brynn with a photograph of Ariel!! And not only that, it was a shot from her favorite Disney Sing-a-long Songs, Beach Party!She was beyond thrilled!!! She carried that thing around everywhere for a couple of days, then made sure we had it tucked in our bag from then on. It now hangs in her bedroom.



With that finished, I joined Brandon in line at PhotoPass, where he was still a few people back. Sawyer was playing the iPad, but he and Julia were a little antsy, so Brandon took all the kids to sit on a bench while I got our card.



As soon as I got to the counter, the whole process took only a few seconds. The CM punched our leaving date on the card and handed me a lanyard. He gave me a few extra regular PhotoPass cards, which you can add to your account, and I went to go show Brandon. That was that. Except literally in the time it took to walk from the counter over to the bench twenty feet away, the card fell off the lanyard. Luckily, I noticed it right away and went back to retrieve it, but from then on I knew the card would not be able to stay on that flimsy lanyard clip! This thing was like gold, and no way was I losing it!

Since we'd had pizza on our minds since the bus ride, the next logical place to go was Wolfgang Puck Express.



Y'ALL. If you haven't been here before, I have no idea what you're waiting for. This place is delicious. The servings are huge, the food is great quality, it's one credit of QUICK SERVICE (though it would even be worth a table service), and it has the best pizza on Disney property.





Brandon grabbed our favorite little table that's tucked behind barriers, while I went to order. To share between us, we ordered two kids' pepperoni pizzas, a margherita pizza, a barbecue chicken pizza, three fruit bowls, a creme brulee, 2 apple juices, and a few waters. Our very nice waitress was soon bringing out our hot food on glass plates, and we were ready to chow down.















**CONTINUED JUST BELOW THIS...KEEP READING!**

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

As we ate, I spotted Dani (danimaroo) and Matt (GrimGrinningStitch) heading our way through the windows of the restaurant. I told the girls to turn around, and immediately they were ecstatically waving and screaming to them!



Let me explain this to you if I can. We'd never actually met Dani and Matt, at least not in the traditional sense. I first became friends with Dani, and then Matt, over our TRs on Disboards. We became Facebook friends. We started chatting on FB and Google Chat. Brandon became friends with them. We traded videos. We traded surprise gift packages. My kids fell in love with them. Soon, we were talking just about every day, trading advice, offering support, and becoming great friends. Since we already "knew" them so well, it felt odd that we hadn't met face to face. It was the strangest first meeting ever, because we felt like we'd known them all our lives and easily picked up conversations where we'd left off. Yes, some of our best friends live in Washington (state!), and we're in Georgia. But you don't find great people like them just anywhere, people who get all your jokes and references, people who share a similar sense of humor. I've had people comment to me that they didn't realize we hadn't known each other for a long time, like friends who used to live near and then moved apart. Nope. We just forged a great friendship across all these miles, and it is awesome.

So, yes, we were happy to finally be in the same state, especially since we were at WDW!



Apparently we were so happy that Brandon was overwhelmed with glee and forgot to take a picture of Dani??? I promise she was there.

After we talked a few minutes, they went off to have their lunch with a plan to meet up for the pin store when we were all finished.

We were new to pin trading. I ordered a lot of 50 pins off ebay to trade, but I wanted the girls to be able to purchase special pins just to keep. Dani was going to teach them all about pin trading...but mom dropped the ball and forgot their lanyards in the van. Nonetheless, we did pick two new pins, Cruella for Brynn, and an All Star Resorts pin for Julia. We also had fun looking over the whole store and climbing on displays that were technically off-limits. Yeah, we're that family.







The guys pretty much talked the whole time while Dani and I followed kids around.

After that, we headed into Once Upon a Toy. We weren't here to buy--oh, no! We were here for something much more important...MR. POTATO HEAD BUILDING!!

But first, we remembered to get a picture of Dani and me together!



The kids found the Mr. Potato Head table and started assembling all sorts of wonderful variations.









We had a near meltdown over not being able to find "regular eyes" for Brynn to use, and a real meltdown from Sawyer when we tried to leave.

Bubbles to the rescue!!









A moment of panic happened when the Ariel photo could not be found. I ran back into Once Upon a Toy and asked a CM who was cleaning up the parts table, and luckily he reached into a box and handed it to me! WHEW! Disaster averted!

Once the kids had played a while and the grown-ups had talked a while, it was time to head back to the buses. We had gotten a text that our room was now ready, so we said our goodbyes (for a could of hours, at least!) and hopped on the first bus back to ASMovies.

Julia was happy to be back on a bus.



And Sawyer was just exhausted. Looks like all that partying until 4:30am had caught up with him!





The bus ride took FOR.E.VER. We stopped at Pleasure Island, where we switched drivers, Typhoon Lagoon, where dripping wet people made it standing-room only, All Star Sports, All Star Music, and finally All Star Movies. Once there, a kind stranger lifted one of our strollers off the bus for us, since I was carrying a still-sleeping Sawyer. He stayed asleep as we transferred him into the stroller.

We were now on our way to the front desk to find out our room number so we could begin unpacking and organizing! Would we like the room? How long would it take for us to unpack? Would Sawyer keep snoozing?

And more importantly, WHICH WAS OUR FIRST PARK!?!?!?! We were going to head out soon!!

OKAY, PAY ATTENTION!! Right below this (in this same post) is going to be a super-geeky photography/videography/tech-obsessed post, written by Brandon. It'll be in another font/color to differentiate. I am warning you: if you aren't interested in his camera gear or you don't understand photographer-speak, you can skip this section. I don't comprehend a single thing he's saying, but some people have asked about his gear, so here it is. You've been warned.


"Tech Geek Alert"

The following comment may be of a boring and overly-detailed nature on the subject of cameras, videography, editing, art theory etc….

Thank you and have a great time doing!



I just wanted to give a quick rundown on my gear list for this year's trip. I am going to try and share as many of my techniques, tricks and Disney picture methodology as possible during this trip report. I plan on documenting my work flow in creating a family vacation video; it has been ever-evolving over the last year but is a pretty straightforward way to get around the overwhelming task of converting hours of footage down to that final polished gem. The role of family photographer serves as a constant enhancement to every Disney World we have taken. Every year while Jenn is crafting her master trip plan, I am researching camera gear and pondering what the best and most interesting camera & lens combinations could be to capture the beauty of the parks. I never intended to go so head-over-heels for Disney World, but on our first trip I was just amazed at the sheer volume of photographic moments. You literally can't turn your head without seeing something interesting to shoot.

This year I was super excited. I had been saving for more than a year and was finally able to purchase one of my dream lenses, the Canon 35mm f1.4. This lens is hands down one of the world's best in my opinion. It is razor sharp even with the aperture wide open. The color and saturation are unworldly, and cannot be duplicated with any post-processing tricks. In some ways this lens takes out a lot of the post-processing because the image quality is just that good straight out of the camera. The 35mm focal range on my full-frame camera has that classic documentary film aesthetic. It's just slightly wide angle enough to get the context of the subject into the edge of the shots without the major bending distortion that would come with a 24mm or last year's lens of choice, the 14mm. The subject / center does not concave as much either, and that to me makes it much less distracting and allows you to really let yourself be immersed in the shot. I find that every lens has its own emotional quality and character and this lens just seemed to be a perfect fit for Disney. With an aperture that steps down to 1.4, it's great for those low light interiors, but functions equally well in full daylight. The Closest Focusing Distance is 12 inches so you can use it in more cramped areas.

The other lens I took with me is my trusty 50mm f1.4. This is by far my favorite portrait lens. The 50mm sees very true to how the eye sees so there is little distortion. I bring it on every trip. It doesn't get a ton of action but is invaluable in getting awesome portraits when the kids are in full costume or just got a new hair cut, etc….

Now on to the camera bodies. My primary camera is the Canon 5d Mark1, or Canon 5d Classic, as I like to call it. I recommend this camera body to everyone looking to take their photography up a level. Why do I like this 7 year old model better than any of the newer cameras available? Let me explain. For starters, you can get a good used one for about $500-$600. That's the cheapest you will find a full frame camera body. The 5dII is the next full frame and it goes for $2500 new! The full frame sensor makes all the difference in the world to me. The physical sensor is the same size as a piece of 35mm film, about the size of two stamps next to each other, while most point-and-shoots have a sensor about the size of a Skittle. Most companies are always boasting about the number of megapixels; this is a trap. You should look for size and quality of mega pixels, not necessarily number. Think of it this way: each megapixel can take in a certain amount of light when its exposed. Much like a bucket filling up with water(light), when it over flows you get a blank white pixel (highlight blowout). Now the smaller sensors may have more mega pixels than say my trusty 5d, but (and this is important) they are smaller and of less quality. The smaller sensors megapixels are like teacups and the 5d's mega pixels are like 5 gallon buckets.

The majority of newer DSLRs have the APS-C sensor, which is nowhere close to the full frame size. All APS-C variants are considerably smaller than 35 mm standard film which measures 36×24 mm. Sensor sizes range from 20.7×13.8 mm to 28.7×19.1 mm. Each variant results in a slightly different angle of view from lenses at the same focal length and overall a much narrower angle of view compared to 35mm. This is why each manufacturer offers a range of lenses designed for its format. The full frame lets the all of the image to be projected onto it from the lens and does not crop that, while the other DSLRs have a crop ratio of 1.6.

On my old Canon Rebel the 50mm was a very tight lens on the 5d; it feels almost wide angle. The 5d classic will make you a much better photographer in part due to its age...it doesn't have a lot of fancy options or video so it will force you into learning to shoot in manual mode. Use it for a year in manual and you will be able to dial in a scene just by squinting your eyes at the highlight areas, and you will be able to dial in the exposure in several different combinations depending on what effect you want to achieve. Your pictures will be more thought-out and better exposed than by relying on automatic settings.

Every trip I like to usually rent a lens to take on the trip. This year I rented two cameras instead to try out. The first was the brand new Canon 70d. I rented this camera primarily for DSLR video work. It is an interesting camera, kind of a DSLR and camcorder hybrid. It features the new Live View: Dual Pixel CMOS AF. This game-changing technology allows the EOS 70D to capture video in Live View with smooth and precise autofocus; basically you don't get that annoying "in & out" focusing that DSLR video produces in auto focus. It also has a really nice 3" flip-out LCD monitor with the ability to touch-focus directly on the screen. I got some really great video with this and also used it as a secondary picture camera as well ( I like the 7 shot per second burst). I also liked that the sensor was from the same family as our Canon camcorder so the video will be complimentary to each other in the final trip video.

I also rented my favorite little camera, the GO-PRO Hero2. I highly recommend the 2 over the new 3, and it's cheaper to rent than the newer as well. The lens rental company I use in Atlanta rents it for $35 for 10 days. It is an excellent camera for any vacation. I rented it for the first time a few months ago for our trip to Panama City and loved it. About half of the footage from out PCB video came from it. It's as simplistic as a video camera can be (there are 2 buttons). It shoots a wonderful fisheye wide angle which is perfect for shooting video on any Disney ride, especially when it is tight quarters. It's super tiny and you can easy just carry it along in your pocket. Just make sure you turn it off between shots to help preserve the battery life. It also comes with an underwater housing that snaps on. I used this in shooting pool video, and any time those Florida rain storms popped up. Every year I have to get my "Jenn getting rained on in her official Disney poncho" shot.

And finally we have our camcorder, the Canon Vixia HFM52. This beauty shot all of last year's trip video single-handedly! It is the perfect run-and-gun camera, which means you just flip it open and go. Of course you can play around with certain manual modes for different effects, but the advantages of a camcorder over most DSLRs are:

1. Super-fast response time. This is the camera I go to when those unreal magic moments are suddenly happening before you, your heart is racing in the moment, and the last thing you want is to be fiddling with adjustments. You go to this bad boy, run and gun - flip that sucker open - point it - shoot it, take in the moment without distracting yourself.

2. Stabilizers. While DSLR video looks amazing, it is often a miniature production just to set up the camera to avoid the shaky video. I am not a fan of using tripods too much; you can only wrestle so much gear and children at the same time! This camcorder has three intelligent stabilizer modes! It is extremely steady, even hand-held.

3. The focus modes are dynamic and change automatically. Again, savor the moment, watch the video months later when you need a Disney fix.

4. Shoots in full, very sharp 1920x1080.

That's it for now. I tried to keep it short, but I tend to run on when it comes to photography stuff. I achieved my goals this trip, which were to shoot all video in true HD 1920x1080 (it will be a big upgrade from last year's video), shoot all pictures in RAW and full manual only, and to hand more cameras to Jenn so I get in more shots.

I hope that more than answers the questions people have asked Jenn. I appreciate the chance to post my geeky answers.

Stay tuned for a regular update.

 

[katt789]

Yayayayay!!

All Star resorts are actually pretty sweet, I do enjoy them! I actually really like all the value's! Paige prefers them, they feel more Disney! Hope you guys liked it!

Eck, mugs, I'm glad we never had any problems with ours, and I was super glad to see that they had new colors!!

Oh my gosh, Dismeet! Best EVER! Seriously, those two are amazing, I'm sad that we only saw them super super briefly at mnsshp! Glad you guys got to hang out for a bit! I find that Disney people just get each other!

ETA: Totally forgot to mention: sooooo sweet moment with the CM and Brynn, that's so great that they bonded! Also, love her braces!

 

[danimaroo]

EEEEEE! I'm so happy you updated and I loved this post because WE FINALLY GOT TO MEET!!!

I mean, yeah. This just made me super happy. We also feel the same way about you guys!!

Also, I LOVE that photo of Matt! Brandon's photos are so dang amazing, and oh yeah, can I also just state that I REALLY enjoyed his breakdown of everything in terms of the camera stuff?

I am nowhere near the level he is with photography, though at some point I really would like to get a full frame camera. His post nearly convinced me to go buy one now... except I'm not sure Matt would really love the price tag that would come along with that, hahaha. Ugh but yes, thanks to Brandon for posting that. It made things make way more sense.

Hopefully one day I can actually learn more and be nearly as good as him at photography, because again, if I haven't said it enough, his photos are always stunning.

AH SORRY, I just am so happy about this post I rambled forever. I can't wait to get to my post about us meeting and so many other awesome things, BECAUSE YAY. You guys are the best!

 

[Allisonlc]

Hi Jenn--I'm following along! Your first day looks like lots of fun even though you were just getting stuff out of the way. I'm jealous you got to meet Dani and Matt. They look like such a nice couple! Can't wait to read more. (This is Allison from Instagram, btw)

 

[GrimGrinningStitch]

AHHHH This update makes me so happy!

We were so happy to finally "meet" you guys, but like you said, it feels like we've known all of you forever. Stupid 2,606 miles between Seattle and Georgia (I may or may not have done a Google directions search to get that number).

This is bringing back so many good memories of that day!

So that's the story behind the Ariel photo! What an great cast interaction. It's always nice when someone goes above and beyond like that, especially at Downtown Disney, where I often feel like the cast members don't care as much.

I have a confession: we still have not eaten at WPE. I know, we should, but Earl of Sandwich is so good!

I loved going pin shopping with you guys, and of course building those amazing potato heads.

I'm so, so happy that Brandon got all those amazing photos. It really brings back the day in vivid detail. He has some very serious talent.

Can't wait to see what happens next (though I think I have some inkling )!

 

[disneylvr4vr]

Yay!!! This post is a LOT happier than your last post! I LOVE Julia and Brynn's shirts! Marie is my favorite character! Those new cups are cool! Back in Feb, they only had blue pink and black. That CM was very sweet to give Brynn the photo! ready for the next update!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wonderful updates - so much joy already and no parks yet! Yeah for a DISmeet!

What a wonderful exchange between Brynn and that CM - moments like that can really make a Disney vacation Magical!

Caption for that picture of you with the pizza should read: can you be finished taking that picture? 'Cause I need to be eating this pizza

 

[beachphotog]

LOVE!!! all of, the room requests being granted, getting to ride the bus, the Ariel photo and cast interaction, officially meeting Matt and Dani for the first time, WPE, and last, but not least, the technical camera jargon! Thanks for that Brandon!

 

[RGirl]

Great updates! How cool that Julia wants to be a director - perfect resort for her!

How annoying about the mugs. New technologies are so great, but also so irritating!

Looks like you had a great time - and great lunch - at DTD!

Can't wait to see/hear about the room and the first park of the trip.

 

[inkedupmomma]

ooooh.. it just occurred to me that I now have another little one that I will HAVE to buy a ridiculous amount of Mr.Potato head parts for! By the time I thought to buy them, Jack was pretty much too old, so I'm excited to go for it this time! Thanks for the reminder!

 

[RatherBeInAK]

I laughed when I read about your kids singing on the bus. My DS did the same thing and his song selection was similar too though he sang Wheels on the Bus followed by a song he made up. He didn't sing It's a Small World until our second bus ride. I think we had the background music on the bus to thank for that one. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your trip!