Everyone Hail To The Pumpkin Song! October '14 TR **Cadaver Dans 11/24

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Could not agree more Dave regarding the new FOTLK building. Perfect location and it really does open up the area quite a bit. I absolutely love the new building and everything now fits so much better.

WOW, the "Can You Feel The Love" photos... Yup, I can indeed feel the love. Just beautiful.

Thanks Rob!

I didn't get to try out the new restrooms next to the theater but next time!

What beautiful pictures.

Thank you!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Wonderful shots - and how cool you got to see the parade twice from two different angles and kinda compare/contrast

No photography expert here but I can see why the parade would be tough to photograph - I would think those big globe light street lights by the end of main street would make it even tougher with these big bright orbs and everything else dark

Glad things worked out and you got to see FOTLK - bummer about the technical issues though and that your kids didn't get picked ... hey, just another reason to go back though

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Wonderful shots - and how cool you got to see the parade twice from two different angles and kinda compare/contrast

No photography expert here but I can see why the parade would be tough to photograph - I would think those big globe light street lights by the end of main street would make it even tougher with these big bright orbs and everything else dark

Glad things worked out and you got to see FOTLK - bummer about the technical issues though and that your kids didn't get picked ... hey, just another reason to go back though

You're right,there's not a whole lot of lighting available. Disney sets up spot lights here and there through out the route and that's what I tried to find when I picked spots for both parades. Even when you find those spotlights you want to make sure you have them to your back to avoid the parade characters being backlit.

We definitely had a lot of fun with the parade.

 

[204charity]

We all absolutely LOVED FOTLK when we were in DW in 2012 - it was an amazing show!!! Your pictures, as always are spectacular. Great job Dave!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We all absolutely LOVED FOTLK when we were in DW in 2012 - it was an amazing show!!! Your pictures, as always are spectacular. Great job Dave!

Thanks Charity! Hope you make it back to WDW soon but I know you'll have as good of a time at DL in a couple of months!

 

[MEK]

I'm in! Looking forward to your pics! Best FOTLK ever!

 

[chattadisser]

Great FOTLK and Boo To You shots! Boo To You is my favorite parade but it can be difficult to shoot as well with the darkness and the fast moving characters. Your black and white conversion photo is awesome, the subjects lend themselves to black and white very well and what graininess that is there gives it that eerie feeling.

Good job and keeping the kids pumped up before the parade. We do the same. We've found that if we can push them through the lull with snacks, we can get a few more hours out of them when the sugar kicks in. We sat in the same spot in Frontierland for the parade the night before our cruise left and its a pretty good spot.

I haven't been to AK since the new theatre is built but it is an awesome show. So colorful and it always makes me feel like I need to try and dance like they do. Somehow, I don't think the outcome would be as graceful and beautiful as they are.

I got a Canon T5i with the 18-135 mm lens. This is a huge leap for me as my old one was a Canon Xi and is about 8 years old. I equate it to having an 8-10 year old car and then getting a new one. I find myself thinking "Wow, that's so cool" to all the new features it has. They were having a sale on the Canon refurbished site and I finally gave in. I've been spying an upgrade for about a year. Sadly, I did not get it before our trip so I've only been able to play with it so far at a few soccer games. I am looking forward to better Christmas photos. I'm hoping I can spend some more time online learning more about how to get the most out of this camera.

Christine

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I'm in! Looking forward to your pics! Best FOTLK ever!

Hi Mary Ellen! Thanks for joining! I had a lot of fun photographing FotLK.

Great FOTLK and Boo To You shots! Boo To You is my favorite parade but it can be difficult to shoot as well with the darkness and the fast moving characters. Your black and white conversion photo is awesome, the subjects lend themselves to black and white very well and what graininess that is there gives it that eerie feeling.

Good job and keeping the kids pumped up before the parade. We do the same. We've found that if we can push them through the lull with snacks, we can get a few more hours out of them when the sugar kicks in. We sat in the same spot in Frontierland for the parade the night before our cruise left and its a pretty good spot.

I haven't been to AK since the new theatre is built but it is an awesome show. So colorful and it always makes me feel like I need to try and dance like they do. Somehow, I don't think the outcome would be as graceful and beautiful as they are.

I got a Canon T5i with the 18-135 mm lens. This is a huge leap for me as my old one was a Canon Xi and is about 8 years old. I equate it to having an 8-10 year old car and then getting a new one. I find myself thinking "Wow, that's so cool" to all the new features it has. They were having a sale on the Canon refurbished site and I finally gave in. I've been spying an upgrade for about a year. Sadly, I did not get it before our trip so I've only been able to play with it so far at a few soccer games. I am looking forward to better Christmas photos. I'm hoping I can spend some more time online learning more about how to get the most out of this camera.

Christine

Congrats on your new camera! I find that getting new camera gear can be exciting and nerve wrecking at the same time. I remember having to re-learn how to use my camera when I upgraded it because the location of the buttons, dials, and everything else was completely different and like you said there's new function and tricks to learn. The basics remain the same so it's just a matter of finding out how to utilize the shortcuts

You're totally right about photographing Boo To You. Dark, fast moving subjects. If we ever get to see the parade again, I'm going to try to bring a different lens. Maybe one with f/1.8 or 1.4. I was shooting with f/2.8 which is why I had to crank up the ISO really high.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Full resolution and size of image is available at http://goo.gl/z2qAFr



To be honest I was a bit frustrated but did my best not to show it to the kids or DW. It was around 6:30pm on October 30th and our first MNSSHP was about to officially begin in half an hour. My touring plans said I should have been in line for the Seven Dwarfs meet and greet an hour ago but that plan was nixed when the kids very clearly expressed their zero-desire to meet them. So I was standing outside Pinocchio's Village Haus with DS in the stroller trying to find DW and DD after they split up from us for a second viewing of Philharmagic. Did I tell you that my kids also unanimously rejected my plans of visiting the Haunted Mansion and thus thwarting the subsequent Magic Shots in front of the carriage and mingling with Madames Renata and Carlotta? The first third of my touring plans for the party already in complete tatters I had to keep reminding myself this was all for the kids and I had to be flexible so that they could have a great time at the party.

As I texted DW for the 7th time asking where they were and my mind racing frantically how we were going to fill the suddenly vacant next hour, a very faint orange glow caught my eye in the sky. The clouds were beginning to reflect the sunset colors and then I saw Rapunzel's Tower in the foreground. I scanned the view a little more to the right and the little spires and towers of It's a Small World came into view and that's when I knew I had to pull out my camera out of my backpack. It's funny how I've always looked at the facade of Small World from the front which makes it look flat and 2-dimensional but from where I was standing there was so much depth. The orange glow was already beginning to fade as these sunset colors always do. They seem to have a lifespan of about 30-60 seconds and I knew I didn't have time to set up a tripod. Wouldn't have been the best location anyway. I quickly checked to make sure DS was still doing okay as he munched away at his Mickey Bar then I pointed my camera at the scene and got two shots off before the colors in the sky disappeared.

As the last orange streak faded away, I took a deep breath in enjoying the last of the scenery and felt a whole lot better. DW and DS finally found us. She knew me well enough to know I was a little disappointed before on how the night was unfolding so she jokingly asked "So, is our party completely ruined?" "Nope!" I said. "We're going to go trick or treating by the Liberty Belle!" Finally, a plan that the kids cheerfully agreed to!

 

[BOG Obsessed]

Hi Dave,
So glad to see you back and updating on the DIS.
Your narrative combined with your photos, make me smile. It'll be a few years before our family can go back to Disney again, so thanks for sharing a bit of memories with your fans.

Amy

 

[rteetz]

I've had plans that didn't go as planned either but you just got to roll with it I guess and not get upset because hey you're in disney it could be worse. That photo looks amazing as well.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Hi Dave,
So glad to see you back and updating on the DIS.
Your narrative combined with your photos, make me smile. It'll be a few years before our family can go back to Disney again, so thanks for sharing a bit of memories with your fans.

Amy

Thank you so much for the kind words, Amy! They mean a lot and it's been great to be back on DIS and sharing stories from our trip. I only wish our trip had been longer.

I've had plans that didn't go as planned either but you just got to roll with it I guess and not get upset because hey you're in disney it could be worse. That photo looks amazing as well.

I wholeheartedly agree with you. The quickest way to sour a vacation trip is to get upset over something trivial or something beyond our control.

 

[204charity]

Way to stay positive Dave! That photo is breathtaking!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Way to stay positive Dave! That photo is breathtaking!

Thanks Charity!

 

[teekathepony]

I was so sour that I didn't get to see FotLK on my last trip. I really wanted to see the new theatre. I'm SO glad they kept the show the same!! It's a favourite of mine too! Beautiful pictures, I love all the closeups of the actors!

That sunset is gorgeous, I'm glad it came along to help you stay positive when the night didn't go exactly as planned!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I was so sour that I didn't get to see FotLK on my last trip. I really wanted to see the new theatre. I'm SO glad they kept the show the same!! It's a favourite of mine too! Beautiful pictures, I love all the closeups of the actors!

That sunset is gorgeous, I'm glad it came along to help you stay positive when the night didn't go exactly as planned!

Hope you get to see it again soon, Wendy! It's such a fun and beautiful show.

As much as I love taking sunrise and sunset photos when I'm at home here in DC, I have very few of those at Disney. Probably because it takes planning to figure out which direction the sun will rise/set and at what time and where I would like to position myself to get the right foreground. Very hard to do when traveling with kids and that FP+ window is about to close.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We had just finished Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and were on our way to Fantasyland for Enchanted Tales with Belle. The roller coaster was nowhere near the success it was during our last trip as DS decided that the ride was too intense for him so instead of going on it several times as I had anticipated we were done after a single run. It was only about 9:20am when we started strolling back towards New Fantasyland taking the wooden plank paths that hugs Rivers of America. Frontierland always feels deserted during this first hour of opening and this was especially true on this trip when most of the rope drop crowd had their minds on visiting Arendelle or the Mine.

DW and DD were walking in front of me while I was pushing the stroller with DS in it. At first I just noticed a batch of bubbles floating across our path in front of us and just assumed it was from another child walking ahead. Then there were more and I turned my head towards the main Frontierland path identifying the source of the bubbles. A CM manning one of the souvenir carts dressed in full cowboy attire was using his bubble gun. It was one of those scenes you would be hard pressed to find outside of Disney. Take out the bubbles and you had a view of what could have easily passed for a scene from the Ol' West. So I had to stop for a few seconds to try to get the shot.

This is one of those photos that after further review in the comforts of the hotel room later in the evening that I was kicking myself for not taking the extra time and care to compose the shot. If I had taken the time to have taken the shot just 10 more feet to the left I would have had an obstructed view of the CM. At that specific moment when I took the photograph we were in the middle of a brisk walk with people in front and behind us and I didn't want to block and hold up the traffic flow. I was in a hurry which never helps. So I had one hand on the stroller slowly pushing it and had the other gripping on to the camera trying to get a steady shot while I was still walking.

As soon as I finished taking the photo, I pointed out the bubbles to DS and DD that were floating around us and they went into their giggly bubble popping modes.

 

[204charity]

Great shot! It's really wonderful that you DO stop to notice the details while in DW Dave! That's a hard thing for most of us to do.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Great shot! It's really wonderful that you DO stop to notice the details while in DW Dave! That's a hard thing for most of us to do.

Thanks Charity! Although in this case, I barely stopped to enjoy the moment.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

We had spent a fun day in AK and ate another wonderful dinner meal at Jiko. I finally got to try the filet mignon this time with a glass of red blend called the Black Pearl – so good. The plan was to head over to MK for the Wishes Dessert Party. I thought this would be a good way to end our last full park day with our only viewing of a favorite for the trip. As we were driving back to CR, DS was beginning to act tired and repeatedly saying he just wanted to go back to the room to play with his new Peter Pan toys we had gotten him as a souvenir for the day back in AK. Both DW and I could easily recognize his state of exhaustion that would be ripe for a meltdown at the Dessert Party. That’s when DW said she wasn’t feeling up for Wishes either. So DW and DS went back to our room at the Contemporary while DD and I got on the monorail.

On the monorail DD quickly befriended another girl about a year older than her who was with her parents and a younger brother. The two bonded on the trials of having a younger brother while the parents I chatted about the Poly refurbishment. They got off at the Grand Floridian we continued on to MK station. It was a very cold night for Florida standards with the temperature dipping down to the mid 40s that night with biting winds. I don’t think we were as nearly well dressed for the weather as we should have been. We hurried through the bag check and Mickey Heads and entered the park. I happened to glance to the right and spotted the wait time for Tinkerbell’s Meet and Greet to be only 15 minutes. I asked DD if she wanted to meet her. Even after all these trips we had never met Tink before. She briefly lamented that we would have to wait a long time since we didn’t have a FP for it but once I quickly pointed out the short standby wait time she was excited to enter the queue.

We worked our way through the queue. At the last check point in the queue before entering the last hallway I chatted with briefly with the CM. Halloween and the last MNSSHP of the year had been the previous night and I asked how he felt that the Halloween parties were over. He quickly reminded me of the Christmas parties approaching and that the decorations should be going up in the next couple of evenings making me wish we could have stayed longer to at least enjoy the decorations even if we couldn’t attend the party.

(I have posted the DD’s pics from Tink’s meet and greet on my FB page under the “Disney TR 2014 Album” If we’re not FB friends and you would like to be, please shoot me a PM!)

We entered the room and found three groups in front of us. The character handler CM pointed towards a photo op in the queue for DD to try out. It was a giant Queen of Hearts card with a hole punched through the face of the queen. The ragged edges of the hole suggested that it was Tink’s handy work.

We took turns with the family in front of us using the Queen of Hearts photo op. DD noted the Aurora dress and tiara that their younger daughter was wearing and commented how beautiful she looked to the little girl while sharing how she had Aurora’s dress on for her BBB makeover during our last trip.

Finally it was our turn. DD and Tink began chatting immediately like they had known each other for years. As a side note I really loved how DD was coming out of her shell with the meet and greets during this trip. I no longer had to prompt or prep her for icebreaker material. She would just start talking to the characters asking questions that I never would have thought of myself. With Tink, the conversation was very animated between them. Because I was trying to take photos I wasn’t close enough to hear exactly what the two were talking about but the facial and body expressions on both of them suggested a very engaging and entertaining interaction. I later asked DD as we were exiting the gift shop what she and Tink talked about. DD had noticed a blue pearl necklace in one of the background decorations. She asked Tink if the necklace belonged to Cinderella to which Tink eventually confessed it was. Then Tink asked DD “You’re not going to tell her, are you?” When DD agreed, Tink asked if she could be DD’s “fake sister” which got DD to giggle. They then talked about DD’s dancing and ballet. It was a very lengthy conversation. Probably the longest she’s ever spent with a character and she loved every second of it evidenced the ear-to-ear grin on her face when we left the building.