Tip Tuesday: Photographing the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights

It's time again for another Tip Tuesday!

We'll we're in the swing of things for the holiday season and there's one thing at Walt Disney World that I absolutely have to see every holiday I'm at WDW - the Cinderella Castle Dream Lights.

I wrote about the castle lighting ceremony in a post last December, so I won't re-hash the information in that tip - be sure to check it out.  What I am talking about today is some good ways to take photos of the Castle Dream Lights.

 

For those of you with point-and-shoot cameras, this shot may work best for you.  First, it's not too dark, so the shutter exposure will still be fairly quick.  Second, you have some good resources to use to steady the camera to avoid motion blur.  For this shot, I was standing along the bridge between Fantasyland and the hub near Cosmic Ray's.  The rail is nice and wide so you can (carefully!!) set your camera on the rail to take a steady shot.  You may want to wait for the sun set so you can capture those pretty evening colors as the light fades.

 

Later in the evening, you can use the same place to get a nice shot with the lights reflecting in the water.

Also remember that there are more angles of the castle than the traditional front angle.  Take this shot for instance:

 

This shot was taken from the East side towards the back of the castle.  What makes this different is the lamp in the foreground and the steep angle enhancing the forced perspective of the castle.  If you have a point-and-shoot camera, this might be a bit tough. Digital SLR cameras will have a better chance of capturing this image without blur.

So there you go -- a few different ideas for how you can get those great shots of the Castle Dream Lights -- and be sure to watch for this week's Photo Friday when I'll post another shot of the Dream Lights from a different perspective.

Tip Tuesday: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party Parade

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday!

Last week, I talked about a few tips to get the most out of the Osborne Spectacle of Dancing Lights over at Disney's Hollywood Studios.

This week, I wanted to discuss some tips for best experiencing the ultra-popular Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade during Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP).

This parade is one of the best you will see at Walt Disney World all year, and it's well worth watching. The hitch is, everyone else knows it's a great parade as well, especially on Main Street, so the crowds tend to congregate along Main Street.

So, how do you best experience the parade during MVMCP? It depends on your schedule and what's most important to you.

If you can stay late (at least 11 p.m.):

Catch the second parade. Most people tend to flock to Main Street to see the first parade, which usually runs around 8:15 p.m. The crowds stay around Main Street to watch Holiday Wishes at 9:30 p.m. and then make a beeline for the exit. The end result? Far fewer people to watch the second parade at around 10:30 p.m. You'll stand a much better chance to get a great vantage point, perhaps even the highly sought after view down Main Street (see image above). I took this shot during the second parade during a 2008 MVMCP.

If you can't stay late:

Your options get a little more limited, because time is more limited. If seeing the parade is a high priority, then find a spot at least 35-45 minutes ahead of time, especially for spots along Main Street. If you don't have that much time (or don't want to devote that much time to waiting), consider some alternate parade viewing locations, like Frontierland. The crowds tend to be a bit lighter in Frontierland where the parade starts.

Either way, find a spot early, especially for prime viewing. Even if you're planning to catch the second parade, if you want some of the prime viewing spots, you'll need to get your spot at least 30 minutes in advance for the second parade.

Be prepared to sit a while, and have the right gear:

The Once Upon a Christmastime Parade is long!! It runs around 20-25 minutes. If you're planning to record the parade (it's well worth it!!), be sure you have plenty of tape or hard drive space to capture the entire parade. It's also a VERY good idea to bring a tripod. The lighting is darker that you might suspect and having a tripod, even a small one, will help make your video look better.

As for still photography, the darker lighting makes shooting the parade especially challenging. Most point-and-shoot cameras don't have the flash strength to properly illuminate the floats, even if you're at the rope line. I suggest learning how to use your camera's manual settings and use a longer shutter time. With some practice, you can take a fairly steady shot at 1/30th of a second or faster. Using a tripod for your still shots can produce some outstanding shots, as you can really use a slow shutter speed.

So there you go, a few ways you can me the most of the holiday parade.

If you see Santa (he's the guest of honor!), be sure to tell him I said hi!

Stitch returning to Tomorrowland stage?

Dewayne Bevil over at the Orlando Sentinel's Theme Park Rangers is reporting that Stitch may be making a return to the currently deserted stage in Tomorrowland. Word is that Disney is developing a "Totally Tomorrowland Christmas" stage show that will feature the well-known little blue alien.

So far, Disney has not announced anything about this new show.

If this is true, it would be nice for something to go on that unused stage, even if it is temporary. While Stitch's Supersonic Celebration was a disaster, I hate to see good space go unused.

WDW at the Holidays: Magic Kingdom

In this first posting about my upcoming trip to WDW for the holidays, I wanted to talk about my thoughts on the main event when it comes to holiday happenings: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

(Image copyright Disney, all rights reserved)

There's so much going on at Very Merry, from the parade to the fireworks to hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies to special shows. And then there's the castle itself, that's what I'm looking most forward to seeing in person. The pictures and video online look amazing, but I can only imagine what a true spectacle Cinderella's Castle looks like in person with all those lights. Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas show sounds interesting. That is one of my favorite holiday stories, along with Mickey's Christmas Carol. I also can't wait to see it snow on Main Street. Being from the mid-Atlantic, I've seen my share of snow, but there's just something about snow at Walt Disney World that is just amazing.

(Image copyright Disney, all rights reserved.)

In the midst of all these events is another element - short lines! It's a tough choice, see the parade, stage shows, fireworks and all that, or take advantage of the opportunity to hit attractions with little wait times. Given when I'm going (early Dec.), I'll take the events, since the daytime lines are expected to be fairly short. Another element that I'm looking forward to is my kids visiting with Santa. They're getting older, so they're not as eager to sit with Santa as they used to, but I have a feeling this time they might be more eager. Besides, it's a great picture.

Speaking of pictures, anyone know what enhancements PhotoPass will have for the holidays? I know that for the Halloween season, you can add some of the Haunted Mansion ghosts to your shots.

Well, I'm sure there's so much more for me to discover at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. More thoughts on other holiday events to come!