Photo Friday: Disneyland for the Fourth

Welcome to another Photo Friday!

Well today's photo is literally hot off the camera.  I took this photo about 3 hours ago at Disneyland during the annual 4th of July fireworks spectacular!

I was all the way at the back of Main Street USA, but at least I had a good angle!

Happy Birthday America!

Photo Friday: Wishes from the water

 

Time again for another Photo Friday!

This week, I wanted to share a photo from one of the most incredible Disney experiences I've ever had -- an evening aboard the Grand 1 while watching Wishes from the Seven Seas Lagoon.

While it's expensive (really expensive), it's an incredible sight.  Wishes takes on an entirely difference scope when seen from the water.

If you can do it -- I highly recommend it!

Tip Tuesday: My new favorite spot for evening events at the MK

 

Welcome to a belated Tip Tuesday (yet again, sigh).

This week, I wanted to share a brief tip about my new favorite spot to watch the Main Street Electrical Parade which also puts you in a great spot to watch Wishes! and the new "Celebrate the Magic" show coming later this fall about which Disney released some conceptual images earlier today.  Disney also announced they are expanding the seating area for Fantasmic! at the Studios.

Anyway, back to the MSEP.  Many people like to stand in the inner portion of the hub facing Cinderella Castle as the Electrical Parade goes by.  I'm a fan of the opposite view.  Stand in the hub looking back down Main Street U.S.A.  You get a great head-on view of the parade and about halfway through, the lights in Town Square will turn back on so you have a wonderful backdrop for the parade.

Once the parade is done, simply turn around and you're ready for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes.  If you want, you can try to move a bit closer to the Partners statue so that it's in the foreground for any pictures you take.

See for yourself - here's video from when I provided a live stream of MSEP and Wishes! back in June.  It's in parts, due to the feed getting bounced a few times.

Enjoy!

Main Street Electrical Parade

Part 1:  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/23521667

Part 2:  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/23521758

Part 3:  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/23521801

Part 4:  http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/23521808

The Magic, the Memories and You & Wishes!

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/23522379

Photo Friday: A different view of Wishes

Welcome to another Photo Friday!

One great benefit of another trip to Walt Disney World is more great Photo Friday moments!

This week, I'm sharing a shot I took from the deck outside Narcoosee's at the Grand Floridian. 

So here's the story behind this photo:  I didn't have a tripod, but there was the deck railing.  I carefully set my SLR on the rail, set the shot to manual (ISO 1600, Iris at F/14 and shutter at 3.2 seconds), kept the shot very wide and just started taking shots.

Some of this is just luck, some of this is getting down the timing.  I was watching for when the shells were fired into the air and took the shot then, knowing that I was exposing the shot for 3 seconds.

And here's the end result!  Now just think about what you can do if you can find a nice steady place to set your camera... but that's a story for another time.

Until next time!

Photo Friday: A high-up view of MK fireworks

Welcome to another Photo Friday!

As we get set to celebrate New Year's Eve (if you'are at the parks right now, I feel your pain for all the lines!), I thought I'd share a fireworks photo from a unique perspective -- near the top of the Contemporary Resort.

I happened to book a Magic Kingdom view room back in January 2011 and was astounded at the jaw-dropping view of the Magic Kingdom.  Imagine having this view outside your window day and night.  It was well worth the extra cost.

One of the best perks was what you see here -- an incredible view of the fireworks! 

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Tip Tuesday: Avoiding the Fireworks

Welcome to another Tip Tuesday (on a Wednesday... sigh).

If you've read this blog (which by the way is celebrating its three year anniversary!!!), then you know how much I enjoy the various nightime fireworks displays at Walt Disney World. While a lot of people do enjoy watching fireworks, there are quite a few guests who, for any number of reasons, do not like fireworks.

Whether it's the loud noises or the flashes of light or whatever, some guests (often young children) simply do not want to be in a position to hear and/or see fireworks, yet they still want to (and have the right to) enjoy the parks at night. Some of my own children are not huge fans of fireworks, mostly because of the very loud noises.

So what are these guests to do?

Well, there are several options available. The basic premise is to get indoor where you can't see the fireworks and the sound will be cut down. Naturally any restaurant or shop will meet this basic idea. I'm going to talk about other options that are available and a few that might not be a good idea.

Since the nighttime fireworks are mostly at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot, I'm going to discuss the options at each park individually. Some of these options require a certain bit of timing, so it's a good idea to check the daily times guide to know when Wishes! or Illuminations is scheduled to start. It's also good to know how long each show runs. Wishes! is about 15 minutes long while Illuminations runs around 12 minutes.

Magic Kingdom

Carousel of Progress - this is the perfect place to get indoors and enjoy a show while muting the sound of fireworks. The loud booms taking place outside won't be completely filtered out, but the sounds will be cut down quite a bit. Best of all, this is a long attraction. If you time it out right, you just might be inside the entire time.

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - this is another indoor attraction that can help cut down on the sounds. The hitch here is that it's not all that long. Depending on the length of the queue, you might be through the attraction before Wishes! is complete.

Space Mountain - this can be a pretty good option for older kids and adults who don't want to be around fireworks, especially if there's a decent queue line. For younger guests, this obviously isn't an option.

Country Bear Jamboree - if you can get in right as Wishes! starts, you're in a perfect spot. The show runs nearly 16 minutes, so it will easily keep you out of the sight of fireworks for the entire presentation of Wishes!. The only down-side here is that you're much closer to the launch spot for the bigger fireworks (they launch behind Frontierland), so the sounds outside will be louder, which means the sounds inside may be a bit louder as well.

Pirates of the Caribbean - like Buzz Lightyear, this all depends on the queue. The attraction itself isn't long enough, but if there's a bit of a queue, you might be able to be indoors during Wishes!.

Hall of Presidents - this show runs about 22 minutes, so if you time it right, you'll be just fine.

it's a small world - If you can get into your boat and be on your way just as the fireworks begin, you might be able to avoid most of Wishes! IASW runs about 10 minutes, so you might be caught in the tail end of the fireworks (which is the loudest). If you use this option, it might be better to hang out inside somewhere else for the first few minutes and then jump onto IASW.

Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor/Stitch's Great Escape - Both of these attractions provide shelter, but there both a bit short in runtime, so it really depends on the queue. These wouldn't be at the top of my list...

Here are a few attractions that I don't suggest trying: The TTA Peoplemover (you're outside for a third of the attraction), Splash Mountain (again, parts are outside and you're very close to fireworks).

Epcot
The options in Epcot can be pretty limited (again, aside from just hanging out in restaurants or shops), especially if Future World already has closed. If you can still get into the Future World pavilions, then you're in great shape. Just about every pavilion (except Test Track) is completely indoors and has plenty to do and see to last the length of Illuminations.

Now what if Future World is closed? Then you need to consider attractions in World Showcase.

The American Adventure - this is the best overall option as the show runs just under 30 minutes.

Gran Fiesta Tour - while this boat ride is nowhere near long enough, you are inside the Mexico pavilion and can easily enjoy a ride (or two) through Mexico as you search for Donald.

Malestrom - you won't be the first to pass this way to avoid fireworks... nor shall you be the last... though you may have to stay to watch the Norway movie in order to avoid Illuminations.

Any Circlevision 360 film - China, France and Canada have special Circlevision 360 films highlighting their respective countries. Best of all, these films are at least 14 minutes long - which is plenty of time to cover Illuminations.

There are even more options available to guests who are willing to take a quick break from the parks and do a bit of resort hopping either via the Monorail or the International gateway. Keep in mind that you still can see and hear the fireworks from Illuminations if you are walking along the Boardwalk.

Hopefully these tips will help those guests, young and old, who are not all that keen on seeing and/or hearing evening fireworks, but yet, want to enjoy the parks at night.

Tip Tuesday: "Tripods"

OK, so you want to get good pictures of those great fireworks during Wishes or Reflections of Earth. You have a standard point-and-shoot camera, but didn't want to lug a tripod around the parks. Mission impossible? Not really. First, think about what a tripod does: it is a steady platform on which you can take pictures with little or no motion blur. This is needed during night shots because the shutter is open for a significantly longer time than during a normal shot during the day or even with a flash. Taking fireworks pictures most times come out blurry not because the shot was out of focus, rather is was because the camera was moving while the image was being exposed. This is known as motion blur. The best way to avoid motion blur is to use a tripod... or something like a tripod.

Now think about this, a trash can is a tripod. A fence railing is a tripod. A lightpole can be a tripod (sort of). Anything solid and not moving can serve as a tripod. Just set your camera on something and take your picture trying not to move the camera at all. Best to use the timer function if you can, that way nothing is moving the camera.

Oh, one more bit -- don't use a flash. There's no way your flash can do anything at all, so don't use it. Set your camera to the night setting and make sure the flash is off. That way your camera won't think it has the flash to depend on and will expose the shot a little longer, allowing for a better shot.

The photo you see here was taken with a Sony Cybershot. I firmly gripped the camera to the side of a lightpost and used that to anchor the camera. This takes practice, but the good pictures are worth it! So happy photo taking out there!