Disneyland photo ideas turned into...

First trip to Disneyland is coming up (end of July).

I need photo ideas.

Those who have been before, what did you enjoy shooting? What is on your wish list for next time?

Those who haven't been yet, what would you shoot on your first trip?

 

Carsland is a must. I was only able to shoot from a distance since it hadn't opened yet, but seeing Tim's photos and know how much it is themed out it is a definite must.

 

Had a great time! DL for a week, capped off with the D23 tour of the Studios! Photography wise, I can only suggest that anyone going to Disneyland (or any park for the first time) better forget about taking a lot of time to plan shots. My tripod stayed in the hotel room the entire time. There's just so much to do and not enough time to do it in.

Past and Present by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

Paradise Found by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

Carthay Circle by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

The old animation building is one of the "Meccas" for any Disney fan. Think of Cinderella - Aristocats, and it happened here. The tour took us down the main corridor, into one of the "inkwell" courtyards, and down into the tunnels that connected the ink and paint building to the animation building. Oh, and we got to look up the stairwell that led to the floors where Walt and Roy had offices (so close, so close). But just being in another place where Walt and Roy did what they did was very special.

Stairs take you down to the tunnel system from the Animation building. Many action sequences from the show ALIAS were filmed in the tunnels. The tunnels also were a treasure trove of old Disney work that had been neglected during the 60s and 70s. Extremely valuable material was just lying around in boxes and file cabinets gathering dust until the Disney Archives team started sorting through it. A set of steep ramps take you back up to the Ink and Paint building. Apparently the animators used to use the cels from finished films to "slide" down these ramps--ruining the cels in the process. We were told that Roy E. especially enjoyed that "ride" when he was young.

Of course, since no photography was allowed inside ANY building, I had to settle on shots like this...on burst mode...making a scene...embarrassing the family and all. One woman clicked a cell phone picture, with flash on of course, inside the Disney real-estate office and I thought Chernabog was going to come through the walls and devour her phone by fire. You could literally hear gasps! She was instead reprimanded by the studio security guard (who kept giving me the stink-eye).

More to come...

The Old Shop by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

Before and after of the Matterhorn. I cloned out the pine on the left and the wires on the right, bumped up the yellows and oranges, shadows and contrast, and darkened the sky. I kick myself now that I didn't wait for the monorail for a different shot.

2PM_1611 - before by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

Matterhorn sky by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

Thank you, Justin. We had ONE day to do the studio tour plus anything else we wanted to do in the LA area. There's so much to see in Burbank alone that we will definitely be going back there when we get the chance!

 

I'm going to throw some of my San Francisco pics in here. We visited in October, spending 3 days sightseeing. We spent most of one day at the Walt Disney Family Museum. Please go if you ever get the chance. Located in the Presidio, the museum is gorgeous inside and out:

The Walt Disney Family Museum by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

The amount of Mickey in the museum is staggering. These two shots were 10s on my Disney-nerd scale:

The first is an original cell from The Band Concert...

Mickey Mouse and William Tell by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

And then the best...the earliest known sketch of Mickey Mouse, credited mostly to a collaboration of Walt and Ub Iwerks. This sheet of sketches was placed in a safe at Retlaw Enterprises by Bill Cottrell and was not discovered until years after Bill's death in 1995. Notice a proto-Minnie Mouse to the right of the highlighted Mickey:

Mickey Comes to Life by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

Disneyland Fire Dept (2) by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

How many triangles can you find? Hehe

2PM_2326 by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

Talk about putting your stamp on the park! This is the Disney family crest, which is mounted right above the front door of Sleeping Beauty Castle. I'm so mad that I didn't get a straight-on shot of this.

Oh, well--I have to have an excuse to go back, right?

Disney Family Crest by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

The architecter of this building oozes Disney. I had the pleasure of being there in the early 90's.

 

From the Disneyland Tangled show at the Royal Theatre:

Now that I see you by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

Something I noticed in Anaheim was how 1) Character interaction was a lot better than WDW, and 2) the Characters (and cast members) seemed more laid back, like they had fun with it all. Here, Alice was having quite the conversation with the Coke Corner ragtime piano player:

Alice and Alan by rickenmartin78, on Flickr

 

Twain stern by rickenmartin78, on Flickr