Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back from Disney I come!

Booked my next Disney trip - rather 'last minute' I must say, for DVC booking. ; Funny, if you stay flexible on where you stay and the exact weekend you go, it makes a huge difference in ease of booking - DVCers always have tales of jumping on the phone exactly when the 11 month window opens and trying to get the resort they want...with my completely loose schedule I just booked today for 2 weeks from now!

I'm headed up June 2 (Thursday), staying for 4 nights, heading home on Monday, June 6. ; Staying at Saratoga Springs, 1-bedroom villa. ; I'll be headed up with 1 friend and 1 relative - it'll be my mother's birthday and it's been a tradition the past 3-4 years to head up to Disney on that weekend.

Looking forward to escaping miserable, disgusting humid heat and bugs and nastiness in South Florida, for the miserable, disgusting humid heat and bugs of Central Florida. ; Hey - down here, I have work and chores. ; Up there, I've got Disney and no responsibilities. ; If you gotta be hot and miserable, might as well be at Disney while you do it!

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Have fun, my friend.

-Posted from my htc Thunderbolt. ;

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Should be fun too for the new camera's first trip to Disney!

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Love the last line Justin! ; It's going to be the first trip for my new toy too. ; Can't believe I'm leaving in little over 24 hours!

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Wait - which toy of yours is the one that hasn't been to Disney yet?

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

It's the one at the end of my equipment list, although my 50/1.7 hasn't been before either!

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

The Tokina UWA, then...well I'd expect you are going to have a ball with it - I use the ever-living stuffing out of my UWA at Disney - definitely a favorite lens of mine up there.

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Eh, no, the next line. ; I had the Tokina for PM.

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Oh...didn't even think of going to the next line down. ; 3D then...that might be interesting. ; I've never used 3D on my camera, as I've got absolutely no easy ability to view it - no 3D TV, so I can only use the silly flicker method. ; I've never bothered to use it for just that reason. ; Of course, yours is a true 2-lens 3D, as opposed to the Sony shift version.

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Yes it is, but the Sony method works too. ; Only problem is that the files from Sony don't seem to work on the Nintendo 3DS, which is what is renewing a craze in 3D, since it also has a 3D camera[nb]Okay it's got two lenses that seem to be junky feeding into two older CCDs with a resolution of 640x480. ; Imagine cell phone quality from a few years ago.[/nb] ; They look fine on my laptop, ehhh once I learned how to sweep the legcamera properly. ; And use the proper distance.

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Getting closer! ; Just 3 more days and I'll be driving up to Disney - probably in the vicinity of Stuart by this time Thursday. ; I already know the heat will be there, and maybe the rain too (Florida summer rain - here one minute, gone the next, but leaving that lovely steaming ground to humidify the air). ; I will be taking my sweet time this trip - going to be playing a lot with the mirrorless cam and 3 or 4 manual lenses - total old-school!

 

Sitting here looking at Downtown Disney...

Got in this afternoon around 3pm - checked into our Saratoga Springs room. ; Got my favorite location - Congress Park section, building 1, first floor, on the lake with a Downtown Disney view. ; 100-yard walk to Marketplace. ; It's a bit hotter here than home - but not much - 92 here, versus 89 home. ; Chance of rain low to zero for the trip, so looking good there.

Once I'm all unpacked and settled, heading over to Rainforest Cafe to have dinner on the patio, then walk around Downtown Disney probably for the remainder of the evening. ; Hit the parks tomorrow. ; I need to verify which parks are designated each day for 'Gay Days' so I can avoid the crowds - that's always going to be one of the more crowded parks each day.

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Justin I am not sure if you saw it or are into it for that matter, but this weekend is when you can get a Star Tours Lanyard for being a passholder. ; Thought you might be interested. ; We are coming down Sunday I think to get ours and to go and see Ray Park (Darth Maul).

 

Re: Hi ho, hi ho, it's Back to Disney I go!

Though I'm not a Star Wars fan, I never mind limited edition things or collectibles, so I may just head over and get one - thanks for the heads up! ; I was just at DHS last night - went after dinner at Downtown Disney around 8pm and stayed past closing (closed at 10pm, but we were there until about 11).

I may get a chance to pop over again on Saturday - today I'm headed for Epcot probably through evening...tomorrow I was going to try MK for a bit, despite the fact that it's Gay Day at MK Saturday - I'll see how the crowds look - if it's not bad, I'll stick around, if it's too much, I may go to DHS for the early day and head back to MK after dark since they're open late. ; Sunday I'll be at AK for the day since it's the only day they are open until 8pm.

 

Wow..that was a lot of red!

Well decided to take the challenge up and risk heavy crowds to hit MK during the official 'gay day' for that park. ; I've never quite seen that many red shirts in one park before. ; I've come up here during the gay days for many years, but usually avoid whichever park they're at assuming it will be the most crowded spot. ; The past two days it's been moderately crowded to crowded, and that was at the non-gay day parks, so I was fearing the worst. ; I'd say it ended up being about even - same level of crowding as the other parks we've hit so far, just a lot more red shirts. ; In general, I wouldn't call this Memorial-Day type crowds, but I'd put it fairly high - maybe a 6 to 7 of 10 on the scale of crowds. ; Not intolerable - Pirates was a 30 minute sign, about 40 min in actuality...Haunted Mansion said 25 min, and ran about 35 min - but that was in part because I took the scenic route through the cemetary since it's the first time I've seen it. ; I avoided Big Thunder and Splash Mountain - Big Thunder's wait was running 60 minutes on the sign, too much for me.

Tomorrow's Animal Kingdom day - I believe DHS is the official gay day tomorrow, and being Sunday, I'm hoping the crowds might thin out a touch too. ; Probably won't head over until about 1pm, so I can stay through sunset and close the park.

 

Well, official trip report for those who were following - namely, me. ;

The parks were definitely more crowded this June compared to the last two - not deadly so, but noticeable. ; Wait times for slow rides generally were up to the 25-35 min range, from the usual 15-20 min range...fast rides were up over 1 hour, with fast passes running 4-5 hours later. ; Gay Days added to the park crowds noticeably - comparing the 3 parks I went to where the 'official' park for the day was elsewhere, and the 1 park I went to which was the designated GD park - probably a 25% bump in crowds. ; Temps were very hot and humid - nothing new there - rain was completely absent.

I got a slamming room at Saratoga Springs - building 1, first floor, facing Downtown Disney - great view, and closest you can get to the Downtown Disney pathway and Marketplace bus stop - which made coming home from the parks MUCH better since the Saratoga busses are rather infamous. ; I could come back from the parks via a resort bus of my choice, then just hop the Downtown Disney transfer, get off at Marketplace, and walk home. ; So I essentially never had to wait for a bus - just hop the first one that arrives, or the least crowded.

Food was very good - somewhat surprising since I ate at all places I've already eaten at. ; Some menu changes were complimentary and improved the overall food. ; Rainforest Cafe was the same as always for the first night, Restaurant Marrakesh was better than my last few times on night 2, with very good sauces and perfectly cooked meats (and the entertainment is always nice), Jiko on night 3 - nothing more needs to be said about the best restaurant on property, and Maya Grill on the last night had a big menu overhaul and some very nice additions like my beloved queso fundido appetizer, and an excellent Kobe chipotle burger.

Fantasyland was generally avoided for the high construction and blockage now - too many people trying to squeeze through. ; I like the HM queue additions - I enjoyed the 'scenic route' and like that they offer a more direct route for those who've seen it enough. ; Didn't hit anything new at any other parks - just the usual...traveled light this time - no tripods, no 300mm lens - one day I only brought the mirrorless, and the other days I traveled with both DSLR and mirrorless but only 2 lenses each. ; I did plenty of low light and night shots, but all handheld, or long exposures using fences, garbage cans, etc. It was too hot to feel like bringing the tripod and remote and taking time to set up shots!

I've gotten through about 2/3 of my shots for sorting and selections last night - should finish the final 1/3 tonight - then have to resize and upload for sharing.

 

I eat at Marrakesh fairly frequently, given that I don't do advanced dining ressies and I'm not on the meal plan - it's just about the only place left in all of Epcot where you can get a meal with less than 24 hours notice. ; And I've always liked it - I didn't want it to sound like it was bad in the past, and better this time - it was always good in the past, but was particularly better this time around. ; Maybe a new chef - seems to put a touch more spice into the foods (as it should be). ; I had the Marrakesh Feast, so had a chance to sample appetizers, entrees, and desserts, which I usually don't.