I was really looking forward to this trip to Disney because unlike the previous visits, we decided to stay 8 days, rather than the usual 5 that we've done in the past. It was also my first visit to WDW with my first DSLR, so I was anxious to use it. We started planning this trip in October (having just did a USF and WDW split vaca in August). I lined up our itinerary and when we were 100 days out I booked all our dining and got everything we wanted, including Le Cellier!!! Saturday May 23 We arrived on a late flight (9:20pm arrival) and arrived at our resort around 10:30pm. We walked into the Beach Club and we so relieved that we finally arrived! They quickly checked us in and we were on our way to our room. When I made these reservations (in October 08!) I requested a quiet location. Our room was located right above the lobby, over looking it. So when you opened our door, you saw the lobby. We didn't have a balcony, the window overlooked the main entrance where the buses and taxi's picked up and dropped off guests. Also our room had one bed. With the three of us, along with the noise levels in that room, I went right back to the front desk and requested a room change. They were booked that night but assured me tomorrow they would get me into another room. Sunday After a decent night's sleep, dispite all the noise, we woke up and had a free day to do whatever we wanted. The family decided that we wanted to go to EPCOT. So we grabbed breakfast at the Marketplace and ate in the foyer. We walked right over to EPCOT and hit Test Track with a minimal wait, got a Fastpass for Soarin', hit Living with the Land, Nemo, Spaceship Earth (first time since renovation...very impressed!) then back to Soarin'. All taking photos along the way and trying to catch up with my wife and daughter. After in the shade munching on Yorkshire fish and chips we headed back to the hotel to relax in Storm Along Bay. After a nap in our new quiet hotel room overlooking a nice quad we got dressed and jumped on the bus to the Magic Kingdom where we had ADRs at Crystal Palace. As soon as we stepped foot into the MK the skies opened up! On with the ponchos! We were able to get on POTC right away, then got FP for Big Thunder RR, then over to our dinner. After engorging (I love the desserts there!) it had stopped raining and we walked over to Big Thunder RR only to find they had closed it because of a pending thunder storm. We did the Haunted Mansion, a Small World (first time for my daughter as we avoided it like the plague, only to find she loves it) and because of the crowd and how tired we were, we decided to head back to the hotel. No fireworks tonight :'( Monday We woke up and after breakfast at the Marketplace we jumped on the bus and headed to the Animal Kingdom. We got there shortly after opening and they were packed! So my wife headed to the safari and I took a light jog to get FP for Everest, then another light jog to the Safari. After meeting up with them in line we waited for about 40 minutes, then headed to Everest. This was my daughter's first real roller coaster and she said she'll never do it again, although she loved it! The park was crowded, we were hot and it was lunchtime. So we headed to the Rain Forest for a nice lunch. Afterwards we decided to go back to the hotel and come back another day, which never happened, but oh well, gives me a reason to come back! After spending a few hours at the pool we napped and then headed to EPCOT for ADRs at the Garden Grill. We hit Test Track, walked around the shops, took some photos and had a great dinner at the Garden Grill. I had a Third Eye Blind t-shirt on and Mickey was trying to figure out what it meant. I stink at charades and couldn't figure out what he was saying to me. So he got a cast member to help out. It was cool interacting with him for so long. After dinner we walked around for a bit and then went back for another dip in Storm Along Bay before turning in for the night. Tuesday We woke up excited for our breakfast with the Princesses. We got to the rear entrance at 8:45am and they let us in. It was really cool walking around EPCOT with nobody in the park!!! I decided since we're here we should get FP for Test Track. My wife and daughter went to Akershus and I went to Test Track. The park officially opened and I walked over to Test Track...I was the 1st one there!!! I so casually put in my tickets for the FP and I turned around to see a WAVE of people coming towards me! It was quite the sight! I walked back to Norway and within 10 minutes sat down for a delicious breakfast in the company of Princesses. All my daughter wanted to see was Ariel as a human and we saw all the other princesses except her. She was bummed and stressed over it. Then all the sudden she appears and everything is great! The princesses all spent time with her, took pics, signed autographs and had a nice little conversation with her. It was great! After breakfast we did Test Track, Soarin', then back to Norway for Maelstrom and the Gran Fiesta Tour for the first time ever. After that we headed back to the pool then a nap. That night we were back to the MK for dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We got there and of course it started raining! So we headed over for dinner and enjoyed the food. Although it's not the same w/out the Characters, it's still delicious! After that we walked over to Tomorrow Land to do Monster Inc laugh floor for the first time, Stitch's Escape and Space Ranger Spin. After that we headed back to the hotel. Another night without fireworks After getting the fam back to the hotel I packed up all my camera gear and spent two hours walking around the World Showcase taking night photos of the buildings there. It was an incredible experience as I wasn't rushed, there was nobody around and it was very peaceful! Wednesday This was a free day and we decided to spend the entire day at Hollywood Studios. We had a great time and did everything we wanted to do, including Tower of Terror twice! We met the Capian Prince who was a dead ringer! Lunch at Sci-Fi was nice as always and dinner at Mama Melrose was delicious!Toy Story Mania was awesome as usual and I scored 188,900 points! No Fantasmic that night, so around 7 we headed to the hotel to relax at the pool. Thursday We had a free morning so we decided to head to the MK to try to meet some characters. We were lucky enough to catch the Jack Sparrow show, then right after that we met Cpt. Hook for the first time ever! My daughter did the funniest thing, after the photo she said "Hey you old codfish, there's a crocadile behind you!" He started waving his hands in the air and jumps up on the barrel! The entire line was cracking up! Classic moment. Then we caught wind that Peter Pan was going to come so we went over to his spot and were the first in line for him! My daughter was very happy! We then went and got FP for Splash Mountain then went over to Big Thunder RR for my 2nd time, wife and daughter's first time and we loved it and had a great time! Then over to Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion and lunch. I got FP for Peter Pan, then went over to Ariel's Grotto. We went over to Toon Town to do the BarnYard and shop at the Judge's Tent. After that we hopped on the Monorail and headed to EPCOT for our ADR at Le Cellier. We got there a little early so we went on Nemo real quick and walked to Canada for dinner which was absolutely delicious!!! Filet with mushroom risotto was phenomenal! We then went back to the pool and had a nice relaxing night watching Illuminations from the Beach Club beach! Friday Friday was an entirely free day! No ADRs, no schedule, anything the family wanted to do. So we decided to go do Test Track and Soarin' one more time. After lunch at the Land Pavillion we went back to the pool for a few hours and after a much needed nap, went to dinner at The Cape May Buffet. It was our favorite of the trip! The food was fresh, plentiful and delicious!!! I highly recommend it! After dinner we walked around for some portraits and then headed to the MK for the night. We enjoyed a nice night walking around and doing rides with little wait time. Saturday We went home...nothing more to say! I was very happy with this trip but learned a few things... Don't rush the photos! You can always catch up with the family! Get a 18-250 lens. I found myself constantly going in my bag to change lenses which grew old after a while. Some of my favorites...be sure to check the picture of the day for more! [attachment deleted by admin]
Yes very nice. I think that only Sony has a 18-250 lens that is made by the manufacturer. ; Both Canon and Nikon only go from 18-200. ; Otherwise I know Tamron makes a new 18-270 VC lens, not sure about Sigma.
thanks guys! I appreciate the compliments. The Tamron was what I had in mind. So I was off by 20mm!!!
Actually they also still have an 18-250, but it doesn't have image stabilization/vibration reduction/vibration control/optical stabilization. ; At 432mm equivalent you'll want that.
yeah a 250 w/out VC is useless to me w/out a tripod! I'm eyeing the Tamron for the near future or a true macro lens.
Very Nice phots. Sounds like you guys had a Great time. 8 Days is our typical trip & it is just right, although we have on occasion made 9 day trips.
thanks Paul & Coolio. 8 days was great, we didn't have to rush around and feel like we had to do everything in one day.
Great shots! ; I REALLY like the China pavilion shot. ; Did you do anything to these post processing wise?
Thanks for the compliments everyone! I did do some post processing work, mostly the trick on making the colors pop posted here http://www.themagicinpixels.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=33 On the China one I darkened the sky to bring out the texture, then when I applied the LAB adjustment it made it that blueish color and I thought it looked really cool, so I left it!
Thanks for the info. ; I will have to try some of these adjustments, once I get back with some photo's of my own.
Nice shots! ; I really like the China pavilion shot. ; I will try to remember that can always catch up to my family too, I seem to rush a lot when down there.
thanks JB! yeah I know all about the rushing around! It's way too easy to lose your family at Disney. The China shot, along with other shots from Disney, can be found on my website, check them out!
