Make Mine A BLT with Some MVMCP, MK, AK & More - A Short Solo Trip About This Page:

[Cam22]

Your pictures of the new Fantasyland are awesome! I especially like the ones of the area at night.

[chezp]

Is it weird to say I can't wait to see the queue for this? I know the ride is the same as Disneyland, so that doesn't interest me in the same way, but the queue just looks amazing.

[shazza]

Thanks for the comments, folks. Cheryl - I don't think it's weird that you are looking forward to seeing what's different for the ride, compared to Disneyland.



Day 1, Part 4 - The afternoon and early evening ...

After I finished checking out the New Fantasy Land area, I made my way into old Fantasy Land. It has been years since I'd visited this part of the park, so I did another first - Philharmagic. It was fun, and I enjoyed the chance to sit down for a while.

I continued wandering - here's an attempt at an artsy shot - not what I usually do, since I'm more interested in documentary type of photography

I watched this gal play the sorcerer's game for awhile. Others have commented on this as well - you sure see a lot more adults playing this game than you do kids!

I watched part of the afternoon parade with the high school bands in Frontierland. Took a practice photo of the mill - as I'd like to get a good shot of this in early morning or late afternoon on some future trip. Tom Sawyer's Island was one of my favorite areas when I first visited Disneyland as a kid.

I then walked over to PotC, and it was a walk on. So, I walked on. I didn't try to take too many photos, since I wanted to enjoy the ride my first time through. I did get a few:

I walked back down Main Street and took the Train back so I could ride Big Thunder. The line was about 20 minutes, but I didn't mind, since that gave me a chance to try to take some photos from the line:

I did get some photos while on the ride, but unfortunately - there is a large bald head in most of them, so I will try again when I have a better seating arrangement




The Haunted Mansion was my next stop. Again, a walk on. I got yelled at here, for snapping photos in the stretching room - Oops, who knew? And no, I wasn't using flash.

I can see why people do this ride multiple times to try to get photographs, since it's very difficult to do. But, I'm not sure even a perfect photo can capture the spirit of this ride - it might be one where it's best just to sit back and enjoy the spirits.




I had to head back over to the hotel to pick up some camera gear I forgot to bring in my backpack, so I took the monorail back to BLT. Looks like this was about 4:30pm, according to the clock at the front of the park. I do remember I got my bracelet for the party - I had to actually exit the park, re-enter, and get my bracelet. Then exit again to go to the hotel.

I didn't stay long at the hotel, an was back to the park before 6pm. Note - I figured out it was just as easy to walk to the entrance as it is to take the monorail. Unfortunately - the camera gear I needed was NOT in the room. I was kicking myself - I had apparently forgotten my Remote Shutter Release. Arrrgghhhh, somehow I always seem to sabotage myself when it comes to fireworks.


I quickly decided I was not going to watch the first Christmas Party Parade - it was packed with people, even 90 minutes before. So, I squished my way down main street, through tomorrow land, and ended up in the Story Book Circus area. There was almost no one here. I played with taking some photos of the Dumbo ride.

They were begging people to come into the character meet and greet there, but I skipped it. At this point, I went back into the new FL, and had my pork shank at Gaston's Tavern. After dinner, it was time to scope out a place for the castle shows, Holiday Wishes, and the Parade.

I saw that there were open spots in the seating area down below the Plaza Restaurant - many people avoid this area because it is the smoking section. But, the smoking is way over on the right of the stairs, so it wasn't even noticeable in the front left section. I grabbed a chair up against the railing and was able to set up the tripod in comfort and relative peace. I got some shots of the Castle Lighting Show (I know there is a special name for it, just too lazy to look it up).

...It all started with a mouse ...

Then it was time for Holiday Wishes. I really enjoyed the show. This turned out to be a good spot to watch the show from - the fireworks are not centered perfectly on the castle, but you still have a good view. I was able to take my fireworks shots, I just used the 2 second timer on the shutter release instead of the missing remote cable. These came out okay, but still lots of room for improvement.

Coming Next: Can I stay awake for the Christmas Party Parade?

[rlb38]

Once again outstanding photos! My 3 favs are Donald just like in Philharmagic , I want to reach out and grab him. The ghost lady in HM & the final fireworks shot
Must go find a MK map to work out exactly where you were.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures!

[lauriep]

Your photos are getting me even more excited to finally see MK. I've been at WDW now for 8 days and haven't been there yet!

[Hugmonster]

I think your New Fantasyland pictures are better than the ones Disney has done. I so cannot wait to see that in person.

A photo request if you can, and if you do not mind. I have tried many a time to get a photo of the pirate on the bridge swinging his foot back and forth in Pirates. I always get blur.

[chezp]

Love the shots of Dumbo at night and the fireworks!

[MayraLR]

Holiday Wishes is amazing! You captured some beautiful photos. I love photography (but I'm by no means a professional), so I'm really enjoying your pictures.

[shazza]

Originally Posted by rlb38

Once again outstanding photos! My 3 favs are Donald just like in Philharmagic , I want to reach out and grab him. The ghost lady in HM & the final fireworks shot
Must go find a MK map to work out exactly where you were.

Thanks, Roberta.

Maybe it will make more sense with this map.

In the middle of the map, C & D are the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and Restaurant. There are some tables outside the entrances to these. There is also a walkway that goes down in front of the water, where there are more tables and chairs. This area has a big "Designated Smoking Area" symbol on it showing on the map. BUT, this is misleading. The smoking area is actually all the way over to the right side of this area, and on the stairs. I was at the far left corner of the section - closest to the railing and also to main street, so wasn't impacted by any residual smoke effects.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Great pictures!

Thanks

Originally Posted by lauriep

Your photos are getting me even more excited to finally see MK. I've been at WDW now for 8 days and haven't been there yet!

You'll be there soon enough, Laurie. You'll have lots to see, and it will be easy from Bay Lake Tower.

Originally Posted by Hugmonster

I think your New Fantasyland pictures are better than the ones Disney has done. I so cannot wait to see that in person.

A photo request if you can, and if you do not mind. I have tried many a time to get a photo of the pirate on the bridge swinging his foot back and forth in Pirates. I always get blur.

Thanks for the kind words. I have one of this guy, if it's the one you mean?

Originally Posted by chezp

Love the shots of Dumbo at night and the fireworks!

Thanks, Cheryl. Getting the Dumbo shot was difficult, because there weren't enough people riding the elephants!

Originally Posted by MayraLR

Holiday Wishes is amazing! You captured some beautiful photos. I love photography (but I'm by no means a professional), so I'm really enjoying your pictures.

Thanks, Mayra. I'm still learning photography (I'm not sure that ever ends), and finding Disney to offer fun challenges - different than the landscape shots I normally do.

[Hugmonster]

Cool thanks that is the guy.

[honeybee723]

Once again your photos have blown me away. And you got two really great shots of the new MM&Y show!

[shazza]

Originally Posted by Hugmonster

Cool thanks that is the guy.

No problem. It's hard to get the lighting/colors right on these Pirate shots, that's for sure. Still not quite sure how to do it.

Originally Posted by honeybee723

Once again your photos have blown me away. And you got two really great shots of the new MM&Y show!

Thanks!



Day 1, Part 5: Did I make it to Mickey's Verry Merry Christmas Parade?

I mentioned earlier that I passed on the first run of the parade, due to crowds on Main Street. I was still wide awake after the Holiday Wishes Show, so decided to find a spot for the Parade. I knew I wanted to be on Main Street, preferably near the beginning, so I could get some shots with the Castle in the background.

With an hour to go until the next parade, it was fairly easy to stake out a spot on the curb just in front of where the flagpole usually is (now where the toy soldiers and Christmas Decorations are). I did have one group try to push me out of the way, but I held my ground. Then, during the Parade, this one lady got upset with me when I turned my camera to the right - apparently I was blocking her video taping. Now, this would have concerned me more, had she not squeezed into position about 30 seconds before the start of the parade, pushing some other folks out of the way. Plus, the majority of the time, I had the camera pointed straight ahead.

Again - I enjoyed this Parade much more than I ever expected to, and would love to see it again. Here are just some of the shots I took - I won't post them all

My plan was to stay and capture the last Stage Show in front of the Castle just before midnight, but they cancelled it for unknown technical reasons. A little disappointed, but still very happy with the evening, I slowly exited the park after picking up my stuff from my locker.

I Very Much enjoyed my first Christmas Party at the Magic Kingdom, and hope to get a chance to go again some day. I didn't sample the cookies or hot chocolate, I didn't stand in line for characters, and I missed some of the stage shows, but loved the Parade and Holiday Wishes. Even the Snow on Main Street worked for me.

[lauriep]

Your parade shots are so amazing! My favorite is the first one of the toy soldiers. Just a brilliantly composed shot, and the colors are wonderful.

[Colexis Mom]

Great pics of the parade!