Vacation (Orlando - Disney) advice

[gsniegow]

Heading down to Disney with the wife and kids next week.

If any of you know of any "must see" photo ops, secret spots, event info, anything, please let me know. I've been there before but I know there are so many people on this board surely someone can tell me a secret or two about great spots to photo, sit for parade / firework shows and such.

Thanks all!

[tommykjensen]

For viweing the parades go to the hall of presidents, there are a good spot on the left side of the shop to presidents hall left. This spot fills late so You usually don't have to wait more than 30 minutes before the parade.

Must see: In MGM: Motors, lights & Action stuntshow. It should run regulary now. I did manage to see the show when I was there in april. I have not processed the photos from that shot yet but hope I have soon.

[BigBlueDodge]

I too am leaving for Disney in 6 days. I am interested in hearing responses from others.

[ducdubbq]

i like the magic kingdom fireworks from infront of the crystal palace resturante. epcot fireworks i like either from the bridge (uk-canada) or in front of germany.

my big advice is to check out the resorts, they are really nice for atypical photos. also, lots of macro stuff. disney really is in the details.

bring a tripod and if you have one something that can do video. the sound, and motion are a big bonus over photos.

also, you have to bring a tripod. fireworks alone are worth it, but disney is very well lit at night. check out the scott domin photos over at pbase.

[Hol6039]

If you go to Animal Kingdom (Disney's latest park) be sure and get there early and go directly to the safari ride in the rear of the African section. this is a chance to see some awsome animals in a setting that you would swear is in Kenya. You need to get there early, though while the crowds ar still lingering at the front of the park and the animals are still active. As the day heats up, they will seek shade and be harder to photograph.

P.S. I live in Orlando and my wife and I go there often for photo outings.

Good luck!

Mike

[tommykjensen]

If you go to Animal Kingdom (Disney's latest park) be sure and get there early and go directly to the safari ride in the rear of the African section. this is a chance to see some awsome animals in a setting that you would swear is in Kenya. You need to get there early, though while the crowds ar still lingering at the front of the park and the animals are still active. As the day heats up, they will seek shade and be harder to photograph.

The only problem is that the ride is so bumpy that with a tele it is practically impossible to get good photos, the vehicle does not stop to allow photography. The best photos I got in AK was from the trails around the park. For example this one. (http://photo.klein-jensen.dk/photohtml.php?n=2005april_dak_unknown_bird_cs2.jpg )

[Mernya]

If you go to Animal Kingdom (Disney's latest park) be sure and get there early and go directly to the safari ride in the rear of the African section. this is a chance to see some awsome animals in a setting that you would swear is in Kenya. You need to get there early, though while the crowds ar still lingering at the front of the park and the animals are still active. As the day heats up, they will seek shade and be harder to photograph.


Agreed, worked for my wife and I in February. Too bad I didn't shoot in RAW back then!

[gsniegow]

Back from Orlando.

I took some decent shots (in my humble amatuer newbie opinion). I did some firework shots with the shutter left open for some cool effects. I forgot to bring the tripod so it was all done hand held. I'll post one for critique later on.

I took several animal pictures on the safari. The ride was way to bumpy though and much of them blured on me.

I wish I knew my camera better. LOL Honestly, I don't think I'd ever be satisfied with my pictures!

On a side note. I saw a TON of 300D's out there. 99% of them shooting in the auto modes. I've made that mistake and learned from it. Hopefully their shots will turn out alright. One person had the 300D with a telephoto lens. He was quite rude as he saw mine and laughed at me and said, "You're using the kit lens!". I don't let it bother me though. I'm new and learning and slowly growing my collection.

Thanks all for your feedback!

[tommykjensen]

I took several animal pictures on the safari. The ride was way to bumpy though and much of them blured on me.


Yep and thats a shame.

[Mernya]

My problem on the safari was mostly exposure issues. Having more than a 3.6x Zoom would have helped, too. I used the high speed back-to-back shot mode to try to get some, too.

We stopped a couple times because of wildlife in our way. Some kids in our car actually got to pet a giraffe rump.

[ducdubbq]

as a note, all the animals (nearly all) are on the left side of the ride.

i'm going down to WDW this july and i've got 6gb of cards and MD and I plan on taking one day and shooting the whole darn bunch, on jpeg!

i realised I really don't do much touching up in RAW photoshop. I'm a shoot and look type of guy. though I'm an AV / SH / and occassionally P mode shot.

i really like night shots. there's something about the way its lit up at night thats really, really cool.

[Mernya]

On the one chance type stuff, take them in RAW. Some of that stuff, like the safari ride, is a one shot deal. If you go in the early morning to see the animals, you are going in and out of shadows and sunshine quite a bit. If you know your stuff, by all means get more photos! Heh, but I wish I was using RAW at the time. I got plenty of good JPG shots, but on some I had the ISO too high and some other errors that could have been fixed easier in post.