Making Lemonade from Lemons.

[fractal]

Every time I ride Haunted Mansion I remember the first time I rode it as a 9 year and how amazed I was by it; the Ballroom/dinning room scene especially. In my imaginative young mind those ghosts were all but real.

No stretching room pre-show. Just walked through.

My favorite scene.

A side note here. When editing photos, especially low light ones when you have to push up your ISO, you can use "noise reduction" to clear out the "graininess" in the darker areas which is what I normally do. The downside to that is as you smooth that out you loose a lot of detail in the photos. For many of these I decided to keep more "noise" than normal as it kinda fit the mood of the ride and also to hold on to more of that detail.

 

[fractal]

More photos from Haunted Mansion; for the record, I was back using the 24mm 1.4.

I was happy for getting shots I never did before. The photographic advantage of riding something many times is you are more prepared for it the next time.

We couldn't resist the stockades on the way to Splash/Big Thunder corner. Sterg and Toni were having a blast and there mind were firmly placed in the magic of being back.

Just missed another ride on Liberty Belle.

 

[fractal]

More photos as we continued. I love taking the separate wooden pathway along the water.

The sky's were really clearing up by then and the heat on humidity were rising. Val kept asking me if our room was ready as she wanted to go back, unpack and freshen up. No such luck.

Still not used to the new colors on the castle at this point. The crane in the background I believe was for the Tron Coaster construction.

Splash was the longer wait...

So we decided on BTMRR first. The 45 minutes was not even close to correct.

 

[fractal]

I had to stop walking for each one of these shots.

In no time we were on the wildest ride in the wilderness! I wanted to be in the back rows, but under Pandemic rules you have to take what they give you.

I knew we were going to be riding this again so I decided to enjoy more of the ride not looking through my camera's viewfinder. It was fun and as many would attest @Longers, @Tuvalu , a ride you can ride over and over without getting bored!

Next up Splash Mountain with plenty of photos!

 

[fractal]

Next up - Splash Mountain. It was posted 30 minutes but was a walk on.

How'd you do?

 

[fractal]

Right before dropping into here I told Val the next part is the part Alex always getting scared; did she know why?

"It's the part with the bees." she correctly answered.

Alex has always had an extreme fear of bees or any flying insects. So much so that's she's run into walls or tables, etc trying to avoid them. We laughed a bit at her expense.

I love how this photo came out...and by the way, I was now shooting with my 55mm 1.8; for those that remember my last report this was the lens that went kerplunk in Pirates of the Caribbean. I ended up buying another copy used.
Needless to say, I was very careful with switching out lenses on this trip.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Thanks for posting pics... that drop terrifies me .

 

[GAN]

Loving the report and photos are fantastic. It’s great bringing the “adult” kids along isn’t it?

 

[fractal]

Thanks for posting pics... that drop terrifies me .

Thanks for following!

Yeah, I put the camera away for the drop!

Loving the report and photos are fantastic. It’s great bringing the “adult” kids along isn’t it?

Thanks! Yes, it's different for sure!

 

[Isabelle12345]

WoW such amazing pictures!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[tundra1]

You have real skill as a photographer! I love some of those lesser seen Haunted Mansion pictures. So far it looks like a great start to your trip! Thanks for sharing... I can't wait to read about more of your adventures!

 

[cajunfan]

Enjoying your report! Thanks for sharing!

 

[fractal]

WoW such amazing pictures!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Thank you @Isabelle12345 !

You have real skill as a photographer! I love some of those lesser seen Haunted Mansion pictures. So far it looks like a great start to your trip! Thanks for sharing... I can't wait to read about more of your adventures!

thanks for the kind words and for following along!

Enjoying your report! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks! Appreciate you reading along!

 

[fractal]

Nope, not turning around. We know the drill.

YIKES!

We all screamed and laughed on the way down! Sterg, sitting in the front can the most wet. Myself and Val in the back row barely.

It is the truth!

Next up. Hitting an old favorite to cool off.

 

[fractal]

Splash Mountain was a big hit. Val enjoyed it which made me feel better.

We got back on the "boardwalk" hugging the Rivers of America, making our way towards the hub. It was now almost 4:30 and our room was still not ready.

Sadly, never made it to Tom Sawyer's Island this trip.

OK, starting to grow on me.

We decided on Mickey's Phil-Har-Magic. It's been awhile and Toni didn't remember it. For those that wear glasses with a mask on I'm sure you can appreciate the challenge we had of trying to avoid having your 3-D glasses fog up
during the show. This was one of my favorite attractions. I loved the story and how they found a clever way to incorporate Mickey and Donald with the characters of the 90's classics. Lots of laughs, 3 and 4-D jolts and heart string moments. I will say the "3-D" does look dated. For a good portion of the film many of the characters I saw were in double and blurry.

Toni loved it though and Sterg and Val well enough - especially with the dark, cool theater providing some relief. From a "health" perspective - social distancing in the line (as with all attractions), then your group was put in a staging area near the theater doors. You were given a number and told to stand on a large dot on the carpet with your number on it. There was also plastic shielding in the rows after so many seats, in addition all CM's that you interacted with wore plastic face shields as well as mask. This was throughout the resort.

After watching Mickey save the day again from Donald's stumbling and fumbling we took some inspiration and headed toward The Little Mermaid.

This is about the most crowded we saw MK that day, generally the area in front of 7DMT was the busiest.

We visited the awesome restrooms near Gaston's...

Well hello Cogsworth!

Time to go Under the Sea.

I noticed through out the trip that Disney did a lot of painting. I'm assuming much of it was done during the shutdown, as all the rock formations looked freshly painted as did the buildings and signs. Animal Kingdom, especially in Asia was equally as noticeable and appreciated. At least by me. Val thought I was a little nuts in my observation. The kid's reply. "Hi Disney painting the rocks."

 

[fractal]

Time to climb on a clamshell. Sterg and Toni in one, Val and I right behind.

"Hello!"

I believe they were leaving a clamshell open between every group.

Ariel still singing!

So I switched my camera over to silent shutter mostly for Val's benefit. I didn't expect what happened next but should have know. Without getting technical, the characteristics of a silent electronic shutter (vs a mechanical shutter) makes it nearly impossible to shoot certain LED or projection lighting that comes out in rapid pulses. Here is an example;

The good news is I had no problems the rest of the ride; the bad news is it would come back to haunt me later like a surprise visit from Flotsam and Jetsam.

I enjoy the photographic challenges WDW presents. Yes, Under the Sea is geared for the pre-teen visitors more than anyone, but I see it on a different level. The exercise of dialing in the right combination of Shutter Speed, ISO and Aperture is gratifying. In a dark place where you are moving and the subject usually is as well it's not easy work. Shooting Manual does make it tougher but I like having that control and making those adjustments on the fly. Dark rides are just one of the several photographic tests the World throws out there. One of my biggest disappointments this trip was the elimination of fireworks, which require a different set up and strategy to photograph, and very limited if any evening hours which mostly eliminated any long exposure shots from my tripod (or the top of a trashcan ).


Ariel and Eric - shot with the 24mm @ f/1.7, 1/320 sec, ISO 6400

And they lived happily ever after!

First thing Val asks me after the ride. "Is the room ready?'.

"Not yet." I said after checked the App.

She was not happy, and frankly neither was I. It was now 2 1/2 hours past the check in time. First time our room was not available by check-in.

I wonder if Eric had to ever deal with room reservation check in times?

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

I am so loving reading your trip report. You definitely made a wonderful pitcher of lemonade out of the rotten batch of lemons 2020 has brought on.
My daughter just returned from Disney on Monday. She's been several times but I told her she'll never see such low crowds again. I hope your family enjoyed this different experience as well.

 

[fractal]

I am so loving reading your trip report. You definitely made a wonderful pitcher of lemonade out of the rotten batch of lemons 2020 has brought on.
My daughter just returned from Disney on Monday. She's been several times but I told her she'll never see such low crowds again. I hope your family enjoyed this different experience as well.

Thank you! Yes we really did enjoy this trip, especially after we got used to wearing that masks. That took a couple days. I hope your daughter had as much fun!

 

[fractal]

After Under the Sea we got in line for 7 Dwarves Coaster. It was to be one of our longest waits of the trip. Posted at 35 minutes it really took about 25 minutes. While we waited in line I called Disney to inquire about the room as my app still showed it not ready and we just wanted to make sure. The CM I spoke to was very nice and after being on hold for 5 minutes or so came back to tell us that yes the app is correct and they hope to have it ready soon. Not that it mattered at that point being in line but hopefully it was going to be ready by the time we left the park!

I mostly kept the camera down during our trip through the mines. I really like this coaster and the "swinging action". As everyone else says, just wish it were longer.

Here's where my silent/electronic shutter issue popped up again and was the point I made the realization.

We see through your disguise you witch! Too bad Snow White didn't; but that would have made the story a lot less interesting.

Soon after we climbed out of our mine train I received notice that our room was ready. It was now almost 6pm. Not the biggest of deals for us and how the day ended up playing out but it had me apprehensive about the rest of our stay at The Contemporary. We then made our way to Adventureland to snag some Dole Whips to help cool us off. We all went with the twist which helps dilute the pineapple taste just enough.

Our next destination was the hub.

Toni was going to play the part of Jasmine in her Senior Dance Recital which unfortunately got cancelled. Val thought it was a good idea to have her pose in front of the "castle" and do some "Jasmine poses". Who was I to argue? So we ended up having a little bit of a photo shoot.

How many times can one pose in front of the Castle at 6pm with absolutely no one else around?

OK, time to head out. See you later boys!

Got low for this one.

We did have a great kickoff day at Magic Kingdom. It was tough to swallow however that the park was going to close at 7. Night time is so much fun in all of the parks.

A few more shots on the way out...

No people creeping in from the side this time.

We had Roy and Minnie all to ourselves!

On the monorail and on our way to our room.

Up Next - The Contemporary and doing something different.

 

[fractal]

How about some pictures of The Contemporary?

Our room was the second to last before the fire exit, which at first seem like a bummer but ended up with having some nice benefits.

\

The room was big - like the Poly - but was completely void of anything "Disney". I remember commenting in my last report that the Yacht Club really turned down the volume on Disney accents in its rooms and made what was left very subtle.

The Contemporary completely pulled the plug on them. I did not like this approach but Val was just fine with it.

Sign of the times.

We mostly unpacked, got settled and grabbed a quick meal from the Contemp Cafe. It was our first experience with the required mobil app ordering for quick service spots. We fumbled a few times but got the hang of ordering and paying through the app then picking up at a designated area.

After our dinner we changed and decided to spend time at the quiet pool which was open until 11. Normally I would be in the parks at this time but with no other option we were poolside, much to Val's enjoyment. We had a nice relaxing few hours in the cooler air. First thing I noticed was how refreshing the water in the pool was - my biggest complaint at the Beach and Yacht Club is the way too warm temperature of Storm-along-Bay in the middle of summer. I was wondering if the main pool was the same. Second thing I noticed was there was no mask requirement in the pool area which I was just fine with.

Helping me to enjoy the family time next to Bay Lake was the 2 or 3 (maybe 4 or 5?) bourbons I had. I was very relaxed and we laughed and made fun of each other to pass the time. This was quality time for Val, but I appreciated it as well. I kept the camera on "off" for most of the duration but managed a couple of pics of Toni and the Man-Child.

Back in the room I reviewed the photos of the day with mostly a smile on my face, then began to anticipate our next day in Hollywood Studios. A lot has changed since our last visit and I couldn't wait to experience it!

Up Next - Incredible transformation at DHS and genuinely one of our best days at WDW!