My phone's alarm was broken, or at least it seemed to be as it went off way too early for 5am. I had just fallen asleep after all. But correct it was and I rose out of bed to help Val and Toni get their luggage downstairs for the dreaded pickup.
Toni wasn't happy about leaving.
"Hi getting up at 5am at Disney."
"Hi we're the only ones awake."
and to add insult to injury, they didn't even get a Magical Express bus. As their luggage was loaded, they climbed into a large white Mears Van and then they were gone.
Getting back to the room, I made myself some coffee and then went outside onto the balcony overlooking BayLake.
The sun took its time showing up, but was spectacular when it did.
And I (photographically) caught the first boat heading to Wilderness Lodge.
It was promising to be another rare beautiful July day at WDW. Low to mid 80's, clear skies and low humidity.
Today's destination was Animal Kingdom and I was eager to get going. In addition to the 24mm lens I decided to bring "the beast". The beast is my new Sigma 105mm 1.4 lens and it is huge due to it being a telephoto lens with a very fast aperture (f/1.4). It's a special lens - great for portraits and other applications. It's also quite wide and heavy. Instead of my smaller shoulder bag I decided on that day to bring my camera backpack/sling bag to handle the extra load.
I was on track to hit AK at the open. Sterg and Alex decided they would join up later.
The palm trees were ready for the day.
I used the time on the bus to swap out the 24mm lens for the 105mm.
With a backpack on my back, my camera and large lens in my one hand and a coffee in the other, it wasn't the most comfortable setup. I'm sure I also stood out quite a bit. One thing I noticed more this trip than any other was the lack of others with "real" cameras; either mirrorless or dslr's. Not too surprising I suppose as phone cameras have gotten so much better, and the vast majority of people are taking photos to document their trip vs. actually looking for photographic opportunities.
I was mildly scolded by a CM entering the park as I tried to sneak a sip of my coffee without coming to a complete standstill.
We'll 2020 certainly had it's share of "Black Swans" so I thought this was an appropriate first shot in AK with my new lens.
Next stop - The Tree of Life.
Africa was to be my first destination, as I was anxious to try this lens on the Safari.
Still sinking...
Getting closer.
Harambe was nearly desserted.
The queue line took longer than I thought as I finally saw other humans with the same desire to look at animals.
My truck arrives...