Christmas 2008: A Rainy Christmas Day at WDW is Better than a Sunny Day at Home!

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When we arrived home from our August trip, Sarah and I both suffered “Disney Withdrawal” pretty badly. Partly, we were upset because we knew it would be at least a year before we’d be going back. Well, suffice to say, that year delay between trips did not happen, as our cases of Disney Withdrawal got the best of us, and “forced” us to book another trip.

When to book was the question. With so many great things we haven’t experienced at WDW (Food & Wine Festival, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, Flower & Garden Festival, etc.), we knew we had to plan the trip around a big seasonal event. We had gotten engaged on our previous Christmas trip, and additionally, the trip was in mid-November, so the focus wasn’t entirely on Christmas—by either us or WDW. When we consulted our calendars for school, we found that we’d be able to make a short weekend Christmas trip over Thanksgiving break. Then, we thought more about it, and realized that we probably ought to skip a couple days of classes and “extend” the trip to five days.

Such was how the trip was birthed. We spent the short time before the trip preparing by daydreaming about WDW at inappropriate times, perusing Flickr and various other sites looking at Christmas pictures, and generally shirking our other duties in order to devote as much time as possible to pondering the trip.

All of this paid off, as it (possibly) helped us mentally prepare for the trip, but more importantly, helped us avoid being bored by other things. This mental preparing did not translate into any physical preparation, as we did not pack anything (with the exception of my photography gear) until Thanksgiving evening. We rushed around, throwing together whatever clothes we might possibly wear—December weather in Florida can be tricky, as it’s nice during the day, but cold at night.

After packing, we headed to bed, catching a blink of sleep before awaking at 3:50 a.m. and getting ready. Sarah’s mom took us to the new Indianapolis International Airport, where were relieved to find that McDonald’s had set up shop. We were hardly shocked, but relieved, as McDonald’s breakfast is one of our traditions for the morning we leave for WDW. Nothing energizes you for a long day quite like an Egg McMuffin!

With the exception of the wonderful McDonald’s establishment, nothing really exciting to report about the new airport. It has all of the typical airport elements, although I didn’t see any moving walkways (I might have just overlooked them). That’s fine by me—it always irritates me when people get on the moving walkway and just stand there. As I envision them, the walkways are not laziness enablers, but rather, are instruments to facilitate speedier walking.

We flew Southwest (as usual), which is always a treat. The plane landed slightly earlier than expected, and we breezed through the Disney’s Magical Express line—one of the benefits of staying at Pop Century—which caused us to arrive at Pop Century an hour before the time I had told Nick to meet us. After calling him to inform him of the predicament, he arrived quickly to check us in. Our room was ready at 10 a.m. (talk about service!), so we put our carry-on bags in our room, and changed our clothes.

After that, we were off to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It was by far the busiest I had ever seen the Studios. Absolutely insane. With the continuous talk of the state of our economy, you’d think the crowds would be lighter. Not that I’m ‘hoping’ for a poor economy to make my WDW trip better, but when I’m waiting in line for a seemingly indefinite amount of time, or even just trying to navigate past a stroller or ECV traveling as slowly as possible, I found myself wishing for the lighter crowds.

On the topic of ECVs—I think I see disproportionately more of these each time we go to Walt Disney World. Now, I don’t want this trip report to be rife with controversy, but I certainly do not think that the number of disabled individuals is palpably increasing each year, so I question the rationales of some of those renting ECVs. To put it bluntly, it seems there are certain “types” of people who rent these devices an awful lot. I’m not suggesting that some of these individuals don’t suffer from some sort of disability, but, certainly not to the extent that the ECVs are used. In my opinion, a lot of supposed disabilities are caused by using the ECVs and other similar behavior. But, I digress…

Luckily, we enjoy a number of high capacity and unpopular attractions, so the crowds didn’t get to us too much (I’ve never quite understood the folks who go during the busy seasons and just go to the “thrill rides”—is it really worth it to spend all day waiting in line at RnRC and ToT [in between FastPasses]?).

We thus visited The Great Movie Ride and MuppetVision, a few times in between our FastPasses for the popular attractions. My new Sigma 30mm f/1.4 really made a difference on GMR, as I feel I got many shots I otherwise could never have made with a slower lens. The lens was generally helpful on all dark rides and for parades, and it enabled me to get a number of shots otherwise impossible with my walkaround lens.

At around 6:30 p.m., we decided to head over the Osborne Lights. It took us about twenty minutes from the time we got into the Streets of America area until we actually entered the area with the lights. This was, in combination because of the aforementioned issues with people simply not navigating properly (perhaps I’m in the minority, but I think the middle of a walkway is a pretty poor place to stop and have a conservation with your party—MOVE TO THE SIDES!) and because the area with the lights was pretty packed. It was well worth the wait. We spent over two hours simply marveling at the lights as they danced, and taking pictures. As huge “Christmas people”, it was really something that was really enjoyable for us. I’ve always had an affinity for Christmas lights—from Tim Taylor’s incessant desire to beat Doc. Johnson in the annual neighborhood lighting contests on Home Improvement to videos on YouTube of people with their own lights dancing to Trans Siberian Orchestra—and I hope someday to put up a display my neighbors will find obnoxious.

 

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When we finally headed out of the Streets of America an hour after DHS had closed, we began taking our After-Hours Pictures (I’ve decided to capitalize this and treat it as a proper name as so many people have recognized me as the “After-Hours Picture Guy”, the “Park Closed Picture Guy”, etc., so I guess I’ve become typecast in such a manner). Despite us starting our After-Hours Pictures an hour after the park closed, it was more busy than most parks right after closing. I attribute this to the Osborne Lights, and I fully understand why so many people stayed late (if 9 p.m. can be called late). We quickly took some pictures, and headed off to Magic Kingdom, which was open until midnight.

We caught the bus to Magic Kingdom right away, and to our surprise, we made it in the park right as the 10 p.m. showing of SpectroMagic headed up Main Street. I was absolutely shocked that we got there in time, and even more surprised that we got a good spot with the Castle in frame as we ran ahead of the parade so that we could watch it from the start.



After the parade, we headed over to my favorite restaurant in the world (real world and the World)—Cosmic Ray’s. This may be saying a lot for a quick service restaurant, but with the amazing music of Sonny Eclipse, the delicious fixings on the topping bar, and the amazing memories, no matter what cuisine I taste elsewhere, I don’t think anything will ever top Cosmic Ray’s. After all, it isn’t only the food that makes for a great dining experience—it is the total package. No restaurant in the “real world” can compete—mostly because of the above, and because of what’s located outside the windows at Cosmic Rays: the Magic Kingdom.

After a delicious meal and hearing Sonny’s entire set, we headed off to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, where we usually start out any evening in the MK. While I always ponder the various little changes that could be made to improve the TTA (less blank space!), the more I ride it, the more I am endeared to it. It’s classic Disney, and it offers a neat backstory to Tomorrowland.

After that, we headed over to our other Tomorrowland favorites: Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Both were as enjoyable as always, and the latter brought up an interesting topic. I know my opinion isn’t going to be the popular one, but I want to see if anyone else agrees with me; I stated to Sarah and Nick that I preferred Buzz over Toy Story Mania. They were shocked, and vehemently disagreed. Although I think the ride is generally dirty (mostly the queue), I prefer the immersive environments of Buzz over the video screens of Toy Story Mania. I also like being able to control the ride vehicle, so overall, I prefer Buzz. I understand the arguments for TSM, but I think these are important factors giving Buzz the edge.

We rounded out the evening with two more classics: Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. Before heading onto Pirates, we went to the nearby bathrooms. After exiting the bathrooms, we saw some very cool “mop art” of Goofy, Mickey, and Donald. It was our first time seeing the mop art in person after seeing so many pictures of it online. It just goes to show you how many extremely talented Cast Members Walt Disney World employs, and how important it is to many of them to brighten guests’ days. It was just one of many examples of how Disney CMs made this trip, and every one of our trips, magical for us.

I successfully took pictures on PotC for the first time, thanks to the new lens. Although I got some keepers, the new lens partly reaffirmed my belief that I need to upgrade cameras to the Nikon D300, because of its high ISO capability. What I wouldn’t give to have a crack at the helmsman scene on PotC or the caretaker (at the gate) scene on Haunted Mansion with this lens and the D300’s ISO. It almost makes me salivate!



After PotC, the park was closed, and we began taking our After-Hours Pictures. We began in Adventureland, and quickly moved to Frontierland before heading to the coup-de-gras of Walt Disney World Christmas Pictures—Cinderella Castle and Main Street USA. We took many pictures there, before finally heading towards the exit at 1:20 a.m.. By this time (over an hour after park closing), we were about the only ones in the park besides Cast Members. It looked like we were the only guests left in the park (a goal of ours for each night of the trip), so we headed to the tunnel. However, right as we went under the tunnel, I noticed two other guests seated in front of City Hall. Only one night into the trip, and we had already failed our goal—rats!

One benefit of staying so late is that you never have to wait for a bus—there are always about twenty empty buses from which we can choose. We asked one of the bus drivers about this, and he told us (I know, I know, but let’s not go there) that they have buses waiting for people who may be out at the various restaurants or other resorts; since the buses from the resorts won’t take them directly to another resort, they have to go to MK first. This makes sense, but it seems there would be a more economical system for doing this. The point is, there is no reason for Disney to have 20 buses idling at MK in the wee hours of the night when only a few people are likely to actually use them. I would much rather see WDW cut costs here than with many of the other cuts that we’ve seen recently. Why not take people back to their resorts when it’s really late by using the vans that DVC uses?

 

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Given that the previous day was quite long, we decided not to arrive at DHS at 8 a.m. the following morning to do an hour’s worth of EMH before taking the Friendship boats over to EPCOT. Instead, we slept that extra hour, and went directly to EPCOT at 9 a.m. When we arrived, we made briskly headed over to the Land to get Soarin’ FastPasses. After that, we made the typical Future World rounds, hitting our favorites as quickly as we could before World Showcase opened. As your typical smarta**, I made a face while SpaceShip Earth took my picture, which made for an interesting descent…

Once World Showcase opened, we headed over to see the Holiday Storytellers who give brief performances concerning the Holiday traditions of their respective countries. We first caught France’s Pierre Noel. He told of a French brother and sister, one who believed in him, and one who didn’t, which was fairly amusing.

After that we headed all the way over to America, as none of the other countries in between had performers out yet. When we got to America, we decided to see the Hanukah storyteller. This was by far the worst of the storytellers. It was almost as if Disney did not plan on having a Hanukah storyteller, but decided to “throw one out there” at the last minute to accommodate the Jewish religion. While I see nothing wrong with that, I find it annoying that the storyteller was simply an ordinarily clothed Jewish woman. I know Judaism contains culturally rich holiday figures just as any other religion, and I found it irritating that Disney would not include one of those figures. The performance was completely sanitized of any culture, seemingly so Disney could pay face to the religion to appease people. Either do it right, and have the performance keep with the rest and be actual performances, or don’t offer them at all. I was disappointed, to say the least.

Far from disappointing was the Voices of Liberty. Performing traditional Christmas Carols, the Voices of Liberty were absolutely amazing. If we had the time, I think we would’ve gone back to see additional performances. They are that good. Additionally, their attire at Christmas is stunning. We loved the Dickensian (and maybe Victorian?) look of their outfits.

No stop in America is complete without a viewing of the American Adventure. As I’ve made known before in my Flickr captions, I am unabashedly proud to be an American. I think America is the greatest country in the world, and while I understand that this type of attitude is why so many other countries hate us, I hold to my belief (although I do recognize that the country does have a great number of problems, I believe that what we have accomplished as a nation in such a short time is undeniably impressive). The American Adventure helps corroborate this belief, as it shows the great minds America has seen in her short existence. I don’t know how anyone can walk out of there feeling anything but a great sense of patriotism and inspiration.

After the invigorating experience that is the American Adventure, we headed to Canada where we saw their storyteller. Like the French Santa, Canada offered an immersive experience with both an interesting story and character. Following that, we headed back over to Future World, where we had reservations for the Garden Grill.

The Garden Grill proved to be a great (and cheap!) option for the Candlelight Processional dinner package. Until I noticed some of the windows during our turn on Living with the Land that day, I was unaware that Garden Grill overlooked the attraction. I was even more surprised to discover that the restaurant rotates! It’s funny the things even us obsessed fans discover on each trip—I can’t believe I didn’t know that previously. Dinner was delicious, and we certainly got our money worth, given that we hadn’t eaten eat at all that entire day. We were there right when the restaurant opened for dinner, so the restaurant wasn’t yet (even close) to capacity, allowing us to get multiple “turns” with each character. This was new to us, as often we are waiting for over an hour to see all of the characters at the other restaurants.

After we paid and got our Candlelight Processional tags, we headed to Mexico and Norway to catch their storyteller performances. Both were interesting, with Norway’s Julenissen being the best of the day, hands down. Julenissen mischievously altered the story as told by a young Norwegian woman offering many laughs with his enthusiasm, especially that for porridge.

 

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We then headed over to America to wait in line for the Candlelight Processional. We got there about 40 minutes early, and we were shocked to find two huge lines: one for those with the dinner package, and one for overflow. The dinner package line was so long that it prompted us to ask a CM whether we were guaranteed to get seats—we were. We were all a little surprised, given the insane length of our line, and the relatively small size of the theatre. I guess we aren’t the best judges, though, as we were only seated about halfway back in the theatre. I do wonder if any of those individuals in the overflow line were admitted, though.

John O’Hurley was the guest narrated that evening, about which we were quite pleased. O’Hurley’s character on Seinfeld, Jay Peterman, is a favorite of ours, so we were happy to learn that he would be the narrator while we were there. The entire show was absolutely wonderful—O’Hurley’s narration, the choirs, and the orchestral all performed their respective roles very well. The only disappointing thing about the show was that it ended! For those who may have heard that you can save money by not getting a dining package and just waiting in line, or standing in the walkway in front of the American pavilion, don’t listen to them. You can get a dining package for around $30 per person, and your time in WDW is worth so much more than that (considering you’ll have to wait in the overflow line for a long time just to potentially get bad seats)—plus, I can imagine the show isn’t quite the same from the back forty as it is from up close. In short, if you go at Christmas and are considering getting the dinner package, definitely do it.



After the showing of Candlelight Processional, we headed over to Mission: Space for a quick spin to Mars before Illuminations. Our quick spin was hardly quick—the 5 minute wait time turned out to be forty minutes—although the flight to Mars itself only lasted a few minutes, so I guess it wasn’t too bad.

My strategy for getting a viewing spot for Illuminations was poor. I forgot where we stood last time (it was Germany!), so we ran around looking for the spot in the dark, not quite being able to figure out where it was. We ended up just settling on spot, which turned out to be not that great, as a tree obscured part of the fireworks. I also decided to use the bulb setting instead of a flat 25 second timer on all the shots, and I chose an aperture that was too large for many of the shots (leading to many blown out fireworks shots). I definitely need to do test shots on fireworks before our next trip; unfortunately, there aren’t many Christmas-time fireworks shows around here.



Following Illuminations, we began to set up for some After-Hours Pictures. However, on this evening, neither the lights at the World Showcase countries nor SpaceShip Earth turned back on after Illuminations! Given this, there wasn’t much point taking pictures in the World Showcase, so we headed to the tree and the Lights of Winter, to get pictures of those. Finally, after about 40 minutes after closing, the lights on SpaceShip Earth came back on (but not those on World Showcase). After we got done photographing it, we took the monorail to Magic Kingdom, which was open until 12 a.m. that evening.

We got to Magic Kingdom at around 10:30 p.m., so we didn’t have time for many rides. A quick trip on the TTA and one spin on Buzz (where I got a new personal high score of 439,200!) was really all that was in order. After that, we began taking pictures in Tomorowland, and then finished in Fantasyland, and again in the hub and on Main Street. As usual, CMs trailed closely behind us, ensuring that we didn’t go “backwards” into the park. Since we typically get a picture with one of us by one of the clocks right before we exit, we decided to head up to the train station, where there is a clock set back above the stairs. However, the clock was covered up for some reason. Since there were CMs trailing us, we were unable to go back down Main Street to get a picture of us in front of the clock, so I set my walkaround lens to 200mm, and got a shot of the Main Street clock (by itself, unfortunately) before we left. This time we left at approximately 1:30 a.m., and we were the last guests out of the park! I think everyone else might have left sooner as it was colder on that evening, but whatever the reason, we were quite pleased with our accomplishment.

 

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The next day was the day of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. We had told Nick the night before that we’d decide that morning whether we were going to Animal Kingdom that morning since the weather was predicted to be bad. Well, the weather was bad, so rather than waste a day of our tickets (no-expiration 10 day passes) for a morning at AK, we decided to do a tour of the resorts to see their decorations.

Even that may have been a poor idea. While it was only raining lightly when we left for the tour, by the time we met Nick for our first stop, at the BoardWalk Resort, it was beginning to sprinkle. Our decision to walk to the Yacht and Beach Clubs despite this sprinkling would ultimately be a bad one. Before continuing complaining about the weather, I should note that the Christmas decorations were absolutely beautiful, and were well worth getting wet to see. If I were to stay in one of these resorts at Christmas, I think I could never go to my room for the night—I’d just spend the entire time in the lobby starring at the decorations.

We decided to wait at Beach Club to see if the rain would subside before going back to BoardWalk. Naturally, we decided to get some ice cream since the weather was so bad. We headed down to Beaches & Cream, and got burgers as well as some delicious ice cream. In retrospect, we should have just split a Kitchen Sink, as what we ended up getting was only about $7 less, and the pictures and memories of getting a Kitchen Sink would have been well worth it! Oh well, next time, I suppose.

When we finished at Beaches & Cream, we found that the rain had escalated to a torrential downpour. We ran back to BroadWalk, getting soaked in the process. Graciously, Nick offered to get the car while we waited in the lobby, so we didn’t get quite as soaked as we otherwise would have.

At this time, we had to make a stop back at our resort so that I could change clothes. My decision to wear a sweater that day was a bad one, and I did not want to risk it getting (any more) wet. Sarah and Nick waited in the car while I ran back and changed, which ended up being a bad decision on their parts, as the rain mostly stopped by the time I got done changing, meaning that I had dry clothes for the rest of the day, while they both waited hours for their soaked pants to dry.

After that quick stop, we headed to the Ticket and Transportation Center, where we caught the monorail to the Polynesian to see its decorations. The decorations there were beautiful, as were those at the Grand Floridian and the Contemporary. We still didn’t get a chance to see the decorations at the Wilderness Lodge (which I’ve heard are great), but again, that’s something we’ll hopefully do on another trip.

Following our loop around the monorail resorts, we headed to the MK. We arrived at around 3:50, and waited in line with the other MVMCP early-arrivers until 4 p.m., when we would be allowed inside. The line cheered once we got the okay to begin entering, and the part began!

Once inside, we started the party how you should start any good Christmas party—with a visit to the Haunted Mansion! We then hit some of our favorites, including the newly refurbished (and wonderful looking and sounding) Country Bear Jamboree. While I really wish the changes would have included the Country Bear Christmas overlay, I’ve come to accept that this is one battle the “fans” are not going to win—at least with WDW’s current short-sighted management.

After we ate at…guess where…Cosmic Ray’s, we headed to the hub to watch the Castle Lighting Show. This is one of three things involving the Castle that manages to choke me up a little. The others are Wishes and The Kiss Goodnight. That said, I think my opinion of this show is pretty clear—it’s one of those things that really makes me feel that magical Disney feeling. There are few things like watching the Castle magically transformed from its normal look to its icy look.

We then headed over to the Galaxy Plaza Theatre to see Mickey’s Twas the Night Before Christmas. As we approached, we were told that it was standing room only; luckily for us, we were selected for VIP seating in the second row! The show was wonderful, with great costumes, sets, music, and choreography.

Following that, we decided to head to the hub to get spots for Mickey’s Once Upon a Christmastime Parade which was due for its first showing 30 minutes from when we arrived. During our wait, it rained on and off, more on than off, though. Due to this raining, the parade was delayed twice. At some point while waiting, I finally realized that this parade does not travel in the same direction as SpectroMagic! Dangit! I specifically selected our spot as it would be a great location with the Castle providing additional light for photography, and would also provide a nice background element. However, since the parade traveled the opposite direction than what I thought it did, there was nothing but black sky in the background—we probably had one of the worst possible locations as far as photography goes. This didn’t end up mattering too much, as by the time the parade arrived, we were overjoyed just to see it.
Additionally, we ended up catching part of the second parade in Liberty Square, so I ended up getting some additional shots.

By the time the parade was over, it was time to get a spot for the fireworks. Based on advice I received from many posters here (thanks to everyone who offered their advice, especially PhotoDave), we got a great spot for the fireworks. However, based on my own foolishness, I had brought a new tripod that was 14” shorter than my previous tripod (I had to upgrade for stability purposes), and those 14 less inches made the difference between getting unobstructed shots, and getting a nice fat head at the bottom of all of the pictures. Also an issue was that I had not properly experimented with bulb mode, so many of the shots were blown out due to me not selecting a small enough aperture. To add some excitement to the evening, I decided to lose my memory card with the vast majority of our pictures from the trip during the course of the fireworks. When I realized that I lost it, my heart sunk. I thought it was gone forever, and thus 75% of our pictures from the past two days were gone. Luckily, Sarah spotted it on the wet ground near one of the tripod’s legs. I dried it off, hoped with all of my heart that nothing happened to it, and stuck it in the camera. All was fine. Phew.

 

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After this drama, we headed over to Adventureland, where we saw some of the Country Bears! Big Al is one of my favorite characters (second to only Figment), so interacting with him is always quite a treat. We played with the Bears for about 45 minutes, getting our picture with the four meet and greet Country Bears, as well as Brer Bear and Brer Fox. The best part was that we had them pretty much to ourselves, since few kids recognize any of the above characters (besides the “Splash Mountain Animals”). The interactions were great—the bears fought for Sarah, and one of them stole a bag of Nick’s and attempted to eat its contents.

All of the Celebrate the Season shows for that evening were cancelled, so we were not able to see that show (which is another of our favorites), but we understand the need for ensuring the safety of the performers. I think Disney did as good of a job as it could that evening balancing offering the requisite levels of entertainment while ensuring the performers’ safety in light of the weather.

One of my favorite parts of the evening occurred after the park closed. For the first time ever (which is probably a good thing, given the implications that it would have), I got a chance to take After-Hours Pictures with, get this…WET GROUND! This was, quite honestly, a big deal for me, as the wet ground adds some beautiful reflections to many attractions. A couple of examples are below—watch Flickr in the coming weeks for some even better (in my opinion) shots.

Despite my getting more pictures than usual that evening (thanks to quickly scurrying around so that we didn’t get barred from going backwards into the park), we headed home earlier—at only 1:15 a.m.! Thanks to the rain and the cold, we were again the last guests out of the park. Success!

 

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When we got back to the resort, I decided to get some night shots of Pop Century. While I don’t prefer the over-the-top look of the resort over many of the intricately themed resorts, I appreciate it for what it is, and it makes for some wonderful nighttime photography. After getting the shots I wanted, I headed to our room, and bed, shortly after 2 a.m.

The following morning was our last day, and we made it a point to get to the Magic Kingdom prior to opening. Unfortunately, in our haste, I forgot our tickets! I realized this on the bus, and felt like an idiot (it was entirely my fault, as caring for these tickets is my responsibility). We briefly discussed whether we should go back to get them, or just buy one-day passes. In an uncharacteristic display, we decided to just get one-day passes, and not waste the time (which we calculated at around two hours). This was a very tough decision for us, since we are both extremely frugal, and the difference between a single day on our ten day pass and a single day ticket is about $52 per ticket.

After taking this $104 hit, we entered the parks, and promptly forgot about the wasted money as we entered a sea of unbridled excitement. We quickly made our way back to Frontierland, where we were all alone in the park (besides Cast Members). It was odd to experience that feeling during the daylight hours! We went on Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain with no waits. After that, we wandered around for a bit, getting some pictures before crowds formed, and just generally playing.

We decided that we would visit some attractions that we don’t normally do, so we visited the Swiss Family Treehouse. Having never seen the movie, it wasn’t the most entertaining attraction, but it did inspire us to see the movie to heighten any subsequent trips to the Treehouse. The Treehouse was a nice location for photography, though, and I got a couple good shots of Jungle Cruise and Splash Mountain.

Not being able to handle our breakneck pace with late nights and early mornings, Nick didn’t meet up with us until around noon. When met us at Cosmic Ray’s, he brought personalized Mickey Ears with him! This was incredibly thoughtful of him, and we all were quite excited to sport our ears around the park that day.

 

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Another of the attractions we don’t normally visit that we decided to do on this day was the Indy Speedway. I can see why we normally skip it, but it was mildly amusing. What was really fun was trying to navigate the vehicle while I turned to take pictures of Sarah in the car behind me. That really made for some jerky driving as the car hit back and forth on the little track between the wheels.

Aside from this, not really much worth noting from the day at the MK. We hit the typical attractions, and interacted with the typical characters. After eating dinner at Cosmic Ray’s, we went to get spots to watch SpectroMagic! The bridge from Tomorrowlandhub area was absolutely packed when we got there! However, somehow, we found an excellent spot for Spectro behind some people seated on the curb. I was a little concerned that these people would stand during the parade, but none of them did! (Apparently they share my sentiment that people with front row seats should not stand during the parade). The shots turned out wonderfully. Even though none had the Castle in the frame, because of the angle, I think we had one of the best possible spots on the parade route.

Since the area was so congested before Spectro, after Spectro, we decided to just grab some nearby spots for Wishes! We knew these spots wouldn’t be the best for viewing or photography, as they were fairly close to the castle, but we did quite anticipate how the fireworks would appear from such a close vantage. Not a big deal, as we could see most of the fireworks, and the show is special no matter what!

Following Wishes, we headed off to play in the park for Evening Extra Magic Hours. The EMH time flew by; we concluded the evening at Space Mountain, and again began taking After-Hours Pictures in Tomorrowland. Due to some issues with my external flash (specifically, the batteries being dead in it), it took some extra time to get good pictures of us.

Again, it was a cold evening, so the park pretty well cleared out within an hour of closing. When we finally left at 12:15 a.m., we were the last guests in the park. I’d say three of four days being the last guests in the park isn’t bad!

We then headed back to Pop, tired from the day and the trip generally, with the knowledge that we would have to get up at 4:45 a.m. to get ready for our DME return trip to the airport. The next morning came quickly, unfortunately. We left our resort, and made the long trip home, leaving the Magic behind, but taking a little with us in the memories from the trip.

For those interested in seeing more of the pictures I took during this trip, check out my Flickr page—I post pictures there daily (a link to my Flickr account can be found below, in my signature). Also, if you’re in need for a 2009 wall calendar, and would like a WDW one, please check out the other link in my signature for the calendar I created that is on sale now at CafePress—each page of the calendar features a different photograph I took this year at Walt Disney World.

Hope you enjoyed my trip report—Thanks for reading.

See Ya Again Real Soon!

 

[MickeyMomTo2]

I am so excited you went back just so I can look at your new pictures!

 

[WDWFigment]

I am so excited you went back just so I can look at your new pictures!

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed them!

 

[fireworks fan]

Wow, those are beautiful shots-its inspiring me to buy a new camera before my next trip Thanks for sharing.

 

[VBsHustla]

Your pictures are amazing! I especially loved the shot of Chip and Dale during Spectro, the one of the Mickey/Walt statue, and the nighttime Main Street pictures. Beautiful! Love the Mickey ears too! Thanks for sharing your trip!

 

[rentayenta]

Your photos are the best I've seen. Well done!

 

[WDWFigment]

Wow, those are beautiful shots-its inspiring me to buy a new camera before my next trip Thanks for sharing.

Your pictures are amazing! I especially loved the shot of Chip and Dale during Spectro, the one of the Mickey/Walt statue, and the nighttime Main Street pictures. Beautiful! Love the Mickey ears too! Thanks for sharing your trip!

Your photos are the best I've seen. Well done!

Thanks for the kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed the report and pictures!

 

[Tatania]

I agree with the other posters - your pictures are spectacular. You've inspired me to look around a little more carefully before buying my next camera because I would dearly love to take nighttime shots of the kind of quality you have. I don't remember seeing your pictures entered on the photo board or have I just not been looking at the name properly?

BTW, it doesn't hurt to have a model as beautiful as Sarah in your pictures. She is a professional model right?

I know what you mean about the increased EVC use but I also know how badly my feet hurt after a couple days of walking around the parks (with fallen arches). I was limping so badly that I would have paid just about anything to have an EVC to use. However, pride prevented me from doing it. I think the increased use is probably a combination of an older crowd that simply can't walk as much due to bad knees, hips, feet etc. and people possibly being more out of shape and preferring to ride rather than walk. Are people on an EVC (plus their party) but to the front of the queue at rides? If so, that would explain an increased use.

I didn't know one could stay in the park that long after the closing is announced. What do they do if you're not out of the park after 90 minutes or two hours? What's the longest you've stayed after the park has "officially" closed. Are the rides going right up to the official closing time? I usually start moseying toward the exit as soon as the announcement comes on that the parks are closing

 

[Vexorg]

I'm not sure if this post makes me want to go back or if it makes me want to take the plunge on a DSLR. My few feeble efforts at night photography on my point-and-shoot (a Canon SD850) pale in comparison to the shots here. While it's a lot easier to have a pocketable camera that takes nice shots most of the time, I'd love to be able to get shots like this, and I don't think the one I have is ever going to come close.

 

[angel*lady]

Oh my gosh!! You photos are AMAZING!!! Thanks for sharing! Can I ask - what kind of camera do you use? I am currently looking to upgrade mine.

Thanks!

 

[PrincessASquared]

I normally don't read trip reports, but, earlier this year I stumbled into one of yours, and I was facinated! Now, I always look for your screen name to see your latest trip reports. The pictures are awesome! I have checked out your flickr pics and wish there was a way to print them. I would decorate my house with them! I guess I need to buy a better camera. Mine is nice, (Nikon S7c) but cannot produce good night photos.
Keep up the nice work! I look forward to your next report.

 

[WDWFigment]

I agree with the other posters - your pictures are spectacular. You've inspired me to look around a little more carefully before buying my next camera because I would dearly love to take nighttime shots of the kind of quality you have. I don't remember seeing your pictures entered on the photo board or have I just not been looking at the name properly?

BTW, it doesn't hurt to have a model as beautiful as Sarah in your pictures. She is a professional model right?

I know what you mean about the increased EVC use but I also know how badly my feet hurt after a couple days of walking around the parks (with fallen arches). I was limping so badly that I would have paid just about anything to have an EVC to use. However, pride prevented me from doing it. I think the increased use is probably a combination of an older crowd that simply can't walk as much due to bad knees, hips, feet etc. and people possibly being more out of shape and preferring to ride rather than walk. Are people on an EVC (plus their party) but to the front of the queue at rides? If so, that would explain an increased use.

I didn't know one could stay in the park that long after the closing is announced. What do they do if you're not out of the park after 90 minutes or two hours? What's the longest you've stayed after the park has "officially" closed. Are the rides going right up to the official closing time? I usually start moseying toward the exit as soon as the announcement comes on that the parks are closing

I've posted on the photography board a couple of times, but (and no offense to anyone) I think this site is sort of "clique-y" and the only posts that get many responses are those by members with long histories of posting. No one ever really replied to anything I posted. I do post a picture daily in the Picture of the Day thread. If you look at this trip report forum, I think it is good evidence of the "cliqueiness".

Ha, Sarah is not a professional model, but she "gets" that often (thanks). The ECV bit is not meant to be a knock at everyone who uses them, I hope no one misconstrues it as such. I completely understand that there are many people who need them. I just think they are being abused by many.

I think the longest we've stayed after closing is about 90 minutes. I don't think we've ever been told by the sweepers (although a CM at BTMRR once told us to leave about 5 minutes after closing) that we had to leave. I think it's sort of implied, but nothing explicit. The rides are open right until the park closes.

Oh my gosh!! You photos are AMAZING!!! Thanks for sharing! Can I ask - what kind of camera do you use? I am currently looking to upgrade mine.

Thanks!

I use a Nikon D40.

I normally don't read trip reports, but, earlier this year I stumbled into one of yours, and I was facinated! Now, I always look for your screen name to see your latest trip reports. The pictures are awesome! I have checked out your flickr pics and wish there was a way to print them. I would decorate my house with them! I guess I need to buy a better camera. Mine is nice, (Nikon S7c) but cannot produce good night photos.
Keep up the nice work! I look forward to your next report.

Thanks! You should actually be able to print off high resolution copies from Flickr. There is a button that says "All sizes" right about the picture. Give it a try, if you want. I also sell a calendar; you can find the link to that in my signature.

 

[acityinspain]

This is the first TR that I've read (mostly because I catch them so far into the story). You told yours all in one full swoop... so thanks.

I love how you guys just pop off to Disney World like that. As I read, I told DBf we need to do that more often.

About your note about Beaches and Cream, you should definitely try the Kitchen Sink next time. The sheer joy and memory of it is worth the money. A few years ago, I went with a friend and her family and we got it. Four of us could barely even dig in, but it is delicious. And the whole restaurant cheered us on. It's something I recommend everyone do.

As always, your photos are stunning!!! I've never done Christmastime, so it was great reading your TR.