Hello TMIPers! ; With so much experience in the parks and so many fantastic photos to share, I thought it would be interesting to see what your favorite park or resort is to photograph. Is it the animals of AK? The characters or rides at the MK? Maybe the architecture at EPCOT or street scenes at DHS? ; ; Personally, I loved the colors and scenes at MK but found that I enjoy shooting DHS the past few trips. I look forward to seeing your responses! -James
Last trip I wandered through MK at night and felt completely uninspired. ; Between all the construction going on and probably the fact that I've been there a lot lately. ; I'd say my favorites are DHS and Epcot these days.
I'm just about a near-tie between Animal Kingdom and Epcot. ; AK is definitely the one I take the most photos in, but it has a bit of that edge because of my love of wildlife/bird/animal photography - Epcot has the heavy lead in architectural, scenic, and night photography. ; BOTH of these parks are my favorites by far for the intricate theming and architecture.
I'm surprised with you guys choosing DAK. For my type of shooting, the place leaves a lot to be desired. Yeah, it has awesome details, but I'm not a details person. Sure, the animals are cool, but I could photograph those outside of WDW. Beyond that, there just isn't a lot of appeal for me. Although, truth be told, DAK is my least favorite park by a long shot, so I'm sure that rubs off on my photography there. EPCOT and MK are a close 1-2 for me. DHS can give them both a run for their money if I get "in the zone" there (or if it's having a great golden hour). I really like the resorts and even like the water parks, too. Animal Kingdom next, with Downtown Disney in last place.
Animal Kingdom for me. MK and DHS would be tied for second, depending on my mood for the day . I honestly seem to find the Cast-mates at AK to be happier and more considerate than any of the other Disney Parks. Of course I am also more biased to portraits and performances for my tastes.
Those are two pretty key reasons why AK is so high on my list - I love details and attention to detail, and I love animals and wildlife. ; Though I could (and do) shoot animals elsewhere, I can't get the intricate theming. ; And I love the period feel to the architecture - the Indian, Tibetan, and African towns, buildings, signs, and atmosphere. ; One thing I truly do wish is that I could get more time there in the evenings...the EMH for AK totally screws me by being on Wednesday - I am pretty much never at Disney on a Wednesday, ever. ; So I don't get to enjoy EMH...the only time I catch a glimpse of night there is in the winter with the early evening onset when I stay past park close for some last shots. Curious - what IS your type of shooting, primarily? ; I'm guessing wide and landscape? ; Funny thing is, I actually like AK second to Epcot for wide angle photography too (though Epcot does have the lead there). I think because the educational side of Disney is what I've always liked the most about it from the time I was a kid, I tend to favor those places that have more of an educational slant. ; MK is lots 'o fun from my kiddie days, but educational stuff is few and far between - my favorite spots there not surprisingly are Frontierland and Liberty Square, specifically because of the historical aspects. ; When Epcot was built, I was completely, entirely, and overwhelmingly in love for ever more because it was built specifically for me as if they accessed my dreams and then set to work - science, technology, history, international travel, culture, marine, agriculture, and on and on. ; When MGM opened, I went, I yawned, I left...it never really clicked with me - bits and pieces of old 1940's LA are fun, but it wasn't speaking to me. ; When AK came along, back to education - international and cultural, Africa and India foods, people, arts, crafts, scenery and architecture, etc. ; Mix in animals, conservationism, amazing flora, and superb attention to detailed theming to transport you entirely to a new place...and it quickly ascended to the top of the heap beside Epcot. And while I'll always love MK for the original childhood links and memories, and Downtown Disney is always something to do, and I'll still go to DHS just to hit a few rides or snap some scenics, Epcot and AK are the whole and entire reason I go to Disney World.
Given the photos I've seen from you, I'm not surprised that DAK is your favorite. I would describe my style as ultra-wide angle distortion or with a dominate subject (I don't know if that's an actual style so see the photo below as an example; I attempt to avoid just using the UWA to capture "more" or really wide open vistas, although I do end up doing that sometimes). I've found that in DAK it's tough to find dominate subjects for that kind of shooting. It's tough to get close enough to the tree of life, and there is just so much greenery around. ; On top of that, the park never has resonated with me due to its substantive shortcomings. I think the infrastructure is there for it to be an amazing park, but right now it's one of style over substance. I know the park claims that it's "nahtazu," but for me, the fact that it's making that claim in the first place is somewhat telling. To each his own, though. ; I love animals, and I love edutainment, but I think it falls short in offering something unique in the edutainment department beyond cool theming. I loved EPCOT Center (the original Future World) because it wasn't just a glorified trip to the Children's Museum. It offered something fresh and entirely different. You'd be CRAZY to even think of comparing it to a museum. While I think DAK is substantially different than a zoo, I don't think it's crazy to compare the two. Spaceship Earth's Old Legs by Tom Bricker (WDWFigment), on Flickr
I'm going with MK as my favorite park. ; I enjoy the challenge of shooting on the dark rides there (HM, POTC, Peter Pan, etc.) and still have a long list of night shots I want to do there. ; I would put DHS and AK tied at second and EPCOT last. ; I would have given a slight advantage to AK because of the richness of the night shots, but now that they don't have evening EMH anymore I'm calling it a tie. ; I like taking pictures in EPCOT, but i just don' t spend that much time there. ;
I can walk around EPCOT all day long and not run out of things to photograph. Then, at night it gets even better. DAK and MK would be a tie for a close second. ;
I could flip a coin to figure out the results as there are two gates at the DLR..... ; But something tells me that isn't necessary.
I would have to throw my vote for MK. ; I just have way too much fun in that park. ; It offer so much, and I love to shoot there at night (and the short walk to Bay Lake is a major plus)!
For me its EPCOT. All the pavillions give me a million opportnities (future world and world showcase). Plus I really like taking pictures of people so the performers are a big plus for me!
