My wife, daughter, and I decided a year ago to stay the week of Christmas and wanted to stay in Bay Lake Tower for location close to MK. ; One benefit is Top of the World Lounge. ; For shooting Wishes there is little worry for finding a spot even at this time of year. ; I think this is why they have opened the lounge to any DVC member, to get some more traffic up there. ; I have been up there to see Wishes about 8 times in the last few years and never has it been overly busy. ; So here are a few shots I got that night. Wishes from TOTW - Reds by jbwolffiv, on Flickr Wishes from TOTW - Dual Reds by jbwolffiv, on Flickr Wishes from TOTW - Colors by jbwolffiv, on Flickr
Very nice. ; Indeed, I tried that out during Pixelmania too, since I didn't attend the MVMCP - the BLT was still open to DVC members, so I decided to shoot from up there. ; Neat view - though it was my first time and I could have done a little better with the settings and the framing. ; I'll do better next time, now that I know where the fireworks go off and how far to focus and frame! ; I'll be staying in BLT for the first time this September, so I'm looking forward to getting a lot of shot opportunities up there. ;
Thanks Justin. ; It is great to be able to just head up there when staying there. ; Go up an hour before the show, have a drink, maybe a snack at well (love the pretzel sticks) and then head out to set up. ; No pressure like being in MK.
Wow - they've extended it some more?? ; I was amazed when we were there for Pixelmania that they had extended into December...I'm surprised it's now even further extended. ; Hmmm - I am almost hoping it will be closed to DVC members by September...just so it feels like something more special when I'm staying there!! ;
Yeah, no kidding. TOTW new policy is kind of a shame. I liked that it was only available to BLT guests. But, no one was ever up there, so this seems to work so far. Its better than WDW closing it
I was not happy when they announced this Perk for all members, as that is a home resort for me. ; Then I went up there Christmas week and was sold that it is not a problem. ; Even 2 days before Christmas was kind of empty. ; We got a seat by the glass and there were not too many people outside for the show, and I want to say it was not too cold, maybe in the 50's. ; We may use this in the summer when staying at Beach Club.
I certainly took advantage of it - I was up there in September with a friend, in December for Pixelmania, and in January to show my mother, all three times I wasn't staying there. ; So I can't be too critical of the policy which I took advantage of. ; But I still thought it was going to be a limited time thing - I suppose the economics of it make sense - and as long as it doesn't draw big crowds, I suppose it will be OK. ; Most times it didn't feel too crowded, though during Pixelmania, there were no tables or chairs available in the bar so it was semi-crowded...but at fireworks time the outdoor viewing area wasn't crowded at all.
Here is another one, a little blown out, but I liked the colors on the edges of the burst. Wishes from TOTW by jbwolffiv, on Flickr
