and so it begins...

For the Studios, I suggest adding on Toy Story and multiple Star Tours rides. ; There are 11 scenes on Star Tours (making 54 combinations) so, depending on your luck, it may take many rides to see them all. ; Toy Story is just plain addictive. ; Tower of Terror may require more rides, too; the lobby is full of details.

Also be sure to take in the Citizens of Hollywood on the streets of the Studios. ; They're fun and photogenic.

Be sure to wander around the New Fantasyland section of the Magic Kingdom. ; It's very pretty.

Stop and see Divine in Animal Kingdom. ; Her times are posted on the tip board at the front of the park.

I'm a big fan of all the music in the parks. ; Keep an eye on your times guide and be sure and stop to enjoy the show.

The current predictions from Touringplans.com show the crowd levels to be pretty low during your dates, so you should easily be able to take in all of the attractions you want.
 
Your trip falls during Food & Wine, so I recommend staying away from EPCOT on the weekend since it will be absolutely packed with locals. ;

I agree with Dennis' suggestion to see some of the musical performances. Voices of Liberty & Off Kilter at EPCOT, the Dapper Dans at MK and Mulch Sweat & Shears at DHS are all must see shows in my opinion. ;

Definitely take time to see the Back Lot Tour at DHS as it may not be around very long if the rumors are true. ; Also make sure to see One Man's Dream at DHS.

Kali River Rapids has an awesome queue and is worth walking through just to take pictures. ; The ride load and unload are right next to each other so it is easy to walk through and head out the exit without riding.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is also worth seeing. ; The parade is the excellent, the fireworks are good and it's worth the price of admission just to watch Lady Renata and Madame Carlota interact with guests outside the Haunted Mansion
 
"ddindy" said:
For the Studios, I suggest adding on Toy Story and multiple Star Tours rides. ; There are 11 scenes on Star Tours (making 54 combinations) so, depending on your luck, it may take many rides to see them all. ; Toy Story is just plain addictive. ; Tower of Terror may require more rides, too; the lobby is full of details.
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Great! ; I remember hearing about the changes they brought in version 2 but I would have totally forgotten how many runs it would probably take.

"ddindy" said:
Be sure to wander around the New Fantasyland section of the Magic Kingdom. ; It's very pretty.

Stop and see Divine in Animal Kingdom. ; Her times are posted on the tip board at the front of the park.
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One thing that was going to come from this trip to be certain was a complete walk of all 4 parks regardless of attraction ridings with special time saved for magic hour. ; I am glad you reminded me of Divine, I added her to the list of things to see.

"ddindy" said:
I'm a big fan of all the music in the parks. ; Keep an eye on your times guide and be sure and stop to enjoy the show.

The current predictions from Touringplans.com show the crowd levels to be pretty low during your dates, so you should easily be able to take in all of the attractions you want.
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I am not much for musicals/song dance so I guess it will depend on how much they blow me away from a distance if I walk closer, though I appreciate the suggestion. ; Being s single park-goer for this trip one of the things I was going to take advantage of was that I hear people flock to these performances/parades which tend to leave some attractions as walk on or close to it.

Great news on the Touringplans.com thing (never heard of it till now so gonna check it out) this should make everything go smoother! ; May their predictions come true.
 
"mSummers" said:
Your trip falls during Food & Wine, so I recommend staying away from EPCOT on the weekend since it will be absolutely packed with locals. ;
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This has been so noted. ; Might very well have been something I would have overlooked. ; Thanks for the reminder

"mSummers" said:
I agree with Dennis' suggestion to see some of the musical performances. Voices of Liberty & Off Kilter at EPCOT, the Dapper Dans at MK and Mulch Sweat & Shears at DHS are all must see shows in my opinion. ;
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So much to do and see, so little time. ; Not much of a song and dance guy so we will see if they draw me in with their wow factor, but probably won't go out of my way unless they wowed me a day earlier or something.

"mSummers" said:
Definitely take time to see the Back Lot Tour at DHS as it may not be around very long if the rumors are true. ; Also make sure to see One Man's Dream at DHS.

Kali River Rapids has an awesome queue and is worth walking through just to take pictures. ; The ride load and unload are right next to each other so it is easy to walk through and head out the exit without riding.
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All 3 of these have been added to the lists. ; Thanks!

"mSummers" said:
Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party is also worth seeing. ; The parade is the excellent, the fireworks are good and it's worth the price of admission just to watch Lady Renata and Madame Carlota interact with guests outside the Haunted Mansion
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Will the Halloween part be happening by Oct 4th? ; Fireworks are a given, I will want to see them each night I am down there. ; Are Lady Renata and Madame Carlota only around the area at certain times ?
 
MNSSHP starts around the middle of September. ; I haven't seen the 2013 dates yet. ; I've found that the hard ticket parties are less crowded when the fall on Sun-Thurs. ; Fridays and Saturdays are always more crowded. ;

I'm not sure if Madame Carlota and Lady Renata have set schedules during the party, at least I've never seen them published. ; I saw them after the second parade and they switched back and forth with a couple of minute gap between them. ; I assume they do that all night.
 
I believe that one of them should be out the entire time. ; You would only miss them if you entered or exited as they swap out. ; And if you are really lucky, like I was a few years ago, you might even get to escort one back to the graveyard (break room). ; We had a very "spirited" conversation.


Sent from my iPhone...
 
Ok, next round of grilling for the willing :)

Backpack vs. Fanny-pack (style aside, considering I will be using my G12 and can move everything I need around in the fanny or in the camera case)

I have heard Epcot & Hollywood are within walking distance. ; How long a walk are they talking ?

For the 4 parks I am hitting, and with the ride I plan on riding. ; What should I get in and hit hard and fast? ; Fast pass recommendations?

I have heard that the bus system works on a single destination system, meaning the bus will go from a park to a resort. ; How often are different buses arriving at the resorts ? ; At the end of the night, how frequently are buses leaving the parks to ferry people back ?

How long (approx) would the longest bus trip take (airport excluded) from the Pop to whichever is the farthest park ?

Thanks again,

Jay
 
"Brother Jay" said:
Ok, next round of grilling for the willing :)


I have heard Epcot & Hollywood are within walking distance. ; How long a walk are they talking ?

For the 4 parks I am hitting, and with the ride I plan on riding. ; What should I get in and hit hard and fast? ; Fast pass recommendations?

I have heard that the bus system works on a single destination system, meaning the bus will go from a park to a resort. ; How often are different buses arriving at the resorts ? ; At the end of the night, how frequently are buses leaving the parks to ferry people back ?

How long (approx) would the longest bus trip take (airport excluded) from the Pop to whichever is the farthest park ?

Thanks again,

Jay
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The walk is about 20-30 minutes, not short by any stretch. ; That being said I did it from Epcot to Studios and then back in time for Illuminations in December.

I suggest Fastpass for any headliner. ; If you dont go that route, then ride them early in the day.

Rule of Thumb for the busses is about every 20 minutes. ; But that is loose, I have found service in the morning to be better and later as well. ; Mid afternoon is when you may wait longer (but a longer wait is always a possibility)

Once on the bus from Pop, 15 mintutes tops to any park. ; Keep in mind that you have to walk from the stop to security, get through that and then the entrance. ; You can factor that into it as well.
 
Between Epcot and Hollywood, the boat takes about 30 minutes. ; So if you are in a hurry the walk will get you there faster. ; However, if not in a hurry, the boat will get you there much more relaxed.

As for busses to the parks, ; while typically no more than 20 minute waits in the morning and evening (~2 hours before and after both opening and closing) it could be up to 30 minutes mid day. ; I don't think I've ever waited more than 30-40 minutes for a bus.


Sent from my iPhone...
 
I frequently walk between the Studios and Epcot. ; You can save a few minutes by taking a shortcut through the Luna Park pool at the Boardwalk rather than going all the way around Jellyrolls. ; If I see a boat approaching the Studios dock, I'll ride to the Beach Club and walk the rest of the way to Epcot; this is always faster than riding the boat all the way.

And if you've never used the trail between the Studios and the Boardwalk area, it's on the opposite side of the lake from the boat dock; exit the park, head out towards the charter bus stop and keep turning left. ; Google maps calls it the "Hollywood Studios Epcot Resorts Connector."

Remember, the buses between the resorts and MK use the bus stops right next the Magic Kingdom entrance. ; Buses from other parks to MK only go to the TTC.

When I travel with just a P&S, I use a BlackRapid SnapR bag for the camera and put everything else in my cargo shorts. ; When I take the SLR, sometimes I have a small backpack and other times I just rent a locker, depending on how much I'm carrying or what my plans are.
 
Congrats on getting a trip underway! It's such an exciting phase of the whole Disney vacation experience. I'm sad to hear that you won't be staying at AKL, though I think you're right about checking out and checking in just for one night. My wife and I were able to stay there because a friend had DVC there and was generous enough to work something out for our Disneymoon. I will however, suggest making a stop there, specifically at Jiko for their restaurant called Sanaa. Their food is pretty amazing there and from what I know, I don't think it's very expensive either. We went twice on our honeymoon and we loved it so much, we went back on another trip. We're not big on sitting down for meals either, but it was something we definitely felt worth going back for.

I'm going with Tim with not park-hopping. Since you have so many days, you could very well go to a park each day and just go crazy on the second days. Soak in the updates in each park and enjoy the atmosphere. Also, since you're staying on-site, you should definitely take advantage of EMH (extra magic hours) and plan your days around that. You'll have to get up early or stay out late, but this is vacation, right?

We stayed at Pop on our last trip and it was fine. If you're not too tired from the parks, I definitely recommend hiking it over to Art of Animation and checking out the huge statues in each section. If you're there at night, you can see/hear Fantasmic over by the Little Mermaid section! There's a different feel of the resort in the morning and at night, so maybe you could do both.

If you're staying at EPCOT into the night, a great spot for Illuminations is in Japan. Go up to the patio (is it called that? I'm not sure) of Teppan Edo and get the corner. You'll get the gate in your shot, but it's a clear view of the HUGE fireworks that they shoot up. Well worth getting there early or if you can, make a reservation at the restaurant and have some food while watching the fireworks. Then take your time leaving and maybe take the long way out of World Showcase. It'll make for some great time alone for photography!
 
Again, thanks for the feedback from everyone. ; This is going to be a great time!

Get confirmation of my time off work (done)

Get a passport so I can even begin planning this whole thing (done)

Book my vacation with Disney (DONE!!!)

Book a flight so I can get to my vacation (DONE!!!) *revised*

Finish paying for the vacation (in progress)

Experience an uncontrollable growing smile on a daily basis that cannot be contained (CONFIRMED)
 
Ok, so the counter continues to count down to my trip. ; My car accident problems are behind me (that sucked) even after the insurance company flipped me the bird. ; Now one with more questions. ;

Current camera is the Canon G12 - and I have begun thinking about the next addition to the family for the purpose of this trip, but I am kinda on the fence. ; I know several of you have camera's from this family but I am just not sure if not if now is the right time or not. ; The NEX's family is what I am looking at, but they are releasing such regular updates for the line that I have to wonder if the next versions will also bring even more capabilities and streamlining to the menu system. ; Coming from the G12 and loving it for all it's manual controls, this is also something I need to factor in. ; Initially I would probably want a fast lens for it so I could take full advantage of night shots and video. ; Also, partly because of the accident I do need to keep costs down as much as possible, which will probably keep me waiting for one of those mega sales from B&H or something. ; Your thoughts? ; Should I wait? ; Is the NEX 6 THAT much better than the 5R ?

Not sure when another vacation to Disney will come around, and I don't want to miss any of it.

Jay
 
The next generation of the NEX family has been slightly delayed according to the rumor sites today. The main difference between the 6 and the 5R is you lose the touchscreen and gain a built in viewfinder. ; Personally I prefer having the viewfinder because you would lose the hotshoe to add one on the 5R.

Sometimes you gain by waiting. Less than a month after I bought my 6 Sony threw in the 16/2.8 for free. But if you are always waiting for the next generation you will never be able to buy a camera!

More primes are coming later this spring and using old manual focus lenses is a breeze with the focus peaking feature. I just got a decent copy of a yashica 135/2.8 for $25 including a 2x TC.
 
check out others in the M4/3 mount such as the panasonic GH series, i have the GH-2, and the olympus OMD-5, lenses are interchangeable in micro 4/3 and i am pretty happy with the IQ
 
Sorry for bringing camera questions into the vacation thread, if you would prefer I move my questions over to the nex thread just let me know.

Leaning towards the 5R at this point, since the price on the viewfinder continues to drop and I have zero plans to use a flash, I can always add the viewfinder later.

So, here is my kinda plan.

Continue to use the G12 for most of my shooting in the day since it is a great camera when I have enough light; and if I get the NEX 5R I would get a fast lens maybe a 1.4 and a lens with a better zoom than the G12 has. ; My next question pertaining to all this is I want to have for both of these lenses the full compatibility of the Fast Hybrid AF system that the 5R has. ; From what I am reading you need to have a specific type of lens for this to all work. ;

Since I am a total noob when it comes to the world of 'glass' I would greatly appreciate any recommendations any of you might have to fit my bill. ; Budget is always a consideration, but I am not interested in cheapo glass. ; Powered lenses is also something I am thinking about and would love to hear your pros and cons of that as well.

Thanks,

Jay

ps. ; how do I attach some kind of sig that counts down my days until I hit the park ?
 
"Brother Jay" said:
Sorry for bringing camera questions into the vacation thread, if you would prefer I move my questions over to the nex thread just let me know.

Leaning towards the 5R at this point, since the price on the viewfinder continues to drop and I have zero plans to use a flash, I can always add the viewfinder later.

So, here is my kinda plan.

Continue to use the G12 for most of my shooting in the day since it is a great camera when I have enough light; and if I get the NEX 5R I would get a fast lens maybe a 1.4 and a lens with a better zoom than the G12 has. ; My next question pertaining to all this is I want to have for both of these lenses the full compatibility of the Fast Hybrid AF system that the 5R has. ; From what I am reading you need to have a specific type of lens for this to all work. ;

Since I am a total noob when it comes to the world of 'glass' I would greatly appreciate any recommendations any of you might have to fit my bill. ; Budget is always a consideration, but I am not interested in cheapo glass. ; Powered lenses is also something I am thinking about and would love to hear your pros and cons of that as well.

Thanks,

Jay

ps. ; how do I attach some kind of sig that counts down my days until I hit the park ?
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Starting in reverse - there are countdown signature files out on the web - basically they host the file which you link to in your profile signature.

Lenses: ; As of right now there are no autofocus lenses for NEX faster than 1.8. ; The 35/1.8 and 50/1.8 are Hybrid AF ready, as is the 30mm macro and the 18-55,55-210,10-18, 18-200s, 16-50 lenses. ; In order to get a lens that matches your G12 you would need the 18-200. ; Now what the PZ lenses do is allow you to automatically use the Clear Image Zoom with the lens rather than going into a menu (ie you can use CIZ with any lens)

Now if you can wait, Zeiss is coming out with 3 more primes this year, and Sony is supposed to be releasing either a Zeiss zoom or a G class zoom (G is Sony's prosumer line, Zeiss would be similar to a Canon L) that could be a better match for the G12 range. (I say could because it might not...rumors have been quiet lately although the new Hasselblad E-mount camera is going to be announced very very soon)

The 16-50 is a kit lens, and you get what you pay for. ; It has horrible barrel distortion at 16mm BUT the camera corrects the JPGs automatically. ; I've heard that the 18-55 is a better lens, but it is about twice the size when turned off, and it doesn't have PZ. ; I'm not complaining about my 16-50; however, I have used other glass more often lately - mostly my manual focus stuff.
 
All of the lenses there are good. ; The Sigmas are the previous generation, which is why they are selling it as kit. ; B&H/Adorama is still selling those two for $200 combined, because they want to get rid of their inventory. ; Personally I don't know what Sigma exactly did to upgrade them as they are both considered very good.
 
Thx for all the feedback Roger!

To those of you who have the 5R or the 6, what wifi options have you made use of for a remote shutter control?

Gonna pick up the camera tonight and may do the lens(s) in a few weeks when I have done more research

ps. ; can I get a pulled pork sandwich or mozzarella cheese sticks anywhere in WDW ?
 
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