Prior to the trip, I looked through my photos from our last trip to WDW back in 2004 (Expedition Everest was still being built as I have a few pictures of the steel frame of the mountain). The first thing I noticed was the need for a better wide angle lens. The second, and more glaring issue, was that I had very little night shots. Part of the reason was most of the nighttime photos I had were shot in auto with a flash (a good number of them looking washed out and overexposed). I began shopping for a Nikon WA lens since I owned a D7000, and ended up purchasing the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8. This lens came highly recommended by Disney blogger supreme Tom Bricker. Finding Tom's blog was both a blessing and a curse. I fell in love with his night photography and those "empty park" images. My Nikon is a crop sensor camera, and Tom is a full frame shooter. I initially checked into, and balked, at the prices for a full frame camera body and lenses. I convinced myself to stick with the D7000 (a very capable camera) and learn how to shoot in manual mode. Yes, I've been an auto shooter most of my life and was totally turned off (and scared) by the thought of going manual. Once I understood that shooting in manual would be crucial to getting some decent night photos (along with a tripod and raw settings), I set out to teach myself by scoring the internet and doing some reading. During Christmas 2014, Nikon ran a great deal on their bodies and lenses. It was too good to pass up, so I made the jump to a full frame Nikon D810 along with their "Holy Trinity of Lenses". It was a huge investment, but besides Disney, it really pushed me to get out and shoot quite often.