The Castle, Waterfalls & Lamps with a Solo Hobbyist Photographer

Welcome!

Three words sum up my solo weekend January 29-31, 2011 at the Pop Resort ~ SO...MUCH...FUN.

My Disney addiction is consistently searching for ways to get me back to the World. My 3 teenage sons and hubby are so "over" Disney that I can no longer use them as an excuse to go there.

Then comes October 2010, when we purchase our first DSLR camera. The seed of a photographic trip is planted and a new "excuse" is born!

I begin stalking airline fares and dreaming of a weekend solo trip where I can do whatever I want. Yes, I know as a mother of three/wife & full time employee in the public school system I am not supposed to think about myself! But, I did it anyway.

On with the show~

January 29, 2011
Flight leaves Midway at 7:20am. Into Orlando by 10:30 Eastern time. Magical express wait 10 min, Stop at Carribean Beach and then Pop. Room is not ready. It is now 11:50am.

What to do, what to do??? Answer: Pull out my flip-flops, literally throw my carryon bag at the luggage guy, and use all my self-restraint to prevent myself from running to the Magic Kingdom shuttle. A bus pulls up almost instantly....this is a sign of great things to come!

I have finally entered the World....

And the "Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It" Parade is just starting, there is "The Man"

Hey-Howdy-Hey Woody!

Now starts what I will call my "photographic walk-through" as I just walked and shot pictures and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

In reviewing my pics upon return, I have discovered that:
1) I managed to get some nice shots for being a newbie.
2) I can't seem to take a level picture to save my life!
3) Lightroom 3 is my new best friend in helping my pictures come to life.

Firehouse~

Trolley~

Joy, joy, it's only 12:37 and the park closes at 9pm tonight. I still have 8.5 hours!

The Dance/Music lesson windows in the little alcove along main street. You can hear them "practicing" if you listen closely.

I apparently love lamps/lamp-posts (thus the TR title) as this is the first shot of many to come..

At the end of Main Street, I got this Crystal Palace shot.

And now, the beginning of many castle/hub shots.

More to come!! (Maybe even today as the Blizzard of 2011 has closed my school in a suburb of Chicago.)
Thanks for reading if you are following!

 

[Pluto Princess]

I am following! and I can't wait for more. Your pictures are great so far. :sohappy:

 

[PineapplePrincess]

So jealous of your solo trip! DH would never let me get away with it!
I am also enjoying a day off here in Michigan courtesy of the "Groundhog Day Blizzard".
Looking forward to seeing more!

 

[ctosh]

Nice photos ...can't wait to see more...Enjoy your snow day

 

[jhoff3405]

I am following! and I can't wait for more. Your pictures are great so far. :sohappy:

Thank you very much! I look forward to sharing more.

So jealous of your solo trip! DH would never let me get away with it!
I am also enjoying a day off here in Michigan courtesy of the "Groundhog Day Blizzard".
Looking forward to seeing more!

Hubby not thrilled, but respected my wish to go. It was fantastic!
I am glad for the snow day today, I got home late Monday night (barely made it in) and was worn out so today is a great day to recoup.

Nice photos ...can't wait to see more...Enjoy your snow day

Yeah for snow day! More coming up....

 

[jhoff3405]

So, we left off in the hub with Dumbo. Here are Chip & Dale~

Good ol' Goofy~

And my most favorite thing of all in Disney~

Back to the hub where the parade was just finishing up, and there is "The Man" again

And back to Dumbo---I really am drawn to these statues with the castle in the background~

Many more pics of the castle to come, but there were just too many people in the hub with the parade just ending.

So, I wandered through Liberty Square to take a picture of something I have always missed before while being with my kids. I tried to wait to get this shot without anyone in it, and darn it, this guy walked right through when I thought I was in the clear. I admitted defeat and moved on.

Having not eaten since 5am my stomach was definitely talking to me. I headed through Frontierland and over to Pecos Bills. I had never eaten at Pecos before but have read about their topping bar. Veggie burger here we come! It was crowded and I felt bad taking up a whole table for just myself, but there were not small tables for just 2 people.

Belly full, I moved over to Adventureland and got this nice shot~

Lamppost across the way from Pirates~

Then I moseyed on over to the Tiki Gods~

Up next...
Swiss Family Robinson
Room Ready = Nap
Attempting to close MK down

 

[smk]

OMG, you saw the sun! What is it like? Warm, wonderful, warm? It is a rare site these days for anyone from the midwest. Aren't you happy you made it home in time for the blizzard? I would have stayed and lived off the garbage from the trash cans if I had to....I want this winter to be over so bad! Really, serioulsy, great pictures and I am happy that someone posted a recent picture of a blue sky, I was sure it was only white/grey these days.

 

[jhoff3405]

OMG, you saw the sun! What is it like? Warm, wonderful, warm? It is a rare site these days for anyone from the midwest. Aren't you happy you made it home in time for the blizzard? I would have stayed and lived off the garbage from the trash cans if I had to....I want this winter to be over so bad! Really, serioulsy, great pictures and I am happy that someone posted a recent picture of a blue sky, I was sure it was only white/grey these days.

Not only did I see the sun, I refused sunblock and actually came back with a sunburn! It was certainly a buzz kill to come home to Blizzard 2011, but I am thankful I got home at all as after a weekend away from the family I was missing them.

More blue skies to come as every day I was there was in the low 70s and sunny. If only I could retire now.....

 

[jhoff3405]

Still Saturday Jan 29th....

After walking by Pirates, I decided to do Swiss Family Robinson for some photo opportunities.

Made the color of this picture "yesteryear"~

As my middle son would say, "This wheel is 'getting work done!'"

And here is our first waterfall (thus the TR title). If only all of us could have this scene in our kitchens~

It is now 1:45pm...text comes in that my room is ready and I decided that I needed a nap. I had been running on adrenaline for a couple days and now that the "initial castle sighting" had been had my body was telling me to get some rest. So, heading my way back down main street.

Not a great pic, but I have never watched the Dapper Dans before...they were great!

This is the same gentleman that I saw last July in Crystal Arts. I found it neat that I recognized a cast member from a previous trip! Wonder what he thinks when people come up and shove a camera in his face to take a picture? Or maybe he is desensitized to it?

Walking out to the bus, the ferry was just coming in.

Saw a Pop bus and started running to grab it...only to have him pull away as I was 10 feet from the door! People on the bus must have told him to stop as the driver came over the loud speaker and announced "I cannot stop the bus once I have pulled away from the curb." Bummer. Another bus came soon. Got back to Pop, settled in my room and took a 45 minute nap.

Woke up ready to head back to MK and determined to see "The Kiss Goodnight" as the park closed fairly early at 9pm.

Back to MK a little before 5pm~

I could not decide which of these 2 balloon pictures I liked better, so you got them both~

Then onto my favorite view~

Thanks to the Blizzard of 2011, I have another snow day today. So, I am hoping to get another post up today. I have whittled down my pictures to under 300, though I'm not sure all of them will end up being shared as you might have "castle overload" by the end!

 

[DiPSU224]

Beautiful photos!! Can't wait to see more..

 

[GrumpyFannyPack]

The perfect photos for a perfectly crappy week. I'm just a few hours south of you and your report is making things a lot warmer here.

 

[jhoff3405]

Beautiful photos!! Can't wait to see more..

More is on the way!

The perfect photos for a perfectly crappy week. I'm just a few hours south of you and your report is making things a lot warmer here.

I'm glad the pics help brighten your day. The sun is shining in Chicago today, so at least its a step in the right direction.

 

[jhoff3405]

Still Saturday the 29th...

We left off on main street and according to my next 30 pictures I spent a lot of time there! I will share a few of my favorites~

I never noticed the criss-cross on the roof above the clock before~

I then moved down to the Rose Garden~

Waterfall #2 for this TR if you are keeping count. This is in the Rose Garden shooting toward Cosmic Rays~

Then up to the wishing well. I love these mice at the base of the well~

I had never noticed the detail on the arch of the well~

I then moved around to the back of the castle. It is having work done on it, so I moseyed over to Cinderella's drinking fountain. As a mom of three boys, I have never spent much time here. The details are fantastic!

And another shot~

Coming up next....decent (not great) shots from inside HM.

For those of you still along for the ride, thanks!

 

[The Empress Lilly]

That's all so lovely! I love how you managed to abandon hubby, kids and other responsibilities to make it to the World! :sohappy:

The pictures are fun. Some are standard beginners ones. But quite a few are really rather good. You've got a good eye, and your love and understanding of the subject shows!

My surprising favourite is the one below, which I think really captures the fun and visual delights of Main Street very well.

 

[TakeMeThere81]

Lovin' it!! Great pictures and how great to just leisurely stroll around MK taking pictures. Sounds so great!! Did you ride many rides/attractions?

 

[jhoff3405]

The pictures are fun. Some are standard beginners ones. But quite a few are really rather good. You've got a good eye, and your love and understanding of the subject shows!

Thanks for the input! For right now I plan on keeping my "amateur/hobbyist" photography status. Maybe when the kids are older I can devote more time to hone the craft.

It was so fun to leave behind all responsibilities for a weekend!

Lovin' it!! Great pictures and how great to just leisurely stroll around MK taking pictures. Sounds so great!! Did you ride many rides/attractions?

It was great! I did end up riding rides on Day 2. I think on Day 1 I was too hesitant to ride as it brought up memories of being there with the family...and though it was great to be there alone, it made me sad to think that they were not with me and did not share the "Disney love" with me!

 

[jhoff3405]

Still Saturday the 29th....

Fantasyland was very busy with lots of little ones and lots of strollers. I did some people watching of the little ones and the joy on their faces...then I would look at the parents and would see one of 2 emotions: joy as well, or pure exhaustion!

The wait for Dumbo was only 30 minutes?!

I had wanted to ride Peter Pan, but the line was (as usual) 45 minutes. Decided to wait until tomorrow and head over to HM.

On the way to HM~

Good ol' HM. I was not planning on riding many rides, but this is one of my favorites and I decided to hop in line. It was about 15 minutes.

The following are some decent (not great) pics from inside HM~

Close, but no cigar on this shot~

Picture limit......

 

[jhoff3405]

Saturday the 29th Cont'd......

At the end of the HM ride~

And the obligatory shot of the horse/wagon~

Lamp-post! I had never ridden the Liberty Belle (kids never wanted to) and was planning on it this trip. Guess what?! It was closed for the weekend for refurbishment!

Then through Liberty Square as I could see the evening lights were on at the castle. But first a swing through Ye Old Christmas Shoppe~

Pretty reflection of castle~

I have never paid much attention to the murals inside the castle. Today was the day to change that!

And this is main street at about 6pm on January 29th---suprisingly mobbed with people already lining up for the parade. The park itself I found very busy. Touring plans had it at a 3 (I have only visited during the busy summer/winter break time) so I was very excited at the prospect of being in MK when it wasn't crowded. This was not the case today!

This is about the time that work called as well. I did not mind taking the phone call...how can you mind when you are looking at this~

Picture limit...
Coming up: frustrating shots of wishes, and Sunday the 30th, 3 parks and AKL in one day!

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Loving your report so far! GREAT photos!!! I love the Haunted Mansion ones.

 

[harveyt0206]

Your trip report is wonderful! The idea of a solo trip has always intrigued me. Hubby's response when I asked if he would mind me hopping down to WDW alone for a long weekend: "Why would you want to go without me?". Sigh...gotta love that man of mine. :ROFLOL:

Can't wait for more pics. I thought your Haunted Mansion pics were wonderful. It's my favorite ride and I have never taken a good picture inside the Mansion.

Following along...