I just got back from a week at Disney World with my family. Whew! Disney is an interesting and challenging place to photograph. One of the biggest issues is of course crowds. People are everywhere. Another challenge is trying to find good locations to take pictures without (a) people blocking your view or (b) a Disney photographer taking your spot. Disney’s memory maker program posts photographers in many of the prime locations throughout the park which means you have to work around them. But in the end, I had fun and more importantly came away with some interesting photographs of the parks.
Unlike when I was a kid, there are now 4 Disney theme parks at Disney World. Each one has its unique personality and photographic offerings.
Magic Kingdom
Cinderella Castle
The obvious thing to photograph in Magic Kingdom is the castle. It dominates the landscape so why not photograph it. The challenge of course is to come away with an interesting photograph of the castle. I liked the way it looked near sunset so I set up on a bridge to capture a side view of the castle and and also get a reflection of it in the stream. This was certainly a good view but an even more interesting effect came at night. During the holidays, the castle is “Frozen.” It is coated in white light like the snow castle in the movie. It is a very cool effect.
Fireworks
Of course, everyone needs a good fireworks shot at Disney. There are a number of good places to watch the fireworks but very few good ones to photograph them, at least in a crowd. I set up on the balcony of the railroad station so I could look down Main Street. I got a front on view of the castle and the fireworks, albeit a somewhat distant one. I might’ve preferred my 70-200 rather than my 24-70, but I went a little wider to make sure I got the fireworks in the shot. I used a 7X neutral density filter to lengthen the stream of fireworks. I was shooting at f 5.6 at ISO 1250 for 15 seconds. Other good spots to view fireworks are near Tomorrowland and from the bridges ringing the castle. Right up front loses the perspective on the fireworks but would be a fun place to watch the light show.
Parades
There are other things to photograph at Magic Kingdom including the seemingly endless array of parades that come throughout the day. One had floats, a second had dancers, while a third had floats lit up at night. Getting a good view without people proves to be a challenge if you haven’t staked out a location. Even standing on a bridge didm;t provide me good looks. This is one thing I will have to plan for next time.
Magic Kingdom Resorts
Another interesting thing to photograph is the resorts around the Magic Kingdom. The Contemporary had an especially good view of the sunset form the monorail stop but unfortunately we were rushing to dinner and I couldn’t get out and shoot it. The reflections on the lake looking toward the park from the Polynesian would be another shot I want to get a some point. I did get a nice shot of the sunset form the monorail station, however.
Epcot
Spaceship Earth
The main attraction of Epcot is of course the Spaceship Earth dome. Its purple color at night is a sight to behold. A good photograph can be had from near the entrance. I was able to frame the moon in the shot as well. From the back, some reflections of the dome are got in some of the lagoons that surround the dome. Unfortunately, a monorail track cuts across the dome from these vantage points. At night, the track is silhouetted so a more interesting shot can be had.
Countries of the World
Photographing Epcot is a bit like being a world tourist. The facades of buildings at Epcot are striking. The challenge is getting a picture without hundreds of people in it. I went for more closeup shots to work around this. I found the gardens in Canada to be very pretty as well as the fountains in Paris. The Japanese and Chinese exhibits are very colorful as well. My favorite country to photograph was Morocco. It has lots of hidden areas and corners where light reflects in. This would be a great place to photograph empty. But with a little creativity some good photos can be had.
Fountains
Epcot has a number of fountains which can make for some interesting photos. The Fountain of Nations is located near the Spaceship Earth dome. It is small and low to the ground so it is hard to get an interesting shot unless you frame it with the dome as a backdrop. The Innoventions fountain is a dancing fountain that shoots spires of water high in the air at night accompanied by a musical soundtrack. This fountain is very hard to photograph, however, due to a fence that surrounds it and a stage that butts up against it. I was also hampered by the fact I had a short tripod. A taller tripod would have enabled me to get a better view of the fountain. The most unique fountain in Epcot is located near Imaginations. Here, you will find an upside fountain that flows backwards. It is ringed by a jumping fountain that groups of kids have fun trying to catch. I think it is best photographed from the front. At night, it is lit by red lights. In order to add interest to my photographs of the fountains, I often used a 7x neutral density filter. This allowed me to shoot at shutter speeds from 2-10 seconds and blur the water.
Illuminations
Illuminations is the laser light and fireworks show that Epcot puts on nightly. This was surprisingly harder to photograph than I anticipated. Location is everything with this show. Choose the wrong spot and something will likely be blocking your view. I found this out the hard way. I had heard that the decks in front of Italy had good viewing. The bridge has a particularly good, clear view. I choose a raised platform which I thought would be good because it had an unobstructed view of the dome. Excpet that the show takes place to the left of the dome from this vantage point and poles from the Ventian gondola were directly in my way. Oops. I did use them to my advantage in one shot, however. I was also hampered by my short tripod. A taller tripod would;ve allowed me to stand with a clearer view. Next time, I will know better. Another consideration is that there are three islands of trees that may block some of your viewpoint form vantage points near other countries. Scouting this one out ahead of time is a must.
Epcot Resort Hotels
The Epcot area of Disney features many spectacular hotels which offer some very cool photo opportunities. My favorite was the Dolphin. It is a large hotel with a reflecting pool out in front and a fountain in the shape of (you guessed it)–a dolphin (well, a fish actually, but who’s counting). I used a neutral density filter again on this fountain to blur the water. The fountain is good to photograph either in daylight or at night. The Dolphin is lit in the morning by the sun so get there early to get the best reflections.
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom is like photographing a zoo for the most part. Except that glass and wire fencing are missing at many of the pens which gives you an unobstructed view. I really enjoyed photographing the animals here. You can also take a short safari ride which gets you out into the open and into the actual animal enclosures. This was very cool and a good way to get close to some of the animals. I went early in the day, though, which meant I was forced to use higher ISOs and slower shutter speeds than I may have wanted to. I might advise riding this attraction twice to give yourself a chance to photograph the animals at different times of day. The centerpiece attraction of this park is the Tree of Life. Although fake, this tree has some intricate carvings and can make for some cool photographs.
You’ll notice I didn’t mention Hollywood Studios in this post. I found very little to photograph here during the day when I visited. The Muppet fountain is fun but otherwise this isn’t a photogenic park. During the holidays, the Streets of America is lit up in lights and I’m assuming this would be something to photograph but I didn’t visit the park at night so I can’t comment.
