Summer Vacation Time - San Diego, Hotel Del Coronado, Catalina, and of course DL

[I'm mikey]

Mike, once again, you got some very creative/unusual shots. Love the sunglasses reflection pic of your daughter, and the main street indian pic is simply AWESOME!!

 

[tksbaskets]

So here I am thinking "I've got a few mintues I'll just hop on and see what the new posts are on KCMike's thread" Now not only am I agog at your newest photos (love the one with your daughter's aviator glasses BTW) now I spent a good amount of time pouring over Tours Departing Daily's blog. I agree the site has magnificent photographs of the happiest place on earth. I love the quote at the bottom of their home page. So true! Thanks for sharing Going back to pick out a picture for my iPad wallpaper....

 

[KCmike]

Mike, once again, you got some very creative/unusual shots. Love the sunglasses reflection pic of your daughter, and the main street indian pic is simply AWESOME!!

Thanks Mikey! I'm glad a few them came out ok. Wish I could go back tomorrow and do it all over again.

 

[KCmike]

So here I am thinking "I've got a few mintues I'll just hop on and see what the new posts are on KCMike's thread" Now not only am I agog at your newest photos (love the one with your daughter's aviator glasses BTW) now I spent a good amount of time pouring over Tours Departing Daily's blog. I agree the site has magnificent photographs of the happiest place on earth. I love the quote at the bottom of their home page. So true! Thanks for sharing Going back to pick out a picture for my iPad wallpaper....

Thanks for the wonderful comments on my shots. I found the TDD website a year or so ago and it provides semi daily fun for me. They update it about every few days. I love their Christmas shots. Can't wait for this years batch.

 

[Chicago Mo]

I have looked over your pictures several times!!! beautiful... my favorite is the one with your daughter!
i do like the stripes and sign... you should look into becoming their next Photopass photographer! ya know the extra photo's you get with the disk?!?!
amazing!!!
have to say it again you have a great family!!

 

[KCmike]

I have looked over your pictures several times!!! beautiful... my favorite is the one with your daughter!
i do like the stripes and sign... you should look into becoming their next Photopass photographer! ya know the extra photo's you get with the disk?!?!
amazing!!!
have to say it again you have a great family!!

Thanks Chicago Mo. Hmm Disney Photopass photographer? I always saw myself retiring down in WDW as the boat driver from Riverside to Downtown Disney. I feel like a real amateur though compared to many on these boards. Thanks for the kind words.

 

[KCmike]

Thought I would steer a little different with this short installment. These are two from Newport Beach where we caught the the ferry to Catalina. I often wonder what kind of life it would be to have a boat, live on the coast, be able to drive to Disneyland when ever I feel like. I am definitely drawn to the ocean this I know for sure.

We are enjoying some cooler weather here in KC this weekend. It rained yesterday and was in lower 60's with lows in the 50's. My favorite time year is the fall. So I went back to the photos to see what else I came away with. Here are two.

 

[tksbaskets]

Sweet pics! Glad those birds aren't living on our roof

 

[KCmike]

Sweet pics! Glad those birds aren't living on our roof

That would be bad, really bad.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thought I would steer a little different with this short installment. These are two from Newport Beach where we caught the the ferry to Catalina. I often wonder what kind of life it would be to have a boat, live on the coast, be able to drive to Disneyland when ever I feel like. I am definitely drawn to the ocean this I know for sure.

Firstly, great pictures of Newport and the Bird!


Secondly...I'll leave this wondering to you. As I get horribly seasick, I suspect that this kind of life will not figure in my top 10 retirement options.

 

[KCmike]

Firstly, great pictures of Newport and the Bird!


Secondly...I'll leave this wondering to you. As I get horribly seasick, I suspect that this kind of life will not figure in my top 10 retirement options.

I'm with you on the sea. I don't think I would like to be on the sea but I sure do enjoy watching the waves come in.

 

[KCmike]

The second half of the last day included meals at Plaza Inn. I had my classic chicken dinner with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a biscuit with a side of chocolate cake. Dinner was Hungry Bear with a burger and onion rings. One of our "little tricks" when we don't want to spend alot of time waiting for Fantasmic! is to camp out at Riverbelle Terrace and hold a table and grab some grub. This time around I got Hungry Bear and the rest of the family grabbed something from RT. I think they got the turkey. The views aren't the greatest from there but there not too bad either. We then high tailed it back to mainstreet to catch the 4th of July fireworks one more time.

So let me back up. In the afternoon when everyone came back from their resting we decided to do our favorites one more time. We rode just about everything in Fantasyland. I love fantasyland. I love dark rides. I especially love to ride these with my wife. I love being close to her and taking in the sights. One ride I love to ride more than those dark rides with her is IASM. This is my tunnel of love ride. I love the Christmas edition of that ride as well.

So we knocked out Fantasyland, IASM, and then it was to ride Storybook Canal Boat in the night! There is something very special about this ride. At night it becomes even more special for me. Anybody else think this is an overlooked ride?

We ended up riding Pirates, Splash, HM, and Winnie the Pooh again too. There are so many classic great rides in Disneyland. I love them all so much.

Al right one with the photos.

Have you ever just looked up on those classic rides? The weathervanes are awesome. They add so much character. I really enjoy this one with the gloomy mood behind it. Must be time for Mary Poppins to being leaving?

If you haven't rode in the canoes you need to. This something you can only do in Disneyland. WDW took this away. It is a blast in my opinion. Who doesn't love cruising the rivers of America?

This is one of my favorite shots of the trip. I caught some pretty good shots around Splash Mountain. I like the one Mikey commented on with the pathway leading up to Splash but I like this wide shot of catching the mountain and the sign in the same shot.

Another Indian shot. This time I just went around the Indian and looked the other way.

High on the rooftops. Can you spot a climber?

Sometimes you can overlook the details

Are you a fan of dumbo or not? I'm on the fence. Hey can you spot the Matterhorn climber on this one???

In the tiki tiki tiki room

The very Golden Horseshoe

Alright one more installment and I'm going to call it quits. Thanks for sticking around.

 

[Sherry E]

I have, indeed, noticed the weather vanes at DLR on past trips. There are quite a few of them in Fantasyland, and then one or two in Toon Town, and I saw another one somewhere else recently...where was it? I'm blanking out. Maybe it was in Cars Land? In any case, much like the bathroom signs, the light fixtures and the flowers, the weather vanes are clever little themed gems.

I do think that the Storybook Land Canal boats are an underappreciated/overlooked ride. Not that they are a rollicking, rip-roaring high seas adventure, but that ride should definitely be enjoyed more than it is. Plus, during the holidays, the teeny cottages have teeny decorations! How can anyone not love that?

Another round of fantastic photos, Mike!

 

[PrincessInOz]

Mike - your recent update has convinced me of two things.

1. I need to go for a paddle in the canoe next time I'm back at DL. It's been well over 15 years since I've done so. Love the picture you got there.

2. That 55 - 250 lens deserves more time on the camera than just in the shows. I absolutely love the amount of detail you're sharing with us in these shots. Kudos to you for putting it on, and keeping it on the camera. But then...kudos to you for your fantastic perspective anyway.


Thanks for sharing.

 

[KCmike]

I have, indeed, noticed the weather vanes at DLR on past trips. There are quite a few of them in Fantasyland, and then one or two in Toon Town, and I saw another one somewhere else recently...where was it? I'm blanking out. Maybe it was in Cars Land? In any case, much like the bathroom signs, the light fixtures and the flowers, the weather vanes are clever little themed gems.

I do think that the Storybook Land Canal boats are an underappreciated/overlooked ride. Not that they are a rollicking, rip-roaring high seas adventure, but that ride should definitely be enjoyed more than it is. Plus, during the holidays, the teeny cottages have teeny decorations! How can anyone not love that?

Another round of fantastic photos, Mike!

Thanks Sherry! What is your favorite land/area of Disneyland???

 

[KCmike]

Mike - your recent update has convinced me of two things.

1. I need to go for a paddle in the canoe next time I'm back at DL. It's been well over 15 years since I've done so. Love the picture you got there.

2. That 55 - 250 lens deserves more time on the camera than just in the shows. I absolutely love the amount of detail you're sharing with us in these shots. Kudos to you for putting it on, and keeping it on the camera. But then...kudos to you for your fantastic perspective anyway.


Thanks for sharing.

Thanks Princess. Lately at home I've been shooting with the kit lens on the 60d which is the 18-135 but I don't find it as sharp as the kit lens 18-55 from my xti. What is the deal with that? Maybe its the photographer? Anyway I'm glad I got as many shots as I did with the nifty two fifty.

 

[mvf-m11c]

Great pictures as usual Mike. The mask from the Tiki room is the one that I like the most since you got the details of the mask.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks Princess. Lately at home I've been shooting with the kit lens on the 60d which is the 18-135 but I don't find it as sharp as the kit lens 18-55 from my xti. What is the deal with that? Maybe its the photographer? Anyway I'm glad I got as many shots as I did with the nifty two fifty.

Mike - in most cases, I would always agree that it's the photographer. However, in this case, I think it might be the equipment!

Have you tried shooting with the 18 - 55 on the 60d and doing a comparison?

 

[tksbaskets]

OK, here is where I admit I've never seen the weathervanes at DL. YIKES. Sounds like a quest.

I love the timeless rides in Fantasyland. Last Christmas I spend a wonderful 3/4 hour riding while DH saved the galaxy on BLAB and my DSs rode Star Tours continusously.

I also admit I've never ridden Dumbo at any park nor have I paddled a canoe on the ROA. Sounds like I need to take another trip to DL!!

Pick of the Post pics for this time has to go to the Canoes on ROA for the sheer fun and great expression you caught on the Castmember.

For art - the Indian pic was sublime.

I can't be the only one bummed that there is only one more installment...

 

[KCmike]

Great pictures as usual Mike. The mask from the Tiki room is the one that I like the most since you got the details of the mask.

I love the tiki room. When we first arrived in 2007 and got to see the original and not that hot mess that had been showing in WDW I was floored. It was so much fun. It was perfect. We sat down, all five of us, and people were singing along, swaying to the music, and just enjoying the show. I fell deeply in love with Walt's original Tiki Room. On the Walk in Walt's Footsteps tour they keep you after and let you see one of the original flower animatronics. It's just good times. Good times indeed. Oh yeah thanks for the comments. It's always interesting to see what people like the most. What makes them comment on a shot.