World of Color Superthread

[dina444444]

So I called today for a World of Color Dessert package and they told me that it was not available for my date (April 18 or 19) because it was down for refurbishment at that time. Does that make any sense to anyone? I can't find anything on the Disneyland site to show refurbishment schedules so I don't know if that sounds right or not. It was certainly not what I had hoped to hear after a 35 minute wait to get through.

It’s going down for a few weeks starting April 13, I don’t know an exact date when it will be back up but I think by mid May.

 

[Granny]

It’s going down for a few weeks starting April 13, I don’t know an exact date when it will be back up but I think by mid May.

Thank you for the confirmation. Disappointing but we'll get over it.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

...Unfortunately there isn’t a way to make sure the CMs are on the ball in keeping loiterers from standing in front of you. My speculation is that if you know the CMs working there they put more effort into preserving your view. I’m not sure anyone else can expect that to happen for them.

This is actually an inaccurate, but common assumption. Of course, if the CM working near you is a family member or close friend, she or he will be more aware of your situation. But any CM should be concerned if there is a problem that is negatively affecting your experience. The easiest thing to do (and anyone can do this whether they know CMs or not) is to speak up and be proactive about any issues that arise as soon as you think there will be a problem. Just flag down a CM and say something or ask them to help you. Don't wait for the issue to become a big problem; speak up when the issue is small and easy to fix. Also, if you've had a problem in the past and you'd like to prevent the same thing from happening again, speak up beforehand. We've done this fairly often by mentioning to our servers at restaurants, to WOC Dessert Party CMs, to tour guides, etc. that there has been an issue in the past, explaining what it is, and asking if they can help us prevent the problem from happening again. While this doesn't eliminate all problems, it certainly helps things go much more smoothly and helps CMs be aware of any specific needs we may have. And if CMs do help you, don't forget to thank them and maybe leave them a CM compliment online or at City Hall or Chamber of Commerce.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thank you for the confirmation. Disappointing but we'll get over it.

While not the same as the WOC Dessert Party, there is a brand new Dessert Party being offered for PTN viewing at the Sonoma Terrace. Would this be a decent consolation prize? This package should be offered at DCA during your dates.

 

[Granny]

While not the same as the WOC Dessert Party, there is a brand new Dessert Party being offered for PTN viewing at the Sonoma Terrace. Would this be a decent consolation prize? This package should be offered at DCA during your dates.

Very kind of you to make this suggestion. We are not big parade people, but we are looking into the PTN package to see if it works for us. Thank you!

 

[cinderellagirl2280]

I plan on taking some photos during WoC. I'll have my tripod with me...will I be able to do so in the dessert party area? It's my friends birthday and I'm thinking of treating her to the dessert party!

 

[HydroGuy]

I plan on taking some photos during WoC. I'll have my tripod with me...will I be able to do so in the dessert party area? It's my friends birthday and I'm thinking of treating her to the dessert party!

Yes. You can do that from anywhere. Whether the view is good or not depends on the spot. The view from the dessert area is pretty decent.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I plan on taking some photos during WoC. I'll have my tripod with me...will I be able to do so in the dessert party area? It's my friends birthday and I'm thinking of treating her to the dessert party!

You might want to mention to the CM at check in and to the CM who seats you that you are planning on using a camera on a tripod. That way you can figure out a spot where you will have a good view with room for the tripod and where you won't be interfering with anyone else's view with the tripod or the screen on your camera.

 

[mom2rtk]

You might want to mention to the CM at check in and to the CM who seats you that you are planning on using a camera on a tripod. That way you can figure out a spot where you will have a good view with room for the tripod and where you won't be interfering with anyone else's view with the tripod or the screen on your camera.

I agree. I wouldn't want to be in the second row of tables looking at a tripod in the first row in front of me.

I plan on taking some photos during WoC. I'll have my tripod with me...will I be able to do so in the dessert party area? It's my friends birthday and I'm thinking of treating her to the dessert party!

If you have a fast lens, you'll probably do better with that than with a tripod. The projections are constantly changing so longer exposures tend to get somewhat muddled. Although some longer exposures of the water movement might be fun.

 

[HydroGuy]

You might want to mention to the CM at check in and to the CM who seats you that you are planning on using a camera on a tripod. That way you can figure out a spot where you will have a good view with room for the tripod and where you won't be interfering with anyone else's view with the tripod or the screen on your camera.

I agree. I wouldn't want to be in the second row of tables looking at a tripod in the first row in front of me.

Whenever I have seen anyone with a tripod at WOC - and that is not very often, frankly - it was, like, right in front of them. Setting up a tripod in front of someone else? I guess I did not think about that because I have not seen it.

Now that I think about the WOC Deseert area a little more, with the tables and chairs, and CMs moving around serving the tables, a tripod could be in the way there. It would be hard to have it be in front of you (and not in front of others) and also not something CMs might kind of trip over.

Once the show starts, though, folks are not moving around within the Dessert area - or really anywhere within the WOC viewing area. It is hard for me to see it being a problem once the show starts if the tripod was right in front of your own table.

 

[HydroGuy]

I agree. I wouldn't want to be in the second row of tables looking at a tripod in the first row in front of me.

If you have a fast lens, you'll probably do better with that than with a tripod. The projections are constantly changing so longer exposures tend to get somewhat muddled. Although some longer exposures of the water movement might be fun.

You just hit 50,000 posts! I will take credit for maybe 50 of those that have been in response to me LOL! I think @Robo over on the WDW forum is closing in on 100,000. Only a handful of folks that ever hit 50k.

 

[mom2rtk]

You just hit 50,000 posts! I will take credit for maybe 50 of those that have been in response to me LOL! I think @Robo over on the WDW forum is closing in on 100,000. Only a handful of folks that ever hit 50k.

Thanks @HydroGuy. It just proves what my kids have known all along. I have something to say about pretty much everything.

 

[HydroGuy]

Thanks @HydroGuy. It just proves what my kids have known all along. I have something to say about pretty much everything.

I also have observed that you are showing up on the WDW forum more often lately...

 

[mom2rtk]

I also have observed that you are showing up on the WDW forum more often lately...

I actually have a lot more posts on that side. We were WDW regulars for a long time but swapped over in 2013 when FP+ rolled out. Now that SWL is opening, we're planning to swap back to WDW in 2019. We have to pick out poison I guess.

 

[HydroGuy]

I actually have a lot more posts on that side. We were WDW regulars for a long time but swapped over in 2013 when FP+ rolled out. Now that SWL is opening, we're planning to swap back to WDW in 2019. We have to pick out poison I guess.

Yah, I was aware you kind of started over there. But you seemed to swear off WDW after FP+ and MM+. I have not seen any of your posts over there for a few years and now I am seeing them again.

I guess SWL is going to make you go back, huh? But they will of course have that at DLR too... So there is probably more to the story...

I myself may start swearing off WDW if it becomes clear they are using FP+ data to manage staffing and park crowds and make things way more crowded in January and February than they used to be. I am hoping the recent crowd reports are an anomaly and not a trend of the future.

 

[mom2rtk]

Yah, I was aware you kind of started over there. But you seemed to swear off WDW after FP+ and MM+. I have not seen any of your posts over there for a few years and now I am seeing them again.

I guess SWL is going to make you go back, huh? But they will of course have that at DLR too... So there is probably more to the story...

I myself may start swearing off WDW if it becomes clear they are using FP+ data to manage staffing and park crowds and make things way more crowded in January and February than they used to be. I am hoping the recent crowd reports are an anomaly and not a trend of the future.

I've actually bee back to the MK for quick visits on beach vacations a couple times since we left. We're contemplating the same for this summer. So I like to stay on top of what's happening. And I really didn't swear off of it completely. Just one year at a time since then. I was looking for a break with plans of going back, but my daughter fell in love with DLR so we just kept deciding to go there!

And we're not going back to see SWL. We're going back to enjoy a Disney park with the least disruption as possible after SWL overwhelms both coasts. We will likely skip the Star Wars stuff completely and think we can minimize its impact more at WDW. It's going to be sort of hard to escape at DL.

I do greatly prefer the MaxPass system at DLR over FP+ and what they're doing with it at WDW. But I expect even that to change greatly when SWL opens.

 

[cinderellagirl2280]

I agree. I wouldn't want to be in the second row of tables looking at a tripod in the first row in front of me.

If you have a fast lens, you'll probably do better with that than with a tripod. The projections are constantly changing so longer exposures tend to get somewhat muddled. Although some longer exposures of the water movement might be fun.

I used my tripod at Fantasmic at WDW in 2015 (photos were horrible because I didn't have a remote for my camera). I keep it right in front of me and only eye height. It also doesn't come out until right before the show because I would hate to have anyone trip over it. I hate people who obstruct views, which is why I try my darndest not to obstruct anyone else's view.

I'm still working on my night photography so I'm playing with it at the local carnivals here before I go to DL and DCA.

 

[mom2rtk]

I used my tripod at Fantasmic at WDW in 2015 (photos were horrible because I didn't have a remote for my camera). I keep it right in front of me and only eye height. It also doesn't come out until right before the show because I would hate to have anyone trip over it. I hate people who obstruct views, which is why I try my darndest not to obstruct anyone else's view.

I'm still working on my night photography so I'm playing with it at the local carnivals here before I go to DL and DCA.

I have no doubt you'd be considerate about the placement of a tripod. I have done the dessert party before though and just recall feeling packed in like sardines with tables and chairs very close together. I don't think I could have squeezed a tripod in there, but I was sitting in the front row. They are very accommodating of their guests though. You could ask for a second row table and see if there was room behind you or to your side.

I have shot WOC a number of times. You need to decide on how you want to shoot it. You only need a tripod if you are planning to do long exposures. I'm just saying if you want longer exposures, you will get blurry images in spite of your camera being steady on a tripod because of the action in the projections. My goal has always been to shoot at a pretty fast shutter speed to freeze the action of the projections. If you're shooting at a fast shutter speed, you don't need a tripod. The problem of course is that it's dark out so you need a "fast" lens to get a fast shutter speed in lower light.

 

[soniam]

I plan on taking some photos during WoC. I'll have my tripod with me...will I be able to do so in the dessert party area? It's my friends birthday and I'm thinking of treating her to the dessert party!

Does DLR allow tripods bigger than a gorilla pod? I thought they were banned at WDW. I would just buy a good fast lens.

 

[mom2rtk]

Does DLR allow tripods bigger than a gorilla pod? I thought they were banned at WDW. I would just buy a good fast lens.

You can bring in a tripod that will fit (folded down) into a backpack. I bring one every trip to use for fireworks and have never had a problem.