Belle's Village, Fantasyland, Magic Kingdom

There is a very quaint area tucked in the back of Belle's Village between Gaston's Tavern and Bonjour! Village Gifts in Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom.  If you take time to sit on one of the benches as you rest your feet, you'll notice the amazing detail in the buildings of the village.

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights

The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights was a display of lights, decorations and music at Disney's Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World.  The final performance of the show was on January 6, 2016.  The final songs the lights danced to were, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", and "Mickey Mouse Club Alma Mater".

Germany Pavilion, Epcot

As you enter the courtyard in the Germany pavilion in the World Showcase, in Epcot at Walt Disney World, one of the first things you'll notice is the polka music being played which immerses you in the fun and festive atmosphere.  As you look around the courtyard, you'll see influences from around the country at different time periods.  The Germany pavilion is a great place for a quick bite to eat and of course have a beer.

As you enter the "platz", you'll see a statue of St. George and the Dragon inspired by the statue in the medieval Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and the clock tower.  While in the platz, hang around and watch the clock tower at the top of the hour where the clock will chime and two figurines will come out and ring the bell before going back inside.  Also see if you can find a Hidden Mickey on one of the three figures on the second floor of one of the buildings.

Fantasyland - Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World

Fun With A Fisheye - Disney At Night

While not so new anymore, the New Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World officially debuted in December, 2012.  As part of the expansion to Fantasyland, New Fantasyland include an area called The Enchanted Forest.

To help you to get immersed in the Enchanted Forest, you pass through the 'new' castle walls.  These walls form the boundary between Cinderella Castle courtyard and the Enchanted Forest area. 

The Giant Red Fender Stratocaster at Rock 'N' Roller Coaster

Fun With A Fisheye Lens - Disney At Night

The first thing you see when you walk into the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster area at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort is a giant red Fender Stratocaster.  The Fender Stratocaster was originally produced in 1954 and is still being produced today.  This along with the Les paul is often the most emulated electric guitar shapes.  What's interesting is in the pre-ride show, Joe Perry would ask "Chris" to grab his black Les Paul.  I guess Disney Imagineers though the Fender Stratocaster was more iconic.

Tomorrowland

A Fisheye Perspective

Tomorrowland was originally supposed to be Walt's vision of the future.  The problem with that is the future is always changing.  So in 1994, Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World went through drastic changes to resemble the future as envisioned by sci-fi comic strip writers from the early 20th century.  Many of the rides were renamed, and color schemes updated.

Tomorrowland is arguably the most popular of the Magic Kingdom's themed lands due to the popularity of Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. 

Here is an intersting thing to look for next time you are there.  Notice how wide the walkway is going into Tomorrowland.  Then look at how wide the walkway is going into Adventureland which is on the opposite side of the hub.  That's because Disney Imagineers know that people usually go to the right.  In the morning, the wider walkway accommodates the large crowds that tend to walk to the right.

A Fisheye view of Spaceship Earth

Disney At Night

The geodesic sphere known as Spaceship Earth is one of the most recognized structures of any theme park.  Located in Epcot at Walt Disney World, the sphere houses an attraction of the same name which takes guests on a 15 minute ride to explore how communications evolved from the stone age to the modern age.  It is said that the 18-story tall structure is made up of over 11,500 triangles, but who really counted them!  One of the best things I like as a photographer is how light reflects off the sphere.  As you walk around you see different colors from every perspective.

Experimenting with a fisheye lens was fun because of the angle of the support "legs" of the structure and also having straight lines intersecting with a sphere make for an interesting composition.

Fun with a Fisheye

Disney at Night

Have you ever walked up to Cinderella fountain and wondered why she is looking down and you can't see her face?  You wouldn't have that perspective if you were a small child.  When a small child walks up to the fountain to take a drink, when they look up, they see her smiling face.  And as an added bonus, if you look at just the right angle, the crown painted on the back wall of the fountain can appear to be sitting on her head.  You gotta love those details that Imagineers think about.

The location of this shot is on the right side (facing the fountain) of Cinderella Fountain which is located behind Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.  To get this shot, I used a fisheye lens on my camera (Sony A6000) on my mini tripod set about 8-12 inches off the ground pointing toward the castle.  Don't be surprised how far into the corner you have to get to get this shot.  You can get very close with a fisheye lens and still get objects in the picture like the water flowing over the edge of the fountain.  In this shot, the water was about a foot from my lens.  Remember my post about clouds.  I love how the moon looked through the clouds in this shot.  For this shot, my camera was set to aperture f/8.0, ISO 200, and a 1.6 sec shutter speed.

If you don't have a fisheye lens and you want to get some completely different perspectives, try one out.  You might have a little fun with it.