Disney World Christmas Trip Report – Part 1

Our plan for the next day was to make it to the Betamouse podcast meet that started at 8:30. The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. We had to switch resorts to Shades of Green, which took some time so we didn’t end up making it there until the tail end of the meet. Still, it was fun to be around more Disney geeks. While the Disney geeks from the previous day were cool because they were hardcore like Sarah and I, it’s possible this group was even “cooler,” as they were not only hardcore about Disney, but also about technology. Yes, I realize I am playing fast and loose with the term cool, but we’re all here on a Disney forum, so I think we may have skewed versions of the word “cool” to begin with.

We started the Betamouse meet at the Seas with Nemo, and met Cody, his wife, Lisa, and their three triplets for the first time. Cody is a long time friend from Flickr and a heck of a photographer. What I wouldn’t give for the photo ops those triplets would present (although I imagine with the fun comes responsibility, too!).

After Nemo, we we arranged cell phones on the ground to spell “Beta” (fun fact: most attendees owned iPhones) before we headed to Captain EO. Back when Disney first announced that it was bringing EO back, I admit that I was not a fan of the decision. I think it is questionable, at best to cash in on the death of someone, and even more questionable to cash in on the death of a pedophile (for those who retort by saying he was never convicted…c’mon. You really think our legal system is that good? I suppose OJ is innocent, too…). Disney, a company that is supposed to be predicated upon family values, checked its morals at the door when it brought that attraction back. I realize other celebrities who have associations with Disney don’t always have squeaky clean pasts, but I think the combination of the offense in this case, along with the fact that Disney is cashing in on the death reaches a new low. On top of that, I thought it sent a bad message that old attractions would just be brought back, without any changes being made. Even if EO is more entertaining than HISTA, this is not “progress” in the sense of the term that Walt always advocated. Long story stort, I was steadfastly against the attraction being brought back.

After EO had been back for a while, and I heard reports of people seeing it, I will admit that my desire to see it grew. I still maintain my feelings in opposition of it, and I suppose by seeing it I became a hypocrite, but I did desire to see it more and more. When we finally did see it, it was an interesting experience. The pre-show, well, that was something. The way the video starts out, silent cuts of empty locations, it’s almost as if they’re building suspense for something shocking to happen, or setting the stage for some macabre scene. But that’s not the case. Anyone know what I’m referencing? I’m really not sure why the video opens like that, but it’s certainly odd (fitting, I guess).

The show itself was mildly amusing. The music is fun 80s tunes and the show registers a 10 on the ‘cheese-factor’ scale. (In fact, when I showed a video of it on YouTube to friends in college, they instantly said, “this would make an interesting drinking game.”) I got us in the door, whereas HISTA hasn’t accomplished that feat since 2006, so I guess that’s saying something. Still, something needs to be done to that pavilion.

Even though it was early, we were hungry, and Sunshine Seasons beckoned. When we arrived, we noticed the menu had changed since June! The sandwiches were on new breads, and my favorite sandwich was no longer on foccacia, but instead, on some dry-looking bread. This was terrible news! I probably didn’t need my own sandwich, anyway, so Sarah and I split the chicken entree, which had also changed to include a side other than mashed potatoes, but we were luckily able to substitute for the potatoes. Phew.

Somewhat “unfortunately,” I happened to acquire a new lens right before the trip. A new lens is ordinarily an event to be praised, but in this case, the new lens was another fisheye. I had been given grief by both Sarah and my mom regarding my overuse of the fisheye on our honeymoon, and just when the novelty was starting to wear off, I got a different one. I was never happy with the Tokina fisheye (I only bought it because I got a great deal) and I had been trying to find a cheap copy of the Sigma since with no luck. When I bought the D7000, a new option opened up to me: the Samyang/Pro-Optic/Bower/Rokinon 8mm MF Fisheye. I have no clue why this lens has so many aliases (it’s engaging in some sort of identity theft, I suspect), but it’s a gem.

Back to my original point, the problem with having a new fisheye meant that I would again be taking more fisheye shots! I tried to hold back, but it just wasn’t possible. Ultimately, I decided that what I’m doing is a public service. I predict a day, around four years from now, when we will all evolve to have the vision of fishes. I’m not sure whether the scientific community would view this as a positive ‘evolution’, but I think it would be a good one. By taking photos of WDW in this manner now, I’m preparing us all for how the parks will look to us in the future. You’re all welcome.

After that snack, we didn’t have much time before lunch at Wonders of Life started, so we just wandered around for a bit. This was the first of two hard ticket events we were able to attend that Mouse Fan Travel was putting on as a part of Reunion. The event was relatively reasonably priced (if I recall correctly, it was around $13) for the lunch we got. That said, I would have paid more than $13 for the experience alone.

There are multiple pages in this Walt Disney World trip report installment. Navigate to the next page below!