Focused on the Magic Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop: Illuminations

Tweet

Hi there Disney photography fans. Welcome to The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop here at Focused on the Magic where each week we get together to share our #DisneySide vacation photos.

Would you like to link up your #DisneySide photos and blog hop with us? They can be from your blog, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter, Tumblr or SmugMug. You get the idea. The Link-up is at the bottom of this post.

This week's theme is "Unforgettable".

In case you've forgotten, the opening narrative:

Good evening. On behalf of Walt Disney World, the place where dreams come true, we welcome all of you to Epcot and World Showcase. We've gathered here tonight around the fire, as people of all lands have gathered for thousands and thousands of years before us, to share the light and to share a story -- an amazing story, as old as time itself, but still being written. And though each of us has our own individual stories to tell, a true adventure emerges when we bring them all together as one. We hope you enjoy our story tonight: Reflections of Earth.

Do you have an unforgettable memory?

Time to link up your Wordless Wednesday photo...

Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop #Disney Style ~ My Favorite Views

Tweet

Welcome to The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop where each week we gather together and share our Disney vacation photos. Would you like to link up your #DisneySide pictures or hop around to all the blogs linked up? Look no further than the bottom of this post.

A few of my favorite views.

What's your favorite view?

Time to link up your Wordless Wednesday ...

Wordless Wednesday ~ Illuminations

Tweet

Thanks for stopping by The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop here at Focused on the Magic.com where each week we share our #DisneySide Wordless Wednesday Disney vacation photos. You can join the Linky at the end of this post.
This week's theme is ~Your June Calendar Shot ~

The shot that I would use for my June calendar would be this shot of Illuminations at Epcot that I just took on my May trip. I loved how the blue and white explosions light up the sky and the reflection on the water.
For my photography friends here are the details: I shot this RAW and JPEG Fine. I am posting the JPEG because I haven't gotten a chance to do any editing.
Nikon D7100, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8, 15mm, Manual, f22, 15.5s, +5.EV, ISO 200, ND8

Time to link up your Wordless Wednesday...

Almost Wordless Wednesday ~ Magical Memories

Tweet

Welcome to the latest edition of the The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop here at Focused on the Magic.com where each week Disney Bloggers gather to blog hop, link up and share their Disney Wordless Wednesday or Almost Wordless Wednesday Disney related picture posts.

It's a fun blog hop for sharing your Disney memories and pictures. There's a theme each week that you can follow if you wish. Facebook pictures, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Flickr or video posts are all welcome. You can even email your pictures and I will be happy to add them to this page. Email your picture to Deb at focusedonthemagic@gmail.com. I'll make every effort to get them posted right away.

The theme for this week's Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop, 9/12/12 is

  Magical Memories

I've posted this magical moment before but I just had to share it again, it's that magical for me.
Peter just let his AS disabilities go and stepped up all by himself for his very first pin trade in 2000. The Boardwalk greeter was so kind and patient with him. I could here him talking to her quietly.  We had discussed pin trading often, picked out a few pins to trade and he had watched his brother trade many times on previous trips. I guess all the preparation worked.  That was a magical moment!

Here's another magical memory for you. This picture is only a representation of the actual experience since my camera batteries died and I don't have a picture from it.
One night we were headed to Epcot for Illuminations. Rushing from the Contemporary platform I asked the operator if we'd make it to Epcot in time to see Illuminations. The CM just shrugged. He showed us to the second or third car, all by ourselves. The monorail ride was quiet and seemed slower than usual. Just as we passed in front of Space Ship Earth the monorail glided to a stop. I immediately thought it was broken and that we'd be stuck there for awhile, high up in the air with the World Showcase on one side and Space Ship Earth on the other. I remember saying to DH, we are going to miss the whole thing because something is wrong with the monorail.
Just then the fireworks started. All of us sat there in shock and awe as we watched Illuminations perched high above the World Showcase.

Time to link up...

Top 2 Disney Memories

Tweet

This week's topic is our Top 2 Favorite Disney Memories. Narrowing my favorites down to just two was really tough. All I have are wonderful memories since our first trip as a family in 1990. My favorites could fill a book but here are two.
The first is from and E-ticket night in the Magic Kingdom. It was during the soft opening of Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. We rode it over and over and each time our scores got better and better. What a great night!

On E-Ticket nights the characters would wander the parks throughout the night, greeting guests and signing autographs. There were no lines and you usually had them all to yourself for awhile until they wandered off in to the darkness. They fooled around quite a bit with guests always staying in character but really acting out, which was a lot of fun for us. You can read more about it HERE.


My second is from a very special birthday I spent in Disney World. That night we had dinner at the Rose & Crown which was absolutely fabulous ending with the servers singing "Happy Birthday" along with my family. After dinner we watched Illuminations and I got to photograph it from the best location in the World Showcase. You can read more about it HERE.

What's your favorite Disney memory?

  

Related articles

• Disney World Holiday Party Schedules & Tickets

  ---

• Top 3 Favorite Disney Resorts

  ---

• Disneyland Recipe ~ Flo's V-8 Cafe Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

  ---

Almost Wordless Wednesday ~ Happy New Year!

Tweet

Come along and join the fun! Link up your Disney Almost Wordless or Wordless Wednesday posts, make new Disney friends, visit with old friends, see some great pictures at 

The Disney Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop 

with me, Debs Dis @ Focused on the Magic  

As the New Year approaches I thought it would be fun to go with a timely theme this week. 

Your Calendar Shot!

So the question is...If you were to make a 2012 calendar, which one of your Disney pictures would you use for the cover? It was a tough choice for me. I couldn't decide if I wanted to go with a cherished family photo or a photo I really like and have used as my screensaver for a long time. So, rather than pick one to represent the whole year I chose one for the month of January.

Illuminations

After you've decided on a picture for your calendar you may want to check out this link to a site where you can create and print a your own free photo calendar. http://www.calendarlabs.com/photo-calendar.php

A View of Illuminations from The Rose & Crown

Tweet

This was my first time taking pics of Illuminations from a absolutely picture perfect location in a seated position, adult beverage at my side with an unobstructed view! Best of all, no one was jostling my tripod or shoving for a better view. 
Touring the World Showcase countries in the afternoon, having dinner in one of the countries then topping off the evening with Illuminations is my idea of a perfect plan. We may not touch all 11 countries every time but you can always find me watching Illuminations in Epcot at 9pm. There are several spots I enjoy viewing it from. On this particular night we had just finished a fabulous dinner on the The Rose & Crown upper balcony (review coming soon) when the fireworks started. Our dinner was timed perfectly as our server lifted the last plate the show started. There is exactly 30 minutes between the time the music starts and the show begins. It was a calm night without wind and in my opinion the best viewing area to see Illuminations. Our server explained that on a windy night the ashes will fly on the wind in the direction of the Rose & Crown and Canada. I was aware of it because it had happened to us in the past but I had no idea that there are metal roofs on a few of the buildings in the UK and Canada to protect them form ashes. It was a magical memorable night filled with pixie dust we'll always remember.

What's your favorite area to view Illuminations?