Skipping my normal Traveling Thursdays theme, I am barreling ahead with my trip report. No theme park compares to Disneyland at night. The lighting transforms Anaheim's famous landmark into a magical land of fantasy. Even Snow White's Wishing Well takes on a different persona with the colored lights illuminating it.
Taking the side entrance to the Castle is no less impressive at night:
Oh the cool light fixtures....
they're everywhere!
An evening journey to Disneyland wouldn't be complete without a spin on the dark rides. I actually braved the lines of Peter Pan:
The moon was glowing brightly this evening, almost as if Walt himself had ordered it to:
Apologies for my light fixture fetish; it never ends.
I still love the feeling of flight over Neverland:
The Evil Queen beckoned me to take part in the Scary Adventures of her stepdaughter:
Even the queue can be a bit creepy:
Don't let this happy tableau fool you:
There's mayhem ahead, with stalking:
evil gossip:
transformation and deceit:
death:
fear:
And let's not forget CRAZY JEALOUSY!
I think that just about covers it. Yup...scary. Next up was Pinocchio. Again, light fixtures in the queue to keep me occupied.
Pinocchio has its own brand of scary:
But have no fear, the Blue Fairy will make it all better:
I could spend days in this section just staring at all the clocks and toys.
I ended my dark ride quartet with Mr. Toad (apologies to Alice!)
The glow of the Sword in the Stone keeps it from being ignored at night:
Probably the most magical sight after dark (next to the Castle) is the Carrousel:
This face is my favorite thing to photograph on the Carrousel:
Next up was the train. As we walked by the Toontown Gates they seemed to be begging me to shoot them:
A stop in Tomorrowland before the grand finale:
I can't think of a more perfect nighttime exit scenario than the enjoyment of the Grand Canyon/Primeval World Dioramas:
See you back at the Grand Californian! See more vintage & current Disneyland photos at my Disneyland website.
Nice work on the HDR Dave, looks good!
ReplyDeleteNice interior shots of the Fantasyland dark rides.
ReplyDeleteYes, lots of beautiful pictures in this batch!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the report and the photos. The shots are so nice, but the HDRI makes them really tough on the eyes. You're such a good photographer that I don't think such heavy use of the technique is necessary. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThese photos are incredible!!! None of the photos I've ever taken of the dioramas turn out like this!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work, Dave. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm relying on your work, since mine rarely come out.
JG
Anonymous - since it's a matter of preference and I am open to feedback, could you expound a little more on the "hard on the eyes" comment...it would be helpful to know what about HDR to you makes these less palatable.
ReplyDeleteOne word-STUNNING. I sure wish I could take night pictures at Disneyland that well. You must have an excellent camera or filters to really give those photos that extra magic. Great work!
ReplyDeleteHow did you get rid of all the people??
ReplyDeleteConnie - I tempted them with turkey legs and churros!
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how well your dark ride shots turned out, it's downright ridiculous. Beautiful work :)
ReplyDeleteHi Dave, I'm not Anonymous (obviously! hehe) but I dislike seeing the goosed, neon-ized color of HDR-ized pics 9.5x out of 10. It makes everything look kinda like only the inside of a dark ride should look. Can't see what it really looked like and can't be reversed. When the fad dates and people look back it'll be regretted.
ReplyDeleteOn rare artistic instances it's a neat tool (side entrance to the Castle shot is cool!). Otherwise, I'd really rather see a good "plain" photo of what was there. Your pics don't need it.
But enough about that. The interior shots are amazing. Best Pan island shot ever. Followed by the best Mermaid scene shot, the "fear" shots of the dwarfs, on through to the great dinoramas to cap the post. Oh and I'm glad I'm not the only person eying light fixtures around there...
Chiana - At least you gave specifics - that helps! Having grown up on the vivid hues of Technicolor from the 30's, I am guilty of loving saturated colors. This is probably why HDR has an appeal to me. Just like any other style, it has a time and place. Right now, I am having a lot of fun with it. Most of the HDR effect is done in post processing, so it's not like I don't have the original "normal" photos to fall back on at some point.
ReplyDeleteThe Peter Pan shots are probably some of the most difficult to get. It seems like a slow ride until you attempt to take photos....trying to focus in the dark ain't easy! There's no way i could get an HDR shot in there!
thanks for the great pictures, and for complicating my life even more.
ReplyDeleteNever paid any attention to light fixtures until you started posting pics, now every where I go I check out the lights.
How come the Disneyland that I visit looks like nothing like this? I want one of the HDR filters in my sunglasses so I can walk around the park and see it like this! Awesome work, Disney publicity doesn't have interior shots as nice as yours!
ReplyDeleteMy two cents - the HDR seems to be a matter of preference... I too enjoy saturated colors and seeing the park in a light that's almost surreal. For some you almost have to brace yourself for the intensity of the color but it's thrilling, not painful (at least to me). But you do a good job of providing a nice balance of natural and artistic for everyone to enjoy. No complaints here. Thanks, and keep it up :)
ReplyDeleteScott - I'm glad to know I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteTim - When you get that filter, let me know - maybe I could use it at work!
Hannah - Many thanks - much appreciated!