Home >> Edwin's World

I need a vacation! I’m going to Disneyland!
April 2, 2007

So, one evening a few months back, my brother-in-law calls me up and asks if he could take my son, Patrick, to Disneyland with his family of five. Having six in a party made more sense than having an odd number of five, but as I thought about it, if I said yes, then my two younger daughters would be mad as heck that they were left out of such a milestone trip.

I decided fairly quickly that our whole family should go too and thus a party of six became a party of ten; four adults and six young kids ranging in age from four to nine. My wife was a bit surprised at the quick decision, but given that this would likely be our last family vacation together for some time, she understood the rationale to do the trip now, before our own family of five become a family of six by the end of July J

We booked the trip through Alaska Airlines and paid US $1800 for the roundtrip airfare and four nights at the Anaheim Hilton, which is very conveniently close by to Disneyland.

For the near two months between booking to actually going, the kids were excited and talked constantly about the biggest trip of their lives. My wife and I, of course, used the trip as leverage to accrue some good behaviour from them.

The excitement stemmed from not only going to Disneyland, but also from taking their first airplane ride. Excitement often turns to impatience, as my son, when we finally boarded, asked incessantly about when the plane would actually start flying. He seemed a bit put off that the airplane had to taxi on the runway like a regular old car before it reached its take off point, but he sure enjoyed the thrill of the airplane gathering up speed on the runway and then finally taking off.

The trip was purely a family trip and four days is not enough time to see all the other sights in Los Angeles, or, at least, not enough time given our booking of US $650 three day passes to the Disneyland resort for five of us.

As a family trip, I packed lightly for photo gear, because my emphasis was on capturing the family moments and the kids enjoying themselves. Any resemblance to serious photography was purely coincidental J Serious photography for me, aside from shooting weddings and events, is mandated by the use of a tripod. The use of a tripod requires contemplation of the subject and composition and I can take the time to bracket shots to obtain the right exposure. Disneyland isn’t the right environment for that kind of shooting and really, it shouldn’t be given what a trip to Disneyland is about: it's all about the kids.

A pleasant surprise was having a deck with our hotel room. Unfortunately, as much as we desired to use it for eating dinner, by the time our ordered-in food arrived on two consecutive nights, the sun had set (very quickly) and it was too dark to eat outside.

The Anaheim Convention Center beside our hotel.

Palm trees are everywhere in LA, almost as far as the eye can see in some instances.

Thankfully, we did not have to walk as far as the eye can see to reach an entrance to the Magic Kingdom.

Equipment Packed

Yes, I was posing for my son taking this photo >>

A single Nikon D200 without its companion battery pack and an 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 AF-S VR lens was it. I also carried a Nikon SB800 flash unit for indoor and fill-flash situations, but I only used it a few times. A Sony camcorder along with spare batteries and flash cards rounded out the equipment carried in the Lowerpro Rover backpack. My wife carried her Sony W1 digicam for those times when we were not together and she wanted to take some photos.

The Rover backpack has been a bit of an unwanted child at times. While overall, it’s a mid-sized backpack, its two compartments always seemed a bit cramped. The photo section at the bottom never seems able to hold as much gear as I’d like and the top section never seems to be able to carry as much non-photographic items as I’d like.

However, for this trip, the Rover was just right thanks to minimal equipment being used and the moderate California temperature not really requiring additional clothing beyond a button up shirt over a t-shirt. It was also a very comfortable backpack to carry all day due to Lowepro’s always excellent harness system. Although, I did see some red marks on my shoulders after a few days of carrying it around.

I also borrowed a set of Cobra walkie-talkies so that I could be in communication with the other family group. It was a great idea to have walkie-talkies at Disneyland, so great that hundreds of other people did the same, so every channel we used always received some cross talk and interference from other users. I heard English, Chinese, Hindi, and Spanish in the cross talk and whenever the radio was called, I was never sure if it was my brother-in-law, or just another person using the same channel.

I had a close call when I lost my walkie talkie on one of the rides. I had to remove my backpack for most of the rides and the walkie talkie got caught and lost; I'm thinking it was the Winnie the Pooh ride. Thankfully, it was recovered the next day at the lost and found. No such luck for my lens cap though when I dropped it on the train tracks of the Casey Jr. Circus Train.

Walt Disney was of a different era and he really seemed to have loved the pre-WW II time in small town America, which Disney's rendition of is what the visitor sees upon entering Disneyland.

Photography in Disneyland

Interestingly, Disneyland has photographers located in strategic locations, ready to snap a keepsake photo for you. It appears that they either tag the photo taken with your visitor's pass, or upload it to a central depot for processing, printing and pickup. I noticed what appeared to be large PDA-like device hanging off the photographer's shoulder.

Disneyland also has good taste when it comes to the gear their photographers use, being all Nikon (tongue in cheek now, for the Canon, or other brand-using readers 8^)

The gear looks like D70 cameras with 18-70 AF-S zoom and an SB800 flash unit.

For my own photography, the 18-200 lens did as well as I had expected for a consumer-grade, all-in-one lens. The happy snaps of the family enjoying themselves at the parks look good and I’ve no complaints about the quality of the photos taken in good lighting.

Ah, there’s the rub now isn’t it; in good lighting.

In good lighting, shooting at ISO 100 and f5.6 or slower all the time won’t penalize you, but as soon as the light level goes down, a lens that can only offer f3.5-5.6 can come back and bite you in the gluteus maximus.

While VR is an incredible boon for obtaining sharp photos of static subjects, it cannot do a damn thing to freeze motion. Only lens speed and/or high ISO can do that and so in various moments, I found myself wanting more lens speed and more ISO sensitivity than the D200 offers.

It's a small world after all...after going throughn this ride, I can no longer stand listening to this song thanks to the endless loop of the soundtrack.

I also found myself wanting wider than 18mm at various times, which is a surprise for me, as I am generally more of a moderate telephoto range kind of shooter (70-200 range).

I’m not complaining too hard though, because I knew the limitations of the lens and the times I was shooting in low light, we’re talking in the range of 1/20 of a second at f5.6 (200mm on the lens) and ISO 1600. That’s pretty brutally low light for most people and I avoided flash use as much as possible (except for a bit of fill here and there). In some situations, I even used ISO 3200 and as much as those shots still look iffy on the screen even after Noise Ninja clean up, for little 4x6 sized prints, they’re fine.

Unlike some other users reports of the 18-200 lens I’ve read, mine didn’t physically fall apart and unlike some other consumer lenses made by Nikon, mine did not show any misalignment of the elements, which is indicated by one side of the frame being slightly soft or even appearing out of focus compared to the other side.

Mickey's Toontown

One of the more annoying line ups I had to endure was inside this ride, as the lineup loops around and around inside the dark interior of the building. I didn't think the ride itself was worth the 20 or more minutes of waiting.

Unfortunately, my sample does suffer from zoom or barrel creep, as many other users of the lens have reported. At its most compact 18mm setting, there’s no creep, but as soon as I zoom in a bit, say around 50mm or so, and then leave it at that setting, when pointing downwards, the zoom extends like Pinocchio’s nose and vice versa when pointed up.

A couple of times while walking around the park, I would grab the camera, look down at the lens and noticed the barrel having extended by itself. Unlike others though, I’m not terribly bothered by it and the 18-200 lens is nowhere near as loose and as sloppy as my manual focus Nikon Series E 75-150mm f3.5 lens, which is the worse I’ve ever used in regard to loose zoom rings (this particular sample of the E series lens, legend as some consider it, is not so legendary to my eyes). I should point out that the Series E lens does not extend out like the 18-200 lens, only the focus/zoom ring slops up and down the barrel.

There is plenty to see and photograph in Disneyland and its companion California theme park. Picture taking is part and parcel of the experience and there were many, many visitors with cameras. I can only imagine how times the various cast members working at the parks have been photographed during their employment.

The Columbia

Below deck, some tools of the sailing trade.

Sally taking a spin at the wheel - watch out, crazy female Asian driver 8^)

The view from New Orleans Square

While picture taking happens just about everywhere, it’s not carte blanche to photograph everywhere one desires. There are various times during certain rides and shows that flash photography is not allowed and the prohibition is made very clear before the ride or show begins. Unfortunately, there’s always someone that does not respect the rules and why they were implemented and still goes ahead to take a few flash-lit photos with his or her digicam. However, I never saw any errant photographer talked to or escorted out; Disneyland is very hands off except when it comes to safety.

It’s annoying that as I sit with the camera put away in respect during a show, another person does not. It takes away from the enjoyment of the ride or show when all of a sudden; a burst of white light interrupts your view. It also makes you wonder how many people there are that think that the puny little flash unit built into their digicams can actually throw off enough light to capture a subject well beyond the range of the flash, especially with the usually low ISO set on their digicams.

I took a little over 1000 frames, but many duplicates and triplicates of certain shots, so after editing down the keepers, I was left with around 450 frames from the D200 and the Sony W1 digicam.

There is quite a difference in how the D200 sucks up the juice compared to the D2X, but this is rather apples and oranges, because of they are different cameras using different batteries. Whereas the D2X is known to shoot off 2000 or so shots per battery charge, the D200 would be lucky to achieve half that amount.

After a pretty full day at Disneyland or California, taking about 400 shots and doing minimal viewing with the LCD (no chimping sounds coming outta me), the battery indicator that showed full charge at the beginning of the day was down to the last quarter indicator at the end of the day. Since I had three batteries, I just swapped out the old for a fresh one every day. I brought along three 8 GB flash cards with me and I used all three, one new one each day, as each can store up to 488 D200 RAW files.

Camcorder use was minimal and I had no need for the extra tape and battery brought along for the trip.

Sally checking out a massive marble; wet and easily movable.

Darth Vadar was a hit with everyone during the Star Wars show.

Travelling by Air
In this post 9-11 world, air travel has become synonymous with long line-ups and lengthy delays due to security checks and interviews with customs agents. Anecdotal accounts of photographers being hassled with the amount of gear they carry on board has led to a chill amongst travelling photographers. Some have even told of having to prove that their cameras and lenses are indeed cameras and lenses meant for taking photographs, or that notebook computers really are that and not some sort of nefarious tool that could be used to blow up an airplane.

I was preparing for the worst in terms of being questioned and hassled, but in reality, I received none.

On the Canadian side of the journey, I put my Rover backpack onto the conveyor belt of the walk-through security checkpoint and then gathered it up after I walked through the metal detector without any problems. No one rummaged through the backpack or questioned the contents.

Once on board, I kept the backpack under the seat in front of me for easier access to some items during the flight, but it could easily have been swallowed up by the overhead storage compartment.

I saw a number of roller cases in the overhead compartments that I didn’t think would be allowed as carry-on luggage and yet there they were, able to fit inside. I figure that you could carry-on a roller case the size of the Lowerpro Pro Roller 2 and not have any issues with Alaska Air and its 737-400 jets.

Jungle Cruise in Adventureland and faux wildlife

Some real wildlife in Disneyland, quite used to the huge throngs of people traffic - a burst of fill flash was needed to bring out the details and create a tiny, but very important catchlight in the bird's eye.

Going through Customs usually entails a long line-up no matter which border you try to cross. As bad as the line-ups were in Disneyland, none matched the line-up we faced going through Canadian Customs, because we arrived back in Vancouver at 11:30 am, which is when other flights also arrive and disembark their passengers.

In Vancouver, domestic and international flights are commingled with the only segregation being between residents of Canada , and visitors to Canada.

Going to the US side did not take as long due to checking in at something like 4:30 am. US Customs also had the foresight to have customs clearance right in Vancouver’s airport, which allowed us to walk off the flight in LA and go straight to the baggage claim area.

Tarzan's Treehouse

Amy enjoying a Mad Tea Party

Sally almost missed out in the Mad Tea Party when she had leave the line for a pit stop, but once we got our turn, the attendants let her back in to join in the fun.

All in all, air travel, for this short trip, was hassle-free. The thing to keep in mind is being ready with the documents requested when reaching various points. The boarding passes are looked at several times before you even get on the airplane, so keep them and your passports out and ready to be reviewed makes life easier for everyone.

While air travel was pain free, the return trip was not free of hassles for us.

When we started the trip, my brother-in-law rented a minivan to allow for side trips to stock up on bottled water, juice, pop, milk and snacks. The minivan only handles seven people, so three of us used a shuttle service to go from LAX to the hotel. Using a shuttle is quite convenient and cost effective at the typical US $15 per person charge.

For the return trip from the hotel to LAX, I booked a shuttle service that conveniently had a desk inside the Anaheim Hilton. I don’t know what went wrong, but when I said I needed a Friday morning pickup, the gentleman at the desk input Saturday morning into the booking system.

4 am Friday morning, the three of us are waiting for the 4:30 am shuttle. In that brief time, two shuttles from the company I booked with came and went, with neither being our appointed pickup. 4:45 am, I call up the shuttle service and discovered the foul up.

I asked what my options would be and the dispatcher put me on hold for a minute then came back and advised me that a shuttle is in the area and would be coming to pick me up in 30 seconds. I think, great, now that’s fantastic service to work quickly to get customers out of a jam, which is actually expected, since the shuttle service screwed up the booking.

Unfortunately, the shuttle that came by was one of the earlier shuttles that had already turned us down, because it was going to Orange County airport and not to LAX. We were screwed and it’s getting close to 5 am with our plane taking off at 7 am.

I swallowed the bitter pill and hailed one of the waiting taxis outside of the hotel for the drive to LAX. The driver was a pleasant old man, but he drove like a pleasant old man, which is to say, the clock seemed to tick quickly while we plodded along slowly. He said traffic was good and that we should make it in time to the airport. 30 minutes and US $100 later, we got to LAX and were able to check in just in time before cut off.

When I was a kid, I thought Switzerland was the coolest country, because of the idyllic scenes of the Alps.

This is about as close as I'll get to a Swiss Alps village for the foreseeable future.

Oh, did I mention that while we waited for our non-existent shuttle, my wife told me that our designated ride wouldn’t be coming to pick us up after all once we touched down in Vancouver? Great, how the heck was I suppose to get my family of five back home?

Since we were travelling with another family group, we worked out that one of us would go back with them and pickup the family van while the rest of the group had lunch at the airport. However, while at a stopover in San Francisco, Alaska Airlines asked for volunteers to give up their seats due to overselling the flight to Vancouver.

The other family group quickly volunteered for the deal that would accrue them a free flight to anywhere Alaska Air flies to. They gave us a set of car keys for their vehicle parked at the Vancouver airport. Home free, or so I thought.

Touchdown in Vancouver to pouring rain. After a long line up, we finally cleared customs, retrieved our luggage and made our way to the parking lot. Got all our luggage into the trunk and the kids inside the backseat and we’re all ready to drive off, just as soon as the steering wheel lock is removed.

Er, where’s the key for the steering wheel lock? Alas, the set of keys given to us had no key for the steering wheel lock. Out in the pouring rain we all go and back to the airport terminal to consider our options. I called up my pop, who just happen to be shopping in nearby Richmond with my mom and one of my cousins. They came by shortly and took our luggage and two of the kids because the car could only accommodate five people. The rest of us made our way home by other means.

In the end, when the chips were down, the people that came through for us, whether it was to drive us to the airport, or pick us up, were family – my family!

Where does reality end in this shot of a massive mural on the side of a building.

The Beast's library in the Disney Animation Building

Disneyland and California (the park, not the state)
As much as the return portion of the trip was less than stellar, the trip itself was fun and I’d like to return again. So would the kids for that matter.

The Golden Gate in miniature

This was my second trip to Disneyland, with my first being nearly 27 years ago, when an aunt and uncle took me along for their trip.

Back then, we stayed in a motel probably about a kilometre away from the park. It was long enough ago that Disneyland had the original castle, the one that Tinkerbell flew out of and sprayed with pixie dust at the beginning of the old TV show. It was also long enough ago that I did not recall that Disneyland had much development surrounding it compared to today. I seem to recall seeing the castle clearly without obstruction during our walk from the motel to the park.

San Francisco inspired row houses.

The Paradise Pier

Back in 1980, we only did one day at Disneyland with another as Knott's Berry Farm and another day at Universal Studios. This time around, we did a full day at Disneyland, a full day at the neighbouring California park, and a half day again at Disneyland on our last day.

Next time around, I’ll do full days at the two Disneyland parks and then try to do full days at Universal Studios and Knott's Berry Farm. I don’t think my kids will be old enough to do Six Flags.

It was quite a trip down memory lane when walking through Disneyland, that despite all the changes that had occurred through the nearly three decades of time, some things remained the same.

There is the Dumbo ride, the same as when I was a kid, as well as the Tea Cup ride from Alice in Wonderland. The car driving ride may have changed cosmetically to reference the recent Pixar movie, but it’s still pretty much the same one I rode as a ten year old. You try and steer along with the road, but if you should miss the turn, no worries, because the ride will continue on its track (with some jarring). If only real roads were this safe J

It was great fun to take my kids on the same rides I enjoyed as child.

California vineyard

Back in 1980, Disney was big in developing robotic technology and I remember a show that had an Abraham Lincoln robot giving a speech to the visitors. This time around, similar robots were being used in a number of rides, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted House.

All the kids loved the Buzz Lightyear ride, because it’s the only ride that allows the kids to shoot ‘em up. This is me getting my butt kicked by my eight year old son:

I found most of the rides to be pretty tame with the only one that even came close to giving me any anxiety being the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror in the California park. Ever have dreams of falling off a building and then waking up just before you hit the ground? Well, actually, I can’t recall having that type of dream (dreams of being naked in public is a different matter though), but the elevator ride is as close as you get. There’s that giddy feeling of weightlessness for the split second that your body is stationary, while the ride just begins the rapid descent.

With these types of rides, there’s a minimum height requirement and my wife being in her condition, also could not partake of much of the fun due to warning signs posted at the entrances to the rides.

Minimum height requirements generate unwanted family politics with some kids being tall enough and others not. My six year old middle daughter, Amy, always seemed to come up a few inches short while her same age cousin was always tall enough.

Amy would pout and even after buying her a bag of popcorn to placate her (as she requested) she was still mad about not being able to go on the Indiana Jones ride.

The Grizzly River Run

I got soaked on this ride and when the kids wanted to go again, I begged off in order to take some photos of the brother-in-law and the kids on their second run.

On the last day, as we got early admittance with our three day passes, a couple of kids wanted to do the Matterhorn before the line up got too crazy, as it usually is during regular hours. I figured Amy would be too short again, but as we lined up and passed the height chart, I could see that Amy was more than tall enough for this ride. One of the other kids ran to get her, but couldn’t find her, so after the first ride, we sought her out and the older kids were shouting, Amy, Amy, you can go on this one!

Amy had a look of joy on her face when she found out she was tall enough and she loved the Matterhorn. Interestingly, for some of the more exciting rides, the four girls were all fine and loved the thrill while the two boys were wavering.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

The Tower of Terror as seen from our hotel room - a bit more magnified than what the naked eye would see.

One of the big highlights that everyone in the two families could enjoy was the live Aladdin show in the California park. It’s a short 30 minute show that takes key moments from the popular cartoon movie for live action. It’s quite well done and as intricate as Phantom of the Opera for all the sets and, without giving too much away, some of the flying scenes. The actor playing the Genie stole the show and I was pleasantly surprised at how current the jokes were, e.g. Brittany Spears’ latest hairdo, and a right on the mark impersonation of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow.

Inside the theatre for the Aladdin show - I did not take any shots during the performance.

Conclusion

Patrick chilling out in California (the park and the state) >>

Disneyland is often accused of superficiality. Everything is perfect and controlled inside the theme park and is so damn clean that it puts every western world city to shame. Spilling some popcorn on the grounds made me feel so…dirty J

However, I came away being very impressed at the coordination, the intricacy, and observance of safety everywhere I went, and the theme park does this every day, every year for millions of visitors.

Of course, the theme parks generate huge revenue, what with the ticket prices and generally exorbitant cost of food, drinks and souvenirs once inside. With all that money, you expect a well run park and a good show for the money.

As much as I first thought that having two overcast days on the trip took away from the California fun in the sun experience, after receiving hot sun on the third day, I greatly appreciated the cool days that allowed us to stay at the park all day long.

It was a good trip (the kids loved it) and I expect I shall return much sooner than the 27 year interval between this one and the last one.

The nightly Parade of Dreams

Yah, I know, cliché...

April 3, 2007 - I've been advised that good old Abe Lincoln (the robot) is still performing after all these decades since my childhood visit. As emailed to me:

He's still there. You'll find him on the right hand side of Main Street USA in what looks like a theater that doubles as a museum for Walt Disney and the park. There's a show that runs every 20 minutes or so and Abe is one of the animatronics featured. Most folks walk right past it and it's never crowded. One of my favorite park features.

Another anecdote that I forgot to mention; whenever I took my youngest, Sally (four years old), to the washroom, she would question why she had to use the men's washroom, when she is a "woman."

Her proclamations would at times, be:

• Rhetorical - Daddy, why you take me to the men's washroom, when I'm a woman?
• Statement - Daddy, you take me to the men's washroom, BUT, I'm a woman.
• Demanding - Daddy, you take me to the men's washroom AGAIN!
• Youthful - Daddy, you take me to the men's washroom, but I'm a young woman.

Due to her age and vocabulary, she would at times use "take" instead of "took" and miss a word or two in her sentences. Aw, such are the words that come out of babes and my only thought was, dear child, you ll be a woman soon enough to worry your old man's heart out.

April 4, 2007 - Follow-up (as provided by a reader) on the The Walt Disney Story featuring Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln show at Disneyland; the animatronic robot is currently on hiatus for Disneyland: The First 50 Magic Years, and there is suggestion that Disney will not continue with the robotic show that first surfaced in 1964.

Correspondence & About this website

Copyright © 1998-2010 Edwin Leong