Instagrams in Disney

Amy and I took a week long vacation to Walt Disney World in Orlando.  I promised her I wouldn't take my good camera gear and turn this 30th anniversary celebration into another photo expedition that she endures so often.

What I decided to do to provide something for this week's blog is to use my iPhone and make Instagram shots during the trip.  I am usually pleased with the results from Instagram and it is often fun trying to pick the right filter for the scene, one that enhances the mood of the shot and doesn't harm the picture.  Instagram has made some changes to their app and the filters supported in recent months and a I'm not sure its for the better.  You may have seen some or most of these already if you follow me on Instagram or via Facebook.  

My top choice is made purely for nostalgic reasons.  Over 20 years ago I worked on the first all digital (capture to print) photography system created by Kodak and used to capture riders on the Splash Mountain log flume attraction in the Magic Kingdom.  I have fond memories of testing the system by climbing into the log flume at the bottom of the big hill and essentially only riding the last 20% of the ride so we could calibrate color and lighting (need people in the boats to get flesh tones right).

As for our trip, we had a wonderful time.  The weather on Sunday was near perfect but that turned out to be the best day.  Monday, our actual anniversary, saw heavy rains all afternoon but that did not spoil our special dinner at Jikos inside the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  The rest of the week was clear but unseasonably cool for this time of year with high's in the low 60's.  Given what was happening back here in Rochester, we weren't complaining.  We took one day away from Disney property and ventured over to Universal Studios to check out the Harry Potter themed sections and some of the other unique locations in Islands of Adventure. The Dr. Seuss area is always awesome and the rides are more my speed.

On Thursday we tried our hand at miniature golf since our package came with a free round and we were ready for a break from the parks.  I was pretty consistent and Amy was all over the map but had some spectacular holes: 2 eagles and almost a hole in one on a par 4.  These were not your average putt-putt holes as some measured over 120 feet with undulating greens and sand traps.  With a birdie 3 on the 18th and Amy making a 6, I ended up winning by a stroke.  I'm still not sure if she let me win that last hole or not.

On Friday we visited 3 separate parks. We returned to the Animal Kingdom in the morning to see what we missed due to the Monday rains.  We then went to the Magic Kingdom for the afternoon and Epcot for the evening.  We had reservations for dessert and drinks with front row seats to the Illuminations fireworks and light show that evening.  A nice ending to our week away.

The trip home brought us rapidly back to reality.  The flight out of Orlando was delayed due to no crew and we ended up choosing to reschedule through Chicago and try to get on a morning flight to Rochester (the east coast airports were not looking promising).  We did manage to get on the flight and it left a bit late but we made it.  Our caravan, which we took to the airport because its our oldest vehicle and didn't care if anything happened to it, wouldn't start after being in sub-zero weather all week.  We took a cab home and I spent the next hour getting the drive way cleared.  I'll see about getting the van when things warm up a bit, maybe Tuesday when its supposed to be a balmy 22 degrees.  Low 60's really wasn't that bad.