Gastronomical Adventures at the Grand (Feb 8-12, 2015) - Page 6 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Oh my goodness!!!! I am so going to have to get up early and head out one morning!!! Especially once I get the hang of Lightroom!
You might have better luck just staying up after your 2AM park visits to take some photos, Lisa! I can't stay awake for night shots.
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Originally Posted by pamcarey
I am NOT an early morning person, but sometimes I wish I was when I see pictures like these! Gorgeous!
Thanks, Pam.
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Originally Posted by tcmary
I am only on page 3 but had to take a break to tell you I am enjoying your TR. Your photos are gorgeous. I have read that you shoot raw. I am curious how much time do you spend, if any, editing your photos.
Love the new parade floats. Although many characters didn't look up, the details on the floats can be seen by the angle you are at. They're spectacular.
I was considering a stay at the Grand Floridian for our trip in November, but if the monorail is not fully dependable I may change our plans to a different resort.
Day time photos, like the parade, don't get much editing at all. I have some presets in Lightroom that make quick adjustments to sharpness, contrast, and a few other things, but it's just a minute or two per photo. The early morning shots, which come later in the report, take much longer to post process, because I will bracket 5 exposures, then do some blending in Photoshop. Maybe 10-20 minutes per photo.
The monorail isn't perfect, but there was scheduled maintenance and downtime during our trip. As long as that's not the case, you should be fine. We did manage to work around it just fine (after my initial frustration).
Great pictures!!! What kind of camera do you use? I have a Nikon D40.
Thanks, Kara. I used a LUMIX FZ1000 for most of the daytime shots. The early morning resort photos were taken with my DSLR, a Canon 5DMIII. Probably more important than the camera was using a tripod for longer exposures.
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Thanks for your response regarding photo editing. I am going to begin to use raw and see how I do. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
Love the view from Cali Grill. Bāck in the '70's, we ate at a breakfast buffet up there. Between the view and an introduction to croissants, I was in heaven.
Terrific photo of you and Lou. You look fabulous and very happy.
Totally in love with your photos! they are quite spectacular! Your tr is a wonderful read and I'm enjoying following along. Makes me 'homesick'
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Originally Posted by mcneal
Sound like a wonderful evening - love the fireworks! I am afraid I will never dine at V&A - I do not care for any kind of meat or seafood so it would be a waste for me. I would love to watch my DH enjoy it though.
Just wanted to add my comments about eating vegetarian/vegan at V&A. We did the Queen Victoria Room meal a year ago for our anniversary and one of the other couples there, the wife was vegan and her husband was a chef. The chef prepared her, according to what we heard (they were a little on the loud side ) wonderful dishes. They both were quite impressed with the courses prepared for her. You just have to let them know what your dining preferences are when you make your reservations and they will take excellent care of you! It is definitely an experience!
Your meal on arrival at V&A's looked absolutely amazing! I ate in QVR as well last year and enjoyed it immensely! Just wish I had brought my camera for the meal! Next time! McNeal mentioned about it would be difficult to eat there as a vegetarian and is worried about it. You can let them know ahead of time plus they have a full vegetarian menu (at least for the main dining room) as I've seen it on previous visits!
Another great meal at the Cali and loved the photos of Wishes!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
Last edited by SuperDave; 03-01-2015 at 06:20 PM..
Just wanted to say "thanks". Your photos are so beautiful and really made my day better. Enjoying the TR but the photos are just extra-special!
Thank you very much
Quote:
Originally Posted by tcmary
Thanks for your response regarding photo editing. I am going to begin to use raw and see how I do. Nothing ventured nothing gained.
Love the view from Cali Grill. Bāck in the '70's, we ate at a breakfast buffet up there. Between the view and an introduction to croissants, I was in heaven.
Terrific photo of you and Lou. You look fabulous and very happy.
Thanks! Funny - I think our first time at the Contemporary was breakfast in the 70's too - when everything was brand new!
Quote:
Originally Posted by NanaTink
Totally in love with your photos! they are quite spectacular! Your tr is a wonderful read and I'm enjoying following along. Makes me 'homesick'
...
!
Thanks, glad you are enjoying the photos - won't be long til you will be taking your own on your cruise! And, I agree, V&A is worth trying as a vegetarian.
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Originally Posted by islandgirl
I love your trip report and your photos are absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!
Thank you - I'm enjoying your report too.
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Originally Posted by SuperDave
Catching up here!
Your meal on arrival at V&A's looked absolutely amazing! I ate in QVR as well last year and enjoyed it immensely! Just wish I had brought my camera for the meal! Next time! McNeal mentioned about it would be difficult to eat there as a vegetarian and is worried about it. You can let them know ahead of time plus they have a full vegetarian menu (at least for the main dining room) as I've seen it on previous visits!
Another great meal at the Cali and loved the photos of Wishes!
Thanks, Dave. I wasn't planning on taking many photos at V&As, but it turned out to be a non-issue, since the people at the next table were encouraging me
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We've had a little excitement here. I know that many folks are still dealing with snow and it's after effects. We've also been under the weather, but in a very wet way. First, it started last weekend with about 2 hours of intense rain, which flooded our neighborhood.
That's about 2 feet of water running down the street. We are in South Florida in Palm Beach Gardens. If anyone was watching the Honda Classic Golf Tournament, you saw the rain and flooding on the course - we are just across the street from the golf course.
We watched closely, as the water outside the house kept rising. The pool overflowed and the patio was covered in a few inches of water:
The dogs had to check it out. One (Natasha - the female), was not too thrilled:
We thought we were lucky, once the rain stopped and the water began to recede. We escaped any flooding, and no damage other than clogged drains.
Fastforward a couple of days. I was up early to take Stitch out for his walk (Natasha prefers to sleep in ). Imagine our surprise when we found this, upon arrival downstairs:
That is water - running from the corner of the wall (you can see where the molding is already splitting). It's coming from a broken pipe in a water heater which sits in a closet in the guest bedroom. Nothing to do with the other flood, just coincidental.
It doesn't look too bad, but unfortunately, it had spread throughout most of the first floor. Soaking several carpets, soaking into the base of the drywall, etc. Lou promptly called for help, and we had an Environmental Clean-up team here within the hour. They ripped off baseboards, moved furniture, vacuumed up the water, and more. They set up dryers, dehumidifies, and fans.
We've spent the last week camping out upstairs. Fortunately, we have a separate air conditioning unit up here - they installed a plastic wall with zippers to lock us in our bubble, since it is between 90-100 degrees downstairs.
This has nothing much to do with Disney, except that Lou's first words were, "Do we have any DVC points? Let's just go to Disney while they sort out this mess." (Due to having other appointments, plus meeting with insurance adjusters, plus dogs, we haven't yet taken off for Disney )
The regularly scheduled TR will be back sometime later today. In the meantime, say hello to D-Wyane, our butler:
Sharon, I am so sorry you have had to deal with two flooding situations. I don't lke water damage at all. Thank goodness there are now folks who specialize in restoring order after flooding. Hope life and your home is back to normal soon.
Oh Sharon! What a mess!!! So sorry! That is one of my fears - and especially right now with all the snow we have, then when it melts - there is not much worse than water damage. Thank goodness you were able to get assistance pretty quick! And I like Lou's thinking!
And by the way, I would have loved to have seen a photo of Stitch's face, as the way he is standing there looking at the water - you can tell just by his stance, he is not too happy!
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Just wish I had brought my camera for the meal! Next time! 
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