Four Days of Magic in February - We Survived Magic Bands & More - Page 3 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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We go on
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It's time to move on and move forward.
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Just found this TR! I love all your photos! Especially of the food b/c I like to see what people try - helps me decide if I want to eat there someday! Can't wait for more!
As ever Sharon your pictures are gorgeous. What a wait for the TIW card, at least it is worth it once you get to use it. We have had three trips out of ours and I bet you will get way more.
Dinner at Yachtsmans looked lovely
Thanks, Hazel. If all goes as planned, we should get our money's worth out of the TIW card.
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Originally Posted by chezp
Sounds like another perfect day with some wonderful eats - I must admit reading this, I was jealous. Can't wait to get back to Beaches and Cream again!
It was a very nice day
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Originally Posted by Colexis Mom
Great shots from Epcot! The new room looks great! Dinner looked delish as well!
Thanks, Marnie.
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Originally Posted by lfredsbo
Your new villa looks beautiful - and I actually really like it with the white, rather than the floral pattern.
Tutto looks delish - we haven't been there.......yet
Tutto was good. I give the edge to Via Napoli, but that's because I am partial to pizza.
Those photos are simply GORGEOUS!!!! Sorry you had a rough start to the first day but it certainly ended on a great note. The new room and the meal at Beaches and Cream sounds amazing. I agree with Lou about the trains, boats, and monorail. I think the next time we go I need a day to simply ride all of those things to my hearts content.
Thanks for the kind words. It was an interesting start, but we had a strong finish in Day 1. We have taken a day to see just how many forms of transportation we could ride - it was fun.
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Originally Posted by lauriep
I LOVE the photos! I realize the saga of you, Cynthia and the TiW card was a real pain at the time, but I must ad mit I really did LOL at several points along the way! You tell a good story. The beds at the Boardwalk Villas now have the white coverings with the strip at the bottom as well, and I really like the new look. Very clean and soothing. I'm glad to know that I'm not missing anything by not trying Club Level. It's just wrong to have a CL room so far away from the lounge!
Good ol' Cynthia - I just hope she doesn't somehow end up with my credit card information - still don't know how the mix up happened. I think all the Villas are going to white bed coverings - saw some photos from VWL also.
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Originally Posted by OhToodles!
A bit of a rough start to the TR, but things are improving nicely!
And again - just breathtaking photos!
Thanks - things definitely improved.
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Originally Posted by Cam22
Lunch at B&C is always a winner. I love the new white linens at BC (and happy to hear from Laurie that BWI has them, too). Such a crisp and fresh look for the villas. You've got me thinking that in October we ought to try Tutto Italia again as that ravioli looked delicious. Every time I read one of your TRs, I suffer from photographer's envy. Mine are improving but even the ones you feel are subpar are wonderful to me.
Thank you, Cam. I enjoy taking photos at Disney, because there is such a variety of subjects to choose from. I also make an effort to do photo-free periods, especially when traveling with other people.
Love the early morning photos! So beautiful! What a nice relaxing day at Epcot! Dinner looked great!
It was a relaxing day at Epcot - so nice when the crowd levels are low,
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Originally Posted by I live with a 'Stitch'!
Beautiful photos, Sharon! (And, now I'm hungry for pasta!)
Can't wait to read more!
Thanks - I'm hungry now, too
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Originally Posted by Nemo125
Just found this TR! I love all your photos! Especially of the food b/c I like to see what people try - helps me decide if I want to eat there someday! Can't wait for more!
Thanks for stopping by. Glad you like the food photos - it has become a bit of a family joke - they all refuse to take a bite until I take a photo of their food
I originally thought we would go back to Epcot on Tuesday morning, not realizing we would cover so much on our first evening. The group voted for Animal Kingdom, and I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was to set up our FP+ options and a luncheon reservation at Tusker House.
I was up early - trying to find a cup of coffee - nothing opens at the Beach Club until 7am - so I had to take a short walk until the Market Place opened.
At 7am, I grabbed some coffee, as well as some milk so I could prepare coffee for the rest of the group in the Villa - needed to get them up and moving if we were to make it to AK by 8am!
Surprisingly, we were up and at the bus stop just after 7:30am. It looked like it was going to be another gorgeous day:
At 7:42am, the first bus shows up, and it's headed to Animal Kingdom. We didn't have to stop anywhere else, and arrived at the AK bus stop right at 8:00am.
8:02am, and we are walking into an almost empty park. Everyone's magic bands worked perfectly for park entry, except .................. mine. I'm beginning to sense a theme here. The problem seemed to be with my fingerprint - the same thing used to happen with cards, so this is probably a user-issue and not a magic band problem. The CM called over a gal with an iPad scanner and they finally just let me in ... it's now 8:07am.
In order to get the group moving early, I'd had to bribe them with breakfast. Everyone was happy with a quick bite at a very empty Pizzafari - where we received a free cookie for being the first guests of the day. Kathy's comment, "This is the happiest place on earth ..."
It wasn't time yet for our Safari FP, but we braved the Zero Minute stand by line and walked right onto our two week safari. I think Laurie might have mentioned it in her report, but they drove the vehicles so quickly through the early morning safari, it was a little hard to take photos. I captured mostly the bigger animals. You would think this might be a time when they could go slower, and give you more time to check things out??? If by myself, I would have just ridden the Safari multiple times, since it was such a pretty day and the savannah is pretty in the early morning.
Up Next: Exploring the Pangani Trail before Conquering Expedition Everest.
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Just found your report. I love all of the pictures. Just beautiful!! What camera and zoom are you using. I am so new to my DSLR so I have some learning to do!!
That was such a beautiful day. Those safari photos are wonderful! The lion and lioness are spectacular, and you got a shot of a hippo OUT of the water! It makes no sense to me, either, that they go faster on the safari early in the morning when no one is waiting to board and there are no trucks behind them.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Oh my goodness - what stunning shots from the safari. The one of the lion is just breath taking.
Thanks, Cheryl.
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Originally Posted by lfredsbo
My FAVORITE attraction!!! Love your photos! Especially of the lion! What zoom lens are you using?
Lisa - I was using the Canon 70-200 f/2.8 lens (the lion/lioness were shot at 200mm, f/4, ISO 400)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
Great pictures! What camera are you using? Sorry about the magic band problems, but they seem to be minimal thank goodness!
Thanks. I was the only one in our group who had any magic band issues, and they were minor.
I use a Canon DSLR - a 5D Mark III
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russi01
Just found your report. I love all of the pictures. Just beautiful!! What camera and zoom are you using. I am so new to my DSLR so I have some learning to do!!
Thanks, Deb. The Safari shots were with the Canon 5D MIII and the 70-200mm telephoto.
What a gorgeous morning! And for "not being able to get many photos on the safari" you sure got some really excellent ones!
Thanks. I had problems with some of the birds, the mandrills, and the cheetahs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lauriep
That was such a beautiful day. Those safari photos are wonderful! The lion and lioness are spectacular, and you got a shot of a hippo OUT of the water! It makes no sense to me, either, that they go faster on the safari early in the morning when no one is waiting to board and there are no trucks behind them.
We kept saying how beautiful it was that day. I liked the hippo out of the water, and the two giraffes, since it shows the Masai and Reticulated giraffes standing next to each other. We thought the lioness was going to jump at something, but she calmed back down after getting up briefly.
One of the CMs told me to request the back row when he saw my camera. When we got to the loading zone, I politely asked if I could sit in the back. I was told, "No." I just gave a blank look, and she did say I probably could, but I'd have to wait several trucks??? There was no one in line at this time. I said that's okay, just load us up. So, they waited until there were more people and then loaded the truck to make sure there were at least four people in every row. Weird - I can see minimizing the impact on the animals, but they sent empty trucks out before and after us ... It was still a fun safari
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Dinner looked delish as well! 
I love the new white linens at BC (and happy to hear from Laurie that BWI has them, too). Such a crisp and fresh look for the villas. 
You've got me thinking that in October we ought to try Tutto Italia again as that ravioli looked delicious. 
PassPorter Guide Author
Deb
Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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