Pop Centurion
09-19-2008, 11:46 PM
Awoke at 8:00am and my girlfriends legs were very sore and her ankles were still swollen from the previous day. She was so exhausted since she wasn't used to all the walking and long hours in the parks, so we canceled our breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. :( We've never been there before so I was looking forward to it. I didn't want her to feel bad so I didn't make a big deal out of it.
Relaxed around the room and watched TV while she slept some more and finally decided to go out by myself. I figured since she isn't up to a lot of walking, I'd go to AK for a little photography time to myself and walk the safari trails. It was real nice being able to walk the park and take my good old time taking photo's of the animals without worrying about any attractions or her getting bored. I will say it was very hot again though. Good thing I dressed light and comfortable because I was sweating pretty bad.
I was really enjoying getting some nice shots but of course you always get one rude person who has to ruin things. While on the Pangani Forest trail I encountered this very cool purple/blue/green bird. He kept flying down from a tree and picking up things and bringing them back to make a nest. I had my big zoom lens on and was able to get a few nice close ups. Then the bird landed very close to me to pick up a big feather. I was able to kneel down without scaring him. As I focused some guy came along and gave me a nice nudge in the back almost knocking me over and scaring the bird off. :mad: I looked over at the guy and said "excuse you" but he just glanced at me and kept walking. This is when I really started to realize the increase in rudeness by people this year. Definitely beyond the normal rudeness you'd expect and tolerate. Later along the trail there was a couple with a great spot to view the gorillas and get some nice pics. The boyfriend told his girlfriend to watch out so I could get some shots but I told them to take their time, I was in no hurry. So we kept taking turns getting some nice shots each time the gorilla's moved. We even called others over with camera's who were walking by and told them they could really get some good shots from that spot. It was such a night and day experience between those people and the guy who nudged me.
Did the Maharajah trail next. There were only two tigers out and they were in the area that's behind glass so the shots weren't that great but I was later able to get a few from a far distance from the bridge but nothing spectacular. After that I took in the MJJP before heading back. On the way out of the park they had Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy on one of the safari cars waving bye and posing for pictures. Donald noticed me and starting hamming it up which was real special since he's my fave.
Got back to the room and my GF was up and ready to go out so I took a quick shower and we headed to Epcot. We went right on SE since we haven't been on since before the refurb. The additions were real nice although we did miss some of the things that were removed as well as the old narration. The end where you "build your future" had us laughing so hard. I don't really want to give anything away for those who haven't experienced it yet so I'll leave it at that. ;)
Right after SE we went straight to Sunshine Seasons since neither of us had really eaten yet besides snacks and we were starved.
After we ate it was almost 8:00 so we decided to head to WS to watch Illuminations. Surprisingly it was pretty empty in Italy where we normally like to go so we got a great spot on the top of the little bridge/steps. While we waited the was a FP photographer behind us pointed towards the pavilion so we got our picture with Italy behind us. A few minutes before the fireworks the photographer came over to us and asked if we'd like to get our picture taken with the fireworks. We were excited and said sure. It was great of her to ask us and how often do you get that opportunity. So she turned the camera towards the lagoon, adjusted her settings and had us pose so she could focus. When the lights went out and the fireworks started she took a few shots and we thanked her and finished watching. We thanked her again afterwards but stupid me forgot to get her name. I would have loved to write Disney about this great experience. I wonder if there's a way they can trace the pictures to the photogs who took them?
Took a relaxing stroll back to FW and sat by the fountain of nations to watch the show then went in Mouse Gear for a little shopping.
Once we got back to Pop we went into the cafeteria to eat then back to our room.
All in all a pretty relaxing day especially for my girlfriend who slept half of it. :P
Relaxed around the room and watched TV while she slept some more and finally decided to go out by myself. I figured since she isn't up to a lot of walking, I'd go to AK for a little photography time to myself and walk the safari trails. It was real nice being able to walk the park and take my good old time taking photo's of the animals without worrying about any attractions or her getting bored. I will say it was very hot again though. Good thing I dressed light and comfortable because I was sweating pretty bad.
I was really enjoying getting some nice shots but of course you always get one rude person who has to ruin things. While on the Pangani Forest trail I encountered this very cool purple/blue/green bird. He kept flying down from a tree and picking up things and bringing them back to make a nest. I had my big zoom lens on and was able to get a few nice close ups. Then the bird landed very close to me to pick up a big feather. I was able to kneel down without scaring him. As I focused some guy came along and gave me a nice nudge in the back almost knocking me over and scaring the bird off. :mad: I looked over at the guy and said "excuse you" but he just glanced at me and kept walking. This is when I really started to realize the increase in rudeness by people this year. Definitely beyond the normal rudeness you'd expect and tolerate. Later along the trail there was a couple with a great spot to view the gorillas and get some nice pics. The boyfriend told his girlfriend to watch out so I could get some shots but I told them to take their time, I was in no hurry. So we kept taking turns getting some nice shots each time the gorilla's moved. We even called others over with camera's who were walking by and told them they could really get some good shots from that spot. It was such a night and day experience between those people and the guy who nudged me.
Did the Maharajah trail next. There were only two tigers out and they were in the area that's behind glass so the shots weren't that great but I was later able to get a few from a far distance from the bridge but nothing spectacular. After that I took in the MJJP before heading back. On the way out of the park they had Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy on one of the safari cars waving bye and posing for pictures. Donald noticed me and starting hamming it up which was real special since he's my fave.
Got back to the room and my GF was up and ready to go out so I took a quick shower and we headed to Epcot. We went right on SE since we haven't been on since before the refurb. The additions were real nice although we did miss some of the things that were removed as well as the old narration. The end where you "build your future" had us laughing so hard. I don't really want to give anything away for those who haven't experienced it yet so I'll leave it at that. ;)
Right after SE we went straight to Sunshine Seasons since neither of us had really eaten yet besides snacks and we were starved.
After we ate it was almost 8:00 so we decided to head to WS to watch Illuminations. Surprisingly it was pretty empty in Italy where we normally like to go so we got a great spot on the top of the little bridge/steps. While we waited the was a FP photographer behind us pointed towards the pavilion so we got our picture with Italy behind us. A few minutes before the fireworks the photographer came over to us and asked if we'd like to get our picture taken with the fireworks. We were excited and said sure. It was great of her to ask us and how often do you get that opportunity. So she turned the camera towards the lagoon, adjusted her settings and had us pose so she could focus. When the lights went out and the fireworks started she took a few shots and we thanked her and finished watching. We thanked her again afterwards but stupid me forgot to get her name. I would have loved to write Disney about this great experience. I wonder if there's a way they can trace the pictures to the photogs who took them?
Took a relaxing stroll back to FW and sat by the fountain of nations to watch the show then went in Mouse Gear for a little shopping.
Once we got back to Pop we went into the cafeteria to eat then back to our room.
All in all a pretty relaxing day especially for my girlfriend who slept half of it. :P