Of all the castles to be found in Disney Parks, I think this one might be my favorite. After sifting through several shots, I settled on this one which was taken from the middle of Main Street after the park had closed. I have to admit that I had to do quite a bit of touching up on this particular shot as a good chunk of the right side of the frame was filled with a huge construction wall. Both sides of Main Street were still being worked on when we were there two weeks ago, as well as several other areas of the park. Again, coming from California, it felt strange to be taking sunset photos past 10 PM, and to have the park shut down at 9 PM while there was still plenty of daylight.
Taken with the Nikkor 18-200.
Tags: Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant Sleeping Beauty Castle Disneyland Paris Sunset Silhouette Nikon D7000 Nikkor 18-200
© All Rights Reserved
We ended our two week long mad dash through Europe at Disneyland Paris. We found this park to be head and shoulders over it's counterpart in Anaheim in terms of the overall aesthetic of the park, but we were a bit disappointed in that there are about 30 percent less rides. Add to that the fact that they were still refurbishing major areas of the park in July, and our own Disneyland comes out ahead overall. Major sections of Main Street, the castle, Adventureland and Fantasyland were behind refurb walls when we left on July 1. We were also hoping that Indiana Jones would be finished as it was originally scheduled to open on July 1, but the date was pushed back and we missed it. :(
However, any disappointment regarding rides was completely offset by the sheer beauty of this park. It's larger and far greener than the original, and on certain nights, the sky is simply phenomenal. I was lucky enough to have one of those nights when the above shot was taken a little over a week ago. I purposely dragged my feet and as a result, I was the last guest to leave Main Street at 10:30 pm. I took the above shot shortly after leaving the park for the night. The Disneyland Hotel at DLP is simply gorgeous, and I was thinking about possibly reserving a room here until I saw the price tag: $800 for one night! I know that includes park admission, but HELLO!!
(Explored at #7 on 7/11/11. Thanks for the views, comments, and faves! )
Shot with the Sigma 10-20.
Tags: Disneyland Hotel Paris Disneyland Paris Blue Hour Nikon D7000 Sigma 10-20 Night Reflection
© All Rights Reserved
Please press the L key for better viewing. Thanks. :)
One of our favorite rides at Disneyland Paris was Big Thunder Mountain. It took forever to load (fastpass riders had their own train, and they were only running two while we were there), but once you were on, it was an amazing ride. There are several similarities to the one we have out here in California, but we found this version to be head and shoulders above the original. To begin with, the first thing you do is go under the river as the majority of the attraction is out on the island. Because of this, there are two sections of the ride where you plunge straight down into darkness. It was also a bit longer and faster than it's counterpart out here in Anaheim. It was easily the most popular ride of the park while we were there with an average wait time of 90 minutes and a long line for fastpasses that only disappeared during the afternoon when they ran out each day.
We were very glad it was running while we were there as several guests were seriously injured only a month before when one of the rocks during the earthquake section gave way and came down on a train.
As for the processing, on recommendations from Gregg Cooper and Ryan Pastorino, I'm giving Photomatix Exposure Fusion a try here for the first time.
Tags: Disneyland Paris Big Thunder Mountain Nikon D7000 Nikkor 18-200
© All Rights Reserved
After my kids ditched me earlier in the evening in favor of kicking back in the hotel, I had another 90 minutes or so in the park. As DLP closes at 9 PM in June, the streets were virtually empty by the time the sky lit up. It took me quite a while to get used to all of the light available in Europe compared to California. I was surprised that I still had enough light to shoot without a tripod by the time I headed back at around 10:30 PM.
As much as I'm a fan of our own Disneyland here in Southern California, I really think Disneyland Paris is FAR more beautiful overall. Not as many rides, and it's missing the nostalgia of the original, but what a gorgeous park!
3 bracket handheld HDR taken with the Sigma 10-20.
(Explored at #2 on 9/19/11)
Tags: Disneyland Paris Sleeping Beauty Castle Sunset After Hours HDR Nikon D7000 Sigma 10-20
© All Rights Reserved
Still sifting though my shots from last Summer. Here's another from the night I closed out the park after waiting an hour and a half for the last stragglers to leave. While I was waiting for one die-hard family to leave, (at LEAST 4000 different poses on Main Street) I found a way to disguise the family by hiding them behind the gazebo. It also seemed to work well as a frame for the castle down the length of the street. Shortly after this shot was taken, the family finally gave up, and I was able to get my empty shot down Main Street.
3 shot HDR handheld bracket taken with the Sigma 10-20.
Tags: Disneyland Paris Gazebo Main Street Blue Hour Nikon D7000 Sigma 10-20
© All Rights Reserved