The MousePlanet Mailbag is a regular compilation of some of our reader feedback and writer responses that may be of interest to our readers. We encourage you to drop your questions, opinions, or comments to us in care of our mailbag.
MousePlanet photographer Frank Anzalone answers reader requests for photographic know how in response to his outstanding Photo Tips series. Glenda writes:
Hello, I have really enjoyed reading through your photo tips I was just wondering if you have any tips for taking pictures of the Electric Parade.
In Disney’s Electrical Parade, you will notice that some of the floats are brighter than others…these are the ones you will have the most luck capturing with no blur. Remember to zoom in as tightly as you can to the action; cropping out the dark background helps your camera’s exposure. Of course, hold as still as you can!
In certain spots on the parade route the floats don’t travel by as fast. For instance, when they are making a turn along the route, they slow down or even stop. Position yourself at one of these points to try and capture your pictures. If you want to really experiment and take a chance, “pan” with the action as you take the picture. Hold the camera as steady as you can as you ‘follow the action/float’ during your exposure. The only difficulty here is when the shutter takes the picture, it will close off the viewfinder. You have to get that timing down as you move along with the motion of the float. Imagine the pace of the float and keep it centered in your frame. It takes practice.
In Photo Tips #5 check out the picture of the tuba player on the carousel. This is similar to the effect you would get.
I think I’m going to have to try to shoot the E.P. the next time I’m in the park! Good luck!
Stephane writes:
Just another quick question as I get closer to my departure date of Feb 27th; you gave me such great tips for fireworks and the safari… What would you recommend for settings when trying to capture SpectroMagic? Also, think I should be using my 75-300mm lens for that? Or stick with the 18-55?
So much to learn, so little time before I leave!
No worries on asking questions—I just hope I have answers! Someone just asked me a similar question regarding the Electrical Parade. [Editor’s note: see above for response]
To answer your lens question—use the 18-55mm lens and stay close to the action. Most telephotos like your 75-300 require much more light. The more ‘zoom’ you use, the more light it needs for exposure due to a sliding aperture maximum opening in the optics. OK, whatever that means… just use the 18-55 lens!
Good luck! Send me some samples!
Brenda writes:
I just wanted to say thanks for posting this wonderful info on the web. Because of you I got some great shots of my family at Disneyland this past Christmas and followed your advice. I ended up with 1060 shots in total and a lifetime of memories, so thank you again…
I appreciate the comments! It sounds like you captured some great memories. 1000+ photos? Wow! You shoot like I do!
We’ll have to give some thought to a photo tip article that has to do with “after the shoot”, such as organizing (maybe scrapbooking?) and archiving. Do you have any suggestions?
Glad you had great photo results and a great vacation!
In the next group of letters, staff writer Lani Teshima answers some questions about armed services and other public servant benefits. Recently, Disneyland in Anaheim, CA offered a promotional discount for fire fighters involved in fighting the Southern California wildfires, and has offered military discount tickets in the past. Pam writes:
Are there Walt Disney World tickets available at a discount rate for military, fire department and police?
I am not aware of any special discounts for Walt Disney World for military or fire fighter personnel, but you might want to check with the Shades of Green resort, which is run by Morale, Welfare and Recreation right on WDW property. If there are any specials, they will probably be aware of it. In addition, the price of stays at that resort are based on one’s military rank, allowing even an E-1 to consider staying at the equivalent of a Moderate resort for the price of a Value resort.
Kevin H. writes:
Do the Disney parks offer discounts for serving UK armed forces?
As far as I know, the U.S. Disney theme parks have never extended any military promotions beyond those of the American Armed Forces.
Although the rules may not be identical, one good checklist for eligibility is published by the Shades of Green resort in Walt Disney World, which is available for members of the U.S. military (link).
Finally, some readers weigh in on the Mary Poppins musical currently showing on Broadway in New York City. Bill J. writes:
I was glad to read your review of the stage version of Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins is not only one of my favorite movies, it is a movie that I feel is as close to perfect as any out there (Dick Van Dyke’s British accent not withstanding). Having heard some songs from the show I was skeptical. How to can they alter a masterpiece? It’s like adding a moustache to the Mona Lisa. None-the-less I know that the movie is significantly different from the original books, so perhaps I was being closed minded. However, I have a friend who worked on the Lion King on Broadway who said it bored children to tears, as it is nothing like their beloved film. I didn’t know if I should shell out hundreds to check out Poppins. Maybe I’ll hold off till it comes to the regional theater circuit or even community theater. I’d still like to see it, I just don’t think I’ll pay a premium for it.
Lauren B. writes:
I know you had asked for these reviews a while back, but I just saw Mary Poppins this week and thought I’d write to put in my two cents, if you still need reviews. I am on a study abroad trip to the UK with my university, and as a big fan of the movie, I decided to go see the stage production in London with some of my fellow students. We have a fairly unique perspective as all of us are early-to-mid twenties, and a large majority of people there were either much older or families with kids. Despite that, everyone I talked to loved it. It was so much fun.
It’s definitely different from the movie in some parts, but not in a bad way. The interaction between Bert and Mary was very believable and well done, and the kid playing Michael was absolutely adorable. “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” was so happy and exciting that we all couldn’t help smiling all the way through! My best advice would be to sit up as close as possible (we got second-row seats because we’re international students) so as to be able to see the conductor—during the curtain call he was doing the dance in time with the cast on stage! It was one of the cutest things I had ever seen, and even if I hadn’t liked the play (which I did), that would have made the night worthwhile for me.
[Editor’s note: Have you seen Mary Poppins or any other Disney show on Broadway recently? We’d love to hear your reviews. Write in to mailbag@mouseplanet.com!]
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