When we posted last week’s Magic Kingdom tilt-shift video, the hope was that a few of you would enjoy the experiment. But oh my…were we surprised. Response was overwhelming.
Some Disney Parks Blog commenters said they were moved to tears. Others cheered and described it as a mini vacation. And yes, we heard those of you who asked for more. So, we immediately found the creative “eye” and champion of the project — David Roark, manager of creative photography for Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative Group. David sat down with us and shared how he did it.
Thomas Smith: This type of project has never been attempted at Disney Parks. How’d you make it work? David Roark: It was a lot of trial and error. My first two or three trips out of the box I was like, ‘This is not going to work.’ It’s a combination of your height on the scene and in the Magic Kingdom Park there’s just not a lot of fixed platforms where you can lock a camera off for five minutes without it moving. But there’s also lightning and consistency of exposure. We started this in the middle of summer and if you start a sequence and a little cloud comes by, you need to start it over again because the clouds darken the scene so much. So, it was very trial and error. This was on the job training for me.
TS: Was it difficult to find the perfect shots? DR: In the case of this one, nobody really knew what we were doing. (I said) “just trust me and work with me here, this will all make sense.”
TS: What lenses did you use? DR: Nikon makes three tilt-shift lenses, they’re basically architectural lenses and we’re using them in a diametrically opposed application than what they’re built for. They’re built to actually allow you to increase the focal plane in a scene and make everything in focus. For tilt-shift, we turn them the opposite way and back tilt the focal plane so that hardly anything is in focus. And that creates that miniaturation effect.
TS: What was on your mind while putting this together? DR: For me, it became as much a transportation story – the story of getting to the park and all the things that happen because that activity of parking your car and coming through the toll plaza. I had to think about what scenes have that kind of repetitive motion. It was a lot of fun and it’s different. For me it became a little bit of an escape.
TS: Did you notice Guests wanted to see Wishes Nighttime Spectacular? DR: Everyone wants Wishes, but Wishes is so bright and because we shoot one frame a second, there were just too many flash frames in it. But, Epcot and Illuminations, I’ll make work. We’ll get the fireworks.
Celebrating Ten Years of Haunted Mansion Holidays at Disneyland Park – As this year marks the tenth anniversary of Haunted Mansion Holiday at Disneyland park, see how every year some very different teams from across Disneyland Resort gather for a very special project: the Haunted Mansion Holiday gingerbread house.
First Look at the Freaky Gingerbread House in Haunted Mansion Holiday – Check out a shot of the fabulous gingerbread confection that’s the centerpiece of the table in the ballroom in the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland park. It may look fancy, but there’s a dark side to all that sweetness and 500 pounds of gingerbread.
Mickey Mouse is moving to a new location in Magic Kingdom to meet and greet his friends at Walt Disney World Resort. As of April 1, 2011, guests can go backstage at Town Square Theater for photos and autographs with Mickey -- without waiting in a standby queue!
The New Town Square Theater
And that's no April Fools' Day trick! Nor is it "magic." Rather, it's the result of the first-ever use of Disney's FASTPASS Service for a character meet-and-greet experience. FASTPASS allows guests to reduce waiting by designating a window of time when they can return for a theme park experience.
But there IS magic in the air at the Town Square Theater presented by Kodak, located just inside the Magic Kingdom entrance. Previously known as Town Square Exposition Hall, the venue has been re-imagined as a turn-of-the-Twentieth-Century theater where posters proclaim Mickey Mouse as the star of a magic show.
Town Square Exposition Hall (Now Town Square Theater)
A glistening marquee with gold-leaf trim and sparkling lights beckons guests to enter a lobby that serves as a hub for character meet-and-greet queues, the Box Office Gifts merchandise shop and Tony's Town Square Restaurant. Lush curtains with gold rope tie-backs, polished-brass chandeliers and a huge tile floor mosaic of the Town Square Theater logo adorn the space.
Just beyond the lobby, guests pass through an ornate arch and enter a queue to meet Magician Mickey Mouse -- or a queue to meet the Disney princesses, for whom Town Square Theater will be a meet-and-greet location during New Fantasyland construction.
The meet-and-greet experience begins when magical posters featuring Mickey's various magic acts come to life, enhancing guests' journey through queues into the backstage corridors of the theater. Mickey greets guests in a rehearsal-room environment amid posters, steamer trunks and stage props. It's a classic backstage area with a wood floor and ceiling. One wall is brick, the others are papered in red and black -- Mickey colors.
During the Princesses' limited engagement at Town Square Theater, they will greet guests in an area fit for royalty -- replete with plush carpeting, lush velvety-blue drapes with gold tiebacks, and a large mural backdrop of a chateau amid green, tree-covered hills and fields.
Exiting the meet-and-greet areas, guests pass through Curtain Call Collectibles, a shop with design elements suggesting a backstage area used for theater shipping and receiving -- with large, barn-like doors through which props and set pieces could pass. Adorning the room are some of the apparatuses used in magic tricks, including the dunk tank, sword basket and saw of dread.
Guests wanting to meet Mickey or the Princesses can either obtain a Disney's FASTPASS ticket or get in standby queues. FASTPASS tickets, which are available near Town Square Theater, designate an hour window of time during which the guest can return to the theater and have their "magic moment" with Mickey or the Princesses without joining the standby queues.
Today, we'll show you a lot of time-lapse videos from Disney and an interview with Todd Heiden, International PR. Director, Disney Destinations LLC.
The first video is the newest one: A Model Vacation on Disney Cruise Line [Tilt-Shift Video]
The next video is the most famous and the one I like the most!!! It shows a day at the Magic Kingdom and also uses a technique called Tilt-Shift.
You've seen the Magic Kingdom in tilt-shift photography. Now see Epcot at Walt Disney World in Florida from a whole new perspective. The exclusive video first featured on The Disney Parks Blog was created from a series of photos snapped inside the park. Our celebration begins at Spaceship Earth and after a brief trip through Future World, shifts to some of out favorite World Showcase areas. There's another special ending with Mickey too. Oh, and this time there's fireworks as well. Enjoy!
Another Tilt-Shift video: Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade 2009
Tilt-Shift miniature faking is a creative technique whereby a photograph of a life-size location or object is manipulated to give an optical illusion of a photograph of a miniature scale model.
Altering the focus of the photography in Photoshop (or similar program) simulates the shallow depth of field normally encountered with macro lenses making the scene seem much smaller than it actually is.
In addition to focus manipulation, the tilt-shift photography effect is improved by increasing color saturation and contrast, to simulate the bright paint often found on scale models.
Most faked tilt-shift photographs are taken from a high angle to further simulate the effect of looking down on a miniature. The technique is particularly effective on buildings, cars, trains and people.
Tilt-Shift photography is all about changing the angle of the camera to give a different perspective and to make something look bigger or smaller. Like when you play poker and your chips are stacked and all lined up, from on top they don’t look like much but if you look from the bottom they could look huge.
To learn more about the technique to do videos and photos using this technique, visit:
When we posted last week’s Magic Kingdom tilt-shift video, the hope was that a few of you would enjoy the experiment. But oh my…were we surprised. Response was overwhelming.
Some Disney Parks Blog commenters said they were moved to tears. Others cheered and described it as a mini vacation. And yes, we heard those of you who asked for more. So, we immediately found the creative “eye” and champion of the project — David Roark, manager of creative photography for Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative Group. David sat down with us and shared how he did it.
Thomas Smith: This type of project has never been attempted at Disney Parks. How’d you make it work? David Roark: It was a lot of trial and error. My first two or three trips out of the box I was like, ‘This is not going to work.’ It’s a combination of your height on the scene and in the Magic Kingdom Park there’s just not a lot of fixed platforms where you can lock a camera off for five minutes without it moving. But there’s also lightning and consistency of exposure. We started this in the middle of summer and if you start a sequence and a little cloud comes by, you need to start it over again because the clouds darken the scene so much. So, it was very trial and error. This was on the job training for me.
TS: Was it difficult to find the perfect shots? DR: In the case of this one, nobody really knew what we were doing. (I said) “just trust me and work with me here, this will all make sense.”
TS: What lenses did you use? DR: Nikon makes three tilt-shift lenses, they’re basically architectural lenses and we’re using them in a diametrically opposed application than what they’re built for. They’re built to actually allow you to increase the focal plane in a scene and make everything in focus. For tilt-shift, we turn them the opposite way and back tilt the focal plane so that hardly anything is in focus. And that creates that miniaturation effect.
TS: What was on your mind while putting this together? DR: For me, it became as much a transportation story – the story of getting to the park and all the things that happen because that activity of parking your car and coming through the toll plaza. I had to think about what scenes have that kind of repetitive motion. It was a lot of fun and it’s different. For me it became a little bit of an escape.
TS: Did you notice Guests wanted to see Wishes Nighttime Spectacular? DR: Everyone wants Wishes, but Wishes is so bright and because we shoot one frame a second, there were just too many flash frames in it. But, Epcot and Illuminations, I’ll make work. We’ll get the fireworks.
More Time-Lapse videos from Disney Parks
Epcot International Flower and Garden Festival.
This one shows the look of the Mickey Floral in front of the Magic Kingdom changing from Halloween to Christmas.
You'll see 2 nights of work in just one minute.
Art Director: David Hartmann
This video shows the decoration for Christmas on Main Street U.S.A, inside the Magic Kingdom.
Interview with Todd Heiden, International PR Director, Disney Destinations LLC.
Chad Emerson: Which of Disney’s tilt shift videos has been the most popular so far?
Todd Heiden: “A Model Day at Magic Kingdom” has by far been the most popular for many different reasons. First, the park resonates very well with the target audience; when you think of Disney Parks, the first of our parks that springs to mind is the Magic Kingdom. Second, the video launched simultaneously with our Disney Parks Blog, which has turned out to be a huge success for us in terms of having an official Parks voice with which to engage our fans within the social media realm. Lastly, the video itself received key references and embeds from influential external sites that helped drive the views up significantly.
Emerson: Please explain how the idea of using the tilt-shift technique came to mind and why you thought it would fit well with Disney theme parks.
Heiden: I was first introduced to tilt-shift by my sister-in-law who is an avid photographer. She shared an example of a video by a gentleman in Australia and I was mesmerized by the effect. Tilt-shift is first and foremost a photographic technique, but when the individual images are stitched together the resulting video works particularly well with motion and people. I thought, since so many of our ideas start out as models, how fun would it be to revert to a model-like look and incorporate both motion (trains, monorails, busses, boats, etc.) and moving people?
Emerson: What about the technology creates that miniature effect?
Heiden: I’m sure I won’t do the technology any justice with this explanation but here’s a try. Tilt-shift lenses do exactly what they advertise: tilt and shift. Whereas a traditional lens is mounted on a camera body in a straightforward affixed position, a tilt-shift lens allows for the movement of the lens relative to the image plane – namely left-right (tilt) and up-down (shift). The ability to do this allows for selective focus and precise control of the perspective. When you take a camera with a traditional lens and point it down or up at a subject (e.g. a building), you either only capture the base of the building or affect the perspective in the resulting image (a building that slowly converges near the top). Shifting the lens upwards on the camera body allows you to capture the entire subject, which is important when trying to tell the whole story. Tilting the lens produces a narrow region of sharpness with a blurring effect top and bottom in the image. Combining these two effects - and punching the color saturation up a bit in post-edit – can give the impression of a miniature.
Results are best when photographed from above or at a distance with a wide angle of view. In certain instances we chose to go with a zoom lens as the resulting image helped move the somewhat loose narrative along.
Emerson: You’ve really focused on the theme parks to date. What are some other types of settings in which you could imagine this technique would also work well?
Heiden: We’re about to drop our next video, which will feature the Disney Cruise Lines and in particular their ship the Disney Wonder. Seeing a massive 90 million pound cruise line bobbing about on the water like a toy ship in a bathtub is a really cool effect. Beyond the cruise line we have our 24 resorts on property, our two water parks and our shopping district, as well as unique perspective shots that we can consider for smaller POV segments.
Emerson: What type of feedback have you received back from guests regarding the videos? What has been the most surprising response?
Heiden: The response has been overwhelmingly positive and “more” is what we’re being asked for. Everyone has their favorite park so obviously, if we haven’t featured their park yet, the expectation has now been set that it will be coming.
David Roark, our photographer who shoots all the images, has had guests approach him in the parks and comment on the videos. It really is a labor of love on his part given all the different locations he needs to lug his equipment around to so the recognition is a pleasant surprise for him.
Probably the most amusing responses have been to the music selections. I wanted something that wasn’t standard Disney, something that would challenge people to “experience” Disney differently rather than hearing the music and automatically saying to themselves – “Disney.” The Magic Kingdom music is an overwhelming favorite, with Epcot’s music being a little more polarizing – they love it or hate it. Either way, the videos generate a healthy trail of comments that are fun to follow.
More Time-Lapse Videos from Disney
If you’re building a “dream playground” then who better to go to for design advice than the experts – the children who’ll be using it. Drawings from the imaginations of kids in the community were incorporated into the newest Disney VoluntEARS-built playground at the Walt Disney World Clubhouse of Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Florida. The play area was constructed in hours by more than 250 volunteers but here’s a look at the effort condensed into seconds:
The Makaloa Garden was completely transformed into a stylish and elegant wedding venue complete with a draped floral wedding arch, dazzling chandeliers and chic furnishings. We even sprinkled in a little Disney magic with custom made Mickey-shaped pink pillows and flower petals forming the shape of Mickey’s head carefully placed down the aisle. Mickey and Minnie themselves even joined in on the enchanting celebration sporting their Hawaiian wedding attire.
We thought it would be fun to meet this young couple, so we invited Jamin and Valerie to Disneyland park, where our own Paul Hiffmeyer took their engagement photo.
Some special guests also stopped by to wish the happy couple best wishes on their upcoming marriage.
As for setting the date, it’s looking like May 11, 2012, is going to be the big day. Congratulations, Valerie and Jamin!
Wedding Bells Ring at Walt Disney World Resort
If your thoughts turn to love, romance, and all things "twitter-pated" in the spring, you're not alone – there's a reason that spring is the traditional season for wooing and wedding. And for couples who are ready to take that final step and embrace a happily-ever-after, there's no finer place than Walt Disney World Resort to say "I do."
We wanted to peek behind the bridal veil and see what goes into planning a Disney's Fairy Tale Wedding, so we sat down with Korri McFann. A 15-year veteran on the Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings & Honeymoons team, Korri gave us some helpful tips for making the most of a wedding and showed us what it takes to make the magic.
"I and many of my colleagues are all very passionate about the work we do in weddings," she explains. "I guess you can say we are one of the few who get to think about weddings 365 days of the year!"
That passion is put to work creating weddings that are as special as the couples they celebrate. And to make a wedding truly memorable, Korri urges the couple to take charge and decide what would make the day meaningful. "Being engaged is very overwhelming, but it is very important to share with our team what is most important to you. The more our team knows the better we can help to make your day perfect."
She recommends booking 16 months in advance to ensure couples can reserve the venue of their choice, and to allow plenty of time for relaxed planning with their Disney Wedding Planner. Specialists are assigned to help them arrange food, flowers, and complete event management. Korri reminds couples, "Our dedicated team of experts is here to make the planning process easy and, more importantly, fun. Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings truly is a 'one-stop-shop' for all your planning needs. Walt Disney World Resort offers floral, photo, video, transportation, culinary, and entertainment that work perfectly together so you don't have to!"
Once the planning is done and the big day arrives, she has one crucial tip, "My biggest advice for the wedding day is to let go ... allow us to take on the planning, so you can truly be a guest at your own wedding!"
The Memories Collection makes planning easy, with wedding plans designed with a Disney touch – just choose the option that strikes your fancy and let the magic unfold. But suppose you picture a wedding as unique as you are? For couples looking for a truly personalized experience, the Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings Wishes Collection is there to make their dreams come true. From an intimate gathering to a grand gala event, the team is there to tailor every detail. Says Korri, "My favorite part is helping a couple create an event that is their story. This can be as simple as a color scheme, an amazing menu that reflects their heritage, or special entertainment and special touches that reflect themselves as a couple. That is when you know you have helped to plan a great wedding!"
The centerpiece of a fairy-tale wedding is a fairy-tale gown – and it's hard to do better than a gown from an actual fairy tale! Brides looking for lovely couture can turn to the Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings by Alfred Angelo collection, inspired by the style and personality of seven iconic Disney Princesses: Ariel, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White, and Tiana. The collection includes classic, grand ball gowns in layers of tulle and sparkle net, updated fit and flare styles to highlight curves and movement, and pleated and wrapped bodices to flatter the bride's figure.
Flowers and frills make a wedding lovely and highlight this once-in-a-lifetime moment. But the key to a real dream wedding might lie in something very simple. Korri says, "We have seen a lot of events over the years, but the best weddings are when couples relax and get to enjoy their event. It is about the couples joining as one family – I still tear up when I see a bride go down the aisle. I guess that is why I am still in this business!"
As anticipation builds for the British royal wedding on Friday, so does speculation about what Kate Middleton will wear when she weds Prince William. We have another princess getting ready to debut her wedding gown here at the Disneyland Resort, on June 3. That’s when Ariel and Prince Eric will debut in The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, an attraction inspired by the classic animated film, including the film’s wedding scene.
To find out more about Ariel’s dress and Prince Eric’s attire, I talked to the clothing designer, Gloria Bowls. She collaborated with Walt Disney Imagineer Larry Nikolai to create a look that reflects several periods of British history. Ariel’s gown, similar to the dress in the film, was largely influenced by the royal wedding of Charles and Diana in 1981 (“The Little Mermaid” film debuted in 1989).
“What was amazing about Diana’s dress was that no princess had arrived on the scene with such grandeur – larger than life,” Gloria said. “Ariel’s dress has some of that grandeur, a fantasy come to life – and larger than life. The big poof sleeves are almost as big as her head.”
Here’s a sneak peek at Ariel in her wedding finery.
Gloria designed custom wedding gowns and evening wear before taking on the challenge of designing costumes for Audio-Animatronics figures and consulting for Disney. She credits Larry Nikolai’s vision for encouraging her to let this dress express Ariel’s mermaid personality (i.e., she has this thing for “thingamabobs”).
“Ariel’s dress is made very much like a regular bride’s dress in that the bodice is fully lined, interlined and extensively boned – it practically stands up on its own,” Bowls said. “My favorite part is the front inset of the skirt … an underwater seascape with a shell, a starfish, a seahorse, all beaded and appliqued on, with seaweed lace.
“I hope each little girl will come off the ride inspired and dreaming of having a dress like Ariel’s for her own wedding day.”
These photos show Gloria as she was working on the dress, plus some of the intricate detail.
Complementing Ariel’s dress is Prince Eric’s attire, inspired by 19th century British royalty and British military uniforms. Details such as gold silk buttons reflect the aspects of courage, valor and honor.
Gloria was one of many experts who worked on this attraction. Would you like to hear from some of the Walt Disney Imagineers who created the Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure? Enter for a chance to attend our meet-up, scheduled for May 10 at 6:30 p.m.
What do you think of the magical detail in Ariel’s royal wedding gown?
We recently had the honor of kicking off the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration where we held a surprise vow renewal ceremony for Walt Disney World couple, Kristen & Greg. I’m seeing more and more couples look for unique and interesting ways to make their grand entrance, so I wanted something fun and energetic to introduce our bride Kristen. I enlisted the help of some friends and Franck himself to make operation ‘Rock the Pavilion’ come to life.
In 1991 Disney created the Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings services to couples at Disneyland, Walt Disney World and Cruise Lines.
In the beginning, only couples with a valid California or Florida marriage license could purchase its wedding packages but, since 2007 even gay couples can have a commitment ceremony and they added the Honeymoon service.
People propose at Disney Parks all the time, so… nothing is more natural than get married there too. I made 3 videos to show how those proposals happen and how Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings and Honeymoons can help your dream come true!
According to wedding industry experts, Walt Disney World Resort is Recognized as a top-ranked honeymoon destination and destination weddings venue.
The sky is the limit for themed weddings - from an enchanting Cinderella-like wedding in Magic Kingdom or a Hollywood extravaganza in Disney’s Hollywood Studios to international-themed nuptials at Epcot or a safari-themed reception at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
More than 1,600 couples from every state in America and from international locations wish to tie the knot at Florida or California every year.
The most widely used location for weddings, vow renewals and commitment ceremonies, is the Disney’s Wedding Pavilion on the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon, inside the Grand Floridian Resort.
The first wedding at Disney’s Wedding Pavilion was televised live June 18, 1995, on Lifetime Television as part of its “Weddings of a Lifetime” series.
The Imagineers designed it in a special way… you can see Cinderella’s Castle behind the altar and through a arch outside the chapel.
“The pavilion gives couples an elegant indoor setting with the romance of Cinderella Castle visible in the distance,” said George Aguel, vice president resort sales, planning and development, Walt Disney Attractions.
The Best Videos with Proposals, Engagements, Weddings and more at Disney Parks:
Part I
Part II
Part III
“Through the years, hundreds of couples have requested to get married in the theme parks,” said Randy Garfield, executive vice president of sales and travel operations, Walt Disney Attractions. “We have expanded our offerings and designed a one-of-a-kind wedding program to fulfill those special requests.” Weddings at Walt Disney World Resort’s most famous venues are limited only by the imagination of the couples. Here are several possibilities:
Magic Kingdom
The romance of the fairy tale is captured as a bride, dressed in a specially designed Cinderella gown, arrives in a horse-drawn carriage. A fairy tale major domocarries the wedding rings in a glass slipper, a trumpeter heralds the bride’s entrance with favorite Disney fanfare and an elegant string quartet sets the scene. Couples exchange vows at the Rose Garden with Cinderella Castle as the backdrop for the ultimate fairy tale celebration in a place where dreams really do come true.
Epcot
Couples can choose from several venues around World Showcase -- The American Adventure, United Kingdom, France or Italy -- for an international festival featuring specialized food and entertainment. At The Seas with Nemo and Friends, a 5.7-million-gallon tank featuring more than 200 varieties of sea life is the backdrop for couples.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Screaming fans and autograph hounds set the scene. The bride arrives in a star motorcade down Hollywood Boulevard for an official handprint ceremony at the Chinese Theater. A reception follows in the Great Movie Ride attraction. The evening can end with “Sorcery in the Sky” fireworks featuring a personalized pyro show. Couples can even “take the plunge” -- literally and figuratively -- on The Twilight Zone™ Tower of Terror.
