2013 Disney World Trip Report: Day 3, Part 2

We got some treats from the bakery and then returned to the Beach Club for an afternoon break.



Rachel, Dad, and I went to the quiet pool. And then Rachel and I passed out on the beach while Dad hit up the pool bar at Stormalong Bay.

We wanted to catch the 7:30 PM showing of Fantasmic and should've been a bit quicker about leaving. But we wanted to take some photos on the beach.

I had switched my camera to auto for my dad to take a photo of Rachel and I when a friendly stranger offered to take a family photo. He seemed all confident, saying he's a Nikon guy, and even asked if he can change the settings. If someone asks to change my settings (which were actually auto), then I assume they know what they're doing, so I said of course, go ahead. He told me that he's a perfectionist and took a few photos....



And he blew the highlights all out. It's a pretty precious family photo, and I'm tempted to use it on our Christmas card anyway just because we hardly have pictures of the entire family (and overexposed images seem to be all the rage today, anyway, thanks to Instagram), but there's really not much I can do in the way of post-processing to make this photo any better. I can work with an underexposed image, but this image is overexposed beyond repair.



I was skeptical of his photos when I got my camera back and adjusted the settings for this next shot...





Since we had done this photo shoot on the beach, we were late on our way to Hollywood Studios. Of course, right when we got to the park at around 7:00 PM, they were announcing that the 7:30 Fantasmic was filled to capacity. Birthday girl had a decision to make: go to dinner at Garden Grove or skip dinner and watch Fantasmic.

She asked for my phone and did a little looking.... Beaches & Cream was open until 11PM, so she suggested that we eat a little snack now and hang out for Fantasmic, then eat dinner afterwards at Beaches & Cream. Perfect!

We were a little bummed about missing our Garden Grove ADR because we had never tried it before and it looked pretty good. But, fireworks are a birthday must, and ice cream is never a bad idea! We got a snack from the counter service place across from the Beauty & the Beast theater and waited until they began letting people in for Fantasmic.











Mickey's red short outfit is my favorite... too stinkin' cute!















Afterwards, we went to Beaches & Cream for a late dinner and ice cream. I of course got my favorite grilled cheese and tomato bisque. I need to branch out and try different things because the entire menu sounds so good, but I just love that grilled cheese so much that I want to get it every time!

And then dessert...



Mom and Dad sure loved it....





Until they found out we were taking photos and videos of them...



"Don't send that to your friends! I don't want them to know that I eat ice cream!" - Mom



Worth the calories for sure.

4th of July in NYC

We had the day off for Independence Day.  Our only real plan was to watch the Macy's Fireworks over the Hudson River, but we didn't really know how to go about doing that.  The Macy's website listed where the barges would be and where to view from, but we didn't know how early it was necessary to be there to reserve spots.  We also didn't know if we'd be allowed to bring coolers, chairs, and the like for holding spots after reading mixed reviews online.  I decided it was worth it to try to bring my travel tripod.

We got off the subway at 34th Street, and after talking to our friends who were ahead of us getting there, we knew that we needed to start moving south.  We ended up finding a location at 30th and 10th, right by the High Line.  Because of the construction, it wasn't the prettiest view.

I think by the time we finally got settled, it was 7:50 PM.  We thought fireworks started at 8:30 PM, but they ended up starting at 9.

















According to the Macy's website, the show was choreographed to music, but we couldn't hear any from where we were standing.  It was a surprisingly lengthy show.  I wouldn't have minded being a little closer, though.  Not quite Disney status, but much better than a backyard SC show!