Cinderella Castle / Disney Dream

Cinderella Castle

I have lots of pictures of Cinderella Castle at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. I take pictures of lots of other things there, too. But sometimes when I am looking to post a picture, the Cinderella Castle pictures just jump out. It is the symbol of the Magic Kingdom, after all.

I tried something different with this one, which gave it an even more vibrant look. Almost like a painting, actually. A bit more “real” looking than some other HDR shots, but just slightly “unreal” as well. I like it, though.

Photo location: Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida
A three-exposure (-2, 0, +2) HDR tonemapped in Photomatix, edited in GIMP

Disney Dream

A lot of attention has been given to the Disney Cruise Line and its newest ship, the Disney Dream, in the last few weeks. There has been much coverage of the Dream’s arrival at Port Canaveral a few weeks ago, and then even more about the inaugural cruise last week. Pictures, reports, videos, more pictures, more reports. Both from the official Disney sites and from fan sites around the world, too. If you want to see some of it, it shouldn’t be hard to find.

But I have avoided pretty much all of it. I did watch one short video the other day, and I read just one report, too. But that’s it. I haven’t looked through all of the galleries of pictures, or watched most of the videos, or read all the reports.

Because I know if I read about it, or if I see the pictures, or if I watch the videos, I will want to go. 

Yes, I know that is the purpose of all the attention. They want you to want to go. I understand that completely. And that’s why I’m avoiding it.

Laura and I have been on two Disney cruises in the past, one in 2004 and one in 2007. And they were both fantastic. They treat you like royalty. Castaway Cay is just about the best place on earth. The ships are wonderful. The staff is very attentive. Some of the best times that we have had.

But due to a lot of things that we already have going on for this year, right now isn’t the best time for us to think about taking a cruise. We would love it, we would enjoy it, but I don’t think it fits in our schedule for a while. And then there is the financial aspect as well. Spending that money may not necessarily be the best idea for us at this time.

So I’m still holding out. Because I know if I look, it will all look wonderful. And I’ll start dreaming about the Disney Dream. And if we go, it will be wonderful.

Maybe someday.