Scenes from a Boat at Walt Disney World

Cruising Around Bay Lake

During our June 2018 visit to Florida, one of our fun activities was to take a boat ride on Bay Lake at Walt Disney World. We like to do this from time to time because we like being on boats out in the water. Yes, this is not anywhere near the same as a Disney cruise, but it is much cheaper. Here are a few views from our voyage.

We started out at the Wilderness Lodge, and we were going to the Contemporary Resort. We only had to wait for a few minutes, but I thought it would be longer. There were several people lined up on the dock ahead of us, and I wondered if we would all fit on one of the small boats. When the Explorer (our boat for the evening) arrived, the captain counted how many of us were in line. He let us all on board, so we all just fit. The three of us had to sit on the bench on the side of the engine compartment, but that was just fine with me. We had some nice views from there. And I could watch what the captain was doing, just out of my curiosity.

For all of the modern conveniences that we now enjoy these days, the enlightened people of the world have still not come up with a better way to steer a watercraft than a good old ship’s wheel. I like how these boats use the traditional maritime design instead of just a plain steering wheel. Just like what the Pirates of the Caribbean use. Also, you can see the geyser at the Wilderness Lodge off in the distance, as we were still sitting at the dock at this point. Just in case you were wondering if I had shoved the captain overboard in a mutiny attempt.

You can see the boat’s name on the panel just behind the wheel. I am sure that would be helpful in case the captain might forget the name of the boat. “Welcome aboard the…” (pause to look) “Explorer this evening!”

Those are Laura’s feet propped up on the railing at the side of the boat as we were sailing along. I thought this was a fun little shot, so that is why I took it, and why I included it here. The rain from a couple of hours earlier had chased away the heat of the day, and we were enjoying being out on the water in the early evening.

Maybe this could be an ad photo for the Mickey Mouse Crocs sandals that she was wearing. She had gotten those on our anniversary the previous year. She even got a few compliments on them this year.

Even with a quick stop at the Fort Wilderness Campground, our evening cruise came too quickly to an end as we reached the Contemporary Resort. Arriving at the Contemporary by boat is always interesting. The hotel starts off looking rather small from a distance. But as the boat approaches, the hotel keeps getting larger and larger. It is 18 stories tall, after all. And it seems even larger than that from the water level.

As we conclude, here is a look at the next boat that arrived at the dock. This one is almost identical to the Explorer that we were on. I suppose we could have gotten back in line and taken another cruise in the opposite direction. But it was time for us to go on to other things for the evening. Such as supper. You never want to pass that up.

We were thankful for the chance to ride one of the boats because it had been raining when we had wanted to do that a few days earlier and the boats had stopped operating because of the weather.

It is always fun to be out on the water on Bay Lake!

See more from our trip in the June 2018 Florida Trip archive.

Like the Old Days

I think part of the fun of sailing on a boat out across the water is that it is like they used to do it in the old days. Back before there were cars, trains, and airplanes. 

Except that sailing is not quite like the old days, for the most part. Most of the sailing vessels have engines to propel them and modern steering systems. Even if they do still use a ship’s wheel to steer. Modern guidance systems are also available, and many people use those, as well as depth finders.

So to really, really be like the old days, you would have to get a sail boat and wait for the proper winds. Or you could give everyone a paddle and put them all to work. But I don’t think that would go over very well with most people.

Maybe being out on a boat really isn’t that much like the old days at all. And maybe I am more okay with that than I might have thought previously. Maybe I won’t complain about it, either.

One of the great blessings in life is learning to be content with what we have. Especially if we are blessed with all of the modern conveniences that we have today. Don’t take those blessings for granted!

Bible Verse

Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. - James 1:17

About the Photos

As was stated above, I used the 25mm prime lens for these photos. I purposefully chose that lens to get the strong depth of field that you see in these photos. Besides that, on our last few Walt Disney World boat cruises (such as this one and this other one), I used the fisheye lens. I thought it would be fun to do something different. 

Processing on these photos was minimal. In fact, if I had just used the photos straight out of the camera, you almost would not have noticed a difference. Everything worked out perfectly that evening. It was great!

Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Photoshop. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Olympus OM-D E-M10
Lens: Olympus M.Zukio 25mm f1.8
Date: June 15, 2018
Location: Walt Disney World, Florida