Tomorrowland in the Evening at Walt Disney World
A Sign
The sign above the entrance to Tomorrowland glows in the early evening hours in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, as seen during the 2019 Band and Chorus Disney Trip.
On this particular evening, my group had been at the Magic Kingdom for just about the entire day. We had Fastpasses for Space Mountain, so we were strolling over that way as the sun was going down. It had been a beautiful day, and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful evening.
As we were walking that direction, the sun had just gone down, and the sky had taken on that lovely shade that characterizes what is known as “blue hour.” The colorful lights in Tomorrowland were already lit.
Fortunately I had my camera out and ready for whatever we might see. Ever since they installed that sign around 1994, I have thought it was cool. So I almost always get a photo of it as we go underneath it. But we do not usually go that way at this time of day, so I was happy that we did.
Predicting Tomorrow
In the old days of Disney theme parks, Tomorrowland tried to predict the future. The idea was that the land would show a realistic view of what could be coming our way. But along the way, all of that changed. After having to completely redo Tomorrowland at Disneyland and Walt Disney World a few times to try to stay ahead of current technology, those in charge decided to change directions a bit. Walt Disney World’s Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom now presents sort of a retro-future vision. And Disneyland’s Tomorrowland represents a mix of that retro view along with some Disney character attractions and Star Wars. Neither of those actually try to guess what the future will be, and most everyone seems fine with that.
As Doc Brown says at the end of Back to the Future Part III, the future has not been written yet. We can try to guess what the future will be, but there is a good chance those guesses will not be correct. Some of them might come true, but most likely others of them will not. I am still waiting for Star Trek’s transporters to become a reality to save on my commute time each day. Something tells me I will be waiting for a while.
We can spend a lot of time trying to figure out what the future will be, but that really won’t do much good. And if we are not careful, then it can actually turn into worry. Don’t worry, because worrying will not change anything. Instead of worrying about what might not happen, enjoy what is happening right now. Make the most of the time that you have and the people that you get to spend it with. That is much easier, and much better for your blood pressure.
There is nothing wrong with planning for the future, however. In fact, that is necessary. That is called vision. There is a big difference between having a vision and worrying about the future. One involves proper planning, while the other involves a fear of the unknown. But if you have planned properly, you will not have anything to fear, because you know that thanks to your planning you will be able to handle whatever comes your way.
Don’t worry about tomorrow. Instead, just enjoy today, and be prepared for whatever tomorrow might send your way.
Bible Verse
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” - Matthew 6:34
About the Photo
For this photo, I once again decided to try something different. This photo was processed from the original Raw file using Luminar. It was created by the same folks that put out Aurora HDR that I have been using lately, and many of the features of the two programs are similar. But Luminar is geared more toward a single exposure, which is what I usually take, while Aurora HDR is more for merging multiple bracketed exposures. There is still a lot that I do not know, but I liked the way that this photo turned out.
Because it was getting dark out, I had changed to the f/1.8 prime lens. With that lens, I opened the aperture all the way for this photo. That way, I was able to get this with a handheld photo instead of having to use a tripod.
Photo: A single Raw exposure, processed in Luminar. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: Sony FE 50mm f/1.8 Lens
Date: March 6, 2019
Location: Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida
