Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom at Night
Thanks to creative lighting, the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World takes on an even more unique appearance at night. Here are some photos from around Tomorrowland from our December visit.
I am not sure if the real future will be full of cool neon colors or not. But then, ever since the mid 1990s, Tomorrowland has not tried to represent the real future, but instead a retro-fantasy type of future. Tomorrowland became more of a throwback look at the future, with some modern twists. So while the real future may not be colorful neon, the fantasy future definitely is.
In the last several years, that retro-future theme has given way to some things that many feel should not be in Tomorrowland in the first place. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, at the left of this photo, is one of those entries. Stitch’s Great Escape, at the right, is another. To me, Stitch actually fits a little better, since he is a space alien after all, and since Tomorrowland has a bit of an alien theme going on. However, he is more of a contemporary alien and not a future alien, so that is why some people think he should go. Maybe he will, because his attraction only operates in the most crowded times right now.
The Monsters Inc. guys are even more of a stretch, because they are not from the future, and they are not even aliens. They are just monsters living at the same time as us. So I can definitely agree that they do not fit the Tomorrowland theme. However, I do have to say that I always enjoy a good laugh when we visit the Laugh Floor, so perhaps I am contributing to their longevity in the area.
Here is another example of the great nighttime colors found in Tomorrowland, as the towers and planets of the Astro Orbiter glow in shades of blues and greens above the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover track. Even the trees in Tomorrowland are colorful at night, as they reflect some red colors from the area lighting.
Reds, yellows, blues, greens, purples, and other colors - it looks like the Imagineers did not leave any crayons in their box; the used them all. It must have bee one of the big boxes of 128 crayons and not one of those small 16 color boxes, too. And yet all the colors seem to work well together.
Over toward Space Mountain, the colors turn to slightly darker purple tones. Not necessarily dark as in sinister, just deeper, darker, less bright colors as you move away from the center of Tomorrowland. I really like how Space Mountain changes from white during the day to deep purple at night, creating two completely different looks depending on the time of day.
Also, I like the green color on the inside ceiling of the Tomorrowland Light and Power Co. building, which also serves as the exit to Space Mountain as well as a gift shop. Remember back when that was an arcade full of games? I guess those games did not fit the Tomorrowland theme, either, because they are all gone now. I guess they realized that in the future, everyone just plays games on their phones instead of feeding quarters to machines. Or maybe that is the present and not the future.
Anyway, Tomorrowland at night in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World is really cool! And colorful!
Whatever is, has already been, and whatever will be, already is. God repeats what has passed. - Ecclesiastes 3:15
About the photo:
As with the other nighttime photos from our December trip, these photos did not involve the use of a tripod. Instead, I relied on a high ISO, a wide aperture, and a steady hand.
These photos are different from most of the photos shared here in that I did not do all that much processing to these. I adjusted a few levels and the color saturation and removed some noise that comes from higher ISO settings, but that was about it. Simple and easy is always nice.
Photo: Each photo is 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 14-42mm IIR and Rokinon 7.5mm f/3.5 Fisheye Lens
Date: December 21, 2016
Location: Magic Kingdom, Walt Disney World, Florida
