Wishes fireworks behind Cinderella Castle.
Nikon D700/24-120VR, 15s, f/11, ISO 200, EV 0, 35mm focal length, tripod.

Hope your New Year’s celebration was fun last week. I spent it reviewing photographs I took during my two trips to Walt Disney World during 2014. It certainly has been and will continue to be a time of change at Walt Disney World. Construction is happening in all the parks and many resorts. Attractions and entertainment have seen both additions and subtractions. As the wise baboon Rafiki said in The Lion King, “Change is good.” Walt Disney often reminded people the parks would always change over time. Let us explore some of them…

Magic Kingdom

New Picture Spots, Fantasyland attractions and a Parade debuted in the Magic Kingdom.

The Magic Kingdom saw significant changes from late 2013 through 2014. Nikon took over sponsorship of the Picture Spots found throughout the Walt Disney World resort. The new Fantasyland expansion was completed with the opening of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride joining Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid and several others which had opened at the end of 2013. The new Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade was a huge hit in more ways than one with floats so tall, the Christmas wreaths on Main Street USA are no longer strung across the street. Changes to the Magic Kingdom will continue into 2015 as the Central Plaza or Hub area expansion gets completed. As a photographer, I am looking forward to having those construction walls down and new locations to enjoy the castle shows from.

Epcot

In Epcot, Off Kilter performed their last show in Canada while the flags flew in Italy.

By far the most controversial changes occurred in Epcot as long time entertainment shows were “retired” and new shows announced. I did not know it at the time but I photographed my last Off Kilter show on their stage in Canada during my May trip featuring the guitar playing talents of Randy Holbrook. When I returned to Epcot in October, Disney was soft opening a couple of the new shows including the Flag Wavers of Sansepolcro in Italy. Time will tell if the new shows will become as popular as the ones they replaced.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

American Idol bowed out while For the First Time in Forever – A Frozen Sing-Along took over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

The characters from the animated movie, Frozen, arrived at Walt Disney World in 2014. Disney’s Hollywood Studios started it off with a Summer long celebration which snowballed to new, mostly permanent attractions, For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-along Celebration and Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post (which now includes a Meet and Greet area for Olaf). As Frozen moved in, the American Idol Experience moved out and soon the 122 feet tall Sorcerer Mickey Hat will be gone early in 2015.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Winged Encounters opened and new life was found on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

If you have visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom lately, you know there are construction walls up everywhere as the park prepares for its new night time show, Rivers of Light, work on Avatar commences and a new shopping and entertainment area in Harambe gets set to open in 2015. The Festival of the Lion King show moved into their new venue in Africa. I was fortunate enough to watch beautiful Macaws fly freely around Discovery Island in the Winged Encounters – The Kingdom Takes Flight which will or should be taking place throughout each day. Still need to work on capturing the fast moving birds in flight. The baby gorilla was out in the viewing area on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail as Disney continues their successful breeding program.

As you can see, a lot happened in Walt Disney World in 2014. More will be in 2015. I do have upcoming plans for visiting WDW. If you have any questions or would like me to cover any particular attraction or show, drop me a comment here. I am always looking for ideas or to answer any photography questions you may have.