Last month, I took advantage of the current promotion admitting DVC members to the Bay Lake Towers' Top of The World lounge. ; I hadn't been up there before, so it was nice to check it out, hang out for a while, and catch some late day and early night shots from the roof viewing platform. ; My buddy Dave and I went there the first night I got up there - we went to DHS for that afternoon after checking in to the hotel around 1pm, then decided to check out the BLT bar for a few hours before heading off for dinner, so we hopped the Contemporary bus.
Getting in was a cinch - just stopped by the desk in the lobby, showed my room key card (make sure they print that you are a DVC member on the keycard, otherwise bring your DVC member card), and up we went. ; I had my NEX-5N mirrorless cam with me, with my 18-55mm kit lens and an ultrawide prime.
The bar is a nice hangout, and has some very good drinks...I enjoyed a pomegranate margarita, and we hung out waiting for sunset. ; This is the bar with the monorail decor on the windows behind (taken handheld with kit lens from our table, ISO1000):
I jumped the gun on this shot...should have waited for sunset, but I didn't - to expose the MK, I had to blow out the sun. ; Why I didn't think of using in-camera HDR I have no idea. ; This is roughly the view from the viewing deck just outside the bar (taken with 12mm UWA prime and cropped for pano):
Actually, the view across to the Contemporary is pretty cool from up there! (Taken with a 12mm UWA prime):
We stayed there enjoying the bar and the drinks and chatting until nightfall...Dave is my old college roommate and he had just flown in, so we were catching up with eachother on what's been going on since we saw eachother last in December.
By the time I headed outside for some nightshots of the view, it had gotten pretty dark - I didn't bring my DSLR and had no tripod, so I had to rely on steadying myself on the wall ledge and using a high ISO of 6400 to get the shot (using the kit lens, which is stabilized for a little help) - here's the view into MK:
And again, the view over to Contemporary was even cooler, so I snapped another one at night (also with the kit lens, ISO400):
Afterwards, we decided to take the Contemporary boat over to Wilderness Lodge, as we were having dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe. ; While waiting for the boat on the dock, I snapped one more handheld with the kit lens at ISO6400 of Bay Lake Tower:
Hope you enjoyed! ; I hope I can get back up there again - it's a great bar and great view. ; I still would love to stay in BLT one of these trips, but it's often sold out on my short-notice vacations.
Comments, questions, critique welcome as usual.
Getting in was a cinch - just stopped by the desk in the lobby, showed my room key card (make sure they print that you are a DVC member on the keycard, otherwise bring your DVC member card), and up we went. ; I had my NEX-5N mirrorless cam with me, with my 18-55mm kit lens and an ultrawide prime.
The bar is a nice hangout, and has some very good drinks...I enjoyed a pomegranate margarita, and we hung out waiting for sunset. ; This is the bar with the monorail decor on the windows behind (taken handheld with kit lens from our table, ISO1000):
I jumped the gun on this shot...should have waited for sunset, but I didn't - to expose the MK, I had to blow out the sun. ; Why I didn't think of using in-camera HDR I have no idea. ; This is roughly the view from the viewing deck just outside the bar (taken with 12mm UWA prime and cropped for pano):
Actually, the view across to the Contemporary is pretty cool from up there! (Taken with a 12mm UWA prime):
We stayed there enjoying the bar and the drinks and chatting until nightfall...Dave is my old college roommate and he had just flown in, so we were catching up with eachother on what's been going on since we saw eachother last in December.
By the time I headed outside for some nightshots of the view, it had gotten pretty dark - I didn't bring my DSLR and had no tripod, so I had to rely on steadying myself on the wall ledge and using a high ISO of 6400 to get the shot (using the kit lens, which is stabilized for a little help) - here's the view into MK:
And again, the view over to Contemporary was even cooler, so I snapped another one at night (also with the kit lens, ISO400):
Afterwards, we decided to take the Contemporary boat over to Wilderness Lodge, as we were having dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe. ; While waiting for the boat on the dock, I snapped one more handheld with the kit lens at ISO6400 of Bay Lake Tower:
Hope you enjoyed! ; I hope I can get back up there again - it's a great bar and great view. ; I still would love to stay in BLT one of these trips, but it's often sold out on my short-notice vacations.
Comments, questions, critique welcome as usual.
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