Let us first discuss what type of camcorder you need to videotape WDW. One with manual focus is a must. Also a manual controllable iris is definitely a plus thing to have. In low light, the camcorder will struggle to auto-focus properly. You can do better by manual focussing. Practice videotaping in you home at night to get the feel of focusing manual. Of course, the lower the lux rating the better you are. I use a Canon AE1 Digital Hi8 camcorder.

Here is a break down of my experience of video taping WDW, park by park, ride by ride.

1) The Monorail: You can ask to sit in the first car going from TTC (Transportation and Ticket Center) to MK (Magic Kingdom). I used this footage as an opening segment for my trip.

2) WDW Railroad: If you have the time, and this goes for all rides you are unfamiliar with, ride it once with an eye on what you would like to video tape the second time around.

3) Tropical Tiki Birds: There is enough light so focusing here is not a problem. But there is a lot of depth to this show, so you may want to manual focus because the camcorder might focus on something else.

4) Pirates of the Caribbean: There is a small hill you go down at the beginning of the ride, so hold on to the camcorder. There is nothing to videotape till after the hill. The light after the hill is very low and you will need to manual focus. Once you get closer to town, the light is bright enough so the camcorder should auto-focus properly.

5) Swiss Family Treehouse. This is all outdoors and you should have no problems.

6) Jungle Cruise: This is also an outdoor ride. The light is not a problem. There is a small section where you ride through a dark cave, be prepared to manual focus. The big problem is shooting through people. Stay away from the center of the boat. Best is the front. The sides are OK.

7) Diamond Horseshoe Revue. I last videotaped this show back in 89. Light is adequate and video taping is allowed.

8) Country Bear Jamboree: No flash photos allowed but video taping is. Shooting through heads is a problem. You many need be prepared to manual focus. Some parts of show are darker than others.

9) Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain: I never went on these rides, so I will guess on the problems you might encounter. Space Mountain is all indoors, fast, and dark. Forget about taping the ride and sit back and enjoy. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is part outdoor and indoor ride. Can't give you any further advice here. Splash Mountain has some nice scenes to tape. Part of which you can see on the WDW Railroad which goes through this ride. Just be careful on the last drop, which will get you wet.

10) Hall of Presidents: No flash photos allowed, but video taping is. Big problem is catching all the presidents when they are introduced. Keep one eye on the viewfinder, the other on the rest of stage. Don't get mad if you don't get the intros right. On three separate vacations to WDW, I still didn't get it done right. You will need to manually focus. The stage will be dark except for the person being introduced.

11) Haunted Mansion: Very dark ride. Even with the very best low lux camcorder, getting the whole ride good on videotape is impossible. Manual focus here. This is also a fast ride, so by the time you focus on one subject, it will be gone. Best bet for this ride and others like it will be to keep the camcorder focused as generally as possible. Try not to fine focus all the time.

12) Liberty Square River boat: An outdoor boat ride. If you can get the front, great, if not, there is more to see on the left side. There is a pirate's cave on the right, which only can be seen well at night, there are moving shadows in the cave. You should be able to auto-focus during the day and manual at night.

13) Peter Pan's Flight, Snow White's Adventure, and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride are all indoors. Light is average, but the rides are fast which means manual focus fast and often. Auto-focus should work, but manual will be better.

14) Its a Small World is a long, slow, bright ride which should make videotaping very easy. Keep the camcorder on full auto and just fiddle with the zoom. Guaranteed to come out so well, it will make you kill to hear that song over and over again.

15) Mickey's Starland show is good to videotape, your kids will want to watch it over and over again.

16) Alien Encounter is a no-no to videotape

17) Tomorrowland Transit Authority (used to be Wedway People Mover) This is you best bet to video tape Space Mountain as this ride goes through the mountain. The only thing that will come out is the boarding area of the ride. The other part is just too dark, but you will hear the screams ok. This and the Skyway ride (if it is running, they shut it down on windy days) are good ways of getting overhead views of the park on tape.

18) Carousel of Progress: Indoor show with average to below average lighting in different sections of the stage. Be prepared to manual focus.

19) The Timekeeper: You can videotape here, but there is very little to tape here.

20) Astro Orbiter, Golden Carousel, and The Mad Tea Party are outdoor carnival rides. Here is the only place to videotape the family on the rides.

21) Grand Prix Raceway. An outdoor ride with nothing worth while to videotape.

22) Dream Flight: An indoor ride, slow, with adequate lighting to videotape

23) Parades: the idea here is to get a view of the parade without shooting over people's heads. You may want to get a seat for the parades early. The afternoon one should be no problem concerning light. The evening one's floats have their own light, but be prepared to manual focus.

The Monorail ride goes through Future World. If you can get the front and be able to edit the tape back at home, you got a great intro to each of the pavilions there.

1) Spaceship Earth. A indoor, slow moving ride, with average to below average lighting. Be prepared to focus if your camcorder can't focus right

2) The Living Seas: There is a short ride and a walking tour that takes you past aquariums. Some camcorders focus by using a infrared beam to bounce off your subject. If yours does that, the camcorder will focus on the glass tank and not the objects inside. Lighting is good here.

3) The Land consists of different rides. First up is Food Rocks: Lighting is slightly below average, Auto-focus should work, but you should manual focus faster. Circle of Life: I did not go on. Can't give you any hints here. Green House tour is interesting. First part is static display with below average lighting, the second part is where they grow food and light is above average.

4) Journey Into Imagination. JIM ride is a slow moving, slightly below average lighting indoor ride. You will get better results manual focusing over auto-focus.

6) Horizons is a ride that will soon be only on videotape. The ride is scheduled to close soon. It is a slow moving, average lighting ride. Since it is going away, videotaping is a must (IMO).

7) Wonders of Life also consists of different attractions. Cranium Command videotaping is a no-no. Body Wars, never went on it, don't know of any restrictions. There are also some minor shows ie: Batting Cage Instruction is where a family member gets some hints from a pro. You can either tape what's happening from behind a net or from a overhead TV. TV would be a better choice. Goofy about Health is presented on a bunch of TV's housed in what looks like a city block. Basically you'll be taping from different TV's

8) Universe of Energy: When I was there in 89, videotaping was ok. In October 96, the CM didn't say no to videotaping. The pre-show actress Ellen did make a joke about no video taping before you enter the dinosaur exhibit. Ask the CM when you enter to make sure. I did video tape it in 89. It is a slow moving ride with way below average lighting. Good luck on getting good pictures, but it is not impossible.

World Showcase has few rides. Mexico's El Rio Del Tiempo: the River of Time is just like Its a small World, maybe a little darker, light wise that is. Norway has The Maelstrom is an indoor boat ride that is a little on the dark side. Canada, United Kingdom, France, Japan, and China all have circle vision (360-degree screen) movies. Up to you if you want to film. My camcorder has a feature called "Gain up" which allows me to take pictures in darker environments by slowing down the shutter speed. I noticed if I play with this setting that when shooting films, it will get rid of the annoying scrolling lines. The American Adventure has The American Adventure show is a no-no to film in any way.

Last but not least is Disney -MGM

1) They have several live shows based on Disney movies. When I was there last, they were showing the Hunchback of Notre Dame on one stage and Beauty and the Beast on another. Lighting is good. The Hunchback show has a more flatter seating arrangement. Shooting around people's head is more of a problem. The stage were B&B is shown is steeper and should be less of a problem with people in front of you.

2) Muppet Vision 3D is ok to shoot, but you will lose the 3D effect. You might get wet.

3) Star Tours is just like Body Wars.

4) Monster Sound Stage and Superstar TV is a no-no to tape

5) Indiana Jones Stunt Show can be video taped. It starts with no warning, so be prepared to start on a moments notice. The show starts with the stuntman falling down a rope from the ceiling. Good lighting and seating good. If you have a problem with sitting behind someone who is tall, you can stand in the back and let the camcorder's zoom make it up. The explosions might overwhelm you camcorder's iris setting, but there is nothing you can do.

6) Tower of Terror: Never went on it, I do know there is more to it than just the drop.

7) Voyage of the Little Mermaid: back in 89, you could not tape it. Now you can. Parts of the show are dark, other parts are bright. It will keep you on your toes to compensate for this. Be warned it will rain in the theater.

8) Great Movie Ride: You can tape this. At one point, the ride divides and you see different shows depending on which tram you sit on. If you go on this twice, ask the CM which line you are on and want to see the other show.

9) Backstage Studio show can be video tapped, but beware when you get to Catastrophe Canyon. They warn people that people who sit on the right side will get slightly wet and the people on the left, soaked. Remember to protect that camcorder.

10) Backstage Animation tour. This is where they show you how they make animation. Definitely a no-no to tape here.

If you have any further questions, just e-mail me. Enjoy.

brucesherman@sprintmail.com