I'm going to disneyland!

Great marketing, isn't it? Superbowl LX had nearly 125 million viewers that day, not including the nearly 70,800 people in attendance at Levi Stadium. I think Disney's marketing department knows exactly what they're doing. This famous line is exactly what Seahawks' running back, Kenneth Walker III, and quarterback, Sam Darnold, both yelled together on camera after their Superbowl win. I didn't watch the game, but I did see on a few Disney blogs that they were set to visit Disneyland the day after their big win. I had an annual pass (Magic Key, as you passholes know it), a Nikon camera, and an idea. I slept on that idea Sunday night. When I woke up, I checked if Disneyland had any reservation availability. Huh, it looks like I can book a spot today. Time to get dressed and get out of here.

Armed with a Nikon Z8 and a 40mm f2 prime lens, I realized that a zoom lens would be the right tool for documenting the day. Since I didn't own a zoom lens, I gave the nearest camera shop to Disneyland offering rentals a try.

"Hey, do you have either the Nikon 24-120mm f4 Z or Tamron 35-150mm Z lens available to rent right now? Just for a day.

No Tamron? No worries - the Nikon should work. Whoa, this is a small lens. They just returned it this morning and it wasn't cleaned? I'm sure it's fine."

It was fine.

After submitting my deposit and signing a rental contract, I was off to the park with a compact and lightweight 24-120mm f4 zoom lens.

Sea - HAWKS!

A sea of blue, green, and white jerseys flooded the park from the moment I entered through the front gate, the outskirts of Main Street's thoroughfare completely lined with Seahawks fans eagerly awaiting the last-minute, highly anticipated celebratory parade marching down the street in 2 hours.

Towering above the wave of jerseys was a scattering of the broadcast crew, all strategically set up throughout the parade route with their video gear on heavy duty tripods with panning fluid heads for smooth footage. They all were in quarantined media specific areas, donning media badges with ESPN and Disney logos. One camera operator had a C stand with a long flag set up behind his head, most likely to shield himself and the monitor from the sun's glare.

Juxtaposed to the large professional broadcast equipment was the plethora of park attendee cell phones and prosumer cameras in hand, ready to document the day. Several park goers utilized cell phone gimbals, cages, or mini tripods. Like the professionals, the guests came prepared. There were several others who walked around with mirrorless camera rigs.

It was a bit crowded.

Instead of scouting for a spot to park myself, I found walking around the parade route, capturing the people waiting for the parade to start. At this point, it was difficult to find a good spot to get a good shot of the parade marching down Main Street. Apparently, I arrived too late, a result of my last minute decision to attend the park. While I was looking for an empty spot on the route, a cast member told me that many of the attendees had been camping out along the route for more than 2 hours. She asked me if I was "media," most likley due to the dslr-sized Nikon Z8 with zoom lens in my hand. Since I had no ESPN/Disney branded media credentials (or any media credentials), I simply said, "No." I was relegated to the "festival seating" area, where everyone else had been waiting for hours. It was time to keep moving.

The crowd started cheering among the sound of a live band projecting down the parade route. I looked up and over the bobbing heads and saw the Disneyland Band marching down Main Street. The MVPs were coming through very soon, I was certain. I was inside of the Emporium, trying to cut through the crowd without needing to get through the crowd. After quickly finding an opening in the peasant section, I crouched and fired off a few shots to get a low angle of the band coming through.

The band sounded great as they usually did. Hah, what a teaser, though. The Seahawks weren't event close to parading through. I exited the roped off viewing area and made my way towards Sleeping Beauty's castle, hoping that there were more people and things to see there. I also needed to get away from the crowd, who were most likely familiar with my face since I had been photographing attendees along the parade route for the last hour. Shortly after arriving at the castle, I heard the Jonas Brothers' "Celebrate Happy" music quickly fading in to the forefront of the sound system, followed by flashing parade route lights. I was far back in the crowd, unable to get any closer to the front, so I had to rely on the reach of the rental zoom lens to capture stars of the day.

Despite the vehicle's slow crawl, the moment passed very quickly. A sea of cell phones erupted from the surface of careening heads to capture the parade float, interrupting a once clear view of the Superbowl LX celebrities.

After they passed through, I overheard two guests talking about what happens next. I parked myself in front of the castle until Walker and Darnold came back. While waiting, some familiar faces appeared with cameras or credentials (or both) in hand. The broadcast crew I once captured at the parade route was now setting up for another shot in front of the castle. During this time, I observed several Disney cast members waiting for their cue to help with this next event.

After Walker's and Darnold's ESPN post-parade interview, they walked up Main Street and casually strolled to the front of the castle, where the film crew were patiently waiting.

Nikon

Among the castle crew were two photographers capturing Walker and Darnold. I noticed that they had two cameras slung across their bodies, each adorned with Nikon and Z. These were Nikon Z8 and Z9 cameras. These guys must know each other. The lead photographer was using a Nikkor 24-70 f2.8 S (first generation) and the Nikkor 70-200 f2.8 S. The second had the Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8 S on one body, and I wasn't sure what was on the second, although it was most likely the 24-70mm. These guys have good taste in gear.

1st visit!

As tradition has it, it's typical to ask for a "1st Visit!" button for a park guest who has never been to Disneyland. From the next photo, one could infer that a certain Seahawks running back made his maiden voyage to the park for the post-Super Bowl celebration.

Capturing something different

As luck would have it, my goal for capturing post-Super Bowl LX Disneyland changed once I entered the park. It was difficult to find a great spot to capture the Super Bowl float crawling down Main Street while celebratory confetti filled the air, complete with Sleeping Beauty castle in the background, so I decided that capturing the jersey-wearing fans, the media crew, cast members, and the Seahawks might show something that most bloggers and influencers wouldn't cover.

Gear used for all photos in this post:

Nikon Z8

Nikkor Z 24-120mm f4 S