Category: Video

Upcoming Epic Universe VR videos

I have a few VR photos and videos taken at Universal Orlando Resort’s Universal Epic Universe. (Yeah, that full description is a mouthful full, innit?)

Many of the photos have already been shared in the Park Hopping in VR Facebook Group in albums:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/parkhoppinginvr/media/albums

The videos are being uploaded to the Park Hopping in VR YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@parkhoppinginvr

These videos always take a long time to process, with some reports saying it can take about a week for an “8K” 360 video to be completed. We shall see how it goes this time. Right now, I am just seeing “Video processing is taking longer…” and “Checks still running” messages.

While we wait, here is a boring 30 second reel looking out the Helios Grand Hotel top floor where Bar Helios is located. At least during our visit, anyone was allowed to enter the hotel and go to the lobby level bar as well as the rooftop bar. This view is away from the theme park. Turning around is a short hallway where the elevators are, then it opens into the hosts are to sit you at a table (if you choose) or just let you go sit at the bar or patio.

That video is posted to my non-VR Park Hopping YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@parkhopping

And if you think that one is boring, wait until you see my extended video looking around the top floor of Bar 17 Bistro at Aventura hotel 😉 Michael Bay has nothing to worry about!

More to come…

Fun things at Silver Dollar City

There are so many details at Silver Dollar City — form interesting decorations to “hidden” displays you find by looking through a hole in the wall. Here is a short video of some of them… and after my next visit, I hope to do a longer version and include more.

I think my favorite is the talking boot…

Branson and Silver Dollar City photos added

Two of my galleries have been updated with new photos:

Branson Missouri photos, including A Tribute to the King, Retromania, Branson Landing water show, Masters of Escape, and much more:

https://misc.disneyfans.com/OtherPlaces/Missouri/index.html

And new Silver Dollar City photos:

https://themeparks.disneyfans.com/SilverDollarCity/SilverDollarCity2025/index.html

Also, new VR photos have been posted to Branson in VR and Park Hopping in VR on Facebook, and new VR videos are showing up on the YouTube channels for each one. Here’s a VR walk from the entrance of Silver Dollar City to the old Fire in the Hole, then over to the new Fire in the Hole.

…with many more scheduled to post.

Golden Zypher???

Almost no one watches anything I post on YouTube (I created a channel for this site two years) ago), but of those who do, apparently they watch my Golden Zypher video the most. Out of all the things that were at Disney’s California Adventure when it opened in 2001, why is there interest in video of this ride? Thoughts?

Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure in VR

Here is 10 minutes of VR 360 video from Butterfly Palace and Rainforest Adventure in Branson, MO. You can look left, right, up, down and even behind you from various locations.

4/28/2024

This video was recorded using an Insta360 X4. It was set to 8K mode using all automatic settings. This should give folks an idea of what the quality is like “out of the box” without making any adjustments.

NOTE: YouTube appears to downsize the video to 4K 🙁

More DisneyFans photos on YouTube…

Today, Poseidon Entertainment posted a new YouTube video called “Even More Weird Things in Disneyland.” It’s a fun watch — but be sure to watch the first installment as well.

It’s always a surprise to see one of my photos pop up in videos like this (along with some from Yesterland), though it is a bit annoying they do not ask for permission. They even crop off the watermarks! At least Poseidon Entertainment does add it’s own credit (“Source: Allen Huffman”) when they “borrow” other folks images 😉

Check it out…

I think the image may have been taken from this Yesterland article:

https://yesterland.com/sbwalkthru.html

Request: If you run in to one of my photos in a video, please send me the link and I’ll post it here, too.

I’ve been taking and sharing digital photos since 1996, and do not recall ever turning someone down who wanted to use one of my photos. I can provide the original, full-size version without the watermark, as well, and can even enhance my old photos so they look much better.

Lost Island (Waterloo, Iowa) videos

I have created a playlist on YouTube and will begin uploading videos taken at Lost Island, soon.

Lost Island video playlist (all videos).

New videos on YouTube…

I bought my first digital camera in 1996 and began taking photos at theme parks. A few years later, I bought a Digital8 (digital) camcorder. I have begun the process of posting old raw footage taken starting in 2000 at Disneyland. The new YouTube channel is:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3s32BjC-kCdyBCFgC156cw

I have also begun the process of upscaling this old pre-HD video into higher quality. I will be trying to post a new video each week, when time permits.

I have many hours of video to go through from the 2000 and 2001 trips, including lots of footage from things like Rocket Rods, Country Bears, Aladdins Oasis (the show that was there after, not the restaurant), Superstar Limo and many other items that live on today only in Yesterland.

It’s going to be a fun year.

Here’s one to get you started… It is a ride on the Sun Wheel at Disney’s California Adventure, recorded just ten days after the park opened to the public. As time allows, I will be reposting these old videos in much quality formats.

Until then…

ABC Soap Opera Bistro in 2001

One of my New Year’s resolutions for 2022 is to import all my old Disney vacation videos and share the interesting ones. I have begun experimenting with enhancing the old Digital8 footage using A.I. software to increase the resolution and details. This really messes up much of it, but as you can see from the side-by-side screen shots below, its not too terrible.

It should be quite an interesting project. I have hundreds of hours of footage to sort through.

More to come…

The Park Hopping video archives…

As I have mentioned (many times), I purchased my first digital camera in 1996. This was followed by my first digital video camcorder in 1999. It recorded digitally on 8mm video tapes. Over the years, I recorded hundreds of tapes at theme parks and Renaissance festivals. This was followed by an upgrade to an HD camcorder that used DV tapes (which I have dozens and dozens of those), then a jump to camcorders that used memory cards.

All the memory card footage is backed up to hard drives, but very little of the Digital8 and DV tapes exist anywhere other than those tapes. Hopefully my old camcorders still work, and the tapes can still be read, because I would like to begin the process of importing them for editing and sharing.

Stay tuned… This will be a huge project for 2022.