Walk from Polynesian Village to Grand Floridian VR (5K 360°)

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Let’s take a walk from the Polynesian Village Resort to the Grand Floridian Resort & Spa! It’s a beautiful day on Walt Disney World’s Seven Seas Lagoon and I wanted to bring you along on one of my very favorite places to stroll. On Episode IV of the Disney Travel for All Podcast, Amanda Bauner and I talk about our favorite places to go when we need a quick break from the hustle and bustle of the Magic Kingdom. This is one of mine! Remember, it doesn’t cost you anything to access Disney’s resorts where you’ll find incredible restaurants, shopping, and recreational activities available all guests, not just those staying at the resorts. 🤗

🎥 Production Notes:

This video is highly experimental in both its formatting and production. I rarely create “walk around” style videos because I prefer to draw attention to one quiet moment of joy at a time, pausing for a short period before moving onto the next. Sometimes I even focus on one scene for a very long period of time to recreate the feeling you would have if sitting in that space, taking it all in. It’s also rare that I film in 360 format since, again, I prefer to focus attention on a singular scene and I know that it’s difficult for viewers to both relax and also look around in a dynamically changing environment for a long period of time. That’s why I’m typically creating VR experiences that are stereoscopic (3D) and 180 (limited to the field of view you have without turning around). Also, recognizing that most viewers are not enjoying content in a virtual reality environment, I also strive to ensure that the videos are enjoyable on any screen of any size.

So, that was the challenge here: record and share one of my favorite walks in my favorite place in a fully 360 format that could also be enjoyed by those passively watching on a television screen without any way to control their direction. Let me know if you think I accomplished this! 😬. Oh, one more warning: there is some wind noise. 🌬I tried hard to film on a day that wasn’t windy but areas around water can be notorious for having an ever present breeze. And a slight breeze is typically a really nice thing to have on a warm day in Walt Disney World! I worked in post-production to minimize the effect so that it doesn’t overwhelm the ears but, that said, I also typically avoid removing ambient sounds so that the viewer can experience the moment as it really was. So, you’ll still hear it from time to time, but hopefully it’s not jarring. You’ll also notice that, when taking the boat back to the Polynesian resort, I turn the ambient sound way down and add in some music (do you recognize it from another HWTM video?? 🤔) so that your ears aren’t overwhelmed by wind and the sound of walkie talkie chirps and radio chatter that was happening near my left ear.

OK, that feels like a lot of caveats for what is a very enjoyable stroll, but I wanted to give you a little insight into my process and explanation for some of the production choices I made. Please let me know what you think and do share your own ideas and suggestions for other places to visit.

👇 Please see the viewing notes below in order to maximize this virtual experience. 👇

Viewing Notes
This moment was recorded in 5K 360° video and is best enjoyed with a virtual reality headset but can also be enjoyed from your computer browser or phone, using your finger to pan or moving your physical position for heightened effect. Use headphones to more fully immerse yourself in the ambient sounds of the space.