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Enjoying Disneyland is different for everyone.  There are different ride preferences and different priorities whether you're old, young, or have kids; whether you flew around the world for a one-time experience or if you go to Disneyland frequently.

For my wife and I, enjoying the park when we were younger meant going hard for 16 hours to ride every ride as many times as we could.  Back then we'd only go once every 5-10 years. Now that we are a little bit older and were lucky enough to justify an annual pass this year we turned from young-go-hards to Disney pros. I am not saying we are the best at Disneyland — as if that's even a thing — but we have found time to enjoy the intricacies Imagineers and cast members put into the park.

Everyone one does Disneyland differently but we have found a system that works for us and lets us ride all the rides we want to normally by noon. So this is how we do it.

First key is to plan a trip on days that aren't expected to get too busy.  We like to use isitpacked.com and undercovertourist.com crowd prediction calendars.  The next key is to get to the park early.  I don't mean when its still dark, and at opening is already getting busy, so somewhere in-between.

Since about 2015 Disney instituted a security check point to ensure everyone enjoys a safe visit.  That will be your first line.  And it makes the day a lot brighter to be extra nice to the security officers as well as having any bags open and clear of contraband.  Nowadays we don't bring bags into the park at all, even my wife leaves the purse at home.  Only items that we can carry in our pockets, which is usually credit cards/Disneyland ticket in a wallet, a phone, sunglasses, and sometimes an expandable shopping bag that clips onto a belt loop if we know we're going to buy souvenirs.  Again, no kids. And on that note, find a line with the least strollers and backpacks and you'll breeze through security.

Normally the park opens at 8am and we will arrive around 7am (although always check because times vary day-to-day, including Extra Magic Hour and Magic Mornings). That gets us through security and a good place in the line without waiting for hours. Also, the majority of families with kids aren't at the gate that early. We feel you families - its hard enough to get our adult-selves ready.


Then you'll get in line to enter the park.  We normally pick a line in the middle of the gates because they tend to move slightly faster. Strollers slow the line down as do first-day visitors because they get a picture taken.

Disneyland actually opens its front gates about 15 minutes prior to the actual opening time everyday. This allows them to start moving people through to the back of the park without stopping at Main Street shops.  They keep the park roped off either at the end of Main Street stores on a normal day, or around the entrances to the lands in the Plaza if you're enjoying an early morning such as Magic Morning (3 or more-day park hopper) or Extra Magic Hour (Disneyland Resort guests).  If you're at the park for an early morning, only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open.  People will queue up at the rope in anticipation of a magical morning!

Now to the meat of the morning.  The majority of visitors will sprint to the castle to get in line for Peter Pan (please walk in the park!).  Who voted Peter Pan the "Best Ride Ever", I don't know.  I mean I love it, but I love every ride.  If you want to ride Peter Pan without waiting 45+ minutes then do head that way and watch for the line that usually forms out towards the drawbridge on the right. It will seem long but the cast members "release" the line in stages as it fills.  If you don't go to Peter Pan first thing, another option is to hit Peter Pan right after fireworks in the evening.


Immediately after or instead of Peter Pan, we usually go straight into Tomorrowland.  This land is very popular and will become extremely packed as the day goes on, but in the early morning it's usually fairly empty.  Of course you'll want to take advantage of Fast Passes or Max Pass.  We usually book a fast pass for Space Mountain right away.  With the old fast pass system this means you walk all the way to the entrance in the back to get a fast pass.  Then we'll hop on Star Tours once or twice while the wait is 10-15 minutes and do Astro Blasters (walk on as many times as you want).


Next its on to New Orleans Square on the opposite side of the park.  You really get your steps in at Disneyland!  We always ride Pirates of the Caribbean first and as many times as we can.  Ever since Johnny Depp visited the ride its become a bit more popular.  After Pirates we ride Haunted Mansion. Then Pirates or Haunted again if the wait times are 20 minutes or less. At this point its usually time for Space Mountain (around 9:15 maybe) and that means we can get another fast pass!  We usually get a Big Thunder Railroad fast pass which allows us to walk directly on the ride - no waiting in the 30 minute line.  Nice right?  Then we head back over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain.  If we can get another reasonable fast pass for Space Mountain or Star Tours (11 or 12 am), we do it.

Then we head to Fantasyland to ride the original kiddie rides in the castle area.  Fantasyland is usually pretty empty by this point because the Peter Pan overflow rush is over and visitors are hitting the bigger rides we've already done.  Also, since these rides are older the AC does not work as well in lines and LA is hot.  Riding in the afternoon tends to be a bit warm in line.

After Fantasyland we like to take the path by Red Rose Taverne and head back to Adventureland/New Orleans Square.  Maybe get a fast pass for Indiana Jones at this point.  Watch that ride though as it frequently breaks down throughout the day.  It's usually repaired within the hour. We can ride Big Thunder, Pirates, and Haunted again as these are favorites.  Alternatively you could also ride Jungle Cruise, the Mark Twain Riverboat, or head around to Critter Country.  Splash Mountain is a good ride in the afternoon, cuz you will get wet.  But the line will get long so if you want to ride this one, around noon is a good time or take advantage of single rider.


This is a good time to eat and we like Bengal Barbecue a lot in Adventure Land. There are many eateries in Disneyland to choose from and that's another blog post!

The remainder of the morning/early afternoon we'll wander around and ride maybe The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Autotopia, and other Fantasyland rides we may have skipped if the line was long, like Alice in Wonderland.  We may also visit Toon Town.  Around 3 or 4pm you might want to hop on the Disneyland Railroad and take a lap or two around the park.  It's a good way to give your feet a break and cool down.  The best place to get on (with the shortest line) that we've found is in Tomorrowland.  We also love to ride the Monorail but usually time-it to when we want to go to Downtown Disney or if we're hopping to California Adventure.  Its nice in the evening too and since the Monorail does not have AC, it could be taken out of commission during hot days for safety reasons.


Of course there are a few rides we don't really care to ride (which may shock some readers so please be warned!).  We don't ride the Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage...bad experience...and we typically only ride Matterhorn Bobsleds and It's a Small World if we're visiting with others who haven't ridden or really want to ride these.  So these are missing from our tour on purpose.  From experience, Matterhorn line will get a very long during the day/evening and either riding in the morning or getting a fast pass are the ways to go. 


In the afternoon and evening you'll notice the park is much, much busier. Because you had a perfect Disney morning and hit all the rides, this is a good time to slow down and enjoy shops on Main Street, do some shows, read about the park (all in AC - LA is still hot).  We also like to do the Tiki Bar in the evening and get a Dole Whip.  If you're planning a show or parade, you'll usually need to start saving a seat at least an hour ahead of time.  You can always walk up last minute but you're not guaranteed a good spot.


Of course the key to all of this is to use the Disneyland app or any of the other wait time apps available to monitor ride times.  Don't wait if the ride is too long - get a fast pass and ride something else in between.

And think about investing in an annual pass if you are going to visit the park more than six days in the year.  At the end of 2016 we knew we had a couple trips lined up so we did the math on buying several 3-day park hoppers versus the annual pass.  At the price of a 2017 3-day park hopper pass (approximately $315), an annual pass (approximately $600) broke even for us if we went 6 days or more.  To do the math as prices adjust each year, just take the amount of the passes you would normally buy, divide by the total number of days visited in the year.  Then take the current annual pass price and divide by the same number of days to compare which is better.

We've ended up going 20+ days in 2017.  Tons of money saved on tickets....don't ask how much spent in support of the habit!

A delicious evening at Trader Sam's tasting some secret menu drinks. I will post the recipes as I find them in this post so keep checking back.

1. Krakatoa, this isn't a secret menu item but gets an honorable mention due to its excessive rum content.


2. Old Kungaloosh, delicious drink it's vodka, coconut rum, midori and pineapple juice. I wasn't sure about the midori but it ads a subtle layer that balances the drink out perfectly. It was 9 out of 10 Recommend.

Most of the people who have found this post on the internet are already familiar with Palo Alto Firewalls and everything they can do. One of the features I really like is the IPS functionality built into the firewall, but - and its a BIG BUT - if you're terminating SSL after the traffic ingresses your untrusted security zone you're loosing a lot of the PAN's IPS functionality because the traffic is encrypted.

1. The firewall looks to see if the packet is allowed by the security policy.
2. The firewall identifies the traffic as SSL
3. The firewall looks to see if the destination is configured with a SSL decryption policy
4. If the destination address matches a protected IP address, it is decrypted and processed through the security policies once again as web-browsing still on port 443. 
5. Bang! Connection is broken.

Friend, co-worker, and guest blogger Matt Krieg owner of Krieg Productions talks about his video setup. You can find him at his website www.kriegproductions.com or check out his youtube channel.

So, you want to be a videographer?
It seems like everyone with a camera wants to make money creating videos these days. But there’s a lot more that goes into video production than you might think. From the monthly software or subscription fees to the thousand dollar stabilizers, the investment needed for professional level video is much higher than you may think. However, that isn’t to say it can’t be done on a budget and I’m going to show you the bare minimum you’ll need to get started in professional video production.

Equipment
Alright - just accept this bitter reality right now - camera equipment is very expensive. Don’t try to cut corners on everything by buying the cheapest gear y
ou can find because you’ll pay the difference later down the road. Trust me. You don’t need a whole lot to get started but you’ll probably end up buying more equipment for each project you take on. Don’t get caught up in all the gear specs right now, if your brand new to videography just understand this one concept on gear. The diminishing return on camera equipment starts a lot sooner than you may expect. There is a huge difference between a $100 camera and a $1,000 camera but there is very little difference between a $1,000 camera and a $3,000 camera. You’ll want to stay at this sweet spot of about $1,000 for your camera. Maybe even lower if you’re on a serious budget. So, once you understand that you don’t need to drop $5,000 on your first camera let’s get right into the gear.

Camera
Your camera is going to be your workhorse, so leave a little more room on the budget for a solid camera. Since our main objective is video I’m going to focus on the two powerhouse brands in the video market right now: Panasonic and Sony. I’m not going to discuss which is the better camera, but Sony seems to run on the more expensive side compared to Panasonic’s line. I think the best budget friendly 4k camera on the market today is the Lumix G7 from Panasonic. It currently cost around $600 with the kit lens but I’ve seen them as low as $500 during sales. You get a ton of features for the price and you’ll be future proof for a bit longer with the 4k video resolution. If you do end up going the Sony route be aware that you’ll be paying a premium for lens’ and accessories.

Lens
Lenses are often overlooked when getting into videography; however, I believe having the right lens can be more important than having a high-end camera in most cases. You’ll want to keep a little money for a nice quality lens or two. Most kit lenses are sufficient, but having a couple focal lengths to choose from will definitely step up your quality game. I like to use a 25mm fixed (equivalent to a 50mm in full frame) and a 12–60mm zoom lens. The 25mm is one of the cheapest lenses out there and it is very versatile. The 12–60mm, or 14–42mm if you get the G7, will be a great ‘run & gun’ lens.

Audio
Sound is just as important as video and if you’re lacking in the sound department, no one will watch your videos. The brain actually processes sound before visuals so it is crucial to spend just as much, if not more time, perfecting audio than video. The on-board audio from your camera is garbage.  But you do have a few options as far as audio recording goes. If you’re not sure what kind of videos you’ll be making, I’d recommend going with a small shotgun mic that attaches to the camera’s shoe mount and plugs directly into the camera. Rode makes a nice line of mics for this category and the two big options are the VideoMic GO or the VideoMic Pro. The Pro version has a built-in audio processor while the GO version is just a shotgun microphone using the cameras audio processing. There is plenty of info out there comparing these mics so you’ll have to make the call on which one will fit your needs. Of course, in some cases a lavalier mic (worn on the collar) or external shotgun mic will work better but this is going to cost a lot more and won’t be as versatile.
Here are a few of my recommended microphones on the market:
VideoMic Pro - http://amzn.to/2i4KEg7
VideoMic GO -  http://amzn.to/2wOmI3Q 
Great wireless lavalier - http://amzn.to/2i38Pvg
Affordable lavalier - http://amzn.to/2vZKaxm
Solid external shotgun mic - http://amzn.to/2vGOAXB 

Lighting
You will go crazy trying to find the best lighting equipment on a budget so, to make this easy for you, just pick up some 700W softbox lights for $60 - $80. For most shoots, I like to use as much natural light as possible and I find myself rarely using artificial light. But it is great to have some as a backup just in case. Good lighting will take creativity and practice so don’t spend a ton of money on lighting early on.

Everything else

Tripod – Amazon basics makes an affordable tripod that gets the job done, however if you have more to spend I’d recommend the Manfrotto 290 Xtra as it is a much higher quality. You can watch my review if it here: https://youtu.be/U-0_l_zkncQ 
Manfrotto tripod - http://amzn.to/2vBRdv3
AmazonBasics tripod - http://amzn.to/2wOxLKq 

Batteries – Four batteries should be plenty for a day of shooting and you can find batteries for your camera relatively cheap from numerous brands on Amazon.

SD Cards – The one thing you’ll want to look out for here is the speed of the card. Make sure the card says U3 which is usually 95MB/s. Having two 64GB SD cards should give you just over 2hours of 4k recording.
95MB/s - http://amzn.to/2fIJJkJ
150MB/s - http://amzn.to/2vGXUL3

Storage – You’re going to go through hard drives like never before when you start importing all the 4k video files so make sure you set aside some money for external hard drives. If you’re getting paid to do video work you will need to back up everything at least twice. The last thing you want is a corrupt or failed hard drive with someone’s valuable footage on it so save yourself that headache and back it all up.

Editing software – This is mainly personal preference but you can’t go wrong with Adobe Premiere Pro CC which is available in the Adobe Creative Cloud service. Another good editing program is Sony Vegas but I haven’t used that brand nearly as much as Adobe’s programs. If you’re a student in college you can get a nice discount on the creative cloud membership and it’s well worth it.

Conclusion 
Remember this is the bare minimum of what you would need to start shooting professional videos. There are TONS of other accessories that would help you create the best possible product however it would also cost a lot more for all of it. You will more than likely end up like me - purchasing a new piece of gear for every new project, with some reason to justify your guilty spending. But in the end, it comes down to you as a creative videographer and your ability to create a meaningful story through the lens. If it all came down to who had the best equipment then all the richest filmmakers would have the best content and this is simply not the case. So do your research, buy a camera that fits your budget, and start filming.

But keep in mind - the best camera is always the one you have with you.