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Flying at Disney World sucks...

erkme73

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Yeah, yeah, I know... It's a no-no. Still, there she sat behind the driver's seat of my motorcoach while we stayed at Fort Wilderness campground in Orlando. "Fly me... please... please!" I finally gave in and took her out of the case, set her down, powered her up, and flew her for at least 5 minutes.

After shooing all the dust bunnies out from behind the couches and recliners, and annoying the crap out of my dogs and kids, I mustered the courage to take it outside - but still sheltered from view of other campers (never know how those "see something, say something" goodie-two-shoes might react). It fired up, but before I could take off, GPS locked, and it was game over. She cried. I wept inside too. I quietly said good-bye as I tucked her back in her case.

We stared at each other for the next 6 days. It was tough. Never thought I'd look forward to leaving Disney this much. But I'm home and will fly when the sun comes up tomorrow!
 
I don't think so. But even if there was a way to bypass it (tin-foil hat for the MP), it would be foolish. Getting caught in that FAA TFR explicitly calls for jail time. Not worth the risk. Saw plenty of things that I think would have been awesome from the MP's perspective, but alas, it wasn't meant to be.
 
It fired up, but before I could take off, GPS locked, and it was game over. She cried. I wept inside too. I quietly said good-bye as I tucked her back in her case.

While at Dysni you could at least leave the reservation and find a nice spot to fly ...
 
Probably true, but I'm Mr. Mom with a 2 and 3yo. Mom was gone during days at a medical conference. Getting off site was an orgy just not worth the hassle (and risk). I fly, the last thing I want to do is keep eyes on my kids. Bad dad, I know.
 
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Interesting that it's a no fly zone yet they have their own drone light show....
 
6 nautical miles in diameter

I would have tin foil hatted it and took off my registration number.


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I don't think the problem is with them seeing the FAA number while it's flying. It's watching where it lands and meeting you there with the po-po that get's a little tricky. WDW has some kind of sway with .gov in both the area covered, the penalties applied, and the permanence of the "temporary" flight restriction.

I haven't been to Disney since being a kid myself. But man, do they run a tight ship. Everything works like a well-oiled machine. Between the nightly fireworks, the nearly 400+ newest buses, the ferry boats... I kept thinking, "It must cost a fortune to keep the lights on here." Then I remembered what this little trip cost me.
 
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I don't think the problem is with them seeing the FAA number while it's flying. It's watching where it lands and meeting you there with the po-po that get's a little tricky. WDW has some kind of sway with .gov in both the area covered, the penalties applied, and the permanence of the "temporary" flight restriction.

I haven't been to Disney since being a kid myself. But man, do they run a tight ship. Everything works like a well-oiled machine. Between the nightly fireworks, the nearly 400+ newest buses, the ferry boats... I kept thinking, "It must cost a fortune to keep the lights on here." Then I remembered what this little trip cost me.

Yea I hear ya, reg number is just to make the public feel cozy inside. "That drone is registered so it can't spy on me." If it goes down and is worth investigating they'll find you. Fingerprints serial numbers etc.
The Mavic is so portable I feel that you could really make some havoc, beeline to a secluded spot and be long gone before authorities even realize you were controlling it 4 miles away. Super Bowl half time show?
 
Yep...Disney of all places has a no fly zone. Lol


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IKR? Every evening they had fireworks that could be seen from our campground. They'd pipe in music and narration to the campsite speakers. It was Gimminy Cricket talking about making wishes and dreams coming true. I sat there thinking, how ironic. In a place where dreams are magically supposed to come true, my dream to fly will never get off the ground there.
 
You were at Disney on vacation and got your panties in a wad because you couldn't fly your drone??? Seek help, because you have a problem!!!! You SHOULD have been enjoying the kids, the environment and the vacation!!!
 
You were at Disney on vacation and got your panties in a wad because you couldn't fly your drone??? Seek help, because you have a problem!!!! You SHOULD have been enjoying the kids, the environment and the vacation!!!
First post here and this is how you announce yourself. Let me be the first to welcome you.
 
Yeah, yeah, I know... It's a no-no. Still, there she sat behind the driver's seat of my motorcoach while we stayed at Fort Wilderness campground in Orlando. "Fly me... please... please!" I finally gave in and took her out of the case, set her down, powered her up, and flew her for at least 5 minutes.
<clip>
We stared at each other for the next 6 days. It was tough. Never thought I'd look forward to leaving Disney this much. But I'm home and will fly when the sun comes up tomorrow!

Option 1: Put Mavic on a selfie stick
Option 2: Get a UAV w/o geo-fencing and...
start searching for a lawyer ;)

Interestingly, pilots are about 25 times as likely to overlook NOTAMs in Washington DC than Disneyland or Disneypark.
http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/50000/50500/50537/20050223553_2005220558.pdf
 
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