Day 1458: Photo Spot Favorites

Disney World is a absolutely one of the best places in the world to explore photography, and so many of us do. My family has been taking pictures of Walt Disney World since...well, pretty much forever...and I've picked up on the habit. Usually you'll find me with a video camera in my hand, but I'm constantly taking pictures on my phone, and on occasion, you'll find me borrowing one of my parents' cameras as well. Plus, I love the Disney Instagram community, which has really only increased my love of photography over the past few years. 

That being said, I couldn't help but think back recently to a challenge I did in 2013. Inspired by several lists I'd seen on the internet of "Must Take Disney World Photos," I compiled a list of over 100 pictures to take on my trip in July of 2013, and so the Official July 2013 Disney Challenge began. After pinning more than a few Disney World pictures on Pinterest over the past week, I also realized that something like this would be sort of fun to do again...with a twist. 

The lists I compiled for 2013 were based on internet lists of a similar fashion, but they're all really stereotypical. We all take pictures of the castle and Spaceship Earth and the list goes on, but there are some pictures out there just waiting to be found. Take the Purple Wall for instance, which has literally been at Magic Kingdom for years but just recently (and suddenly) became an must-see for most Disney Instagrammers. Plus, I'm a big fan of really exploring the nooks and crannies of Walt Disney World - and finding the little spots that we never knew existed, so a new photo challenge seems like a great idea. 

Which is where all of my followers come in. Similar to what I did in May with my choose my adventure idea (and that video is slowly coming!), I figure the best way to find the best spots is to ask the best people I know! So in the comments below or through a tweet or something, let me know a few of the photo spots I should check out on my upcoming trip! Give me a challenging idea for how or where to take a picture (although remember that it must, in some way, be possible. I'm not about to climb to the top of Spaceship Earth, no matter how fun that sounds). Give me a suggestion for that one picture you always have to take, or one that you always forget to take! And just to make things easier, here's a Google Form you can fill out with your suggestion: https://goo.gl/forms/ZHWR97OJRJHvFSRL2

I'm pretty excited to see what you all come up with, and while I'm in Florida be sure to follow along on my Instagram to see some of the pictures! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1344: Giraffes!

Way back at the beginning of the summer, my friend Brian and I said that if there was one thing we wanted to do this summer, it was go to the zoo. What it was about the zoo that pushed it to the top of the list, I'm not sure, but we did finally manage to complete our one summer goal...even if school already technically started. 

We saw all kinds of spectacular animals at our local zoo, the N.E.W. Zoo, which is actually fairly large for a small, rural area like ours. Heading there early on Labor Day was a good idea, as the longer we were there, the busier things got, but we had plenty of time to visit with the Otters, Lions, Moose, Owls, and Swans! 

The highlight of the day was definitely the giraffes though, which you can feed year round for $1 at a special platform. Despite the numerous times I've seen giraffes thanks to Kilimanjaro Safaris, I've never actually fed or touched one before, so this was a new experience all around and totally worth the whole trip out there! 

And so, summer might be over, but at least we fed giraffes! 

Have a magical day!

Day 1312: Birthday Wishes

There are very few ways that you can celebrate your birthday that are better than celebrating at the most magical place on earth. 

While my actual 21st birthday was earlier in July, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate at Walt Disney World, especially since the trip was sort of like a birthday present. It's amazing how much magic one little birthday button can create, and I can't thank the amazing cast members throughout the resort enough for all the magic they created, from saying happy birthday to creating very magical moments for me throughout my trip! 

During my day spent at Hollywood Studios there was plenty of birthday magic to be had. Mickey threw me a birthday party (not a castle party...it's still too soon to bring that up), a wonderful cast member gave me a strawberry bar, and my lunch at the Brown Derby was made extra delicious by the entirety of the staff there! 

And then at Animal Kingdom, the staff at Tiffins brought me a special dessert with a candle (that I remembered to take a picture of before blowing it out), and at the end of the night, the staff of the Animal Kingdom Starbucks made a magical moment for me by gifting me a special Mickey-Shaped Cinnamon Roll (which was pretty much my favorite moment of the entire trip). 

After that I stopped wearing the buttons, as I was already overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from everyone I met, but honestly, I think the two days and three hours I was "officially" celebrating my birthday were almost better than the entirety of my actual birthday trip three years ago (although celebrating with my family was pretty magical too). But more than anything else, I was always aware of the fact that, for the week I was in Florida this July, I was there alone. I wouldn't be meeting up with my family later in the day for dinner, I wouldn't be seeing them for a Fastpass, and while I was alone, I never really felt alone. The cast members made sure of that, and they made me even more determined to return in just about a year to make magic for others just like me as a cast member myself. 

Have you ever celebrated a birthday at Walt Disney World? 

Have a magical day!

Day 1307: In Darkness

I think we've all been pretty skeptical of Animal Kingdom at night, especially after the first reviews came back as, more or less, terrible. With Rivers of Light pretty much permanently postponed, the "Awaken Summer" campaign has somewhat fallen through, although I do know that Disney has tried their best to make up for lost time and money. Whether or not "making up for it" works, I'm still not entirely sure, but I can say that what I saw at Animal Kingdom certainly wasn't the worst of what I saw on my most recent trip. 

Let's start with The Jungle Book: Alive With Magic, because the panorama above is nothing short of one of my favorite pictures from this trip. Granted, the view up there is more clouds and natural beauty than beauty of the show, but it does also give you an idea of where I was sitting, and I was in a prime spot too. I used one of my Fastpass+ Selections for the show, which allowed me to enter from the Expedition Everest/Asia side. Since I was alone, I managed to listen to recommendations and make my way down to the fifth row, where I also managed to squeeze in on an isle seat, allowing me a pristine view of the stage in front of me. Since I was on the inner portion, it also gave me a decent view of the main stage that sits in the middle, which I can't imagine is very visible from the outer seats on either side. 

As for the show itself, I actually somewhat enjoyed it. Yes, it's not Rivers of Light, and I'm sure that if you go into the show expecting Rivers of Light, you'll be sorely disappointed. However, if you immediately accept the fact that maybe this isn't Rivers of Light and maybe it won't be the best thing I've ever seen, it may just be better than you expect. The performers do a simply astonishing job, from the live music performers, to the vocalists, and right down to the dancers that bring the show to life, and while the deep neon colors bothered me a bit (largely because my camera hates picking up neon), everything seems bright, colorful, and full of life. Obviously there's still a lot to be worked out before Rivers of Light makes its appearance, but I'm excited for what that show may bring, as I'm positive it will be at least a few steps up from what's in Asia now. 

As for the Nighttime Safari...I'm not really sure. About the only positive thing I could say about this is that it gives the most amazing view of the lions. Since they sleep frequently and are mostly nocturnal, all three lions were up and about when I drove past on my safari around 10 pm. Other than that, we didn't really see much, and the lights, which everyone has mentioned, seemed oddly placed to me. It's obvious which exhibits don't have animals during the nighttime hours, and the lights there are obtrusive and completely unnatural. Granted, I'm not sure how you'd make lights like that natural, but something was still off about the entire thing. And that's about all I have to say about the Nighttime Safari. 

Onto Tiffins, which I was fortunate enough to have dinner at. While extremely expensive, I can't deny that Tiffins had some of the greatest food I've had in a long while. I went with the Curry Lobster Bisque, which I pretty much had finished by the time my server came back to check on me, and the Duck for a main dish, which I had cooked to the chef's recommendation and was absolutely delicious. Also...a note about the iced tea. Get the specialty iced tea. Just do it. More on Tiffins in a few months though! 

And finally, to perhaps my favorite of the new attractions and shows this summer at Walt Disney World: the Tree of Life Awakening. I LOVED this projection show, which obviously uses some of the newest projection technology to bring animals to life. There are multiple different shows you can catch, and they run randomly, so if you want to see all of them, you'll have to sit in the area in front of the Tree of Life for roughly a half hour. I grabbed some food from Starbucks on my way out and waited for all of the shows, and I think I loved each new show more than the previous. There's something incredibly brilliant about taking the animals carved into the tree and bringing them to life in brand new ways, and I'm sure I could sit there for much longer than I did watching what used to be just a simple tree. 

Overall, Animal Kingdom didn't really disappoint me. In comparison to some of the other new offerings across the resort, I feel that what's there was more impressive than what I was led to believe (with the exception, perhaps, of the nighttime safari). If you haven't had a chance to check out the new offerings, I suggest doing so soon, as many of them will cease at the end of the summer, when park hours are shortened and a nighttime safari becomes much less nighttime oriented. I'm excited for what's yet to come for Animal Kingdom, and I can't wait to see what happens next. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1271: The First Time

No, the above picture is not from my first trip to Walt Disney World, but really, at this point, I don't have a lot of pictures from that trip. I do have some video, which I'm hoping to transfer, but beyond that I don't even have any memories of my own. I mean, I was 15 months old, so I don't know how I would remember any of that, but still. 

The truth is, things were pretty different at Walt Disney World during my first trip. The first time I saw Cinderella Castle, and I love to tell this story, it wasn't blue. It was pink. For the 25th anniversary they decorated the castle as a giant pink birthday cake, and the outcome was sort of...odd. When I find the pictures of it I'll be sure to share, but in the meantime you can definitely find some on Google. Just search "Cinderella Castle 25th Anniversary." Actually, the first two trips I took, that's how the castle looked. Can you imagine if I had been older? I probably would have thought that it was supposed to look like that. 

Horizons was still there, as was the Skyway and Dreamflight. Food Rocks was the highlight of The Land, and Dreamfinder was even still hanging with Figment. World of Motion would have just closed for it's transformation into Test Track, and, at the time, a giant Toy Story Parade graced the streets of the then MGM-Studios. In the Backlot, things were drastically different, with an extended tour and residential street still intact. Oh, and Animal Kingdom didn't even exist. 

As I go through that old video I'll be sure to share some of the differences I find with you, and hopefully I'll have pictures and video clips to back myself up! But I do think that looking back to our first trips is sort of an important and fun thing to do. After all, Disney World changes quickly, and sometimes we don't realize just how quickly until we take a look back. 

Have a magical day!

Day 1238: Slowing Down

Disney trips can seem overly tiring. And they probably are. In comparison to traveling other places, where you might spend time sleeping in or slowly strolling around a city, a Disney trip forces you to keep moving most of the time, especially if it's your first time or you don't visit often. For years, it's been about seeing all the main sights within a short amount of time. After all, if you only have a few days once a year to hit your favorite attractions, sometimes more than once, you probably don't want to waste your time. So, as my best friends became quickly aware of, there is no rest at Disney World.

This past trip, however, I found myself slowing down a bit. I didn't feel the need to see all the major attractions, although there were definitely a few that are always Must Dos for me (Spaceship Earth, Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story Midway Mania, and so on and so forth). I didn't really want to run back and forth the whole trip (although I definitely did some running regardless).

Instead, I found myself seeking out some of the calmer attractions, many of which are perfect for the hot summer days that Florida is so well known for. My personal favorite, of course, is the PeopleMover, which I probably ride almost as often as Spaceship Earth. It's a calming attraction, and while the lines have steadily been growing longer over the past couple of years, the breeze is nice and you do get to sit down for the entire attraction. Perfect for hot days when everything else at Magic Kingdom has a 45 minute wait.

At Epcot, I spent a lot of time walking around World Showcase, which usually ends with a lot of standing, but if you really take your time and do it right, you can try a lot of food, see a lot of sights, relish in a lot of air conditioning, and even sit down. The films in Canada and China aren't particularly popular, and while you do have to stand there, there are rather comfortable seats in the French film as well as in The American Adventure. Speaking of which, The American Adventure pavilion is perfect for hot days, since you can cool off in the waiting area to listen to the Voices of Liberty before even going into the half hour show. And then there's music groups that perform on the stage outside too, so really you could spend an hour or more there alone.

Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom are harder with all the construction, but I'm positive that as the new additions to each park open that will change. Meanwhile, Disney Springs is now a spectacular spot to spend an entire evening or, as it continues to develop, an entire day. It's free to visit, which makes it even better, and there's so much to explore without constantly running here, there, and everywhere.

I guess I've realized over the past couple of trips that there's much more to Walt Disney World than meets the eye, and relaxing throughout the entire resort can be just as much fun as hitting all the E-Ticket attractions. I mean, just because Ellen's Energy Adventure is outdated and sort of long doesn't mean it's not a great place to hang out when the air gets too hot and you want a break! Sometimes a 45 minute attraction in air conditioning where you get to sit the whole time is exactly what you want!

Have a magical day!

Day 1237: A Little of This and That

It's once again time to share some of my favorite pictures from my latest Disney trip! Now, aside from those put on Instagram, none of these are edited in anyway, I just liked how they look! I'd go on to explain more, but I think I'll just let you enjoy:

Have a magical day!