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 1278: Second Chance

Last June, when we were at Walt Disney World to celebrate my parents' 25th wedding anniversary, I made my first attempt at the Four Parks, One Day Challenge, which takes you to all four of the WDW theme parks in one day, and has you visit at least three attractions in each park. Last year's attempt more or less failed after a nap and rain overthrew the plans to get to Epcot on time to finish off the day and complete the three attractions in that park. 

So we attempted it again. 

This past January we worked hard to complete the challenge for real, and you can find a more in-depth count of everything that happened in a blog post from January, but I thought I would share the video version of the day so you can see just what we all got up to throughout our day! I've been saving this video so it goes with the vlogs that are appearing on my YouTube channel, giving a behind the scenes look there as well: 

Part 2 of our Four Parks, One Day Vlog will be up next week, so be sure to keep an eye out for that too! 

Have a magical day! 

Day 1142: Challenge List

Keeping things interesting when you've been to the Disney Parks 28 times starts to get...well...interesting. I've gone on long rants time and time again about how it's awesome to visit Disney time and time again, simply because things are always changing, always evolving. There's constantly something new to see and experience, and with everything there is to see and do at the Walt Disney World Resort, it's sort of hard to get bored in the first place.

However, making a list of specific challenges to spice things up never hurts either.

This past trip, Frank and I each had a challenge list, compiled by my Dad and my brother, and things got a bit out of hand...especially in regards to the churros. Of course, there was never a question in my mind that I had to bring all of you along with me as I attempted to complete all these challenges!

As for which was hardest? Definitely the churros. I never want to eat another churro again in my life. Literally no more. My favorite challenge? I actually really liked the Ice Cream Sandwich from Epcot Challenge, simply because it gave me a chance to eat a macaroon ice cream sandwich from France. I'd never had one before but I've now been introduced to the amazingness that is those sandwiches. 

This was just my challenge list though, so you'll have to keep an eye out for Frank's Challenge List that will be appearing soon!

Have a magical day!

Day 837: Trying New Things

It's obvious already that this summer is going to be filled with new adventures for me. While in June I'm traveling back to Disney World, the trip will be different for me. New resort, no dining reservations, lots to do and for the first time since last July 2013, I'm not constantly thinking about a band trip video! Then comes Disneyland in August, and I've only been there once. However, I know what to expect this time and I'm thrilled that I'll have the chance to attend D23 AND meet some of my California friends and favorite Disney people! To add onto that, I've also got a band trip in there, which I'm going on not as a student or chaperone, but as videographer...a brand new position that I'm looking forward to exploring.

And so, while thinking about these trips, I realized that maybe I should use this as a chance to explore some new things. With my OUAT Disneybounds, I'm always experimenting with new styles, new makeup, and new trends that maybe I wouldn't have thought of before. It's been an incredible education experience and a great opportunity to modify my own style. And there's been a realization somewhere in there: a lot of times, in order to find the best way to do something, you have to continuously experiment. My wardrobe on my first summer trip to Disney in 2011 was drastically different from what I'll be wearing this June, and it's all come through experimentation and experience.

Of course, I'm not an expert on a lot of things, not by any means, other than maybe Epcot, as my common signature and social media handle suggests, but I do know a thing or two about traveling to Walt Disney World. However, that doesn't mean that an old dog can't learn new tricks, especially as I close in on my last couple of years of college and the realization that, once I graduation, I'll be doing a lot more traveling that I have so far in my life.

What's my point with all of this? Well, as you know well enough, I always have some sort of challenge that goes on during my Disney trips. I don't actually remember really having one in January, but I'm fairly certain that the sheer number of characters I met and things I accomplished counts. Regardless, I'm starting to compile a list for June, a list of new things I can try, whether it be a new challenge in the parks, a new video idea, a new packing concept or the simple fact that I'll be traveling with a different bag through the airport this trip, thanks to the fact that for the first time since 2008 I'll be traveling without my laptop.

Which means I'm looking to you guys, my readers and fellow Disney fans! I've got about a month and a half left before my trip, and while I won't be able to do absolutely anything, I'm looking for a few things. First off, what are some of your favorite attractions? I know mine, but that doesn't mean everyone loves Spaceship Earth on the same level as I do. Where are some of your favorite places to eat, especially counter service locations! Are there any video ideas out there you have or something you'd like to see in my vlogs (and new ones are coming, I really do promise I'm working on them)? Let me know! I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas and opinions as I come up with a challenge for this trip! Traveling can be difficult, but I want to try out new ideas, just to mix up my routine, because who knows! There might be a better way to do things out there that I've yet to discover!

Have a magical day!

Day 195: Pictures Galore!

Another day of Disney, another topic to discuss about my latest trip!

This time, we'll do a bit of an update on the Official July '13 Disney Challenge. I'll eventually have a final post to wrap it up, but even now (August 19) I'm still not finished with the last like 6 pictures. I'm SOOOO close to having them done though. And I do plan on finishing them. It's just kind of difficult at the moment because I'm so busy.

Either way, the challenge went over great for this trip, even as it was shorter! It'll probably be my last challenge for a while too because if I do go with Band the next time that will just be a challenge in itself. Still, challenges are ALWAYS fun to do, and this one was especially...other than the fact that I did spend a lot of time on Instagram. Still, it made for a lot of wonderful pictures to go along with my trip!

So I figured that I'd share a collection of the pictures here!

Of course, there are over a hundred pictures just from this trip on my Instagram, so if you'd like to see all of them you can go check there. I haven't posted anywhere near as much since I returned, so even if you're reading this later it shouldn't be hard to find! 

I love taking pictures at Disney, and sure wish I could just spend like a few days taking pictures of things. Like just taking a camera and going from one thing to another. Not necessarily going on anything. Just taking pictures. That would be great. Of course, we all know that's pretty much impossible because I'm never at Disney anywhere near long enough to do something like that. But maybe someday. =)

If you'd like to see the adventures I went on today, you can watch the vlog below! Oh yeah...and this is the one where I freak out about Harrison Ford, so it's pretty entertaining! 

Here's today's Disney History: 1975: The Disney Company announces plans to build an Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow (or EPCOT) in Florida. 

Have a magical day!

Note: This blog post was written on August 19, after my actual trip, due to obvious reasons. 

Day 183: The Official Disney Challenge: July '13

Well, after much work over the past couple of days, between updating my blog, I have managed to complete my Disney Challenge for my upcoming Disney trip. Now, way back in January, on Day 17 actually, I talked about my previous Disney challenges, but I'll do a recap now.

My first challenge was to eat around World Showcase, where I would have to eat something from every country. We accomplished it, although I think we ate more than enough food. Sometimes it's hard to do ones like that because you really need to spend a lot of time at Epcot. But that was just the first.

For my last trip in November, I did a Bucket list, which honestly had a lot of stuff on it. I accomplished most of them actually, and I think, as I said before, the one I'm most proud of was the I did indeed vlog my entire trip, which worked because of the new video camera my family has. For the first time I was able to capture digital video of our trip, and I edited it down into vlogs. There are 10 videos from the trip, and you can find all of them on my Youtube channel, which there is a link to in the sidebar.

But this trip, I couldn't just do something that was the same. No, I had to do something different. Not long after I returned, I found a list of "must take photos" for a family on their Disney trip. While my family takes plenty of pictures, I found that we really don't take a lot of the pictures on the list, and that it would be a great idea to turn it into a challenge. 

So after more research and time, I found a couple of more lists and then the other day, compiled them into one whole list as my official challenge. Then I made them into beautiful photos to put on Facebook for easy reference for myself and so that others can see what I'm doing, and now I'm posting them here!

And finally, here are the rules: 

1. All pictures must be posted on Instagram (although they can be taken with any Camera).

2. If a picture needs to be changed due to closure or inability to take said picture, it must be replaced by a similar picture.

The photo challenge is inspired by the following websites: 

http://www.picturingdisney.com/2012/11/free-printable-disney-world-photo.html
http://www.sprikspace.com/p/freebies.html
http://www.mommysavers.com/disney-photo-tips-ideas/

So there it is, the challenge I'll embark on when I go to Disney in, wait for it...6 DAYS. 

I am super duper excited, if you can't tell!

Here's today's Disney History: 2010: Captain EO returns to Epcot. It's been 16 years since the 3D sci-fi movie featuring Michael Jackson played at WDW, and today's ribbon-cutting ceremony includes cast members who were working at EO when it closed back in 1994. 

Have a magical day!