Category Archives: Walt Disney World

Disney World Vacation Photo Must-Haves

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This is just me talking.  Part of my overbearing big personality is that I never experience a shortage of opinions and as usual, I’ve decided to offer you some of them.  I’ve always been a picture-taker and am particularly photo-snappy on a Disney vacation.  After 25+ years of said Disney trips, I’ve noticed certain patterns in my photography and decided to share.  Hopefully, this will cause you to examine your own Disney picture-taking style and share your favorite types of pictures with me.  Sharing is good, dontcha think?

It’s like a Friday Five times two!  I’ve compiled a list of TEN…

Disney World Vacation Photo Must-Haves

The Classic Shots – You know the ones.  The iconic must-haves in front of Cinderella Castle and the other park weenies (Yes, that’s the correct term for a Disney park’s centerpiece.  Really.  Look it up if you don’t believe me.).  I particularly like the Tree of Life and have pictures from every possible angle and time of day.

The Character Meet & Greets – In-park Characters, Character Dining Experiences, the random encounter – all are exceptionally tempting as memory capturing moments, no?  It might make me a little nostalgic to look back at the ones from when Megan and Joseph were little, but the ones from our last trip make me just as happy.

Foodies’ Favorites – Not quite as good as the real thing, commemorating an excellent snack or meal with a photograph allows me to remember my favorite flavors of Disney and better plan my dining and snacking strategies for future trips.

Attraction Action – Pictures or it didn’t happen, right?  You never know exactly how ride photos will turn out, but they are absolutely some of my favorite pictures!  Yes, I love the ones from Memory Maker, but I also like the ones I took myself.

Tropical Paradise – I can’t help myself.  I have to capture at least a few pictures of the lush Florida landscapes and the amazing sunrises and sunsets.  When I’m at home, I’m usually getting ready for work as the sun comes up and in the evening I’m likewise occupied with cooking dinner or some such activity.  On vacation, though, I stop to soak up those spectacular moments and you should too. 

Five Down, Five to Go…

Hidden Mickeys – If you’re constantly on the lookout for those little, sometimes elusive Mickeys, you probably snap a pic or two of your favorites like I do!

The Group Selfie – What ever did we do before the wonders of technology allowed us to take pictures of ourselves so easily?!?  I’m a huge fan of the group selfie.  Unless maybe it’s a really hot day and we’ve been hitting the parks pretty hard.  Looking back, we seem less likely to clump up for those close-together shots as the day wears on.  Huh…just now noticed that.

Boredom Busters a.k.a. queue pics! – Even if you plan everything just right and book FastPasses for all the most popular attractions, you’re bound to wait in a line or two from time to time.  Don’t waste the opportunity to create some awesome family memories!  We have even developed photo traditions for some particularly taxing waits…like the one for Fantasmic.

EarHat Fashion – How could anyone not love a good EarHat photo?  Not into amazingly fun headwear?  Certainly someone in your family is, right?  There’s nothing like capturing the happiness of a loved one sporting their favorite Disney chapeau in a Disney park.  Look at those happy faces!

Cast Member Memories – Sometimes you just get extra attached to a particular Cast Member and want them to be part of your photo album.  They don’t mind if you take their picture – the best ones are used to it!  If you’re on Twitter and you’ve had an awesome Cast Member experience, you can tweet to @WDWToday with the #CastCompliment hashtag and say a few words about how the Cast Member made your vacation extra special.  Disney will then track down that Cast Member and present them with a certificate.  They will photograph the moment and tweet it back to you.  It’s an excellent way to ensure your favorite Cast Members get the recognition they deserve.  We did this for Kile from Tiffins because he’s wonderful!

BONUS – This one has almost reached the ridiculous.  I’ve been on Kilimanjaro Safaris at least a dozen times.  Each and every one of my tours of Africa involves me madly taking pictures and videos as if I’ve never seen any of these animals before in my life.  Please tell me I’m not the only one who does this!  Drives my family crazy, I’m sure, but they love me enough to let me sit on the outside and stay out of my way.Rhino on Kilimanjaro Safari Kilimanjaro Safari / Animal Kingdom One last thing about taking pictures on a Disney vacation…

Even though I love Memory Maker, you should not feel like you have to spend the money if it’s not in your budget.  Cast Members are always happy to take pictures for you with your own camera or smart phone.  You’ll still have amazing memories to look back on!!!

Okay, now it’s your turn!  Share with me!!!  What are your favorite types of Disney vacation pictures to take?

 

Considering Disney’s Quick Service Dining Plan

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With all the details nailed down for April’s Disney World visit, Megan and I have moved on to planning June’s “Epic Mother / Daughter Disney Summer Road Trip”.  This vacation will be different in a lot of ways…Not the least of which is it’s GIRLS ONLY and we couldn’t be more excited to have some time away together.

We’re planning to thoroughly explore Pandora and take advantage of Animal Kingdom’s nighttime Extra Magic Hours at least once.  We’re also planning an afternoon and evening in Magic Kingdom so we can do all our favorite attractions and see the new Happily Ever After show (replacing Wishes).  For sure we want to grab a few hours in Epcot’s World Showcase and based on all of that, we decided maximum flexibility will be key to our Disney happiness.

Normally we enjoy at least one, if not more, table service meals on every day of a Disney World visit.  We have our favorite places and also a list of to-try restaurants waiting.  When Megan and I talked about where we might like to eat and when we wanted to book ADRs, we realized how much time those meals might cut into the free-style park touring plans we were really looking forward to.  That’s when I remembered the Quick Service Dining Plan.

Considering Disney’s Quick Service Dining Plan

With two meals and two snacks per night of stay, we’ll be good to go and our food will be mostly pre-paid.  Since we’re driving, we can bring breakfast foods and use our meal credits for lunch and dinner.  Booked through the Disney Vacation Club site, we’d pay $46.24 per person, per day ($279.04 total).

I must confess…I did book one ADR for the last night of our stay, but this would actually work out perfectly.  We’d have one Quick Service credit left over to use for lunch on the day we leave AND we’ll get to try Paddlefish in Disney Springs for the first time.

No doubt about it, we will certainly miss the guys on this trip, but by making plans that are different from our usual Disney vacation style, we think we’ll have a great time!

Have you tried Disney’s Quick Service Dining Plan?  What restaurants did you choose?

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Quietest Little Corner

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If you’ve been to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, you’re probably very familiar with Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail and the Maharajah Jungle Trek.  Were you aware there’s a third and often ignored trail?  There IS!  And I’m here to tell you, when the crowds get crazy, it’s a great place to escape!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom – Quietest Little CornerDisney's Animal Kingdom - Quietest Little Corner

We’d been to Animal Kingdom dozens of times and still did not notice the Cretaceous Trail in DinoLand U.S.A. until last December during Christmas week when the park was so crowded we could barely move.  Raymond, Joseph and I were working on our Wilderness Explorer badges when two of us became distracted by unusual flora.  As I’m rarely distracted by any type of plant life unless it’s edible,  I wasn’t even a tiny bit curious.  Not wanting to get left behind however, I followed the guys into the trees and found myself on the Cretaceous Trail.  And we were alone.  Thousands of people in every other section of the park and we’d discovered peace and quiet!  And some other stuff, too.

The Cretaceous Trail is short and has no live animal exhibits.  It exists to teach guests about the plants and animals alive today that survived (or can be traced back to) the Cretaceous period.  It’s short and seemingly unpopular.  The beauty of this area is the soaring, unique landscaping.  Once brought to my attention, I had to admit, the trees and shrubs and whatnot were pretty cool.  There are also some dinosaur figures here and there and benches available for folks looking for a place to rest.Disney's Animal Kingdom - Quietest Little Corner

Why visit the Cretaceous Trail?  I’ll give you five great reasons…

  1. Your baby is asleep and you’d like to keep it that way OR you want to let a little one stretch their legs in a crowd-free area.
  2. You love unusual plants.
  3. You need a break from people.
  4. You’re an aspiring paleontologist.
  5. You’re dragged there by family members while you’re trying to earn Wilderness Explorer Badges.

Have you been to the Cretaceous Trail?  If not, it’s close to the pillars for Dinosaur, so next time you’re over in DinoLand, you should take a minute (literally) to check it out!

Dark Side Challenge – April Disney Vacation Plans

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In just a few weeks, we’ll be headed to Walt Disney World for a short, action-packed adventure.  We may be there for only three days, but we’ve built quite an itinerary!  With so much to look forward to, it feels like my countdown calendar is moving backwards.  Making things worse is fickle Mother Nature and her indecision about which season to embrace.  Feels like winter one day, spring the next, back and forth until everyone’s sneezing from either a cold or pollen allergies.  All of it has me staring at my suitcase wondering if it’s too soon to pack.

Dark Side Challenge – April Disney Vacation Plans

We chose our travel dates purely for the Dark Side Challenge.  The Star Wars 10K and Half Marathon will be Joseph’s first runDisney events and I couldn’t be more excited for him.  After he spent fall and winter of 2015 running with me as I trained for the 2016 Glass Slipper Challenge, then stayed home with Junior while I went to Disney World, I promised him I’d take him with me this year.  With just a couple of long training runs remaining, we’re ready.

Dark Side Challenge - April Disney Vacation Plans

Springtime in Disney World!  It’s been years since we’ve visited during Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival and we have missed it so much.  Weighing heavily into our plans, Epcot’s going to be where we spend most of our non-running time.  Since Nick and Dave from the Disney Exchange (and their wives) will also be at Disney World, we’re doing our best to coordinate our schedules for a get-together.  The weekend looks like this:

Friday mid-day – Arrive, grab lunch at the Grand Floridian (staying in the Villas) and head to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex to pick up our race packets.  Based on past experience, we’ll be there a whole lot less time than it takes to get there.  The race expo is always too crowded to enjoy browsing the booths.  I gave it my best shot last year and still walked away empty-handed.  There’s a lot of cool merchandise, but my patience won’t last long enough to actually purchase anything except a beer.  Once we’ve got our packets, we’ll head right back to the bus and make our way to Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom – We’ve got late afternoon / early evening FastPasses for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Space Mountain.  Between FastPasses, we’ll squeeze in what we can.

Late Dinner at Narcoossee’s – The last time Raymond and I ate here was late December, 2015 and our experience could not have been better.  The food and service were both excellent.  One of the things we liked best was that our server encouraged us to step outside on the deck to watch Wishes while he held our entrees back to keep them warm.  Nice touch! I’ve scheduled our reservation for 8:30 with Wishes at 9:00 so we can do it again.  After that it’s off to sleep.

Here’s where our plans are a little squishy.  Saturday morning we’ll need to be at the 10k’s starting line well ahead of the 5:30 am start time.  Unlike the previous runDisney events I’ve done, this one starts on Floridian Way rather than at Epcot.  I’m sure we’ll have to take a bus to the starting line, but don’t have a clear idea about how long that will take.  Once the official race course and event guide have been published, hopefully we’ll know more.  The race ends at Epcot and we should be making our way back to the Grand Floridian by 7:00 am to clean up and have breakfast.Epcot View

Epcot all Day!  Sure we’ll be a little tired, but for not rushing around, sampling plenty of snacks and having our group meet-up, Epcot is perfect!  We do have a little lunch reservation we’ll duck out for at Beaches & Cream (our first time there!) and then we’ll be right back for more Flower and Garden action.  We have late afternoon FastPasses for Frozen Ever After, Spaceship Earth, and The Seas with Nemo & Friends.

Il Mulino Dinner – As per our pre-Disney-half-marathon tradition, this amazing little Italian eatery at the Swan is where we’ll order giant servings of carbs and pretend we don’t have to get up super early and run 13.1 miles.  Last year while we were enjoying our Il Mulino dinner before the Princess Half, Joseph (home with Junior) texted us, of all things, a video of him playing Bella Notte (from Lady and the Tramp) on an antique accordion he had purchased earlier that day.  (Sometimes Joe’s love for both music and antiques collides.)  It was perfect and one of my happiest Disney vacation memories.  It’s a shame he can’t pack that thing and bring it along to serenade us in person this time.

Running to the Dark Side!

Sunday morning Joseph and I will put on our epic matching Star Wars shirts (nope, not kidding – had them custom printed just for us) and two great things will happen:  I will not be running 13.1 miles alone (I can’t tell you how much this means!) and Joseph will get to experience first hand how incredibly amazing runDisney half marathons are.  I’m excited to hear what he has to say about the course and all the surprises along the way.  Post-race we’ll meet up with Raymond and enjoy the after-party for a few minutes before we head back to our room to clean up.

Epcot and Animal Kingdom.  We are absolutely ending the day at Animal Kingdom, but if we have time, we’ll make a quick dash to Epcot for lunch around the World.  At Animal Kingdom we have two FastPasses scheduled before dinner – Kilimanjaro Safaris and Expedition Everest.  We’re eating Dinner at Sanaa in the Kidani Village section of Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Joseph’s going to love the bread service!  Then it’s back to Animal Kingdom park for Rivers of Light.

That’s it.  Then we go home.  I’m hoping we’re not trying to do too much.  At the same time, I’m hoping our scheduled plans will be enough to make our three days feel much longer.

This will be the shortest Disney vacation I’ve ever taken.  How about you?  Would you (could you?) go for just three days?