Disney Dreaming

I have a confession.

I am a Disney addict.

Most people who know me understand this. They accept it. They realize at times I am nothing more than an overgrown child, and yet they still love me.

So it stands to reason that one of my most favorite places to photograph is Walt Disney World. It is, after all, one of my favorite places (if not the most favorite) to go.

I've been to "The World" (as we addicts call it) almost a dozen times. It's nowhere near record status, and still not enough. I'm always itching to go back and explore my favorite spaces and discover new ones. I have a goal of making it to WDW for a photography-specific trip where all I do is wander around and take pictures of everything from Cinderella Castle to the dog holding the key inside Pirates.

I sure as anything try my best when I'm on vacation there, but it becomes difficult to spend a lot of time photographing when you are vacationing with others and want to spend most of your time enjoying and soaking in the moments. I think most photographers have that issue on vacations.

Be that as it may, I think I've gotten my fair share of pictures during my Disney vacations. I've picked a night or two each trip to schlep my tripod around to get night shots, but with a tired husband/family/friends with me, the time I have for shooting is limited. (Usually I'm all about early bedtimes, but when I'm in Disney I can go, go, go. The day I ran the princess half marathon, we were up at 3am. 13.1 miles, a shower, and an hour or two of watching tv later, I was at the Magic Kingdom and full of energy, even still by 11pm. I didn't want to leave, but for the sake of the rest of my group, and not wanting them to beat me up, I called it a night!).

So anyway, here are a few shots from my various recent trips to Walt Disney World. I edit them rather slowly, as in, I don't necessarily edit the entire trip as soon as I get back anymore. That way I can pick at them from time to time and have a fun memory of my trip waiting for me. Check out my flickr for some more Disney goodness.

Thanks, and see ya real soon!

The Mexico pavilion in EPCOT's World Showcase.


Escargot from EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival (probably my favorite time of year to go to Disney)
One of my favorites. An empty view of Future World in EPCOT, as seen from the monorail
The Main Street Electrical Parade is back in the Magic Kingdom! So glad to see it again.
One of my personal favorites (and a highly underrated attraction), The Carousel of Progress.
That moment when you're juuuuust about to tip down Splash Mountain.
Another reason why I love visiting in the fall: Halloween decorations!

The Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios
The Animal Kingdom equivalent to the Splash Mountain picture - that moment at the top of Expedition Everest when the tracks are changing and you're about to fall backwards...

Two months

...have gone by since I've last posted on my blog. I've had a whirlwind of 2012 thus far, and it's only the end of February! Not that I'm complaining: our schedules have taken us to several states as well as one country (Mexico) in addition to bringing family to visit us. Until I get around to completing my editing of everything, here are a few shots I've snapped this year.

The Happiest Place on Earth... really!

I just got back from one of my favorite places in the world... the magical, nostalgia-inducing Walt Disney World. As a kid, our family vacations were usually to Florida, either to visit my grandparents, to go to Disney, or both. Because of that, I have a nostalgic, child-like love for Disney World. It's one of those places I can go and forget about real adult life and become a kid again.
This particular trip was for Disney's Princess Half Marathon weekend. The Princess race was my first half marathon and I couldn't have picked a more fun race to do! Not only was it an excuse to go back to Disney, but running into the Magic Kingdom and through Cinderella's castle was quite an experience.
Anyway, this was my first trip back to Disney with a dSLR and a wide angle lens. It's tricky trying to balance photography with a theme park visit, especially when walking around with other people. I didn't get the opportunity to take many night time pictures, so I think next time I go (hopefully next year!) I'll actually set aside a night for just picture taking.

Mickey waffles!

I'd definitely like a bear cape, as seen at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue in Fort Wilderness.

Disney's new parade is the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It parade to celebrate their guests. I moved, I shook, I celebrated.

I braved Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with my camera.

Courtesy of the Flower and Garden festival in Epcot. This would look good on my front lawn (if I had one).

Does anyone else really want to live in Cinderella's castle?

On race day-night, we watched the Wishes fireworks show.