A Photo Safari Halloween Solo Trip for Oct'13: Trip Report Started!

[abbybeth]

If the phone cases weren't enough now I have to pick a t-shirt or two! I posted before that I was hoping to find a HM t shirt to wear for MNSSHP. Someone from the October DIS Facebook group recommended Mouse Street USA. They had been closed for the past month while the owner was on vacation. Well now they're back and open again! So I have narrowed down the choices to these four:

Stretching Room design. This is the front and back of the same shirt.

HM4_1 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


And Mickey and Goofy getting in on the act.

HM1 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

So what do you think? Which one's your favorite?

I'm partial to the portrait one - I had that bookmarked to purchase, but didn't order it before they went on vacation. I also really like the one w/ Mickey and Goofy!

Not to make life more complicated, but there are some great HM shirts on Red Bubble as well! Tough decision for sure!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Damn you Dave I've already spent enough money for this trip but after checking out some of those shirt designs I want to spend more. I had never seen Mouse Street USA before but they have some great shirt designs that DW and I might have to get before our trip.

I'm a fan of the first one, really love the stretching room. and for the phone cases I would stick with the Nemo theme. or buy a couple and rotate them out.

Happy to help out lightening your wallet when it comes to Disney gear!

I don't think I can pick just one shirt.....pretty sure I'll end up ordering at least two.

Snore and Roar?? That sounds sooo awesome... I slept over at the Franklin Institute in Philly a few times and it was so awesome hopefully I can do something with the kiddos like that.

Awesome news on the photography front! Wow - the best of luck! Your pictures are amazing and that's great that your friend is recommending you Word of mouth is the best advertising.

Do you have MB envy? Good luck on getting some FP+ options. I am excited to try them in January - Zoey was adorable and pretended to put one on before entering the rides we used FP on, she would wave her little wrist by the Mickey head and tell the CM "It worked!!"

Ooooo no park hoppers?? I don't know if I could do it!!

It was so fun last year when I got to do the Snore and Roar with DD. Just a cool feeling to have the zoo all to ourselves and seeking out animals in the outdoor exhibits in the dark with just our flashlights.

Thanks for the well wishes on my photography!

And yes, I absolutely have MB envy! That's so cute what Zoey did with her "MBs"

Ohhh and I love the iPhone cases. I need a new one, I tried to find one in WDW that I loved, but I couldn't. I like the Nemo one best My sister has the HM one it's pretty neat.

I think I've decided on the Crush/Nemo one for the case. Seems to be the most popular.

I like the second shirt... the bright green hitchhiking ghosts.

But I also like the first one.

And the last one.

OK, they're all pretty cool, but I have to say the green hitchhiking ghosts is my favorite.

That's exactly how I feel. How am I suppose to pick JUST one? Maybe I should buy all of them and wear all of them in layers. Then every hour of the party I can take one off.

I'm partial to the portrait one - I had that bookmarked to purchase, but didn't order it before they went on vacation. I also really like the one w/ Mickey and Goofy!

Not to make life more complicated, but there are some great HM shirts on Red Bubble as well! Tough decision for sure!

I'm trying very hard not to take a peek in Red Bubble because my decision is already tough!

You're trip is tomorrow! Yea! Have a great time!

 

[teekathepony]

Ok, for the shirts, I vote for the stretching room with Mickey and goofy as runners up!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Ok, for the shirts, I vote for the stretching room with Mickey and goofy as runners up!

After much deliberation I think I'm going with the Mickey/Goofy one. I really liked the other ones too and if I had more than one MNSSHP to attend I would totally buy more.

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh, Oh, Oh.... putting in my votes here.

Phone case: HM (classic)
Tee shirt: Mickey and Goofy with their hitch-hiking ghost. All of those are pretty clever though.

I forgot to weigh in on the Wishes from FL/New FL and I have to say that one of my best viewing spots for Wishes was right outside Beast's castle (on the bridge) during the finale. HOWEVER, it was a bit back and forth with the view since the pop of fireworks from the castle area are the opposite direction of those taking place off property beyond the Beast castle. Being in-between the two I was looking left and then right constantly. Still a close up view for sure.

Awwww I'd love a copy of your foggy Main Street photo. I could stoop to copying from the Disboards posts but I don't do that!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Oh, Oh, Oh.... putting in my votes here.

Phone case: HM (classic)
Tee shirt: Mickey and Goofy with their hitch-hiking ghost. All of those are pretty clever though.

I forgot to weigh in on the Wishes from FL/New FL and I have to say that one of my best viewing spots for Wishes was right outside Beast's castle (on the bridge) during the finale. HOWEVER, it was a bit back and forth with the view since the pop of fireworks from the castle area are the opposite direction of those taking place off property beyond the Beast castle. Being in-between the two I was looking left and then right constantly. Still a close up view for sure.

Awwww I'd love a copy of your foggy Main Street photo. I could stoop to copying from the Disboards posts but I don't do that!

All those shirts are pretty cool, aren't they?
Funny you mentioned how you had to whip your neck back and forth to see the finale of Wishes from New FL. I was watching a Youtube video of Wishes from New FL and the camera operator spent the final minute swinging his camera from left to right to left to right and he was always a second or two too late so he missed everything! Yup, wouldn't recommend it for first timers.

I'm sending you a PM about the Main Street Photo.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Just a little over three weeks left to go!

It's been a bit busy at work which is the reason for the lack of updates. I'm working the weekend while DW and the kids take a trip out to Portland Oregon for DW's cousin's wedding. I'll be taking advantage of the kid-free weekend by squeezing in a movie. Just hope my pager doesn't go off during the movie.

I have my practice family photo session #2 coming up on Sunday morning. This should be a nice real-life simulation since I haven't met the family yet.

As for Disney related news, I got my t-shirt from MousestreetUSA and am happy with how it looks. Haven't had a chance to try it on. I'll post the pic once my iphone case arrives in the mail on Monday!

Finally, I got a pre-sale promo email for the Disney Jr. Live show that will be coming by our area in February. So went ahead and bought tickets for all of us.

 

[emilyindisney]

Dave, are you still taking photo requests?

I just watched a video of Boo to You and definitely will throw in a few more if you'll take them. Really, I'll be excited to see anything you snap from the parade though! I've heard seeing it twice is definitely the way to go and now I see why! It looks awesome!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Dave, are you still taking photo requests?

I just watched a video of Boo to You and definitely will throw in a few more if you'll take them. Really, I'll be excited to see anything you snap from the parade though! I've heard seeing it twice is definitely the way to go and now I see why! It looks awesome!

Absolutely! My list is still open for business and I'll take ideas right up until I take off. Let me know what you would like to see from the parade. I saw the video a couple of weeks ago too and am very excited to be seeing it in person!

 

[emilyindisney]

Absolutely! My list is still open for business and I'll take ideas right up until I take off. Let me know what you would like to see from the parade. I saw the video a couple of weeks ago too and am very excited to be seeing it in person!

I'd love to see some shots of any of the special walking groups in the parade. I love the HM grave diggers the most, but I'd love to see the pirate color guard, the ghost dancers or the cow-folk if that's who your camera lens fancies!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I'd love to see some shots of any of the special walking groups in the parade. I love the HM grave diggers the most, but I'd love to see the pirate color guard, the ghost dancers or the cow-folk if that's who your camera lens fancies!

I would love to get some good pictures of all of them too! I'll add to the list. I think my favorites are the ghost dancers. It's probably because they look like zombies.

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Dave. I hope your photo shoot turns out great with the family today!

I hope you didn't jinx yourself with being able to take in a movie without getting called.

Enjoy your weekend!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Hi Dave. I hope your photo shoot turns out great with the family today!

I hope you didn't jinx yourself with being able to take in a movie without getting called.

Enjoy your weekend!

Hi Brenda! The photo shoot went well! I started going through the pictures I took today and so far I'm happy with the results. Boy, that shoot was a little more challenging though compared to the last. They had three young boys so was nearly impossible to get them to stand still for more than a second. Very cute kids though. I should be able to post some of those pictures on FB later this week!

And yes, I did get to see Gravity on Friday night without getting a single page from the hospital! Pretty good movie too!

 

[momabbate]

Hi Dave (hope its ok to call you Dave), I'm Sandy. I normal catch up on reports before commenting but, your pictures on your first post are amazing. I can't wait to see more. I have seen you around other reports and am so glad I finally decided to start reading one of yours. Will get back with you with comments and questions later I'm sure. I'm so excited to have started your PTR, but I have to leave for work.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Hi Dave (hope its ok to call you Dave), I'm Sandy. I normal catch up on reports before commenting but, your pictures on your first post are amazing. I can't wait to see more. I have seen you around other reports and am so glad I finally decided to start reading one of yours. Will get back with you with comments and questions later I'm sure. I'm so excited to have started your PTR, but I have to leave for work.

Hi Sandy! So happy to have you on board! Absolutely you can call me Dave And thank you for the kind words about the pictures!

If you have any ideas or suggestions for my photo safari list, please let me know!

 

[emmysmommy]

Dave, glad to see you handled the shoot like a "pro"!!! Seriously, 3 boys is quite a test there!

Glad you made it through the movie without interruption. That movie looks fascinating. Gotta put it on the list when I have a few hours I'm willing to spend away from the Disboards!!

have a great day!

 

[chattadisser]

Glad to hear that the photo shoot went well on Sunday. Whew..3 boys would be challenging at anytime but especially when you are trying to get everyone to look the same direction! That is a skill tester.

Glad you got to see the movie without being disturbed...I know with work and kids, it's probably been a long time since that has happened.

Christine

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Glad to hear that the photo shoot went well on Sunday. Whew..3 boys would be challenging at anytime but especially when you are trying to get everyone to look the same direction! That is a skill tester.

Glad you got to see the movie without being disturbed...I know with work and kids, it's probably been a long time since that has happened.

Christine

Hi Christine! Yeah the three boys were fun. The older two were running around all over the place trying to find a good spot for pictures. They were very cute about it. I posted some the pictures on my Facebook page if you want to take a look on how they turned out.

I definitely savor the opportunity to go see a movie in the theater! Doesn't happen as often

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Dave, glad to see you handled the shoot like a "pro"!!! Seriously, 3 boys is quite a test there!

Glad you made it through the movie without interruption. That movie looks fascinating. Gotta put it on the list when I have a few hours I'm willing to spend away from the Disboards!!

have a great day!

The movie was very entertaining. And considering I'm not a huge Sandra Bullock fan, that says a lot.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

What do ya know......only 16 days left!!

The days have been going by faster than usual thanks to work. I got one more week of high volume work left and then I get to cruise into the conference weekend! It just hasn't sunken in yet how close I am to the trip. I think all my planning is pretty much done at this point. In fact, I've been spending a lot of time this past week planning our family's January trip which may be why the October trip took a temporary backseat in my mind. Discounts came out for January on Tuesday so I applied a 35% room discount to our existing ressies.

This weekend we are heading down to Williamsburg for DS' birthday trip. The little guy is turning 4 in less than two weeks. This was the only weekend of the month that both DW and I had time off from our work so we decided to do something fun as family.

Tomorrow night, we'll take the two and a half hour drive down and check into one of Colonial Williamsburg's hotels. My hope was that I could take some family portraits of our own in the morning along the streets and alleys of Colonial Williamsburg. Was also hoping to snag a carriage ride which I know the kids would get a kick out of. But it looks like the forecast is rain so not sure how much outdoor activity we'll be able to do at CW. After eating at one of their taverns, we'll then head over to Great Wolf Lodge (water park hotel) and spend Saturday night there. For the kids, this is the highlight of the weekend. After lots and lots of playing in the water, we'll be driving back home on Sunday evening.