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

[Luvchefmic]

Thanks for the Welcome Dave & thanks about my Tramp picture It made me happy to stumble across this early one morning

Forget Tink's Nook, your trip to Seoul is what is going to fascinate me I cannot wait to see those pictures I have never been out of the USA and never will be because we chose a life of animal rescue a long time ago Since that part of our life is behind us we still share our life with a horse and 7 dogs so we are pretty much in a day trip world

A dear friend of mine here on the Dis lives in Australia and takes beautiful touring pictures of her world travels and her country I will live and tour through her eyss and yours ( and I would share those pineapple pancakes anytime LOVE my DisMeets ! Have a few I'm participating in this July through Oct so EXCITED haven't seen my Aussie friend since our first DisMeet 3 yrs ago ! This time the DHs will be there too !)

Ruthie

 

[SAT887]

First, the hotel registrations for the conference opens up tomorrow!! Unfortunately, they didn't specify a time when it opens so I will be staying up until midnight tonight to see if it's available as soon as it becomes June 3rd! If not, I'll be up at 6am trying again. Yup, Disney ADR system has taught me well.

We just returned home after spending a night at Great Wolf Lodge (waterpark hotel) in Williamsburg. The kids really wanted to go swimming this weekend and I agreed with their idea since we were in the 90s this weekend. All we did the past 24 hours: swim, eat, swim, sleep, eat, swim! They had a blast. I decided to put off this year's visit to Colonial Williamsburg until the fall when it gets much cooler. We tried touring Colonial Williamsburg in the summer heat last year and it was just brutal. I can't wait to see what the colonial town looks in fall colors.

Finally, as hinted by emmysmommy, our family has a BIG trip planned for the summer. We will be visiting Seoul and a couple of other locations in South Korea! This is mostly to visit my parents but rest assured that we'll be doing a ton of tourist activities and I will be documenting all of this on my camera. Planning has been very stressful especially since it will be a first time visit to Korea for DW, DD, DS, and DFIL. Yup, my parents invited DFIL as well. Also worried about how the rest of my family's stomachs will adapt to the food available. And to makes things a little more challenging, I decided to take a couple of side trips from Seoul including the ancient capital of a dynasty from 2000 years ago (Geoyungju) and a volcanic island at the southern tip of Korea (Jeju). All of that if we survive the 14 hour flight from DC to Seoul with the kids. Anyway, I'm sure everyone will have a great time once it's said and done and I hope to have some great photos to share with you as part of mini-TR I will post here!

My weekend trip to Chicago at the end of summer seems like a piece of cake compared to this.

Good luck with your hotel registrations!

The Great Wolf Lodge looks like fun, we are debating stopping at one in the Poconos as a potential overnight stay if our ride home from NC is too much, or we hit a ton of traffic in the DC area. I want to go to Colonial Williamsburg, it looks great, and fall should be a great time to visit! I love the fall, it's actually one of the reasons we moved to New England

I can't wait to see pictures from Seoul and secretly I am hoping your TR from then isn't very "mini" it's great to take your family to Seoul. To see family, history (the US is so young...) it will be amazing!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Forget Tink's Nook, your trip to Seoul is what is going to fascinate me I cannot wait to see those pictures I have never been out of the USA and never will be because we chose a life of animal rescue a long time ago Since that part of our life is behind us we still share our life with a horse and 7 dogs so we are pretty much in a day trip world

A dear friend of mine here on the Dis lives in Australia and takes beautiful touring pictures of her world travels and her country I will live and tour through her eyss and yours ( and I would share those pineapple pancakes anytime LOVE my DisMeets ! Have a few I'm participating in this July through Oct so EXCITED haven't seen my Aussie friend since our first DisMeet 3 yrs ago ! This time the DHs will be there too !)

Ruthie

I just realized you live close to WDW! I'm all for DISmeets - we can touch base once we get closer to the trip and see how our schedules line up!

Good luck with your hotel registrations!

The Great Wolf Lodge looks like fun, we are debating stopping at one in the Poconos as a potential overnight stay if our ride home from NC is too much, or we hit a ton of traffic in the DC area. I want to go to Colonial Williamsburg, it looks great, and fall should be a great time to visit! I love the fall, it's actually one of the reasons we moved to New England

I can't wait to see pictures from Seoul and secretly I am hoping your TR from then isn't very "mini" it's great to take your family to Seoul. To see family, history (the US is so young...) it will be amazing!

We've been to Great Wolf Lodge 3 times and each time I always have to check myself to make sure I'm not walking in with Disney-sized expectations as far as customer service and the ammenities that they offer. Once I do that, our trip is fine. But it can get very crowded both in the hotel and in the water park areas. A lot of tubes and people bumping into each other in the wave pool and the lazy river. The kids don't mind it though and always have a blast which is why we end up going.

Not to worry - I'm pretty sure it will not be a "mini" TR once it's all said and done.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

This morning, I was able to book my room at Beach Club Resort for the 4 nights I will be there! The discounted rate for the room will be $189/night!! They didn't give me any options as far as choosing the type of views for the room so it will be interesting to see what will happen when I check in - is there a possibility I could luck out and land in a waterview room? Regardless of the view, I'm ecstatic about the cheap rates and having the ressie locked in!

 

[SAT887]

This morning, I was able to book my room at Beach Club Resort for the 4 nights I will be there! The discounted rate for the room will be $189/night!! They didn't give me any options as far as choosing the type of views for the room so it will be interesting to see what will happen when I check in - is there a possibility I could luck out and land in a waterview room? Regardless of the view, I'm ecstatic about the cheap rates and having the ressie locked in!

The Beach Club?! Yaaaaay! That's awesome

 

[afwdwfan]

Congrats on getting booked!

I'm sure it is like just about any conference anywhere. All the rooms are the same price and they just randomly assign the different views, but maybe you'll be lucky!

 

[ashleyrm]

Can't wait to see your photos from this upcoming trip AND I will be at WDW at the same time, so may get lucky enough to run into you!

 

[ashleyrm]

This morning, I was able to book my room at Beach Club Resort for the 4 nights I will be there! The discounted rate for the room will be $189/night!! They didn't give me any options as far as choosing the type of views for the room so it will be interesting to see what will happen when I check in - is there a possibility I could luck out and land in a waterview room? Regardless of the view, I'm ecstatic about the cheap rates and having the ressie locked in!

Wow! That is such a great rate. And really hard to get BC discounts during Food & Wine festival. Wish I was going to your conference!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

The Beach Club?! Yaaaaay! That's awesome

So excited!

I'm sure it is like just about any conference anywhere. All the rooms are the same price and they just randomly assign the different views, but maybe you'll be lucky!

Yup, I'm hoping for some Pixie Dust!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Can't wait to see your photos from this upcoming trip AND I will be at WDW at the same time, so may get lucky enough to run into you!

What dates are you going to be at Disney? Maybe if our plans and schedule line up, we can arrange a DISmeet?

Wow! That is such a great rate. And really hard to get BC discounts during Food & Wine festival. Wish I was going to your conference!

Even when I factor in the registration fee for the conference, I still come ahead with a good discount so I'm more than happy about it!

 

[Luvchefmic]

Congratulations on the Beach Club Dave ! and YES to a meet, our schedules will work because I work nights (not far at all) so any day I'm usually available I am so happy you got that resort & wonderful rate

Ruthie

 

[teekathepony]

Hooray for beach club! Congrats on getting it all booked!
What a great sounding trip to Seoul, I would love to see pictures from that trip if you're sharing!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[afwdwfan]

I just randomly thought of something else for the photo safari when I was listening to a WDW Today podcast this morning. This one is probably a little bit more on the obvious side and something I'm asking for pictures of for selfish reasons.

Pictures of the 7 Dwarfs mine train construction. Who knows, by the time you get there, it might be almost ready to roll!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Congratulations on the Beach Club Dave ! and YES to a meet, our schedules will work because I work nights (not far at all) so any day I'm usually available I am so happy you got that resort & wonderful rate

Ruthie

Thanks! I'll touch base with you again once we get closer to the date about our meet.

Hooray for beach club! Congrats on getting it all booked!
What a great sounding trip to Seoul, I would love to see pictures from that trip if you're sharing!

Thank you! Just got my new 5 memory cards from Amazon in addition to the two I already have. So that gives me about 6000 pictures (I shoot in RAW+JPEG mode) - that should be enough, right?

I just randomly thought of something else for the photo safari when I was listening to a WDW Today podcast this morning. This one is probably a little bit more on the obvious side and something I'm asking for pictures of for selfish reasons.

Pictures of the 7 Dwarfs mine train construction. Who knows, by the time you get there, it might be almost ready to roll!

Absolutely! I will add that to the list.

I've been secretly hoping that the construction runs ahead of schedule and maybe it would be in soft opening mode for October but I think that's looking less and less likely. The first set of trees went up last week though!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I can't believe we're already at 32!! Thanks to everyone for your ideas so far and I hope to hear some more great suggestions! I could especially use some help for DHS and Epcot items as I keep coming up with AK and MK ones in my head.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Launch

Nope, I'm still not planning on taking any pictures while on board the RnRC. I love my camera and lens too much. This is my favorite coaster ride at Disney. Sure, it lacks some of the nostalgic elements of Space Mountain or Big Thunder but more than makes up for it with its twists and spins. And that launch at the beginning The acting in the studio set up is a bit awkward though.

What I am thinking about is capturing one of those launches while in line at the queue. If I remember correctly, after leaving the studio we get to walk by the side of the track where the limo coaster waits after loading followed by a countdown, a green light, and a high speed blast off. I think it will be a cool look to take the picture right at the launch. I think there are chain linked fencing that may potentially get in the way but I think if I use my telezoom lens or if I really press the lens up against the fence, I should be able to get a decent look through the fence.

 

[abbybeth]

Very happy that you found my PTR and thanks for joining in!! Love your suggestions! I saw the pictures of the stained glass on your PTR and was thinking I should try to find it myself since I've never seen it in person.

I'm also excited about visiting one of the most beautiful restrooms every built! Will absolutely look for the lanterns!

I've seen the gravediggers in some of the pictures on here and can't wait to meet them in person!

I'm glad you added that Lilian Gracey was the tightrope girl because I have very little knowledge of the names and faces of HM even though I absolutely love this attraction, so I would have struggled finding out who she was!

If you think of any more, please keep posting them! In the mean time, I will be waiting by your PTR to find out what your costumes for MNSSHP will be!

There will be two places that feature the "stained glass" from the movie. One is the mosaic from the Be Our Guest restaurant and the other is actual glass windows tucked away in France by the perfume shop. There is a little nook there that has an open story book of Beauty & the Beast, and I think a rose along with the glass - very pretty and sort of a hidden treasure of sorts!

Each of the stretching portraits have names, though each have gone through their own style and story evolutions over time so there are some conflicting reports.
Tighrope Girl, aka Alligator Girl: sometimes thought to be Lilian Gracey, wife of Master Gracey
Widow on a Tombstone: Abigail Patecleaver, though some believe her to actually be The Bride (Constance)
Man on a Dynamite Keg: Alexander Nitrokoff
Quicksand Men: Not sure of their names ....

I love digging into Haunted Mansion lore!

Edited to add: You'll love Raglan Road - that is one of my absolute favorite restaurants and I'm really looking forward to hearing about your trip to Korea!

 

[emilyindisney]

So pumped you locked in BC! Hopefully you'll get a great view but either way- what a deal!

To specify my SAB photo safari request, how about the Stormalong Bay pirate ship at night? I always love the shots with the lights shining off of the pool water.

 

[teekathepony]

The only thing I can think of for your Photo Safari is the statues in MK around the hub, I love those little guys and always wanted to try to get a different angle on them. So far I'm drawing a blank and always get them mainly front on!
LOVE the RnR launch idea! One I've been meaning to try myself. I tried it last year with my point and shoot... no dice.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

There will be two places that feature the "stained glass" from the movie. One is the mosaic from the Be Our Guest restaurant and the other is actual glass windows tucked away in France by the perfume shop. There is a little nook there that has an open story book of Beauty & the Beast, and I think a rose along with the glass - very pretty and sort of a hidden treasure of sorts!

Each of the stretching portraits have names, though each have gone through their own style and story evolutions over time so there are some conflicting reports.
Tighrope Girl, aka Alligator Girl: sometimes thought to be Lilian Gracey, wife of Master Gracey
Widow on a Tombstone: Abigail Patecleaver, though some believe her to actually be The Bride (Constance)
Man on a Dynamite Keg: Alexander Nitrokoff
Quicksand Men: Not sure of their names ....

I love digging into Haunted Mansion lore!

Edited to add: You'll love Raglan Road - that is one of my absolute favorite restaurants and I'm really looking forward to hearing about your trip to Korea!

The more you describe the Beauty and the Beast set up by the perfume shop, the more I'm eager to get a look for myself!

And I LOVE all of the stories surrounding the Haunted Mansion! Well, not the Eddie Murphy movie but everything else. I've been trying to get some good back story on the Bride but have not been successful in getting all of the details. What do you like to use for your references when it comes to HM?

So pumped you locked in BC! Hopefully you'll get a great view but either way- what a deal!

To specify my SAB photo safari request, how about the Stormalong Bay pirate ship at night? I always love the shots with the lights shining off of the pool water.

Fantastic idea! I have an angle in mind and a night time shot will make it even better I think! I can try to get that shot on my way back from DHS at night after the private event.

The only thing I can think of for your Photo Safari is the statues in MK around the hub, I love those little guys and always wanted to try to get a different angle on them. So far I'm drawing a blank and always get them mainly front on!
LOVE the RnR launch idea! One I've been meaning to try myself. I tried it last year with my point and shoot... no dice.

Thanks for the statues around the hub idea! I've seen individual photos of each character but didn't know where they were actually located in MK until you pointed them out and prompted me to do a google search. So, as best as Google can tell me there are eight character statues surrounding the Hub and Partners Statue. They are: Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Chip and Dale, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Goofy, and Br'er Rabbit. Adding them to the list!

As for the RnRC photo, if I could have my way I would set up a tripod but we know that's not going to fly. So, in some way having the chain linked fence there may actually be a good thing since I have something to brace my camera against so that I can go for a longer shutter time.

 

[abbybeth]

The more you describe the Beauty and the Beast set up by the perfume shop, the more I'm eager to get a look for myself!

And I LOVE all of the stories surrounding the Haunted Mansion! Well, not the Eddie Murphy movie but everything else. I've been trying to get some good back story on the Bride but have not been successful in getting all of the details. What do you like to use for your references when it comes to HM?

Here are my less than stellar pictures ...





And here's the outside:




I've found this blog to be excellent at delving in to tons of details for HM:
http://longforgottenhauntedmansion.blogspot.com/

He did a series of looking at the evolution in the styles and portrayals of the stretching portraits that was just fascinating! He has also delved quite a bit into Constance as well.

This one also has lots of great info:
http://www.doombuggies.com/