Friday, December 28, 2007
Friday, September 07, 2007
Day 4 - Animal Kingdom
This is the layout for Day Four of our 2007 trip, which was Animal Kingdom day. The left side includes Asia and pics from Donald's Breakfastosaurus. The right side has pics from Africa and some nighttime pics which was a first for us and a total treat!
Everything takes on a new dimension at night. The Tree of Life and Mount Everest in lights are breathtaking in a totally different way than they are during the daytime.
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Everything takes on a new dimension at night. The Tree of Life and Mount Everest in lights are breathtaking in a totally different way than they are during the daytime.
Credits: Faith True's Zoo Make Me Happy, Jenn T's Rainforest ,and frames from Katie Pertiet and Miss Mint's Foxy Lady.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Four Parks Layout
Background paper is Jessica Sprague. Elements are Ocean View by Misty Cato. Disney Simple Font.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Another layout from Animal Kingdom
Okay, this is too much fun. Today's layout is from Animal Kingdom circa 2006. I couldn't resist using this photo because, well, it was taken in Asia. Well, Asia is in Animal Kingdom, right?
The kit was a freebie entitled "Echoes of Asia" by Jessica Sprague. I downloaded it months ago and never did anything with it until now. Fonts are 1942 Report and Tempus Sans. The text reads:
The kit was a freebie entitled "Echoes of Asia" by Jessica Sprague. I downloaded it months ago and never did anything with it until now. Fonts are 1942 Report and Tempus Sans. The text reads:
"You and I waited for the others to ride Expedition Everest a second time. You rode it once and I guess that was enough for you. You decided that posing for the camera was much more fun than a second encounter with a Yeti. You always know what you
want and express yourself so well."
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Welcome to Digital
Everything is going digital. About six years ago we went totally to digital images. It's amazing how many more photos we take now and how better the pictures are. I've finally taken the plunge into the realm of digital scrapbooking. I was hesitant at first, but I'm hooked on it now. I can't see me giving up conventional paper scrapbooking, but it's fun, quick, and less messy! The layout above is one of the first ones I've completed using Adobe Photoshop Elements.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Now & Then
After posting all of the photos taken at the same spots through the years, I was inspired to create a scrapbook just for these pictures. I had a Creative Memories 7 x 7 Mickey Mouse book that is a great size for a little theme album. I wanted a special title page, so I used one of my favorite title techniques -- mosaics. The color photo is "now" and the black and white is from 2003. I used the Mickey Fonts on the Cricut machine to create most of the titles. I also used rubber stamping and embossing on the page. It's hard to see, but there is a stamped and embossed pocket watch on the bottom right of the page next to the rightmost bracket. The pocket watch represents the passing of time and also reminds me of Main Street.
All of the "now" (2007) photos throughout the book will be in color and the "then" photos will be the different photos taken in the past. I hope it turns out like I envision.
All of the "now" (2007) photos throughout the book will be in color and the "then" photos will be the different photos taken in the past. I hope it turns out like I envision.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Day Four - Animal Kingdom
This is our picture that was taken while we waited for Donald's Breakfastosaurus. We didn't buy the package because Eddy's eyes were closed. Katie pleaded with us to buy the package and the CM gave Katie one 4x6. Never underestimate the power of Disney magic and a little girl's charm.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
A Different Shade of Green
I was just looking through pictures from this last trip and found a familiar pose - a shot taken in front of the jeep you pass after unloading from Kilimanjaro Safari. We don't do the safari every year, so we don't have pictures from each trip. However, it's neat to see how much the kids have grown since 2003 and it's also cool to see how Disney has changed. Notice how the jeep is a different shade of green now? It's the same jeep and those are my kids, they're just a lot bigger. That's just like life. Over time some things change, some things never change, and some things are just a different shade of green.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Looking Back at Disney-MGM Studios
We remembered to take our usual shots in Disney - MGM Studios this year. These are the fountain shots we've taken through the years:
2007
2006
2005
2003
Here are what we call the "crate photos" that we've somehow managed to take every year:
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2001
2007
2006
2005
2003
Here are what we call the "crate photos" that we've somehow managed to take every year:
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2001
Monday, March 26, 2007
Back from Another World
We got back Saturday night from another wonderful trip to Disney World. The weather was terrific. It was just beginning to get hot the day we left. We had several of these "perfect timing" moments this trip. It was the relaxing, slow paced trip we had envisioned. If you're reading this, I apologize for not blogging during the trip. I just couldn't stay up late at night to blog. Hopefully, I'll recreate the trip in pictures here in the coming weeks. That's part of the magic of a Disney trip. You spend months preparing for it and months afterwards reliving it. It gets you by until your next adventure.
Here are a few pics for now:
Here are a few pics for now:
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Day Five - World Showcase
We spent Thursday afternoon walking through the World Showcase at Epcot. There are a lot of good photo ops along the way.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Day One - Arrival and Magic Kingdom
We left home at 7:15 am on Sunday and arrived at the newest gate to Disney World after a little more than 8 hours on the road. We took the new Western Way exit off of 429. If you are driving straight to Disney, you no longer have to take I-4! It saved a bunch of time and was much more pleasant.
The new Western Way entrance is very nice and very few cars on the road, for now anyway. It's exit #8 off of 429; the
Hartzog - Western Way exit. The road dead ends into Buena Vista Drive which is one of the main roads near Pop Century and pretty much everything else. The neat thing is that when you are on 429, you can see the icons from the parks at different times. I think we saw the Epcot "ball", Cinderella's castle, Expedition Everest, and Space Mountain. Western Way takes you in on the back side of Animal Kingdom. Really neat and saves time.When we got to Pop, Katie got a magical moment certificate for bowling in the lobby after we checked in at the desk. We got a great room in the seventies on the fourth floor facing Hourglass Lake. The room was right next to the elevator and not too far from the food court, so it was very convenient.
We all changed clothes and headed for Magic Kingdom. It was Extra Magic Hour this night and the park would be open until 2 am. We didn't quite make it until 2 in the park. However, due to a problem with our room key, we didn't actually go to bed until around 2:30. Thankfully, we got the problem resolved with our key, which was giving us problems with our dining plan, too. We've never had that happen before, so hopefully it was a fluke and not a sign of things to come. It does appear that there were less cast members working this trip. The crowds were a little lighter than normal, but it was disproportionate with the number of employees. I will say that everything looked as clean as usual which is a good thing. Also, no rides broke down when we were there which I think is a first.
At Magic Kingdom, we let Jake stop at the VMK shop to pick up his quests after we watched most of SpectroMagic. We ate at Casey's which was the most unpleasant event of the trip. Fries didn't come on the dining plan meal. What? Also, the dining plan wasn't working on our cards. The staff at Casey's didn't do a very good job handling the situation. I've never encountered this before and I let a member of guest services know this later on. This was a first time experience for us, so do not be concerned if you've never been to Disney World.
Other things we did this night included Haunted Mansion, Mickey's PhilharMagic, Cinderella's Carousel, Snow White's Scary Adventures, Teacups, Laugh Floor Comedy Club, and Buzz Light Year. The Laugh Floor Comedy Club is new and really cute. It involves the characters from Monsters, Inc. and a lot of audience participation.
We stopped by the Main Street Bakery on our way out for a snack before leaving. We were exhausted from an eight hour drive and six hours of fun in Magic Kingdom. When we got back to the room, we finally got our dining plan and room keys fixed by a nice cast member from Puerto Rico. Eddy said he was too funny for 1:30 in the morning.
That was pretty much it for day one -- a day full of adventure. I'll add pictures to all of this as time permits.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Phone Calls from the World
You know only a true friend would send you photos from their cell phone when they are on vacation (because they know you love Disney as much as they do). Some friends of ours are at Disney this week. Below are photos they sent to me via cell phone. The photos really brightened up an otherwise terrible week -- my dog died and I'm in a major software conversion at work. Thank you, my friends. I love y'all! I hope you are having a wonderful time!
Friday, January 05, 2007
Been.there.done.that.going.back!
Yippee! The deposit has been made and I have the rough draft of our itinerary done. I really love the planning of a trip almost as much as the actual trip, you know the figuring out the best days for each park and where to eat, etc. However, this trip is going to be fairly low key and leisurely. I've even got a sleep-in day built in. We've learned that you really need some recovery time mid-week to give your feet a break.
This time we're going to do some new things, some of which are new to us like eating at Crystal Palace and Le Cellier, and some that are new to the parks like the new Laugh Floor Comedy Club in Tomorrowland that hopefully will be open when we are there. Of course, we will do some our favorites like Donald's Breakfastosaurus and Liberty Tree Tavern dinner. Also, on our must-do list is the refurbed Pirates of the Carribean, The Seas with Nemo and Friends which took the place of The Living Seas, and the new Finding Nemo - the Musical in Animal Kingdom. We're going to do the dining plan again this year and it looks like we might have only 2 or 3 meals (breakfast) to pay out of pocket. There's nothing better than going with it all pre-paid like this and knowing it saves you a ton of money to boot.
The neatest thing is that I found out how wonderful the Magic Your Way ticket is. Originally, we were going to go with just four days in the parks. Since I have to have two days in Magic Kingdom, Epcot was going to get the cut this time. I checked into adding a Park Hopper and it was going to cost $170 more for the benefit of going to MK half a day and Epcot the other half. I ran the numbers on adding a day or two to the base tickets and it was only TWENTY TWO dollars to add two days -- not per person, for all four of us! Six days for an extra $20 or adding hopping to four days at $172. Now that wasn't a hard decision to make. The extra two days will give us a first bit of magic in the Magic Kingdom on the night of arrival (it's Extra Magic Hour night, too!) and another evening in Magic Kingdom on our low-key day. Well worth twenty bucks, my friends! We will get a full day at all parks plus two extra half days at Magic Kingdom. No hopping needed!
This time we're going to do some new things, some of which are new to us like eating at Crystal Palace and Le Cellier, and some that are new to the parks like the new Laugh Floor Comedy Club in Tomorrowland that hopefully will be open when we are there. Of course, we will do some our favorites like Donald's Breakfastosaurus and Liberty Tree Tavern dinner. Also, on our must-do list is the refurbed Pirates of the Carribean, The Seas with Nemo and Friends which took the place of The Living Seas, and the new Finding Nemo - the Musical in Animal Kingdom. We're going to do the dining plan again this year and it looks like we might have only 2 or 3 meals (breakfast) to pay out of pocket. There's nothing better than going with it all pre-paid like this and knowing it saves you a ton of money to boot.
The neatest thing is that I found out how wonderful the Magic Your Way ticket is. Originally, we were going to go with just four days in the parks. Since I have to have two days in Magic Kingdom, Epcot was going to get the cut this time. I checked into adding a Park Hopper and it was going to cost $170 more for the benefit of going to MK half a day and Epcot the other half. I ran the numbers on adding a day or two to the base tickets and it was only TWENTY TWO dollars to add two days -- not per person, for all four of us! Six days for an extra $20 or adding hopping to four days at $172. Now that wasn't a hard decision to make. The extra two days will give us a first bit of magic in the Magic Kingdom on the night of arrival (it's Extra Magic Hour night, too!) and another evening in Magic Kingdom on our low-key day. Well worth twenty bucks, my friends! We will get a full day at all parks plus two extra half days at Magic Kingdom. No hopping needed!
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