Ugh! The show-boating...I don't really have a team that I follow so I dunno about that. Tracey was a Dallas fan for a long time but hasn't been so interested in them since Jimmy Johnson left. In fact, just tonight he gave me official permission to ditch his old Dallas Cowboys ornament. Gasp! I *might* have called myself a Dallas fan back when Aikman was on the team. I mean, c'mon, who wouldn't be a fan of that backside?! Romo just doesn't cut it. He's too much of a pretty-boy for my taste. Blech! Either way, I imagine if that were one of my sons show-boating into the endzone and positive outcome or not they'd be in hot water with me: 1. Sportsmanship and graciousness 2. Counting those chickens before they hatch. I'm a mean mommy. I know.
I was thinking that perhaps Brett was at a disadvantage with regards to the timing. He was totally the under-dog from the get-go. Hey! Kudos to him for even going. Knowing how long & insane those TSMM FP lines get, I can't say that I would've gone. I probably would've told everyone we'd suffer it out in standby or not go at all. LOL!
I have a nephew who does the sag thing. Well, unless he comes into my house. You can watch him when he walks thru the door. He'll pull his pants up & tighten his belt. If he doesn't, Uncle Tracey will pants him them treat him to a mega-wedgy!
The Christmas trees. Oh yes! My mother-in-law had a cool idea that I liked. She draped Mardi Gras beads all over the kids' tree in her den at her house. Your mom's leis made me think of that. Oh! And someday when y'all have kids you'll need a family tree to fill with the various ornaments they'll make at school. Those are my favorites. Our tree nowadays is full of whatever mish-mash of ornaments that we've collected over the years. We buy ornaments on trips, stuff that the kids have made, that relatives have made, personalized Disney ornaments for almost all of our trips, ornaments my mom made when I was a baby, some that came from Tracey's parents, etc. Decorating/undecorating is like this huge stroll down memory lane. I love it!
The camera strap! OMG! Y'all made that?! You must give me a basic idea of what you used to do this. Did you start with all the pieces & parts or did you take a plain, quality strap & sew the ribbon over? There's tons of great Disney ribbons out there. I bet I could do this! I'd also like to use the same idea to make Riley some new collars & leashes. Ooooh...you got my mind spinning....
Imagine that fantastic toy tree outside Once Upon a Toy at Downtown Disney without all the board games and other toys underneath it. That would ruin that tree! I want to see presents under Epcot's tree again. I really, really do.
OMG! Yes! The Japanese get into the characters so much more. I loooove Daisy's outfits! I love all the different outfits they do on the characters over there. You don't even have to go to Tokyo Disney to soak up the awesomeness either. I'm reading a TR from TDL right now where the girl went to Kiddieland in Harajuku and they have this killer line of Minnie Mouse plushes called "Minnie Couture". There's a kick-butt one on eBay right now with an extra outfit for the bargain price of $125 + shipping. Ugh! Why doesn't WDW do anything this awesome?!?! I've never been as fascinated with Japanese culture as I am right now. In reading up on TDL I'm learning how conscientous the people are. Like they wear face masks over their mouths/noses if they go into the public when they're sick so they don't spread their germs. It's little things that clues you into how different and AMAZING the little cultural differences are. I'm ready to go! Now to just save that kinda money up..... LOL!
Yeah, we aren't Dallas fans around here. In fact, Brett's love of the Eagles was born out of his hatred for the Cowboys (his dad's favorite team). :lol:
A mardi gras style tree sounds like a lot of fun, too. There are just so many different options when you think about it. Pulling the plush out each year is a bit like taking a trip down memory lane, seeing as how we try to associate the plush purchase with the trip as much as possible.
I'm with you on the Downtown Disney tree... I LOVE that tree, it's one of my favorites. And you're right, it would really be lacking if they removed all the board games.
For the camera strap, we started with all the pieces and parts (most can be found at your local craft store). Basically, we took a camera strap we had, studied it, and then recreated it. I like your idea of using a legitimate strap and adding a ribbon to it, that sounds like it would work too, and be much quicker.
Yeah, I'd love to plan a trip to Tokyo. Derek went last year and brought me a killer pair of Chip and Dale socks. Seriously, one sock is Chip and the other is Dale. And being a huge fan of Stitch, I would be sooo excited to see the parks when he takes over, turning it into Stitch Kingdom. Could you imagine the revolt we'd have on our hands over here if that happened?! :ROFLOL:
I do like having multiple lenses in the cruise room! It's so convenient!! I hear you abou the dinner table though. It's always in my lap, on the table, etc. Never feels safe!
I'm very impressed with your flash work. I have really got to get used to mine. I've had more luck with it lately, so I need to keep playing!
I love the smoldering picture by the way! Awesome!
Thanks, Tammy. But don't be too impressed with my flash work, seeing as there are multiple photos that I won't be posting because I couldn't get it right. I really do need to practice outside of Disney. Ughhh, it's like my camera gear ends up in a closet between trips. It's time to change that.
The CM took two quick pictures back to back of us with Flynn and Rapunzel and I prefer the second one because Brett is totally laughing and Flynn is still smoldering away.
Agree with you about Duffy. We actually didn't even meet him on our trip (a rarity, as we normally stop for ANY characters we have never met. I think it would have been more appealing to us if it weren’t so over-hyped and marketed. I was actually a little surprised when I purchased a Big Fig this year from 2005/2006 that had Duffy in it (in Santa Mickey’s bag). I knew he had been popular in Tokyo for some time, but I didn’t think it was that long. Just the same, we probably should have met him!
I laughed at the botox comment. I got some character close-ups from CoP with the 70-200 and their faces, especially Grandma’s, look SCARY. I would post them here, but this is a family site.
Your shots of Kidani make it look really nice, but we’re reluctant to stay there due to its proximity to the main parks (AK isn’t our favorite). Since we presently rely on Disney transportation, I don’t know if we could handle that. We’ll probably save AKV until we start renting a car.
The portraits of/by you at the Osborne Lights are great. I assume those are with the 50mm? We tried to have a friend take similar photos of us, but I opted to have him use the 70-200 because it produces nicer bokeh. Unfortunately, it weighs a lot, and is hard to hold steady, so few of the shots turned out. Next time we’ll just go with the 50.
The lighting looks good on a lot of these. I’m hardly a master of lighting, myself, so take this with a grain of salt, but if you’re having problems with shadows when bouncing the flash, try using a diffuser instead OR bouncing behind you (if possible).
A diffuser is also great for photos outdoors. I bought a cheap Hong Kong one off eBay for $.99 shipped before our honeymoon (
http://cgi.ebay.com/Bounce-Flash-Di...=Camera_Flash_Accessories&hash=item33641d35e1 - example of what it looks like; I’m sure the Canon ones are similarly priced), but I used it so much in December that I’m considering getting this Gary Fong knock-off:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?sduid=344348&t=2553905 Whatever you do, I wouldn’t get the real Fong diffuser, as it’s like $60. You might even start with the $.99 to see if it’s something you would use.
Funny that you two skipped him... our hope was that if we went ahead and met him, maybe he'd be gone before our next trip. Yeah, right! I, too, am really surprised that Duffy was in a Big Fig from that long ago. I vaguely recall the parks trying to push the "official Disney teddy bear" a couple years back, and it didn't sell well. So I think that encouraged them to hit even harder with Duffy. The storybook pages set up in his queue were annoying at best. I guess I just think the back story seems so forced. C'mon, a picture of Jasmine holding Duffy? I don't think so!
I can only imagine what the CoP characters would look like with that kinda lens. For some reason (maybe the lighting in that last scene), Patricia is looking really rough.
You two aren't huge fans of the AK? Never would've guessed it! :lol: I may be flamed for saying it, but if they were my points (or dollars) I wouldn't spend the extra on a savannah view. I don't think it was truly worth it. Yes, it was cool and all, but I can have just as much fun people watching with a pool view room. I can understand how location plays a major role in keeping folks away from AKL when they're reliant on Disney transportation alone. Don't rent a car unless you're prepared to do it on EVERY subsequent trip. I think it would be incredibly hard to go back after getting used to the freedom it provides.
Thanks for the kind words on my flash shots. Poor Brett, I subjected him to multiple takes before I found some settings I liked. I'm sure it comes with practice, but I don't know how people just "know" what works without a few test runs. Yes they were with the cheap-o 50 1.8. Speaking of, I'm looking for a nice prime that's a bit wider for the crop sensor. Do you know anything about the Sigma 30?
Thanks for the tip on the diffuser. Amazon has one I think I'm going to grab for like $6. I never thought about bouncing it behind me; would that not put my shadow in the frame somehow?
I appreciate all the advice!
Ugh!!! I so did not want to leave AKL!!
We're heading back the end of August into Sept, and I definitely plan to enjoy afternoons at the pool as much as I can!
I'm such a scatter brain these days! I know you got engaged and all that fun stuff. But who knows how I missed the details on the March Wedding :shrug:!!! Can't wait to hear all about that! It's coming up fast!
Man, it looks like it was colder then the week we were there, none of the foliage was covered when we were there yet!
How do you like Tony's? Thinking of trying it in August, but reviews alway seem to be poor.
March really is coming up FAST! I'm running out of weekends to get the little things accomplished. I don't know how anyone plans and executes a huge wedding.
It was nice the day we arrived (Sunday) and then when that rain came in it brought the cold air. On our last day the topiaries had been freed of their blankets, and it started to warm up.
I know Tony's has a relatively bad rap, but I like it. Brett and I ate there on our very first trip and have always enjoyed the ambiance. We were seated on the porch one evening and the parade was coming through so it was perfect. The food has always been good, but it won't blow you away. The portion sizes are huge though, so splitting meals there is definitely possible.
On dining and the ticketed parties...
I kind of agree with you. We have done MNSSHP and MVMCP and only stick to counter service because there is so much we want to see and do. If we have table service it's before we heard to the park. Case in point, we had dinner at Chef Mickey's back in '07 before hopping the monorail to the MK for the party.
When we were there in Oct we tried to get into Tony's without an ADR and were denied. It was my first attempt at a walk-up in years so I wasn't surprised when they didn't have any tables. Did I mention this was also a Saturday night when the MK was open til midnight? Yeah...not too smart on my part. I still want to try Tony's one day, I'll just plan it a little bit better.
Yeah, the last time we decided at the last minute to buy party tickets and go to MVMCP, we cancelled our table service for the night and grabbed a bite at Cosmic Rays before the party truly started. There's not enough time to soak up the party atmosphere anyway, so I don't want to spend it in a restaurant.
Tony's is always packed, which probably has a lot to do with the lack of table service at the MK. Hopefully you'll have better luck next time.
Another great trip report. How exciting buying wedding ears! Can't wait to read that report and see those photos
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Thanks, Lisa! I absolutely can't wait to wear the ears. In fact, finding a top hat is on my wedding to-do list.
loving your trip report holly! and your title is HILARIOUS! it really was freezing that whole week we were there. until, friday of course, when we finally had some nice weather. the whole week temperatures were in the 30s and then friday its 70 and that is our departure day. go figure. :lol:
i loved your ninja attire! i was also a ninja many days of the trip with my black scarf, black gloves and black coat.
your room at kidani looks beautiful! i really need to stay at the akl and get the full experience of the resort. we just visited for dinner at jiko and i thought the main lobby and hallways were just really dark and didn't seem as cool as i thought it would be. it was probably because it was getting dark outside, but still :lol: i just expected more. but the pictures of your room look amazing and have rekindled my desire to stay there!
i also feel your pain about wearing the same thing almost every day. in all of my pictures i was wearing the same coat. every chance i got, i tried to take off the coat for pictures. i also packed 4 different scarfs for a little variety. :lol:
and i love your fingerless gloves!! the whole trip i kept saying that i wish i had some fingerless gloves so i could use my itouch and so i could grab our fastpasses out of my purse a little easier.
your christmas tree is so cute! what a great idea!
can't wait to read more of your trip report! and i am very excited about your pre-wedding trip report!! all this wedding planning has been so overwhelming so i am excited to hear what all you have planned and if you found it as stressful as i currently am!
Thanks, Ashley! You are so right about Friday... the weather was totally mocking all of us as we were packing our bags and leaving property. Booooo.
I noticed your ninja comment as well with the picture of your scarf around your face. You appeared to be a much more legitimate ninja than I!
I think a common complaint about the AKL (other than location) is that it always feels so dark. And at night, it does. But I think that just adds to the ambiance. It's one of the few resorts on property that makes me feel like I've been truly transported to another place entirely.
Yeah I was so sick of my black fleece that by Day 4 I rebelled. :lol: It was supposed to be just a little bit warmer so I took a chance on a different coat, one that wasn't quite as warm but had a completely different look. I was kicking myself in the morning, but in the end it worked out for me. Thanks for the compliment on the fingerless gloves.. you've gotta go out and get yourself a pair.
As for the wedding planning, it hasn't been too incredibly stressful because we're doing an intimate wedding with family only and the Escape package at Disney has it all planned out for you already... now dress shopping was another matter entirely. I was a stressed out panic stricken mess over that! Add to it that I was running out of time, and I was freaking out. But I ended up finding a dress I LOVE, so it all worked out! In fact I did so much dress shopping that I ended up near your neck of the woods at that outlet in Burlington. Let me know if you plan on going there... that place was a trip!
