WDWFigment's Photo Trip Novel Part II: October 2009 - Legends of the Fall

Cast:

Matt
Jeff
Joe
Don
Nick
Susan and Bill
Colleen and John
Sarah and Tom

(Each Person's name links to their Flickr page; John's name links to his trip report for the same period).

Preface:

Welcome to Tom & Sarah's Trip Novel, Part II. I have deemed this Part II rather than an independent trip report despite over a month passing between the two “Parts” because I fashion this trip report in the vein of the Godfather trilogy (minus the third part, which didn't work out too well for the Godfather, so we'll cut our “trilogy” short at two). Not so much in the mafia violence or because this trip report has Al Pacino, but because both have fairly decent camera work, and much like the Godfather Part II, some will speculate that this trip report surpasses its predecessor in quality (although perhaps not length). Now that I have lost half of the audience with an introduction that reads overly-egotistically (“who is this schmuck? Comparing his Disney trip report to a work of cinematic brilliance?!?!”), some gall, right?

Also worth noting is that this report report is thirty-two single spaced pages of text. I don't point this out because I want to warn you before you make the time commitment to read it, but because at this length, and given my schedule as a full time student, much of the report was written very hastily. I hope that its somewhat coherent and not rife with grammatical errors, stylistic faults, and misspelled words, but such may be the case.

Further, if you're interested in the photography here and would like EXIF data for the pictures, it can be found on the Flickr page for each image that is on Flickr (denoted by little watermarks that read “Bricker”). To access said data, click the picture, which will take you to Flickr. EXIF data can then be found by clicking the "More Properties" link in the lower right hand corner.

If you would like to read our previous trip reports, check out the following links:
August 2007 Trip Report
November 2007 Engagement Story
August 2008 Trip Report
November/December 2008 Trip Report
August 2009 Pre-Trip Report
August 2009 Photo Trip Novel

That said (boy, I really do know how to hook 'em into reading the report with all of these disclaimers and arrogant proclamations...), on with the show!

Chapter 1: The Three “P”s – Peer Pressure & Planning

This trip was born around the beginning of the year, when a couple of my Flickr contacts informed me of a photography oriented trip they would be taking in October with some other folks from Flickr (see above cast list for links to their photography). Initially, I declined, citing monetary costs and Sarah's class schedule as prohibitive. They persisted in pressuring us to take the trip, and eventually we agreed. I don't think it's ever really that tough to pressure a couple of Disney geeks into taking a trip to their favorite place.

The one thing that was tough, at least for me, was the idea of taking two trips in such close proximity to one another. The last two years, we've done trips in mid August, and then again in late November/early December. While I have always enjoyed the Winter trips for the Christmas decorations and atmosphere of the parks, I have felt that the anticipation for the trip can't grow enough in the three or so month break between trips. This is the same reason I would be hesitant to ever move to Florida. I think some of the luster would wear off.

This concern dissipated for me as we began planning in the weeks leading up to the trip, and thinking of all the fun we'd have for our first Fall/Halloween visit to Walt Disney World. Sarah, being a goth and Satanist, was particularly excited, as she loves Halloween (just kidding). Since I am no longer 6 years old, I don't go trick or treating, and I don't really see the appeal in the Halloween holiday. I guess making costumes is fun for me, but it's nothing to write home about. That said, when it comes to any holiday at Disney, I get enthused, and I shared Sarah's excitement for our Halloween trip.

Part of this preparation process included determining what we would be for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Normally, I make all of my costumes by hand, which generally means sewing for a while until my hands get tired, then trying to glue or staple the rest of the fabric together. The results are generally less-than-stellar. Last year I adopted this strategy and made a beer warrior costume out of old beer boxes I found. Figuring I might want a more high quality, and less crude, costume for MNSSHP, we started brainstorming in advance. We initially wanted something that said “Disney.” This was difficult for Sarah because many female costumes are a bit...overly revealing, to put it mildly, and difficult for me because all of the ideas I had were a bit too grandiose or impractical (I still don't understand why I can't make my own Sully costume!?). The costumes that weren't revealing or cost prohibitive just looked cheap or tacky.

We thus decided to make our own costumes. While browsing our Disney film library, Sarah had the perfect idea: I would be Mr. Smee and Sarah could be Peter Pan. Their costumes were simple and we could make quality versions ourselves. This idea faltered when, after searching for weeks on eBay, I discovered that there aren't men's shirts (at least that I could find) like Mr. Smee's. Moreover, all of the women's shirts like Mr. Smee's were a bit 'form fitting' and/or had fairly deep v-necks. I normally wear my shirts with a more tailored fit, but jeez, that would be pushing it too far.

Instead, after learning that Buzz Aldrin and some other astronauts would be at the Magic Kingdom on the day of the MNSSHP that we were attending, we decided to go as astronauts. We figured we could wear the costumes for the parade, and for Buzz Aldrin's book signing; an added bonus! The decision was helped by the fact that Sarah had access to an astronaut flight suit, so only I would have to find or make a costume. Even after we made this decision, I hesitated to buy my supplies, continually scouring the internet hoping that I could find a cheaper flightsuit. Finally, I had the realization that my supplies wouldn't arrive in time if I didn't order right away, so I started messaging sellers on eBay, asking how quickly they could ship the patches I needed. Ultimately, everything did arrive in time with the exception of a cool ISTC patch that would give my space suit an extra touch of “Disney”, but my heart was racing each day I checked the mail prior to our trip.

The trip was initially set for October 1st until October 4th, which would cause Sarah and I to miss two days of school. I am not all that wild about class, so I wasn't too concerned with this. In any case, my grades are based entirely on finals, and the month before those finals is the time when I do most of my work for the semester, so it wouldn't make too much of a difference if I missed a couple of classes. Still, it isn't encouraged for us to miss class to visit our favorite Disney Parks. The more we thought about it, the more we realized four days was not nearly enough time at WDW. So we decided to extend the trip by one day, until October 5th, after everyone else left. You're only young once, and we certainly won't be able to 'skip' work like this next year, so we might as well make the most of our forgivable irresponsibility.

Packing this time was a bit more sporadic and last minute. Of course, this resulted in us forgetting some essential items. Such as our Annual Passes and Disney's Magical Express luggage tags and tickets. However, don't worry, we remembered the absolute essentials: extra socks. I guess this will only fuel the fire for those nightmares I have in the weeks preceding our trips in which I forget to pack items for the trip (although usually these are photography-related). Luckily, and thanks to those many nightmares which have caused me to be extra cautious about packing my photo-gear, I didn't forget any of that. That might have made for one disappointing photography trip!

Since there are no major airports in the quaint college town of Valparaiso, Indiana, getting to Walt Disney World meant either taking the short train ride to Chicago or driving back to Indianapolis. Since our little hellion children, Walter and Yossarian, definitely could not be trusted to behave themselves alone at home for the weekend, we opted to fly out of Indianapolis, where their grandma could watch them, feed them, and take them outside when they needed to use the bathroom.

We left for Indianapolis Wednesday after class. If everything went according to plan, we would be in Indianapolis by 8 p.m., and in bed by 9 p.m.. Well, as they say, the best laid plans of mice, men, and Disney trip planners, often go awry. We got to Indy at 8:30 p.m., at which time I threw my orange space flightsuit in the wash to try to shrink it a bit. After it was done, I began attaching the patches with the iron. The first one went on without incident. As I was attaching the second, I noticed it wasn't sticking. Come to find out, the remaining three patches were not iron-on. I had no clue how to attach the remaining patches. Like me, Sarah is somewhat remedial when it comes to home economics, and she suggested I use nail glue. Well, that was a disaster. I didn't think to put a towel between the layers of the costume, so the glue seeped through, and I ended up with a glue spot on the other side of the costume. To add insult to injury, the nail glue didn't work. While I tried to remediate the issues, Sarah went to Wal-Mart to get the proper glue. Upon her return, I finished the costume, and we finally headed to bed at around 11:30 p.m..
 

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Still cant believe how awesome that Monorail photo is...God I hate you.

Yeah, I'm really proud of it. It doesn't rank up there with the SpectroMagic long exposure (to me at least), but I think it's really awesome. It's been extremely popular on Flickr, too, so I know it's not just me who likes it!

Another great TR... yes, I read every word of it! Besides for the amazing photography (that's a given), I also enjoy your writing style (although some of the photography lingo is way over my head). There were many times I was just going to skip over a paragraph (hey, I'm a busy mom in the middle of another move... excuses, excuses) but your writing pulled me in and I read every word (that's a sign of a good writer)!

Just a few notes from your TR... I stopped and enjoyed SSE's post show for the first time on my last trip and I had a lot of fun. Put it on your next "to do list"... you may like it too!

I love the Fountain of Nations! It's just not a trip to Disney unless I get to see it! We have a little tradition of our own... on arrival day we always head to Epcot and we end the evening by pausing by the fountain and waiting for a show to begin! This past trip the fountain must have been in a "mood" b/c there was no show. I was quite upset (some may think that's going too far but I like my fountain)! The next time I was at Epcot... still no show. On my final day in Epcot I was walking into the plaza and heard a show start... I actually yelled at my brother "there's a fountain show starting" and took off running. A couple next to me laughed out loud and said, "you must like the fountain"! Somewhere out there is a couple who thinks I'm the crazy fountain lady! :lookaroun

I'm glad you've come over to the dark side... that is the people who appreciate The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh! I think the ride is done extremely well and follows the storyline quite accurately. My children's favorite scene is the dream scene.

Anyways, great TR, a pleasure to read, and you and Sarah are as cute as ever!

Thanks for reading! We really want to try the SSE Postshow Games, so I don't know why we haven't stopped. I used to love the JII postshow games, so I know that this type of game can be worthwhile. We will have to stop next time.

The problem with Fountain of Nations is that it's always really hot when we're there, and we always only seem to see shows going in the morning. In that heat without shade, stopping for even a couple of minutes (which we usually do) is brutal. We are never in Future World in the evening, and it never normally runs (or at least we've never seen it run) after park closing.

I was surprised at how much we liked the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It's not only online sentiment, but also our memories that must've deceived us, as we've both ridden before, and neither of us remember it being anywhere near that good!
 

NewfieFan

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I'm really proud of it. It doesn't rank up there with the SpectroMagic long exposure (to me at least), but I think it's really awesome. It's been extremely popular on Flickr, too, so I know it's not just me who likes it!



Thanks for reading! We really want to try the SSE Postshow Games, so I don't know why we haven't stopped. I used to love the JII postshow games, so I know that this type of game can be worthwhile. We will have to stop next time.

The problem with Fountain of Nations is that it's always really hot when we're there, and we always only seem to see shows going in the morning. In that heat without shade, stopping for even a couple of minutes (which we usually do) is brutal. We are never in Future World in the evening, and it never normally runs (or at least we've never seen it run) after park closing.

I was surprised at how much we liked the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. It's not only online sentiment, but also our memories that must've deceived us, as we've both ridden before, and neither of us remember it being anywhere near that good!

Unless it's changed, the FON always ran after closing - that's when I would watch it! I can't stand out in the heat either (I'm a cold blooded Canadian and that would probably kill me)!

One of these days I'd love to meet up with you two! I don't think it will happen in the near future, though. My next two trips will probably be in early March and September. Someday...
 

Lisalyn

Well-Known Member
Wow

Awesome job Tom! I love the way you hit on every little detail of your trip from what you are feeling to what you are doing and want to do and how you feel about it! GREAT! You and Sarah have great takes on the parks and what is going on..and the photos...holy cow! I can't even begin to tell you how great a photographer you are!!! Glad you two had a wonderful trip.

Lisa

PS- My figment is doing WONDERFUL!!! :)
 

ILDisneyFan

Active Member
That was an excellent trip report and it brought back memories from when I went in October last year! My family and I went to MNSSHP twice! After only going to MVMCP once in November/December 2007 we decided that going to the parties twice would be a better way of being able to take it all in and enjoy it more! This totally got me excited for our upcoming trip, I can't wait to be back amongst all the magic at Christmas time! Afterall, it is my favorite time of year!
As far as the smells go, look for the Yankee Candle Fireside, I have found it is the closest to the smell of Rome burning. They also have a pine candle that I can't remember the name of right now that smells like the Christmas store at Downtown Disney!
I wish you the best of luck with everything you have coming up in the near future and can't wait to read to your next trip report!
Take Care!
:)
 

CoryonFire

New Member
Tom, after reading this entire trip report(yes I am that good of a friend, or perhaps just have more free time than I should), I can honestly say that I am more upset about not going on this trip than I was while you guys were actually there. So thanks a bunch :lookaroun . It really sounds like it was a magical time, and I only hope that everybody can get together again so that I can be there. WDW's 40th would be an amazing time for a large photography get together.
 

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Awesome job Tom! I love the way you hit on every little detail of your trip from what you are feeling to what you are doing and want to do and how you feel about it! GREAT! You and Sarah have great takes on the parks and what is going on..and the photos...holy cow! I can't even begin to tell you how great a photographer you are!!! Glad you two had a wonderful trip.

Lisa

PS- My figment is doing WONDERFUL!!! :)

Thanks for reading! You know, I was actually looking through today, and realized just how few creative pictures there are compared to pictures of Sarah and I. I usually try to strike a balance, and I think I failed there. I will try to add some supplemental pictures this week. I also think this report might be a little on the long side. It ended up being longer than our August trip report (and that trip was longer in duration).

That was an excellent trip report and it brought back memories from when I went in October last year! My family and I went to MNSSHP twice! After only going to MVMCP once in November/December 2007 we decided that going to the parties twice would be a better way of being able to take it all in and enjoy it more! This totally got me excited for our upcoming trip, I can't wait to be back amongst all the magic at Christmas time! Afterall, it is my favorite time of year!
As far as the smells go, look for the Yankee Candle Fireside, I have found it is the closest to the smell of Rome burning. They also have a pine candle that I can't remember the name of right now that smells like the Christmas store at Downtown Disney!
I wish you the best of luck with everything you have coming up in the near future and can't wait to read to your next trip report!
Take Care!:)

Good tip on the candles. Going twice, that is pretty enticing. I could honestly justify it more back before we got our APs, as then, we would buy 10 day no-expiration tickets for multiple trips, and use the days conservatively. Well, at $45 or so for a party ticket that allows entry from 4-12, that isn't too bad. However, now that we have APs (and you may, I have no idea), it's harder to justify paying money out of pocket to go to two of the events. It would definitely be fun, though!


Tom, after reading this entire trip report(yes I am that good of a friend, or perhaps just have more free time than I should), I can honestly say that I am more upset about not going on this trip than I was while you guys were actually there. So thanks a bunch :lookaroun . It really sounds like it was a magical time, and I only hope that everybody can get together again so that I can be there. WDW's 40th would be an amazing time for a large photography get together.

The report would've been even better, but Matt made me censor all of potentially demeaning things about him (just kidding). It was a good time. Jeff and I have talked about going for the 40th, and you know Matt goes every other week anyway, so that only leaves Joe as far as the non-locals go. I'll bet we can get something together in the two years between now and then!
 

DisneySam

Active Member
:wave: Great trip report. All of the pictures are really fantastic- makes me even more ready for my trip in a little over a month.

And I have to say the Bourbon guy at EPCOT...yeah....even my friends and I would have had a few things to say about his attire. :)
 

Ski mouse

New Member
Wow...Great Trip Report! We are going to Disney in a couple of weeks and your awesome pictures really got us excited.

The pictures that you both took are really professional. At some point you really should be working for Disney.
 

DznyGrlSD

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
:sohappy: Figment I always enjoy your TRs and I've been following them religiously (sp?) since you 2 got engaged
 

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
:wave: Great trip report. All of the pictures are really fantastic- makes me even more ready for my trip in a little over a month.

And I have to say the Bourbon guy at EPCOT...yeah....even my friends and I would have had a few things to say about his attire. :)

Thanks for reading. He looked interesting, to say the least. Really cool and funny, though, so we can't complain!

Wow...Great Trip Report! We are going to Disney in a couple of weeks and your awesome pictures really got us excited.

The pictures that you both took are really professional. At some point you really should be working for Disney.

Thanks. Hey, I'd love to be working for Disney someday. I've tried contacting some folks and have had no luck. Oh well, I guess I will just go on doing it as a hobby.

:sohappy: Figment I always enjoy your TRs and I've been following them religiously (sp?) since you 2 got engaged

Thanks for reading--no trips for us until next June for our honeymoon. :(

We call in a few weeks to see if we'll be able to get Bay Lake Tower/Beach Club/BoardWalk!
 

Sweet Melissa

Well-Known Member
Fantastic report and photos as usual. More than any others, your trip reports make me excited for my own upcoming Disney vacation. And your Flickr page is what brought me to this forum in the first place. You've got a great eye.
 

DisneyGigi

Well-Known Member
Great trip report. The pictures are wonderful as always and your report witty and fun to read. :)

I am glad to see that you were able to fit in the characters at MNSSHP. I am hoping at MVMCP to catch more than we did since there are no trick or treat lines for the kids to hit.

Glad you had fun!
 

daliseurat

Member
Great stuff. I agree, group trips can be fun but somewhat exhausting, especially if you're taking lots of photos. I love seeing your REGULAR photos that aren't of the "OH MY GOD, HOW AWESOME" variety. Makes you more human. And I mean that in a good way. I'd love a detailed report of what you photographed, why and how someday. This really whetted my appetite for a UWA lens. And I'm also interested in the flash gels. Great job!
 

Disneyfalcon

Well-Known Member
I loved your trip report as usual, Tom! Excellent photos, I'm still trying to figure out how you got that monorail shot.:) I am super jealous of a photography trip. What an awesome idea!
 

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Fantastic report and photos as usual. More than any others, your trip reports make me excited for my own upcoming Disney vacation. And your Flickr page is what brought me to this forum in the first place. You've got a great eye.

Glad you enjoyed the report; thanks for reading. I'm sure this site has directed plenty of traffic towards my Flickr site, so it's good to see that "I" have reciprocated!

As always, amazing report. You have helped fill a slow week at work, as well as make me long for my next trip. Thanks!!!

I seem to get a lot of comments like that. I don't want to be harming workplace productivity, I better make the next one shorter!!! ;)

Great trip report. The pictures are wonderful as always and your report witty and fun to read. :)

I am glad to see that you were able to fit in the characters at MNSSHP. I am hoping at MVMCP to catch more than we did since there are no trick or treat lines for the kids to hit.

Glad you had fun!

We didn't do any trick or treating. We can trick or treat at home (well, we're a little old...but we can buy candy at home). We can't meet Disney characters. That said, at MVMCP, there are some delicious cookies and hot cocoa. Delicious may be a bit of an overstatement, as they seem hit or miss, but they can be delicious. Most of the time there are absolutely no lines, so it doesn't take any time out of the character interactions. Head over to Adventureland where you can meet the Country Bears and get treats at the same time!

Great stuff. I agree, group trips can be fun but somewhat exhausting, especially if you're taking lots of photos. I love seeing your REGULAR photos that aren't of the "OH MY GOD, HOW AWESOME" variety. Makes you more human. And I mean that in a good way. I'd love a detailed report of what you photographed, why and how someday. This really whetted my appetite for a UWA lens. And I'm also interested in the flash gels. Great job!

Thanks for reading. It really bothers me that I forgot to use the flash gels. I am most definitely human. I look at plenty of photography out there and see how deficient most of my work is compared to that, which helps me improve. I think I've steadily progressed in the year and a half that I've been doing this, but I still have a long ways to go. There are a couple of books I plan on checking out from the library, hopefully those will help a bit with my progression.

I loved your trip report as usual, Tom! Excellent photos, I'm still trying to figure out how you got that monorail shot.:) I am super jealous of a photography trip. What an awesome idea!

Glad you enjoyed it! Focusing on photography was fun, but I found it almost impossible to make photography the sole 'goal' of the trip in such a varied place as WDW. It was cool being around guys with this much talent, though. They are all easily better than I am at photography.
 

HollyBelle

Well-Known Member
What? No love for the Animal Kingdom!?! That aside, great report and of course, beautiful pictures! I'm glad you got to experience the Food and Wine Festival... I'd have to say it's my favorite event Disney hosts throughout the year. We've never really considered staying at Fort Wilderness, but I'm impressed with the cabin in your pictures.

It's too bad you two didn't run into Experiment 626 at the Halloween party. That would have made for a great photo op with your space-wear.

Good luck getting into BLT or BCV. Even if you can't get into BLT, I think it's opening has dispersed people enough so that some of the more popular DVC villas have greater availability, which makes sense. We'll be staying at the Beach Club in December and we booked at the 7 month window (something we couldn't get either of the two years before BLT opened)... so it's a definite possibility.

Again, great report!!
 

foreverbelle

Well-Known Member
As always great trip report, and beautiful pictures. I am always impressed with your talent. Thanks for sharing...Sad to see you not go until June, but it being your honeymoon I can't wait for that report.

Best of luck getting into BLT!
 

WDWFigment

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
What? No love for the Animal Kingdom!?! That aside, great report and of course, beautiful pictures! I'm glad you got to experience the Food and Wine Festival... I'd have to say it's my favorite event Disney hosts throughout the year. We've never really considered staying at Fort Wilderness, but I'm impressed with the cabin in your pictures.

It's too bad you two didn't run into Experiment 626 at the Halloween party. That would have made for a great photo op with your space-wear.

Good luck getting into BLT or BCV. Even if you can't get into BLT, I think it's opening has dispersed people enough so that some of the more popular DVC villas have greater availability, which makes sense. We'll be staying at the Beach Club in December and we booked at the 7 month window (something we couldn't get either of the two years before BLT opened)... so it's a definite possibility.

Again, great report!!

Out of our last three trips, we've only been to Animal Kingdom once. There is a lot we like there, but it seems to always be the first park to get cut. Although I really enjoy wildlife, there is a lot there that I find indistinguishable from a zoo or wildlife preserve. The park is about 2-3 attractions away from being a must-visit for us.

We hadn't considered Fort Wilderness prior to this trip, either. It was fun, but I think it would've been better to 'cross off the list' once we have kids and want a slower paced trip. There is a lot there to do for little boys, especially.

I will be happy with any of Beach Club, BoardWalk, or Bay Lake Tower. Sarah's clear preference is BLT. Mine changes between BCV and BLT. I think I would prefer BCV by a slight margin. Can't wait to see your trip report from the BCV stay!

As always great trip report, and beautiful pictures. I am always impressed with your talent. Thanks for sharing...Sad to see you not go until June, but it being your honeymoon I can't wait for that report.

Best of luck getting into BLT!

Well, plenty of people our age don't get to go even this often, so we're doing pretty well. Then again, we do save our money and play it pretty conservatively the rest of the year (nothing like Great Value brand yogurt and cottage cheese!) so we can afford to go. Thanks!
 

DisneyGigi

Well-Known Member
We didn't do any trick or treating. We can trick or treat at home (well, we're a little old...but we can buy candy at home). We can't meet Disney characters. That said, at MVMCP, there are some delicious cookies and hot cocoa. Delicious may be a bit of an overstatement, as they seem hit or miss, but they can be delicious. Most of the time there are absolutely no lines, so it doesn't take any time out of the character interactions. Head over to Adventureland where you can meet the Country Bears and get treats at the same time!

I was surprised that my two were so into it since they had not done it at home for years, but then again, maybe that had something it do with it. Hope we get some really good characters at this one and surely they will only want to do the cookies once. :lol:
 

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