Today's challenge in Disney's Wordless Wednesday is to produce your calendar shot for July. There's a few important dates in July for us. Canada's Birthday, July 4th, our anniversary (somebody please remind me of that one), but above all these things, there's one thing that we can count on every July...
Rain. Everybody tells me that July is this beautiful, warm, sunny month, but I'm beginning to think that you guys are all just trying to put one over on me. Of course it's possible that it's just us. It's been cloudy and raining here in Kelowna for the last couple of weeks, but here's the next five days weather forecast for where we live...
Looks nice doesn't it? Too bad we're leaving today. Here's the forecast for the next five days in Miami, which is where we'll be...
So maybe it is just us. I'm going to have to try and turn this to our advantage. I'll be contacting some tourism boards in drought stricken areas to see if they'd like to host us for a few days to get their crops watered and their reservoirs refilled. If you live in an area that needs some rain, let us know and we'll put you on the list. Nothing guarantees a downpour like a visit from the More Kids Than Suitcases crew.
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably get to play outside during the summer months. No wonder nobody will tell me where they live.
Written by Steve Pratt
Showing posts with label Disneyland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disneyland. Show all posts
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Begging for the Blue Fairy
Welcome back to Wordless Wednesday, where I try and tell you a Disney related story based on a random theme that our fearless host Deb comes up with. This week she's chosen the letter 'B' as our theme. A few weeks ago we did the letter 'A'. I think somebody has been practicing their alphabet!
The problem with this week's theme is that I've already written about a lot of my Disney 'B' experiences. I've written about being on a Disney Boat. I've written about being Broken down on Space Mountain. I've even written about Blocking your sister at a Disney castle. I thought that maybe I'd told you all of my 'B' stories, but then I remembered one I haven't shared with you. It's the story of my greatest struggle when it comes to Disney, my biggest frustration, and my arch-enemy. It's the story of the search for....
The Blue Fairy.
About ten years ago, Disney and McDonalds partnered up to celebrate what would have been the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's birth by releasing a special 100 figurine set of Disney's most beloved characters. These figurines were the toys in the Happy Meals at McDonalds, and you got one with each meal ordered. That meant that in order to collect all 100, you were going to have to go through at least 100 Happy Meals. You know what kind of hero you are to your kids when you tell them that it's Happy Meals for lunch and dinner for the next little while?
At least at the beginning you are. The catch was that the toys came in blacked out bags, so even if you had somebody on the inside, you couldn't request a certain toy with your meal. This meant doubles, and lots of them. I'm guessing that over the course of the summer we bought almost 250 Happy Meals, and eventually, over time, the randomness of the math worked out and we collected most of the characters. Except for the Blue Fairy.
No matter what we did, we couldn't find the Blue Fairy. We tried changing which McDonalds we went to, we tried feeling through bags for the proper shape, and we even tried staking out McDonalds play areas looking for anyone who might stumble upon the elusive fairy, but we had no success. Eventually my kids revolted and refused to eat any more Happy Meals, so I had to buy the Blue Fairy on E-bay (which I probably should have done in the first place, since she was only $2.99). To this day any suggestion of stopping at McDonalds is met with groans, and to be honest I'm not sure if any of my kids have ever watched Pinocchio all the way through. I got my full set of figurines though, and my kids got their own version of "The House of Mouse".
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably had a stockpile of Blue Fairy figurines. If only I'd known them back then...
Written by Steve Pratt
The problem with this week's theme is that I've already written about a lot of my Disney 'B' experiences. I've written about being on a Disney Boat. I've written about being Broken down on Space Mountain. I've even written about Blocking your sister at a Disney castle. I thought that maybe I'd told you all of my 'B' stories, but then I remembered one I haven't shared with you. It's the story of my greatest struggle when it comes to Disney, my biggest frustration, and my arch-enemy. It's the story of the search for....
The Blue Fairy.
About ten years ago, Disney and McDonalds partnered up to celebrate what would have been the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney's birth by releasing a special 100 figurine set of Disney's most beloved characters. These figurines were the toys in the Happy Meals at McDonalds, and you got one with each meal ordered. That meant that in order to collect all 100, you were going to have to go through at least 100 Happy Meals. You know what kind of hero you are to your kids when you tell them that it's Happy Meals for lunch and dinner for the next little while?
At least at the beginning you are. The catch was that the toys came in blacked out bags, so even if you had somebody on the inside, you couldn't request a certain toy with your meal. This meant doubles, and lots of them. I'm guessing that over the course of the summer we bought almost 250 Happy Meals, and eventually, over time, the randomness of the math worked out and we collected most of the characters. Except for the Blue Fairy.
No matter what we did, we couldn't find the Blue Fairy. We tried changing which McDonalds we went to, we tried feeling through bags for the proper shape, and we even tried staking out McDonalds play areas looking for anyone who might stumble upon the elusive fairy, but we had no success. Eventually my kids revolted and refused to eat any more Happy Meals, so I had to buy the Blue Fairy on E-bay (which I probably should have done in the first place, since she was only $2.99). To this day any suggestion of stopping at McDonalds is met with groans, and to be honest I'm not sure if any of my kids have ever watched Pinocchio all the way through. I got my full set of figurines though, and my kids got their own version of "The House of Mouse".
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably had a stockpile of Blue Fairy figurines. If only I'd known them back then...
Written by Steve Pratt
Labels:
Disneyland
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
June Calendar Shot
It's June! Finally! I'm not sure who looks forward to the end of the school year more, me or my children. Actually the winner is probably Lori. I know she loves her kids, but after 10 months of teaching, she's always more than ready for a break.
This week on Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic, we're picking a picture for our June calender shot. June is the beginning of a summer of adventure for us, and I know exactly which picture says adventure to me:
This picture was taken during a port stop on our Disney cruise of the Mexican Riviera. It reminds me of the fun and exciting (and sometimes ill-advised) things that we get up to during our summer vacation, and it's the perfect shot to represent June on our calendar. Well, for four of us anyways. The boy needs a slightly different picture to represent his summer vacation...
Somebody wake him when September comes.
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably have no plans to sleep through their summer vacation. They're called non-teenagers.
Written by Steve Pratt
This week on Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic, we're picking a picture for our June calender shot. June is the beginning of a summer of adventure for us, and I know exactly which picture says adventure to me:
This picture was taken during a port stop on our Disney cruise of the Mexican Riviera. It reminds me of the fun and exciting (and sometimes ill-advised) things that we get up to during our summer vacation, and it's the perfect shot to represent June on our calendar. Well, for four of us anyways. The boy needs a slightly different picture to represent his summer vacation...
Somebody wake him when September comes.
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably have no plans to sleep through their summer vacation. They're called non-teenagers.
Written by Steve Pratt
Labels:
Disneyland
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The A's of Disneyland Coasters
I'm back with another week of Wordless Wednesday hosted by Deb at Focused on the Magic. This weeks theme is: The letter "A". I think Deb has been watching too much Sesame Street. If next weeks post is brought to you by the number "7", then we'll need to have a word with her.
This week my son is away on his year end school trip. They've gone to some island where there are no electronics allowed, and I'm pretty sure he's made a few attempts to swim to the mainland by now. Three days without the internet is probably the worst thing you could do to that boy. I don't know where he gets this inability to survive without technology from.
Since my son is my roller coaster guy, I decided that I would write this "A" post about the Disneyland roller coasters. Between the two parks there quite a few to choose from. There's Gadget's Go-Coaster which is:
Awwww...Adorable.
My least favorite roller coaster has to be Goofy's Fly School, which in my view is:
Alarmingly Angled.
and my favorite roller coaster in the park, California Screamin', which is:
Awesome and Amazing (Wonder where I got those words from?)
There's another side to the Disneyland coasters though. One that gets to use a different set of "A" words. For instance, on Indiana Jones, there's a good chance that you may find yourself:
Alone
If you ride California Screamin' enough, you'll eventually find yourself on a ride that gets:
Aborted
and of course, if you ride Space Mountain, you'd better be prepared to:
Abandon Ship
Really though, what's a visit to Disneyland without being stuck on Space Mountain at least once?
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably didn't need to use a dictionary to come up with enough "A" words for their post, although I'm betting a few of us would have to explain to our kids what a dictionary actually is (It's like an alphabetical Google kids).

Written by Steve Pratt
This week my son is away on his year end school trip. They've gone to some island where there are no electronics allowed, and I'm pretty sure he's made a few attempts to swim to the mainland by now. Three days without the internet is probably the worst thing you could do to that boy. I don't know where he gets this inability to survive without technology from.
Since my son is my roller coaster guy, I decided that I would write this "A" post about the Disneyland roller coasters. Between the two parks there quite a few to choose from. There's Gadget's Go-Coaster which is:
Awwww...Adorable.
My least favorite roller coaster has to be Goofy's Fly School, which in my view is:
Alarmingly Angled.
and my favorite roller coaster in the park, California Screamin', which is:
Awesome and Amazing (Wonder where I got those words from?)
There's another side to the Disneyland coasters though. One that gets to use a different set of "A" words. For instance, on Indiana Jones, there's a good chance that you may find yourself:
Alone
If you ride California Screamin' enough, you'll eventually find yourself on a ride that gets:
Aborted
and of course, if you ride Space Mountain, you'd better be prepared to:
Abandon Ship
Really though, what's a visit to Disneyland without being stuck on Space Mountain at least once?
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably didn't need to use a dictionary to come up with enough "A" words for their post, although I'm betting a few of us would have to explain to our kids what a dictionary actually is (It's like an alphabetical Google kids).

Labels:
Disneyland
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
How to Pose with a Disney Castle
It's kind of hard to miss. As soon as you walk in to Disneyland your eyes are immediately drawn to the Sleeping Beauty castle at the end of Main Street. It's big, it's beautiful, and it belongs to a Disney Princess. It's an iconic image of Disneyland, and whether you use a professional or take your own, you have to get your picture taken in front of the castle. It's practically Disney castle law.
The catch is, once you've been to Disneyland a few times, getting your standard picture in front of the castle gets to be a little mundane. Sure you can mix it up a little...ears on...ears off...Grandma on all fours while everybody dog piles on top of her...but after a while even these get a little boring. Fortunately, I've got some new ideas for you. Here's five veteran poses that you can try at any Disney castle to give you that little extra spice in your holiday photos:
#1 - The "Block my sister out of the shot" pose:
Works best when it's the taller sister blocking the shorter one, but both ways have their benefits. It's usually best to get this shot after touring the park for a while, allowing time for some animosity and conflict to build between the two siblings. If you keep the camera steady after taking the shot, you can sometimes capture the elusive "My sister pushed me to the ground!" picture.
#2 - The "How can my parents be so mean?" pose:
This is a great contrast piece as most people associate Disneyland with "The Happiest Place on Earth", yet here is someone who obviously is pretty upset that her parents have made her come to Disneyland again. You'll notice Lori with one hand on each girl, thus preventing a repeat of the "Block my sister out of the shot" pose.
#3 - The "Ta-da!/I'm a rap star" pose:
Obviously a trickier pose as it requires two participants to hold their positions, yet fairly attainable since there isn't really a need to be too close to the castle. There is an advanced level of this pose where the third party does an eye-roll while looking sideways at the other two, but I don't recommend trying that until the teenage years. (In really advanced shots, the photographer even holds the camera level.)
#4 - The "Dad told me to smile" pose:
Sarcastic smiles are a bit of an art form, but fortunately for us we have a bona fide artist on staff. This pose is easily attained after the "How can my parents be so mean?" picture by adding the phrase "You'd better smile or else!" The rain is a purely optional add-on, but it does create an extra challenge for the other three subjects to maintain a naturally happy demeanor.
#5 - The "Over-dramatic pulling of the sword" pose:
A lot of people don't think about going around to the back of the castle for their picture, but with Excalibur here it's a perfectly viable angle for a castle shot. The official Kodak picture spot recommendation is to use the Snow White ride as the backdrop for your photo, but I prefer turning just a little to use the castle instead. I suggest only using one person in this picture however, as coordinating a look of effort is hard to do, and when your subjects take different approaches to the picture, the results are...well strange to say the least.
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. I'm betting most of them already have at least four of these five pictures. Probably not the Ta-Da/Rap Star one though. That one's kind of a speciality of ours.

Labels:
Disneyland
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Disney Princess Etiquette
There are rules to be followed when meeting Disney Princesses. This isn't something simple like meeting the Queen or Prince Charles...these are the Disney Princesses, and most likely the highlight of your daughter's day (or your wife's if you're doing Disneyland without kids). To be sure of a memorable experience, here are a few pointers that should help you maintain the proper decorum when you're lucky enough to meet Disney Royalty.
Rule #1: Always show the Princess where she is on your shirt.
Rule #2: Maintain eye contact with the Princess, no matter how high up you have to look.
Rule #3: Never stand in front of the big, ballroom dress.
Rule #4: When a Princess signs your autograph book, try not to read over her shoulder.
Rule #5: When you finally do get to have your picture taken with your favorite Princess...
Remember that she's the Princess, not you. Try not to get too carried away.
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably have Princesses on their shirts, and they'd be happy to point them out to you.

Rule #1: Always show the Princess where she is on your shirt.
Rule #2: Maintain eye contact with the Princess, no matter how high up you have to look.
Rule #3: Never stand in front of the big, ballroom dress.
Rule #4: When a Princess signs your autograph book, try not to read over her shoulder.
Rule #5: When you finally do get to have your picture taken with your favorite Princess...
Remember that she's the Princess, not you. Try not to get too carried away.
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Most of them probably have Princesses on their shirts, and they'd be happy to point them out to you.

Labels:
Disneyland
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
What's the Room For?
4JGASE8H39XS
Welcome back to Disney Wordless Wednesday hosted by Debs at Focused on the Magic. This week we're (not) talking about Resorts and Relaxation. This one shouldn't be so hard for us. We've stayed at lots of the resorts around Disneyland:
See anything in common here? Yeah, there's nobody relaxing. I love having a comfortable room, but I don't really go to Disneyland to relax. I'm there for the fun, the excitement, and the adrenaline rush of the rides. Of course, if you're not getting any sleep in the room, you have to make up for it somewhere...
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Some of them probably even stay awake on the rides and sleep in the hotel rooms. We can't all be innovators.

Welcome back to Disney Wordless Wednesday hosted by Debs at Focused on the Magic. This week we're (not) talking about Resorts and Relaxation. This one shouldn't be so hard for us. We've stayed at lots of the resorts around Disneyland:
Grand Californian |
Disneyland Hotel |
Carousel Inn |
Hyatt Orange County |
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Some of them probably even stay awake on the rides and sleep in the hotel rooms. We can't all be innovators.

Labels:
Disneyland
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
What it Takes to Animate
Welcome back to Wordless Wednesday, that day of the week when a bunch of us Disney fanatics get together over at Focused on the Magic, and I'm supposed to let the pictures do the talking for me. This weeks theme is "Animation" which to me sounds way too much like "art". I am not an artistic person. It's not a big secret around our house. If you were hanging around at homework time each evening, you'd probably hear something along the lines of "Dad! I need help with my math!", then "Dad! I need help with my science!", followed by "Dad! I need help with...oh, never mind. It's art. I'll go find Mom." It's something I've come to accept, and I'm OK with it.
That doesn't mean that I don't try though. The Disney Animation building in California Adventure is one of my favorite places to stop. They claim that it's simple to draw the Disney characters, and that in only a few short minutes they can teach you how to sketch out one of the classic cartoon characters from Disney's vault. They lie of course, as it would take years of practice for me to even be able to draw a stick figure properly, but we still enjoy visiting the studio every chance we get.
No matter how good an artist you are though, you need something extra for it to be Disney animation. Simply being a master of the canvas doesn't mean that you're going to be able to spread joy to the people looking at your work. Allow my son to demonstrate this theory with his chance to observe a Monet painting.
See? Pure joy. Monet was a great artist, but the art that he made was very different from Disney animation. It takes something a little different to animate. A little playfulness, some child-like spirit, maybe even a touch of never-grow-up-itis.
And, of course, some pixie dust....
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Some of them probably even know how to draw, but I guarantee you every one of them knows all about the pixie dust.

That doesn't mean that I don't try though. The Disney Animation building in California Adventure is one of my favorite places to stop. They claim that it's simple to draw the Disney characters, and that in only a few short minutes they can teach you how to sketch out one of the classic cartoon characters from Disney's vault. They lie of course, as it would take years of practice for me to even be able to draw a stick figure properly, but we still enjoy visiting the studio every chance we get.
No matter how good an artist you are though, you need something extra for it to be Disney animation. Simply being a master of the canvas doesn't mean that you're going to be able to spread joy to the people looking at your work. Allow my son to demonstrate this theory with his chance to observe a Monet painting.
See? Pure joy. Monet was a great artist, but the art that he made was very different from Disney animation. It takes something a little different to animate. A little playfulness, some child-like spirit, maybe even a touch of never-grow-up-itis.
And, of course, some pixie dust....
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. If you didn't get here from there, you should really head on over and check out some of the fantastic people that hang out there on Wednesdays. Some of them probably even know how to draw, but I guarantee you every one of them knows all about the pixie dust.

Labels:
Disneyland
Wednesday, 18 April 2012
The Speed of the Spin
Sunday is Earth Day, which means that lately there's been a whole lot of stories in the news about nature and the environment. One story in particular caught my eye when it mentioned that the Earth is spinning at a rate of almost 1000 miles per hour, but that it was beginning to slow down. That concerned me, as if the Earth slows down, days will take longer, and I'll have no chance of surviving the next Leap Day at Disneyland, so I decided to do a little research for myself and see if I could reassure myself that the Earth is still spinning along at it's regular pace.
I decided to start with a view of Earth from space to see if I could spot some rotation from a distance. The Earth still looks amazing from up here, but there was definitely no sign of spinning. Let's zoom in a little closer...
What we have here is confirmation that every person in America paid their electric bill last month, but the US still seems to be in the same position as always. Maybe we really aren't rotating very fast anymore. Let's zoom in again...
This is starting to concern me now. This is an aerial view of Disneyland, and everything looks pretty stationary. I'm going to zoom in one more time, but there had better be some indicator that we're still spinning or I'm going to book myself on a rocket to the International Space Station....
Never mind. We're obviously still spinning at full speed. Cancel the rocket.
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. Sure, they're probably going to kick me out eventually since I don't seem to understand the meaning of "Wordless", but even if they do there's still plenty of people there who follow the rules and have some great pictures to share with you. Click on the button and enjoy some quality Disney photos. Do it quick, before you get dizzy from all the spinning.

I decided to start with a view of Earth from space to see if I could spot some rotation from a distance. The Earth still looks amazing from up here, but there was definitely no sign of spinning. Let's zoom in a little closer...
What we have here is confirmation that every person in America paid their electric bill last month, but the US still seems to be in the same position as always. Maybe we really aren't rotating very fast anymore. Let's zoom in again...
This is starting to concern me now. This is an aerial view of Disneyland, and everything looks pretty stationary. I'm going to zoom in one more time, but there had better be some indicator that we're still spinning or I'm going to book myself on a rocket to the International Space Station....
Never mind. We're obviously still spinning at full speed. Cancel the rocket.
This post is a part of Wordless Wednesday over at Focused on the Magic. Sure, they're probably going to kick me out eventually since I don't seem to understand the meaning of "Wordless", but even if they do there's still plenty of people there who follow the rules and have some great pictures to share with you. Click on the button and enjoy some quality Disney photos. Do it quick, before you get dizzy from all the spinning.

Labels:
Disneyland
Wednesday, 11 April 2012
Adventures in Disneyland - Wordless Wednesday
It seems like I've been talking a lot lately. Sure, I've got plenty to tell you about our adventures on the East Coast, but it's occurred to me that you might appreciate a little break from listening to me ramble on. You might even appreciate a little change in topic. Maybe something from Vegas, or Hawaii, or maybe Disneyland.
Some of my blog friends participate in a link-up on Wednesdays hosted by Debs at Focused on the Magic. It's called Wordless Wednesdays, and as near as I can tell, the concept is that you're supposed to post a picture that fits in with that weeks theme, and then not say anything about it.
Hmmm...well I've already blown the whole "Don't say anything" part of the deal, but realistically that was never going to happen anyways. What I guess we'll do now is move on and try to participate in the spirit of the event, even if we've already broken all the rules.
So here we go. The theme for this week's Wordless Wednesday is: Adventure. We've had tons of adventures on our countless trips to Disneyland, but the ones that stick out the most are the moments we experienced something for the first time. Thus, I take you back to 2004 and my kids first time riding Splash Mountain.
OK, that wasn't too hard, but believe it or not there's people out there who can actually follow all the rules of a blog link-up. Go ahead and click on the button below and take a look at some of the great stuff that people have posted without feeling the need to write a small book to explain them.

Some of my blog friends participate in a link-up on Wednesdays hosted by Debs at Focused on the Magic. It's called Wordless Wednesdays, and as near as I can tell, the concept is that you're supposed to post a picture that fits in with that weeks theme, and then not say anything about it.
Hmmm...well I've already blown the whole "Don't say anything" part of the deal, but realistically that was never going to happen anyways. What I guess we'll do now is move on and try to participate in the spirit of the event, even if we've already broken all the rules.
So here we go. The theme for this week's Wordless Wednesday is: Adventure. We've had tons of adventures on our countless trips to Disneyland, but the ones that stick out the most are the moments we experienced something for the first time. Thus, I take you back to 2004 and my kids first time riding Splash Mountain.
Adventure: Sometimes you get more than you bargained for.
OK, that wasn't too hard, but believe it or not there's people out there who can actually follow all the rules of a blog link-up. Go ahead and click on the button below and take a look at some of the great stuff that people have posted without feeling the need to write a small book to explain them.

Labels:
Disneyland
Friday, 9 March 2012
I'm More of an Idea Guy
I'm loaded with good ideas. Some of them are under-appreciated by the world like when I suggested to my boss that he should stick to work clothes because he really couldn't pull off the suit look, but that doesn't make them less great. In fact, some of my ideas are so great that they have entire sub-categories of other great ideas contained within them. For instance, my incredibly brilliant idea to spend 24 hours in Disneyland for Leap Day can be broken down into many smaller, genius concepts, such as the one that went "Hey, let's take a picture of ourselves every hour, no matter where we are!"
Hour 1 - Early start. I'm not sure the boy has realized that he's not at school yet. I considered telling him, but then decided to just wake him up by riding Space Mountain. All schools should have an option like this.
Hour 2 - Technically I'm shopping for some earrings in this store that my wife asked me to pick up for our daughter, but somehow holding up a pair of dangling Mickey hoops didn't seem very manly, hence the shirt.
Hour 3 - It dawns on me that I'm going to need to indicate which shot is which on the camera, so I take the ultra-creative route of holding up three fingers. It doesn't occur to me that over the course of a 24 hour day, this system could become problematic.
Hour 4 - Do you see how seriously I'm taking this challenge? Notice that on MY breakfast plate, there's fruit! That's health food! I tell you I was pulling out all the stops to make sure I survived this day! (Note that the boy almost looks awake. I imagine this is because on a normal day, it would be lunch time at school.)
Hour 5 - Remember when I said great ideas aren't always recognized by others? Check out the "What's wrong with these guys?" look that the girl in the bottom right is giving us.
Hour 6 - I know what you're thinking...I'd better stop taking my son out of math class, but he really is holding up a thumb along with those five fingers. He honestly can count to six. I won't tell you how many shots it took to get it right though.
Hour 7 - Apparently hour 7 was the peak of our creativity.
Hour 8 - Technically this picture was taken at about the 8 hour and 5 minute mark, as we were in the bathroom when the hourly alarm went off and whipping out the camera didn't seem like a great idea. It also didn't seem like the ideal moment to tell my son to hold up 8 fingers either.
Hour 9 - I look like I'm about to do a "These are not the droids you're looking for.." kind of move.
Hour 10 - Ten hours in and the boy looks more awake than ever. It's probably hereditary. I'm sure I look every bit as awake as he does...
Hour 11 - See? Bright eyed and bushy-tailed!
Hour 12 - We've realized that we don't have enough fingers to pull this off. We've resorted to finding random numbers on posters in the park.
Hour 13 - and now we've given up completely. I don't know which is worse...my lame attempt at writing "Hour 13" on the pad of paper or my son's inability to zoom a picture in enough that you can read the paper. If he wasn't going to let you read the paper, he could have at least zoomed out enough that you can actually tell what ride we're on. Of course it's possible that the boy didn't want to document that I was making him ride the Little Mermaid...again.
All great ideas run their course eventually though, and hour 13 was the last shot we took. At the 14 hour mark, we were caught in a huge crush of people trying to move from one park to the other, and by hour 15 we'd thrown in the towel. If I was 10 (umm...let's make that 20) years younger, this would be a complete set of 24 pictures, but I'm less a man of action these days and more of an idea guy. A "great idea" guy!
This post is a part of Photo Friday at Delicious Baby and Friday Daydreamin at R We There Yet Mom. If you didn't get here from one of those sites, you should really go check them out. There's people there who can count to 24, even though they don't have enough fingers and toes. I'm not sure how they do that.
Labels:
Disneyland
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)