My Uncle's Map

My Uncle recently found a Disneyland map that his Grandparents bought in 1958.  The condition is pretty great.  I took some pictures of it with my phone, enjoy.

Check out the "Haunted House"

The Matterhorn had not opened yet!

Edison Square & 20,000 Leagues Exhibit!

HolidayLand!

Tower of Terror Portrait Session

One of the options Disney gives you when you have a Disney wedding is an early morning portrait session in one of the parks.  The Magic Kingdom was off limits for the two weeks we would be in the park (because apparently they do not like the portrait sessions) so we decided to go with MGM/DHS.  Here are a few shots we took in and around the Tower of Terror a few days after the wedding.

20 Feet Under The Sea

Did you know that at Disney's Castaway Cay there is a sunken Nautilus from the old 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea ride?  Did you also know that I went there in December and braved the cold water to take photos of it for you guys?  Well, I did!

Here's a picture of a Nautilus in its glory days.

What's interesting is that the parts you could not see when the ride was open are now the only parts you see.  Meaning, it is now upside down, sunken in the sand.

I also found this guy hanging out down there.

Shake it like a Polaroid picture

Over the summer I decided the buy a Polaroid camera, this turned out to be harder than I imagined.  The first problem is that most of the ones being sold online usually say "I think it works."  which was a gamble I was not willing to take.  Then, like a sign from the gods, I saw this on my Grandma's couch.

She was pretty surprised by my enthusiasm over her old camera, so she gave it to me.  Next step, find film!  In case you did not know, Polaroid no longer makes 600 instant film.  This means that your main option is buying expired film online for $35 (and up) for one pack (which is 10 pictures).  Luckily some die hard Polaroid employees started The Impossible Project, and they make the film now.  

Their film will still run you about $30 (for 8 pictures) but they have some pretty awesome film options.  I went with the Color Shade film because it gives the pictures a real 70's/80's look.  The only problem was that it took me 4 pictures to figure out which way to push the light meter.  In one video they said towards the light end which washed out my photos.  You also have to shield the photo from light for the first 5 minutes, this meant that I shot the photo right into the film box.  I left the other photos inside which caused a few blemishes on the developing picture.  So, like I said before, it took me 4 of my 8 shots to get everything right.  Was it worth it, I think so.  I have already bought a few more packs to experiment with for my next trip.  Anyway, enough chit chat, let's just look at the pictures.

My first shot was of the Mexico Pavilion.  The brown spot is where the film hit the box...

The Imagination Pavilion.  With this one I had pushed the meter more towards the light end because at the time the Mexico shot was not full developed.

The sun really got me on this one, and it was after this I decided to ignore the advice and switch the meter over to the dark side.

Things started looking up at the Haunted Mansion.  It was after this shot I realized the picture had ran across the other 3 shots in the box (causing the brown spot) and took them all out before taking the next one.

Becky in Frontierland, we finally got it right.

Again in Liberty Square

Here'e me!  (the white at the bottom was the box we were taking the pictures into, it was Becky's first try, cut her some slack)

She redeemed herself with this one.

There you have it kids.  My advice, go buy a Polaroid 600 camera and some Impossible Film, you won't regret it.  Plus, now that you know what not to do you can start off taking great pictures.  I plan on brining the Polaroid every time we go to the parks now.  Let's start a gang!

Epcot Phone Booth

First off, there will be some kind of wedding trip report this week, but until then read this post.  While in Epcot last week, my new wife wanted to have her picture taken in the phone booth outside the England Pavilion in Epcot.  I crammed her, my sister, and my cousin in the booth and took a shot.

I stepped in to have my picture taken when the phone started ringing.  I answered it not knowing what to expect, until I heard a little girls voice.

Kid: Hello

Me: Hello?

Kid: My name is (random kid name I forgot) what's yours?

Me: Donnie, nice to meet you (random kid name I forgot)

Me:  Where are you from?

Kid: Hold on..............(asking parents)  Fort Worth

Me:  Wow, I'm from Texas too,  do you know where you are calling?

Kid:  Yes, the phone booth in Epicot. (Yes, she said Epicot)

Me:  How did you get this number?

Kid: Let me ask my mom, I'll call you back.

So, I hung up and waited a minute and the phone rang again.  She gave me a web address where I could find the number, but I really could not understand what she was saying so I thanked her and we hung up.

I did a google search and found the numbers, here they are:

407-827-9861

407-827-9862

Now, go call England and freak out the guests who are brave enough to answer. 

WDW Bound!

Guess where I'm going tomorrow? Yup, Walt Disney World, did I mention I'm getting married too.  I plan on going instagram crazy while in the parks, so follow me on twitter (donniedisney) or instagram (donniesaur) and I'll try to take some good pictures.

See ya in a week or so!

1990 MGM Shows

Here are a few pictures from my families 1990 trip to Walt Disney World.  It would appear that in my younger years I really enjoyed watching shows.

Maybe I liked shows so much back then because they were awesome.  Rescue Rangers, Yes please.  Although, Gadget does look pretty nuts. 

Duck Tales and Gummi Bears! 

Let's hope that with the new Muppet movie coming out in a few weeks Disney will dust off these costumes.  

Don't forget about the Ninja Turtles, it wouldn't be a proper 1990 post without them!