Photo gallery
Visiting the Disney parks is truly an experience that delights all of the senses. There are the sweet smells of confections that lace Main Street U.S.A. Then, there's the scents of popcorn and churros throughout many locations in the park. Personally, one of my favorite scents in the park is the smell of the water inside of Pirates of the Caribbean. Upon entering into the queue, guests are greeted by the cool, sweet breeze which can only be reminiscent of this high seas adventure. Besides all these scents (which have even influenced brands to create Disney park inspired candles), there are truly so many photo opportunities. Meeting characters in each of the lands. Photographing the symbolic landmarks, like the Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland. Capturing the fun, youthful innocence of the balloons. Photographing the parades.
Each person's Disney vacation is unique in its own way. Each person decides the different attractions they want to experience, and the characters they want to meet. When I get to visit the parks, I constantly take photos. Perhaps too many? There's no real limit, after all. On this page, I have decided to post some photos I've taken during various Disney vacations that are meaningful to me.
I took this photo at Fantasyland in Disneyland... in front of one of my favorites, Peter Pan's Flight. Don't get me wrong - I love the attraction itself, but not the line to ride. I thought it would be cool to hold up my Peter Pan Mickey Mouse ear headband in front of the attraction... specifically, Big Ben. I found these ears on Etsy and purchased them before my trip.
Have you ever tried a Mickey or Minnie Mouse candy apple? They're pretty much too cute to eat. They're gorgeous. One of my favorite things to photograph while at the parks is all the desserts. I've gotten one before; it was absolutely delicious. The ears are created out of marshmallows. I might have taken this photo at Pooh's Corner in Critter Country where there is a great big display case of treats.
The magical story of Peter Pan has uplifted me. My whole life is impacted by this story. It was about 5th or 6th grade when I become greatly interested in Peter Pan. My whole room is decorated with Peter Pan themed items. I wear glittery eyeshadow on a daily basis, which is symbolic for "pixie dust." I've even written an 80,000-word sequel novel about Peter Pan, and have already started writing the second one. Of course, when I visit the park, I make it my mission to meet Peter Pan.
I had the pleasure of visiting Disneyland on July 17, 2019 for Disneyland's 64th birthday. I must have been on Main Street U.S.A. at just the right time... as I got to watch the 64th birthday parade. I was amazed by the number of characters who came out for the celebration... including characters you seldom see, like the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio, Merlin from The Sword in the Stone, and Esmerelda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
I took this photo in October of 2013; this is at the ticket entrance to Disneyland. It was a wonderful time to visit in October considering all the autumn decorations... even the Mickey and friends jack-o-lanterns decorating the entrance! Riding The Haunted Mansion's Nightmare Before Christmas was a treat. One day, I'd love to check out Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party.
As of 2020, Flik's Fun Fair at Disney California Adventure park is no longer opened; the land closed to make way for the upcoming Avengers Campus opening in the summer of 2020. Anyway, this photo is from Heimlich's Chew Chew Train which was one of the attractions in Flik's Fun Fair. During this scene, riders on the train passed by a group of Casey Junior animal cookies... and you were even greeted with a pump of a sweet scent!
In the summer of 2019, I experienced one of the most unique Disney attractions I've ever seen. It was located in the Downtown Disney District inside the building which previously housed the ESPN restaurant. This was the Pop-Up Disney! A Mickey Celebration Exhibition. You had to have a reservation to enter, from what I've heard. The exhibit didn't take any walk-ins. Basically, you went inside to check-in. When ready, a cast member would lead you upstairs where the journey begins. You travel from room to room; each one is set-up with a Disney scene, all designed to celebrate Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The photo above is from the room designed with Mickey balloons, including an oversized balloon that you could actually step inside for a photo. In this photo, you can see the "Hidden Minnie" which is a fun twist to the traditional "Hidden Mickey."
As featured in the last photo of myself at Pop-Up Disney! A Mickey Celebration, I'm wearing a Mickey ear headband that I designed myself. They're Peter Pan ears. At home, I had a plain Mickey ear headband and decided to use it for the foundation to create my own ears. I went to a craft store and spent a generous amount of time (and money, let's be honest) gathering all the decorations. The ears have a design on the front and back, and in the center are red faux red roses; I chose these because Peter wears a red feather on his hat, at least in the Disney adaption. Then there is a golden compass that symbolizes the pirates in Neverland and their own ship. I also added some decorative shimmery flowers, which symbolize the mermaids as well as Neverland's gardens. It's a bit hard to spot in this photo, but I added a green jewel to resemble the island of Neverland.
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On the back, I attached both a thimble and an acorn, to resemble both Peter and Wendy's friendship, as these were the gifts they exchanged with one another upon their meeting. To quickly identify that these ears are all about Peter Pan, I attached a small toy figurine of Peter, which had originally come with a Disney Small World toy bathtub boat set. It had a few Disney characters who could sit in the boat. Well, I decided to use Peter for this purpose, instead. Do you see Tinker Bell, too? I found a set of embellishments.