WDW Planning (Part 2)

I am continuing to look at what I can do during my December trip to WDW. I travel there frequently enough that I have done most of the common touristy things, and I am always looking for a couple of new activities to make my experience there more interesting.

I'll be there during the pre-Christmas season, so I'm looking forward to some of the Christmas activities, like the Candlelight Processional and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. I also enjoy the special holiday tag on Illuminations: Reflections of Earth, so I expect I'll be viewing that at least a couple of times. Sadly, I recently heard that the Country Bear Christmas Special will not be back this year. It wasn't there last year, either, and I really do miss this holiday attraction.

On the bright side, I will be there during MouseFest! In addition to attending some of the meets that they have planned, I am also hoping to meet some of the people that create the web sites and podcasts that I spend so much time with. I am a bit on the shy side, so I'm not sure how well this will work out. But how could MouseFest not be fun, hanging out with fellow Disney Geeks in my favorite place on Earth?

On a previous solo trip, I took Keys to the Kingdom tour in the Magic Kingdom, and enjoyed it immensely. I am looking at booking another tour or two this trip, perhaps Behind the Seeds or Around the World At Epcot. My friend Daniel will be with me this time for most of the trip, and he's not much into the tours. I'll have to try to schedule around him.

My updated "Must See's" (in no particular order):

• The refurbished Haunted Mansion;


• The new Golden Dream montage in The American Adventure;


• "National Treasures," the new American Heritage Gallery exhibit;


• The new "O Canada!" movie;


• The Gran Fiesta Tour in the Mexico Pavilion;


• The refurbished Spaceship Earth (including the new Project Tomorrow post show);


• The Laugh Floor Comedy Club;


• The new Christmas parade (during Mickeys' Very Merry Christmas Party);


• Finding Nemo, The Musical (so I can take photos this time);


• Dream-Along With Mickey (to see the new articulated faces).

Razzle Dazzle 'em in Zazzle?

I've spent the last week adding new cards to my own little product gallery at zazzle.com. (I call it "Poughtography", a word I coined by combining "Poughkeepsie" and "Photography". I know, pretty dorky, but that's exactly why I love it so much!) Most of the newest photos are from my April trip to Spain. I also added a couple of QSL card templates after a ham radio operator brought that concept to my attention and bought 100 copies of my Bannerman's Island Castle Ruins postcard.

Honestly, very few of my photos have actually been purchased, and I haven't had one sell since late August. It could be for a number of reasons:

• I've chosen the wrong photos to feature on my products - I'm still trying to figure out what photos people are interested in, but it is difficult to do on Zazzle because there are so many other products. And it is quite possible that my photos are just not good enough for people to want to purchase;


• I'm horrible at marketing - I've honestly done very little to advertise the existence of this product gallery. I have told some friends, and put a link to it from other sites where I have an on-line presence, but I'm not sure what to do after that. Print off a few postcards, and leave them lying around somewhere for advertising?


• No one buys cards anymore - with the Internet, I'm sure that people are not sending cards as often. This means I'm screwed no matter what I do.

Maybe things will pick up at Christmastime, as people start looking for gifts for their loved ones...