What You Will Need 

• Three copies of the map from each park. Pick up extras in your resort hotel lobby. Be sure to get multiple copies of the park time guides in the parks.
• Photos of everything! (I've added a separate list of photos to get.)
• Receipts from your resort hotel, meals, recreation and other special activities.
• Character autographs.
• A diary or journal of your vacation.
• Post cards. Mail messages or daily reports back to yourself; the postmark dates are an added bonus. You can also use blank/unused postcards as artwork.
• Scrapbook and paper. You can find a wide variety of papers and books at Disney World. Some are also sold through eBay. See the eBay links below.

Photographs to Shoot 

1. The Trip: Packing, driving to the airport or to Disney World, arrival gate at Orlando International Airport, main gate at Walt Disney World.
2. Your Resort Hotel: Main entrance, family posed in the lobby, Mom or Dad at the check-in desk with the Cast Member, your room (take this shot as you first check in, before the room gets "lived in"), family posed outside the room, anything special that you especially like about the resort, such as decor, flowers, swimming pool, restaurants.
3. In The Parks: Family posed at the entrance and in front of the park landmark (castle, Spaceship earth, Mickey's sorcerer's hat, Tree of Life), eating at restaurants, waiting in line (most queues have interesting decor), family posed in front of your favorite attraction, kids and adults with the characters.
4. Dining and Special Meals: Family posed in front of the restaurant, kids and adults with the characters, your dinner and dessert plate (many meals have a very special presentation).
5. Recreation: Snapshots at the resort swimming pool, shopping at Downtown Disney, attending special events such as Cirque du Soleil, golfing or miniature golf, watercraft rental.
6. Special Moments: Meeting with the characters (candid shots as well as posed), eating a Mickey ice cream bar or other favorite treats, trading pins.
7. The Trip Home: Packing, taking your bags to your car or bus stop, checking in at the airport or driving home, stops that you make on the way home, arriving back home.

Equipment to Capture the Perfect Photo 

Here is the camera equipment that I use to shoot photographs for my scrapbooks. I also use two different tripods, and I'm looking for one on Amazon that I can recommend to you. Tripods are essential if you want to shoot any of the fireworks shows at Walt Disney World.

Sony Cybershot DSC-W7 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

After weeks of careful research, I selected the Sony Cybershot W7. The controls are very user friendly -- You can just point and shoot (my husband's and daughter's preferred settings), or you can select special shooting modes (such as landscape or low light), or you can use it in full manual mode. Most controls are on a wheel on the top of the camera, which makes it very easy to change settings on the fly. In case you're wondering about the technical stuff, the chip that captures the image in among the best in consumer cameras. The quality of these images rivals anything I've ever taken with a high-quality SLR film camera.

Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)

SanDisk SDMSV-1024-A10 1.0 GB Memory Stick Pro (Retail Package)

Add this Memory Stick to your W7 to maximize the number of pictures you can take in a day. With a digital camera, you will find yourself shooting many, many photos. This Memory Stick allows you to shoot almost 300 pictures on the highest resolution setting (7 megapixels) or almost 400 on the setting I suggest if you are going to be printing 4x6 inch pictures. (You definitely want to have plenty of memory -- You can shoot all day and still have enough memory to shoot plenty of photos at one of the fireworks displays!) It is rated as one of the fastest memory sticks, which means less delay time when you are shooting.

Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)

Sony LCS-CST General Purpose Soft Carrying Case for Slim Cybershot Digital Cameras

You will definitely want a soft carrying case for your camera. I prefer a case that uses a Velcro closure rather than a zipper (just my preference because I have a habit of getting the zipper stuck!).

Amazon Price: $8.64 (as of 08/21/2008)

More Photo Tips 

• Share the camera: Let everyone take photos, not just Mom or Dad. Getting the kids' perspective will be fun! And it helps ensure that you will have photos of the entire family. Read more about Disney PhotoPass.
• Use PhotoPass: Disney photographers are available throughout the parks to take your photo at no obligation. You can view and purchase photos at WDW and back home via a website, where you can also order more.
• Get close-ups: When shooting a picture in front of a building or landmark (like Cinderella's castle), take the picture from a spot where the entire landmark is visible. Position your family about 10-12 feet in front of the camera. Their faces will be very visible, and you get the "big picture."
• Save your photos to CD: If you are shooting with a digital camera and don't have your computer to upload them (or cannot access the Internet to upload), have the pictures transferred to a CD at one of the park photo shops. This service costs less than $20 and is available at all four theme parks.

Scrapping Supplies on eBay 

Many reputable vendors sell scrapbooking supplies on eBay, so I'm giving you a short list of what's on sale now. Be sure to check the sellers feeback score before ordering.

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Scrapbooking Guides 

Here are some helpful books on scrapbooking with sample pages and how-to's.

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Scrapbooking (Illustrated)

by Wendy Smedley

As the author notes, we are not *complete idios* but putting together a large scrapbook can be overwhelming. If you are a scrapbook novice, this book is an excellent introduction.

Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)

Scrapbooking Made Easy (Simple Scrapbooks)

As the author of the EZ Fun Guide to Walt Disney World, I have to check out any book that includes "Easy" in the title. This book is also an excellent introduction to scrapping and includes many helpful suggestions for getting started.

Amazon Price: $12.89 (as of 08/21/2008)

Simple Scrapbooks: 25 Fun and Meaningful Memory Books You Can Make in a Weekend

by Stacy Julian, Gayle Humpherys

This book is an excellent guide to creating "theme scrapbooks," which are perfect for vacation scrapbooks. You can include highlights of your vacation to create a gift book for grandparents, or perhaps you will be inspired to create a special theme book of your favorite Disney World adventure. I'm doing a series of theme books on Disney World parades.

Amazon Price: (as of 08/21/2008)

Our WDW Adventure 1998 

Here are some sample pages from my first WDW scrapbook. I used a basic black book with only a few cut-outs from scrapbooking sheets. It is all handlettered in white ink.

Helpful Tips 

Scrapbooking Tips on Allears.net

I wrote this page on Allearsnet.com, the largest online unofficial guide to Walt Disney World. A few other authors have edited it and added some comments, but it's still my basic guide.

Even More Disney Scrapbook Piecings 

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