Love Photography, Travel, National Parks, and Halloween

Photo tips: Just Shoot Pictures to capture the experience.

Today we focus on Halloween


SeaWorld Halloween Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Sometimes it is important to just shoot pictures of everything you love even if the light isn’t quite right or angle is wrong or it isn’t perfect, shooting picture is about capturing the moment. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays because I feel like a gypsy when I travel and take road trips and celebrating with Witches, fortune tellers, palm readers, and tarot card readers sometimes is a lot of fun.

Witches Brewing SeaWorld Halloween Photo By Eileen Ludwig

But I need to digress.

As a child, I was dressed as a Witch with a green face and won the costume contest two years in a row. I loved that. Then there was that one house we went to every year where they gave out real toys, albeit Halloween noise makers or such, but fun when you entered the house to find talking pumpkins. They could see you but you could not see them. Real size candy bars were laid out and the toys and a conversation with Mr and Mrs Pumpkin was the highlight of my night.

SeaWorld Halloween Pumpkins 2004 Photo by Eileen Ludwig

When I had my first apartment on the third floor, we set it up with scary music and a ghost on a line that flew down the stairs. No kids would venture up. This was the only apartment I lived in as an adult with trick or treat’ers. I have searched out Halloween experiences for adults. Non scary ones because I don’t like things jumping out at me. I don’t go to Halloween Horror Nights but I am thinking this year I will go early in the day and capture what I can in the daylight hours when it is less scary. Halloween party is separate admission price.

I loved going to Halloween at Busch Gardens Williamsburg because they had lots of shows and non scary areas. The scary areas you had to deliberately go down a Separate walkway. Halloween at Busch Gardens Williamsburg was part of your daytime admission.

Busch Gardens Tampa pre Halloween Nights Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Busch Gardens Tampa is a separate priced activity You can not get from the back to the front without going through the scare zones. I went to see the three limited shows. They had one in the Dining area in the back and the other two up front. I stood there frozen as I tried to get back to the front of the park. Finally I notice a manager type and went up to him in tears, yes grownup scarty kat tears, I was frightened. I could not stop shaking until I was at the front of park and watched the one musical number with Scare Characters in dance and song.

Busch Gardens Tampa Scare show Photo by Eileen Ludwig

SeaWorld Halloween is fun with the characters dressed up and the small shows along the pathway to the kids rides area. There are a lot of Dressed up fish and wood characters, Sea Spirit Witch, Scare Crows, underwater characters. These are so enjoyable because they interact with you. Halloween fun is included with your admission to the park.

Animal Character SeaWorld Dressed for Halloween Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Scarecrows SeaWorld Halloween 2006 Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Even SeaWorld Cats dressed for Halloween 2007 Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Of course the Sea Lions are part of the fun too with skeletons on the ship area and the humans in costume. Sesame street characters are part of the fun in Seaport Theater. Having a wonderful Halloween show with the set decorated in early Halloween and even the sign to the Entrance of the Sea Lions and Otter Stadium is giggly fun all day. Capture the moment on your camera. There are lots of laugh out loud moments for Halloween and you walk around with a smile all day. Halloween Fun is include with your Park ticket.

Sea Lions Stadium decorated inside and out for Halloween Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Clyde is part of the Halloween Skit Photo by Eileen Ludwig

I love the trick or treat part. I give away the candy because I don’t like it. It becomes a treat for someone else.

Downtown Disney Halloween Happy Haunting 2009 Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Downtown Disney is a great place to go too because the kids are dressed up and there are some treat stations set up on both sides, West and East. The stage has a DJ who gets the kids really going with crazy dances and it is fun to see them and their parents dressed up in costume. Halloween post about Downtown Disney

Update 09/22/11 Disney is ending ANOTHER popular event Disney Downtown Halloween for adults and kids – Several years ago they shuttered Comedy Warehouse, a very popular show and event for adults.

Where else can kids and parents dress up – then at the theme parks?

The Disney Halloween Party in the Park is an extra cost over and above day time admittance. It has some better candy and of course lots of kids dressed up in Disney costumes and parents too when it gets closer to Halloween. I liked it the year they had the Tarot card readers included. I went to three of them. Once that was gone, I have not returned. People flocked to them in the true tradition of the Holiday but albeit they were eliminated based on ideology and those who used to fly across oceans to enjoy the traditions of Gypsies, no longer come.

There was face painting. Of course a Disney Parade which is fun and crowded. Some areas are decorated and some of the employees dress up but mostly the guests. Oh there is the pathway for the Alice and Wonderland Characters and Cards. This is a fun party and worth going at least once. It is a good way to do One Day at Magic Kingdom by entering at 4pm until midnight.

Cinderella Carriage Pumpkins  Disney Magic Kingdom Halloween Photo by Eileen Ludwig

If you can book your stay into the Campground for Halloween time period, do it. The campers go all out with decorations on their trailers or the cabins. There is a special showing at the movies that night and treats. Campers set out treat buckets on Halloween night, the 31st. Walking around to see all the lights and setups is a wonderful experience. Some are very over the top with gravestones, cobwebs, smoke, and flying ghost. Of course there are a lot of inflatable Disney Halloween characters.

Chip Halloween Disney Fort Wilderness Campground 2009 Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Dale Halloween Disney Fort Wilderness Campground 2009 Photo by Eileen Ludwig

Seaworld San Diego has a wonderful show for Clyde and Seamore with their hilarious Biff character doing comedy sketches to songs. This is a fun show to see and runs much of the month in October.My pictures from Halloween San Diego are on my crashed drive that I have not finished trying to revive.

Shamu dress for Halloween too at SeaWorld 2006 Photo by Eileen Ludwig

I have not been to the Disneyland one or Knotts Landing or SeaWorld San Antonio. Check them out and let us know here in the comments how those were.

Finding nice safe and fun places for Halloween where both kids and parents can dress up creates such a wonderful time for all. I go solo and love it too.

Jim McInosh theme – I love .. ?  Magnificent Monday made it difficult to pick one topic since I love so many things. I spent all day finding my Halloween pictures and uploading some to Flickr. I have over 60 that are the result of narrowing them down from hundreds.

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Eileen Lud­wig of Digital Photography and Multimedia Art brings to the world insights about photography, multimedia, and Art. Early adopter of the Brownie Camera and an avid traveler she has photographed far and wide. Using this site to share with others photographs, skills, knowledge, and joys of clicks. She is owner of four sites: Pho­tog­ra­phy, Web Design School, Social Media School and Free­lance Tourist. Each are in dif­fer­ent stages of devel­op­ment and evolution.

We all gather in this place to share expe­ri­ences, strengths, and school of hard knocks, On Job Train­ing. We can use this space to explore and under­stand the trends and con­cepts both as a begin­ner and advanced user. Point­ing oth­ers in the right direc­tion when needed.

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