Disney Tourist Blog: 2012 Year in Review
I want to start this post out by thanking you all. When we first started this blog last year, I figured a handful of people would read the blog each day. It started as a fun experiment, basically. We were way late to the blogosphere, so I wasn’t expecting any kind of serious traction. The actual response to the website has blown us away, and we’re honored and humbled that so many people enjoy reading our thoughts, opinions, and tips, and that so many of you enjoy my photos.
2012 has been a great year for Disney Tourist Blog. Year over year traffic has more than tripled (now three people in my family read the blog instead of just my mom ;)). We have regular readers all around the world. (We are oddly popular in Australia, and I’m not really sure why.) It still boggles my mind that people want to read the words I write–even if I know most of you are just here for the photos!
Unfortunately, the growth hasn’t been all good. You may have noticed a lot of downtime on the website this summer and fall. Traffic became so heavy that the website was down just as much as it was up, and it took me a while to come up with a viable solution. The solution involved some back-end work to make the site more lightweight, and also spending more on hosting…a lot more. Our monthly host bill is now substantially more than our bill for the entire year of 2011. The website is now more stable, but it’s still not perfect. Who knew that running a website could be so expensive and difficult?! (For this reason, we are also incredibly grateful to those of you who have made purchases through our Amazon affiliate links; they’re what keeps this blog going.)
One of the “victims” of this traffic situation has been trip reports, as the photo-heavy reports regularly cripple the site. It’s a bit ironic that what brought many of you here in the first place is also what ended up almost killing this site! I’ve tried a few solutions to ease the strain on the server, including multi-page reports. I’m still trying to find a workable solution to this, as I know many of you love the trip reports.
It’s also been a great year for us. Although we still own a dachshund, our cat has been the redeeming pet of our household, and he continues his reign of excellence. We’ve also done a fair amount of traveling, visiting Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, regular Paris, London, National Parks, and a handful of other locations. It has been an exhausting year, but that’s not a complaint.
We’ve met many of you in the parks, and based on that, we can say with some certainty that our readers are awesome. I’m sure a handful of our readers suck (statistically speaking, this has to be the case, right? That’s what Seinfeld taught me…), but we have yet to meet these folks. For a topic that should be inherently happy and lighthearted, the online Disney community can be pretty nasty at times, but those of you we’ve met have been great, so I’d like to think that our readers are largely nice and civil. This belief is confirmed by the blog comments and Facebook page discussions, all of which have been friendly, even when people don’t agree with one another. Perhaps that troll repellent I sprayed on the blog really worked! In any case, we look forward to meeting more of you in 2013.
What’s next for 2013? We’re not entirely sure. We are trying to diversify our travel experiences a bit more, and to that end, we’ll be taking a several weekend trips to non-Disney locations in early 2013. (Thank you, AirTran $49/one way sale and Megabus $0 ticket promotion!) National Parks are also high on our list for 2013, and whenever Airfarewatchdog alerts me to cheap weekend airfare to any airport near a National Park in 2013, we’ll be making the trip. We want to travel as much as we can before we have kids because costs are cheap with it just being the two of us…and it sounds like kids substantially alter the equation. We won’t be traveling less to Disney theme parks, so don’t worry about that!
As a result of the photography survey results from a couple weeks ago and because we’re going to be visiting a lot of non-Disney locations, we’re going to start a companion travel photography blog in 2013. Disney Tourist Blog will still have occasional technical photography content, but most of that content will be found on the other blog, along with photos of the day that include rambling anecdotes about our experiences, restaurant tips, and whatever else strikes my fancy. The current dichotomy between “Disney Travel Tips” and “Technical Photography Tips Sprinkled with Disney Photos” posts on this blog doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, and both styles of posts are popular, but with audiences that only overlap a bit. “Disney Planning+Disney Photography” isn’t really a logical blog niche, but “Travel Photography Blog” is, so the change should be for the better. Plus, this solution finally allows me to share photos from other places we’ve traveled, which is my big reason for starting it–I have some halfway decent “other” photos that I’d love to start sharing. I’ll let you all know when it launches.
But that’s what’s next for a spin-off blog that probably doesn’t interest a lot of you. What’s next here is largely up to you, as I’m all ears to your feedback. I plan on doing more dedicated editorializing and trying to catch up on dining and hotel reviews, but beyond that, I’m not sure. If you have topics you’d like to see me cover, post the ideas in the comments. My goal is to average 4.5 articles per week on Disney Tourist Blog, something I believe I can accomplish despite starting another blog thanks to taking some other things off of my plate, and eliminating a lot of needless time wasters. Plus, I never sleep. 😉
So…that’s our looking backward, looking forward post for 2012. We’d love to hear your feedback, topic suggestions, etc., so if you have any input at all, please share it in the comments. Thanks so much for reading!
Thanks for sharing this nice article. It have some great use full information.
I can’t wait to read about your new travel destinations. National Parks are awesome and tales of culture shock are always good fun, too. Plus that picture of the Arc de Triomphe is quite spectacular (are you in the middle of traffic? You dare-devil!).
I laugh in the face of danger! HAHAHA! 🙂
Wow Tom, when speaking of travelling it’s been a wonderful year for you (lucky one). As one of the few spanish readers of this blog I really want to thank you how you bring near the american Disney Parks to those who live far away from the enchanted kingdoms. You’ve done a great job, even in photography posts which have made me take up photography. Thanks a lot 😉
As another Disney-and-photography loving lawyer, I’m looking forward to the new blog, especially if you keep your writing style on it.
Whose writing style would I use if not my own?! 😉
When I write briefs, I always have to go back and “tone them down.” Especially if they’re reply briefs!
Why did you have to mention briefs? I have one due in a little over a week, and it’s my fitst (truly solo) appellate brief since law school!
Your photos are beautiful and I love to look at them, but what camera lens and filter thingy you used doesn’t interest me. So i’ll look at the other blog for pictures, not for content.
I’ll be staying here for all the great Disney content, reviews, trip reports and your amazingly fresh opinions on what is happening in the parks. And while this is a Disney blog, I would love to see reports on the other places you visit too!! If you’re heading out to Yosemite National Park for a weekend, I’d would really be interested in reading about that, and maybe other readers would too! As a tribute to Sam the Eagle, ” A Salute to all things Travel, but mostly Disney.”
And are you still training for the WDW Marathon next weekend?
A lot of people don’t care about the technical side of the photos. I understand that, and I appreciate the honesty. It’s another one of the dichotomies of the website: those who view the photos because they simply enjoy nice photos of Disney and those who view the photos with an interest in learning more about photography (my guess is that it’s probably a 75/25 split in favor of the former).
The problem with reports on other places is two-fold: 1) most people coming here have a vary narrow interest in EITHER Walt Disney World or Disneyland (usually not both), and not other places; the lack of popularity I’ve seen in the Disneyland Paris content I’ve posted tells me that there is little interest in other locations, even if they are Disney; and 2) people who are interested in other locations will dismiss this site out-of-hand before reading/seeing the non-Disney content because of the name on the masthead. A lot of people out there think of Disney parks as “kiddie parks,” and are dismissive of anything associated with the Disney name–this is especially true among serious travelers. When popular photography sites have linked to my photography reviews, on more than one occasion, they have prefaced their links with something along the lines of “a surprising good review from a site about Disney…” Given that, I assume there are some photographers who stumble upon the reviews and immediately close the window before actually reading the review and having the chance to be “surprised” by its quality. That kind of thinking, and the thinking of those interested solely in Disney, is what I’m up against in having this site be a kitchen sink of content.
Of course, there are the anomalies, like you, but you’re the exception, not the rule. Unfortunately.
As for the WDW Marathon…nope. Airfare was too expensive when we looked, so we nixed those plans long ago. I really wanted to do it since it’s the 20th anniversary, but it just wasn’t in the cards! 🙁
In the spirit of feedback, I have most enjoyed your writing when you state an opinion or observation And why you feel that way. It has been useful to see Disney through your eyes. We are frequent travelers
Who have a different touring style than you and your wife so it is fun to see how you tour the World.
I would like to see more posts on the resorts and comparing them. Your DVC article was informative and entertaining. Posts about special places (for you) and or events you would like to see at Disney and why would be also appreciated. Thanks for asking.
Thanks for the feedback–I appreciate this kind of constructive criticism!
It still amazes me that people actually give weight to my opinions. I have a lot of strong opinions and I’ve shared them because I know people will see them, inadvertently. Until recently, I figured the opinions were just something people tolerated reading as they looked at the photos. Sort of like when Lindsay Lohan shares a political preference–no one really gives her political commentary any weight, but they hear the opinions because they hear about her. I can’t believe I just compared myself to Lindsay Lohan, but you get the idea.
I did the DVC comparison and Moderate Resort comparison because we’ve experienced all of those resorts. Still haven’t done the Poly or Art of Animation, so I can’t do the other comparisons yet. I will try to think up some articles in line with your other suggestions.
Thanks!
I think it was a few months ago – you posted some photos from a non-Disney trip and I wondered why you didn’t post more. I enjoy photography in general so I’m excited for your new blog. While some may come here for the photography, you are a good writer, which I think makes a big difference.
You have the right idea squeezing in as much travel as possible now before kids. Not only do they slow you down but vacations become more about them and less about photography. (Which is all good, of course.)
Happy New Year!!
Sounds like some exciting stuff for 2013! I’m looking forward to reading both of your blogs moving forward. I’m interested to hear more about these weekend trips you are taking. Like many in the US (Europe is very different for whatever reason), I am fairly limited in my vacation days per year, so my wife and I are always thinking about what we can pack into a weekend.
If you find airfare that sends you towards Harper’s Ferry, I promise I won’t flee the state again.
So excited to see your photos/hear your take on the National Parks. My husband and I are teachers and spend as much of our summers as possible traveling through the west/northwest and visiting national parks. They are my favorite non-Disney places. Congrats on a great year and best of luck in 2013!
I’ll be looking forward to that blog as well and while I do get your reasoning and I think you are spot on, I enjoy the unique melange that is your content…even if it has persuaded me to get a new camera body and an ultra-wide.
I love your photos and your blog! Thanks for sharing the love of Disney parks. Good luck on your new blog and happy New Year from Brazil!
I’m all for another blog as long as the one for disney still exist ( or exist in some form in the other blog ). I will be a reader of both of them anyway since my passion for photography is as big as my passion for Disney.
I know you might be planning some Disney photo trip with the community. Do you think you will ever plan similar trip to others regions ? A weekend at X place, where people from this blog could meet, take pictures and learn.
This blog will continue to exist in the same form, with the same frequency of posts. About the only difference is that you’ll see fewer technical photography posts here, and fewer “photo of the day” style posts here.
The other site will, essentially, be a photo of the day site on which I share anecdotes and technical info with each photo, and I will also have dedicated posts to reviews. I won’t have reviews or anything of that sort, but I might mention restaurants we enjoyed during a trip through an anecdote on one of the photo of the day posts.
As for photo trips to other regions: highly unlikely. My expertise lies with Disney. Most of the time that we travel to other locations, I’m going off of tips I’ve read elsewhere, and end up “winging it” a lot. Me leading a photo trip elsewhere would be like the blind leading the blind. 😉
;p fair enough for the photo trips. I’ll then do my best to make it one of the trip to Disney ( maybe the one in December if I can ). It’s really the technical side of things that interest. I don’t mind going blind to shoot somewhere ( that’s what I do myself to be honest most of my trips, except in Disney ).
And you can count on me to be a loyal reader on both blog.
Just wanted to say thanks! I’m sure I’ll follow your photography blog as well, but I’ll stick with this one too. I enjoy both the info & discussion about Disney and photography!
Thanks again!
It sounds like you are getting a little burned out on Disney Parks and are ready to spend the majority of your time on other things with some Disney sprinkled in. Totally understandable, but I hope your exuberance for Disney stays alive. I’d love to see a new WDW trip report, a review of new fantasyland etc. I wish you all the best with your new blog but I am hoping this one keeps going with plenty of obsession with Disney!
I want to make it abundantly clear that this is not even remotely the case. The “other” trips we have planned are all Friday to Sunday (0 vacation day) trips that we’re taking simply because the trip was cheap and we have a reason to go there. Those trips aren’t replacing Disney trips…they’re replacing sitting on the couch watching TV for the weekend.
In no way are we burned out on Disney. Just the opposite, in fact!
As for a review of New Fantasyland, stay tuned… 🙂
Awesome!
I love your blog. Happy New Year and thanks for the amazing posts.
I cannot wait to see your take on America’s National Parks. My parents took me on a 2-month road trip one summer hitting the majority of the National Parks. We saw a lot, and I’m sure a good amount has changed in the last 21 years. I really wish I had a camera back then!
Kids do add to your travel expenses, but not until they are around 3 yrs old. Traveling with an infant is easier than expected especially if you are accustomed to lugging a camera bag.
I’ve also been to a lot of National Parks, but mostly with my parents when I was young. We watched the Ken Burns National Parks series this summer and that rekindled the love.
Kids may not directly add to travel expenses immediately, but they would (for us) indirectly. We don’t sleep much when traveling, so we can accomplish in a day or two what would otherwise take 3 or 4. Kids slow you down and would make us have to extend trips. Once a trip goes from Friday-Sunday to Thursday-Monday, its cost increases significantly–not just due to the extra two nights, but due to missing work.