Hi there! If you're still here, chances are, you're missing out on our latest content! We've moved our site from Blogger to Squarespace. The url is the same as it was here - http://www.toursdepartingdaily.com, everything is just presented in a much cleaner package with a lot more versatility. We hope you'll head over there and continue following us! Don't forget to update your bookmark! Wow, we're yelling a lot! It must be because we're so excited!

It's been a lot of work over the past several months refining our vision for the new Tours Departing Daily. With all of the things we have on our creative to-do list there was a lot to consider. We knew we wanted a much cleaner design but we also needed a lot more functionality. The web is constantly adapting. Having a site that's on the early adopter side of the coin seemed the logical choice. We've been looking at the bones of the new site for a while now and, honestly, we're so excited about it that it's been hard to view the present state of things. It feels good to grow.

We'll still be posting Disney pictures but now there will also be a dedicated platform for our non-Disney endeavors, photographic or otherwise. We'll finally be getting around to more film projects like our Disneyland Railroad film, time lapses and graphic design. It's been a long time coming and we really appreciate your patience when our schedules limited what we were able to do.

Next up in the pipeline will be the long awaited photo tutorial. We'll be coming out with a newsletter later this summer. We've got a store on the new site and will have swag and photos (non-Disney for now) for sale in the coming weeks. If you've thought about hiring us we have an easy contact form and will be showcasing a broader range of our work. We'll also have a couple of big announcements in the near future that we can't wait to share.

We're excited for this new chapter and hope you are too. Thank you for joining us in this adventure!

Daily Photo Tour - The Morning Bite

Monstro always catches my attention. I can't help but to be drawn to that gigantic bite! On a really awesome morning I caught this shot while walking around an empty Fantasyland. It's interesting to capture different areas of Disneyland in a lighting that you've never shot before. This was one of those moments. If you've ever been early on a winter's morning, you'll be able to experience the amazing golden glow that seems to encompass the entire park. Fantasyland is a gem during this time. This lucky whale gets to soak it up every morning.

Tonight we've got something a little different to present, but before we get into that, let's have a quick update, shall we? It's been far too long!

We've been MIA the past week because of an important trip to NorCal that we mentioned over on our Facebook page. We hope to share the purpose for the trip soon (it went really, really well) but for now we must leave you in suspense. With all of the pictures from our journey, folks on our Instagram profile were asking if we're taking a break from Disney; the answer is certainly not. We are, however, planning on incorporating non-Disney photos and content to our site and social media outlets. There's a lot in this world to learn from and be inspired by. We hope you'll enjoy the varied content as we post it unlike the fifty some odd people who abandoned ship on Instagram. If you should feel so inclined, we've got a great deal to offer on life preservers, so make sure to stop by our online store before you go... Silliness aside, you can't please everybody, right?

The new website is almost ready and, fortunately for us, our image host, Smugmug, completely reworked their system. Everything will be bright and shiny and new! We can't wait to share. In addition to that, we're finally going to start putting out some new content. We've got some great creative ideas for film and time lapse projects and we're brainstorming the long awaited and highly sought after tutorial. It sounds so good when you put it like that, doesn't it? Well we promise it's not just hype. So buckle up and batten down your socks!

House of Restless Spirits

Now, for tonight's "different" post! Last October we were contacted by Rob Ostir, a brilliant special effects artist, to come out and shoot a couple of SoCal haunts. (These great folks will be at the first ScareLA convention this weekend. So if you were put off by the cost of D23, check their booths and presentations out at ScareLA and tell them we sent you!) Admittedly, we were a little hesitant at first, not being big into Halloween. The promise was that these haunts were Disney inspired and Disney caliber. We were not let down. We met Rob in Santa Monica just after sundown to visit Eric Maurin's "House of Restless Spirits". After a few brief introductions we were given a VIP tour around the house and behind the scenes. This haunt specializes in subtlety and the attention to detail is incredible. Below are a few scenes we captured. They are very dark to preserve the integrity of the setting and best viewed large by clicking -

House at Haunted Hill

After finishing up at the eerie and subtle "House of Restless Spirits" we followed Rob up to Woodland Hills to visit Matt & Lori Ford's spectacular "House at Haunted Hill". Again, we received the VIP treatment from gracious hosts. We got a private viewing of the show and got to see the control center for the complex lighting setup. Below are a few of the scenes we captured -









(Your eyes don't deceive you. That's Neil Patrick Harris in that last shot.)

We were blown away by both haunts and by the talent and graciousness of Rob, Eric, Matt & Lori. A big thank you to them for letting us come have a field day shooting their brilliant work! We'll share some more scenes a little closer to Halloween. In the meantime, check them out this weekend at ScareLA and visit their websites -
Haunt1000 / Spectral Illusions - Rob Ostir
House of Restless Spirits - Eric Maurin
House at Haunted Hill - Matt & Lori Ford

Daily Photo Tour - A Morning Cup of Tea

I have a tremendous amount of respect for people who can jump into a teacup intended to spin them into oblivion first thing in the morning. I've never been one for sudden movements that early; I like to ease myself into the day. So naturally, I sat this one out and used the opportunity to take a photo of Matthew and Kevin spinning like no one's business. They wanted to contribute some additional movement to my image so I'm pretty sure they spun faster than anyone else out there, laughing hysterically the whole time.

Daily Photo Tour - The Boiler Room

Picture, if you will, a hotel lobby. A hotel which, in fact, once reigned as the star of Hollywood. In the lobby is an elevator with a sign which reads, "Out of Service", and those days of stardom have long since faded. The hour is late. The only choice now is a service elevator, the entrance to which is located in the boiler room. But these passengers aren't headed to the upper floors. They're en route to... The Twilight Zone. (Of course, this is only properly read with your very best Rod Serling voice.)