It's been a busy week. The day before Thanksgiving I left home on a whirlwind trip, and over the next six days visited China, Africa, Mexico and the mountains of India, with brief visits to France, England and Canada along the way.

Perhaps the most amazing thing was that I was able to do it all with just one direct flight to Orlando, Florida. My daughter's dance troupe was invited to perform at Disney World, so that's what we did over Thanksgiving. We've been there many times before, and I'm always amazed at what a great job the Disney folks do in creating various worlds down there in Florida.

As a photographer, I think it's hard to beat it for an opportunity to shoot lots of different scenes in a small amount of time and space. There's Epcot with the "World Showcase," pavilions designed to give you a feel for life in different countries. Not only are they beautiful, but they're also lit well, so they're as lovely at night as during the day. If you want to practice your language skills (my son's learning French and Chinese), then you'll find that most people working in the "countries" there are natives, in the U.S. on one-year work visas.

You want animals? Then head over to Disney's Animal Kingdom. You can walk the park and photograph the various critters, or even take an "African Safari,' which takes you by truck through habitats populated with hippos, elephants, giraffe, rhinos, lions and more. And, being Disney, everything's designed to look natural, so you don't have lots of concrete and wire fencing in your shots.

The new Everest ride in Animal Kingdom is a blast if you're into roller coasters, but even if you're not, the decorations alone are worth the walk. As someone who used to do a lot of backpacking, and a bit of mountaineering, it was fun to see all the gear stacked in corners and hanging on the walls, to simulate outfitters helping clients tackle Everest and its nearby mountains.

Okay, I admit it. I like Disney World. My kids still go for the rides, but I go for the fun photography. There's no place I know that makes it easier to shoot a LOT of different types of photos, without having to suffer the travails of jet lag, customs and immigration, language difficulties and strange foods. Don't get me wrong - I do enjoy seeing the real world - but for an easy photo trip where you can make nice photos from sunrise to midnight, it's hard to beat Disney.