Trip Report I'll stop the World and Melt with you.

It's been two years since my family and I visited WDW. Two long years. Thankfully, my son Sterg and I got a three day Disney fix last summer at Disneyland.

Curiously, this trip report is being written at a time when a lot of negative Disney vibe is emanating from other regions of WDWMagic - as it was two years ago. The Doom & Gloom is running free and wild. I'm just thankful I stayed clear of most of it before our trip because I may have cancelled what turned out to be an amazing time. It is also fortunate that we got this trip in because from the sound of things there may not be a WDW to go to in a few years.

To be truthful, some things that Disney has done has me scratching my head; but this is neither the time nor place to discuss it. Putting that aside - let's get on with the trip report!

We left on Sunday July 21st. Maybe the longest day of my life. The night before, my oldest daughter Alex went to see Taylor Swift in Philadelphia ( about 50 miles away ) and due to a long rain delay she didn't make it home until 2 am. This meant that she would not go to sleep since we were being picked up at 3 am for the drive to Philly airport for our 6 am flight. At least we were supposed to be picked up at 3am.

Here is my Mom ( Yia-Yia )and my youngest daughter Antonia ( Toni ) up and ready at 3 in the morning waiting for our ride. Yia-Yia ( grandmother in Greek ) is 77 years old and joining us for the first time on a Disney adventure. Toni is now almost 12 and the little Yorki-poo in the front is Prince. Prince is short for Prince Charming ( named by Toni ).

When the driver didn't show up by 3:15 I started to worry. I called the limo company at the same time he called me to tell me he was lost. I reeled him in and we were on our way by 3:30. The drive down was nerve wracking as I kept watching the clock and praying for no delays. That is until our driver eased my tension by telling us his son works for Disney and he goes down to the World 4 or 5 times a year. The resulting Disney conversation lasted until we hit the airport around 4:30.

More tension as we went through security. My carry on was stopped in the machine and I was pulled aside. I had put a container of Vitamin C powder in my bag that garnered some attention. Of course, my Mom came over as I was being held and my bag inspected.

"Why didn't you put that in your suitcase, Christo?" she said to me in her Greek accented voice.

"Mom, please go wait over there" I responded.

"No, I want to see what they are doing" Then she followed with this one for the TSA officer.

"It's not drugs, my son doesn't do cocaine!"

OK, I thought. I'm definitely going to be held in some prison cell for the next week.

After the chemical test proved my Mother correct, I was allowed to go on my way. We had time to grab coffee and some food and make it on the Southwest plane to Orlando. A plane full of smiling happy faces! Including these;

This is my wife Val ( not the biggest of Disney fans ), with Yia-Yia in the middle and Alex by the window.

On the other side was yours truly sporting a Hawaiian shirt ( since we were staying at the Poly ), Toni and Sterg.

Before we knew it we were up in the clouds...

 

[Bob]

I remember feeling a bit self-conscious with the tripod all set up. So I just kinda stood at one spot and took shots of different things.

Like I always wanted a night time shot of Mouse Gear. Yes, that's why I went to all the trouble of packing a tripod and carrying it around on this trip.

Eventually I got braver and spotted something that might make a better subject for some photos...

Yep, I became a bit SSE obsessive - but who wouldn't on a nice night? I was giving my fish-eye a workout.

It must be said that as well as the camera performed on this trip, some credit has to go to the post processing work I did in LightRoom. Up to that point I was shooting in RAW and those RAW files out of the NEX-7 were amazing to use in LightRoom. The photos did not look like this out of the camera, but they did contain massive amounts of resolution. Most files were 25 to 30mb. If you are looking to maximize the power of a good camera, LR (and other processing software ) is a worthwhile investment.

Where is the "like X 1000" button?

 

[fractal]

While i was stalking SSE, Alex and Sterg were enjoying Test Track. Sterg said he really liked the new version while Alex was indifferent. He also liked sitting in a new camaro;

They also rode Mission Space before meeting up with me.

We left Epcot and made our way back to the Poly. It was another winning day at WDW. The meal at Kouzzina was very good and it made me think about the Signature Dinning restaurants.
If you are on the meal plan they would cost you 2 dinning credits vs. only 1 for places like Kouzzina and O'hana. Are any of the signature spots twice as good as those? As much as we enjoy Citricos, I can't say it was twice as good as those 1 credit restaurants. That is not a knock on Citricos, just a comparison on a value basis. Of course, maybe they price it that way to keep "Jeb Clampett" type people like me from eating there.


Last picture of that day - seemed that Sterg had too much feta cheese;

The next morning Toni and I were back to our routine - everybody else slept in despite complaining the previous day that "I didn't wake them up on purpose because I just wanted to be with my little princess". Well, they were partially correct; being with Toni alone is much more enjoyable than with all three children. The two older ones think it's funny to make fun of their younger sister or their fathers. However, that did not preclude me from trying to wake them up everyday. On that day I made sure that I heard them say they wanted to sleep in.

So Toni and I got ready, geared up and left our rooms for a quick stop at Capt Cooks - then off to Animal Kingdom again ( Toni loves that park ).

There was a bit of mist coming off the water in Asia. I was really diggin' this boat.

Toni had us heading straight to Everest...

This is really an amazing queue. Stuffed with so many cool things that help tell the story and set a mood.

 

[fractal]

Yes, I know; how many pictures can you take of one attraction? I think I was trying to find out. Everest, to me is a near perfect ride. When the Yeti was working I considered it the best I've ever experienced. The view of the mountain as you approach, the amazing queue, the story, and of course the thrill of the ride which has a few twists and builds up the anticipation for your finally encounter with the creature. I hope Joe Rohde wasn't kidding when he recently promised to fix it.

Even when you look up, it's as if you were in Nepal;

Toni was ready - and so was I!

Good morning spooky Yeti carvings!

More spooky things on the outside of the "temple"...

and inside. I would love to walk up those steps and take in all the little things.

Wow! You can see Florida from Nepal!

After waking up on Everest, we headed to Dinoland; I kept thinking to myself "what a tremendous way to start your day".

 

[cfry06]

Have to say it again...gorgeous pictures!! With the dreary weather we've been experiencing here the last couple days - your pictures are a welcome daydream to WDW! Really pumping me up for our quick anniversary trip in 21 days!!!

Can't wait for more. Love this report!

(Nearly spit my coffee out when I read the feta comment. Lol)

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

AMAZING pics of SSE, Chris! See, wasn't lugging the ol' tri-pod around all day worth it?

 

[mishel635]

All your pics have been great, but the ones from Epcot at night were gorgeous!!! I could see one in a frame on a wall somewhere. You are making me even more excited for our trip in February! (Which I didn't think was possible!)

 

[gaga4disney]

i will be there in 7days with family... your trip report is such a great warm-up to my trip. thanks!

 

[fractal]

Toni wanted to see if she could make it through Dinosaur without closing her eyes ( she almost did ).

Next she convinced me to ride Primeval again.

We had some fun in line taking goofy mirror shots.

Even the girls next to us wanted to get in on it.

I'm starting to like this ride - we screamed and laughed while being tossed and spun.

The rest of Dinoland, to me is mostly a waste. I felt bad for the CMs maning the carnival stands.

By then our FPs were up for ( you guessed it ), EE! If Toni had her way we would have ridden it all day long.

More queue love.

This was the first time we didn't ride front seat so I was able to get some different perspectives.

Toni got her fill of thrill rides, so we were off to see some real animals.

On the way we stopped on the deck and dock behind the Tree of Life. It was used for the now extinct boat ride.

This was the first time I spent some time viewing the other side of the tree. We were both spotting and calling out the different carved animals.

We continued on our journey to Africa...

 

[TheMouseFan]

I love your AK pics!! I could spend forever in this park taking in all of the details! I'm kind of bummed that we'll probably only get to spend a few hours there on our November trip. But, at least I'll be there!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip and see the pics!

 

[fractal]

Make sure you copy over the Lightroom catalog file. I think it asks when you first start it where you want to save it, if it's not in the Lightroom install file. The catalog file has the information on all your edits and organization. The file will be a .lrcat file extension.

Thanks for the great advise! I did that and everything came over without a hitch.

Your pictures are brilliant and have me sooooo looking forward to my trip in two weeks! Without a doubt I won't be getting pictures anywhere near your standard but am now a bit inspired to snap away in the parks!

Thanks and I hope you have a great trip ( and take tons of pics )!

WOW!!! You made it. Hope it was delicious

It was exhausting but worth it!

What, no photo of you carrying the purse?

Surprisingly, Sterg missed his opportunity. He would have died for that material to use in a Vine.

I know this is too little too late, but might I suggest the next time you stay at Poly and have to get to the Boardwalk ~
Ride the monorail (or take the boat) to the MK, walk to the bus stop at the MK and board the Boardwalk bus. Saves a TON of walking and will get you there faster (and no worry that Yia-Yia didn't have her card, since you would not be entering a park.)

Thanks for the tip. When planning it out I figured we would get to Epcot much earlier than we did - then when we where running so late I didn't think it through too well.

Not even kidding, I gasped at these. STUNNING!!!

Thanks Britt!

That photo of SSE is stunning!!!

Thanks!

 

[ml123_9]

Your pics of SSE are average at best, however, the one of Mousegears completely blew me away. I'm joking of course. I'm loving your report and your picture taking is wonderful. I'm no photo expert by any means, but you can definately tell a difference from your earlier reports and this one. They are great! Keep on updating, your report gives me something to do during my lunch break every night.

 

[fractal]

WOW the photo of SSE... Just WOW!

Thank you!

Glad you had a great meal after all the difficulty getting to it!

Your story reminds me of both occasions we have eaten at Citricos, madly trying to get there on time...it's so stressful being late for an ADR.

Thanks - yes, it is stressful but was worth it.

Amazing Photos!!!

Thanks Vader!

Your Kouzzina story reminded me of your trip to the California Grill several years ago. Clearly you are unlucky when it comes to ADRs

Lol! That was another crazy night. Thanks for remembering. The darn new shoes I had on tore up the back of my heel! At least this time there was no blood!

saw this image and thought of this TR

Lol!

Whoa, it took me awhile to catch up, we just got back from our trip on Friday. My first trip ever to WDW the Grand Floridian was instantly my favorite resort. Then I had kiddos and kind of let go of that love for quite a few years. I re-fell in love with it this past trip. I decided that we are staying there either next trip or the one after, I don't care if the kids are still a bit young. It brings you back in time and is just so calming and relaxing. Your pics of the lobby are absolutely breath-taking! I love the jazz band and the grand piano playing one level down. My girls danced to that piano for an hour last week! I'm getting misty-eyed thinking back already! Thank you for your beautiful report and for sharing your absolutely stunning photos.

I hope you had a great trip! Thanks, GF was impressive. Thanks for reading along!

Dude...your picture of SSE is out of this world! Glad your meal at Kouzzina was great and Yia Yia liked it.

Thanks Dennis!

One of my ALL-TIME FAVE WDW attractions!
So jealous...you got a MUCH better pic of his office desk than I did...!
Ditto on the ten more years. John Hench lived well into his 90's still making ample contributions to WDI with both his sense of design and color.
I once started a thread on another site titled "What if Walt Would Have Lived Another 20-30 Years...?" It died like a dog in the dirt. Maybe it was just too mind-boggling to think of all the dreams we might have seen come true if he had...!

Love One Man's Dream! I believe he would have completed his vision of EPCOT. Maybe some day, somebody will take those plans and build it.

OK I may have to steal that picture of Spaceship Earth... I had Kouzzina once before and enjoyed it... Thanks for posting Frac!

Steal away! Thanks for reading!

@fractal you need to make a coffee table book with all your amazing photographs from this trip!

I do make photo books of my trips - this one will definitely cost the most! Thanks for following along safaribob!

Glad to hear dinner was a hit! Also, that photo of SSE is AMAZING!

Thanks disneyfan!

 

[fractal]

To-die-for pics, Chris! Geez!

Thanks Kelly!

This may sound weird but I don't actually want this trip report to end.. LOL IT makes me feel like I am there and the photos are gorgeous, it makes me look forward to my upcoming trip. Great job!

Lol! Thanks! I hope you have an awesome trip!

Thanks for the review on Kouzzina!!! Sounds like we should be really excited about this one. Also really glad you made it...sounds like a crazy time getting there. I also highly recommend working in a trip to Italy at some point b/c the Sistine Chapel is one of those places that just blew me away. I know not everyone who goes there is overly moved by it, but it hit me so hard that I was crying and didn't even know it...well, until I put my head down for a moment to rest my neck and felt the tears stream down my face. I know- cheesy, but true...and DH got a good (and quiet) laugh. I've thought about getting LightRoom, just not sure if it's worth it for my current camera... I mean, it's a decent camera, but with its more limited ISO and lack of RAW shooting...I'm thinking I'll just wait. Still- the pics are gorgeous as ever!!! You need to frame some of these and have a home or office gallery.

You should really enjoy Kouzzina! Your trip is getting closer! I have to do a trip to Italy and Greece. It may be in the cards for next summer. Goodluck with the photography - it does get expensive. Thanks for the comments!

This trip report is great! I am loving the pics.

Thanks!

Your line about Mouse Gear is freakin' hilarious! Again, love the pics and sorry you had trouble getting to Kouzzina. At least the key card issue was a non issue in the end. Remember don't worry about looking like a dork, nobody knows who you are on vacation. Plus, your kids probably already have formed that opinion so go for it. Do you care if I use your SSE pics as a desktop background?

Lol! You are so right ( as always ). I curse you with the same smartas*y teenagers when your get older.

Your SSE pics will have my dreaming of EPCOT tonight! Thanks, Chris!!

A good dream to have! Thanks!

Your pictures of SSE are amazing !!

Thanks Allie Marie!

 

[fractal]

Where is the "like X 1000" button?

Thanks!

Have to say it again...gorgeous pictures!! With the dreary weather we've been experiencing here the last couple days - your pictures are a welcome daydream to WDW! Really pumping me up for our quick anniversary trip in 21 days!!!

Can't wait for more. Love this report!

(Nearly spit my coffee out when I read the feta comment. Lol)

Thank you! Yes, it has been dreary. My weather channel app keeps calling for sunny days and we keep having rainy days. I hope you have a wonderful trip!

I'm sure he purposely waiting until we were in a sealed area before his "release".

AMAZING pics of SSE, Chris! See, wasn't lugging the ol' tri-pod around all day worth it?

Thanks Darolyn! It was worth the effort! Excited for you and your upcoming trip!

All your pics have been great, but the ones from Epcot at night were gorgeous!!! I could see one in a frame on a wall somewhere. You are making me even more excited for our trip in February! (Which I didn't think was possible!)

Thanks mishel! I hope the time to February goes fast for you!

i will be there in 7days with family... your trip report is such a great warm-up to my trip. thanks!

Awesome! Take plenty of pics!

I love your AK pics!! I could spend forever in this park taking in all of the details! I'm kind of bummed that we'll probably only get to spend a few hours there on our November trip. But, at least I'll be there!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip and see the pics!

Yes, fellow AK fan! Thanks for reading along!

Your pics of SSE are average at best, however, the one of Mousegears completely blew me away. I'm joking of course. I'm loving your report and your picture taking is wonderful. I'm no photo expert by any means, but you can definately tell a difference from your earlier reports and this one. They are great! Keep on updating, your report gives me something to do during my lunch break every night.

Lol~ that's funny! Thanks, I really appreciate the comments!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Your SSE pics are gorgeous!!!!!!! I can't get over that!

I gotta learn and play with my camera settings more to take better pictures. Props to you though for all that editting too! I honestly don't have the patience for that kind of stuff, I like what comes right out of the camera lol.

Oh and LOVE your AK pics! Whenever I see someone else's pics of Animal Kingdom, it makes me miss it because we don't usually stop at AK often on short trips because it's my least favorite park. Won't be until next May I get back there, thank you for your beautiful pics!!!!

 

[Captain Chaos]

I proclaim only Frac can post trip reports.. and must include 100's of pics... That camera, Frac, well, you are getting your money's worth! The pictures are freaking awesome!

 

[fractal]

Forgot to add this in my last update.

 

[FlaggNL]

This report is getting better by the day love the pictures!! Keep on going

 

[fractal]

Next up was Kilimanjaro Safari! The standby was about 20 minutes and after about 10 minutes in line, Toni was bugging me to take pictures. I did bring my 'ol NEX-3 on the trip as a backup camera but that was in the room. After some hesitation, I handed over the camera ( making sure it the strap was over her head ) and all photographic responsibilities to her for our two week safari. The following pictures are all from Toni.

 

[ml123_9]

Wow, it looks like she has an eye for photography too. Those are very good