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...

 

[fractal]

As an aside - the condition of the boat we rented was excellent; felt new.

Off into 7 Seas Lagoon we go!

Yia-Yia did not want to wear her life jacket.

Val just took her's off. I warned them that I was not going to be jumping in to save them if they went overboard.

We paid a quick visit to the Grand Floridan.

and finally, into Bay Lake and Wilderness Lodge.

Alex was lobbying to be captain so I relinquished my post.

and she did a great job steering us around.

Yia-Yia was proud!

Val was enjoying relaxing in the sun. While Sterg was blasting the boat's radio and dancing around.

I wanted to see the pool area of BLT but the view was blocked.

The flag designating our boat as being from the Poly.

Making our way back.

as we were approaching Magic Kingdom the traffic started to get congested. This guy was having fun on his SeaRacer.

Then we were told to stop and allow the big boats to clear.

Alex calmly navigated us through.

 

[fractal]

We waved to the Magic Kingdom.

then Alex brought us back home before our time ran out.

Val really enjoyed the boat ride. I thought it was fun ( but would have rather been in a park ) and it was different and a new Disney experience for us.

Alex did a much better job parking the boat than I did getting her out. I enjoyed getting all the different resort and MK views and being on a boat navigating the waters and traffic made it a fun little adventure for us. I can't remember the cost for the rental but I didn't think it was outrageous. As I said, the boat was in excellent condition and there are several lake patrol boats zipping around to keep things safe. We did look for but did not see any gators.

UP NEXT - Return to 50's Prime Time and an evening in Hollywood Studios!

 

[fractal]

I'll be there in T-37 days and counting...

Now 33 days !!

Awesome SM pics!!

thanks!

Put me on the list for a Fractal shirt.

Lol!

Ha, I love the "Fractal" shirt. You should trademark it and start marketing them. When we rode Little Mermaid, I kept thinking that Ariel was either stoned or drunk.

Maybe I'll put Sterg on that. Yes, those eye are "interesting".

Great pics. Still enjoying your trip report. Cool shirt.

thanks and likewise!

Irony is funny....

Good use of bokeh effect in many of your photos. The smiling face in front of the blurred castle may be the photo of the day.

Thanks again epcotisbest! I wanted something different so I tried to shot up at Toni ( vs the normal above and down ) then after a few shots I thought a blurred castle would look great since it's such a recognizable image it didn't need to be in focus. Toni was a willing subject, it took me a few shots to get what I had imagined.

Love the fractal shirt! The kids are too funny!

Thanks!

Gosh your pictures are gorgeous!
And your family is beautiful

Thank you!

What a great shot Fractal I am very impressed with it The depth of field, the composition and lighting are top knotch. The amount of blur is just enough without losing the castle's detail.

I really wish Photopass photographers can do something as fun as this. The standard full Castle shot is just getting old. And the thing I dislike a lot with the way they take picture is the use of Flash when they really don't need to.

But it's really nice to see these pictures Fractal Great job

Thanks EpicMickey! As I explained above to epoctisbest, it was easier with a willing subject! I agree with Photopass, but I'm sure some people would complain when the got home and say a "blurry castle". Thanks again and for reading along!

 

[fractal]

Thank you, THANK YOU for taking such a beautiful shot of Mouse Gear. I used to work there, and stocked that exact area, so it means a lot to me to see it again (even if at the time I was like "ugh, I'm done with this stocking stuff!"). Your pictures are absolutely amazing, and I'm loving this trip report!

You are welcome tongaloosh! I'm glad you enjoyed that shot! Thanks for following along!

With the school year starting, I didn't find much time to drop by the website. And now as I am still impressed by your trip report, my super quick weekend is approaching this Friday. Your reporting has made it so much more exciting to go down. Thanks again for your thorough report.

thanks FigmentFollower! I hope you have a wonderful trip!

 

[mamamouse]

love the fractal shirt

 

[lbrad]

I need to go out on a boat!! That looks like soo much fun

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Caught up now that I'm back! Those sea racers look fun to rent! I saw alot during our stay at the Lodge (which was AMAZING by the way) Seeing your picture made me miss it alot!!! One of my favorite resorts now!

Also all of your pictures of the Poly makes me want to fork up the money and stay there like right now. But we'll have to wait and see for the future for that.

I love your Fractal shirt! Did anyone recongize you that day from the boards?

 

[fractal]

love the fractal shirt

Thanks mamamouse!

Wow at Alex driving (and you letting her). My dad would have so not allowed that, and definitely never admitted if someone drove a boat better than him!

It wasn't easy admitting she was better.

I need to go out on a boat!! That looks like soo much fun

we had a good time!

Caught up now that I'm back! Those sea racers look fun to rent! I saw alot during our stay at the Lodge (which was AMAZING by the way) Seeing your picture made me miss it alot!!! One of my favorite resorts now!

Also all of your pictures of the Poly makes me want to fork up the money and stay there like right now. But we'll have to wait and see for the future for that.

I love your Fractal shirt! Did anyone recongize you that day from the boards?

WL is on the top of our list for next trip. Poly was very nice, but will we rank it above BC???

No, nobody recognized me with the shirt on. Maybe next trip.

 

[FlaggNL]

hej Fractal Still in love with your report and the quality of your pics Can't wait to read and see more!!

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

Tuvalu!! This is the building we were in. First floor, 2nd room in on the left. LOVED the view. We could see the top of the castle and I'm sure had we been on the 3rd floor we would have seen most of it. The only thing I didn't like was how far of a walk it was to ge to GCH and the pool. You havd to walk all the way around the marina. I shouldn't complain though cause many of the other resorts would be a further walk from the room to the main area (PORS, All Stars if you're WAY in the back)

 

[PolynesianPrincess]

haha, the Fractal shirt is awesome! I must say, I did not even see that cabana you guys were in! And we spent most of the afternoon by the pool. I did see one kind of by the pool bar. I wonder if that was the larger one? I do agree with you that the pool as a whole leave a little to be desired. And how does the Poly NOT have a hot tub?! I thought all deluxes have them but apparently the Poly is the only one that does not. I feel they need to rectify this ASAP! The waterslide is pretty cool though. I went down it a few times myself.

You have just confirmed my decision to not go on SGE in November when we take my cousin. It's her first trip so she might want to ride it, but I'm going to tell her it's the worst ride ever and hopefully she will go with it. Telling her that wouldn't exactly be a lie though, right?

 

[dinodak]

Fractal - Awesome trip report and better pics (I'll admit that I 'stole' a SSE shot for my iPad).

 

[Tuvalu]

Tuvalu!! This is the building we were in. First floor, 2nd room in on the left. LOVED the view. We could see the top of the castle and I'm sure had we been on the 3rd floor we would have seen most of it.

Third floor Tuvalu is the best!!

 

[ml123_9]

Yeah, the size of motors they put on those pontoons don't really help you change directions quickly. Did you get to see any of River Country?

 

[popsicletrees]

Chris, I'm loving your trip report. Finally got all caught up today. From the cabana to the SeaRacers to the pontoon boat to afternoons at the pool - all things I would love to do if I could tear away from the parks long enough.

Your report is hilarious! I love your interaction with your kids. I always said that I couldn't get married unless I found someone who could take a joke like my old man. Good thing I found him, too! I love the time that you and Toni have in the parks in the morning, too. That's one thing that my mom and I always do when we go to WDW - get to the parks early. I loved those times of just the two of us, and I'm sure they mean so much to Toni!

Seeing your review of Kouzzina's really makes me want to go and try it. The trio Yia-Yia ordered looks so good.

You're photos are fantastic! They look so good. I have Photoshop CS5, but I've never bothered to learn how to use it. I have considered getting Lightroom though.

I'm looking forward to reading more!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

I'm catching up!!
Cracking up that you felt self-conscious with your tripod out. I always feel the same!
Love the fisheye pics of Spaceship Earth! Totally worth that awkward feeling!
The picture of the wheat the car on Expedition Everest while you're on it? That may seriously be one of my favorite pics from Everest I've ever seen. Great capture!
The waitress, Sterg and the water - hilarious.
I love your Cabana!
Loving the fisheye pictures in general!

 

[fractal]

Dinner that evening was at 50's Prime Time. We had a blast there on our last trip and Toni really wanted to go back. Before our trip I asked each of my children to pick one restaurant they wanted to eat at. Alex picked Ohana's, Sterg didn't care ( surprise me ) and Toni picked 50's PT. We got dressed and started the evening.

Just missed this shot. You can see I focused on the plants behind them. Too much pressure when they will only pose for a few seconds - I'll blame the camera.

entering DHS

The skies looked threatening but no rain.

Alex and Sterg ran for Tower of Terror Fast Passes so we had time for a Photopass shot.

We were to meet Alex and Sterg at 50's Prime Time. I never tire of the old Hollywood theme.

Here we are!

The restaurant was crowded with a lot of people walking in without reservations. We were about 10 minutes early but had to wait almost 30 minutes to get seated. While waiting outside to watch for Alex and Sterg, a young couple walked by with their son of about 10 years old. The dad was loud and obnoxious and kept yelling at his son to; keep up, slow down, stay in line, or whatever. The boy must have said something because the father stopped, then looked down at him and yelled ( and I do mean yelled ) "No! We are not going to Star Wars!", "Star Wars sucks!", "Yeah, Star Wars sucks, OK!" He must have said "Star Wars sucks" about 5 or 6 times and was getting the attention of most people around him. Finally he looked at his "wife" threw up his hands and said "Let's get the H*ll out of here!" and walked off.

It's one of those times when you feel compelled to say or do something but you know you can't. I just hope he was having a bad day. Toni looked up at me and asked me what was wrong with the guy. I just answered "I don't know, maybe crazy or something. We all know Star Wars definitely doesn't suck". I said while looking down at the Star Wars shirt I was wearing.

After that incident, Alex and Sterg found us ( they made a wrong turn or two ) and we went inside.

The living room was packed.

As was the bar, but we managed to get some drinks.

Hidden Mickey or two.

Our table was finally ready. As they were walking us through the "kitchen" I was just hoping that we wouldn't be put in a corner somewhere.
Love the themeing.

Unfortunately we were put in a corner somewhere. I was waiting for someone to complain but when nobody did I just went with it. We were all tired of waiting anyway. I couldn't help thinking though that we may have gotten shoved back here because of all the walk ups that came in that evening. Despite having made a reservation months ago we pretty much got the worst table in the place. Oh well - I seemed to be the only one bothered by it, which is rare.

Yia-Yia seemed happy.

and the kids, especially after getting their milkshakes. See - we didn't have to be sent in the corner. We already were there.

 

[Gabe1]

Wow, I just realized how much the GF has intruded into the Poly's tranquil atmosphere. Ain't that a slap in the face.

 

[donaldtoo]

Wow, I just realized how much the GF has intruded into the Poly's tranquil atmosphere. Ain't that a slap in the face.

Yep, the first thing I thought when I saw this pic was "Wow, the GF sure looks close in this shot!"
It think it must be the lens 'cause I've got a coupla' shots from the platform on the left that you can see just under the last umbrella on the right across the way on the GF beach, and the Poly (although the GF DVC is definitely closer) looks WAY further away in my shots than that, and also looked that way to the eye.
Although another FANTASTIC shot fractal, it's almost kinda' scary, actually...!

 

[fractal]

Wow, I just realized how much the GF has intruded into the Poly's tranquil atmosphere. Ain't that a slap in the face.

Yep, the first thing I thought when I saw this pic was "Wow, the GF sure looks close in this shot!"
It think it must be the lens 'cause I've got a coupla' shots from the platform on the left that you can see just under the last umbrella on the right across the way on the GF beach, and the Poly (although the GF DVC is definitely closer) looks WAY further away in my shots than that, and also looked that way to the eye.
Although another FANTASTIC shot fractal, it's almost kinda' scary, actually...!

Thanks donaldtoo! A few more shots. As this was my first time at the Poly all I can say is it was not hard to get a good view of the GF and the DVC building.