Trip Report When can we do this again? A Fractal family Odyssey. *COMPLETED*

Definition of odyssey:

• : a long journey full of adventures
  
  
• : a series of experiences that give knowledge or understanding to someone

Not too long ago I had a lot of doubt this trip would ever happen. The financial cost of higher education, the fact my wife Val wanted to go anywhere BUT Disney, the crazy and conflicting schedules of the kids, made the odds of keeping our 2-year WDW trip tradition a large long-shot. But maybe things do happen for a reason...

A great deal came our way and before we knew it we were on our way back to the World. Not without a major sacrifice however as my eldest daughter Alexandra had to miss the trip due to her schooling ( she graduates this Friday as an Registered Nurse!). She is a bit of a kindred spirit to me with a personality closer to mine than the other two, so I knew I would miss her dearly on the trip.

Here she is at Christmas with my Mom (Yia-Yia).

Speaking of Yia-yia; she will join us again at WDW! We had a great time with her on our 2013 trip at the Poly. We would meet up with her, my Sister Marina (here with me)...

and my two nieces; Courtney...

and Mia...

at the Yacht Club on the second leg of our journey. The first part of our trip took us to my in-law's (Al & Sue) who moved to Florida (Tampa - St. Pete area) last year. They would also join us at WDW!

Here they are from a 50th anniversary party we had for them last Winter...

It was early evening Thursday July 20th when we began our Odyssey. My good friend Wally picked us up to take us to the Baltimore (BWI) airport.

Excitement was building for our trip but the real Disney excitement would come later.

Sterg and Toni occupied the back seat. They were almost late for the pickup as they decided a last second Starbucks run was in order. Sterg ended up paying for that about an hour later as his bladder protested strongly.

Val was next to me and could barely contain her enthusiasm.

Not only was she not fully in favor of another Disney trip, she was (rightfully) concerned with the potential problems, complications, and stress of merging these 3 parts of the family together in the already chaotic environment of managing reservations, room assignments, getting to the parks, fastpasses and dinner plans. I had much of the same worries, which were also amplified by the fact Yia-Yia and Al would be using electric scooters during our time at the World. But hey, it's Disney, what could go wrong?

 

[Tuvalu]

Is anybody else having a problem viewing photos?

Nope!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Is anybody else having a problem viewing photos?

Nope, Beautiful photos as always.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Agree, but it's not really his fault.

Thanks @slipperalwaysfits ! That sounds like a good plan. The rash and in-law's are coming up!

Thanks @blgauger. Still bummed I missed you at MK.

Lol! Good to know.

Thanks @dipoore94 !

thanks @DonnaOnTheRocks ! Glad you are following1 You're going to love the Poly.

I think you are right!

Thanks @Tiggerish! I still swing from wanting to punch him to wanting to hug him, but in a different way.

Thanks @DznyRktekt !

In a manly kinda way...

I do take notes during the trip. I hate being involved in the drama but do perversely enjoy reporting it.

Thanks @senor_jorge ! How's the wife's photography going?

Thanks @MeeskaMooska0714 . Just remember, it's the bad moments that make the good moments mean more.

Thank you @PacNWTigger !

Thanks @ksr99 and glad I could help! I can see myself doing a Disney trip without Val. It would make us both happy.

thanks @coachwnh !

More proof! In fact, I remember back 100 years ago when I was a teenager and I'm pretty sure I had similar tendencies as Sterg. The warp view is a combination of the screen and I think the photo itself. In real life I don't remember it being that bad.

did you take that? I think Paris may be next on our list.

Indeed!

LOL!

Thank you @MinnieM123 !

I thought it was very cool at night!

Thanks @Plowboy!

Lol. yes.

Lol!

Thanks for the compliment @hanwill. I'm a photography enthusiast. I've gotten paid for some of my photos and for some personal work that help pay for my hobby but it's not my profession. Seeing other's photo of Disney on these boards is what really inspired me to take up photography. 7 years ago I would not have been able to use a camera in anything but AUTO mode.

Glad to have you aboard Chelsea! Looks like you had a great time in WDW! Tell him not to grow up too fast!

Lol, that list has it covered! Thanks for following @MerMom1981 !

Thanks @Courtney6682!

Thanks @Matty30! your trip will be here before you know it!

thanks @LilWalt! Actually I have started writing a fiction/fantasy book. Of course the rest of the fam likes to make fun of that. It is a lot harder than it sounds!!

Thanks @Zipitidoda ! Looking forward to your pics when you get back!

Lol! Always willing to answer questions and help. I had people do the same for me on these boards.

It's slowly creeping up there. Still seems like quite a long wait but for the first time ever I'm really wishing December would hurry up and get here!

 

[DisneyGigi]

The firework photos are beautiful! My hubby actually asked me why I was taking the camera at all. I always end up passing the camera bag off to him and he hates to carry it. No way he will tote a tripod for me but I am going to try the trash can trick this year. Love the story about you and Sterg. I remember those too cool teenage years when my son was about 14. He is back to posing with characters with me without me having to bribe him with 20 bucks lol.

 

[senor_jorge]

Thanks @senor_jorge ! How's the wife's photography going?

She's really enjoying it, when she has the time. She's not as comfortable with Lightroom as she'd like, but that's a function of the time she's had available. I'm concerned that seeing your shots may lead to some more expensive practice!

 

[fractal]

Rise and Shine! Today was Animal Kingdom Day. We had Fast passes for River Journey, Everest and late afternoon pass for Flight of Passage. The early morning view of Storm-along-Bay from our room...

I wanted to get to AK at rope drop and maybe "steal" a ride in Pandora. I woke before 7, made some coffee and stirred Sterg and Toni. Toni got up first and started to get ready. Soon after Sterg got going only to discover his rash had gotten worse overnight. Much worse. It had spread up his arms, to his chest and legs and had become rather itchy. Val awoke to this news and I called the room service Doctor. He was very nice and professional while explained their service. He could be there within the hour - cost was $250 (but not covered by insurance). The other option was to make an appointment at their clinic and they would pick up with a shuttle and bring us back ( which was covered by insurance). After debating this for a minute we decided to make the appointment. I called and got him in for a 10am which Val agree to take him to.

I felt bad for Sterg but I think he felt better knowing he could sleep a bit more and that he was going to see a Doctor. Toni and I left our room and headed down the hall to Marina's room. She was up with Courtney but Mia was asleep. We left her with Yia-Yia. Al and Sue also decided to skip the early morning jaunt. The four of us started our journey to AK and by 8:05 we were here.

Which got us to another line we had to wait in to scan for EMH (morning). By this time the wait for Flight of Passage was 180 minutes so we decided on the 40 minute wait for River Journey.

walking into Pandora for the first time...

Rushing to a ride made it difficult to appreciate the details and scale of this Land, but my first initial and quick reaction was "impressive".

Once you are in the queue line for Navi River Journey, the sight lines to the rest of the Land are mostly blocked. It did give us a chance for a couple portraits.

I have a large and very close extended Family. Cousins and cousins of cousins feel like brothers and sisters. Think "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" type family .
Marina is a CPA and works as a CFO for a big company out of Philadelphia (after working for a large Public Accounting Firm). She lives about an hour away from us in the King of Prussia area, which doesn't seem that far away but enough where she misses a lot of the day to day and week to week of the extended family "goings on". She works hard at making the time to come up to Yia-Yia house for Sunday meals, go to all the family get togethers and big events. Still, we don't spend as much time together as we used to. It was a real treat to be on the trip with her and my nieces. Her Husband and oldest son were unable to join us as they were in New Mexico on a major hiking trip.

Photos from the queue line...

This was also a great chance for Toni and Courtney to spend time and experience things together without the distractions of other friends. They become much closer as the week went on.

The best view while waiting...

Soon we were under the Navi "hut".

Very thoughtful and convenient water fountain and bottle filler!

Marina and I talked about old times with our parents, caught up on new things, made fun of some people in line and teased our daughters. Plenty of mundane things but I felt the time was well spent.

Selfie with Toni...

Navi rocks and stuff ( looked like a Joe Rohde collection of jewelry and accessories).

From here we went inside a "cave" to be further split into groups and then onto our boats.

 

[fractal]

I knew I was going to ride River Journey at least twice so the plan was to use a different lens each time. First round was with the wide-angle 18mm. This gives you a perspective that is close to how you would see the ride while traveling through.

After reading plenty of reviews and seeing the POV video ride through, my expectations were well grounded. The ride is impressive on many levels but very calm. As I was floating along, it reminded me of the room of one of my Frat Brothers at our Frat House. Let's just say he was really into Pink Floyd, the Moody Blues, The Doors, maybe some Ziggy Stardust while partaking in some "medicinal herbs". He and his roommate discovered that laundry detergent glows in the dark (at least it used to). They would paint crazy designs on their walls and ceiling with detergent then turn off the lights, turn on a purple light, play some tunes, bring out the "herbs" and zone out in their own bioluminescent world. Ahem, at least that's what I'm told.

So 27 years later, I'm floating through Corky & Bill's frat house room with the purple light on and some added effects.

Wait! Now I hear some music. It's getting louder...Is it Dark side of the Moon? Maybe Nights in White Satin? Riders on the Storm?

None of those. It's the Shaman of Song herself.

I was seriously chuckling to myself thinking of those two on this ride. Well at least the 20 year old version of those two. I have no doubt after riding it they would return in a "different state" to experience it and hum right along with the Shaman. You know, if the laws were changed in Florida, Disney could make a fortune with the ride selling...(Pumba, not in front of the kids).

Up next, Sterg update, tons and tons of photos of Pandora, other new places in AK, Safari and places I haven't seen in years. Did I mention there will be tons of photos?

 

[deanna88]

I've often recommended a trash can as a replacement for a tripod when taking long exposure photos. It's especially helpful at WDW as there are trashcans everywhere. Walking back to the Yacht Club that evening I decided to put my money where my mouth was; plus I was too lazy to break out the tripod. I was also too lazy to get out the remote shutter but it was also a bit of an experiment to see how well I could do without a tripod and remote shutter.

First attempt was pretty good, but you can see some movement caused when I pressed the shutter by looking at the Boardwalk sign. I could have used a timed shutter but did I mention I was lazy? I do believe I used a lenscap or maybe a few credit cards to rest the lens on. A bean bag (which they make for just this purpose) would have been ideal. 3.2 sec exposure @ f/7.1, ISO 100.

The next one was of the Yacht Club lighthouse which always beckoned to be photographed. Same settings.

I also took a handful of not so good shots. The neat thing however, was being able to set up pretty quickly, spend 5 or 10 minutes taking shots then be on my way with a couple really nice photos that are impossible to achieve handheld.

Sterg and I decided to walk through the Beach Club lobby. We never did meet up with Toni and Courtney who were always a step ahead of us. By the way, where else would you feeling safe leaving 2 fifteen year olds roam around at 11pm. Certainly having cell phones helped but I sure would have been much more nervous if they were anywhere else we've vacationed at that time of night.

Walking into the Beach Club lobby brought back many good memories. I always fancied this chandelier.

We eventually made it back to our rooms after a few wrong turns and cutting through a closed Ariel's. By the way, Sterg & I both agree that the YC lobby had the better scent - but it was very close.

The first day was in the books and despite some flashes of drama was one of the best days I've had at WDW. As I lay down to rest visions of Avatar danced through my head...


Up Next - Animal Kingdom overload. Avatar Day and Night with the first rides and impressions on River Journey and Flight of Passage!

Beautiful photos!

 

[Bob]

Up next, Sterg update, tons and tons of photos of Pandora, other new places in AK, Safari and places I haven't seen in years. Did I mention there will be tons of photos?

 

[Notes from Neverland]

Marina and I talked about old times with our parents, caught up on new things, made fun of some people in line and teased our daughters. Plenty of mundane things but I felt the time was well spent.

This is one of those unspoken things we probably all do. I know I'm guilty. Cracked me up to actually read it though!

 

[MinnieM123]

Rise and Shine! Today was Animal Kingdom Day. We had Fast passes for River Journey, Everest and late afternoon pass for Flight of Passage. The early morning view of Storm-along-Bay from our room...

I'm just curious--looks like you were maybe 2 flights up from the pool area. Did you find it noisy being so near the large pool area, or were the rooms well insulated, so that you didn't hear any noise from the outside? Does the pool area shut down by 10 or 11 p.m., or is it open 24-hours?

Navi rocks and stuff ( looked like a Joe Rohde collection of jewelry an accessories).

That was funny!

 

[fractal]

I'm just curious--looks like you were maybe 2 flights up from the pool area. Did you find it noisy being so near the large pool area, or were the rooms well insulated, so that you didn't hear any noise from the outside? Does the pool area shut down by 10 or 11 p.m., or is it open 24-hours?



That was funny!

We never had an issue we crowd noise from the pool (we were on the 3rd floor), except for one morning (8am) they used a very loud machine to suck up the sand from the pool to rebuild the "sand bar" you see in the photo.

 

[fractal]

After the Navi Alien-hippie River Journey you are let out to a bridge and this cool view; something I would remember later that evening.

Our fast passes for Everest were coming up so we left Pandora and headed straight for...

Starbucks

Apparently Toni and Court couldn't make it without.

I peeked my head in and of course took a photo. At least is was themed well.

Instead of back tracking towards the "hub", we decided to go a more scenic route. A path less taken.

One of the things I had on my list for this trip was to explore the areas around the Tree of Life (and find the kangaroos!). Despite all the time we spent in AK, that never happened.

This was a shot that looked great in person, but was a real challenge when editing in LightRoom. Shooting in RAW certainly helped. I was overexposed due to the sun, the leaves against the bright sun caused a slew of what's called Chromatic Aberration (purple outline on subjects against bright high contrast background) and despite the overexposed sky, the tree itself was underexposed. If I had the time and inclination, this would have been a good candidate for a bracketed HDR (High Dynamic Range) approach which is taking 3 or more separate exposures (one underexposed, one in the middle and one overexposed) and then merges those exposure into one photo using software like Photoshop, Lightroom or Photomatix. This approach generally needs a tripod, (although my camera does have an in camera mode that attempts to replicate this process shooting hand held).

But on this day - no HDR of any kind for me as we were on the move - I needed to use my "Keep going, I'll catch up" line as it was just to take these.

Tree of life by Chris Dikos, on Flickr

No bright sun to deal with here; but also not as dramatic.

Remember when I said I had switched my camera to AUTO ISO during Splash Mountain? Well I was back on AUTO ISO. I knew I had plenty of light so I wanted a fast shutter (I choose 1/1000 sec), and I also wanted a deep depth of field on this shot ( how much of the photo is sharply in focus) so I was f/7.1 vs. f/2.8. With those settings, the camera dialed up an ISO of 2000. Now the thing about ISO is the higher up you go the brighter your picture gets, but at the cost of a loss in image quality. It's like an amplifier for your camera's sensor. When you crank the amp, the music is louder but you lose the "edges off the range of tones". If I had control of the ISO I would have never shot at ISO 2000 - with a stationary object I could have easily (using my math skills) dropped my shutter speed to 1/60 of a second which would have equated to an ISO of around 125 and a much cleaner photo. It wasn't the camera's fault as I had the shutter speed too high, but it would continue to haunt me on this day.

Still at 1/1000 sec and f/10. Camera picked ISO 400 for this as I was out of the shade (and did a better job metering the shot). Still, I could have easily shot this at ISO 100.

I can not get enough of the details in AK.

and look who else made it to their Everest Fast Pass!

I do believe the last time I sat next to Marina on a rollercoaster we were teenagers in Wildwood. She found my obsessive photo taking humorous.

I wanted to get a good photo of the Yeti on this trip. Attempt number 1 failed.

The over the shoulder, back hand while careening out of control technique. "You're crazy with that camera." Marina said channeling Yia-Yia.

Truly a fun way to start the morning, and definitely woke us up more than Corky's River Journey!

A few shots before heading to Dinoland.

I checked in with Val - they were picked up by the shuttle and signing in at the Clinic.

 

[Billy6]

Hey Chris! Awesome to see a Fractal trip report back on the boards! Been here from the start, just chiming in to say I am enjoying the photos!

Forward!!

 

[LSV]

Your photos make me want to never bother to take a photo at Disney ever again. Thanks for sharing, even your "less than perfect" photos are stunning.

Edit to add, you are also an excellent storyteller.

 

[Bob]

After the Navi Alien-hippie River Journey you are let out to a bridge and this cool view; something I would remember later that evening.

Our fast passes for Everest were coming up so we left Pandora and headed straight for...

Starbucks. Apparently Toni and Court couldn't make it without.

I peeked my head in and of course took a photo. At least is was themed well.

Instead of back tracking towards the "hub", we decided to go a more scenic route. A path less taken.

One of the things I had on my list for this trip was to explore the areas around the Tree of Life (and find the kangaroos!). Despite all the time we spent in AK, that never happened.

This was a shot that looked great in person, but was a real challenge when editing in LightRoom. Shooting in RAW certainly helped. I was overexposed due to the sun, the leaves against the bright sun caused a slew of what's called Chromatic Aberration (purple outline on subjects against bright high contrast background) and despite the overexposed sky, the tree itself was underexposed. If I had the time and inclination, this would have been a good candidate for a bracketed HDR (High Dynamic Range) approach which is taking 3 or more separate exposures (one underexposed, one in the middle and one overexposed) and then merges those exposure into one photo using software like Photoshop, Lightroom or Photomatix. This approach generally needs a tripod, (although my camera does have an in camera mode that attempts to replicate this process shooting hand held).

But on this day - no HDR of any kind for me as we were on the move - I needed to use my "Keep going, I'll catch up" line as it was just to take these.

No bright sun to deal with here; but also not as dramatic.

Remember when I said I had switched my camera to AUTO ISO during Splash Mountain? Well I was back on AUTO ISO. I knew I had plenty of light so I wanted a fast shutter (I choose 1/1000 sec), and I also wanted a deep depth of field on this shot ( how much of the photo is sharply in focus) so I was f/7.1 vs. f/2.8. With those settings, the camera dialed up an ISO of 2000. Now the thing about ISO is the higher up you go the brighter your picture gets, but at the cost of a loss in image quality. It's like an amplifier for your camera's sensor. When you crank the amp, the music is louder but you lose the "edges off the range of tones". If I had control of the ISO I would have never shot at ISO 2000 - with a stationary object I could have easily (using my math skills) dropped my shutter speed to 1/60 of a second which would have equated to an ISO of around 125 and a much cleaner photo. It wasn't the camera's fault as I had the shutter speed too high, but it would continue to haunt me on this day.

Still at 1/1000 sec and f/10. Camera picked ISO 400 for this as I was out of the shade (and did a better job metering the shot). Still, I could have easily shot this at ISO 100.

I can not get enough of the details in AK.

and look who else made it to their Everest Fast Pass!

I do believe the last time I sat next to Marina on a rollercoaster we were teenagers in Wildwood. She found my obsessive photo taking humorous.

I wanted to get a good photo of the Yeti on this trip. Attempt number 1 failed.

The over the shoulder, back hand while careening out of control technique. "You're crazy with that camera." Marina said channeling Yia-Yia.

Truly a fun way to start the morning, and definitely woke us up more than Corky's River Journey!

A few shots before heading to Dinoland.

I checked in with Val - they were picked up by the shuttle and signing in at the Clinic.

Some of the best photos ever of my favorite WDW park! That photo of the ToL with the sun behind it is just amazing.

 

[Figment Forever]

Poor Sterg.... I feel the pain. Julia and I had to make that shuttle trip once - before my days of writing TR's. lol It was NOT fun and NOT covered by our insurance! I hope all turned out ok. Loving your TR!

 

[blreinsel]

I've been so excited to see your Pandora pictures! They did not disappoint!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

AK looks like fun and I loved your personal experience relating to Na'vi!!! Now, were you chased by Dinosaurs?

 

[fractal]

Dinoland. The land everyone love to hate.

There is certainly reason for this; so much potential wasted on a kooky money saving backstory. It also has no real thematic connection with the rest of the park.

Maybe someday they raze it and start over.

That's not to say it's all bad, we have become fans of Dinosaur and this would be our first of several rides on what was formally know as "Countdown to Extinction".

This was Al & Sue's first time on Dinosaur. Hold on, it can get a little bumpy out there.

The darkness and crazy violent motion of the rover make this the pinnacle of photographic challenge. I debated even trying to take a photo inside the ride. In our 2015 day trip I failed miserably and came close a few times to knocking a tooth out with my camera. But hey, I didn't come all the way to Walt Disney World to surrender! I was game and determined to capture a decent image inside Dinosaur.

Going back in time...

Not too bad. Best I had ever gotten - but just missed focus.

You Ugly!

So I managed 2 not terrible shots. Getting better.

For the first time after riding Dinosaur, we took the path into the gift shop.

I'm trying!

I'm a sucker for details. Even in Dinoland.

Toni and Courtney wanted to go on Primeval Hurl. Only a 20 minute wait which ended up closer to 10 minutes.