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?

 

[fractal]

After dinner we went back to Animal Kingdom to experience it at night. AK was open until midnight every evening with extra magic hours kicking in at 10pm. The park is a sight to behold when the sun goes down. In 2007 I along with Sterg and Alex spent a rare evening EMH in AK (right before they did away with them). We almost had the park to ourselves. It was also pre "Disco Yeti". We may had ridden Everest 10 times, in the dark, with the Yeti fully operating and hungry for travelers on expedition trains. We still talk about that night and indeed on this night in 2017 as we were on the bus driving back to AK, Sterg said to me "Dad, remember the trip we went to Animal Kingdom at night and rode Everest one hundred times and the park was so cool..."

And the park was cool. Not only temperature wise, but it took on a completely different atmosphere at night. The strung bulb lights with their golden glow, the nooks and crannies of the park becoming more mysterious, the beautifully lit Tree of Life, Everest looking more imposing with the yells from unseen travelers more alarming. It put all your senses in an extremely heightened mode.

The cavalry division of our group however, decided to call it quits. A long day in the sun had me a bit worn so it was understandable for Yia-yia and Al to return to the YC.

Yia-Yia was still talking about Pandora and Flight as Passage as I said goodnight to her.

The Tree of Life was "prepping" for it's Awakening projection show. Something I wanted to see. Val, Sue, Sterg, Toni & Courtney however wanted to go on Everest. Mia wanted no parts of the Yeti so she and Marina stayed with me.

With nothing happening on the Tree, Marina decided to take Mia to see Rivers of Night so we walked towards Asia. I wasn't too interested in seeing it so I passed in favor of some alone time. As we separated Marina gave me her phone to give to Courtney (who forgot hers). She then walked into the almost packed "stadium".

I snuck a few shots over a wall.

then a EE photo.

After that shot I noticed my camera battery was running low and I didn't have another. The biggest "CON" with my camera is poor battery life. On a mirrorless camera that is always an issue as the battery has to supply power to the EVF as well as all the electronics. With my camera it also had to power the camera's In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) which helps keep the camera sensor still during shots (a great piece of technology). The good news is that the batteries are small and lightweight, but I gave Sterg my backup and he was now gone. I made the sad decision to shut off my camera because I wanted to save power for night shots in Pandora.

I was now strolling around Asia taking in the atmosphere then decided, maybe I will sit and watch some Rivers of Light so I made my way back to the stadium. The CM at the entrance put the "kibosh" to my plans as entrance was no longer allowed. It then occurred to me that I had no idea where Marina was sitting and that I was carrying her phone. We also had no plans to meet up at a specific point after the show. I tried calling the others, first with my phone but I could not get a signal! My guess is the amount of people using their cells during the show may have overloaded the lines, but whatever the reason I could not make a call or text! I then tried to use Marina's phone - but she had it locked and I didn't know the password.

"Oh boy" I thought.

I knew that when the show let out it would be a mass of humanity. My best bet I thought was just to stay in front of the stadium entrance on the pathway between Everest and Kali River and hope to grab people as I saw them. But maybe the Everest crew already passed while I was roaming around in the dark? As all of this was bouncing around in my head, I slowly turned around and discovered that Disney, in their effort to better serve their guests (and make more money) turned the old Everest Fastpass dispenser area into a full bar!

"Maybe a beer will help." I literally said out loud as I approached the bar. A nice young female CM served me a tasty and refreshing draft Ale (for $11). "Ahhh." For a second it made me forget my predicament.

10 seconds later, who would appear in the exact spot I vacated? Marina and Mia.

"Hey! why are you out early?" I called as i approached them with my beer.

A bit startled to see me appear out of nowhere, Marina responded. "Mia was getting fidgety."

"Well, it was funny because...(explaining my communication issue)...then I said maybe a beer might help and poof you appeared." I said. "Maybe it's a magic beer!" We both laughed.

Before I finished giggling at my own joke, Sterg came barreling into me out of the blue (spilling some of my magical elixir) followed by the rest of Team Expedition Everest .

"Pops! You should have came with us. It's awesome at night!" He exclaimed, with Toni & Courtney agreeing.

"Wow! this beer is magic!" I said holding up my golden potion. "A magic Disney beer! It made you all appear."

After Val rolled her eyes she said she was "up to" riding Navi River Journey. That was more then enough motivation to start us on another voyage across the galaxy.

They have glow in the dark pathways on this strange planet. My biggest query was "how did all the geckos get here?".

The alien pods also glow in the dark.

Before long we were boarding the boat through Corky&Bill's excellent Navi River journey. For this round I matched my A7rii with my 85mm 1.8 lens for a much "tighter/closer" view of the surroundings.

Screen for sure, but well done I thought.

Creatures overhead.

and our new Navi friend, still singing.

I must say, I was very happy with how well the photos of her came out!

After the river journey, hard decisions had to be made which ultimately decided for each of us how the rest of a "dramatic" night would unfold.

 

[Bob]

After dinner we went back to Animal Kingdom to experience it at night. AK was open until midnight every evening with extra magic hours kicking in at 10pm. The only attractions open during EMH however were in Pandora. The park is a sight to behold when the sun goes down. In 2007 I along with Sterg and Alex spent a rare evening EMH in AK (soon after they did away with them). We almost had the park to ourselves. It was also pre "Disco Yeti". We may had ridden Everest 10 times, in the dark, with the Yeti fully operating and hungry for travelers on expedition trains. We still talk about that night and indeed on this night in 2017 as we were on the bus driving back to AK, Sterg said to me "Dad, remember that night we went to Animal Kingdom at night and rode Everest one hundred times and the park was so cool..."

And the park was cool. Not only temperature wise, but it took on a completely different atmosphere at night. The strung bulb lights with their golden glow, the nooks and crannies of the park becoming more mysterious, the beautifully lit Tree of Life, Everest looking more imposing with the yells from unseen travelers more alarming. It put all your sense in an extreme heightened mode.

The cavalry division of our group however, decided to call it quits for the night. A long day in the sun had me a bit worn so it was understandable for Yia-yia and Al to return to the YC.

Yia-Yia was still talking about Pandora and Flight as Passage as I said goodnight to her.

The Tree of Life was "prepping" for it's Awakening projection show. Something I wanted to see. Val, Sue, Sterg, Toni & Courtney however wanted to go on Everest. Mia wanted no parts of the Yeti so she and Marina stayed with me.

With nothing happening on the Tree, Marina decided to take Mia to see Rivers of Night so we walked towards Asia. I wasn't too interested in seeing it so I passed in favor of some alone time. As we separated Marina gave me her phone to give to Courtney (who forgot hers). She then walked into the almost packed "stadium".

I snuck a shot over a wall.

then a EE photo.

After that shot I noticed my battery was running low and I didn't have another. The biggest "CON" with my camera is poor battery life. On a mirrorless camera that is always an issue as the battery has to supply power to the EVF as well as all the electronics. With my camera it also had to power the camera's In Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) which helps keep the camera sensor still during shots (a great piece of technology). The good news is that the batteries are small and lightweight, but I gave Sterg my backup and he was now gone. I made the sad decision to shut off my camera because I wanted to save power for night shots in Pandora.

I was now strolling around Asia taking in the atmosphere then decided, maybe I will sit and watch some Rivers of Light so I made my way back to the stadium. The CM at the entrance put the "kibosh" to my plans as entrance was no longer allowed. It then occurred to me that I had no idea where Marina was sitting and that I was carrying her phone. We also had no plans to meet up at a specific point after the show. I tried calling the others, first with my phone but I could not get a signal! My guess is the amount of people using their cells during the show may have overloaded the lines, but whatever the reason I could not make a call or text! I then logical tried to use Marina's phone - but she had it locked and I didn't know the password.

"Oh boy" I thought.

I knew that when the show let out it would be a mass of humanity. My best bet I thought was just to stay in front of the stadium entrance on the pathway between Everest and Kali River and hope to grab people as I saw them. But maybe the Everest crew already passed while I was roaming around in the dark? As all of this was bouncing around in my head, I slowly turned around and discovered that Disney, in their effort to better serve their guests (and make more money) turned the old Everest Fastpass dispenser area into a full bar!

"Maybe a beer will help." I literally said out loud as I approached the bar. A nice young female CM served me a tasty and refreshing draft Ale (for $11). "Ahhh." For a second it made me forget my predicament.

10 seconds later, who would appear in the exact spot I vacated? Marina and Mia.

"Hey! why are you out early?" I called as i approached them with my beer.

A bit startled to see me appear out of nowhere, Marina responded. "Mia was getting fidgety."

"Well, it was funny because...(explaining my communication issue)...then I said maybe a beer might help and poof you appeared." I said. "Maybe it's a magic beer!" We both laughed.

Before I finished giggling at my own joke, Sterg came barreling into me out of the blue (spilling some of my magical elixir) followed by the rest of Team Expedition Everest .

"Pops! You should have came with us. It's awesome at night!" He exclaimed, with Toni & Courtney agreeing.

"Wow! this beer is magic!" I said holding up my golden potion. "A magic Disney beer!"

After Val rolled her eyes she said she was "up to" riding Navi River Journey. That was more then enough motivation to start us on another voyage across the galaxy.

The have glow in the dark pathways on this strange planet. My biggest query was "how did all the geckos get here?".

The alien pods also glow in the dark.

Before long we were boarding the boat through Corky&Bill's excellent Navi River journey. For this round a matched my A7rii with my 85mm 1.8 lens for a much "tighter/closer" view of the surroundings.

Screen for sure, but well done I thought.

Creatures overhead.

and our new Navi friend, still singing.

I must say, I was very happy with how well the photos of her came out!

After the river journey, hard decisions had to be made which ultimately decided for each of us how the rest of a "dramatic" night would unfold.

Phenomenal photos. Very jealous.....seeing DAK at night is the top thing on my WDW bucket list.

 

[newhorizons1]

All caught up with notes along the way!

Congratulations on your daughter’s graduation!

I’m stressed out reading your airport experience! So glad everything ended up working out.

Great photos! I’ve considered saving up for a mirrorless camera a few times. How do you like it? I have a Nikon D5100 right now and want to feel like I’ve just about mastered it before I venture into another buy.

St. Stefanos was beautiful!

Love your youtube channel! I’ve already watched several videos.

I can’t believe that was the first time that your kids saw Country Bears. Always has been and always will be a favorite of mine.

Great Space Mountain shots!

I think you found a great nook in Japan to take photos of Illuminations. Great foreground images mixed in with the fireworks. Fireworks photos are definitely something I haven’t tried yet, but I know a youtube video that can help me get started.

Now I have to convince my husband that he likes Disney as much as I do so he and our son can have the conversation you and Sterg did in Epcot in 19 years.

Your frat house story – gosh, I didn’t know you went to college with my dad!

 

[littleroo]

likes

 

[coachwnh]

After the river journey, hard decisions had to be made which ultimately decided for each of us how the rest of a "dramatic" night would unfold.

Cant wait to hear about this!

 

[DisneyJeff]

"Well, it was funny because...(explaining my communication issue)...then I said maybe a beer might help and poof you appeared." I said. "Maybe it's a magic beer!" We both laughed.

At first I was thinking "$11 for a beer!!!

But when I found out that it was magic beer... That's quite a bargain!!!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

"Magic Beer" = Love it!

 

[fractal]

Fingers crossed that you were also able to take your awesome photography skills to Pangani Forest Exploration Trail.

Well..

I LOVE those Maharajah pictures! Although DAK is my least favorite park overall, I love that section of it so much that my room is actually loosely themed around it (and the Morocco pavilion at Epcot). Those pictures definitely remind me of why I drew the initial inspiration!

Great idea!

Again with the flashbacks!
Boarding KS with an EVC was the worst!

Not fun!

Your photo of Hopper is beautiful! I really enjoy all your photos but this is definitely one of my favorites. It's Tough to be a Bug is a must do for me every AK visit for me.

That extra hour of wait time for Kilimanjaro Safari must have been tough in that heat! I get that wait times are estimations but that wasn't even close. Looks like it was a successful safari though, so that's good.

For some reason we spent a lot of time on the Safari this trip.

One of the most appealing things in the world - Mickey balloons on Main Street!

I really wish I would have noticed the shadows the balloons made - a full shot of that would have made a great photo! Next time.

I really love these balloon shadows @fractal the first thing I thought was it's real life 'Up'[/QUOTE] Yes!

Excellent shots of the animals. And good luck with the hippo, they are usually underwater or just barely sticking out of the water. I'm very jealous of your wild dogs and cheetah shot too, the dogs are usually at a bad angle for me and the cheetah is usually sleeping. So cool to see your pictures.

thanks @ajrwdwgirl !

Really can't wait to visit Pandora in Oct !

You'll love it!

You've done a great job capturing the detail throughout AK. Disney has done such a great job with the themes and attention to every detail in that park. Very much looking forward to seeing what they have done with Pandora in person but these pics make the new area look stunning.

Cool to see the photos of the Maharajah Trek. In all our visits to WDW we've never walked that area. Thinking that will change this year.

So worthwhile!

Can't give these photos enough <likes>.

Thanks!

Sounds like the heat and humidity are brutal down there. (I don't handle heat well--I always retreat back to my hotel if it's hot, for about 4 hours in the afternoon--and then return late day to the parks.) I don't know how you and your family tolerate the heat so well.

I'm on vacation this week (just a staycation--no travel plans). So I was watching TV this morning and saw a show called The View. They were broadcasting "live" from Animal Kingdom today--stage was set up in front of the Tree of Life. I'm not that familiar with the show, as it's on when I'm usually at work. But there were 5 women on a panel discussing different things. One of them, Joy Behar, made reference to the intense heat a few times--looked like she was really struggling. They didn't have any cover over the stage area--they were under the direct sun.

Part of my prep from this trip was taking advantage of hot days and going for long walks in the heat. I think that helped me with this trip. You just have to make sure to take breaks either in shaded areas or indoors.

Thank you! That last picture is the most impressive I've seen from Pandora. Everyone kept saying how amazing Pandora looks, but from the pictures and videos, I just didn't see how it was so different from some real life destinations that actually exist...it didn't look "other-worldly" to me. NOW I see it. Beautiful.

Thanks @Songbird76 !

100% agree on your observations of the "Uh" guy in the FoP pre-show.

Do you suppose the Imagineers were trying to "connect" with the under-30 crowd? Or - for anyone who has seen Avatar - does he reflect a scene/tone from the movie itself?

In either case, big thumbs down from me.

No connection to the movie. Not sure what they were going for.

I'm glad you like Boma, even though the first part of your meal wasn't off to a great start. I did notice Kona longboard beer in the photo, whoever was drinking that has good taste!

I also agree with your appraisal of the guy in the FOP pre-show, he isn't that good. It is like he is trying to be secretive and there isn't anything to be secretive about. And he desperately needs to shave. The lady that is Dr. Ogden was good and if I remember correctly from a D23 Expo presentation she is a Disney Imagineer who I think had something to do with the attraction.

I also had Kona longboard @ Ohana. Good crisp summer beer! In fact I just picked some up for home. Didn't know Dr. Ogden was an Imagineer, cool!

Great ride review. FOP being a simulator type ride, did you experience any "motion" issues? Just wondering as we will be there in December and I am a bit susceptible to that sort of thing. I suppose one can just close their eyes if you feel it coming on, but that sort of defeats the whole purpose then doesn't it?

I did not experience motion issues but I'm generally not prone to them. My wife is however, but she felt fine afterwards. In fact nobody complained of issues.

Your mom might be my new favorite person ever. So funny! Reminds me of my own grandmother.

Thanks! I'll let her know she's building a fan club! That generation is cut from a different cloth.

Sweetest thing ever

Spoiler

Either that or you complained too much and she was tired of hearing about it

Likely a combination.

That photo of the AKL lobby is brilliant! Next trip you have to dine at Jiko!

Thanks and I'll will!

I agree about FOP. It's now our favorite ride. And it seems everyone elses as well. When we all rode it, we got off and would have totally waited in line again... It's a great ride and will always have a long line. The bonus is that now Expeditiion Everest is now a much shorter line.

Yes!

Phenomenal photos. Very jealous.....seeing DAK at night is the top thing on my WDW bucket list.

It's worth it!

All caught up with notes along the way!

Congratulations on your daughter’s graduation!

I’m stressed out reading your airport experience! So glad everything ended up working out.

Great photos! I’ve considered saving up for a mirrorless camera a few times. How do you like it? I have a Nikon D5100 right now and want to feel like I’ve just about mastered it before I venture into another buy.

St. Stefanos was beautiful!

Love your youtube channel! I’ve already watched several videos.

I can’t believe that was the first time that your kids saw Country Bears. Always has been and always will be a favorite of mine.

Great Space Mountain shots!

I think you found a great nook in Japan to take photos of Illuminations. Great foreground images mixed in with the fireworks. Fireworks photos are definitely something I haven’t tried yet, but I know a youtube video that can help me get started.

Now I have to convince my husband that he likes Disney as much as I do so he and our son can have the conversation you and Sterg did in Epcot in 19 years.

Your frat house story – gosh, I didn’t know you went to college with my dad!

Thanks and thanks for the recap! I do appreciate the comments!

Cant wait to hear about this!

It was a crazzy night!

At first I was thinking "$11 for a beer!!!

But when I found out that it was magic beer... That's quite a bargain!!!

The Disney magic premium, built into the price of everything you buy.

"Magic Beer" = Love it!

 

[Tiggerish]

The trails are my favorite parts of Animal Kingdom, great pics, I felt like I was walking Pangani (without the heat and humidity )

Magic Beer! I'll have to look for some of that...

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

After the river journey, hard decisions had to be made which ultimately decided for each of us how the rest of a "dramatic" night would unfold.

Beautiful Pandora (and everywhere else) pictures!! Can't wait for the drama!!

 

[gdisneyfans]

Gorgeous nighttime AK pictures! The one with Everest in the background of RoL is beautiful! Can't wait to see the rest of what you took in Pandora

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

At first I was thinking "$11 for a beer!!!

But when I found out that it was magic beer... That's quite a bargain!!!

The alcohol prices at Disney are hard for me to stomach. First off, I'm not a big drinker. Second, I live in a small town so at the bar a drink is like $4. Having to pay about triple the price at Disney is a little much for me.

 

[PrincessL]

Directly to the right of the FoP entrance (as you look at it) is the gift shop and the armored doo-hickey.

Further to the right is the Sutu' Li canteen...Hey, this guy has my shirt!

It was hot and humid but I was happy! These are my new glasses. I gave up on contacts a couple years ago as I realized that I ended up having to use reading glasses at work and to view my phone. With contacts in, I was wearing glasses more that I would when wearing prescription glasses. As you can see, my glasses have "transition" lenses that conveniently get dark in the sun. They were great for this trip! I could see and not be blinded.

The fam however liked to make fun of my "transitions" thinking they made me look dorky. "Look out, Pop's got the transitions on". As if wearing them was going to make me a crazy person.

The rest of the crew soon arrived including Sterg. He was given a steroid shot, some ointment and medicine. The sun and heat were not helping his rash, but we also thinking he might have been bitten by something or had a shell fish reaction (or perhaps a combination). He felt fine and didn't want to miss too much. The scary thing is being told if he had trouble breathing to call 911.

Yia-yia was ready and game for tackling Pandora. We were debating whether to have her ride FoP but she overrode any debate as she wanted to go on.

Mia (with her pirate bandana given to her by the bus-driver) and Yia-Yia. Mia was enjoying the family interaction while asking a million questions about FoP.

More photos while waiting for our window to open.

Yia-Yia was absolutely amazed by the area. She continued to point towards different spots "How did they build this?" she asked me continuously shaking her head.

and believe me, it's not easy to impress Yia-Yia.

My 5 year old DS just got his first pair of glasses and they are transitional. DH gave me a hard time for it but I told him all the cool kids are wearing them

The last two pics on this thread really ought to be in Pandora promotional material. Great shots!!

 

[CaliKris]

Love the photos and your storytelling! I will have to try a magical beer the next time we are in AK. I have always said transition lenses would be perfect for WDW because I am constantly switching between my regular glasses inside and then back to sunglasses outside. Do you recommend them? Of course, I will have to endure the constant teasing from my 20 something children about how uncool they are.

 

[susan lees]

I love how real life comes into your reports. We've been many times in a family group of nine and drama is virtually impossible with the mixture of different personalities and teenage hormones mixed in lol. I've often needed a magic cocktail or two

 

[Notes from Neverland]

I snuck a shot over a wall.

then a EE photo.

These photos are so awesome. What settings did you use to capture them?

 

[blreinsel]

Harry Potter doesn't even exist in the same universe as FOP. Not. Even. Close. I've never experienced anything like FOP. It takes my breath away every time!

Speaking of taking my breath away.. Your nighttime Pandora pictures!!! The first time I experienced Pandora at night, I literally thought "I can't wait for @fractal to take pictures of this." That is not a lie. And your pictures did not disappoint!

 

[fractal]

Exiting River Journey I remembered the daytime view from the bridge. I placed my camera on the railing to take a long exposure shot of the waterfall from one of the floating mountains. What I didn't realize is that I still had on the darn Auto ISO. So this shot was taken at ISO 800 instead of 100; f/8 and 3.2 second exposure. I remember thinking that 3.2seconds seemed too "fast" for the amount of light available but the other gears in the ol' brain didn't make the rest of the connection.

Around this point Val and Sue decided to go back to YC. Marina, Sterg, Toni, Courtney and Mia made the brave decision to wait 120 minutes standby for FoP! I decided to use this time to take photos in Pandora.

More of the glow in the dark "pods". I found a trashcan to use for another 3.2 second exposure. This at ISO 2000 (which actually looks really good for ISO that high).

ISO 5000, same shutter speed and aperture. It should have occurred to me by now that the camera was on Auto ISO, but I was distracted by finding trashcans that offered good photo compositions.

This may be my favorite shot of the night. ISO 1600.

Right after this shot it started to rain. A good steady rain. Those that have read my other reports know that I have a habit of buying and bringing ponchos to our trip, only to forget them in the room when needed. Well, nothing's changed. Ponchos were safely stored in the room. I put my camera in my camera bag and made a fast run to the Mercantile Gift shop just outside Avatar entrance and purchased a poncho. The last thing I wanted was to be stranded in AK and I didn't feel my camera was secure enough from the rain despite the camera bag. I put on the poncho, placed the camera bag in a Disney merchandise bag and held it like a football under my poncho. As I looked outside, the steady rain turned into a downpour. Then a blinding flash of lightning followed very closely by a booming thunder clap.

"Wowzer." I thought. I checked in with the other two splintered groups. Val & Sue were almost at the bus stop but soaking wet. Marina said they were still in the FoP line and also soaked but decided to wait it out!

"You're crazy!" I said. I made my way to the exit in the gift shop that was nearest to the park exit and waited for a lull in the rain - then took off. I joined the crowd of people leaving just as the rain started to intensify again. My glasses were fogging up making hard to see where I was going. My grip on the bag containing my camera bag was like a vise. I made it to the bathroom right before the park exit and parked myself under cover as the rain was now a full torrential downpour.

"Next break in the rain I'm making a run for the bus stops." I said to myself while wiping my glasses. I checked in again with Marina and the FoP crew. They were steadfast; sending back images as if to taunt me.

I can't stand being in wet clothing. I know most people don't enjoy it, but it really bothers me and i have a low tolerance for it. Even with the poncho on I was having issues as the bottom of my shorts were wet and my sperry's were soaked. No way I would have survived in that standby line.

About 15 minutes later the rain stopped, but people were still leaving the park.

"Hmmm" I thought in my contrarian natured brain. "Maybe I should go back to Pandora." envisioning a now 20 minutes wait for FoP after the mass exodus.

And I did just that. I made it all the way back to the FoP entrance and found...

Still a 120 minute wait! Are you kidding me? The CM said very few people got out of line, and a bunch of people had the same idea as I had. So much for being "contrarian".

Well, I thought, at least I can go back to taking photos. As I set up for my first shot; "Hey? why is this camera set at ISO 1600?" The horror and realization of my AUTO ISO mistake hit me hard but I endured.

Setting the ISO now at 100 I took some shots. Anybody want to figure out how long my exposure had to be? At ISO 1600 my exposure was 3 seconds. A drop to ISO 100 cut my light in half 4 times...

Finally, a long exposure shot at ISO 100!

The correct answer to my photographic quiz is 48 seconds. (3 X 2 = 6 X 2 = 12 X 2 = 24 X 2 = 48). Since I didn't want to deal with a 48 second exposure, I widened my f/stop until my EVF showed a good exposure at 25 seconds (f/6.3) or I could have bumped the ISO to 200.

I was a bit annoyed at the Imagineers during my night time photo voyage in Pandora. Using trash cans as a tripod can limit you to the shots you can take depending on were they are positioned. However, all the paths were bordered by a fence and posts. The top of posts were big enough for my camera, but...the top of the posts were also uneven to make them more "authentic". Most of them were useless, but I found a couple I could use.

For a second I wished I had my tripod, until I thought about having to carry that and my camera and bag under a poncho in the rain.

Final shot -

Then the rain started again. Followed by a series of very intimidating lighting and thunder! Once again I packed up and headed for the gift shop. This time there was no steady increase. We went from drizzles to full on rain forest deluge in about 10 seconds. I only made it to the entrance of Tiffens and took cover there. After a very slight pause I moved back to the gift shop and waited outside undercover with some others.

By this point the pathways were flooding - this was taken during a let up.

I finally "maned up" and exited the park in a steady rain. I made it to the bus stop area, then took a freezing cold bus alone back to the YC.

As I got off the elevator and started walking to my room, I took off my squishy shoes and treated my tired feet to the soft plush YC hallway carpeting. "This feels great." I thought. It would become a bit of a "thing".

Val was in the room with Sue having some wine when I entered. About 45 minutes later the FoP squad returned to base with the excitement and thrill that comes with a major accomplishment. "It was even better the 2nd time!" was the repeated mantra.

It was now around 12:30 in the morning. 15 minutes later we had a knock on the door. It was Mia. She wanted to give us a snack before bed. She told us she forgot where our room was and knocked on 3 doors before ours and she got yelled at.

"What did they say to you?" I asked.

"They said - where's your Mother? Go to bed little girl! - they were kinda mean."

"I guess they were." I replied.

Up next - We hit Hollywood Studios for some thrills, then later try a new restaurant in Epcot while Sterg goes youtube video crazy.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I hoping to find some of your magic beer!!!

 

[Shane7694]

Chris, your photos are amazing! Absolutely stunning!