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]

With everyone all dressed up and smelling good, we gathered in the lobby. It was time for our group shot. The CM that greeted us on the first day was more than willing to take our photos. I gathered everyone together and posed our group on the steps to the best of my ability considering how impatient some were. OK, everyone here? I then made sure the camera settings were appropriate and took my place. After a few photos I checked on the results.

"Looks good, this one is good...oh! I like this one." I said out loud for all to hear. This was the best.

"Wait a minute! We're missing someone..."

We may have all said it at the same time; "MIA!"

Mia became preoccupied with watching the cartoons on tv. In this case Mia stood for Missing In Action.

With Mia now part of the group we got this keeper.

Now that we eliminated any possibility of a Home Alone sequel we exited YC and started towards Epcot.

I got to about here when I realized I forgot my phone in the room.

"Keep going, I'll catch up." I said for the 10th time of the trip. The only thing I missed was Yia-Yia drag racing up the strip on her ECV.

Sterg was waiting for me at the International Gateway.

Sterg and Mia, the only two that genuinely wanted to pose for me.

Someday I'll get to the real France. I wonder if I'll say angrily "Hey, this looks nothing like Epcot!"

A new Disney Dinning Experience for all of us. I heard some mixed reviews for "Chef's" but I liked that it was different and within walking distance.

UP Next - how did Les Chef's de France rate with a tough crew?

 

[Bob]

A new Disney Dinning Experience for all of us. I heard some mixed reviews for "Chef's" but I liked that it was different and within walking distance.

My rating...two thumbs up for dinner, two thumbs down for lunch.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

With everyone all dressed up and smelling good, we gathered in the lobby. It was time for our group shot. The CM that greeted us on the first day was more than willing to take our photos. I gathered everyone together and posed our group on the steps to the best of my ability considering how impatient some were. OK, everyone here? I then made sure the camera settings were good and took my place. After a few photos I checked on the results.

"Looks good, this one is good...oh! I like this one." I said out loud for all to hear. This was the best.

"Wait a minute! We're missing someone..."

We may have all said it at the same time; "MIA!"

Mia became preoccupied with watching the cartoons on tv. In this case Mia stood for Missing In Action.

With Mia now part of the group we got this keeper.

Now that we eliminated any possibility of a Home Alone sequel we exited YC and started towards Epcot.

I got to about here when I realized I forgot my phone in the room.

"Keep going, I'll catch up." I said for the 10th time of the trip. The only thing I missed was Yia-Yia drag racing up the strip on her ECV.

Sterg was waiting for me at the International Gateway.

Sterg and Mia, the only two that genuinely wanted to pose for me.

Someday I'll get to the real France. I wonder if I'll say angrily "Hey, this looks nothing like Epcot!"

A new Disney Dinning Experience for all of us. I heard some mixed reviews for "Chef's" but I liked that it was different and within walking distance.

UP Next - how did Les Chef's de France rate with a tough crew?

Funny story about the group shot and they turned out nice.

I hope you do get to France someday. Whe. We went we took the train into the city from the airport and once we got close to Paris we went underground. So when we walked up the metro steps and got our first glimpse of Paris one of my first thoughts was "this does kind of look like France in Epcot." Then I turned around and saw a McDonalds.

 

[Notes from Neverland]

I've attended 3 conventions at the Yacht Club. It's a lot of fun. My favorite is how when a break is over, they play the tones to "When You Wish Upon a Star" on chimes to bring everyone back in. Special experience!

 

[MinnieM123]

Lovely family photo at the Yacht Club!

I was interested in the photos of the convention center, as I've never seen any before. Looks really nice.

 

[fractal]

At first I found "Chef's" a bit too loud and chaotic. Not what I expected of a "French Restaurant". The seating between parties was pretty tight.

But as things went along I began to appreciate the murmur of different conversations, the clanking of silverware against plates and the occasions outbursts by children or popping of bottles. It fit our group perfect and subconsciously I believe helped us all feel more relaxed.

Here is our waiter. I wish I could remember his name, but he was obviously from France and he was terrific. Later he told me that he was leaving here and going to move to the West Coast by year-end.

This waiter kept catching my eye. He just seemed like what a French waiter should look like.

My Lord was the bread good! I mean really good! Almost worth all the carbs. Here it is in my French Onion Soup.

We used to have a small French Cafe near my house. The owner was trained in France as a chef. His "authentic" French Onion soup looked nor tasted anything like what "we" as Americans consider French Onion Soup. It was mostly a clear light broth with hints of onion. No cheese or bread baked in. He was the type of guy that would yell at you if you asked for more salt (or ketchup for his "real" french fries) and told you to go to Applebees if you didn't like his French Onion Soup - after telling you to go somewhere else. I was fine with our faux soup that night.

Mia was all smiles!

As was Yia-Yia. I was a bit concerned how she would like this place. She's an amazing cook herself. She owned restaurants with my late Father and a Greek Food spot in a local farmer's market. People still call her to make them food for parties or just for so. She's always the toughest critic when we go out to eat and sometimes can cause some "disruptions" if she's not happy with the food.

Tonight was not that night! She really did enjoy everything and even gave me a bit of a crazed look for my pictures.

We ordered a cheese sampler and escargot for appetizers - both wonderful - and I had the salmon for dinner which was very good. Nary a complaint from the group.

Group shot - the French Beer I ordered was also good enough for me to order two.

hamming it up together.

Dessert was next and did not disappoint.

This seemed to be the favorite.

Creme brulee was good.

as was this concoction.

The apple strudel sounded appealing and looked appealing but was the least liked as the crust seemed too hard.

Having worked in my parent's restaurant for many years, I appreciated the fast paced and professional nature of the "Chef's" staff. People were hustling!

With the end of dinner, we said our goodbye's to Al and Sue. Despite some ups and downs I was so happy they joined us at WDW as we really had a great time together. I'm also "sucking up" a bit in case they are reading this so we can still be invited to their new Florida home (Just Kidding Sue!). Seriously though, I do have great in-laws! Hopefully this won't be the last time we do Disney together.

Les Chef's de France turned out to be a big hit with us! Fun, filling and delicious. As a "1 credit" restaurant (for those on the meal plan) I felt it hit above it's weight class.

We hardly knew you.

As we exited I was excited to see the sun setting beautifully in Epcot.

The setting sun would set up some great photographic opportunities as we made our way to Soarin'. But, was I was able to take advantage of that?

 

[Texas2Florida2017]

Beautiful Family.

 

[disneypearl]

That is such a nice family photo!

 

[riverside]

Great family photo!! Your "home alone" comment cracked me up!!

 

[fractal]

Our tiger on the Maharajah Trail gave birth to 2 cubs!

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...tiger-cubs-born-at-disneys-animal-kingdom.htm

 

[Goofyfan4life]

I got to say like everyone else your pictures are amazing. They bring out detail that I never noticed before
and I notice everything. Great job on the trip report. Cant wait to read the rest.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Our tiger on the Maharajah Trail gave birth to 2 cubs!

http://www.wdwmagic.com/attractions...tiger-cubs-born-at-disneys-animal-kingdom.htm

I hope I see the cubs when I'm there!

 

[fractal]

Really enjoying this recent group of retro-Hollywood inspired storefronts, windows, signs, etc. DHS is such a hodgepodge of things at the moment, that when I visited back in May, I didn't like walking through the park. I just went to the few attractions I enjoy, and sort of breezed by everything else, which is a shame.

Looking at your individual photos, brought me back to years ago when the park's theme was immersive and wonderful. Thanks for sharing these pictures--next visit, I'll slow down a bit and search out the remnants of the nicer displays, that you obviously found with your magic camera lens.

thanks - unfortunately we didn't get a chance to go back at night which is when the park looks the best.

No worries! One of the biggest reasons that I am considering mirrorless next is because of the weight. I enjoy taking photographs, especially when we travel. Now that I have a kid (and hopefully more within the next several years) I don’t want to be lugging around a lot of extra weight, but I also don’t want to be limited to taking photos with my phone. I still need to be able to justify it though. I know I have a base model DSLR right now, and I’ve been trying to learn more and more about it. Once I feel like I’ve outgrown it, I’ll look at my (budget friendly) options.

When our children were younger, much younger, is when I hung up the LSR (film) at the time. You have enough things to lug around.

I'm with you im a baby in the rain! Being an ex college sprinter, I see clouds and I sprint to the bus!!!
With that being said, I've had some of the greatest time of my life with friends at Disney in the rain!

Sprinting will come in handy at AK rope drop!

That's a very nice Hawaiian shirt. Yia Yia has good taste!

thanks! I'll let Yia-yia know.

My rating...two thumbs up for dinner, two thumbs down for lunch.

So far I agree with half of your assessment.

Funny story about the group shot and they turned out nice.

I hope you do get to France someday. Whe. We went we took the train into the city from the airport and once we got close to Paris we went underground. So when we walked up the metro steps and got our first glimpse of Paris one of my first thoughts was "this does kind of look like France in Epcot." Then I turned around and saw a McDonalds.

that's funny!

I've attended 3 conventions at the Yacht Club. It's a lot of fun. My favorite is how when a break is over, they play the tones to "When You Wish Upon a Star" on chimes to bring everyone back in. Special experience!

cool! I'm up for more conventions!

Lovely family photo at the Yacht Club!

I was interested in the photos of the convention center, as I've never seen any before. Looks really nice.

thanks @MinnieM123 !

Beautiful Family.

thank you @Texas2Florida2017 !

That is such a nice family photo!

thanks @disneypearl !

Great family photo!! Your "home alone" comment cracked me up!!

Would make a funny movie! thanks!

I got to say like everyone else your pictures are amazing. They bring out detail that I never noticed before
and I notice everything. Great job on the trip report. Cant wait to read the rest.

thank you @Goofyfan4life !

I hope I see the cubs when I'm there!

I hope you do too, and take lots of pictures!

 

[Tiggerish]

Glad you enjoyed Les Chefs de France, it's one of our favorites!

 

[sheriffwoody]

Well shoot! We canceled Chefs de France for our last trip. Oh well....we'll try it at some point! I love the group shot on the stairs. You get some great quality shots inside! You've got me considering renting that Sony soon just to see how I like it. I'm just so set in my Canon ways for weddings, but dang to get that color quality indoors. For the group shot at the table, did you use flash, or was that all ambient?

 

[fractal]

Glad you enjoyed Les Chefs de France, it's one of our favorites!

Very much so; glad we tried it!

Well shoot! We canceled Chefs de France for our last trip. Oh well....we'll try it at some point! I love the group shot on the stairs. You get some great quality shots inside! You've got me considering renting that Sony soon just to see how I like it. I'm just so set in my Canon ways for weddings, but dang to get that color quality indoors. For the group shot at the table, did you use flash, or was that all ambient?

Thanks @sheriffwoody ! On the group shot I indeed used the flash - bounced off the ceiling. ISO 1250 @ f/6.3 so I'd have all in focus. The other shots in the restaurant were at or near wide open (f/2.8) in the 3000-5000 iso range using ambient light.

I think you would find the A7rii slow and not as responsive as your Canon for a wedding shoot. The image quality is top notch but is not even as responsive as my old NEX-7. It does have eye-autofocus that is incredible and a silent shutter option that I've used at a few church and performance events (or when I want to sneak a shot in somewhere I'm not supposed to). I would see it as a great 2nd camera at a wedding (also shoots 4K video). The new A9 seems like a much better wedding camera (although you give up some image quality and resolution), much faster and responsive and with ridiculous AF including eye-af and also silent shutter. It's also crazy expensive! For me and what I use it for the slower body is worth the superior image quality.

 

[DryerLintFan]

Funny story about the group shot and they turned out nice.

I hope you do get to France someday. Whe. We went we took the train into the city from the airport and once we got close to Paris we went underground. So when we walked up the metro steps and got our first glimpse of Paris one of my first thoughts was "this does kind of look like France in Epcot." Then I turned around and saw a McDonalds.

McDonalds is a life saver in Europe, for me. When you see the golden arches, you know there's a restroom inside!

At first I found "Chef's" a bit too loud and chaotic. Not what I expected of a "French Restaurant". The seating between parties was pretty tight.

But as things went along I began to appreciate the murmur of different conversations, the clanking of silverware against plates and the occasions outbursts by children or popping of bottles. It fit our group perfect and subconsciously I believe helped us all feel more relaxed.

Here is our waiter. I wish I could remember his name, but he was obviously from France and he was terrific. Later he told me that he was leaving here and going to move to the West Coast by year-end.

This waiter kept catching my eye. He just seemed like what a French waiter should look like.

My Lord was the bread good! I mean really good! Almost worth all the carbs. Here it is in my French Onion Soup.

We used to have a small French Cafe near my house. The owner was trained in France as a chef. His "authentic" French Onion soup looked nor tasted anything like what "we" as Americans consider French Onion Soup. It was mostly a clear light broth with hints of onion. No cheese or bread baked in. He was the type of guy that would yell at you if you asked for more salt (or ketchup for his "real" french fries) and told you to go to Applebees if you didn't like his French Onion Soup - after telling you to go somewhere else. I was fine with our faux soup that night.

Mia was all smiles!

As was Yia-Yia. I was a bit concerned how she would like this place. She's an amazing cook herself. She owned restaurants with my late Father and a Greek Food spot in a local farmer's market. People still call her to make them food for parties or just for so. She's always the toughest critic when we go out to eat and sometimes can cause some "disruptions" if she's not happy with the food.

Tonight was not that night! She really did enjoy everything and even gave me a bit of a crazed look for my pictures.

We ordered a cheese sampler and escargot for appetizers - both wonderful - and I had the salmon for dinner which was very good. Nary a complaint from the group.

Group shot - the French Beer I ordered was also good enough for me to order two.

hamming it up together.

Dessert was next and did not disappoint.

This seemed to be the favorite.

Creme brulee was good.

as was this concoction.

The apple strudel sounded appealing and looked appealing but was the least liked as the crust seemed too hard.

Having worked in my parent's restaurant for many years, I appreciated the fast paced and professional nature of the "Chef's" staff. People were hustling!

With the end of dinner, we said our goodbye's to Al and Sue. Despite some ups and downs I was so happy they joined us at WDW as we really had a great time together. I'm also "sucking up" a bit in case they are reading this so we can still be invited to their new Florida home (Just Kidding Sue!). Seriously though, I do have great in-laws! Hopefully this won't be the last time we do Disney together.

Les Chef's de France turned out to be a big hit with us! Fun, filling and delicious. As a "1 credit" restaurant (for those on the meal plan) I felt it hit above it's weight class.

We hardly knew you.

As we exited I was excited to see the sun setting beautifully in Epcot.

The setting sun would set up some great photographic opportunities as we made our way to Soarin'. But, was I was able to take advantage of that?

When I was a teenager I went on an exchange program trip to France and the family I was staying with followed the generally held belief that American's like ketchup on everything. Before I arrived they went out and bought a bottle of ketchup just for me and they put it on the table at every meal. They were so confused when I didn't excitedly put ketchup on my corn flakes

 

[sheriffwoody]

Very much so; glad we tried it!

Thanks @sheriffwoody ! On the group shot I indeed used the flash - bounced off the ceiling. ISO 1250 @ f/6.3 so I'd have all in focus. The other shots in the restaurant were at or near wide open (f/2.8) in the 3000-5000 iso range using ambient light.

I think you would find the A7rii slow and not as responsive as your Canon for a wedding shoot. The image quality is top notch but is not even as responsive as my old NEX-7. It does have eye-autofocus that is incredible and a silent shutter option that I've used at a few church and performance events (or when I want to sneak a shot in somewhere I'm not supposed to). I would see it as a great 2nd camera at a wedding (also shoots 4K video). The new A9 seems like a much better wedding camera (although you give up some image quality and resolution), much faster and responsive and with ridiculous AF including eye-af and also silent shutter. It's also crazy expensive! For me and what I use it for the slower body is worth the superior image quality.

Oh that's good to know! Yeah for weddings speed is a priority. I can add light when I need to and create better quality, but if I miss the shot, I miss it. I already struggle with stuff like exits (they are always in the dark, people running straight at you...I hate it), so I'm sure less speed would be bad! Still going to try it out sometime though on a non-paid shoot, just to see!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

McDonalds is a life saver in Europe, for me. When you see the golden arches, you know there's a restroom inside!



When I was a teenager I went on an exchange program trip to France and the family I was staying with followed the generally held belief that American's like ketchup on everything. Before I arrived they went out and bought a bottle of ketchup just for me and they put it on the table at every meal. They were so confused when I didn't excitedly put ketchup on my corn flakes

The only time we went to McDonald's in Europe was to use the restroom, and that was just one time when we went to Versailles. We passed by a lot of them though.

 

[Songbird76]

McDonalds is a life saver in Europe, for me. When you see the golden arches, you know there's a restroom inside!



When I was a teenager I went on an exchange program trip to France and the family I was staying with followed the generally held belief that American's like ketchup on everything. Before I arrived they went out and bought a bottle of ketchup just for me and they put it on the table at every meal. They were so confused when I didn't excitedly put ketchup on my corn flakes

Sometimes you have to pay for those bathrooms, though...good to have change on hand, just in case.

And wow...your host family would have been really disappointed in me. I don't eat ketchup at all. Or mustard. Or mayo...or really any condiments at all.