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]

You'd never been on the MPB before??!!!

ok, at the risk of ridicule what is MPB ?

 

[PacNWTigger]

Moving Park Bench, right?

 

[mousefreak]

Awesome picts of MK!!!

 

[Tuvalu]

ok, at the risk of ridicule what is MPB ?

You have read my TRs, haven't you?

 

[fractal]

You have read my TRs, haven't you?

View attachment 225707

You are the best!

 

[imthewalrus79]

Amazingly, I've never been on the Walt Disney World Railroad. It was time to check that off the list as I climbed aboard for a complete loop.

Can't believe you had never done the WDW Railroad before. That's a ride that's always on my list. But then, besides the great views, I'm a fan of trains. In fact, on my last trip out to Disneyland, I took the train. It was the Southwest Chief out of Chicago. It was more expensive than a flight; but it was very much worth it to me. The views were absolutely amazing, some stuff I think @fractal would love to capture. If you have the extra money on a trip across a fair amount of our country, I highly recommend doing it at least once.

Also, I love the shots of Main Street USA. For me, walking through those tunnels through Town Square and then looking down Main Street at that castle is the first thing I do after dropping my stuff off at the hotel. It lets me know I'm back at Walt Disney World.

 

[fractal]

By the time I got back to the Yacht Club, Sterg was ready to go and waiting for me.

Boys' Day was back on!

Without delay we walked outside and saw this...

Our stay at the YC coincided with the testing phase for the MinnieVan. I looked at Sterg and we just nodded and we asked for a ride to Animal Kingdom.

10 minutes later we were dropped off. It was really a great way to travel from resort to park. While talking to our drive we discover that he's from my home town, grew up literally 6 blocks from me and knew all my older cousins (he was 7 years older than me)! Once again...



Edit correction - our hometown friend driver was not from this MinnieVan, but on our second MinnieVan ride.


Since it was the "testing phase" our ride was free. I tried to tip my hometown friend but tips not allowed. I believe the cost is $25 for a one way trip. Something I believe I would at least consider on our next trip.


Howdy Animal Kingdom! I was lucky enough to get 2 fastpasses for Flight of Passage and the second was for that afternoon.

The glaring sun wasn't exactly ideal for photography but hey we have to just do our best.

Time to make a decision.

With time before our window we decided on Everest.

But it wasn't a mad dash to Everest. Sterg was just fine with a slower pace.

We stopped for a few minutes to listen to these performers. They were really good and the music helped create a more exotic atmosphere.

That's some bass guitar mister!

I think I can fool a lot of people with this photo, saying it's from Sterg & my trip to the base of the Himalaya's.

Sterg was having a great time with the camera and taking a ton of video.

This shot is harder than it looks, especially during bright sunlight. It's very easy to overexpose the sky and clouds as you're trying to properly expose the "temple" and the offerings.

After some trail and error I think I managed an expectable shot. My settings for those curious were f/8, 1/80 sec, ISO 100. Yes, ISO 100! I disengaged the annoying Auto ISO.

One could argue that I did "blowout" my clouds here by just a bit. This was @ f/5.6.

The new outdoor "stadium" adds more interest to this viewpoint.

Not that I was about to slurp down some stream water, but a good reminder nonetheless.

More warning signs.

One of the other members of our expedition took a photo of us. I should have had her switch sides with us and take it with the incoming light on our front instead of back.

For this trip up the mountain I put the camera away and just enjoyed the ride while screaming like a crazy person.

 

[LieutLaww]

Minnie Vans will be $20 per trip, also another great part of the TR and great to see Sterg back up and running

 

[fractal]

I took some time after EE for photos of the great theming.

I was really diggin' these slate etchings.

say a prayer.

Climbing to your encounter. I was using my 85mm 1.8 for all these shots. That lens is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

The girl in the front seat cracks me up.

Goodbye for now Everest. Despite the static Yeti, this is still one of my favorite rides. That doesn't mean I don't want Joe Rhode to keep his promise of fixing it! I would say EE is borderline in my top 4 or 5 attractions - with a fully operational Yeti it would challenge FoP for my top spot. For those that have never seen the Yeti working; Yes - it IS that good.

We left Asia behind to journey to another continent;

The Tree of Life tells us we are heading the right way.

Is it my imagination or have they added more waterfall over the years?

We arrive at Africa. Where to next?

Sterg made a new friend.

Isn't it funny how on some trips certain rides get ignored while on another trip you can't seem to get enough of the same ride (sorry, "attraction"). For us, Kilimanjaro Safari was more popular than ever before.

This was fine by me as I could shoot the animals (photographically that is) all day long.

Thanks for the tips. I can make a you-tube video on this. Not sure why anyone would use a flash to shoot animals dozens of yards away...

Our truck arrived...

and we were off again into the wilds of Africa.

 

[Gurt]

Good to see Sterg was feeling a little better it must be awful to be feeling horrible in the world.

 

[coachwnh]

You've taken so many great shots, but this one stands out to me for some reason. Very cool!

This last post is fantastic! You've captured such wonderful detail in the buildings. Awesome!!

Was thinking the same as a looked through. Some different pictures. Very well done!

 

[MinnieM123]

Did Sterg ever figure out what caused the rash? Obviously, it was more than a heat rash (some guests get that from the heat and humidity down there). Wonder if it was food related, or if it may have been some sort of bug bite that gave him an allergic reaction. Hope he is completely well now.

 

[fractal]

@fractal I think I can do that and I'm sure your right! Now I just have to figure out how. I'm going to have a little mini photo shoot tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

So, how did the photo shoot go?

I liked your reflection in the window at the train station. It was a nice touch.

thanks for noticing @PacNWTigger !

Awesome picts of MK!!!

Thank you @mousefreak!

Can't believe you had never done the WDW Railroad before. That's a ride that's always on my list. But then, besides the great views, I'm a fan of trains. In fact, on my last trip out to Disneyland, I took the train. It was the Southwest Chief out of Chicago. It was more expensive than a flight; but it was very much worth it to me. The views were absolutely amazing, some stuff I think @fractal would love to capture. If you have the extra money on a trip across a fair amount of our country, I highly recommend doing it at least once.

Also, I love the shots of Main Street USA. For me, walking through those tunnels through Town Square and then looking down Main Street at that castle is the first thing I do after dropping my stuff off at the hotel. It lets me know I'm back at Walt Disney World.

Amazing that there are still things I haven't done at WDW. I would love to go on a cross country train ride. I once looked into the one's in Canada with the glass roofs, maybe someday. Thanks - it was fun just having the time to spend on my own in MK.

Minnie Vans will be $20 per trip, also another great part of the TR and great to see Sterg back up and running

Thanks @LieutLaww !

Good to see Sterg was feeling a little better it must be awful to be feeling horrible in the world.

Thanks and yeah, he wasn't too happy that morning.

You've taken so many great shots, but this one stands out to me for some reason. Very cool!



Was thinking the same as a looked through. Some different pictures. Very well done!

One of my favorites as well! thanks @coachwnh !

Did Sterg ever figure out what caused the rash? Obviously, it was more than a heat rash (some guests get that from the heat and humidity down there). Wonder if it was food related, or if it may have been some sort of bug bite that gave him an allergic reaction. Hope he is completely well now.

When we were staying at Al & Sue's I saw what looked like a bug bite in the middle of the "rash". After that it seemed everytime he ate shrimp it flared up. The day after eating the escargot was the worse. My non-medical opinion was that he was bit by something pretty nasty, which weakened his defenses against other things that normally wouldn't effect him (shellfish). I'm sure the heat and humidity didn't help. He is now fully recovered. thanks for asking @MinnieM123 !

 

[djpoore94]

Thanks for the tips. I can make a you-tube video on this. Not sure why anyone would use a flash to shoot animals dozens of yards away...

Because most people don't understand the fact that unless you have a professional set up with large lighting and flashes, the flash is only good for an object a couple of feet away at most. Hence the number of people you see using a flash on dark rides or from the nosebleed seats at concerts!

 

[fractal]

Because most people don't understand the fact that unless you have a professional set up with large lighting and flashes, the flash is only good for an object a couple of feet away at most. Hence the number of people you see using a flash on dark rides or from the nosebleed seats at concerts!

Sitting in the stands of a swim meet you don't know how many times I wanted to tell people their pop-up flash wasn't going to work from up there.

As far as using flash in a dark ride - you should lose all your Fastpasses if you try that stunt!

 

[fractal]

Meanwhile, at Discovery Cove...


While Sterg and I were enjoying "Boys' Day", Yia-Yia was trying to see just how fast a dolphin can swim.

 

[morgan22]

Wow - it's taken me a few days but I'm caught up and waiting on the next instalments ..
Really enjoying your dialogue and fabulous photos x

 

[MinnieM123]

Meanwhile, at Discovery Cove...


While Sterg and I were enjoying "Boys' Day", Yia-Yia was trying to see just how fast a dolphin can swim.

Yia Yia's got the need -- the need for SPEED!!!

(Between her driving her ECV at warp speed, and then careening across the water, hanging on to a dolphin--I just don't know how you and the family managed to keep up with her on the trip!)

 

[fractal]

Wow - it's taken me a few days but I'm caught up and waiting on the next instalments ..
Really enjoying your dialogue and fabulous photos x

Thanks @morgan22 !

Yia Yia's got the need -- the need for SPEED!!!

(Between her driving her ECV at warp speed, and then careening across the water, hanging on to a dolphin--I just don't know how you and the family managed to keep up with her on the trip!)

Very true!

 

[fractal]

Sterg and I front row of Expedition Everest!