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]

Our daily Florida thunderstorm hit a little early. It was actually very pleasant sitting in the pavilion watching the rain fall and feeling the cooler breeze.

But it wasn't too long before the sun once again took control of the skies.

With the rain gone I spent some time exploring the area again. They really need to come up with a name for this spot (maybe they have?). The Area Behind Flame Tree BBQ is just not good enough.

I love all the little statues.

Time for a drink. There are always a number of birds patrolling here. What's not to like if you are a bird? You're in Disney, plenty of scraps to eat, plenty of water to drink, and some nice shade. It's kinda like a bird heaven!

I found this boat hiding behind the trees.

and some more statues to enjoy.

One more bird photo. Lucky bird!

Sterg, Toni and Courtney were incredibly patience with me; telling me to take my time and enjoy my photography as much as I wanted.

Actually that's a lie. They left me to ride Everest again.

I received word that Marina, Yia-Yia and Mia had arrived. So I went to the Tree of Life to meet them.

Quick pic with Yia-Yia.

"OK" I asked. What do we want to do next?

 

[gdisneyfans]

Here's Toni

and Sterg.

I laughed a little too out loud when I saw this!

For all you parents out there with smaller children my advise to you is enjoy this time. Yeah they can be a big pain sometimes and very demanding of your time, but it doesn't last forever. One day you will wake up and realize those little turds are now growing up and they will never again be as cute or adorable as before. You can't go back and it's funny that when you remember the good times of their childhood it almost make you want to cry and some of the bad times now make you want to laugh. So appreciate this time and of course take many more photos than necessary.

Couldn't have said it any better! I miss the days of Emily snuggling with me on the couch or chair, the way she would hold my hand when we would go anywhere and her actually being a little turd from time to time. Thank goodness we are able to capture them in photos and videos and reminisce about "those days"

So happy you're taking more photos than necessary - and you should - your children are beautiful (can I say that about Sterg too)!!

 

[susan lees]

Not sure what I was doing here, but somehow Sterg ticked my off enough for me to try and grab the camera.

From the photo it looks like I was on Kali River.

I love taking photos of my children;

Here's Toni

and Sterg.

It was starting to heat up so we all decided to go to the most terrorizing indoor attraction on Disney property.

It's Tough to be a Bug!

Don't be fooled by the friendly persona of Flick and his buggy friends. This show always - I mean always results in psychotic screams of horror, panic and fright. Untold numbers of hysterically screaming children have been wisked out of the theater during the attack of the bugs. I've had to carry Alex out twice and Toni at least once.

This time we got front row seats to the carnage.

Close up of The Master of childhood nightmares.

This may be my best shot of the black widow spiders. The camera was shaking a bit as I was chuckling at the mass pandemonium occurring all around me.

After being saved by a lizard we made our way out of the Tree of Life.

things are just so much more pleasant when the kids get along.

Dinoland was our destination as we had a rendezvous with Courtney who was meeting us there.

For some reason, on this day I remembered taking Toni to the Boneyard when she was little. She loved it and I had fun taking photos.

Toni circa 2009.

Toni circa July 2017

For all you parents out there with smaller children my advise to you is enjoy this time. Yeah they can be a big pain sometimes and very demanding of your time, but it doesn't last forever. One day you will wake up and realize those little turds are now growing up and they will never again be as cute or adorable as before. You can't go back and it's funny that when you remember the good times of their childhood it almost make you want to cry and some of the bad times now make you want to laugh. So appreciate this time and of course take many more photos than necessary.

Frozen treats while we wait.

Dad, are you crying?

No, no...not me little girl. Hey, let's go on a fake dinosaur trail.

This wasn't fake. This plant's been around since the age of the dinosaurs. Not sure the Human Race will beat that record.

Such lovely words and so true. It's my daughter's 26th birthday tomorrow and I was picking out a card for her. I came across one that said
'A daughter might outgrow your lap but will never outgrow your heart'
I literally had tears in my eyes in the store

 

[newhorizons1]

I already look back at photos from 6 months ago of my 1 year old and get a little misty-eyed. I don’t miss that it took him 11.5 months to finally start sleeping through the night!

Those nachos looked amazing!

Great photos of all the little details around Animal Kingdom. It's a beautiful park, and your photos are making me want to take the time to appreciate all the Disney put in to creating it during my next trip.

 

[fractal]

creepy dolls always remind me of this guy form "Trilogy of Terror". 1970's ABC Sunday Night Movie of the Week.

Great Show!

Thanks for sharing your trip experience. Always look forward to them.

thanks for following and commenting @gaga4disney !

@ Fractal-
I do coach, yes-
When you love what you do for a living, it makes life an E ticket!!

I coached Alex and Sterg in various sports as they grew up and greatly enjoyed it. I'm a bit jealous!

Ugh, now I'm on the verge of at my desk! I remind myself daily that they are only little for a moment. Hoping to have a our first trip soon, and I plan to snap as many photos as possible and soak in every moment. Enjoying your trip report!

Thanks @MeeskaMooska0714 !

I will let Star Lord answer that one..

View attachment 229620

Max

I laughed a little too out loud when I saw this!


Couldn't have said it any better! I miss the days of Emily snuggling with me on the couch or chair, the way she would hold my hand when we would go anywhere and her actually being a little turd from time to time. Thank goodness we are able to capture them in photos and videos and reminisce about "those days"

So happy you're taking more photos than necessary - and you should - your children are beautiful (can I say that about Sterg too)!!

@fractal jr is a good sport. I probably spend too much time looking at old photos, but we have made many wonderful memories inside the Disney bubble.

Such lovely words and so true. It's my daughter's 26th birthday tomorrow and I was picking out a card for her. I came across one that said
'A daughter might outgrow your lap but will never outgrow your heart'
I literally had tears in my eyes in the store

Great quote - and true!

I already look back at photos from 6 months ago of my 1 year old and get a little misty-eyed. I don’t miss that it took him 11.5 months to finally start sleeping through the night!

Those nachos looked amazing!

Great photos of all the little details around Animal Kingdom. It's a beautiful park, and your photos are making me want to take the time to appreciate all the Disney put in to creating it during my next trip.

Thanks @newhorizons1 ! Alex had the worst colic and kept us up almost every night for the first year. We weren't laughing then as she did her best to try to stay an only child; but now we do have some funny stories.

 

[fractal]

A few random photos around Animal Kingdom.

 

[fractal]

It's 92 degrees, 400% humidity, the sun is blazing and I'm in AK with an immediate contingency of Yia-Yia, Marina and Mia.

Mia is scared to death of the Yeti, we have no FPs coming up anytime soon...

Well - since we're not going to do Flight of Passage, how about a different "Flight"?

I took our crew to Flight of Wonder.

Last time I saw this show I really enjoyed it.

I sat next to Yia-Yia in the ECV section while Marina took Mia up front. Same woman was the head "bird trainer", which is a good thing.

Pic-pocket bird.

I'll take that!

See ya later!

There was another CM on stage who was supposed to be a guest leading a lost tour group. He was there to provide some comedy relief and as a device for the bird trainer to engage in conversation, but I really wasn't into his schtick.

There are several impressive moments in the show. The bird trainer asked for 2 members of the audience with "real" cameras (despite my raising my hand like Horshack in Welcome Back Kotter, I was not picked). She sat the pair plus the son of one of the guys, on stage and then sent out an owl...

Who (no pun intended) flew across the arena...

Then back, right at the trio with cameras and right over their heads. I'd love to see the photos they managed. By the way - notice the Father with the I-phone. They specifically asked for people with DSLR like camera - no smart phones. I was mad at him but happy for the kid.

Yia-yia was laughing and clapping and overall smitten by the performance.

We learned some interesting facts about buzzards, besides them wanting to eat young Simba.

and hawks...

a few more bird photos...

Can't have a bird show without a bald eagle!

Majestic animal. I wonder if he know's Sam the Eagle?

Overall, despite not being as thrilling as the "other Flight", the show was a hit. Yia-yia thought it was great, Marina gave it a thumbs up, Mia loved it and we got about a 1/2 hour of shade.

It was enough for the "girls" to build up an appetite.

 

[fractal]

We made our way towards Africa and Harambe Market; the newer food court. I had eaten there in 2015 with Alex and Toni and was overall impressed despite them passing off frozen gyro strips as some kind of exotic Africa delicacy.

I was into taking pics of the signs and posters, primarily because they are pretty cool, and also because they don't give me a hard time about taking their photo (unlike others)

We found a table in a very crowded market, then Marina went to get food. I was not hungry, having helped myself to some of the buffalo chips, but I was a bit thirsty. Ah Ha! A beer line!

I told my Mom and Mia I would be right back as I observed only a few people in line.

Why I think I will.

The order sign was a bit misleading as I and the guy behind me found out. There are various stands in Harambe Market, each with a sign over them advertising a certain food. There was a Sausage sandwich sign, a now changed to Gyro sandwich window, a chicken skewer, etc. What we realized was at each ordering line, one could order anything on the menu. In addition to just a beer, I could have ordered food as well. This was different than the last time I was there, and I get it. It avoids someone, especially a parent, from having to stand in several lines - but couldn't we have the beer line just dedicated to grabbing a quick drink? This was the basis of the conversation with the nice gentleman in line with me as everyone in front of us was ordering a full fledged meal. To sum it up "Geesh, I just want a beer!"

So 20 minutes later, during which I tried to keep my eye on Yia-yia and Mia, I had my beer and went back to the table. The time in line did afford me the opportunity to take more photos.

So that's where you ask for laundry!

As long as my line was, Marina's was longer. I nearly finished my beer by the time she got back with the food.

I miss when my kids would eagerly smile for photos! Mia had no problem.

Photographer in trainer? Forgot to teach the whole "take the lens cap off" thing.

Marina finally came with the food, to a complaint from Yia-yia. "C'mon Marina, where were you?" (translated from Greek). As if it was Marina's fault.

I've had two experiences at Harambe Market and although neither was outright bad, I think there are better lunch options in AK.

Having finished my beer, time for more photos. The one great things about Harambe Market is the themeing.

Seems like good advice.

UP NEXT -

Festival of the Lion King with Yia-Yia, another downpour, dinner and Magic Kingdom.

 

[myhappyplace]

DH and I love spending time in the Harambe market taking pictures...it is so colorful and eclectic!!

 

[MinnieM123]

I enjoyed Flights of Wonder, but I haven't seen it for a few years now. If the "timing" is right for a show and I'm in the area, I definitely go. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone to see, at least once.

I'm trying to recall the "tour guide" comedy part of the show, and for some reason, I don't recall seeing him before. Either that, or I was so unimpressed, that perhaps it just completely slipped my mind?

 

[krisri18]

In all my Disney trips, I have still not seen Flights of Wonder. I even tried on my last trip, only to discover that I had missed the last show. *sigh* Maybe my fall trip, lol

 

[Tuvalu]

I'm trying to recall the "tour guide" comedy part of the show, and for some reason, I don't recall seeing him before. Either that, or I was so unimpressed, that perhaps it just completely slipped my mind?

Guano Joe!

 

[fractal jr]

and Sterg.

I finally understand why everyone says I look like you...

 

[Gurt]

I love all the details you have captured at AK so many little things I have never noticed

 

[fractal]

I finally understand why everyone says I look like you...

touche' @fractal jr !

 

[Bob]

A few random photos around Animal Kingdom.

these photos!!

 

[fractal]

After Harambe Market we split up. Marina wanted to get Mia over her Yeti-phobia and I thought it would be a great time to catch Festival of the Lion King with Yia-Yia.

I continue to appreciate what people that have to use an ECV go thru. As we were led into the theater towards the ECV parking spot by a CM, the incoming crowd rushed us - ignored the CM telling them to stop and preventing us from going the final 5 feet. So we basically had to stand in the middle of a mass of people rushing past us like a pack of wildebeests.

After we finally got settled, the show was on. I was missing Alex as she love LK and loves this show.

Hi Simba!

Tumble Monkeys were at the top of there game.

Yia-Yia was really getting into it. She kept clapping and waving to the performers.

Time for things to get a little scary.

This guy is so talented (and maybe a little nuts)!

 

[DznyRktekt]

Seriously purple ribbon stuff. Great composition!

 

[fractal]

As much as I enjoy FotLK, I think seeing how much my Mom liked it was better for me than the show itself. She was smiling the whole time!

She especially liked this part.

performers were as great as the costumes. I loved how they made a point to interact with the crowd, especially the children.

The finale!!

So FotLK with Yia-Yia turned out to be a homerun!

We left the small African village for a quick trip back to Asia to meet up with the expeditioners. Goodbye Africa - for now.

 

[amjt660]

I love the way you care so much about how your mom is having fun and enjoying the parks

You are such a good boy!!

Note : my in laws are Greek so I have been called a good boy for about 28 years now!

And the girls call my MIL yaiyai and my FIL is papoulli

Max