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?

 

[newhorizons1]

Happy birthday to Toni and Sterg!

Great safari photos!

 

[fractal]

@fractal I'm catching back up on reading your trip report and I have to tell you those pictures of the "fire guy" in FOTLK are AMAZING, SPECTACULAR! He moves so fast that I can barely see what he's doing but you were able to catch everything so clear. When I grow up, I want to be like you.

Thanks @Zipitidoda ! I shot him at 1/500 sec, f/2.2, ISO 1600 on my 55mm lens in "crop mode". You should be able to get a similar shot using your 50mm 1.8.

Happy birthday to Toni and Sterg!

Great safari photos!

Thanks @newhorizons1 !

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

@djpoore94 - yes you can print one. May I suggest however that you order a print from my smugmug account;

https://dikosphotography.smugmug.com/Disney-Photography/

You can get a 8X10 for less than $3 (plus shipping) and it will be a full resolution print done professionally. Plus I'll get a little credit to help offset the cost of maintaining the site.

If you "right click" copy off of this site it will not be a full resolution file.

Either way, thanks for following and your comments!

Thanks for providing this!

 

[riverside]

Happy Birthday to Toni & Sterg!! And congratualtions to Toni on her permit!!

 

[fractal]

Flying Fish was my favorite restaurant during our 2011 trip. I found it vibrant and comfortable yet classy with just enough "sophistication". We had a great time there with myself, Val, a 17 year old Alex, Sterg almost 15 and Toni almost 10.

This link takes you to the page in my 2011 report discussing our meal at Flying Fish and will give you a good feel for the decor at the time.

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/wdw-rumors-of-my-demise-have-been-greatly-exaggerated-–-my-august-2011-trip-report.789699/page-17

FF was also a favorite of Marina and her family so we were excited to have our last dinner of the trip there.

Mia was ready with her new banshee friend she found at AK.

With everybody showered and dressed "nice" we headed out.

Quick shot in the YC lobby.

We made the easy decision to take the Friendship boat across to the Boardwalk. Some guy on the pier offered to take a photo of Val and I.

I enjoy not having to shave while on vacation, but in this instance I wish I had as I looked a bit too scruffy in what was otherwise a great shot of us.

On our way to Flying Fish!

As you walk into Flying Fish, the Abracadabra Bar is to your left. I really liked the look of it and felt I could spend some time there, until I bought fancy drinks for Yia-Yia, Marina and Val that cost nearly $50!

I knew that Flying Fish had undergone a redo but had not seen photos of it before our trip. The gold's, light blues and smattering of several other colors were replaced with primarily dark blue and white. The shapes of the decor morphed from the rounded fish forms to a more edgy look. Having watched Jaws when I was a mere 7 years old, I have this innate fear of being in deep water, especially at night. As I walked into a too quite FF with the bubbles and deep, dark blue ceiling/sea above me and jagged rocks to my side I was immediately uncomfortable.

Soon after this photo, all eyes turned to me as I led my crew of; Yia-Yia loudly asking where we were going to sit, Sterg ad libbing some rap song, Toni and Courtney laughing over some snapchat and Mia struggling with keeping her banshee from falling off her shoulder. "Can we just got over to the ESPN Club?" I asked myself.

That was not to be as we were escorted to the very back of the restaurant. I felt like I was leading a parade of misfits that were easily the loudest thing in the place. We then were directed into a separate area to the back left - as if in quarantine. In reality it was to accommodate our party of 8 but I was just getting a bad "vibe". Maybe it was because of how much fun we had in 2011, how different the remodel looked, the formality of our hostess and later our waiter but I knew then that this was not the same Flying Fish.

Time to take some pics. At least the smiles still came easy.

The menu was also a complete makeover. Much less choice and much more upscale. No more calamari and crab cakes.

Instead of a heaping of spicy calamari with that wonderful dip, we had a plate of micro cheese samplers with little piles of paprika or whatever kind of spice - for $25.

This pretty much says it all...

I can't say my fish was bad. It was actually pretty good, - it was also nearly $60. As far as memorable? I can't even remember what kind of fish it was.

The kids ordered the filet - which was very good. No complaints here.

Val ordered the Veal.

In my experience, Veal is supposed to be pretty lean and tender. This was anything but. It was fatty and not tough, but not tender. It also was not cooked properly as half of it came out rare/almost raw. If my Mom would have seen it she would have flipped the heck out causing a scene that would have really made us stand out. Since it was our last night in WDW and not wanting to go through that, I quietly called the waiter over and voiced our complaint. He said he would show the chef and would compensate us on the bill. Fine - Val didn't want any more of it so off he went.

Marina ordered some kind of combination that included octopus (which was good) and a giant shrimp ( which was not and tasted funny).

I love seafood. I could eat it if you threw it on the table in front of me; however in a place as "fancy" and expensive as this I felt this presentation left a lot to be desired.

She did not want to send it back, so fine. After we all split some dessert we decided to try and get to MK to see Happily Ever After, which Sterg and I were raving about as part of our mealtime conversation.

Marina used her Disney Visa to pay the bill to at least get some discount. Later I found out that Val's meal was not comped in any way, so my check to Marina was pretty hefty.

Waiting for those in the restroom on the way out, I took another photo of the new Flying Fish that bore little resemblance to the old one and at least for me, quickly went from the top to the bottom of my WDW restaurant rankings.

OK - time to move on.

Hey, I know a quick way to get to MK!

Marina graciously volunteered to take Yia-Yia on her ECV via bus. So off we went!

The night was a bit muggy but otherwise beautiful - as was the entrance to Magic Kingdom!

Our promising and well thought out plan was to get a good spot for HEA, enjoy the fireworks then maybe some rides and take in our last night in WDW under the glow of Main Street lights.

Mike Tyson has a great quote about "plans".

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

 

[senor_jorge]

Tyson is a frequently overlooked philosopher of our time. It's always good to see someone else recognize his brilliance.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Sorry to hear your FF experience wasn't as memorable as the last. Kelly and I had a brief conversation about potentially eating there in December but her disdain for seafood made it a very quick no. Sounds like we may have made a good decision.

 

[mousefreak]

Sorry to hear about your FF experience. I'll put that on the "do not" list of places to eat. Love the picture of Sterg kissing his mom!

 

[MinnieM123]

Haven't heard too much about FF since the makeover. I know up to that point, people generally raved about it. Too bad it was lacking this time--like you said, it just seemed to be a bit "off" that night.

Sometimes, when you have a great, memorable experience somewhere, it's kinda hard to have a repeat of that on a second visit. That's just something I've sort of noticed, as a general observation in life.

 

[ksr99]

A family update.

On Sunday Toni turned 16. We had a Sweet Sixteen party for her.

Her first Disney trip cira 2007. Same pose.

Today Sterg turns 21.

with his Mama. I'll be driving to Penn State this weekend to watch him swim and make sure he doesn't have too much fun.

His first Disney trip circa 2000 with Alex (and Goofy).

Wishing them both many more Disney trips in their future!

Time is a bi..h, it flies by!!

 

[docdebbi]

Mike Tyson has a great quote about "plans".

"Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."

My best friend (a priest) has a different outlook on plans: "You want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans!"

(of course he figured this out when he dropped out of military college- and changed from planning to kill people for a living- to become a priest.)

Go ahead- tell God your "plans"
Something makes me thing God was laughing at your plans................can't wait for the next installment.

 

[amjt660]

Total shame about Flying Fish - I have never been there but I understand the type of let down you had.

At times, after a really amazing unique experience I try to convince myself not to try to duplicate it.

I usually cannot convince myself but as per your example I probably should.

Max

 

[fractal]

Slowly but surely I'm getting better at this.

Festival of the Lion King

The Lion sleeps tonight.

 

[LieutLaww]

Dammit now I know what i will have stuck in my head the rest of the day lol

 

[MississippiBelle]

Disney needs to pay you for your pictures! That shot of the train station was awesome! While I liked the look of FF (I never saw the old one) I agree your cheese plate was... interesting. Who puts little piles of spice on a cheese plate? And you got like 6 cubes of cheese! Talk about an upcharge...

 

[fractal]

Although Sterg looks like me, his personality is more like Val's. Because of this an interesting dynamic has played out in the relationship I have with both of them. It goes something like this;

When Val and Sterg inevitably clash (usually over some stupid thing he does), they get in heated argument. I then am placed in the middle by both sides - first agreeing with Val that what Sterg did was asinine, then as it drags on way too long, agreeing with Sterg that his Mother has no mercy. Eventually they both then start to get mad at me as I'm trying to broker peace and compromise.

Then at some point they reach some resolution and since both are mad at me, will now gang up and start to make fun of their poor husband/father. This phase is further cemented by their common personality.

Until that is, this same shall we say "combative" personality starts another argument between Val and Sterg.

I've not only identified this cycle but am now documenting it, much to their amusement. Get in fight - Get Chris/Dad in the middle - Reconcile with help of Chris/Dad - gang up on Chris/Dad.
As much as they're amused by all this, I find it frustratingly annoying as no part of this circle benefits me.

At some point during the trip, Sterg and Val got into a arguement. Then at some point during dinner at Flying Fish they reconciled (as you can see by the photo in front of the Minnie Van). So as we entered Magic Kingdom that night, Sterg played the role of "Momma's boy" very well and decided to stay with Val as she shopped while I (the now crazy Disney person) went to find a spot with the girls.

And we got a great spot! It was about 8:15 and we were front and center of the Castle. Things slowly started to change.

Courtney pointed out that Pirates was only a 10 minute wait. Hmmmm.

"Dad, can we just go quick and come back?" Toni asked the question that all were thinking.

"I don't know, by the time we get there and..."

"Please?" Now it was a plea.

"Yeah but we got these great spots and..."

"Pleeeeeassssse Theo Chris?" Mia asked with the banshee on her shoulder nodding in agreement. (Theo is Greek for Uncle).

"It doesn't look too crowded, we'll still get a good spot here later." Courtney added.

I knew Courtney was wrong but I allowed myself to believe her. After getting no response with my attempts to contact Val & Sterg I called Marina. She said she would take Yia-Yia up on the train station to watch HEA. After that intelligence briefing we left our prime HEA spot and headed towards Adventureland.

It was not a 10 minute wait - almost 20 minutes before we boarded our boats. I was last in our tight row with the water to my right. At least I'll get another round of Pirates photos I thought to myself.

I was contently snapping my photos and enjoying the ride.

Capt Jack Sparrow was out and about...

Along with the rest of the scoundrels.

Hey, are you looking at my camera gear?

When we got to the boat scene, we had a "cannon ball" near-miss that sent water over our boat with much of it landing on my head and lap - not to mention my camera.

While my camera is "water resistant" the lens was not. My shirt was wet so that wasn't going to offer any help. I decided to go for the cloth... in my camera bag...in the dark...in a moving boat...sitting right next to the water...

It's painful for me to be typing this.

The next few minutes played out in a very odd way and could probably be a good psychological study. One part of my brain was clearly telling me that if I opened my camera bag and fondled around in the dark one of the 2 lenses in the bag were going to end up going for a swim. The other part of my brain said I needed to quickly dry the soaked camera and attached lens.

I carefully unclipped the camera bag and lifted open the top. In the darkness I didn't realize that the camera bag was upside down. I was not opening the top, I was "opening" the bottom part of the bag!

With gravity being what it is, I felt the two lenses roll out of the upside down bag, onto my lap, bouncing around - from on top of 'ol smokey all covered with cheese...

Panic set in quickly! "Grab lens, grap lens!" I told myself.

"there's one" I happily thought as I gripped a lens. "where's the..."

KERR-PLUNK

The sound made me instantly sick. A pit in my stomach. One of the 2 lenses was now property and booty of the Caribbean Pirates. Slowly sinking down to Davey Jones' locker.

"DAD! Was that your camera?" Toni quickly turned looking at me.

"No. but it was one of my lenses." I answered nauseously.

The two lenses in the bag were a Zeiss Batis 18mm 2.8 that I rented for this trip. Replacement cost of $1,500 (gulp). although I did insure it for damage, wasn't sure if dropping it in Pirates of the Caribbean was covered. Probably not.
the other was a Sony Zeiss 55mm 1.8 I got used for $500. Great lens, love the lens and perfect for my camera but I was hoping it was the 55mm lens.

After feeling the lens in my hand for a few seconds I knew the rented lens was safe, but my 55mm was gone forever!



Thanks for the lens sucker!

The lens was now part of Pirate treasure.

I put on a stiff upper lip and continued taking photos - but with a lot less zeal. I was reeling from the proverbial Mike Tyson punch in the mouth.


"Give me my lens back you thieves!"

They just laughed and sang, mocking me...

This guy was no help.

I could have used some rum. Actually, a lot of rum.

I guess it could always be worse.

Captain Jack wins again.

UP NEXT - More shots to the head.

 

[Zipadeelady]

How horrible. I'm sorry.

 

[senor_jorge]

I'm unable to 'Like' that post for obvious reasons.

 

[riverside]

That is such a shame. I feel so bad for you.

 

[Tiggerish]

Oh, noooooooo...