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?

 

[littleroo]

Happy Birthday Sterg!!

So sorry about your lens!! Loving the report, as always!!

 

[Lyssa]

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

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

I am so sorry about your lens

 

[amjt660]

Chris
I feel your pain losing the lens but I have to say you tell one heck of a story.
I reread your post aloud to my family members and they loved it (the story - not the result)

Max

 

[senor_jorge]

Belated happy birthday to @fractal jr.

 

[krisri18]

Ugh, the pirates now have a 55mm telescope. That's terrible!

 

[fractal]

Carrying my now lighter camera bag, I hustled back to the hub with the girls. Our prime spot was gone, in fact the hub and Main Street was mobbed. It was Saturday night after all. I could not make contact with Val or Sterg so the plan was just to make the most of the situation. I found a spot way down Main Street but Mia would not have been able to see a thing and I was NOT going to put her on my shoulders. In hindsight I really should have just gone off Main Street and watched from Frontierland or from behind the castle - but since I sold how great the show was I wanted everyone to experience it the same way Sterg and I did the night before; that wasn't going to happen. Toni, Courtney, Mia and I watched HEA from a very obstructed view somewhere in front of the Plaza. Oh well; wasn't shaping up to be my night.

After the show we made a quick decision to go to BTMRR. As I was holding Mia to keep her from getting lost in the throng of people, I instructed Toni to try to make contact with Sterg. She did and he agreed to meet us there. To say I was distracted while walking to Big Thunder was an understatement. I was constantly playing over and over in my head how I lost the lens, how we lost our prime HEA viewing spot and how bummed I was about Flying Fish. As great as Friday was, Saturday was not. On top of all that was the typical bittersweet cloud of knowing this was your last night on vacation.

Big Thunder was only a 10 minute wait, so we got in line and quickly proceeded through the queue.

Then Toni answered her phone. "Sterg. Where are you?"

Oh crap - we forgot about Sterg. I looked at my phone to see a number of texts from him asking where we were, why I wasn't answering his calls and texts,etc. etc.

In our haste and in my state of semi-shock I completely forgot about Sterg, who arrived at Big Thunder a few minutes after us and was waiting for us at the entrance. Perhaps it was something in the night but to top it all off, he didn't handle the snub well. He left the park fuming with Val and the two of them went to Disney Springs.

At least it wasn't raining.

I tried to enjoy our ride on Big Thunder. At least I was spending some needed time with Toni who was always my sidekick - up until this trip.

We ended up riding twice. The second ride for me was best.

Excuse me, can I send out an S.O.S. from here?

In an attempt to salvage the night, I led my small crew to the Sunshine Tree Terrace.

If I could get a magic beer at Disney, why not a magic Dole whip?

We all got our Dole Whips and sat in front of the Tiki Room watching Aladdin's spinner.

It was nice, and we all enjoyed our treat, but no magic this time.

Hey Tiki Gods, can you send me back in time by 4 or 5 hours please?

UP NEXT - Kissing Magic Kingdom goodnight. Last Day in Disney.

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

This makes me so sad! I hope your trip ended on a high note!

 

[djpoore94]

@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 at 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 Chris! I did a high res download for now, but I'm sure I will be purchasing more!

Now that I'm caught up on the trip report, I'm sick to my stomach over the Pirates stealing your lens

 

[fractal]

What?! But we wants the red head!

lol!

Sorry about the lenses, but great pictures on Pirates.

thanks!

It's really too bad about your lens. I wish they could get it back to you, but it would probably be in bad shape.

Yeah, it would make a good paperweight.

Those KS photos are just fantastic!! BTW, happy belated b-days to the kids!

Thanks @Bob! I survived the weekend.

Not that it comes close to comparing to the loss of your lens but I smashed the LCD of one of my Sony cameras on Splash Mountain.

things like that can put a real damper on the fun!

I "liked" the story about the pirates stealing your camera lense but only because there is no "OH NO!!!!!" Option

Lol! Thanks @Figaro Family !

Did I just read this? Did this really happen? My God ! Those damned Pirates! So sorry to hear this Fractal !

Thank you @Laurenciaa .

The guy photo-bombing you in the background appears to have had several adult beverages.

His roommate that just woke from a nap decided to photobomb. Lol!

Clothing optional photo bomber!!!

Max

It was one of those nights.

I was frozen (not the movie ) reading about the camera lens mishap on Pirates!! OMG . . .that was dreadful. Ugh.

I appreciate the sympathy.

Happy Birthday Sterg!!

So sorry about your lens!! Loving the report, as always!!

thank you @littleroo !

I am so sorry about your lens

Thanks @Lyssa

Chris
I feel your pain losing the lens but I have to say you tell one heck of a story.
I reread your post aloud to my family members and they loved it (the story - not the result)

Max

thank you @amjt660 !

Belated happy birthday to @fractal jr.

Thanks @senor_jorge ! I (barely) made it through the weekend.

Ugh, the pirates now have a 55mm telescope. That's terrible!

Darn Pirates!

This makes me so sad! I hope your trip ended on a high note!

Thank you @MeeskaMooska0714 !

Thanks Chris! I did a high res download for now, but I'm sure I will be purchasing more!

Now that I'm caught up on the trip report, I'm sick to my stomach over the Pirates stealing your lens

Much appreciated @djpoore94 ! That file will make beautiful prints - and big ones too - if you have a local photo shop you like to use.

 

[Clamman73]

@fractal I've said a little prayer for your lens...Fantastic images and trip report as always!

 

[fractal]

We slowly walked back to the hub. I felt like a man defeated. Then I remembered one last bit of magic I could call on - The Kiss Goodnight! Sterg got to see it for the first time the night before and this was the perfect time to introduce it to Toni, Courtney and Mia. They all thought it was "soooo cooool!"

It was also a perfect time to video it on my new camera.

The Kiss Goodnight at Magic Kingdom

 

[sheriffwoody]

I am SOOOOO sorry about your lens. Just reading that made me feel sick. I guess the silver lining is that it wasn't the rented one. That would have been an annoying process to deal with once you were home.

Sorry your last night was so crummy

 

[Gurt]

I can't believe this TR is coming to an end I have loved every minute well maybe not your last night that sucked a bit but thank you for sharing your experiences and your family with us.

 

[fractal]

After "The Kiss Goodnight" aka "OK People, the park is closed. Time to go home." We made our way down Main Street towards the exit.

Just to give you an idea of how many people remained to see the "Kiss Goodnight". In general, nobody wanted to leave.

Mia was still smiling! It was a miracle her banshee was still on her shoulder.

My last shot of the castle.

and my last moments in Magic Kingdom.

It was a tough night, but I still didn't want it to end. Can't we stay another hour or two?

I grabbed Toni for one last photo - a selfie.

Signing off from Magic Kingdom.

The ride back to the resort was uneventful. I introduced the girls to the joy of walking barefoot down the plush YC hallway to our rooms. Val and Sterg were still at Disney Springs so I had a beer, reviewed my losses and licked my wounds. Time to get some rest, after all we still had more time left in WDW.

 

[becca_]

I'm all caught up! As you know - nursing school is a busy busy busy time!!

Happy belated birthday to Sterg & Toni! I am so sorry to hear about the camera it pained me to read that - I've had things stolen by WDW plenty of times, but mostly just things that are easily replaceable (sunglasses, flip flops, hats, ears)

I hope you still had a great trip overall!! Thanks for all the great pictures.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Fractal I'm so sad this is coming to an end.

Thank you for the video of the kiss goodnight. I've never actually seen it.

 

[mousefreak]

So sorry you lost your lens and your day didn't go as planned. I really feel bad for you.

 

[MinnieM123]

I introduced the girls to the joy of walking barefoot down the plush YC hallway to our rooms.

That sounds like a "must do" for a future trip! It's those little things in life that are so satisfying!

 

[fractal]

Last Day in Disney.

I woke up early and after no takers I went by myself for a stroll to Epcot. It was a warm but overcast morning.

Making my way to the International Gateway entrance.

Friendship boats all lined up and ready for a new day.

Most of World Showcase was closed, but I wanted to venture to the open France.

Nearly empty.

I had fun exploring unhindered by crowds of people. I never noticed the sundial before.

I was getting a small taste of @Tuvalu 's celebrity status.

I found what I was looking for. Amazingly I had never ventured into the pastry shop in France (although Val had). Having already eaten a hard boiled egg or two (meaning we were down to only a few dozen left ) I wasn't up for any more breakfast but I desired a coffee and a view of the inside.

Other early risers already ordering.

The young lady that served me was very welcoming and sweet. I kept telling myself to ask her for permission to take her photo but for some reason and regretfully I didn't.

Oh so tempting!

Somehow I resisted and with just coffee in hand I made my way back outside.

 

[fractal]

The time alone, without family and without crowds, gave me an opportunity to reflect on the trip. I had much apprehension while planning this vacation. Different parts of the family coming together, trying to make sure everyone enjoyed themselves, dealing with assorted personalities; there was much potential for disaster. Although the night before was a small letdown, overall I was pleased how things went.

The Sun was trying to peak out.

and briefly blanked WS with a warm glow.

It was so nice and worthwhile to spend time in WDW with Marina and my nieces and well as Al and Sue. We certainly made some memories!

At the same time, I wish Alex had been able to join us. I also realized that my trips to WDW - the ones I remember the fondest - will never be replicated. Alex and Sterg are now adults and Toni is a young woman. Gone are the days of leading wide-eyed children through the parks and living that childhood excitement through them. We've had so many wonderful times, moments and stories from our Disney trips that will always be cherished. I felt very fortunate that day to have experienced those but also melancholy that they can never be again.

I will always have my photos, which I look back on probably more than I should.

It does give me joy that all three of my children still love WDW. It says to me that all the time spent there was enjoyable for them and is now a permanent and happy block in their childhood wall of memories. I'm also thankful that I did take the time and effort to write these trip reports. Alex, Sterg and Toni all go back and read them. Over the summer Sterg sent me an email telling me he read the report when the two of us went to Disneyland and he just wanted to thank me for it.

Those are the things that make me sure this wasn't going to be my last trip to WDW. Trips going forward will be different for sure, but different can be good.