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?

 

[Bullseye1967]

You will definitely be my editor when I finish my book!

I'll buy that book if it involves your vacations You are a great writer. You do a good job of creatively conveying the emotion of the moment. Not many can do that.

 

[fractal]

Great report at Fractal
I hope you and your family continue to enjoy Disney together
I am still going with my 22 and 20 year old DD's
It is tough scheduling but worth

And in true Greek fashion I give you the line I always get from my inlaws

All the best!

Max

Sorry for the delay in responding, but I think you'll understand. Last weekend our Church had its annual Greek Food Festival of which I am the chairman of. A privilege I've had for 12 of the last 15 years. Needless to say, it's a lot of work especially the week leading up to and the week of our event. The good news is we had record results and I'm glad to say I have a great team to work with!

thanks Max and I hope to follow your lead!

Yasou!

Not sure I can add anything else that hasn't been said yet Thanks so much for sharing your trip with us, especially your stunning
photos

Thanks for following along @gdisneyfans !

Your pics are are unbelievable as ever...Disney needs to hire you!

I'm ready!

I'll buy that book if it involves your vacations You are a great writer. You do a good job of creatively conveying the emotion of the moment. Not many can do that.

Thanks so much @Bullseye1967 !

 

[fractal]

Guess what I'm going to be for Halloween...

 

[12in12]

I hope you will post some pictures of you all dressed up. Will it be a fab 5 theme for your family? Val can be Minnie and the kids can be Donald, Daisy and Goofy.

 

[fractal]

Happy Halloween!

 

[kaitertot5249]

Just finished your trip report (I'm so behind on so many trip reports ) and to echo what others have said, your reports truly are the total package. Great storytelling, beautiful photos, and entertaining commentary - thank you so much for inviting us all along for your family adventures.

I'm holding out hope that you announce a special surprise Disney trip for the holidays... I think we all could use some "Christmas in the World through Fractal's Lens" photos

 

[MinnieM123]

I was thinking that you should use this exquisite photo of the two of you for your 2017 Fractal (photo) Christmas cards!

 

[gdisneyfans]

Love the costumes!!! Happy belated Halloween!

 

[Rista1313]

Thank you for this beautifully stated, amazingly pictured, heartfelt trip report! It took me more than a better part of 8 hours to read your parts (and skimming over comments) and I appreciate all the amazing work you put into telling us about your trip.

THANK YOU! ♥

 

[fractal]

Just finished your trip report (I'm so behind on so many trip reports ) and to echo what others have said, your reports truly are the total package. Great storytelling, beautiful photos, and entertaining commentary - thank you so much for inviting us all along for your family adventures.

I'm holding out hope that you announce a special surprise Disney trip for the holidays... I think we all could use some "Christmas in the World through Fractal's Lens" photos

Thanks @kaitertot5249 ! I would love to go during Christmas but right now that's a very long shot.

I was thinking that you should use this exquisite photo of the two of you for your 2017 Fractal (photo) Christmas cards!

Considering it was Val's idea and she made the costumes...

Love the costumes!!! Happy belated Halloween!

thanks @gdisneyfans !

Thank you for this beautifully stated, amazingly pictured, heartfelt trip report! It took me more than a better part of 8 hours to read your parts (and skimming over comments) and I appreciate all the amazing work you put into telling us about your trip.

THANK YOU! ♥

Thanks for reading and commenting @Rista1313 !

 

[Heatherbell]

Hey! If you are wondering who the creep is who liked both your instagram accounts......THATS ME! While I am not a huge poster on wdwmagic, I am a chronic lurker. I read every word of your trip reports and I find myself looking back on your archives when I am aching for some Disney in my life. Your pictures are absolutely amazing but I have to say what draws me to your trip reports are the pictures of your beautiful family. I have a 7 and a 9 year old and we travel to Disney ever year. I find myself more often then not frustrated and intolerant of their antics on our Disney trips (well, life in general really haha) but reading your trip reports it makes me appreciate their "littleness" and sad for how big they are aleady! I have been following you for a while and I can't believe how big your kids are! You and our wife have done a fabulous job with those kids.

Thank you for all your documentation, it takes alot of time to write these reports.

PS....Congrats on Alex's nursing degree. 11 year ER nurse here. Its a tough job but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

 

[fractal]

Hey! If you are wondering who the creep is who liked both your instagram accounts......THATS ME! While I am not a huge poster on wdwmagic, I am a chronic lurker. I read every word of your trip reports and I find myself looking back on your archives when I am aching for some Disney in my life. Your pictures are absolutely amazing but I have to say what draws me to your trip reports are the pictures of your beautiful family. I have a 7 and a 9 year old and we travel to Disney ever year. I find myself more often then not frustrated and intolerant of their antics on our Disney trips (well, life in general really haha) but reading your trip reports it makes me appreciate their "littleness" and sad for how big they are aleady! I have been following you for a while and I can't believe how big your kids are! You and our wife have done a fabulous job with those kids.

Thank you for all your documentation, it takes alot of time to write these reports.

PS....Congrats on Alex's nursing degree. 11 year ER nurse here. Its a tough job but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Thanks for the kind words @Heatherbell ! Yes, enjoy every minute with your children(even when you have to administer some tough love). It just goes too fast. Alex loves her job; she's working in the Trauma and Detox unit. I would have likely passed out on day one.

 

[draybook]

It didn't take long before complications materialized as quickly as spirits in the Haunted Mansion. The strain of the large coffee began taking its toll on Sterg - right at the time we were stuck in traffic with nowhere to "go". He bravely proclaimed he would sweat it out until the airport but 30 minutes later and still 30 minutes away from BWI he was ready to burst. I asked Wally if he would mind if Sterg made use of an empty water bottle in his car...

"Sure, no problem. When you have to go..."

Toni pulled her blanket over her head and a few minutes later the smile returned to Sterg's face.

The traffic came to a near stop which gave us the next worry about making our flight ; that is until Val received a text that it was delayed from 8pm to 9:30pm. Another problem solved! But it created a new one as Al & Sue were scheduled to pick us up at the Tampa airport. Val called her Mom to keep her abreast of our new schedule.

Wally dropped us off and we promptly checked our bags and started the wait in the TSA line discussing where we would grab a bite to eat. As we approached the agent that checks your ID and boarding pass I caught a glimpse of Sterg furiously fidgeting with his wallet.

"Oh crap, I forgot my driver's license." He blurted out.

"What?" I said in true disbelief.

"I was going through my wallet to make it lighter for the trip and my license must have fell out..."

"Are you kidding me?" Val added.

He was not kidding. I had no idea how this was going to work out with TSA. He had to go with a special officer, answer a bunch of questions and do additional screening while we stood watching and helpless. Turns out he got through the line faster than we did.

Another text from Southwest. Flight now delayed until 10:30.

Well, plenty of time to eat (and drink?). We ate at the Dinner in BWI which was actually very good. Things lightened up and we had several funny conversations.

Another text from Southwest. Flight back on time for 8pm. "What?!!" We were now boarding in 10 minutes! We scrambled to our gate but something didn't seem right to me. I checked and discovered they moved the gate for our flight! We grabbed our bags and ran to the new gate. We were there in time but a bit frazzled.

It was at this point I started to get the wrath of the rest of the crew. I completely forgot to check-in the night before at 8pm, only to do so after I woke wide-eyed from a dead sleep at 2am. All of our boarding passes had the dreaded "C" on them.

"Chris, how many times did I remind you to check-in at 8?" Val scolded.

"Daaaad. Why are you doing this to me? I don't want to sit alone." Toni added as if I was feeding her to wolves.

"Yo Pops, not cool." Mister "forgot his ID" piled on.

Well, somehow we all survived the flight despite being split up. Al and Sue were prompt on their pick up and 30 minutes later we were at their new home!

Coming up; things start to get better.

Lol, hilarious! Wish we had a haha button along with the like, just for this post alone. Always look forward to your family's adventures, bud. Hope we can all meet up one of these days.

 

[fractal]

Lol, hilarious! Wish we had a haha button along with the like, just for this post alone. Always look forward to your family's adventures, bud. Hope we can all meet up one of these days.

Thanks @draybook ! Would love to meet up with you at WDW! Any trips planned?

 

[draybook]

Thanks @draybook ! Would love to meet up with you at WDW! Any trips planned?

Yes sir. We'll be there from February 25th through March 7th and then back during Memorial Day week. And then we'll return Labor Day week and the following week. We had only planned the February trip and September but the Mrs. insists on going to Megacon in May to meet Jason Mamoa, so we might as well stop by the House of the Mouse.

 

[fractal]

Yes sir. We'll be there from February 25th through March 7th and then back during Memorial Day week. And then we'll return Labor Day week and the following week. We had only planned the February trip and September but the Mrs. insists on going to Megacon in May to meet Jason Mamoa, so we might as well stop by the House of the Mouse.

Sounds great! Unless something major changes however, our next trip will be in 2019.

 

[Elizabeth Swann]

Just found your trip report. I am still working my way through it. Is it ok if I download one of your horse pictures for my desktop? I love them. I am enjoying your report and all the videos. You take great pictures.

 

[fractal]

Just found your trip report. I am still working my way through it. Is it ok if I download one of your horse pictures for my desktop? I love them. I am enjoying your report and all the videos. You take great pictures.

Yes and thanks for asking (and for reading!).

 

[gsrjedi]

Just came across your trip report. Fantastic report and photos as usual. What tripod do you use? It looked like it folded up nice and small.

Also wanted to tell you about these rain sleeves.
OP/TECH USA 9001022 Rainsleeve - Small, 2 Pack (Clear) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SF8X1Q4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_EfQyAbPKY3SPQ

They can be a little awkward to use, but can be helpful if it rains. I keep a set in my bag when I travel.

 

[fractal]

Just came across your trip report. Fantastic report and photos as usual. What tripod do you use? It looked like it folded up nice and small.

Also wanted to tell you about these rain sleeves.
OP/TECH USA 9001022 Rainsleeve - Small, 2 Pack (Clear) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SF8X1Q4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_EfQyAbPKY3SPQ

They can be a little awkward to use, but can be helpful if it rains. I keep a set in my bag when I travel.

thanks @gsrjedi ! and thanks for the link - I'll be ordering some.