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]

Made it to Splash. The water looked so refreshing...

We were waiting for Courtney to catch up so we smartly decided to visit the air-conditioned gift shop.

I'm so glad to be mostly past the stage of getting bombarded by the kids when you enter a gift shop to buy everything they see. Then again, a $15 dollar Mickey pen is a bit easier to swallow than cars and college tuitions.

Courtney made it and with ears!

I was so happy I decided to take a selfie with Sterg.

We entered the FP line and right before you entered the Mountain we were escorted to a different line by a CM. There was a bit of a delay in this process and we actually got to the steps in SM wondering what to do next as the scooter didn't have the "step climbing" option. "Now what?" I thought. "Not a good start." The group leader pressure was being turned on as I could sense frustration from Al. The arrival of the CM in charge of the handicapped line saved the day.

We were taken to the exit area and told to wait. There were 2 "scooter" groups in front of us. Finally we were escorted in and entered the ride log from the opposite side (normal exit side).

Our first attraction had begun.

Smile!

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.

I love Splash Mountain, as do my children. Again, I was hoping Sue and Al were enjoying it as this was their first time riding (it was down last time they were in WDW).

My camera and lens are "weather resistant" but it was a bit risky using it on a water ride. I had a large ziploc bag on the ready for when things started to get rougher.

Up next. More Splash photos - Sterg wants to film the big drop with my Nex-7 - WDW'er meet up!

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

Umm can you please adopt me? I'm 30, potty trained, I cook, clean, and I'm pleasant 97% of the time. My grocery bill may be your breaking point however.

Loving your report so far, both your writing style and photos! What a beautiful family you have. Thanks for sharing with us so far!

 

[PineapplePrincess]

Here I am in my room at the Boardwalk enjoying your report. Looking forward to the rest!

 

[fractal]

Going down!

One does sacrifice much when determined to get photos on rides. I would be lying if I said I enjoy the ride as much as without a camera. But I also enjoy the photographic challenge. A ride like Splash is especially demanding because of the water and the different lighting conditions. I decided I would give up control of the ISO setting by setting the camera to AUTO ISO with a top limit of 12800. That way I could just worry about the shutter speed and Aperture -

We are now officially in the "dark ride" portion...

I could have shot the ride with a faster prime - either the 55mm 1.8 or 85mm 1.8 but I wanted to try wider shots. The slower aperture of f/2.8 made things a bit more difficult.

Time to be turning around; if only you could...

Right after vulture shot I put my camera in the ziploc. I would love to take a pic at the very top before the drop, then quick protect the camera but too many things could have went wrong. Needless to say, Sterg filmed the entire drop with the NEX-7. But did that camera survive?

Sitting in the front I got pretty wet - especially my right side.

Then we went here.

To a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah day!

Brer Rabbit back home - lesson learned!

With the ride over we had to regroup after the exit. Usually we use the restrooms after this ride but not this time, everyone was moving fast and I had to pull the reigns.

"Wooh! Slow down, I have an important meeting here."

and it sure was important -

@Tuvalu and I meeting! Along with @TrolleyFollower91 ! (unfortunately I don't have a photo of the three of us.)

Sterg put a youtube video together of our first day at WDW and a big part of it is meeting these lovely ladies...(along with the big drop in Splash and yes my tough little Sony survived!).

For the benefit of those that haven't seen this; the music at the beginning is from my nephew who's putting together an album. Not exactly Disney type music but a catchy tune.




The crazy thing I learned from @Tuvalu and Em (which we discuss in the video) was they were in the background of one of my photos in my trip report from 2011. We were having dinner at Hoop-de-doo-review at the same time they were! Em spotted while reading my report.

Here is that photo... You can clearly see Woody to the left of Alex and the back of Em and side of Tuvalu.

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah followed by Serendipity doo-dah combined with Hoop-de-doo-dah!

A pleasure and so much fun meeting them!


Up next - Yia-Yia rolls in. 7 dwarves - Monorail mix-up and Ohana's!

 

[becca_]

Having them in the background of your photo is so crazy!! I actually can't believe it! That makes me think of how many random people's photos that I'm in the background of

 

[Tiggerish]

Well, heck, I've just made it to this TR. Suckage at the airport was totally not on you @fractal Airport delays happen, and so do reliefs from delays.

Just had to say that before I read further.

 

[DznyRktekt]

Ahh! A tree.

Great report Mr. Fractal!

 

[Kiwiduck]

After viewing the menu, it turned out that Sterg and I were the only ones' not surprised nor upset that Casey's famous hotdogs only served hotdogs. The two of us stayed and the rest of the crew went to look for other options.

After I was handed my hotdog I went to the table where the condiments and napkins were stored. This table was blocked by three women standing talking to each other. After the third progressively louder "excuse me" they finally turned to look at me and gave me a dirty look before moving aside. Sorry to interrupt the gossip ladies.

The place was busy but not mobbed - the condiment area was a mess. Very sloppy and very low on sauerkraut which looked like it was sitting there all morning. I turned back to view all the help behind the ordering area busily serving others. Needless to say, I didn't have sauerkraut on my $10 hotdog. Sterg and I went outside to look for a table with no luck. We then headed over the the Plaza side of Main Street and found a table with an umbrella to help with the now scorching sun. I called Val and they were in the Tomorrowland Terrace. I glanced over in that direction and it seemed so much cooler than where we were sitting - like a big blue cave. Sterg however didn't want to move. He thought the view of the Main Street and the castle was worth the price of a little sweat.

After I consumed my dog, I pulled out my phone and called a fellow WDW'er that had told me a few weeks before she would be in MK on the same day. We decided it would be great to meet up with her and her daughter. We made contact and agreed to meet at the restroom area of Splash Mountain after our fast pass!

I then received a call from my sister - they were in Disney Springs getting a bibbidi boppidi treatment for Mia (the 7 year old). My other niece Courtney was on her way to MK and would meet us at Splash. As the point person for this extended family WDW trip, I was starting to feel the pressure of not only keeping everyone moving in the right direction, but also making sure all were having fun. There were a lot of questions and a number of complaints - why is it so hot? where are we going now? Why did you get a FP for Splash mountain? What is Splash Mountain? How far is Splash Mountain? How long are we going to have to wait?

Then I added that after the ride I was going to meet a WDW'er.

What does that even mean? Who is it? How do you know her? Where is she from? Did you talk to her? Is she nice? Is her daughter nice? Is she a crazy Disney person?

This trip was going to be like no other we've had. A fact I was quickly coming to grips with.

As we made our way to Frontierland I took a few shots of the castle and new hub. Everything looked beautiful but shade was sorely lacking.

Here again you can see the effect of a wide angle lens. The lens was a Zeiss 18mm 2.8 Batis I rented for the trip. Terrific lens but in these shots it makes the castle look a bit too far off and small.

Taking photos mid-day in the sun is not ideal. Yes there is plenty of light (which really helps smaller cameras and smart phone cameras) but the light is very harsh. This is in contrast to the warm glowing light we had on the beach at sunset and during the "blue hour". But you have to work with what you have. I almost always shoot full manual ( being able to control the shutter speed, aperture and ISO) and I made sure to drop my aperture smaller (stopped down) to around f/7 or f/8. The advantage of shooting "stopped down" is most lenses are their sharpest between f/5.6 and f/8. You don't get the blurred background look, but these shots were "landscape" which doesn't call for that.

Still on the move...

Its always been challenging photographing WDW when on a family trip. One is almost always on the move. Stopping even for a few minutes to set up a shot is just asking for a chorus of complaining. Herding around a even bigger group made the challenge greater. I decided to use the scooter factor to my advantage here. The scooter did slow the group down - especially vs just running through the parks with the kids. I realized I could stop for photos, keep the group moving and catch up to them fairly easily.

"Keep going, I'll catch up!" Became my call.

Hello Liberty Square - you can see Al in his scooter and parts of the rest of the group ahead.

Yes I have time to shoot this.

I haven't been in the Hall of Presidents since I was 9 in 1976. In 2013 we just missed it on our last day, so I promised myself the next time I was in MK I would see it. Unfortunately, it was still down.

OK - time to catch up with everyone else heading to Splash Mountain...

It is interesting what you were saying about your shots of the castle with the wide angle lens. The castle in your shots looks like what it would have looked like if they had built it on the scale of Disneyland's castle.
The shot of your daughter as your relative gets on the bus on his scooter is very funny. It is hard to tell if she is hiding a look of hilarity or fear for his wellbeing behind her hands!!
I will join the chorus of people admiring your photos.

 

[susan lees]

I love scouring TR photos when I know I've been at the same time! Never seen myself or family yet though

 

[MinnieM123]

In all my trips to WDW, I never once noticed the "Liberty Tree" plaque on the tree there. Thanks for that photo of something I definitely "should" have seen!!

Regarding Casey's, I'm glad it's just hotdogs there. That area is so busy being near the castle and all--sometimes, all you want is a simple menu, so you can grab something quick--and be on on your way to the next adventure. (They certainly could have paid more attention to the fixins' bar though. )

All of your photos of Splash were outstanding--especially the dark ride portion. Really enjoyed the details.

Lastly, I had to smile about your new status as the (extended family's) Grand Poobah of what everyone was doing at the time, where they were located, and chief authority of answers to their questions--that they threw at you all day long! You wore the crown well, sir!!

 

[coachwnh]

To go along with your getting caught in the background of a photo theme @fractal and @Tuvalu and @TrolleyFollower91 :

The story here goes back to 2011. These pictures are from a video someone had taken and we happened to be in the background. I am a high school teacher in NJ. Two years later, during the 2013-14 school year, I had a student who was a huge Disney fan. She was doing HW and as the screen saver on her computer was up, she thought she saw a picture of me on it! She yelled to her mom, searched every picture, and sure enough, there we were!!!! Her dad made these two images from the video he was taking and she brought them to me in class the next day! Two years earlier at the same time and place (Carsland in Disneyland), this future student of mine was waiting to get her picture taken after us. How weird is that?

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Great Splash pics....my favourite ride! So cool that you were able to meet up with a couple other WDW’ers, too!

We’ve run into a few over the years but we’re never on the ball enough to take a picture.

First day at the park is going great. Looking forward to more.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Your pictures made me even more sad that Splash is going to be down during my trip

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

This did give Sterg time to work on our new Youtube channel. For the uninitiated, it's called The Fractal Channel staring mostly yours truly and produced ( I'm either brave or nuts ) by Sterg. We did a "trailer" of sorts as the first video to kinda/sorta introduce the cast plus 7 other videos. I will post them as it becomes appropriate for this report on the recommendation of my social media director ( think "brave or nuts" again ).

I checked out the YouTube channel a couple weeks back....looks great so far!

 

[MeeskaMooska0714]

The crazy thing I learned from @Tuvalu and Em (which we discuss in the video) was they were in the background of one of my photos in my trip report from 2011. We were having dinner at Hoop-de-doo-review at the same time they were! Em spotted while reading my report.

Here is that photo... You can clearly see Woody to the left of Alex and the back of Em and side of Tuvalu.

It literally is a small world!

 

[fractal]

After our meet up with Tuvalu and Em we decided to check out BTMR. We navigated through the crowd to find a 50 minutes wait.

Surprisingly the gang was up for it but there were questions about Al and his scooter. I spoke with a huge CM (must have been 6'7'' or taller!) asking him the procedure for someone in an Electric Vehicle. I wasn't asking for any special privilege - many people before the trip told me traveling with someone in a scooter will give us special front of the line privileges, of course I knew better from these boards. The CM asked how many in our group and then handed me a slip, told me to come back at 1:30 (about an hour) and go to the area past the entrance marked by a hanging frying pan. OK, I thought. Sounds good. Now what do we do?

I made a quick decision to go see something that the kids never saw - Country Bear Jamboree! It wasn't too far away and would get us in a nice dark air-conditioned room. Toni gave me a little grief but then fell in line when everyone else agreed. So we were off; but not before a few more shots of Splash Mountain from a different angle.

We all sat in a handicapped area to the far left. Like the Hall of Presidents, this was the first time for me since my sole childhood trip. I do listen to the Park Music so I know all the songs and it was enjoyable watching it all play out on stage.

Big Al singing right in front of our big Al.

What was the reaction from the gang? I was surprised how much Sterg, Toni and Courtney liked it. Perhaps seeing actual 3 dimensional Audio Animatronics sing and act in a coordinated show was so different from their normal screen based world that it entranced them. Val also enjoyed it, as much as she would admit.

The Grand Finale.

With time still to kill, Toni & Courtney went off on their own while I led the rest to the Shooting Gallery. This has now become a tradition for Sterg & I in honor of my late father. The scramble for dollar bills to get change was on.

Sterg whipped my butt this time around but we agreed a rematch would be in order on our next trip.

Some walking and exploring Frontierland (which we usually don't do) led us to Pecos Bills for a restroom break and an opportunity for photos.

Smiles everybody!

I made my way to the walkway along the river for more photos.

before long it was time for our ride on a run-away mine train.

Al was ready to go!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/WDW-2017/i-gGBJcBG/0/43d4c9a0/X2/_DSC0339-X2.jpg[/IMG]

I love all your pictures of the Country Bears but this picture of of Pecos Bills is my favorite of your Frontierland pictures so far. Such a fun angle.

By the way, we always make a stop at the Shootin' Arcade, I never did it as a kid, I probably didn't even know it was there, but somehow it has become a tradition since our honeymoon trip.

 

[Tuvalu]

Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah followed by Serendipity doo-dah combined with Hoop-de-doo-dah!

Couldn't have said it better myself! Em and I had such fun meeting you and the fam.

@coachwnh ~ another "small world" confirmation for sure!!

 

[BDL]

Following along (at work) and laughing out loud. Thanks for all the amazing photos. Especially the Yacht club - we will be there next month - it's our first time at that resort and my DD and I are beyond excited. Love getting my Disney fix.....

 

[fractal]

Yeah!! Congrats, I was an R.N for 25 years, it's tough work to achieve the degree then working so hard for the human condition, but when it's right for you, it's a glass slipper fit.I love a good nurse, thank you for coming on board.

Thanks @luvinthemajik ! I think she's going to make a great one.

Fight for your chest hair @fractal

Thanks @LieutLaww ! Will do!

Caveman style -- my vote is to keep the chest hair!!

Yes!

I say wax the chest hair, that way you know the pain us ladies suffer. It would be a great video @fractal jr .

thanks for planting that seed in @fractal jr devious mind.

Always enjoy your trip reports! Can't wait to read more.

thank you @DAKOTADISNEY !

Awesome! Congrats

Thanks @Matty30 !

Yacht Club looks gorgeous. Makes me excited to check it out when we check in at the Beach Club in December. Looking forward to seeing what the hotels look like during Christmas.

Keep up the great report!

Beach Club at Christmas I'm sure will be a delight!

This is our feeling also, the relaxing bus ride is great to our resort. Enjoying your report.

Thanks @3WaltFans !

We're hiring a car next year. We did weigh everything up as we also like ME but we want to do a few off site trips so just went for it in the end and might work out quicker than waiting for the bus (hopefully lol).

Definitely quicker.

You might be getting sick of hearing this (I've already mentioned it like 3 times...) but your photos are STUNNING. The ones of the Yacht Club lobby could be used by the Disney marketing team!

Thanks @kaitertot5249 ! I always appreciate the compliments.

Really looking foward to your Disney Adventures!!!!

thanks @coachwnh

I understand that happy feeling of being on the bus heading to the Magic Kingdom. I am enjoying your report and looking forward to hearing about your time in the parks.

Thanks you @disneypearl

I totally agree with Magical Express! We rented a car last trip so we could get to Pandora on our departure day - also the 2nd day of operations there, and I played the youtube video in the car so it felt more like I was on the bus

My family thinks I'm nuts, it's okay though

Good work by you!

Your pictures are fantastic as is your trip report. Cant wait to read the rest!

Thanks @giarmo38 !

Can't wait to find out whom you met at MK!

The cat's out of the bag! (again).

So excited for another Fractal trip report!! Toni has grown up so much... She's so beautiful! I'm so glad to hear she still loves the early morning traditions with you! As always, your pictures are awesome and your youtube videos are very Sterg (but also awesome!). We loooooved the Yacht club. I think I liked it better than the Beach Club. I can't wait for more!

thank you @MississippiBelle YC is a different vibe than BC. We enjoyed both - hard to pick a favorite.

*sigh*. How can Val not be a fan? I think all of us here need to be involved in an intervention.

Lol!

Umm can you please adopt me? I'm 30, potty trained, I cook, clean, and I'm pleasant 97% of the time. My grocery bill may be your breaking point however.

Loving your report so far, both your writing style and photos! What a beautiful family you have. Thanks for sharing with us so far!

Lol! thanks so much @DisneyPrincess5 !

Here I am in my room at the Boardwalk enjoying your report. Looking forward to the rest!

No that's a compliment! Hope you're enjoying your trip!

Having them in the background of your photo is so crazy!! I actually can't believe it! That makes me think of how many random people's photos that I'm in the background of

I know!

Well, heck, I've just made it to this TR. Suckage at the airport was totally not on you @fractal Airport delays happen, and so do reliefs from delays.

Just had to say that before I read further.

Especially when one forgets their fricken ID! well that really didn't delay us, just created some drama.

Ahh! A tree.

Great report Mr. Fractal!

thank you Sir!

It is interesting what you were saying about your shots of the castle with the wide angle lens. The castle in your shots looks like what it would have looked like if they had built it on the scale of Disneyland's castle.
The shot of your daughter as your relative gets on the bus on his scooter is very funny. It is hard to tell if she is hiding a look of hilarity or fear for his wellbeing behind her hands!!
I will join the chorus of people admiring your photos.

definitely hilarity!

I love scouring TR photos when I know I've been at the same time! Never seen myself or family yet though

Me neither. thanks for reading @susan lees !

In all my trips to WDW, I never once noticed the "Liberty Tree" plaque on the tree there. Thanks for that photo of something I definitely "should" have seen!!

Regarding Casey's, I'm glad it's just hotdogs there. That area is so busy being near the castle and all--sometimes, all you want is a simple menu, so you can grab something quick--and be on on your way to the next adventure. (They certainly could have paid more attention to the fixins' bar though. )

All of your photos of Splash were outstanding--especially the dark ride portion. Really enjoyed the details.

Lastly, I had to smile about your new status as the (extended family's) Grand Poobah of what everyone was doing at the time, where they were located, and chief authority of answers to their questions--that they threw at you all day long! You wore the crown well, sir!!

Yes - first time I saw the Liberty Tree plaque was in 2013. I agree with Casey's, just found it funny when some of us got mad that a hotdog place only served hotdogs. thanks!
Like herding cats (sometimes).

To go along with your getting caught in the background of a photo theme @fractal and @Tuvalu and @TrolleyFollower91 :

The story here goes back to 2011. These pictures are from a video someone had taken and we happened to be in the background. I am a high school teacher in NJ. Two years later, during the 2013-14 school year, I had a student who was a huge Disney fan. She was doing HW and as the screen saver on her computer was up, she thought she saw a picture of me on it! She yelled to her mom, searched every picture, and sure enough, there we were!!!! Her dad made these two images from the video he was taking and she brought them to me in class the next day! Two years earlier at the same time and place (Carsland in Disneyland), this future student of mine was waiting to get her picture taken after us. How weird is that?

View attachment 221158

View attachment 221162

Awesome! Amazing it was one of your students!

Great Splash pics....my favourite ride! So cool that you were able to meet up with a couple other WDW’ers, too!

We’ve run into a few over the years but we’re never on the ball enough to take a picture.

First day at the park is going great. Looking forward to more.

thanks again @Matty30 !!

Your pictures made me even more sad that Splash is going to be down during my trip

Sorry to hear that.

I checked out the YouTube channel a couple weeks back....looks great so far!

thanks @MeeskaMooska0714 !

It literally is a small world!

yes it is!

I love all your pictures of the Country Bears but this picture of of Pecos Bills is my favorite of your Frontierland pictures so far. Such a fun angle.

By the way, we always make a stop at the Shootin' Arcade, I never did it as a kid, I probably didn't even know it was there, but somehow it has become a tradition since our honeymoon trip.

thanks and yes, great tradition!

Couldn't have said it better myself! Em and I had such fun meeting you and the fam.

@coachwnh ~ another "small world" confirmation for sure!!

Following along (at work) and laughing out loud. Thanks for all the amazing photos. Especially the Yacht club - we will be there next month - it's our first time at that resort and my DD and I are beyond excited. Love getting my Disney fix.....

Thanks and have a great trip! You will love it!