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?

 

[rshell68]

KERR-PLUNK

NOOOOOO

 

[PrincessL]

Argggg.... those scurvy Pirates!!!

Sorry about your lens

 

[TheMouseFan]

Well, that really stinks! Hoping you at least got a decent viewing spot for HEA after that trauma!

 

[fractal]

Thanks for providing this!

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

Thanks @riverside !

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

"My biggest weakness is my sensitivity. I am too sensitive a person." - Mike Tyson

genius!

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.

for us - disappointing. I've read a few other TRs with mixed reviews ranging from bad to excellent.

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!

Thanks - and he was a Momma's boy that night!

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.

My expectations were high, no doubt, but too many things went bad.

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

indeed!

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.

So very true!

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

I set myself up for some letdown, but they really pushed me over the cliff.

How horrible. I'm sorry.

and painful. Just the other day I went for that lens...only to remember where it was!

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

Thanks, really suxed - but you can like the rest.

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

Thanks @riverside

Oh, noooooooo...

Yep.

NOOOOOO

really stank!

Argggg.... those scurvy Pirates!!!

Sorry about your lens

Thanks! I wonder if they'll find it next time they clean and drain the water.

Well, that really stinks! Hoping you at least got a decent viewing spot for HEA after that trauma!

It did and well...

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Ugh what a drag! Can only imagine what a sick feeling that must have been. Can't believe you toughed it out and kept taking pictures throughout the rest of the ride. I would have been full on Bitter-Betty the rest of the way.

 

[DisneyGigi]

Update on stolen photos.

instagram account "floridaparkplans" initially denied it was my photo (the one I'm sitting behind Sterg in Space Mountain tunnel) then when I proved it the response was;

"I can credit the picture to you, I grabbed it off an image search"

I tried a google image search and could not find this photo - didn't seem likely since it was so new. I'm guessing they got it off of my flickr account. Now, I'm not naive. I know how the internet is so open and things get stolen often. I also know some photographers that would demand payment and if they didn't get any would get an attorney involved.

I simply asked for an apology first, then credit for the photo.

The response from FloridaParkPlans was to be blocked. They blocked my instagram account "TheFractalChannel" but not my personal one, where I can see the photo is still up and with no credit.

If by chance you follow this account, consider unfollowing it.

I feel a little better now. Thanks for letting me rant.

I am not completely caught up on the report but I wanted to say that seeing your HEA pictures, I definitely probably did not get the feel for it that far away, at the Poly with a very upset and ill 5 year old!
Breathtaking photos, I think it is horrible that people are stealing your photos. They are that good though, it is a shame there isn't some way to mark them so that people can't do that. (That can't be undone) You should make a profit on your photos, I cannot say enough how great they are. Disney doesn't have photos as beautiful as the ones that you take- you have a gift!

 

[newhorizons1]

Sorry to hear about your crummy experience at FF. Personally, I think the new décor is nice. Everyone’s dishes looked good even if they didn’t taste that way… Also, that was not a good deal with Val’s meal. I don’t like saying much to the staff when I am at restaurants, but that is definitely an issue I would have spoken to a manager about.


Oh no! Your camera lens! I read that with my hands clasped to my forehead. More intense than a horror novel. No, it is your own personal horror novel!

Can't we just redo your last Disney night at this point?

 

[DisneyGigi]

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

Dad, are you crying?

/

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

This post made me cry! I know exactly what you mean. I would give anything to go back in time. It all passes in the blink of an eye. Enjoy every moment and definitely take way more photos than you can imagine. As great as it was taking the grandbaby, it meant just as much to me, to be back there with my boy.

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.

Beautiful photos of my favorite show! I agree with Yia-Yia, that is my favorite part too.

 

[fractal]

Ugh what a drag! Can only imagine what a sick feeling that must have been. Can't believe you toughed it out and kept taking pictures throughout the rest of the ride. I would have been full on Bitter-Betty the rest of the way.

Wasn't easy - no pictures of the red head scene.

I am not completely caught up on the report but I wanted to say that seeing your HEA pictures, I definitely probably did not get the feel for it that far away, at the Poly with a very upset and ill 5 year old!
Breathtaking photos, I think it is horrible that people are stealing your photos. They are that good though, it is a shame there isn't some way to mark them so that people can't do that. (That can't be undone) You should make a profit on your photos, I cannot say enough how great they are. Disney doesn't have photos as beautiful as the ones that you take- you have a gift!

Thank you @DisneyShe !

Sorry to hear about your crummy experience at FF. Personally, I think the new décor is nice. Everyone’s dishes looked good even if they didn’t taste that way… Also, that was not a good deal with Val’s meal. I don’t like saying much to the staff when I am at restaurants, but that is definitely an issue I would have spoken to a manager about.


Oh no! Your camera lens! I read that with my hands clasped to my forehead. More intense than a horror novel. No, it is your own personal horror novel!

Can't we just redo your last Disney night at this point?

I was like a horror movie - lol! It was a tough evening for sure.

This post made me cry! I know exactly what you mean. I would give anything to go back in time. It all passes in the blink of an eye. Enjoy every moment and definitely take way more photos than you can imagine. As great as it was taking the grandbaby, it meant just as much to me, to be back there with my boy.







Beautiful photos of my favorite show! I agree with Yia-Yia, that is my favorite part too.

Thanks again @DisneyShe ! It goes way too fast (but doesn't seems so at the time).

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Wasn't easy - no pictures of the red head scene.

What?! But we wants the red head!

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Sorry about the lenses, but great pictures on Pirates.

 

[disneypearl]

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.

 

[Bob]

Our walk to Everest from FotLK didn't get far before we faced another torrential downpour. This trip was by far the most rain we've had vs. any other visit. Not only in duration and episodes but also in severity. The rain that hit Yia-Yia and I was immediate and intense. Luckily for us, Yia'Yia ECV basket was loaded with ponchos. I covered her ECV while she took cover in the nearby restroom building. I then found a somewhat dry spot under a vendor kiosk to wait our the storm. As lucky as we were, Marina, Sterg, Toni, Courtney and Mia were not - their ponchos rode out the rain at the bottom of the Yia-Yia's basket leaving Marina once again heading up a crew braving bad weather.

Sterg said EE was fun in the rain but somewhat painful.

Marina's "storm" troopers!

After the rain we all met up.

The pelting of rain drops at 35mph didn't help with Mia's Yeti-phobia.

Mia joined Yia-Yia and I for a Safari Ride while Marina took the "older kids" to Dinosaur and I think back to Everest.

Some photos from my third and last Kilimanjaro Safari of this trip. I switch my camera to APS-C cropped mode from it's normal full frame to get a 127mm (more telephoto) viewpoint. Normally this hampers the quality of the photo because you face a stiff drop in resolution; the A7r2 however starts out at 42mega pixels and in "cropped" mode still sports a good 18 mega pixels. These are the results.

If it wasn't for Yia-Yia I likely would not have made a 3rd trip on KS, but it did give me a chance to experiment with the camera. I was thrilled with the results. The ability to shoot in cropped mode and maintain very good image quality basically gives me 2 lenses for the price of 1. My 85mm 1.8 can be changed to an equivalent 127mm lens.

Our time in Animal Kingdom was over. Next up was dinner at one of my favorite restaurant in WDW. But would it keep that standing?

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

 

[Bob]

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.

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.

 

[Figaro Family]

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

 

[Laurenciaa]

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.

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

 

[fractal]

At Penn State having a golden monkey with my 21 year old.

 

[Bob]

At Penn State having a golden monkey with my 21 year old.

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

 

[amjt660]

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

Clothing optional photo bomber!!!

Max

 

[MinnieM123]

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