Trip Report Yia-Yia, Yetis and Epcotonians. A sweltering Summer of '22 adventure!

It was the night before our Disney trip and I found myself scrambling. So much to do besides "Disney but "Disney" needed to get done. Where are my SD cards? Where are all my Star Wars shirts? Where is my camera bag? We had just moved after-all and things were not where they should be because well we were in a different house. Toni was scrambling too. She is spending the Summer waitressing in Bethany Beach Delaware and came home THAT DAY to get everything ready for Disney. Her Mom however also wanted her to help get her "crap" ready for college (leaving in a few weeks). Tensions were running high and the early morning flight out of Baltimore was like lighting a fuse to a stick of dynamite. Time was ticking away!

This was going to be a different trip for us. Just three of the five in the family as my wife Val decided to sit this one out and my daughter Alex couldn't get her schedule to work. So Val will be going to New Mexico to visit Alex in a month as the final three, the triumvirate headed to Walt Disney World to meet up with my sister Marina's family and my mom (Yia-Yia).

The Triumvirate -

Toni (center), Sterg and yours truly.

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As you may or may not know, one of the things I love about going to Disney is honing my photography skills. For this trip I decided to rent two fantastic (and expensive) lenses. The Sony GM 50mm f/ 1.2 and the Sony GM 14mm f/1.8 lenses to be exact. The cost to buy both of those lenses would be as much as the cost of the entire trip. Additionally I rented a lens adaptor to pair with my old Minolta 70-210 "beercan" lens that I wanted to try out on the Safari.

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I've been crazy after the 14mm lens due to it's wide angle nature. It's actually so wide it's referred to as an "ultra-wide angle" lens. Wide angle lenses have wonderful applications at WDW and I was going to see how this baby was going to work for me. The 50mm 1.2 is a lens with a great reputation. Very fast, very sharp and producing beautiful bokeh as your sharp subject stands in front of a background that literally melts into a dreamy blur of photographic delight.

By 11pm all that was packed, what was left of my Star Wars shirts was packed - "Chris, aren't we just getting a bit too old for Star Wars shirts?" Val quipped - and everything else on my list was packed.



Toni was also packed and had full-filled her "getting ready for college" obligations.

Val said her goodbyes and goodnights..
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and went to bed.


It was soon time for me to lay down for 3 hours of sleep. The hardest thing left for me to do was wake up with my alarm. I think I'll have a glass on wine (or two?). After-all, what could go wrong?
 
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Sillysidewalker

Well-Known Member
I think I was dreaming about Walt Disney. In fact, I know I was. Walt and I were having a nice conversation walking down Main Street USA in Disneyland talking about all sorts of amazing things. I think the last thing he told me was "don't forget - your flight boards at 6am."

Then the trolley bell started ringings, and ringing, and ringing, except it wasn't a bell it was more like the chime of my alarm clock. "OK, I'm up" I thought to myself as I turned off the 2am alarm. "but just five more minutes..." I thought as I laid my head back down on my soft warm pillow. "besides, I want to finish my talk with Walt...zzzzz".



"DAD - WAKE UP!"
Toni screamed as she shook me. "It's 2:45!"

2:45 AM was the time I wanted to leave the house for our 2 hour drive to Baltimore. The stick of dynamite just went off. After 15 minutes of a mad dash, we somehow packed the car and pulled out of our driveway by 3am.
"Why didn't I get Wally to drive us?" I thought to myself.

around 5am we were "at" the airport but still had to park and shuttle over. I'll let Toni explain...




From there on things got better.

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Plane was ready! (Toni's pic)

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And so was Toni!

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We made our flight and within no time we were at Orlando International Airport. With no Magic Express we needed a way from there to our resort (Gran Destino Tower at Coronado Springs). Sterg happened to be in the process of moving from the north Miami area to the Tampa area and was staying with my in-laws near St. Petersburg. It was an easy ride for him to pick us up and drive to Walt Disney World.

We didn't have to wait too long for his arrival...



On our way!

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Sterg did an exemplary job steering our ship down the Florida highways and soon enough we saw this!

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I adore Toni’s giggle!
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Safe travels! Hope Toni is still loving it here!

Thanks! Made it safe and sound! She is certainly loving it - she's graduating a year early and frankly is not happy with that, but I am!
Opportunity for you to sport your own duck lips missed.

Family always comes first, but if there isn’t a Yia Yia appearance in this report soon some of these people are liable to start getting rowdy.

Safe travels!

I will not pull an "Anakin"

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Yia-Yia coming right up!

Thanks @senor_jorge !



I find this funny yet somewhat uncomfortable to watch.


No fish lips from me!

Tell her to have a great year! Safe travels.

Thanks @93boomer !
Thank you for sharing your amazing photos and fantastic memories with your 2/3. ;)

Lol! You're welcome - thanks for following along!

I'm always happy and sad at the same time during these trips of sending our kids out to be adults. Be Safe!

Thanks @Zipadeelady ! I agree, it's bitter-sweet.

I adore Toni’s giggle!

Thanks @Sillysidewalker ! It keeps her out of a lot of trouble!
 
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fractal

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
The rain started to slow so we left the protection of the MK bus stop to hunt for familiar faces. I noticed the monorail started to move so I assumed that they were now running and it would be an easy ride to the Poly. Just then I saw my brother-in-law Bill and his son Aidan. Bill was a chemistry major in college, worked as a scientist and was now running a small digital marketing company. His son Aidan took after his Dad and is majoring in Bio-engineering at Bucknell. They were both talking to a CM trying to direct traffic. We came over and said our hellos and I suggested the monorail. The CM said it would be an hour or more before they started to run. He recommended the big boat to the Transportation Center and then a walk to Poly. By the look of the crowd waiting for said boat, that would take over an hour.

"Where's Marina and the rest of the gang?"

"They're coming."
Bill replied. "We ran ahead to see how we would get to dinner."

"How about the small boats that go directly to the Poly?"
I asked the CM.

"They stopped running. Not sure when they'll start."

As we started walking closer to the park exit I saw one of those boat heading to the MK dock. "We can hop on that." I explained.

A few minutes later we spotted Marina, Courtney and Mia and Yia-Yia in her scooter. They were all soaked. The kids ran up to greet Yia-Yia and I briefed Marina on our plan. After taking off our shoes, walking through heavy flooding and Yia-Yia scooter looking more like a boat we were on Seven Seas Lake in a crowded craft heading to the Grand Floridian, then the Polynesian.

We were seated within 10 minutes but the AC and wet clothing were not suiting Yia-Yia. Nobody was carrying a jacket and I offered to get her a sweatshirt but our very attentive and excellent waiter brought over several serving towels and placed them on her shoulders. We all laughed and she thanked him by grabbing him by the neck and pulling him in for a kiss and words of appreciation.

He then promptly brought us our salad and bread...

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And a very stiff drink Yia-Yia requested.

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It was the start of a memorable dinner.
 
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MinnieM123

Premium Member
We were seated within 10 minutes but the AC and wet clothing were not suiting Yia-Yia. Nobody was carrying a jacket and I offered to get her a sweatshirt but our very attentive and excellent waiter brought over several serving towels and placed them on her shoulders. We all laughed and she thanked him by grabbing him by the neck and pulling him in for a kiss and words of appreciation.
What a nice gesture from the waiter to bring towels to Yia Yia. 🥰
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
YiaYia loved having her grandchildren around her.




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Sterg, Bill and I were glad there was food around us.

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Speaking of the food, it was plentiful but not as good as previous times. Everything was serving in cast iron pots family style. No more skewers of meat coming to the table and individually served. The steak was overcooked, smothered in a bbq type sauce and on the tough side. I wasn't a fan of the wings (vs. last time in 2017 when they were excellent) but I did enjoy the chicken thighs which made up the majority of my meal. The star of the evening was our waiter. He hit it off with YiaYia and they had a number of wonderful back and forths. I wish I remember his name. He also brought the table some delicious fruit juice of his own making which we all enjoyed! Yia-Yia ordered another drink and I was starting to worry, but she was having a great time with her own ohana at Ohana!

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One of the greatest waiters ever brought dessert and poured the sauce himself...

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and then brought Yia-Yia her own tray of dessert samplers!

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He agree to take a photo of our crew and got a great shot! YiaYia up front with Mia, Courtney, Marina and Toni in the middle row; Myself, Bill, Sterg and Aidan in the back. The cost of the meal was crazy and from a culinary viewpoint was a disappointment but we all left there with little room in our stomachs and plenty of smiles on our faces.

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Team Marina decided to go back to the resort to freshen up before (maybe) heading back to MK. We said our goodbye's and made our way to the monorail. I was especially excited to be at MK at night especially with the tripod attached to my camera bag.

Up Next - A great night in MK and I'm back shooting fireworks!
 
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slipperalwaysfits

Well-Known Member
After taking off our shoes, walking through heavy flooding and Yia-Yia scooter looking more like a boat we were on Seven Seas Lake in a crowded craft heading to the Grand Floridian, then the Polynesian.
Yes, we’ve been stuck in the monsoons, too. Taking off the shoes is a fantastic idea and why I always have FLIPFLOPS with me now.💜

I’m glad you had such a nice dinner at OHANA but I’m sorry the food wasn’t as good as you remembered. Between the waiter and YIAYIA’a fun, I’m glad it was a memorable evening! I’m glad YIA-YIA enjoyed her very own dessert plate! How fun!
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Sterg, Toni and I left the Poly and hopped the monorail for MK.

Ready for our Magic Kingdom nightcap!

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Then some pics in front...

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Then with my camera...

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The 2/3rds were cracking up at this photo. They said I looked like a little boy going to school with his backpack.

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My school had one class - taking better photos at WDW with the 14mm and I was starting to aces the quizes that I failed the day before.

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While still warm and muggy, the night sky brought relief and comfort the day time sky could not give. With the lights on and the sky's darkening the atmosphere in the Magic Kingdom was indeed becoming magical.

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The little LED light cube gave me just enough light!

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I didn't know it at the time but I was in the midst of a wonderful time of photography, rides, fun and laughs at Magic Kingdom on the evening of July 16th 2022.
 
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fractal

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Our lightning lane was BTMRR so off we went!

Some shots on the way...

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For this shot I was able to find a stable base on a post along the walkway. It was a 4 second exposure, F/7.1 at ISO 100. I was getting my groove back.

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I decided to put the camera away and just enjoy BTMRR with Sterg and Toni. The 2/3rds decided to remind me/educate me on a SpongeBob Squarepants episode where everything was better "at night". It became our mantra going forward when the sun set at Disney...



Toni decided to pick up my slack and record our spin on "at night"...



From there I took them to check off a family tradition and have a great time at it!

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If you've read any of my previous Trip Reports you may remember that one of my fondest childhood memories was shooting away with my late Father at the Walt Disney World shooting gallery. I remember not only how much fun I had but how much he had during our 1976 trip. Since then I've gone to the Shooting Gallery to remember those times and my Dad even if it was closed as it was in 2020. But on this night the Shooting Gallery was open and was buzzing! Most of the rifles were actually free to shoot so no more scrambling for quarters. I told the story to Sterg and Toni again and they really started to get into it!

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We kept shooting for a good 15-20 minutes and had a grand 'ol time in honor of Sterg's namesake.

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Good shooting kids!

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What's next?

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Next up - Haunted Mansion and some of the best photos I've taken!
 
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fractal

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I love Haunted Mansion - another thing that likely goes back to my first trip to WDW. I remember this ride more than any other - my 9 year old self truly believed I was seeing real ghosts. Surprisingly my kids are luke warm on the ride. Regardless, we became foolish mortals on that night and entered the Mansion. I had the camera out for this one and took full advantage of the light sucking ability of the 50mm f/1.2.

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I am your host. Your ghost host.

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Toni and Sterg grabbed their own doombuggy and I went solo right behind them.

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Incredible details...

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A more corruptible state...or not.

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One of the greatest ghost writers...

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The Hallway, at least in my opinion, is the creepiest part.

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The M.C. Esher stairs. Try getting this shot with your dumb Iphones 2/3rds...

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Somebody's watching me.

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I think this guy needed a grave alarm.

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