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.

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.

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..

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?

 

[BrerWayne]

As we continued our journey through World Showcase I called Marina to get a bearing on their location. They were approaching Morocco and she was still steamed at me as if we were trying to avoid them, which was ridiculous. My sister has a great but very demanding career with crazy hours. Vacations, especially to WDW are not only her getaway time from that but also great quality time with her family - both of which are very valuable to her. So when on these trips she wants thing to go a certain way and can she can get testy and demanding. This serves her well in the corporate world so I understand where it comes from plus I grew up with her!

We hit Morocco at the same time and everyone warmly greeted each other except Marina and I. She walked by and gave me a hmmmph type look. All of a sudden it was like we were 10 and 12 years old fighting for control of the TV.

"Marina, I don't know why you're so mad at me!"

"Because I told you we were in Canada and you decided to go the complete opposite direction!"

"We were already on that side - near Mexico!"

Bill, listening in along with half the people in Morocco interjected. "Sounds like we have an international crisis here. I'm going to be Sweden and play neutral."

Marina and I stopped, looked at him and started laughing along with the kids and some other bystanders. After that and some more explaining by me about Toni needed First Aid, etc. we were good again. Just like in childhood when one minute we wanted to kill each other, then the next we were best buddies.

With the air cleared up of family drama we hit up the Greece Kiosk for some Gryros.

In addition to my Mom being an amazing cook and expert in Greek Cuisine having had her own restaurant for half her life, I just happen to run our Church's Annual Greek Food Festival. I've been the Chairman of that for 15 of the past 18 years and it's a pretty big deal.

My kids love helping out...

Thousands of people come to it every year.

The local TV stations do stories on it...

We have live Greek music all weekend.

and Greek dancing...

and of course, amazing Greek Food.

The Greek Kiosk was about to be put to the test.

Unfortunately, it failed. YiaYia and I agreed it was the worst gyro sandwiches we ever had and the saganaki (fried Greek kesseri cheese) was hardly passable.

But, I did get her to pose...

We all decided we wanted to hang out in World Showcase and wait for the fireworks show. I immediately regretted not bringing my tripod. Marina and I, now working as a team secured a spot by the lagoon in front of Italy. We would take turns manning it while others explored. I decided to take my camera into Italy for the first time as it's likely the country I've least toured and photographed in WS. In fact, I probably have more photos of the Rome scene in SSE than the Italian pavilion!

Every year in New Orleans there is a Greek Festival Memorial Day Weekend. There is Greek Dancing, Greek Music, and food! For two years, they were unable to have the festival because of Covid. The Church did a drive thru for Greek Food ( you ordered ahead of time on the internet). Covid was pretty tough on everyone (I work in healthcare). One of the highlights of that two years was that amazing Greek Food. My wife probably spent over $100 just on baklava!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

YAY! You were able to meet @LisaBelle ! WDW Meetups are the best!

 

[fractal]

Entering Italy

A beautiful pavilion!

Sporting the 14mm.

Love this statue!

This little guy was digging for coins. Lol!

UP NEXT - Harmonious, and night-time EPCOT photos!

 

[MinnieM123]

Entering Italy

A beautiful pavilion!

Sporting the 14mm.

Love this statue!

This little guy was digging for coins. Lol!

UP NEXT - Harmonious, and night-time EPCOT photos!

Gotta say, Fractal, that your images of Italy are the most unique I've seen to date. You really captured some unusual angles, etc.

 

[Songbird76]

Lol on your Father-in-law! I guess I would be worried if he wasn't interested in the pageant winners!


Yesterday we were at Marina's house for Mia's 13th birthday. She's doing really well especially compared to 6-12 months ago.

I'm glad she's doing well now! That's so rough. My son got bullied sooooo badly in elementary school. We got him into a different school and he turned into a totally different kid. He smiles now, and enjoys life and has friends. I hope Mia will thrive now!

 

[slipperalwaysfits]

Gotta say, Fractal, that your images of Italy are the most unique I've seen to date. You really captured some unusual angles, etc.
YES! I especially love the shot of SSE through the arches!

 

[Songbird76]

As we continued our journey through World Showcase I called Marina to get a bearing on their location. They were approaching Morocco and she was still steamed at me as if we were trying to avoid them, which was ridiculous. My sister has a great but very demanding career with crazy hours. Vacations, especially to WDW are not only her getaway time from that but also great quality time with her family - both of which are very valuable to her. So when on these trips she wants thing to go a certain way and can she can get testy and demanding. This serves her well in the corporate world so I understand where it comes from plus I grew up with her!

We hit Morocco at the same time and everyone warmly greeted each other except Marina and I. She walked by and gave me a hmmmph type look. All of a sudden it was like we were 10 and 12 years old fighting for control of the TV.

"Marina, I don't know why you're so mad at me!"

"Because I told you we were in Canada and you decided to go the complete opposite direction!"

"We were already on that side - near Mexico!"

Bill, listening in along with half the people in Morocco interjected. "Sounds like we have an international crisis here. I'm going to be Sweden and play neutral."

Marina and I stopped, looked at him and started laughing along with the kids and some other bystanders. After that and some more explaining by me about Toni needed First Aid, etc. we were good again. Just like in childhood when one minute we wanted to kill each other, then the next we were best buddies.

With the air cleared up of family drama we hit up the Greece Kiosk for some Gryros.

In addition to my Mom being an amazing cook and expert in Greek Cuisine having had her own restaurant for half her life, I just happen to run our Church's Annual Greek Food Festival. I've been the Chairman of that for 15 of the past 18 years and it's a pretty big deal.

My kids love helping out...

Thousands of people come to it every year.

The local TV stations do stories on it...

We have live Greek music all weekend.

and Greek dancing...

and of course, amazing Greek Food.

The Greek Kiosk was about to be put to the test.

Unfortunately, it failed. YiaYia and I agreed it was the worst gyro sandwiches we ever had and the saganaki (fried Greek kesseri cheese) was hardly passable.

But, I did get her to pose...

We all decided we wanted to hang out in World Showcase and wait for the fireworks show. I immediately regretted not bringing my tripod. Marina and I, now working as a team secured a spot by the lagoon in front of Italy. We would take turns manning it while others explored. I decided to take my camera into Italy for the first time as it's likely the country I've least toured and photographed in WS. In fact, I probably have more photos of the Rome scene in SSE than the Italian pavilion!

Yep....sounds familiar. My brother and I fought like that, too. And we can still snipe at each other. We're very different people!

I want to go to that Greek festival!! I love Greek food!

 

[Songbird76]

Gotta say, Fractal, that your images of Italy are the most unique I've seen to date. You really captured some unusual angles, etc.
YES! I especially love the shot of SSE through the arches!

Yes! I literally just made my husband look at that one. So cool!!

 

[fractal]

Darn the gyros were on my list to try.
You and your sister sound so much like my brother and I. One minute fighting like cats and dogs next minute buds again.

Not worth it, really. Find a good Greek restaurant or Gyro stand instead. Lol! Amazingly, with the sweltering weather, two groups merging and the parks packed and chaotic that was really the only major family drama of the trip.

Every year in New Orleans there is a Greek Festival Memorial Day Weekend. There is Greek Dancing, Greek Music, and food! For two years, they were unable to have the festival because of Covid. The Church did a drive thru for Greek Food ( you ordered ahead of time on the internet). Covid was pretty tough on everyone (I work in healthcare). One of the highlights of that two years was that amazing Greek Food. My wife probably spent over $100 just on baklava!

Almost every Greek Church in the country will have a Greek Food Festival and that one sounds like a lot of fun! We also did a drive-thru service only in 2020 and it worked great! We still offer it in addition to coming inside.
Your wife is the kind of customer we like! lol!

YAY! You were able to meet @LisaBelle ! WDW Meetups are the best!

She's very nice and so glad we met up. My kids loved it - they still are amazed when we have meetups.

Gotta say, Fractal, that your images of Italy are the most unique I've seen to date. You really captured some unusual angles, etc.

Thanks @MinnieM123 !

I'm glad she's doing well now! That's so rough. My son got bullied sooooo badly in elementary school. We got him into a different school and he turned into a totally different kid. He smiles now, and enjoys life and has friends. I hope Mia will thrive now!

Bullying sux. Glad it worked out for him. Mia is doing much better. She's always been quiet and unsocial but when we were at my sisters last Sunday for Mia's birthday she was talking, hugging, kissing and thanking all of us!

Gotta say, Fractal, that your images of Italy are the most unique I've seen to date. You really captured some unusual angles, etc.
YES! I especially love the shot of SSE through the arches!

Thanks! I love how they came out and glad I spent some time back there.

Yep....sounds familiar. My brother and I fought like that, too. And we can still snipe at each other. We're very different people!

I want to go to that Greek festival!! I love Greek food!

Well, if you're in Berks County PA this October let me know. Ouzo is on me!

Yes! I literally just made my husband look at that one. So cool!!

thanks!

 

[BigDis]

"This little guy was digging for coins. Lol!"

I think he was "pooling" his funds for his next trip to Disney World. It's never to soon to start saving.

 

[DisneyJeff]

Does this scooter have a fold-down ankle breaker? That looks painful!!

 

[senor_jorge]

Does this scooter have a fold-down ankle breaker? That looks painful!!

View attachment 662343

Ramming Speed!

 

[fractal]

Does this scooter have a fold-down ankle breaker? That looks painful!!

View attachment 662343

Scooters in WDW after the apocalypse...

 

[fractal]

"This little guy was digging for coins. Lol!"

I think he was "pooling" his funds for his next trip to Disney World. It's never to soon to start saving.
View attachment 662328

I told him I had photographic evidence of his theft and got 20% of his take to keep it quiet.

 

[fractal]

A few more from Italy...

Originally we had reservations at Via Napoli but plans changed.

Regarding YiaYia and the Scooter issue - she did get into a wheelchair at the park entrance and Aidan pushed her from there. It was so much better and safer! Sterg would pick up the slack for most of the rest of the night, which he loved.

I wandered around for a little more...

Thumbs up for the live entertainment being back!

The setting sun not only took the edge off but created a beautiful atmosphere for the evening.

Sterg led all the kids back to the first food kiosk we hit - just past Test Track. They wanted to try the french fry place there that apparently was getting rave reviews. I think he also wanted to get back to catch a glimpse of the very attractive young lady that served us our sandwich. He had a tough breakup before the trip but the 5 days in Disney World was very therapeutic for him. He is scheduled to move into his new apartment near Tampa in October and has delved deep into his career and other activities including joining the Tampa Bay Waterpolo Club.

They came back with some fries for us to sample and they were very good!

A delightful ambience was developing in EPCOT that night.

 

[Billy6]

Ah...Italy pavilion...

Got engaged on this bridge...

 

[fractal]

Without a tripod, I was in search of a railing or trashcan or anything that would give me enough stability to shoot off some long-exposure shots and a good enough angle of the show.

I wasn't having much luck but the marvelous sunset kept me shooting.

The sun was dropping fast.

The crowds continued to build.

The problem was the beveled top to most of the railing. I used such top for this photo but even 1/6 of a second was tough to keep the camera still. Unbeknownst to me at that time, I also got most of @Billy6 's engagement bridge!

I finally found a flat top and created a proper 10 second exposure...

I wasn't crazy with the framing of the shot - straight into a brick wall? Besides - I was pretty far from our family base camp. I decided to surrender and went back to the rest of the crew.

 

[BigDis]

I told him I had photographic evidence of his theft and got 20% of his take to keep it quiet.

You're halfway there to having enough to cover your next trip...not!

 

[fractal]

There has been a lot of negative vibe spewed over Harmonics. For the record I'm a big fan of Illuminations. I play the Millennium Celebration CD pretty hard in my car. That fireworks show proceeded by the parade in 2000 was a big part of what made me an addict of WDW. During our 2011 trip I got quite emotional watching Illuminations and posted this in my trip report...

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As I was watching the show, I started to think of Walt Disney. Many people say they tear up when they watch Wishes - I didn't - but watching Illuminations started to bring a lump in my throat. This night, the fireworks, the music, would not exist without the ideas and visions of one man. We are still fortunate enough to live in a society were ideas and dreams are not only powerful - but can manifest themselves in grand scale. Without Walt Disney, Epcot would not exist. The beautiful and moving music written and composed for Illuminations would not exist. The experiences and memories created by countless families would not exist. It's truly mind boggling when you spend time thinking about it, and for some reason I was thinking about it that night.

We currently live in a pessimistic world. The "Great Recession" is really our version of the Great Depression. Every current movie or TV series based on the future is dystopian. It seems all we have to look forward to is some post apocalyptic world filled with nuclear fallout, economic collapse, alien invasions, killer viruses, natural disasters or flesh eating zombies. The vision of Walt Disney's Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow - a world made better by human innovation and technology is all but dead.

EPCOT, despite not being what Walt originally wanted, is still a symbol of how great the future can be. It helps keep that flicker of a hope; that our tomorrow will be better than today, from extinguishing.
All of these thoughts raced through my mind as Illuminations reached the climatic finale. Is it naive to think that one man and some theme parks can mean that much? Maybe. At a minimum though, Walt and his Worlds clearly demonstrate the power of positive thinking and perseverance.

Keep moving forward. That to me was the message Illuminations was sending that evening.

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I also captured some good fireworks shots of Illuminations in 2017. Any new fireworks show was faced with a very high bar to cross. My expectations based on that and reviews I've read was appropriately lowered.
We were situated with a good spot, Marina and YiaYia were by my side, Mia positioned herself on top of a trash can and the rest were within a few feet. The show began and I can say right out that despite all the criticism, I thought the "tacos" were an amazing display of current technology. It was obvious to me fairly quickly that the were stealing some of the wonder of World of Color from the California Adventure show. I was impressed with the execution.

I'm going to post photos of the show; some from my camera and some from phone cameras. Can you tell the difference?

The show covered all the Disney bases as far as Intellectual Property and was a visual and audio sight to enjoy. It did not however come close to invoking the feelings and emotions that Illuminations did. I would love to come back and photograph it with a tripod and my camera but as far as being inspired by it - that was not going to happen. I feel bad for those that never saw Illuminations especially knowing that it will never be viewed live again. It felt to me a sign of the times; flashy and shiny but nothing of substance underneath.

 

[fractal]

Ah...Italy pavilion...

Got engaged on this bridge...
View attachment 662381

You're halfway there to having enough to cover your next trip...not!