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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fractal

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Well, I'm finally getting my head above water after the last couple weeks of;

* 21st Birthday Parties (2)
*a wedding rehearsal and dinner
*picking up and dropping off Toni and Sterg at various airports
*a full blown awesome wedding between a big Greek family and a big Italian Family
*all day tailgate and Eagles VS Cowboys Sunday Night Game
*our 4-day Greek Food Festival were I served as Chairman which basically meant I spent an entire week at our Church

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and despite a few hiccups I made it through!

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Thanks for all the comments since my absence, time to catch up.

Noooo!! I was hoping for another week.

I was too!

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My vote is for sooner! Awesome TR @fractal !

Your vote has been cast and counted.

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Another fantastic trip report. Thank you for sharing all of the great stories and stunning photos!

thanks @joshsprincess921 for following and commenting!

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I'll say it one more time, your skills are amazing! I always love a @fractal report.

Gee, thanks @Zipadeelady !

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Another excellent report! Thank you for sharing your trip (and your photos) with us!

Thanks for following @k8einwdw ! 👍

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I really enjoyed your report and all of the fantastic photos!

Thank you @aaronsloan1971 !!

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I'm trying to channel Dr Seuss here....

“Don't cry Because it's over, be happy because it happened”

― Dr. Suess

As always, thank you so much for sharing your family and especially your pictures with us! Your reports are always sooo entertaining!

Perfect quote! Much appreciated @rshell68 !

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Thank you so much for sharing your fabulous family adventures with us, especially Yia Yia‘s hilarious moments.
Absolutely love your photos and I wish you were going to be there September next year as it would have been awesome to meet you and your family. Thanks again.

Thanks for all the likes and comments @Wicked Sisters !

September? One never knows!

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And as you know now, Toni was successful at convincing me to ride Guardians!

We’ll definitely make time for drinks the next time our dates overlap. Or….even better….we could attend Hoop Dee Doo for old times sake. 😉 (Wouldn’t that be a hoot?!!)

Now that would be fun!

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It’s finished?

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(But thanks for sharing your stories and photos - it was an extremely fun TR)


Thanks @Swissmiss !

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fractal

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
As always, another great TR!! Thanks for the great pics and letting us tag along with your family's antics!!

Thanks you for following and commenting @Bullseye1967 !

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Definitely sooner than 2024!! Can’t wait for the report with you and @Tuvalu at Hoop Dee Doo!

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All the way around fabulous... great report, stunning pictures. Thank you!

Thank you @BuckyMom !

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Thanks for sharing your trip with us! Fantastic stories and pictures.

Thanks @ajrwdwgirl ! I've been following your adventures on insta!

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As is obvious, love love love your photos!
But, my absolute favorite part of your entire trip report is picturing Yia-Yia barreling through the Llane and everyone just stepping (getting) out of her way!! 🤣
You go girl!!

Thanks MickeyCB! You should have seen here on the dance floor at the wedding!

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I've really enjoyed reading your trip report and seeing your gorgeous pictures! Do you have another trip lined up soon?

Thanks for following @LeighM ! We typically go every 2 years.

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Thank you for another fun TR!! Part of what makes your TRs so interesting, is that all ages can have a great time together. I'm sure you all treasure these happy memories.

Fractal, I was just thinking about how much I love your photos -- they're not only fantastic -- they're actually, Frac-tastic!! 🥰 :joyfull:

Thanks so much @MinnieM123 ! I can always count on you for a "like" or "love"!

Fractastic - I like that!

Thanks for the awesome TR!! Yours are always so fun & entertaining!!

Thanks @riverside !
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Great TR thanks for sharing your adventures with pictures and video! Looking forward to that hoop Dee do meet up TR.

Thank you @Longers!


We cannot wait until 2024, it must be sooner...

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@Billy6

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Great to follow along. Thanks! Once things settle here, let’s meet up for a night out. Let’s talk soon.

Thanks Bill! Yes - have to make that happen!

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Is that someone sticking their tongue out at you (behind your daughter's shoulder)? If so, that would be hilarious LOL. I have a cousin that used to try photobombing almost every picture with a pair of rabbit ears :rolleyes:

Just our friend Athena - LOL!

Thank you for sharing your trip with us! As always, it was entertaining and your photos were fantastic! Can't wait for the next one!

Thanks @TheMouseFan ! Having fun see your kids and their adventures!

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Such a wonderful report as usual!! I always look forward to your photos and stories ❤️ I know the chances of us being there at the same time are slim, but maybe someday it'll happen and we can take some photos together!

Thats @sheriffwoody ! That would be a lot of fun! Would love that!

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Another great TR! Thanks for sharing. I especially liked the comparisons of your kids now vs. in the past.

Thanks @Back!Elbow!Shoulders! That's one of the reasons I do these reports. The kids love looking back!

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Great job as always Chris

Really enjoyed following along

Max


Thanks @amjt660 aka Max! Would love to have a meetup in the Parks someday!

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MinnieM123

Premium Member
Toni is graduating in a few weeks!

She has been taking Chinese mandarin as her language and her last project was to find a video in English and dub it to Chinese. She picked this scene from Lion King and I couldn't help not sharing. :)


Congratulations to Toni on her upcoming graduation!

P.S.: I like her Chinese (Mandarin) dub of the Lion King, even more than the English version! :joyfull:
 

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