Making Lemonade from Lemons.

[Shellbells]

Your pics on Dinosaur are just stunning. They're so clear and the colors are amazing. You are so talented.
I'd love seeing the cast member doing the extra little show too. Those moments are what helps set Disney apart from other parks.

 

[Chief Powhatan]

I will repeat what everyone has said - your pictures are absolutely amazing! However I think my favorite part of your report is seeing what a great time you had with your grown kids. Thank you so much for sharing your trip report with us!

 

[fractal]

Alex really isn't a thrill ride type of person. Two of her favorite rides are Space Ship Earth and Kilimanjaro Safari. She likes the coasters and all but when she was at WDW last in 2015 she refused to go on Mission Space Orange (remember that for later). So after Flight of Passage I insisted we go on KS.

Some photos on the way...

In the queue.

\

The trucks had plexi glass shielding between each row and we were seated spaced - every other row. It made photography just a little more challenging.

Off we went on our safari and I was ready with my camera.

I was sporting my 85mm 1.8 lens and enjoyed it's quick and accurate autofocus.

The crocs were sunning themselves as they always are.

Flamingos. So far everything going on script.

The driver made a quick comment of the giraffe coming on the road. We didn't think much of it.

We were more focused on the other giraffes.

But as we got closer to the "road" giraffe we realized just how close we were going to get. Alex said with some concern "Is that giraffe going to move? Are we going to hit it?" Typical Alex - worried about the giraffe.

The driver slowed down as we approached. I could almost pull on it's tail.

"Hi giraffe butt." Toni said. See the difference in sisters?

As we slowly passed I had the opportunity to take some crazy close up photos. It was like a portrait session!

OK, now turn a little to your left...

Very good!

Now pretend you're eating a leaf...

Great job, beautiful... now you can eat!

Well that was fun! As soon as we passed the giraffe I was looking at the photos in my camera hoping I didn't screw up that neat opportunity. I was glad I didn't!

Everything else after that seemed easy.

Cheetah hiding way in the back? Yeah I got that.

 

[fractal]

This guy was just standing there. Easy-peasy.

I have never had luck with the lions on KS. Either they were a complete no-show or they were well hidden behind rocks.

Well the photo-Gods blessed me that day as Mufasa and his lionesses were out and sunning themselves in clear view of my camera.

I was happy!

After the safari everyone went on "potty" break while I took photos of some Disney details.

Oh Joe Rohde, you make my heart sing!

Now fix the Yeti!

 

[Shellbells]

Oh my gosh! The photo of the female lion in front of the male is THE best safari lion pic I've ever seen. I enlarged it to look at the details and it's just amazing. I think we need to hire you to come along on our next family vacation as our own personal photographer!
Haha, just kidding....or am I?

 

[fractal]

Alex had a craving for something sweet so we took her over to the "Safari Swirl" window.

She was happy.

\

Then she asked Toni to film her for some social media type post. I have yet to see it but I did take a photo of it.

Enough of those shenanigans. Alex wanted to go on Everest so off we went.

We started to get a little drizzle.

Someone is ready to go!

As you can see, I put the fisheye back on. I think I got some really neat and unique shots.

 

[MikeWsGirl]

Fractal, wow. YOUR photos make my heart sing. Incredible. Please post links to your previous trip reports for the millenials who don't know how to use the internet. I would like to read them.

 

[GAN]

Wow ...the fisheye shots are really cool!

 

[CruellaNY]

Yay for Alex arriving! Ugh on the CM not letting her in right away. Strange times man, strange times........

You guys really squeezed everything you could out of your AK day! Oh and FYI, the ONLY attraction in WDW I've NEVER ridden to date (well and ROTR since we bailed on our boarding group ) is mission: Space! I know I should try the green side but I get such bad motion sickness, that one just seems like the perfect one to ruin my day.

 

[fractal]

Your pics on Dinosaur are just stunning. They're so clear and the colors are amazing. You are so talented.
I'd love seeing the cast member doing the extra little show too. Those moments are what helps set Disney apart from other parks.

Thank you @Shellbells !

I will repeat what everyone has said - your pictures are absolutely amazing! However I think my favorite part of your report is seeing what a great time you had with your grown kids. Thank you so much for sharing your trip report with us!

Very much appreciated @Chief Powhatan ! We've had so many great memories at WDW over the years. Thanks for following along!

Oh my gosh! The photo of the female lion in front of the male is THE best safari lion pic I've ever seen. I enlarged it to look at the details and it's just amazing. I think we need to hire you to come along on our next family vacation as our own personal photographer!
Haha, just kidding....or am I?

thanks and just let me know. lol!

Fractal, wow. YOUR photos make my heart sing. Incredible. Please post links to your previous trip reports for the millenials who don't know how to use the internet. I would like to read them.

Thank you @MikeWsGirl !

Wow ...the fisheye shots are really cool!

Thanks @GAN !

Yay for Alex arriving! Ugh on the CM not letting her in right away. Strange times man, strange times........

You guys really squeezed everything you could out of your AK day! Oh and FYI, the ONLY attraction in WDW I've NEVER ridden to date (well and ROTR since we bailed on our boarding group ) is mission: Space! I know I should try the green side but I get such bad motion sickness, that one just seems like the perfect one to ruin my day.

I think you would be just fine on Green side.

yes, very strange times.

 

[I-4Bound]

Wow...I'm blown away by your incredible photos! Simply stunning, especially all the little details you captured.

I'll join the chorus of folks recommending Universal. The Wizarding World has SO many great photo ops.

Good luck to your daughter at Clemson! My son's best friend and my nephew are both moving in this weekend as freshmen. Go Tigers!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

the ONLY attraction in WDW I've NEVER ridden to date (well and ROTR since we bailed on our boarding group ) is mission: Space! I know I should try the green side but I get such bad motion sickness, that one just seems like the perfect one to ruin my day.

I would be surprised if anyone got motion sickness from the green (non-spinning) side of Mission Space. Those with claustrophobia will likely be uncomfortable, though.

 

[fractal]

We left AK and arrived to a foggy Contemporary (actually it was a beautiful day; my lens fogged up due to the ice-cold AC in the bus).

We didn't have dinner reservations that evening. I was planning on grabbing something quick in AK but that didn't happen. My next option was the Contemporary Cafe but everyone else wanted to go to a "real" restaurant. When I opened up the MyDisney app there weren't too many options available.

"I think "Coach" mentioned they were eating at Raglan Road tonight." I said. "We could go to Disney Springs then go there for dinner. They have an 8pm reservation available. Maybe we'll see them there."

I had to refresh the kids memories that we did eat there before back in 2009. I reminded them of the older couple that came in while we waiting in the check-in area for the torrential downpour to cease. The man in a wheelchair was being pushed by his wife. Both were drenched. Alex and Sterg were that age of making fun of anything and anyone and they started to on the couple. As I was scolding them, Toni walked up to them and started a conversation. Eventually my other two joined along with Val and I and we talked and laughed for a good 15 minutes and made some new Disney friends. It was a good lesson for the my two older ones.

"Yeah, let's do that!" They agreed.

Funny how an Irish Pub becomes more appealing to your children as the approach or exceed the drinking age.

So off we went to Disney Springs!

In the bus...

Everyone (except me) was excited to see the store Zara. I never heard of it which made me feel a bit old. We went in and Sterg led me upstairs to the Menswear; he also decided it was a good opportunity to do some modeling poses.

I think I'm an enabler.

Turned out that I really liked the selection of clothing they had and actually almost bought something.. I did however buy a bottle of their one cologne. My Polo blue ran out so I saw this as a reasonable substitute. It's pretty good but still prefer the Polo.

After visiting a couple more shops we made our way to Raglan Road in time for our reservation.

We walked in to a couple of Irish Dancers.

This certainly set the mood! We were smiling before we got to our table.

We smiled even more when we discovered that our new Disney friends were seated right next to us! They also had an 8pm reservation. Before you know it, we combined tables and we were now an official WDWMagic party of 9!

Both sporting nice Hawaiian shirts.

"Coach" and I in our matching blue...

Then we got the kids to pose together...

This was the start of a very fun and kinda crazy night!

UP NEXT- I'm buzzed, at Walt Disney World and belting out sing-alongs with our new Disney friends! Does it get any better than that?

 

[fractal]

Quick FlashBack to May 24th, 2009. One of the reasons I wanted to go to Raglan Road was to hear a live band. I found out that the live bands didn't play during the lunch hour.

Doing what I do best at WDW - paying bills.

Fast forward to July 22nd 2020.


Coach starts things off with a beer sampler.

I decided on a bourbon on the rocks. I may have had a few more.

For the life of me I can't remember what I ate. I do remember enjoying it. No food complaints from the rest of my crew so overall, the meal was very satisfactory.

We had some good conversations about Disney World and things back in Pennsylvania.
It's quite possible the drinks kept flowing.

The Irish dancers were done for the night and were replaced with a live 2 man band (something I waited 11 years for!). There were a pretty good cover duo and played a lot of the bar favorites; Piano Man, American Pie, etc.

After our meal and possibly a few more drinks we paid our bill and made our way towards the bar and a better vantage point.

There were two couples at the bar. My observation was that they very likely consumed twice the number of drinks that we may have consumed.

They were loud, obnoxious, and devoid of Covid Mask etiquette. The two gentlemen in this foursome spotted Coach and I and approached us as if they had seen long lost fraternity brothers.

"C'mon Man! Let's sing! Take off that stupid mask! Just have some fun!" You can imagine.

Of course we were hesitant. Part of me wanted to throw my arms around them and start belting out Living on a Prayer.
The other part of me was flashing serious "Spidey Senses" probably because this was really not a good mix with the rest of our family. They must have gotten the hint because they soon backed off.

We did however decide to stay and listen to some music. Again, it's possible we ordered another drink or two. We started singing some of the songs out loud which wasn't easy behind a face masks. We might have taken the masks off and gathered all together to sing/yell/screech Sweet Caroline. Probably not, but might have. In either scenario we were having a great time; adults and kids alike!

We left Raglan Road laughing and carrying on a bit into a quiet and nearly empty Disney Springs.

Crystal then spoke some magical yet mysterious words. "Let's go get cupcakes at the ATM machine."

"What?" I asked completely befuddled.

"There's an ATM machine here that serves cupcakes!" She responded excitedly and without hesitation.

Do you know when you have a few drinks and sometimes one small thing becomes very funny. It's possible that happened with us and the Cupcake ATM.

"No way! Impossible! I don't believe it!" I snapped back.

"C'mon follow me, I'll show you!" Crystal said with glistening eyes.

It was like we were the Goonies in search of the One-Eyed-Willies' treasure. We scampered along following Crystal's lead. I still didn't believe it and was expecting more on the lines
of Rafiki clunking Simba on the head.

Low and behold Crystal delivered us to a pink illuminated magic machine. She placed her order and seconds later two cupcakes arrived.

"Ta Da!"

I just couldn't stop laughing along with the rest of us! I mean belly laughing.

Toni may have said "Hi cupcake ATM machine."

It was quite amazing and quite amusing and just a perfect little adventure and payoff.

Grabbing the cupcakes.

Crystal was beaming because 1) she got her cupcakes and 2) she proved us wrong about our cupcake ATM skepticism!

This made things even funnier!

By the way - she was stationary and (about to be) eating her cupcakes so she was Covid compliant.

I don't remember the flavors Crystal ordered but I knew I could not be brought to such a magical machine and not take advantage.

I ordered a red velvet cupcake and thoroughly enjoyed the little door opening to reveal my treat! The cupcake, by the way was delicious.

We then slowly walked out of a closed Disney Spring and parted ways towards our separate transportation back to our resorts.

It was a great, merry and memorable evening with Coach and his family and just like the first time in 2009 we left Raglan Road with new friends!

 

[WishesQueen]

Thanks for laughs and sharing your memories. You guys had such a great trip!

 

[fractal]

Wow...I'm blown away by your incredible photos! Simply stunning, especially all the little details you captured.

I'll join the chorus of folks recommending Universal. The Wizarding World has SO many great photo ops.

Good luck to your daughter at Clemson! My son's best friend and my nephew are both moving in this weekend as freshmen. Go Tigers!

Thanks @I-4Bound ! I will get to Universal someday.

Thanks on Clemson - moving her in on Monday! Good luck to your Clemson crew!

I would be surprised if anyone got motion sickness from the green (non-spinning) side of Mission Space. Those with claustrophobia will likely be uncomfortable, though.

Agree.

Thanks for laughs and sharing your memories. You guys had such a great trip!

Thanks! Thanks for following along!

 

[GDubDIS]

What a fun night! Seems like a little bit of everything the family loves most - socializing and enjoying time together at Disney! Having a great time following along.

 

[fractal]

It was hard for some of us to wake up the next morning.

But not for others...

This was our EPCOT day. Val, Alex, Toni and I were heading off in the AM while Sterg would join us later (he had some work to finish first).

Alex wanted to at least attempt "drinking around the world" as she heard about it from a friend. Val agreed to join/babysit her. 20 years ago we were doing parent swaps at rides, 13 years ago we were doing Bippity-boppity boutique and Princess meals and now we are getting rowdy at Irish Pubs and drinking around the world. See! Walt Disney World really is for all ages!

I hope you two are properly hydrated.

Val must have been "hydrating" because she needed to visit the ladies room once we entered the park. While waiting I took a selfie with my girls.

Reminded me of when I took Alex and Toni to WDW for a day in 2015...

Then another selfie with Val...

EPCOT was a bit confusing to navigate with all these walls up. We knew which direction we wanted to go but following the walls blocked out all your points of reference and frankly took away experiencing the beauty of Future World.

I'm assuming this is going to be the Guardians of the Galaxy coaster but wasn't 100% sure...

We did find what we were looking for however;

and promptly entered the sparse queue. I was worried that the threatening skies would spoil our plans just like it did on our last trip on our last day.

Another "pre-show" that was just a walk through. No interactive treats on this trip.

For looking at only.

Less than ten minutes to the boarding area.

Ready?

Ready!

Another flashback - this time to 2011. Sterg, Toni and I spent some time in the Seas fish tank during our Seas Quest tour. After that we jumped on the "old" Test Track.

Here's another example of me neglecting my parental duties to have properly combed hair on your children. Poor Toni. Back then however she really didn't care.

Seatbelts on and raring to go!

and we're off!

 

[fractal]

I really enjoyed the "new" Test Track on our last trip. This time would be no different. It seems like a different ride and experience.

Love the new overlay.

The outside speed test is exhilarating! I didn't get any pictures of it this time because I was having so much fun!

Test Track is really up there on my list of favorite WDW rides.

After Test Track we split up. Val and Alex headed towards Mexico to begin their "drinking around the World" gauntlet while Toni and I walked towards Mission Space.

On the way there I spotted a "Relaxation Station" - a designated area you can enter and take a break from mask wearing.

And what says "relaxation" more than a 6 foot slithering black snake?

OK, maybe it was 2 feet long.

Toni freaked out a little but all was calm after the snake disappeared into the shrubs.

Now onto our Mission to Mars.

Toni and I were at MS in 2015 and decided to go "orange". I chickened out at literally the last minute afraid that the G-forces would effect my recent ear surgery.

Well since then I either got braver or dumber because I was "a go" for Orange and wasn't going to back down this time.

We were off to the stars!

I always enjoyed this queue and think it is vastly underrated.

Toni was excited. She really loves this ride! Maybe she'll be an astronaut some day.

No one at mission control!

I told Toni she could take over.

 

[fractal]

But she wanted to pilot a spacecraft, not some controls on Earth!

After some more instructions we secured ourselves in our capsule. I followed the tip of looking straight ahead the entire time to avoid any unwanted nausea. It worked and more importantly my ear drums didn't explode!

Toni didn't believe they actually had "barf bags" on the ride until I actually showed her.

I know this ride is 20 years old but it's still impressive and still works. This may be the first time I went Orange since my first ride in 2000 and I appreciated the extra edge it gave the ride. Toni loved it again and after we settled our ship at the canyon's edge on Mars we were off to our next adventure.

This time a journey through time...