There's a Crack in the Sidewalk! Take a Picture! UPDATE 8/13

Ok, I am going to comment again on your pictures ( I'm sure it won't be the last). I hve never seen such bright, clear pictures of The Festival of the Lion KIng. They were amazing.
 
Back to the TR ... We didn’t have to wait long for a boat to arrive and with a short ride, and a cool breeze we relaxed and took in some of the DTD sights. The hot air balloon was high in the sky, and we joked about Nonna going on it (she isn’t a fast/thrill/spin, etc type of ride person).

As Pop Pop and I got the stroller and kid situation under control. Read: I had to wrestle DS into the stroller bc he wanted to walk, and bribed DD to sit in the stroller despite her ‘big girl’ protests, DSis and DBIL ran ahead to place our name on the T-Rex list.

With a 65 minute wait, we entertained the kids by hitting the Lego playground. DD and DS enjoyed the slide.

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DS preferred to take the slide on his belly!

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They spotted the Lego build-a-center (or whatever it’s really called!), and I was pleased to see that they had the larger Legos for the little ones. The area wasn’t crowded so DD and DS had a table all to themselves.

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DS decided it was easier to play with the Legos by getting into the bucket himself!

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Don’t worry! I didn’t let him stay in there very long and DSis was crouched down behind him.

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After the novelty of building blocks had worn off, we decided to walk around the T-Rex gift shop for a bit. DS loved the audio-animatronic dinosaur!

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Unfortunately, one of the workers there asked us to leave bc we had a stroller and it wasn’t fair to the other guests trying to shop. I turned to him and looked around to see nothing but people in the store with strollers and stated, “I guess you have a lot of people to kick out of your store then.” If I was by myself, I would have taken my name off the wait list with an explanation why, but I knew that we would be back at square 1 looking at another 1hr+ wait somewhere else.

I took the kids into the dig area, and this kept them entertained until our name was called.

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Boy was I in trouble when I had to take DS out. He screamed! I mean blood curdling, someone stabbing me screams!

As I glanced around, I commented to DSis how it really looked like Rainforest with Dinosaurs instead of rainforest-y animals.

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The most impressive of the areas was the Ice Age Room where we were seated. The room changed colors and I think I took this picture in every hue!

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However, this made us look like Smurfs!
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Our server was less than friendly. I wanted to order the prehistoric panini and was informed that the panini was served cold. Now, everywhere I’ve eaten a panini it is grilled and thus hot, or warm, at least. She said that she could request it be warmed but couldn’t guarantee it. Not wanting to take a chance, I asked if we could place our appetizer order while I looked at the menu again. She actually let out a huff and took our Colossol Nachos order. In a matter of 2 minutes she was back asking what we wanted. Nothing else looked too appealing to me, so I decided on the Pteradactyl Salad.

Here are the nachos:

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DS picked at the nachos but DD didn’t like them much. I could tell that DS was getting tired. He begins to get antsy and doesn’t want to sit still. I took him for a little walk and found a semi-quiet area to rock him to sleep. Within minutes, he was sound asleep. Luckily, we were in a booth, so I laid him across a section of the booth next to me.

Dinner is served! Here is my salad. It was about as appetizing as it looks!
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DD had pizza, which Pop Pop tasted and said was actually pretty good.

Pop Pop had the cheese steak sandwhich, DSis had the ribs, and DBIL had Paleo shrimp. None of which I got pictures of.

The general consensus was, “It was alright.” We won’t be hurrying back there anytime soon.

Pop Pop and I decided to take the kids back to OKW while DSis and DBIL walked around for the evening. We needed to get milk at the General Store before the closed, too. DS slept on the boat ride back, while Pop Pop talked to Nonna about her day. This actually wasn’t the first call from/to Nonna – I just forgot exactly where they were in the scheme of the story.

We were the only ones on the boat so I chatted with the driver who let DD look at his lanyard. She traded for an Aurora pin once we docked.

DS woke up while we were in the General Store. I bought 2 boxes of the character cookies for DD and DS and milk. Then we took the long walk back to our room for the evening.

DD settled in bed with her Daisy nightgown and a good book, errr, I mean the Good Book.

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She flipped through the pages until she fell asleep. I didn’t bring any of their bedtime books with me, but I made a mental note to tell Nonna to pack a few!

Since DS slept for awhile, he stayed up with me and watched some TV. Within a half hour he was back to sleep for the night! Night Night!

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Coming Up – Day 3 Cous Cous and Wonton Soup?
 
Your photos are amazing! I especially like the popcorn stealing sequence:) Can't wait to read (and see!) more about your trip.

Thank you! :goodvibes The popcorn ones are some of my faves too!

Love it love it love it!

Thank you!

Love the pic report and the pictures! Your children are too cute:goodvibes I don't know if someone has already asked this or not but what type of camera did you use?

Thanks! I have a Canon Rebel Xti
 
Ok, I am going to comment again on your pictures ( I'm sure it won't be the last). I hve never seen such bright, clear pictures of The Festival of the Lion KIng. They were amazing.

Thank you! I have to give credit to fellow Dis member MarkBarbieri for his tips on shooting that show and his own amazing examples.
 

Sorry the smurfy blue nachos were not good! To bad the service and food were not up to -IMO- Disney standards.
 
Sorry the smurfy blue nachos were not good! To bad the service and food were not up to -IMO- Disney standards.

I was disappointed - I had read here that it was good, and knowing Rainforest was expecting it to be a decent meal. I wasn't expecting Le Cellier or California Grille standards by any means. I do think the server put a bad taste in my mouth from the beginning.
 
DS woke up around 8:30am; DD was still sound asleep. While DS wakes up very pleasantly, DD on the other hand, is another story. Much like DSis whom you could not and still cannot speak to until a good 45 minutes after she gets up. I heard Pop Pop on our balcony talking on the phone. He had to be on a conference call for work this morning. Since he wasn’t sure how long it would be, our plans were to leave the resort around 11am and head over to Epcot. Pop Pop, DSis, and DBIL would be dining at Nine Dragons for lunch at noon. I am not able to eat there because I have a severe allergy to MSG. When I contacted the woman in charge of dietary needs at Disney, she could not guarantee me that this restaurant did not use the preservative. Not wanting to spend the rest of my vacation in a hospital, I opted out of Nine Dragons.

Side note: Did you know that Chex Mix and Doritos have MSG in them?

Instead, the kids and I would be eating at the Tangierine Café. I have wanted to eat in Morocco, specifically Marakesh for a long time. I always get outvoted so when DSis wanted to go to Nine Dragons, I took the opportunity to head to the CS option in Morocco. Would I enjoy it? Time will tell!

Without much excitement, we boarded the bus and took the short trip to Epcot. Passing through security, I made my way to the turnstiles. A woman, originally from Matawan, NJ (I remember this only bc it’s the neighboring town to where Pop Pop grew up). She stopped me from pushing the stroller through and questioned DD’s age. I told her she was 2 1/2, which she is. She looked at me funny. I said again 2 1/2 ; her birthday is Sept. 14. Grudgingly, she let me push the stroller through but my AP didn’t get read through the machine. We tried again. And a third, fourth, and fifth time. Finally, she called and had another CM take it to ticketing and had my AP replaced.

With that over, we took our obligatory pictures in front of the topiaries. They are amazing!

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And a picture of another photopass card since the other one was forgotten in my other skirt pocket.

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Daisy and Stitch were signing autographs so we made our way to their lines.

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DS wasn’t too sure of Stitch.

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For whatever reason, Pop Pop, DSis, and DBIL thought their ADR’s were at 12:30. When I corrected them of the time, DBIL glanced at his watch – 11:57am! We walked very quickly from Spaceship Earth into World Showcase!

DD fell asleep in the stroller during our brisk walk, but DS was crying to get out of the stroller. Pop Pop agreed and let him walk, or rather, run. Pop Pop made a quick detour over to Test Track to grab FP’s for us later in the day.

We made it to China a few minutes after noon, DSis went to check-in. I tried to put DS back in the ed to take DS with them to eat and I would take DD with me to eat.stroller but he protested, screamed and cried. Then he put on his puppy dog-melt—your-heart expression and starting calling for Pop Pop. They decided to take DS with them for lunch and I would keep DD with me to sleep.

With a kiss on DS’s cheek, I continued my way to Morocco. There was a short line ahead of me, giving me enough time to decide on my meal – Lamb Shawarma Platter. I found a nice quiet corner inside to eat and allow DD to sleep. Enjoying a few moments of peace and quiet, I dug into my meal.

It was fantastic! I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will definitely be going back there again. It is a great alternative to a sit down restaurant, especially the portion size.

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I was just getting ready to walk around the country and take some pictures when DD woke up hungry. She wanted a hot dog so I took her to Somerfest in Germany.

She must have been quite hungry as I’ve never seen her so fast before in my life! Just as she was finishing, I received a call from DSis asking where I was. They had just paid the bill at Nine Dragons. DS loved the food, eating wonton soup, fried rice, sweet & sour chicken, among other things.

Meeting them back in China, DBIL tried on some hats which got a good laugh out of the kids. DS enjoyed the puppets.

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We backtracked to Mexico and spent some time playing with the maracas in the market square.

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Then it was on to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour or Donald’s boat as DD referred to it.

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DD and DS loved the ride, probably bc of their affection towards IASW and Donald Duck. Of course, being DSis’s favorite she is never one to pass up on this attraction.

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After capturing Donald in time for the gran fiesta, who else but him should be outside.

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DD found an Aurora pin she liked and traded with a CM while DSis got some hugs from Donald.

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Coming Up - Test Track and Beverly!
 
We said, “Hasta Luego!” to senor Donald and headed towards TT. It was now time for DS to take a nap. Pop Pop and I waited with DD and DS in the showroom area while DBIL and DSis got their chance to ride first.

DD and I checked out the cars. She liked the convertible, “Oh Mommy me like this one!”

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“That’s nice, tell your father,” was my response. LOL! Since she isn’t tall enough to ride, we recreated TT.

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After 25 minutes Pop Pop and I handed over the stroller and DD to DBIL and Dsis and proceeded to get online ourselves. I took some pictures along the way.

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I think they need to do some serious dusting!

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OK, I don't know about any of you out there, but when I was 7 months pregnant there was no way I was 132lbs

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After the preshow, we made our way into the line just as a huge group of student-age (they had Senior trip t-shirts), pushed their way out of their preshow doors. A CM made quite a few of them go back into the room since their preshow was still playing, but there was still another 6 students and 2 chaperones that ignored them. I was upset to see the CM just let it go and allow them to board ahead of the group I was in.

Once I vented out my frustration, it was soon time to get into our car. For whatever reason, I had the ISO set at 1600 so I had a lot of clean-up to do on these pictures.

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Of course, our photopass picture looks much like the EE one – videocamera in Pop Pop’s face and camera in mine.

DD was waiting for us when we in the photopass area with DSIS. DBIL was sleeping with his eyes open :rolleyes1 while keeping an eye on the still snoozing DS. We continued on our way and DBIL suggested a beverage break - Off to Club Cool!

DD and DS don't drink soda - one of those things, I don't them have that or juice. They drink lots of water, milk in the morning and at night and occassionally they will have fresh brewed decafinated iced tea that I make - no sugar or freshly made lemonade. I just prefer them to eat the actual piece of fruit than drink juice.

So going to club cool would be a treat since DD and DS (if he were awake) would be able to sample the sodas.

Club Cool was moderately busy; busier than most other areas in Epcot today. So what was the first soda I subject poor DD to? Beverly, of course!

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The result:

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Now Dee Dad, will vow on a stack of Bibles that Beverly actually tastes good. I don't know how he drinks it, but he does. I think it's bc we're Italian and with his Italian pride, doesn't want to admit that it's just plain yucky!

Here she is trying another one that she did like!

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Overall, I think most of them were too sweet for her; she did like the veggie one though.

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DS missed out on the soda treat, and was still sleeping so DD, DSIS, DBIL, and I walked over to The Land. Pop Pop, who despises the boat ride there with a passion, claiming it is a waste of good imagineering, avoids it like the plague and happily took DS still napping over to the Disney Magical Music Days theater to listen to a performance.

I remember when Livin' with the Land had ungodly wait times, sometimes rivaling that of Peter Pan! With Soarin' it's now a walk-on. And that is what we did. Only waiting for a CM to insist that another guest sit down in the boat. Stupid people.

Everybody sing!
Let's listen to the land we all love,
nature's plan will shine above,​
listen to the land, listen to the land.​

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I didn't spot any pumpkins earning their ears on this round. Oh well!

We exited our boat and proceeded to find Pop Pop and DS. DS had woken up by now and was running around, stretching his legs. Pop Pop was on the phone with Nonna. After work she was meeting Mom Mom and Dee Dad for dinner, then she was going to finish up packing. Tomorrow night she would be in WDW and boy was she excited. She was missing the kids terribly and work was super busy.

Since we were only yards from The Living Seas, we strolled ourselves over there!

Coming Up! We found Nemo and dolphin calls!
 
I know it's been said before, but your photographs are beautiful! You have a really good eye for framing photos. Your kids are adorable as well:goodvibes Though you are a bit evil subjecting your DD to Beverly:rolleyes:
 
I know it's been said before, but your photographs are beautiful! You have a really good eye for framing photos. Your kids are adorable as well:goodvibes Though you are a bit evil subjecting your DD to Beverly:rolleyes:

Thank you! :goodvibes

RE: Beverly - well my name is villainess, right! LOL! :rotfl2:
 
Did you notice the upside down Hidden Mickey on the 2nd picture of the Test Track bench? It is in the bottom left corner.

HaHaHa to the 7 month pregnant woman weighing 132 lbs. I don't even weigh that little not pregnant.
 
Did you notice the upside down Hidden Mickey on the 2nd picture of the Test Track bench? It is in the bottom left corner.

HaHaHa to the 7 month pregnant woman weighing 132 lbs. I don't even weigh that little not pregnant.

Now, I could/should play this off like off course I knew there was a Hidden Mickey there, but nope - no clue! LOL! Thanks for pointing it out.

Yeah, I wasn't 132lbs before pregnancy either. I don't think scales actually go that low.
 
I'm finally caught up!! Yay!! :laughing:

I love your pictures, just beautiful.

Your kiddos are just adorable. It's so nice seeing the pictures of their expressions as they are experiencing the Disney magic! :goodvibes

I'm totally clicking over to your new report! :eek:
 
Sounds like you guys had a great time so far! :goodvibes I just caught up on the report and Im joining for the rest of the fun! :thumbsup2
 




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