Still May 18, 2007:
When I last left you, we were rolling ourselves out of Mexico's San Angel Inn. We all were interested in riding the new Mexico Boat Ride. I'm completely drawing a blank on the "new" Caballero name, but you know what I'm talking about. The River of Time. El Rio del Tiempo. A charming family cut right in front of us as we were entering the queue acting as if the wait was 60 minutes instead of, like 3.

No matter though. Because they cut us, we were put in the front of the boat, where we made sure to sit up really tall and straight and completely block their view. Which isn't all that hard with 3 full grown adults in the front seat.
Anyway. We rode it.
I believe my exact words as we approached the exit were "Well that's 2 minutes of my life I'll never get back".
I really really did not like it. And I'm not a ride snob. I like the old cheesy 70's look of a lot of the rides. And I was okay with them refurbishing this one. But I think they could have done something pertaining more to Mexico than Donald Duck

.
Next we were on our way around the world. Our original plan was to drink around the world, with my first stop being a frozen margarita, but we did not factor in hangovers and weren't quite ready for the actual drinking part. So we settled for walking, browsing, and shopping instead.
First stop, Norway:
Then China:
Then Germany:
We skipped Italy because we couldn't think of a good picture to take there. We did browse the shops though.
Next, France. They had the cutest perfume bottle topiaries:
Then we stopped for a spot of tea in the UK:
I'm getting a little foggy on what we did right after this but I think we used our Fastpasses for Soarin'. Amanda and her friend had never ridden this ride and I was excited for them to do so. I love love this ride. It actually makes me a little teary eyed for some reason. Plus it is the only ride where the entire group of riders cheers and applauds at the end. This has happened every single time I've rode Soarin'. That's gotta mean something.
Then we decided to do some shopping at MouseGear. At some point during the day, the three of us decided that being Honorary Citizens of WDW and celebrating my Birthday was just not enough. We needed something else to make us stand out. So after trying on a variety of items, we settled on the sequined Minnie-ears headband with bright red bow. (you'll see the pics later on). I also bought some jibbitz, including the elusive castle jibbit, for my
Crocs. When we were finished shopping we walked outside to see this:
To which, Amanda says "It's not going to rain".
Which means it definitely will rain.
We absolutely wanted to stay for Illuminations and thought that the UK would be a great place. Especially since we were realizing we could use some adult refreshment. From the Rose and Crown. If we could just make it to the Pub before it started raining, we'd be golden. Inside, dry and with a beer
So we started the Powerwalking towards the UK. Right as we turned towards Canada, I felt a few drops. Then a few more. And a few more. By the time we passed Canada and were spitting distance of the Rose and Crown, it was pouring! And we were wet. Not soaked. But wet.
But we made it! And apparently so did everyone else in Epcot because it was packed in there. We managed to belly up to the bar where we ordered 2 pints of Stella Artois and 1 pint of Bass. For each of us.
At this point is was absolutely pouring out. And we were becoming concerned that they might not even have Illuminations. But it did clear up and we grabbed a decent spot at a bench between Epcot and Canada to watch Illuminations.
Then we slowly followed the masses outof the park.
Walked (no tram for us!) to the car where Amanda's friend was kind enough to drive us all the way back to Pop before driving herself home.
Amanda and I grabbed a bite to eat in the food court. Cheeseburgers for both of us. Then it was back to the room where we talked about the day and just had some good old fashioned girl talk before falling asleep sometime around midnight.
Up Next: MK, MGM, and Hit me Baby One More Time