The girls woke from their naps and we drove to Epcot once again. Our plan was to return by 4:30pm but it was more like 5:30pm when we arrived. We wanted to hit as many countries as possible and we knew our time was limited. We started in Mexico, rode the Three Caballeros which was fine, nothing spectacular but okay. In hindsight, we probably shouldnt have spent the time to ride it. We visited the Mexico Kidcot Funstop and the girls were both given masks on a stick which they began to color. Do not interrupt thes girls when they are trying to perfect their masterpieces.
I walked over and bought them two passports. The passports are $9.95 each and they come with an Epcot button, a passport, and several stickers corresponding to the different countries. Very cute. The Mexico representative wrote Bienvenida a Mexico! Que te diviertas! , gave the passport a stamp of Mickey in a sombrero, and notated their date and time of entry. They also added a piece to their mask.
We struggled to get the girls into the strollers and on our way. We next stopped in Norway where the nice woman wrote Hei. Velhcommen til Norge! Ha en magisli dag and she drew a cute picture. The stamps were of Mickey in a Viking helmet.
We rode Maelstrom and made our way to China.
The chinese entry in the passport is, of course, in chinese so I am unable to transcribe it here. She also wrote each of the girls names' in chinese on their masks. She wrote "Dreams Come True!" which will prove to be a true foreshadowing of the next day!
wizard: Are you with me?
)
We pried the girls away from the markers once again and made our way to Germany. Ah, Germany! Beautiful! The woman was very kind and wrote "Willkommen in Deutschland!".
Traci wanted to stop for some beers but I told her I'd rather have the blue Vodka drink in France so she passed the beer booth on by. Why did I stop her!!
We came to Italy and the (great-looking! hubba-hubba!) Italian man wrote "Buona Sera! Benvenuti in Italia" .
It was about 6:45pm at the time and were starting to get very hungry. It just so happened the next country was America and although I wouldve rather eaten anywhere but America we stopped to get 4 counter service meals here. The lines were not long but the cashiers and cooks were v-e-r-y slow. Traci took the girls to a table while I spent 15 minutes ordering and collecting our 4 cheeseburgers, 2 fries, 2 apple slices, 2 lemonades, 2 diet cokes, 2 chocolate chip cookies, and 2 brownies. Ok, now I know there is debate on these boards about the ethics of what I did, but I ordered 4 Adult counter service meals. Our cards plainly said 2A 2C but they did not question my order at all. And we were hungry. And the girls didnt want anything on the childrens menu. PB&J? Come on! Have I justified my actions enough yet? Good, because once I figured out I could do this I did it for the rest of our stay. Please dont flame me-I paid for this part of our dining plan!
After dinner it was nearing 7:30 and we decided to find a spot to watch Illuminations. There were MANY good spots in Japan but you know that part of you that always thinks theres gonna be a better spot just around the corner? Well that part got the better of me and we kept on walking. I mean there was NO ONE from Japan all the way to UK. But I just kept prompting everyone to keep on walking. Once we got to UK and Canada it was PACKED. So we had to keep on walking to find any place suitable for viewing. So we walked, and walked, and walked all the way to the handicap accessible area right in line with Spaceship Earth, AT THE FRONT of the World Showcase! Where EVERYONE was. It was Packed! We wedged ourselved right up against the handicap area and a man in a wheelchair slapped us with his eyes. Come on! Two little innocent four year olds have to be able to watch Illuminations! Please?
And so it began
The music,
The majesty.
Let us all take a moment to reflect on the beauty
There cannot be one person who does not tear up during Illuminations.
Even with obstructed viewing it was THE BEST!
And I looked at the girls, hoping that this was making a delible imprint of magic and peace on their young brains and they were
HOLDING THEIR EARS!
Fearing for their lives.
Not enjoying it at all.
And so began the mass exodus that occurs after Illuminations. So we waited and let the girls play right there. After fifteen minutes or so we gathered our belongings and made our way to the entrance of Epcot. And I had to say goodbye to this, perhaps the most beautiful of all of the parks, for awhile.
(I dont think any of my trip mates were with me in my sadness upon leaving)
We found our rental car and made it out of the parking lot in seconds and were back to our "home".
The girls bathed and went to sleep without any problems and Traci and I once again had a glass of wine and relaxed. We were tired and went to sleep not long after.
Another terrific day!
And some would argue the best is still yet to come!
You WILL NOT want to miss tomorrow!
Trust Me!
Next, we all decided that we should use those fastpasses and ride Test Track again!
), and we talked on the phone. I started the process VERY early so I had no problem with availability. I trusted him completely throughout the process. I gave him my credit card for payment in full and he gave me the yellow sheet that is the DVC confirmation. We didn't correspond at all for the seven months leading up to our stay. However, it was a rough experience just before we left on our trip when I could not verify the reservation with the Resort (they only talk to the owners-and my owner was out of town) and I just had to go on faith that everything would be okay when we arrived. It was and I am thankful for that. I am the type of person that confirms things, I don't just show up and hope everything will be okay so it was hard for me to let go.
! And the girls seemed a little freaked by the sound. But, it was a great evening!!!!
Jen and I grabbed some drinks and lounged poolside while the girls had fun in the baby pool and the big sandbox. This big slide is a little scary but, Tatum did slide more than once. The slide was shaped like a sandcastle. 
(And I hate the bananaman!) I immediately looked in the direction in which Jen was last headed. I COULD SEE HER!!!! 
I don't know how she didn't when EVERYBODY else did. The sweet lady gave me three passes. One for me and the 2 girls. I told her we had another person, who ironically went for fastpasses, with us and I asked for 1 more. She could only award the passes to the people present
I frantically called Jen about a million times. I didn't know at the time just how far she was headed. I told the lady that she would be right back. And then I started stalking... and stalking to be sure that they didn't run off anywhere with my friend's FastPass. Finally, Jen rounded the corner. Sweating and panting. I thought for sure she had gotten one of my messages and ran back. But, she hadn't and she was totally excited to see us with the dream team!
