Day 5: Drinking Around the World ... and then some.
The hardest part about Marathon Weekend is not getting up early multiple mornings in a row. It's not the distance. It's not the heat.
No, the hardest part of Marathon Weekend is trying to remember all of Drinking Around the World more than a month later when your memories of that day aren't exactly crystal clear to begin with (I have no idea why, of course, it must've been the heat). Anyway, with the help from some other trip reports (thanks
@michigandergirl) and photos uploaded by my fellow revelers
here, I think I've more or less pieced the day together. I trust all of you following along with point out any glaring omissions.
I got up fairly early, got showered and left for Epcot ahead of our planned DATW 11 a.m. start time. I fastpassed Space Ship Earth like an absolute boss, then got over to do Soarin'. I don't care what anyone says, I love the new Soarin', crooked images and all. After that, I did Journey into Imagination (Fastpass again, naturally) and then helped some couple take their photo out by the fountain. I believe by that time, it was close to the DATW start time.
There were people already at the Mexico pavilion when I got there, but for the life of me, I couldn't tell you who. I hung out and talked with a ton of people on Monday, some I know by screen name only, some I knew on a first name basis, some were neither, but I'm glad I got to chat with you all. Either way, I'm not even going to attempt to list everyone I commiserated with during DATW.
Anyway, I had a margarita ... or two ... in Mexico.
@jennamfeo or
@Keels snapped this photo of me.
DSC_4677 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
We continued on to Norway, where I had a beer or two, but I know I shared it/them with some people. I also took a ton of pics, but I'll spare you most of them.
DSC_4733 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
616478611 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
More drinks in China, the Africa outpost and Germany. We had limoncello shots in Italy and I had a beer or two and a turkey leg in the America pavilion. That turkey leg also permanently stained my Goofy Challenge shirt. Really not happy with myself on that one.
IMG_5706 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
IMG_5041 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
I have no idea where this photo was taken...
IMG_1641 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
We took a brief siesta in Japan, though I'm not really sure why. I think maybe some people were grabbing food? Then it was on to Morocco. Everyone was obviously well under control at this point.
DSC_4762 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
DSC_4772 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
After that, it was on to France. We took a photo with Goofy at the International Gateway, I think, before heading to the United Kingdom pavilion. In UK, we chilled out for a while and listened to a band (I thought it was British Invasion, but a Google search is showing British Revolution?). After that, we snagged a quick pic with the band.
IMG_5051 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
Shortly thereafter, I spotted Mary Poppins coming out for a photo opp. I may or may not have surprised Ms. Poppins with a selfie. I don't think she was very amused.
Then we all tried to do a group shot with Mary and I got yelled at by a CM for not putting my beer away.
3BC2EF58-EFFC-4FF1-B9A9-CCB19698D1B4 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
...and then this happened.
IMG_5054 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
Was this the beginning of the end? Who can say? But my memory after those Irish car bombs is much, much fuzzier. I do know that we continued on to Canada and I officially completed DATW ... then went right back to Mexico and started all over again. While some folks went over to Soarin', Jenna, Mike Drauer and I hung out in Mexico while I had another margarita and some nachos.
At some point, the rest of the group rejoined us and we rode Three Caballeros.
After that, it was dark and I think a lot of us said our goodbyes. I had a final fast pass for the Epcot Forever viewing area, but Keels talked me into going over to UK again instead. Did we grab drinks on the way? Maybe. Did I definitely have another beer while we waited for the show to start and played games? Definitely.
Anyway, it was a really, really great spot to take photos and - against all odds, given that day's activities - I'm really happy with how some of the photos turned out.
DSC_4807 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
DSC_4815 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
DSC_4822 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
DSC_4834 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
DSC_4835 by
Lee Hermiston, on Flickr
I think Epcot Forever was a perfectly fine placeholder. I'll miss IllumiNations, but who wouldn't? I look forward to seeing/photographing the new show in the future.
After the show, some people were heading to karaoke, but I was pretty wiped, so I called it a night. It was a bummer to say goodbye to everyone.