That's the first time we had to wear a poncho in Disney! A Mar./April '11 TR DONE 9/5

[Angies1274]

Hi Sarah! I'm here!!

Can't wait to read all about your trip!!

 

[lovegrumpy]

Subing!!!!

 

[Cat0727]

I'm here!

 

[PirateKate]

Joining in. Can't wait to hear about your trip.

 

[Jazzabelle508]

I'm in Sorry to hear that you had soooo much rain! It is not fun to try and walk around when it rains like that. My last trip we dealt with some pretty cold nights. Most of the time it was in the 60's and 70's during the day so it was defintely warmer than at home. At night it was on average in the 50's. Our last day there it was in the 40's our last night so we were freezing while waiting for illuminations . Glad to see your trip was fun despite the rain though, No type of weather will stop you when your at Disney!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Am I first? I'm here!

Yes you are first Tracy!! If only I had a prize for you. hehe Welcome!!

I'm here too!!!!!!

Can't wait to hear what you thought of the horrible weather

Hey Megan!

Ugh, the weather was miserable those 2 days but like I heard one lady telling her daughter, everyone there was in the same boat. And atleast we got to do everything we wanted.

Well I was there and I know what you mean, RAIN and more RAIN.

Hi there! I could not believe how much rain there was. So depressing.

I'm here.

Carey

Welcome Carey!

Haha, no way can I be first. You're just way too popular

I'm wondering if you took rain pictures! I wonder if it got so bad that it did that like, semi-flooding in the streets. That gets to be really uncomfortable! Too bad Disney really can't control the weather!

Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of rain pictures. I didn't want to risk my camera dying because it got drenched if I took it out for 2 seconds. I do have a couple though.

I'm here, can't wait to read about your trip!

Yay, welcome!

I'm here!

I loved the pics on facebook so I can't wait to hear you stories!


yay for first page!

Hi Caitlin! Glad you liked the facebook pics. It was fun sharing those when we were there.

I'm in and looking forward to hearing all about your trip

Welcome Dawn!

Can't wait to read all about your trip!

Welcome aboard!

My family & I were there for the record rain as well.

We spent Monday, the first day of torrential rain, at AK. We did everything, including EE twice, & had a great time. The second day of even worse torrential rain, we were at Hollywood Studios. Did everything we wanted & thoroughly enjoyed that park.

The last 2 days of our vacation were absolutely perfect, both weather-wise & fun-wise!

Linda

So glad to hear you had a great time even though there was so much rain. We kept saying how AK would be the worst park to be in for the rain but it sounds like you managed all right. Our last day was perfect too, except for the fact that it was our last day. haha

I'm along for ride! I usually lurk but just letting you know I'm looking forward to reading your report!

Yay! Glad you came out of lurkdom to post. Welcome!

joining in

Thanks for joining in.

I am in...

Woo hoo, more readers.

We were there the 29th-1st. The 30th was ok, until late afternoon. The next day, well, we just can't talk about it. It's too painful. (seriously--we went to DHS for about 4 hours because the weather guy said it would clear up around 1, so we left at noon--my shoes were sopping wet as soon as I got off the bus, and I have a beautiful blister on my right foot, just below my toes).

haha, that must've been the same day when we called our dad, aka our weatherman while we were in the parks and couldn't check the radar and he said we'd probably have rain for an hour or so. That was a good one.

 

[wdwgirl03]

I'm here!!

Hey girl!

Awesome! We were there the same time and at OKW too! I thought for sure one day we were going to get struck by lightning.

Oh, nice! Where was your room at OKW? We were luckily right across from the Hospitality House. Maybe we crossed paths and didn't even know it.

I'm here Sarah! Sorry about all the rain, that stinks

Welcome! It did stink but atleast for us it wasn't our first trip and we know we're going back so it's all good.

I'm here

I feel your pain about the rain! We were there during TS Fay....5 straight days of rain and clouds....it's just wrong isn't it?

Looking forward to hearing all about it and I can't wait to see your pics around OKW!!

UGGGGH, 5 straight days, I can't even imagine! Two days was enough for me! It is so wrong to go on vacation and have bad weather.

We were also there March 27 - April 2nd.
And that rain was indeed miserable! On Monday we were at Animal Kingdom, and got thoroughly soaked. But we did get to do everything we wanted.
For Thursday's monsoon we were at Epcot. I took video of Future World around 9:30 a.m., and besides us I think there were maybe six other people in the 360 degree pan.
But Friday and Saturday were tremendous!
And the crowds were completely manageable all week.
I'm looking forward to hearing about your experiences.

We were at Epcot on Thursday too. We actually took the monorail from the TTC to Epcot after our breakfast at Chef Mickey's so we got to the park around 9:30. Doing the circle tour on the monorail, you could see the park was DEAD.

And I definitely agree about the crowds.

Hi Sarah! I'm here!!

Can't wait to read all about your trip!!

Hey Angie, welcome again!

Subing!!!!

Woo hoo, thanks for joining in the fun.

I'm here!

Welcome!

Joining in. Can't wait to hear about your trip.

Can't wait to share our experiences, rain and all!

I'm in Sorry to hear that you had soooo much rain! It is not fun to try and walk around when it rains like that. My last trip we dealt with some pretty cold nights. Most of the time it was in the 60's and 70's during the day so it was defintely warmer than at home. At night it was on average in the 50's. Our last day there it was in the 40's our last night so we were freezing while waiting for illuminations . Glad to see your trip was fun despite the rain though, No type of weather will stop you when your at Disney!

Ohhhh, when we were there in '08 it was probably in the 30s. We had to wear our mittens and hooded sweatshirts/jackets! I am not kidding, it was colder there than it was home in Wisconsin.

 

[Vwdiva93]

Joining in! I know those 2 days of rain were pretty rough. We definitely made the best of them though too and did everything we wanted to do!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Joining in! I know those 2 days of rain were pretty rough. We definitely made the best of them though too and did everything we wanted to do!

It definitely was crazy and unlike anything I've ever seen in WDW. Glad you guys made the best of it too.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Well I'm amazed I have over 500 views and only a handful of comments! Thanks to everyone so far who's replied...anybody else out there? haha You know you want to join in!

Anyway, let's do some quick cast introductions before we get this show on the road.

The Cast

Me, Sarah: 26 year old Disney lover. I currently work as an educational assistant at the elementary level. My Disney favorites include Tinkerbell, Mickey Mouse, Soarin, and the Polynesian.

My sister Claire: 23 years old, almost 24. Also went to school for elementary education. She also sometimes frequents the boards (her name is *DisneyDreamer). She can tell you her Disney favorites.

And even though he didn't go with us, our dad was kind of a part of this trip. After all, he is the one who owns the DVC points and lets us use them, haha. He also served as our own personal weatherman when we were in the parks. Let's just say we called home a lot to get the forecasts.

I think that's all you need to know...so, off we go!!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Saturday, March 26, 2011...Disney World, here we come!!!

After months of counting down the days, our trip had finally arrived! Normally, that means getting up super early for 7:30 am flights out of Milwaukee. This time, however, our flight wasn't until mid-afternoon so even though it's always exciting getting up before the sun rises (no really, it is!) it was nice to sleep in on a Saturday morning. After all, we'd be getting up early all week!

When I woke up, I looked out my window and was a little confused when I saw this:

Isn't it lovely lake effect snow?! Gotta love Wisconsin, where snow is a possibility until April. I have to admit that I was a little worried at that point since it was coming down pretty hard for a while. But then I realized it wasn't really that bad and was sure we'd be fine (for the record, we experienced no travel delays ).

Dad and I made a quick stop at the bank so I could pick up some cash for the trip. We came home for a little bit before deciding that since we were just sitting around we might as well go to the airport. So we left maybe around 11:15 or 11:30. Fortunately for us it doesn't take too long to get to the airport.

When we got there, Dad dropped us off so we could go in and check our luggage. He would then meet us before we went through security. As we were going up to the counter, I noticed the family in front of us had Magical Express tags on their suitcases which made me kind of excited. I tried to hurry my sister along before they left just so I could try to catch a glimpse of where they were staying (Caribbean Beach, BTW ). Yeah, I know I'm a little crazy but it's fun looking for those yellow tags. Please tell me I'm not the only one who plays that game.

Since it was just us and that other family at the counter, it didn't take long at all to check our luggage and drop them off. So we headed upstairs to wait for Dad since he wanted to make sure we got through security (mostly so he could tell our mom me made it through OK).

Once he made it up, we said our good-byes. And even though he had just gotten back from WDW a week earlier, he was still kind of jealous and wished he was going with us. Doesn't that always happen! We got through security without a problem--it only took us a couple minutes, even with the complete body scan (I had completely forgotten about that so it was kind of weird...but atleast I didn't get patted down like the guy in front of me did!).

Then it was off to our gate! And we only had two hours to kill before we boarded. Oh well. In the mean time we split a sandwich for lunch and tried to keep ourselves entertained by doing Sudoku and crossword puzzles.

Finally it was time to board. We were flying Southwest, so if you've ever taken them before you know they have their strange boarding system. We had checked in early the day before so our boarding position was pretty good. As we were waiting to board, I heard someone say hi to me. I realized it was one of the kiddos from school! HAHA! It was funny because once we were on the plane I saw him again so I started asking him where he was going. His grandma then said something to him like, "So you did see someone from school!" I guess he told her how I was his teacher's helper. Can't wait to hear what he has to say about his trip!

Anyway, I'll fast forward a couple hours now. Our flight was pretty uneventful and we made it safely to Orlando. WOO HOO! I always love getting off the plane and stepping into the terminal knowing the trip is just beginning. And this time we had SIX FULL DAYS OF DISNEY FUN to look forward to!

up next: Our traditional arrival meal and all aboard Disney's Magical Express!

 

[MelMel11]

Count me in!! Cant wait to hear more!!

 

[onejellyshelly]

I am in!!!!! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[RachelNinja]

I like waking up early on the day we leave for Florida too. That's mainly because we usually drive, so I actually WANT to be tired so I can sleep for a bit once in the car! Too bad I can't really sleep for longer than an hour at a time anymore. It's just too uncomfortable. I miss the days of being really small and being able to curl into a very comfortable position.

Haha, how great that you saw a student! I was afraid to see students right and left when we were in the parks. I ended up not seeing anyone, which I'm grateful for because how do I say to parents, "Oh this is so-and-so" when introducing Howard without using his real name?!? The kids still don't know his real name, and I'd like to keep it that way. It's more fun! Of course, that'll change when we get married next May, haha.

I love the beginnings of trips!

 

[Jazzabelle508]

I also love getting to Disney early, on our last trip we made it to Disney really early and we had practically a whole extra day. And even though I don't look for magical express tags we do play the "who is going to Disney" game. It really is soooooooo much fun and is a easy way to pass the time. I can't wait to hear about what you guys do for your traditional first day. For us we always visit Epcot and tour the world showcase and watch illuminations. This year since we had a lot of time we decided to do Disney Studios first and then go to Epcot for illuminations later. I enjoyed the switch-up alot.

 

[Queenofallthings]

I love having the early morning flight too but I find leaving late morning or early afternoon is ok too!! I love arrival day!!!

 

[bellebookworm9]

I'll take your word that it's exciting getting up before the sun rises-guess I'll find out for myself in 6 months and 3 days!

Ugh. Lake effect snow. Enough said.

No, you aren't the only one who plays the Magical Express tag game.

How was the body scan thing? I think Buffalo has them, and I'm a little nervous!

I have a love-hate relationship with the Southwest boarding system. I realized for the October trip that I'll have to get up super early the day before we fly to check us in.

Do I sense some Chick-Fil-A coming up?

 

[Jazzabelle508]

I like waking up early on the day we leave for Florida too. That's mainly because we usually drive, so I actually WANT to be tired so I can sleep for a bit once in the car! Too bad I can't really sleep for longer than an hour at a time anymore. It's just too uncomfortable....


I love the beginnings of trips!

I'm glad i'm not the only one who has a hard time sleeping in cars. My entire family thinks i'm crazy for that reason. and aren't beginings of trips the best? I love the first day when you step off the plane. Everything about florida just makes me happy. I love the smell of the air, the sunshine, the good looking grass and nature, passing through the archway and screaming with joy that you are actually in Disney. I could go on and on. If it weren't so far away from home I would permanently live down there. I always wish I could freeze on that first couple of days of a vacation. I feel super relazed and happy now just thinking about a trip.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Yucky snow but at least you left it behind! When we left it was 75 degrees but when we came back it was in the 30s ugh! Yummy Chick Fil A yum yum yum!!!

 

[Jazzabelle508]

I love arrival day!!!

me 2! I just realized as i was replying to Rachelninja that the feeling of just arriving in Disney is one of my happy places thatI can go to if i'm feeling stressed or upset or anything like that. I love florida sooooo much! Everything about that first day (except for the traveling part) is so magical for me.