Have you ever had a "It's a small world" experience at WDW?

[Charleston Zurg]

Way back in 1981 we were checking into the Poly. Indiana University had won the NCAA basketball championship that year so our entire family had our Indiana University t-shirts on. As we were heading to our room a family noticed our shirts and stopped us. They like my parents were from Bloomington and were season tickert holders. They talked for a couple of minutes then went about our way.

When basketball season rolled around my parents went to the home opener and the family that we saw at the Poly had seats three rows behind my parents season tickets.

 

[Mike]

Hi all. I thought I'd revive this thread to see if there are anymore interesting stories to be shared. I enjoy reading these. Thanks!

 

[slp87]

Everytime we go to the World we seem to run into someone we know. Three years ago it was a student from my school. But the coolest experience happened last year. My DD is an only child and always likes to hook up with someone at the pool. Our first day at BWV I looked over and saw this girl that looked really familiar. About that same time my DH comes over and says that girl looks like the one our DD had played with on our trip 2 years before. We go over and talk to the family and sure enough it's them. We're from TX and they're from Penn. We remembered everything about each other and the girls had a great time playing together again. I had taken their picture together in '02 and got another one in '04. They're DVC members like us who typically go the first of March, so maybe we'll see them again in '06.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I'm going to have my 11yo son wear some local baseball team shirts for our trip since they can be conversation starters. One time I met some people who live in a neighboring town because their son had a local youth baseball shirt on.

T&B

 

[Aquagirl]

We were seated with a couple that lived in next town over from us on our cruise.

 

[minmate]

When I went to WDW way back in 7th grade, we ran into someone else from our school there (from North Dakota). This also happened to me in 10th grade. My family went to Hawaii and a fellow classmate ended going AND being in the very same hotel as we were for the first night there! Imagine that, with all the hotels there! AND, it was a boy I had a crush on at the time!

When we were at WDW last year, I seemed to keep running into the same few groups of people. I'd struck up a conversation with one woman and later discovered she was staying at the same hotel. My dh just shook his head when we passed each other and said 'hi' and then it occurred again with another person who'd we keep running into. I don't recall their names or anything now, but he just thinks its so typical of me! (He's much more introverted!)

But by far, the most bizarre "Small World" experience I had occurred just last week. Dh and I currently live in Massachusetts; however, we spent the previous 3 years between California and North Dakota. Before that, we both graduated high school in NY. (on a tangent here -- when I first moved to NY, I went to the same school my dh went to for about 2 months, then we switched schools... when we met nearly 3 years later, we figured we shared a class and didn't even realize it!).... anyway... here we were in Massachusetts at my good friends' house (whom I've known for almost 2 years now) who has family here but spent a few years up in Vermont. I've asked her before about when she met her husband, but I was asking again, this time, what year.... but this time she mentioned the year and that she had been dating this wild guy (and she spoke the guys' name) when she first met her husband. My dh and I were in shock and when she repeated the guys' name... we learned that her ex-boyfriend went to high school with my dh and spent many a weekend partying at his house. I had also gotten to know him through my dh! Here we were, strangers.... in a whole different state and both had encounters with this other person in two other different states! "SMALL WORLD!"

 

[marypops!]

when we went in 2002 we bumped into one of mine and my sisters dinnerlady she came out of te pooh bear shop in M.G.M we didn't notice her until one of my sisters called out "hi mrs bunnion" as if it was a school day we also found out that they went and left the same day as us and i think was on the same plane as us
that was just funny hearing her say hello to her as if we were back home

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

A couple years ago, while waiting in line for the Slush Gusher at BB, I saw a buddy who moved to CA after high school to go to UC Berkley and I went to college at Florida. We hadn't seen each other for over 10 years and he still looked the same. It really is a small world!

 

[puggymom]

Last year at BC, my niece, nephew and I went down to SAB. At one point we went to the hot tub and I hear someone calling my nieces name. A schoolmate of hers was already in the hot tub with her parents.

 

[Scoobmuzic]

We always seem to run into someone we know and we are from the teeny tiny state of RI!
One of the funniest happened when we were at Pleasure Island waiting in line at the comedy warehouse. Here in RI we were both in a band called Scoobie Snax. We are in line, minding our own business when from over near the Adventurers Club we hear " Scooooobyyyy Snaaaaaax" We just looked at each other completely dumbfounded, I said "who could be yelling the name of our band here in FL" and LOUD too! It was the bartender from the last club we had played in RI before our trip and his new wife! They were on thier honeymoon!

 

[Mermaid02]

In October 2003 the first time we had been to WDW... first night.... we got on our first bus and before we sat down a man said, "Hi Chris how ya doin?" to my dh... turns out it was a guy who works for the same company. I couldn't believe it!!

 

[puffinp51]

I love this thread!! We were at the WL in Oct. 2003. As we walked down the hall this family cries out "we're from Olathe, too, what school do you go to" to my DD, 12. She answered them and chatted for a second but you could tell she was puzzled as to how they knew her (so were we). Then we realized she had her school band t-shirt on and they recognized it!! And on our last trip this past Dec. we ran into one of my other DD's classmates at the airport and we were on the same flight back!!

M.K.

 

[MandaPerry]

There has been a couple of times for us all on our last trip Nov-Dec 04

1. We went to MVMCP and had a ps at LTT we got there gave our name and state we live in and waited all of 5 minutes when the waiter called Perry's from Ct we got up and a nother family got up. There was another Perry family (no relation) and they ended up living just a couple of towns from us

2. We knew that my mothers friend was staying at disney the same time we were but so far all atempts to get together had failed We were on oh I can never remember the name but the ride in were you go through space mtn and buzz lightyear when our car left a tunnel I looked back and saw the back of a womens head that I thought was my mothers friend. When we got off the ride I made some excuse to hang around and sure enough it was my mothers friend they were so happy to see eachother

 

[TNAngie]

On our trip last July, I ran into a teacher from the school I used to work for and his wife and three children. I hadn't seen them in years and didn't even know about their third child. We saw each other at Dumbo and then at several other Fantasyland locations. The next day we saw them at Animal Kingdom and on another day we saw them at MK again. We joked that we saw more of them than the family we were traveling with. One time was pretty special, but three times was unbelievable.
-- Angie

 

[MNT568]

Last February we were in line for the safari ride at Ak and a few people in front us was a friend that used to work me. We knew each other would be there at the same time but we never thought we would run into each other.

 

[Mike]

I can't believe it has been 12 years since I started this thread and ten years since the last reply. Where does time go? I'm getting ready for our annual trip in July and would love to read some more of these stories if anyone has any to add.

 

[nilla]

Our daughter was recognized on two separate occasions by people who read my Trip Reports

 

[Oodalally13]

Does it count if I had the opposite? Friend and his family were scheduled to be at Disney same time as my family so we had a "let's see how many times we see each other" contest. We NEVER saw each other! Even when we were in the same parks on the same day or in MK late at night!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

A couple of times...
1) We were in line for Snow White's Scary Adventures, and spotted a woman who housed DW during a college internship years earlier. That woman had become a tour guide and was leading a group form North Carolina on a WDW trip. We wound up having a meal and enjoying a couple rides with her.

2) I saw a colleague from North Carolina at MK one day. He was there with his son, and they ended up tagging along with us for a few attractions. I remember I gave my FP for Space Mountain to his kid so he could go ride it with my children as we chatted.

 

[momof2n2]

Every time except the cruises. It's always a blast.