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

[Mike]

CamColt

The families mentioned in the original post are from Tewksbury, MA. I live about 1/2 mile from the Billerica line!

I just sent you a PM

 

[mickeysaver]

We live in the fastest growing county in GA and it's the second largest in land area. I work in a pediatric office, so it seems everywhere I go, I see someone that I know. I have run into patients on dang near every vacation that I have taken as an adult. We ran into one family at a Cracker Barrel in Manchester, TN on our way home from visiting with friends....that was about the most bizarre occurance. Then at WDW in March, 2001, I ran into some folks I knew from working primary care years ago. And most recently, I ran into a family that I knew was going to be at WDW when we were there. We all were at ASMu and in the Jazz buildings! We ran into them in the parks only once at MGM. It's definately a small world. Mickey

 

[Alice28]

This hasn't happened to me, but to my husband, twice. The first time he was in jr. high (lived in CA at the time) and he and his family went to WDW....his junior high principal and her family were there too, and they ran into wach other at the Crystal Palace.

When we were there a month ago, Bob ran into a fellow Nat'l Guard Member at the Contemporary. While it is likely to run into military folk at the CR right now, it isn't likely that it would be someone from your unit from Oregon!!!

It IS a Small World.

I have run into friends and coworkers at DL, but that was a little more likely at the time since we all lived in CA.

 

[gschmerl]

While walking through one of the shops in MGM last summer I ran into a woman who used to be in one of my exercise classes.

 

[DebbieB]

Last December, my Mom and I were having breakfast at Spoodles on a Saturday morning and as we were leaving I heard my name. I turned around and it was a computer tech from my office! Neither of us knew the other was going to be there (we work on different floors) but he said someone had told him we always go in December and he wanted to catch up with me at work to ask about it but never did. Turned out we both were staying at Boardwalk. We both left Pittsburgh the morning before but on different flights. It was wild that we both were having breakfast at Spoodles and got up to leave at the same time! A little while later I went to the lobby to get our Candlelight Processional tickets and ran into him again! Didn't see him after that, I think he went home on Monday and we stayed until Friday.

Another time we were waiting for Fantasmic to start and I saw a person walking in the row behind me with a Pittsburgh Marathon 5K shirt. Before I could say anything another person in that row asked if they were from Pittsburgh. Turned out all 3 families sitting there all lived within a few miles!

 

[TLinden16]

I had a couple of "small world" expriences at Disney World. One time, I was walking into MGM, and I ran into the mayor of my city. He knows my cousin, so he always calls me cousin, so I'm walking down the street, and I hear, "Hey, cousin."

Another time, I was eating breakfast by myself at the Coronado Springs (my friend I was travelling with was a late sleeper). I'm sitting there, eating and reading, and I hear someone say, "Karen?" I look up, and I see my ex-boss sitting at the table across from me. I hadn't seen him in a few years, and I kept on running into him the rest of the trip.

On another trip, I went to Blizzard Beach, and got in line to go on the raft ride. I wound up riding with this really nice couple from Pennsylvania. A couple of hours later, I go to get in line for the family raft ride again, and who is waiting in line in front of me but the same couple. How weird is that? So we ended up being a party of three.

Karen

 

[Memph1s]

Last Summer we were taking a break in the AP lounge at EPCOT and our next door neighbor from home walked up and said Hi! what are you guys doing here?

 

[stormi65]

We were at Typhoon Lagoon and my daughter recognized a classmate from her school while she was swimming in the wavepool. Also when we were at the Orlando airport, in line to board I spotted someone from my church!

 

[emmagata]

I ran into my cousin and his family in MGM. Funny thing is I haven't seen them in about 15 years.

 

[ilovefh]

We've been many times and are only from a city with about 17,000. Both my parents are teachers at the middle school and our family name is really well known around town. I couldnt even list the # of times we saw families we know or even people with Laconia Bike Week shirts on!

But one that happened to me that I thought was funny........I was checking people in at CRT and a man came up and said "We have a PS for 6 people under Patoine" and as I was looking for it he said, "There is it, Tim Patoine" So I had to ask, "Are you fron Concord NH?" "Yes" "Are you a DJ?" "Yes" Turns out he was the DJ that did every single one of my high school dances! What a small world!

 

[donac]

When we were there a couple of years ago on our first Sunday morning I ran into one of my student and her family at mass at the Poly. We saw them a couple more times during the week.

The weird event took place after we got home. On our last day in the MK we went to Pinnochio House for lunch and got a window seat to wave at the boats from IASW. My sons and two neices were at the window waving while we got food and while we ate. About 2 weeks after we go home I ran into my son's preschool teacher. She told me it was so nice to see the boys waving while she and her daughter were on IASW. We never saw them but they saw us.

 

[BethC1952]

Another experience, not quite the same...

On our first trip to WDW, way back in 1978, my son was three years old. We had a wonderful trip, even though we stayed off-site and spent only one day at MK (there wasn't anything else back then!).

When we got home, we got our 20 rolls of film developed and were showing them to my son. He said "Look, Mom, I didn't know Grandma came with us!". There, sitting right behind him at Pinocchio House, is a woman who could be my mother-in-law's double. We showed the picture to all of the family, and some of my sisters- and brothers- in-law thought it WAS their mother!

I still have the picture.

Beth

 

[KathyK]

On our trip last November, we ran into friends of my ILs walking through Epcot. My ILs were on the trip with us, but not with us at that moment. We later saw this family again at Fantasmic - sitting right behind us. My ILs got to see and talk to their friends from home. It was so strange that we ran into them twice!

 

[Redmic]

Coming out of Blizzard Beach one day we were stopped by an employee conducting a survey. The first thing he asked for was our zip code, and we found out he was from our home town (a small town in Maine). Go figure.

 

[SC Minnie]

We were at WDW two weeks ago and ran into DD's girl scout leader twice- once at AK and once at EPCOT. We knew they were going to be at WDW but did not know which parks on what days. Also the same day at AK I ran into a guy I went to hight school with. He lives in the same town I do (not where we went to school) but I very rarely see him around here!

 

[cfbarker]

While my 3 1/2 year old son and I were sitting in the Land waiting for DH to bring us our lunch, these two little boys run up to our table and were giggling and talking to my son. I wasn't sure where they came from, so I asked them where their parents were. When I turned to find the parents, a lady at a table behind asked, " Are you from Lafayette?" I was a bit surprised, but said,"yes". She said, "My boys recognized your little boy, Nicholas. They played at Chick-Fil-A together last week."

My mother had brought Nick to eat and play. The boys recognized his curly hair.

It really IS a small world after all!!!

Christine

 

[MycatlovesEeyore]

My DW is a Worker's Comp Auditor. Back in 1998, we were visiting World Showcase in EPCOT. As we walked around, DW was approached by a man who began talking to her. As it turns out he was a client of hers from her job. We were totally shocked that we would run into someone we knew from our hometown that far from home.

P.S. We tried to get DW's boss to pay for the trip as she was technically meeting with clients but he just did not seem to care!!

 

[JetMom]

On our last trip in '98 we were watching the gorillas at AK, when i literally bumped into someone. When I looked up to apologize I realized that the woman I had collided with was someone I know from church. Our oldest sons played soccer together and were in the same swimming class.

Two days later we ran into the same family on Main Street.

On the same trip we were chatting with a family at Sea World who had 3 girls that were around the same age as our 3 boys. The next day, they were seated behind us at the Barney show at US.

It's a Small World after all!!!

 

[KickTheSky]

I got two of them from my last visit, which was about four weeks ago...

The first one was at Disney MGM Studios in line for Rock -n- Roller Coaster I overheard a dad telling his son about the Les Paul guitar on display there and who Les Paul is (he is the inventor of the electric guitar) so I butted in and said, "Les Paul was born and raised in my hometown", to whit he said "you must be from Waukesha, WI, so are we!" I ended up talking with them through the entire line there, bumped into them several more times during the day and then he gave me a spare fastlane to Tower of Terror when we met again in front of the ride and I noted that the fast pass machines were closed.

The second one involves someone I that I think actually posts on these boards but I am not sure. I wont mention names, however, we have friends that are really big into Disney. They bought into the DVC and go at least once a year. Anyways we are going to Magic Kingdom and at the transportation center they have all of these stones with people's names on them and the date they visited and bought said stone. These stones are at the transportation center and also in front of the park itself. I would estimate there are at least 100,000 of these things if not way more than that.

Well anyways we are going in the transportation center and my mother in law says to me, "Do you think your friends have one of these stones?" Honest to god, I looked down and right there in front of me is their stone!!! It took every once of self control to casually look at her, point at the stone and say, "Why yes, it is that one right there."

Cheers,

Bob Hansen

 

[shafke]

Happened twice...

1st time about six years ago. We were in the preshow for Honey I Shrunk the Audience and out of nowhere my DW heres her name called out. It turn out to be a friend that moved down to Fl a couple of years before and now works for Disney in Make up.

2nd time was last year. I joked with DW on the plane on the way down to Disney that we would run in to this person again. After eating lunch at the restaraunt at the entrance to tommorowland we ran in to the same person. We bumped in to her again a couple of day later in AK where they were doing a shoot.