Let's talk about our Disney Trip and Expectations

It has been a while since I have posted anything on this Blog about Vacations and Disney. I actually needed some time to decompress because after our latest trip to Disney World I felt like it was kind of a failure. With the time of a few months though, I think I can speak to some of the great things that happened on the trip and some of the places I made mistakes that allowed me to feel like it wasn't good.

First of all let's talk about expectations. We need to be careful with expectations. I spent so much time planning the trip and learning how things worked that when it didn't go the way I had planned I let that part bother me rather than enjoying all the great parts of what Disney did.

I figure I'll do a few posts talking about the disappointments and the way I should not have let it bother me so much.

First off: Rain!

A lot, and I mean a lot of rain again this trip. I watched a morning newscast on Thursday and the meteorologists said that there had been more rain in Orlando in the past 5 days than they had gotten the rest of the entire month. We were wet a lot, but thinking back now what did it affect?
Except for our planned Epcot World Showcase day the rain mainly happened from noon or 1 till around 4 or 5. A lot longer than you normally expect for those Florida afternoon showers but it was during the time we had slotted for rest. The disappointing part was that because it usually was accompanied with a thunderstorm we could not spend time by the pool. Most afternoons the family slept and rested. Some days I hung out down in the quick service restaurant and read.
The rain actually caused one really good evening. On Monday we had planned to claim a seat in front of the Castle early and wait for the fireworks. With the rain coming in, Mallory decided it wasn't worth sitting and waiting and we should try doing some indoor rides, skipping the fireworks. We went and rode The Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean, then put our ponchos on and hiked over to Tommorowland. In Tomorrowland, with the rain coming down we rode Buzz Lightyear,s Space Ranger Spin, then Space Mountain. After Space Mountain with a bit of drizzle falling (the downpour had stopped) We were trying to decide what to do next when we heard an announcement that Happily Ever After, the nighttime Castle and Fireworks show, would start in 15 minutes. We looked around and realized the park was practically empty, the rain had chased most people away. We walked to the Castle and found it very thinly crowded and ended up watching the fireworks, with our ponchos on, in a light drizzle, closer that we could ever imagine we would see them.  It really was great.

Honestly the rain presented different issues throughout the week but this moment was one we should remember, and with the right mindset could make up for them all.