A trip report and photo highlight of my latest trip to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando from March 7-12, 2009.

Last week I had the opportunity of visiting Central Florida during the off-season and early Spring season.  We were very fortunate with the weather as each day saw high temperatures in the low 80's with not a cloud in the sky until the last day.  In other words, it was nearly perfect.  Shorts could easily be worn in the day and at night, and it was easy to dry out in the sun after getting soaked on a water ride.

The reason for such consistently nice weather was a region of high pressure that was sitting right over the middle of the state.  The descending air prevented the development of any major clouds and it also kept an approaching cold front at bay.  This didn't help the dry fire conditions throughout the state and the wildfires in nearby Titusville, FL (home to the Kennedy Space Center), but for vacationers, it was outstanding.  The flowers and plants were in full bloom and looked excellent with their brilliant color displays.

In addition to the outstanding weather and Spring-like conditions with the plants and flowers, the parks felt like they were nearly empty at times.  It was a night and day difference with the crowds and wait times between the New Year's Eve trip and this early March visit.  My last true off-season visit to WDW was many years ago back when I was in elementary school and my parents got to pull my brother and I out of class to go on a week long vacation (my classmates hated me for that :) ), and I had forgotten about just how nice it was in the parks at those slower times of the year.  Otherwise, all of my other visits from high school to college to beyond all took place either during Spring Break, the summer, or between Christmas and New Years.  In other words, along with everybody else in the country.

NOTE - This trip report consists of ninety-five (95) photo highlights showing off the latest construction projects, attraction highlights, and the general feeling of being in the Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando theme parks from March 7-12, 2009.  All of the thumbnail pictures open to larger sizes.  The horizontal pictures are 1600x1200 resolution, and the vertical pictures are 960x1280; large enough to fit most monitors and to give you a good view of the subjects in the photos.  The table of contents for this trip report uses the following abbreviations:  DAK (Disney's Animal Kingdom), DS (Disney's Hollywood Studios), EP (Epcot), MK (Magic Kingdom), IOA (Islands of Adventure) and USF (Universal Studios Florida).