diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d91d7704eb1..23cc05810eb 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 - [Issue #1321](https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/1321). SingleStatPanel: You can now use template variables in pre & postfix
 - [Issue #599](https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/599).   Graph: Added right y axis label setting and graph support
 - [Issue #1253](https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/1253). Graph & Singlestat: Users can now set decimal precision for legend and tooltips (override auto precision)
+- [Issue #1255](https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/1255). Templating: Dashboard will now wait to load until all template variables that have refresh on load set or are initialized via url to be fully loaded and so all variables are in valid state before panels start issuing metric requests.
 
 **Fixes**
 - [Issue #1298](https://github.com/grafana/grafana/issues/1298). InfluxDB: Fix handling of empty array in templating variable query
diff --git a/pkg/api/dataproxy.go b/pkg/api/dataproxy.go
index 213917ee831..81318cdc536 100644
--- a/pkg/api/dataproxy.go
+++ b/pkg/api/dataproxy.go
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ func NewReverseProxy(ds *m.DataSource, proxyPath string) *httputil.ReverseProxy
 	return &httputil.ReverseProxy{Director: director}
 }
 
-// TODO: need to cache datasources
+//ProxyDataSourceRequest TODO need to cache datasources
 func ProxyDataSourceRequest(c *middleware.Context) {
 	id := c.ParamsInt64(":id")
 	query := m.GetDataSourceByIdQuery{Id: id, OrgId: c.OrgId}
diff --git a/src/app/features/dashboard/dashboardCtrl.js b/src/app/features/dashboard/dashboardCtrl.js
index 9c878a06bac..8430ac18631 100644
--- a/src/app/features/dashboard/dashboardCtrl.js
+++ b/src/app/features/dashboard/dashboardCtrl.js
@@ -31,25 +31,30 @@ function (angular, $, config) {
       $scope.setupDashboard(dashboard);
     };
 
-    $scope.setupDashboard = function(dashboard) {
+    $scope.setupDashboard = function(data) {
       $rootScope.performance.dashboardLoadStart = new Date().getTime();
       $rootScope.performance.panelsInitialized = 0;
       $rootScope.performance.panelsRendered = 0;
 
-      $scope.dashboard = dashboardSrv.create(dashboard.model);
-      $scope.dashboardViewState = dashboardViewStateSrv.create($scope);
-      $scope.dashboardMeta = dashboard.meta;
+      var dashboard = dashboardSrv.create(data.model);
 
       // init services
-      timeSrv.init($scope.dashboard);
-      templateValuesSrv.init($scope.dashboard, $scope.dashboardViewState);
+      timeSrv.init(dashboard);
 
-      dashboardKeybindings.shortcuts($scope);
+      // template values service needs to initialize completely before
+      // the rest of the dashboard can load
+      templateValuesSrv.init(dashboard).then(function() {
+        $scope.dashboard = dashboard;
+        $scope.dashboardViewState = dashboardViewStateSrv.create($scope);
+        $scope.dashboardMeta = data.meta;
 
-      $scope.updateSubmenuVisibility();
-      $scope.setWindowTitleAndTheme();
+        dashboardKeybindings.shortcuts($scope);
 
-      $scope.appEvent("dashboard-loaded", $scope.dashboard);
+        $scope.updateSubmenuVisibility();
+        $scope.setWindowTitleAndTheme();
+
+        $scope.appEvent("dashboard-loaded", $scope.dashboard);
+      });
     };
 
     $scope.updateSubmenuVisibility = function() {
diff --git a/src/app/features/templating/templateValuesSrv.js b/src/app/features/templating/templateValuesSrv.js
index deb1e49ee5d..73bcfb662bd 100644
--- a/src/app/features/templating/templateValuesSrv.js
+++ b/src/app/features/templating/templateValuesSrv.js
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ function (angular, _, kbn) {
 
   var module = angular.module('grafana.services');
 
-  module.service('templateValuesSrv', function($q, $rootScope, datasourceSrv, $routeParams, templateSrv, timeSrv) {
+  module.service('templateValuesSrv', function($q, $rootScope, datasourceSrv, $location, templateSrv, timeSrv) {
     var self = this;
 
     $rootScope.onAppEvent('time-range-changed', function()  {
@@ -18,27 +18,34 @@ function (angular, _, kbn) {
       }
     });
 
-    this.init = function(dashboard, viewstate) {
+    this.init = function(dashboard) {
       this.variables = dashboard.templating.list;
-      this.viewstate = viewstate;
       templateSrv.init(this.variables);
 
+      var queryParams = $location.search();
+      var promises = [];
+
       for (var i = 0; i < this.variables.length; i++) {
         var variable = this.variables[i];
-        var urlValue = viewstate.state['var-' + variable.name];
+        var urlValue = queryParams['var-' + variable.name];
         if (urlValue !== void 0) {
           var option = _.findWhere(variable.options, { text: urlValue });
           option = option || { text: urlValue, value: urlValue };
-          this.setVariableValue(variable, option, true);
+
+          var promise = this.setVariableValue(variable, option, true);
           this.updateAutoInterval(variable);
+
+          promises.push(promise);
         }
         else if (variable.refresh) {
-          this.updateOptions(variable);
+          promises.push(this.updateOptions(variable));
         }
         else if (variable.type === 'interval') {
           this.updateAutoInterval(variable);
         }
       }
+
+      return $q.all(promises);
     };
 
     this.updateAutoInterval = function(variable) {
diff --git a/src/app/partials/submenu.html b/src/app/partials/submenu.html
index 62e1725c7ba..416fb47558b 100644
--- a/src/app/partials/submenu.html
+++ b/src/app/partials/submenu.html
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 
 		<ul class="tight-form-list" ng-if="dashboard.templating.list.length > 0">
 			<li class="tight-form-item">
-				<strong>Variables:</strong>
+				<strong>VARIABLES:</strong>
 			</li>
 			<li ng-repeat-start="variable in variables" class="tight-form-item template-param-name">
 				<span class="template-variable ">
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@
 
 		<ul class="tight-form-list" ng-if="dashboard.annotations.list.length > 0">
 			<li class="tight-form-item">
-				<strong>Annotations:</strong>
+				<strong>ANNOTATIONS:</strong>
 			</li>
 			<li ng-repeat="annotation in dashboard.annotations.list" class="tight-form-item annotation-segment" ng-class="{'annotation-disabled': !annotation.enable}">
 				<a ng-click="disableAnnotation(annotation)">