Ever go without the "other half"?

[dis_guy]

I'll be retiring in a few years but sadly my wife will be working for a few years after that.

I've always had the fantasy of just taking off alone to WDW for a solo trip for 4 or 5 days, leaving everyone else at work and school.;)

My wife seems to believe that there are other places to vacation besides Disney, so she'd probably be OK with missing a trip.:sad2:

My question is have you done this and what was your experience like?:)

[suzycute]

Go for it!! I travelled from the UK on my own and left DH at home. I had a great time doing exactly what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. WDW is a great place to travel as a solo - people are very friendly if you want to chat and I never felt lonely. It's a different experience than travelling with a partner or family but equally as special and highly recommended! :thumbsup2

[Racknack]

I'll be retiring in a few years but sadly my wife will be working for a few years after that.

My question is have you done this and what was your experience like?:)

Yes, I have done that several times, staying for a 5 or 6 night stay at WDW. In fact, my most recent five trips to WDW have been solo, and I have stayed at the French Quarter each time. I buy an annual pass, use it in Dec. one year, and again in Nov. the following year. Then I let it expire, and buy a new one for the following Dec. Works for me.

These have all been at holiday time, November or December, and I am planning a sixth solo visit for this December.

I always take my time at the parks, following my self-made itinerary, and making ADRs at my favorite restaurants. I especially enjoy the shows in the parks, but these days I do skip what I call the "jerkey and bumpy" rides. (I'll be 76 when I make this year's trip.) Of course, I still enjoy the "smooth" rides such as Soarin' and Expedition Everest. I plan my itineraries to avoid crowds as much as possible, and never visit a park on the day it has an EMH scheduled.

In short, it's always a great trip and I really enjoy myself.

I'D recommend a solo trip for you, and if you have any specific questions I'll do my best to answer them

:wizard: Karnak

[vegasnative]

Gone several times without "the other half", never been solo well I did for one day but that was not supposed to happen (long story..well not really). Buuut, been plenty of times with a good friend of mine, and planning on going in December again with another friend of mine. "The Other half" is not a Dis nut like me, so he is perfectly fine with me doing this, and I have a good time, so it's a win win situation! :thumbsup2

[webster76]

I was going to go by myself last fall (first time) but a friend from work asked if she could come along... we had a great time doing what we wanted , when we wanted! This fall I'm taking my daughter (19)for a mom /daughter trip. She'll fly in from Tennessee where she will be attending school and I'll fly in from St. Louis. I can't wait to go with her! BUT I had a blast without the family last year. I highly recommend going solo or with another Disney nut!

[Simba's Mom]

I've gone solo lots of times without DH. He goes about every third trip. And he always loves that I have new info for him ("We have to eat at this resturant-it's great!""Try[this new thing]-you'll love it!) He's not as much of a WDW nut as me, and doesn't get nearly as much vacation, so this works out very well for us.

[Shenanigoat]

My DH's thoughts on Disney can best be summed up as- :rolleyes: add in the fact that he hates flying and you can see why I'm heading out for my 3rd solo trip to WDW. My hubby is just more of a home body (I am too but like to travel) so he is much happier staying at home.

Solo trips are great, you will miss your signifigant other, but they're always a phone call away. And it's so nice to do what you want, when you want on vacation! I've usually found that the week flies by and next thing I know he's picking me up at the airport with flowers.:lovestruc

[dis_guy]

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I'll have to give the solo thing a try someday!:)

[beccasmom]

I haven't tried the solo route, but I have gone on Mom/Daughter and Girlfriends Only trips and had a blast! A different perspective is refreshing!

[dburg30]

I've gone without the other half, but have never solo'd. Met a friend of mine there for a 'guys weekend' at Disney

[jpeppers]

I did a few trips without the other half while still married because she refused to fly. I loved the opportunity to just do what I wanted but now that my daughter is 7 (and planning our 4th trip together) I seem to have found a traveling partner. The trips without the other half were awesome!

[disneypolybride2008]

i would go solo too b/c i have lots more vacation than my DH, instead of being lonley around the house why not go to Disney and have fun. Money's not a problem, but my DH's attitude is. How does your other half react to you wanting to do something w/o them? Are they supportive or guilt tripping, excessively over-reacting, freaking out at the thought etc.?

[Simba's Mom]

i would go solo too b/c i have lots more vacation than my DH, instead of being lonley around the house why not go to Disney and have fun. Money's not a problem, but my DH's attitude is. How does your other half react to you wanting to do something w/o them? Are they supportive or guilt tripping, excessively over-reacting, freaking out at the thought etc.?

I feel very fortunate at how supportive DH is. I guess that's because he knows I like to do all the Fantasyland rides, Goofy's Barnstormer, Triceratop Spin in AK, VOTLM in DS, things like that. He encourages me to do all that when I go solo to "get it out of my system" and not embarrass him TOO much when we go together. It only partially works!

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

Half my WDW trips are without my DH......they are very different but just as wonderful. I either go with my DM or other family. Now that we have small kids in the family again DH is very happy to pass on MK trips or come & play golf while we're in the parks.

[fhtpdw20]

Go for it!!! I "ran away from home" in May and had the best time. I did not have to carry everyone's stuff, able to look at the details instead of being fast pass runner and wait at the exit of ride for DH and DS to come out, and eat at odd times where I pleased. They had little interest in the Flower and Garden Show or walking all the trails in Animal Kingdom. I did the Keys to the Kingdom Tour which they would have found a waste of valuable ride time. I would go again in a heartbeat.

[tecomagirl]

I'm doing the solo trip in September, leaving hubby and daughter in Australia for two weeks, going to Graceland first and then 11 days in WDW and I can't wait

[ILoveJack]

I usually leave DH alone at home. He hates flying and I take both girls with me so he thinks that he has the better deal. Usually we get grandma to come too to help with the girls, but this Oct. it will be just me, an 11 yr old, and a 9 yr old. I keep telling him that I will pay for most of the trip, since he has the time off when we are coming, but he would rather stay there by himself without the women folk around.

[Baylie]

My husband and I are going to Disney World in October with our daughter and son-in-law and their children and staying at the Polynesian. Soon after we made those arrangements my husband found out that he has to attend a meeting there in November so we are going back 4 weeks later! He will be in meetings from 9-5 for four days so I will be on my own~ we are staying at the Boardwalk. At first I didn't think I would go because I have never gone anywhere like that by myself but you all sound like you had fun so I am going. Any suggestions for things to do on your own? Thanks!

[macraven]

i never take my other half with me to the motherland.

since he can't take his kayak to disney, he has no interest in going there.....:laughing:




i have been going solo to the motherland the last 7 years.
and i love it....


try a solo trip and see if you enjoy it by yourself.
sometimes you can find others in the dis meet forum making solo trips.
you could possible join in with them for a meal or time in the park if you are unsure of going alone.

[SKWDW]

Going solo is starting to look like an option for me. It's only been a couple of months and I'm itching to get back.

My two main concerns are: 1) Feeling a bit guilty about the $$ spent on me alone away from DH :confused3: and 2) Dining alone for the entire time. :scared:

How was dining alone for those that did it?

[macraven]

Going solo is starting to look like an option for me. It's only been a couple of months and I'm itching to get back.

My two main concerns are: 1) Feeling a bit guilty about the $$ spent on me alone away from DH :confused3: and 2) Dining alone for the entire time. :scared:

How was dining alone for those that did it?

it went ok for me.

i preferred doing table service dining over counter service.
i could take my time when i dined alone at table service.
i would make notes on my park guide map of what i did and keep that to write up my trippie later for when i returned home.

counter service was only icky for me when the lines were crowded.
a few times i had to walk around before i found a table to sit at once i had my food.

i signed up for one of the dis groups that are mainly solos going to the motherland this fall.

that way i will join a few other disers for an evening meal for some of my days there.


i don't have guilt over leaving dh at home.
we do one big trip together each year and one smaller trip not far from home.

the secret to the longevity to my marriage is our time doing solo trips the other is not interested in doing.

[Simba's Mom]

How was dining alone for those that did it?

My reaction to dining alone has changed a lot over my many solo trips. On the first few solos, I stuck with CS. Then I decided I SHOULD be comfortable with TS (after all, other solos were) so I tried it. I just didn't feel comfortable at most places, so I went back to CS. But then I got sick of having no one to find a table (and standing with my tray looking frantically around) or eating at WAY off times so that tables would be available, so I dipped my toe back into the TS world. If I brought my sudoku puzzles, a notebook and pen, or something to read, I found after a while that I really enjoyed solo TS dining. My recommendation is, do what YOU feel comfortable doing, not what everyone else does. I found that lots of it was what I was used to at home. My first few solo trips were when the kids were younger and mealtime at home was busy and noisy. Now that we're empty nesters, I'm used to solo meals at home, since DH travels a lot, so solo dining at the world wasn't much different.

[Kennywife]

I'm going without the hubster to DL in early October with my sis and I feel a little bad about it, but he doesn't care for DL and I looove me some Disneyland! :lovestruc

Leesa (my cousin/sis) wanted to go so I'm taking her on my next writing assignment. I promised to bring hubby back a present. :)

Anna