Intros and Excited about Travelling

Hi all,

I've been to Disney World three times and find I still want to go. I'm finally able to travel frequently, and am looking for ways to not only visit WDW but also the other parks, the cruises and more.

Reading some of your posts though, I feel like a real newb. But I am very excited. I've been re-evaluating some of my life goals and discovered that I want to travel as much as possible, and Disney has been one of my favorite places. I feel like doing some strategic planning just to see how much I can fit in.

I might be doing future travelling solo, too. It is so great to hear stories from you all relating how much you like going alone. I'm nervous because I'm a shy person but love the idea.

There's so much I haven't experienced yet and look forward to many more adventures. I hope to get to know some of you, too, and make a few travel pals perhaps.

About me: Turning 35, one son who thinks Disney World is boring. I like the thought of gardening but have a brown thumb. I try anyway. I like TV and video games and shy but friendly and try to keep a positive attitude.

Dirty secret: I have not watched some of the more recent Disney movies and feel a bit behind.

Can't wait to learn a few things to make the most out of the next trip!

Hello PixelHeart, and

I love the Disney Parks. But don't feel bad about being "behind" where movies are concerned. I just watched "Frozen" a few weeks ago for the first time. AND it was the first Disney film I've seen since 2001. Yet I still go to the parks all the time, and love them.

I live ten miles from Disneyland, and have been to WDW seven times. Most of those trips have been solo. In fact, I haven't been to WDW with a travel companion since 2001. My partner has limited interest in Disney, although he did get a SoCal Annual Pass when we moved here last year. I have a Premier Annual Pass, because I still travel to WDW.

To be honest, I LOVE solo travel. I get to do things at my pace, and enjoy it in an entirely different way. These days, I only travel solo to Walt Disney World. I often go to Disneyland on my own, but that's because I can go anytime I want to. You can and should travel solo if and when you can and want to. Don't think of it as traveling by yourself. Think of it as traveling WITH yourself.

While traveling to Disney World is fantastic, I encourage you to branch out and see the rest of the world as well. We've been fortunate enough to have traveled all over the place. I love Disney's World, but I love the real world as well. This year is all about Disney for me. I'm planning my ultimate Disney Bucket List adventure for July (see my signature). Can't wait for that, but there will be plenty of Disney before that for me as well.

Happy travels, and feel free to share your questions on this board. Myself and others will be happy to share our experiences and make suggestions.

Hi! I'm new to DISboards, too. My home park is Disneyland and I visited it for the first time when I was a pre-K tyke, in 1967. Many of the happy memories from childhood for my siblings and I center on our trips to Disneyland. I've only started transitioning to becoming a Disney fan, as opposed to happily attending Disneyland every few years, a couple of years ago. My work exposes me to the worst kind of child abuse and I've found that taking a mental Disney break during the day--even for 5 minutes--is refreshing.

My DH tolerates Disney, but is not a fan. However, because he loves me, for my birthday last year he took me to WDW for the first time. I loved the planning process, which for me involved putting together DisneyBound style outfits for us both, scouring the web page to make ADRs, picking just the right resort, loading our Fastpasses, and more. I lived our WDW vacation for months before we ever arrived. I was surprised, after waiting so many years to finally get to go to WDW that, with the exception of Illuminations and Soarin' Over California, I hated Epcot, just how much I loved the Animal Kingdom, and that I would long so greatly for Disneyland to replicate Hollywood Studios' Osborne Family Lights in some manner and bring back the Country Bear Jamboree.

Afterwards, DH agreed that I could get an Annual Pass to Disneyland, as long as he doesn't have to go with me, so I'm starting to think through my first two visits (which for me are weekend trips) as an AP holder, later this year--coincidentally during the Diamond Celebration. I'm also planning a DCL vacation for us both this fall, to celebrate our anniversary.

I'm looking forward to enjoying Disney on a whole new level, exploring some of the more obscure opportunities and even mashing it up with some of my other interests, such as geocaching. During one evening and another morning on our WDW trip I visited parks while DH worked, I found that pin trading facilitated social interactions while I was solo and made it more fun.

My current Disney Bucket List:

• Chef's Counter at the Napa Rose (Disneyland)
• Walk Where Walt Walked Tour (Disneyland)
• Arusha View Room at the AK Lodge
• Nighttime safari at AK
• Reading some of the classic books upon which favorite movies are based, like Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book.

My Disney shame is that I don't like the Haunted Mansion, Fantasmic or Captain EO. I rely on Disney to help me escape evil, not to creep me out more.

There's nothing like the DISney bug to cure anything that bugs ya.

P.S.S.
I am in the middle of reading a pretty fun book, "Mary Poppins She Wrote." Just an idea....



T.T.F.N.
&
CHEERS Y'ALL

About me, I am a third generation native Floridian, grew up within 30 miles of WDW, been here long before Disney started looking into opening WDW, I have been going to MK since the first year it opened in '71, was a CM in high school doing parades, bought EPCOT AP the first year and went 13 times including being the tour guide for out-of-town family. DW and I became DVC members the first year of opening and have had more than 140 vacations within the past 21 years.
If you plan on going to WDW every year, you might want to do some reading up on DVC. You can get larger accomodations at the deluxe resorts and over the course of time (5 - 7 years) you will be saving monies. Be sure you understand the tems used when reading up on DVC.

Pixelheart, I guarantee that trading pins will be a good ice-breaker if traveling solo; I'm on the introverted side, too. I bought a grab bag on eBay before our WDW trip, purely for the social aspect. I could care less about collecting, except with those pins I purchase on site as mementos.

Thanks for the book tip, knewton64! Fantaluminishes, I'm exhausted just thinking about 6 parks in a day. Do you have a post elsewhere that depicts your strategy? I'm sure it is well-thought out. com_op_2000, did you find that being a CM diminished the magic for you? I suppose your subsequent vacation schedule answers that question itself. It is doubtful I'll be able to visit WDW annually, given that I live on the opposite coast. Alternating WDW and a DCL voyage EOY is more reachable. However, I have looked into renting DVC points in the future. I hope to give the process a test run by renting points to stay at the Grand Californian during one of my trips to Disneyland.

Thanks for saying hi!