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[lenny l]

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[GaRain]

I am glad you had a good trip and came to love DAK!
Mealtimes are always an issue when traveling solo. I have yet to schedule a table service meal for myself on one of my solo trips. But I have found myself grabbing something to eat at a quick service and often joining a table that has some seats open.
I had a lovely discussion with a mother and her daughter while enjoying some fish and chips at Epcot. I got to share a lot of my Disney knowledge with them and had a nice conversation while enjoying my meal.
Perhaps on your next trip, you can find out what other Dissers are going during the same time and arrange a table service meal meet! This would alleviate your conversation needs and solo table dining at the same time.

Too bad there are not ways to share dining reservations through Disney or something to that effect.

 

[nurse.darcy]

Glad you had a good time. I love AK. It is my fave park. I enjoy it so much because I DON'T ever commando and I do like wandering all the paths. Its such a relaxing place to visit. When going solo for a meal, I usually go to restaurants with bars so that I can sit at the bar and eat my meal while conversing with other bar patrons or the bartender. Makes the meal time pass faster and I find I enjoy my food better.

 

[DisneylandForever]

But, apart from enjoying the parks solo, I did have one major problem that I never anticipated; mealtimes. Because I eat out on my own all the time at home without any problem I never even considered it, but I soon came to realise that theres a HUGE difference between eating on your own a couple of times a week, to two or three times a day. The novelty soon wore off, and even taking a book as I usually do didn't alleviate it much.

I agree with a lot of your post!

JERRY: One-Q? Whose apartment is that?

ELAINE: That's the janitor closet, across the street.

JERRY: You're pretending to live in a janitor's closet, just to get this flounder?

ELAINE: It's better than eating it alone in the restaurant, like some loser!



I always think of that episode when I have to eat alone. I go to the movies alone all the time, but I am not a fan of eating alone!

I also think that AK is a well-themed park . But I also think it's extremely boring, so I skip it entirely when I go solo.

And, I agree that solo trips are better relatively short. But given your location, you're right. Can't really just pop on down for the weekend!

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Great post! I have traveled a bit as a solo also I know what you mean. Even an independent soul like myself can only handle 5-6 days. However, I still cannot embrace AK as much as you. Perhaps I need to truly stroll about there...

 

[Donald is #1]

Interesting observations! I do tend to do 10 day or more solo vacations so I am used to the time of them. I found your comments on dining very interesting because while I don't have the issue at WDW, I definitely notice it on my non-Disney vacations. I don't like to sit at the bar, so I normally sit at a table by myself. I try to always have something to read. But on my non-Disney vacations (like my one next month), eating dinner out alone every night does get to me some times.

 

[daisax]

I'm not a big breakfast eater, so for me it's just two meals a day. I don't mind eating at a Table Service restaurant, but there's only so much counter service I can do in one week. Some nights I just pick up food at the faster food option and take it to the room for a late dinner, watching tv.

On my last trip I caught an awful cold and spent a day at Downtown Disney -- I got a late start and that was the first bus, then I went into a couple of stores and felt really tired, so I went to the movies! Then I came out and looked at the Princess Diana dress exhibit, hit another couple of stores, grabbed a sandwich from the Earl of Sandwich to take back to the hotel, and that was my day! Since I was alone, I didn't feel the need to drag myself to a park, once I reminded myself that it was a vacation and I wasn't obliged to spend it any particular way. Got back to the room, put my feet up, enjoyed the sandwich, and went to bed early. A nice change from commando touring!

 

[Goofyish]

It will be my first solo trip this September and I'm also going for 14 nights.

I'm staying on site at POR with the free counter service DP so I've only booked four table meals (OOP) and two of those are buffets so at least I will be up and down from the table. I'm also used to dining alone on business trips back home so it will be interesting to see it feels different in WDW.

Planning to spend more time relaxing round the resort pool and in the POR lounge, so hopefully will be able to talk to someone in there
Also have a meet organised with some other UK DISers going at the same time.

Your comment about "stopping to smell the roses" is an interesting one. I guess when non-solo you have the distraction of your family so probably don't notice a lot of things like the fantastic attention to detail that Disney excels at.

 

[Loftus]

Very interesting post, thanks for that.

I am also making my first solo trip, and my first Disney trip, in September. I am deliberately only going for 8 nights because I thought that was enough by myself. I'm going to be interested to see what mealtimes are going to be like. I have a table service meal booked for most days and I'm convincing myself it will all be okay - only time will tell.

 

[daisax]

Table service isn't a big deal -- people are talking to the people they're with, or gazing at the decor (or their plates). Bring a book, or get your notebook out and take notes, fill out postcards, look at park brochures, etc. while waiting for the food to come. (Discreetly, of course!)

I save my room/decor gazing for when I'm actually eating. If you're near a window, problem solved. Even if you're not, there's probably still a lot to look at, or if there isn't, just look at your food!

Because you won't be chatting, you'll probably not take as long as when you dine with somebody else, so it's not a neverending trial even if you do decide you don't care for it.

 

[LaLalovesWDW]

Great post and good to see your candid view of it all. I will be doing my first solo trip next week and I agree that going too long can probably wear out its welcome. I am going for 6 days and have activities booked on just about every day, so I hope that helps break up my days a bit. Im not the biggest fan of solo dining, but somehow I think at Disney, it will be a little more comfortable than I anticipate. Im looking forward to "strolling" and meeting new people and seeing Disney from an adult's eye...

 

[WittyreaderLI]

As someone who did a solo trip last November, I had similiar mealtime issues. I live alone here as well, and am used to dining alone but dining in the parks alone is an entirely different matter. I also forgot a book for a few meals, and ater eating at Boma, I finished EXTREMELY quickly since I had nothing to read and no one to talk to. I felt kind of sad.

 

[kidsister]

Post divorce, I find myself enjoying lots of things alone , but dining out isn't usually one of them. I think of dining out as a social event and not just sustenance. When I'm at Disney, if I don't have cyberfriends who are visiting at the same time, I tend to eat-in, at the pool, or a quick at a counter service.

Next trip to Disney I hope you can find some Disney peeps (check here or on DVCnewsdotcom where there is a calendar to post upcoming trips so that members can meet up) who are visiting at the same time. I've hosted at least 3 meetups (from 10 to 30 people) and we've become fast friends who now schedule Disney trips at the same time deliberately!