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[wulfekamp]

I have thought about a solo trip but thought it might feel weird. I'm male and love the magic Kingdom but would avoid it on a solo trip. I think I would feel better at epcot because its more adult. I would feel strange as a single rider at the magic kingdom. I think I could still have a great time dinning and shopping. I wish it wasn't that way. Maybe Disney could have rent a friend for the day.

 

[JimShockz]

I have been to Disney World twice solo and and am a dude in my early '30s. I have had quite a few very enjoyable conversations.

I book alot of dining reservations and almost always click with my waiter or waitress as well as of course the Disney characters.

I shared a "car" seat at the Sci-Fi Dine in at Hollywood Studios with a family and had a great convo with the dad - he even knew someone who worked at the university hospital I work at in NY!

I have even had some quite meaningful conversations at times! There was this one lovely waitress from South Africa at Jiko in Animal Kingdom Lodge who was wonderful to me, as we both talked about losing our moms.

The waiters and waitresses at Victoria and Alberts also have made me feel incredibly welcome and I know some of them on a first name basis, such as Mike.

I had a great convo on one of the boat rides to a resort as well with the driver and one of the passengers. Had a wonderful convo with the bartender at Jiko as well - he was even from Long Island, just like me, and gay, just like me!

Its always nice to run into personable people,for most part we are all there for the same purpose,to relax and have a great time,so its nice when we can meet new people.

-JH

 

[seadd67]

I don't think there is any real intentions to avoid talk with solo guys or guys in general. Men and Women are just more comfortable talking with other Women. I am a solo guy(first time trip),when traveling with my DS he usually off doing his thing and that leaves me by my self a lot. I get small chit chat from both men and women but if you try to carry a conversation on it usually fizzles because there with there family or there group and that leaves you out, but from people watching, i see women get tons of attention!!,weather there with a group or solo from men and women. Most of the time the Women being the ones trying to be talk to actually look like there avoiding any type of interaction with others. I think us guys just have to face the fact that women, weather justify or not will avoid any type of small talk in general. because they want to avoid the creepy guy syndrome.
My thing Is I love to talk to people,men and women. But I know when the person wants to continue or just does not want to talk at all . It would be fun to find a group that you could just meet and enjoy the day at the park or trip as friends with out feeling you have a obligation to carry it further.

 

[DCTooTall]

I've gone solo a few times over the past couple years. In General, I haven't noticed anything in particular either way.

For those that know me, It may surprise them to find out I'm a bit on the shy side.... I don't normally strike up conversations and just enjoy going about my day/trip on my own, so I can't really think of any times that stand out in my mind about great conversations had while waiting in line for something. (I also don't tend to do a lot of Table service, but that's more due to my tendency to just relax and go with the flow rather than avoiding TS meals while solo.) I Have gotten many comments on shirts I tend to wear though.... whether it be a Disney themed shirt, a Random Thundercats shirt i've been known to wear, or any of the other odd Tshirts I've worn while at the parks.

That said, I can think of several great conversations I've had with others when solo. Last year I decided to hit Beirgarten for Dinner. The lady checking me in seemed a bit surprised that I was dining solo, but I had a great conversation with the people at my table. (An older couple and I want to say 2 other couples about my age).

I also had fun joking around at Universal with some people on my raft while riding popeye's Bilge Rafts, to the point that several of us decided to ride it again a couple times.

And of course... the Bar at Tune Inn i've had some nice conversations as well.

Last year at Halloween Horror Nights at Universal, I ended up making friends with and talking to a couple local guys while waiting in the Stay&Scream holding area. We ended up hanging out the rest of the night (as well as with some other friends they met up with).


I don't know if there is anything in general about the lack of random people striking up a conversation with me because i'm a guy... and actually, I tend to write it off more as just being because at 6'6" tall, I tend to tower over a lot of people which can often be more intimidating to them than my male-ness.

 

[NWArGuy]

I don't think most people at DW or other theme parks see singles. Unless you're there by yourself, you just expect everyone there to be with someone or a group. It's weird, but I do feel invisible when I go to a theme park solo, but when I'm there with other people, singles are invisible to me as I concentrate on those with me.

There's another fact of life that the police never have a problem with ticket counter agents remembering single females, but males have a better chance of traveling incognito. People just seem to notice the ladies more.

As far as negative stereotyping, I think I did run into that once at Disneyland. What's funny is that when I'm out hiking or riding my bike where you expect to see single guys, I have quite a few people strike up conversations with me.

 

[DisCopper]

I'm a guy in my 40's. I've never been to Disney on a solo "vacation," but I've been multiple times for work conferences. On all of those, I've traveled alone.

Being a single male wandering around, I'm aware of the stereotype of maniac child molester.... but I don't really find people reacting that way. I generally avoid kids anyway, so it's not like I'm talking to the little girl trying on hats. I'm also not prone to ride It's a Small World, or many of the other "children's" attractions.

I've also noticed that there are a lot of single guys walking around. I know that a lot of people who attend conventions also spend time in the Parks. Once I realized that, I was a lot less self-conscious about being alone.

I have found that I have to strike up the conversation with others in line. Once I do, we can have a decent chat as the line moves. After that, they vanish. Only once have I been invited to tag along with them (that was another single guy who had just been hired at HS & was still into coming to the Parks on his time off).

I also believe that most people are self-absorbed... or at least "family absorbed." They're too concerned with getting their 9 kids onto Dumbo to pay attention to me. If you watch people, you'll see that there isn't a lot of people watching going on. Most people are looking at maps, dealing with kids, or playing on their phone to bother looking at the lone guy walking down Main Street.

The one place where it's easy to strike up a conversation is on the buses. I swear, I'm going to write a book about this phenomena. Married guys on the bus desperately look for another guy to talk to. They're tired of the wife & kids, and want some male companionship to talk about sports, politics, hunting, fishing, or other "guy" stuff. Watch for it: you'll see it happening all the time.

 

[tfc3rid]

If you feel uncomfortable, just think to yourself that you would be in line alone if your SO or wife or partner were at a convention at WDW...

 

[Sleepless Knight]

In my observations, most guests are wrapped up in their own agendas and don't really worry about me one way or another. At WDW, I enjoyed various meet ups on my last visit for Star Wars Weekends 2009 that helped break up whatever monotony there was.

I'm usually pretty quiet, so I agree with previous posters who mentioned something about wearing clothing that identifies you as a fan of something. Just the other week in Disneyland, my Yoda t-shirt led to a fun conversation with Princess Aurora. Likewise my lanyard is split between my favorite films Star Wars and Sleeping Beauty, so that starts conversation as well and used to generate pin trading when I carried traders around with me.

I always make sure I see my favorite characters so a lot of people probably figure I'm holding a place for my family while in line, but when my turn comes it's just me. But by that point, others are getting ready for their own turn. And like a previous poster, I'll offer a tip if I overhear someone in need of one, such as when a show is or whether or not a show is worth doing. A lanyard and/or Disney shirt either gets me mistaken for a CM or identifies me as someone who knows the place well.

 

[bluedevilinaz]

I have done Disneyland solo numerous times (haven't been to WDW since I was 9 haha) and have never really encountered a "bad" experience there. I am just a natural chatterbox though and talk to people just about anywhere. I dunno what it is about me but people sure do like to open up to me. haha. I'm a hefty guy and about 6'2" so I'm not insanely tall but I also usually am smiling whenever I'm at DL. At restaurants they don't even bat an eyelash when you tell them you are solo. I've had some great conversations and met some really interesting people just by talking to people around me in line and have actually made their trip more enjoyable by giving tips on when/how to do things.

I do find that women are actually more prone to chatting for extended periods of time than most men are. Now that I'm married my last few trips have been with my wife and I still talk to people when we're in line. She thinks I'm weird for doing it but she's not normally a very open person with new people. She's almost a polar opposite from me. Who knows why that worked out but it did. confused3 haha.

 

[slickback]

I think being a woman is just gonna get you different reactions from people (only natural) than being a man.

that being said, I wouldn't say wdw is worse for males. I just think some guys expect fun to "happen to" them rather than just "be" fun. my 2 cents