Friends seeking travel friends thread!

[Ingrid G]

Thank you. I have been kinda down thinking I am alone in a lot of this now and have no idea what to do with myself. But this thread raised my spirits when I found it this morning. If I can, I would join you guys in July. That sounds like fun and I can do just about anything I want right now. It's going to be hot and crowded, but I'm game. I'm having a situation with my house rental, so hopefully all will be settled by then. I need to read through this entire thread to see where you are all staying in July. How to meet up would be the question. Are you driving or flying? Driving is not bad, but flying there is easy if you get a decent rate.

One of my good friends lives in Rome, Ga. He owns a large gym there - Velocity. He goes to Orlando a lot by himself and is encouraging me to.

 

[bamacmac]

Thank you. I have been kinda down thinking I am alone in a lot of this now and have no idea what to do with myself. But this thread raised my spirits when I found it this morning. If I can, I would join you guys in July. That sounds like fun and I can do just about anything I want right now. It's going to be hot and crowded, but I'm game. I'm having a situation with my house rental, so hopefully all will be settled by then. I need to read through this entire thread to see where you are all staying in July. How to meet up would be the question. Are you driving or flying? Driving is not bad, but flying there is easy if you get a decent rate.

One of my good friends lives in Rome, Ga. He owns a large gym there - Velocity. He goes to Orlando a lot by himself and is encouraging me to.

Totally understand. I have felt the same way these last few months. My ex got me into WDW, but thanks to these boards I quickly discovered I had developed my own passion for it apart from him. Now I'm ready to make it my own thing!

I am going to be in Orlando for a week. I drive down on July 18th and am staying off property near downtown disney that night. On Sunday I check-in at Caribbean Beach for 3 nights. Then I check out Wednesday and will go back to the hotel near downtown disney. I plan to do some park stuff the next couple of days and some Orlando stuff too, including checking out some apartments and areas I might want to live. On Friday I am driving down to Bradenton for the weekend to visit a friend before heading home that Sunday.

Right now I'm meeting up with one woman on here during the day at Epcot for some rides and then another woman that night for dinner. I'm all for meeting up with people for a few rides or a meal. But to be honest I'm hoping to do a fair amount of this trip solo so I can see what that is really like. (I am pretty independent most of the time). I want to get a feel for what it might be like to be a local if I do move there. This trip is really my decision making trip for if I am going to move there. Plus I have traveled a good bit solo over the years and I like to be on my own a lot of the time. I've been planning this one for months and I kinda have a set idea how I want a lot of it to go. Does that make sense? But like I said it would be great to meet up for a meal or a few rides sometime. I bought an annual pass as well so I could be very flexible with my park days. (I am going again in December and February). I'm planning a relaxed evening at Epcot that Sunday night. Monday is an Epcot day for me. Tuesday will be MK. Wednesday will be a pool morning before checkout with an evening at MK. Thursday morning Orlando Eye and Madame Tussaud's before I start exploring. Thursday night I have some fast passes at DHS. I have a few Friday morning for AK but I might be volunteering at give kids the world that day.

Daisy on here has several meals and fun experiences booked that she has been offering to add anyone to. Might want to check with her on her exact trip dates. I'm not sure where she is staying. She's the one I am meeting for dinner on Monday.

That's basically my game plan!

 

[Ingrid G]

That sounds great and I understand wanting to do things mostly alone. Hope you find the answers you need while scoping things out for a place to live.

I have never done anything alone, do this is my chance when I start. I think Disney is the place to begin for me. I also have a six flags annual membership as of today. So I can start with that too.

 

[DaisyDuck001]

Thank you. I have been kinda down thinking I am alone in a lot of this now and have no idea what to do with myself. But this thread raised my spirits when I found it this morning. If I can, I would join you guys in July.

Hi Ingrid, I'd be glad to meet up for a few meals and activities. My recommendation is to meet someone first before you plan to spend your entire vacation with them, to see first how well you get along in person. On my solo trips I usually meet up with a variety of people for different meals/activities.

I'll be at WDW July 11-21, and already busy some of the time with various people, but if you'd like to meet up, here are some examples of things where I'm looking for company:

July 13: Sci Fi Dine In lunch
July 16: Boathouse lunch - reservation is for four people, so you could join catmom46 and me;
Garden Grill dinner
July 17: Boma dinner; then Yehaa Bob show
July 18: Artist Point dinner; then EMH at MK
July 20: Kona Café lunch

If any of this sounds like something you may like to do, you're welcome to send me a PM. It would be nice to meet you.

 

[bamacmac]

That sounds great and I understand wanting to do things mostly alone. Hope you find the answers you need while scoping things out for a place to live.

I have never done anything alone, do this is my chance when I start. I think Disney is the place to begin for me. I also have a six flags annual membership as of today. So I can start with that too.

Thank you!! I do hope I find those answers too. It's been kind of up in the air for several months and I need to make a decision. Good for you for diving in. Sounds like a great place for you to begin since it is so familiar to you. I haven't been to Six Flags in forever! Probably 10 years or so at least. How fun! Great way to get started.

Please let me know if you do book a WDW trip. I do have a reservation for The Boathouse my first night there (the 18th) if you (or anyone else reading this!) wanted to join.

 

[spiceycat]

It looks like you will have plenty of company in July - when I am moving in - if you are looking for some place close to WDW that is inexpensive but still close - then go look in Davenport - it is exit 62 on I4 (I think) they are lots of CM who live there. I did not like Davenport because it does the lack of lakes. but it is closer to WDW than lots of Osceola or Orange County. Kissimmee or Orlando. Silly I know but must be close to either a lake or forest - and got both in Tavares.

hopefully by next month - I will be there as a Florida resident!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

It looks like you will have plenty of company in July - when I am moving in - if you are looking for some place close to WDW that is inexpensive but still close - then go look in Davenport - it is exit 62 on I4 (I think) they are lots of CM who live there. I did not like Davenport because it does the lack of lakes. but it is closer to WDW than lots of Osceola or Orange County. Kissimmee or Orlando. Silly I know but must be close to either a lake or forest - and got both in Tavares.

hopefully by next month - I will be there as a Florida resident!

Please keep me posted when you find out your arrival date. Hopefully you'll be there in time that we can meet up.

 

[bamacmac]

It looks like you will have plenty of company in July - when I am moving in - if you are looking for some place close to WDW that is inexpensive but still close - then go look in Davenport - it is exit 62 on I4 (I think) they are lots of CM who live there. I did not like Davenport because it does the lack of lakes. but it is closer to WDW than lots of Osceola or Orange County. Kissimmee or Orlando. Silly I know but must be close to either a lake or forest - and got both in Tavares.

hopefully by next month - I will be there as a Florida resident!

Very cool! I did talk to someone who lives in Davenport, and I think that would be too far from WDW for me! At first at least. I may change my mind after actually driving around and exploring, which is the real purpose of the trip anyway, but in my mind I want to be literally minutes from the gate. I have a dog that is very used to spending a lot of time with me, so I want to be able to have lots of park time and also easily be able to go back and check on her, let her out, etc. She's been going to work with me her entire life, so this is already going to be a big adjustment for her since I likely won't have a job again where I can take her with me.

Best of luck with getting down there as soon as you can!

 

[Angeejoe]

Very cool! I did talk to someone who lives in Davenport, and I think that would be too far from WDW for me! At first at least. I may change my mind after actually driving around and exploring, which is the real purpose of the trip anyway, but in my mind I want to be literally minutes from the gate. I have a dog that is very used to spending a lot of time with me, so I want to be able to have lots of park time and also easily be able to go back and check on her, let her out, etc. She's been going to work with me her entire life, so this is already going to be a big adjustment for her since I likely won't have a job again where I can take her with me.

Best of luck with getting down there as soon as you can!

How cool that you could take your dog to work!

 

[bamacmac]

How cool that you could take your dog to work!

Yes it has been a huge blessing! I am a nanny and have been with the same family for 7 years. I got her right before I met them so she was itty bitty and I was working 12 hour days with 4 kids (one being a newborn), so in the beginning, she had to go with me. So it was a part of the deal. Unfortunately they got a new lab puppy at Christmas and she hasn't been able to go with me as much, or sometimes only for partial days. The lab puppy is super sweet, but so much energy and doesn't realize she's huge compared to my 20 lb mini schnauzer. So she easily gets too rough with her and my dog doesn't like it at that point. But I try to take her still some of the time and hope that the puppy will chill out before too long.

 

[spiceycat]

the closer to WDW the more expensive - there was a fairly cheap apartment fairly close to WDW - but when asked about it got told it was a dump.
ask questions here - they are very friendly
http://www.city-data.com/forum/orlando/

while I will live to far from WDW - Clermont (Lake County) and Davenport (Polk County) - are located on the far end of US 192 where it hits US 27. some of these are closer than Kissimmee. they would be 15 to 30 minutes depending upon traffic.

 

[LK4Bama]

I will also be visiting for a couple days in July. If anyone would like to meet up for dinner, I have a 9:20 pm reservation for Ohana on 7/20 and a 11:45 am reservation for 1900 PF and would enjoy the company!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

I will also be visiting for a couple days in July. If anyone would like to meet up for dinner, I have a 9:20 pm reservation for Ohana on 7/20 and a 11:45 am reservation for 1900 PF and would enjoy the company!

Hi, are you available any other days besides 7/20? I have space in some of my dining reservations if you may like to join one of my meals on 7/18 or 7/19. If you're busy with other plans, I understand.

 

[catmom46]

I will also be visiting for a couple days in July. If anyone would like to meet up for dinner, I have a 9:20 pm reservation for Ohana on 7/20 and a 11:45 am reservation for 1900 PF and would enjoy the company!

Welcome to our "friendly" thread LK! We seem to be picking up some steam lately, which is great. I wish I could join you for one of your meals, but the 20th is our next to last day and I'll be having breakfast at Grand Floridian Cafe and dinner at Narcoossee's.

What are your plans for the rest of the day? bamacmac and I are meeting up in Epcot to go on a few rides in the early afternoon, if you're interested.

 

[bamacmac]

I will also be visiting for a couple days in July. If anyone would like to meet up for dinner, I have a 9:20 pm reservation for Ohana on 7/20 and a 11:45 am reservation for 1900 PF and would enjoy the company!

Welcome! That's my full Epcot day, but thanks for the offer!

 

[spiceycat]

going to move in July - but if I can get my pass before your trip would love to come. (depending upon the work being done at home)

 

[DaisyDuck001]

My trip starts in just two weeks! Wow!

 

[catmom46]

Mine starts in 9 days! Arriving in Orlando July 6, then moving to WDW July 10. Although my vacation technically starts July 3, since we get that day off from work, which means 24 days total of no work - woohoo!!

 

[FosterLovesMickey]

Looks like fun! I have a solo trip planned for this year (Sept)… but, hope to maybe go back next year sometimes without the family … maybe I can find someone, here, traveling at the same time I decide to go

A bit about you:

Name: Michelle

Location: SC

What is your travel style (slow, moderate, fast paced): With my family, it is usually more fast paced - but, I'm thinking that I might like to be more moderately paced without them

What are you trip finances like (budget, moderate, luxury): I typically do value or mods, if I'm splitting with others wouldn't mind trying the deluxe! (same)

Planned or laid back trip: I'm a planner, by nature … but, I'm also flexible!!

Morning or night person: I can do both!

Favorite parks: Magic Kingdom, with Epcot second (mostly for the food!)

Are you a leader or a follower (i.e. okay with someone else planning and you just tag along or vice verse): Hmm… I tend to be a leader, as I'm not accustomed to traveling with someone else that is also a leader. I'd like to think, however, that I could be flexible in that regard!

Rate these in importance (1 most important, 6 least important); Rides, food, tours, character experiences, shopping, down time:

1. Rides
2. Food

Honestly - the rest are probably tied for me …

What time of year do you most like to travel: I do Jan / Feb with my family … I have a solo trip planned for the fall (and have done fall before with a friend)… Mostly anytime not the dead of summer

 

[JDNewYork]

New to the forums!! This is my first post! ! joined because I saw this group! I will be travelling solo to the parks in early September...would be fun to maybe meet up with some new people and enjoy Disney together for a day or so. If anyone is thinking to travel around the same time then please do reply!!!