I have to say I find this forum very interesting. I'm 46 years old & male, planning a solo visit to DLR mid-May 2013. I live on the east coast and am flying out to California to see the Tour of California bicycle race. However, I love Disneyland and will have enough time to spend 1 or hopefully 2 days at the parks. I've read other threads about going solo and take great comfort I'm not the only out there contemplating this. In fact, I did a solo vist in 2007 when I was at a nearby convention in Anaheim.
I guess I'm a little "gorked out" because of the perception of a single middle aged male wandering around DL and CA. I had a decent time on my last visit but did have this feeling I was being monitored by Disneyland Security. Maybe I'm just paranoid. But when I sat down on a bench near the Matterhorn to rest my feet I very polite young lady (CM) quickly sat down next to me and queried whether she could ask me some questions for a park survey she was conducting. She did have a nametag and a clipboard with some paper on it. The questions appeared to be routine marketing questions for a theme park, but they also felt a little like a mild interrogation. E.g., how long staying with us, why are you visiting, have you been here before, etc. I answered all her questions and she left cheerfully but the whole interaction just seemed a little odd. I guess what really left me unsettled was the really subtle manner she approached me. It was very discrete and low key. The next closest experience I had like this was on a NYC subway platform shortly after 9/11. I was escorting my wife home after she had a procedure done with a radioactive isoptope. In the same subtle and discrete way a plainclothes NYPD officer came, seemingly out of nowhere, and started gently interrogating my wife about whether she had and sort of medical procedure done that day. Apparently she had set off some sort of radiation detector and the police were all over it. So, to be blunt, when a solo middle-aged dude walks through the Disneyland gates am I setting off some sort of weirdo detector?
I know Disney has great security and surveillance and as a parent I applaud this. However, I'm going to have a hard time really enjoining the experience if I'm worried I have a plainclothes security official on my tail the whole time.
I guess I'm looking for some indulgence. Am I just paranoid? Should I even care?
By the way, I love Disneyland. I made my first trip there in 1972 with my beloved grandparents. I took my kids there 3 times when they were little (they're teenagers now). My wife isn't much of a Disney fan. Thus, when I have some "me" time in California I would just love to hit Disneyland so I can enjoy the experience and relive some really awesome memories.
Thanks for listening!
I guess I'm a little "gorked out" because of the perception of a single middle aged male wandering around DL and CA. I had a decent time on my last visit but did have this feeling I was being monitored by Disneyland Security. Maybe I'm just paranoid. But when I sat down on a bench near the Matterhorn to rest my feet I very polite young lady (CM) quickly sat down next to me and queried whether she could ask me some questions for a park survey she was conducting. She did have a nametag and a clipboard with some paper on it. The questions appeared to be routine marketing questions for a theme park, but they also felt a little like a mild interrogation. E.g., how long staying with us, why are you visiting, have you been here before, etc. I answered all her questions and she left cheerfully but the whole interaction just seemed a little odd. I guess what really left me unsettled was the really subtle manner she approached me. It was very discrete and low key. The next closest experience I had like this was on a NYC subway platform shortly after 9/11. I was escorting my wife home after she had a procedure done with a radioactive isoptope. In the same subtle and discrete way a plainclothes NYPD officer came, seemingly out of nowhere, and started gently interrogating my wife about whether she had and sort of medical procedure done that day. Apparently she had set off some sort of radiation detector and the police were all over it. So, to be blunt, when a solo middle-aged dude walks through the Disneyland gates am I setting off some sort of weirdo detector?
I know Disney has great security and surveillance and as a parent I applaud this. However, I'm going to have a hard time really enjoining the experience if I'm worried I have a plainclothes security official on my tail the whole time.
I guess I'm looking for some indulgence. Am I just paranoid? Should I even care?
By the way, I love Disneyland. I made my first trip there in 1972 with my beloved grandparents. I took my kids there 3 times when they were little (they're teenagers now). My wife isn't much of a Disney fan. Thus, when I have some "me" time in California I would just love to hit Disneyland so I can enjoy the experience and relive some really awesome memories.
Thanks for listening!
I guess the parks are just being cautious towards the other children and there are some paranoid parents out there so I guess you can't blame them. I actually joined this discussion website to see about maybe making friends and eventually making trips to WDW or DL with them because my hubby isn't too big of a fan. You should look up a website called group meet (I believe that's what it's called) but basically strangers join this group in visiting the parks so that they can enjoy something they have in common and last time I looked they had a lot of events for this Easter weekend! Hopefully it works out, good luck 
