MeridaAnn
Semi-Local Disney & Universal AP Holder
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2015
Question! I have been to Disney World twice before solo but I have NEVER ridden Pirates mainly because I feel weird being solo. This upcoming trip I think I am going to just go for it. I seen the ride on Youtube but want to experience it myself. Do they still give single riders a whole row to themselves or no? Any other solo folks felt weird on this attraction or no?
It's so dark in Pirates that no one can really even see you in line, and they certainly won't care about you being alone! I'm usually seated in a row with two other people, but the benches are roomy enough that I never feel like we're in each others' personal space. (I'm not sure if they're combining groups in rows right now or not, but that's how it's always been in pre-Covid times, at least.)
The only time I had an issue was about 6 years ago at the 24-hour event when they had just done a refurb of PotC and the boats were suddenly getting swamped with water too easily - I was placed in the very front row with two guys who looked like NFL linebackers and the front of the boat came down off the hill so front-heavy that we ended up with a wave of water up over us basically up to my waist and I was soaked for the rest of the night. But they fixed that issue with the boats and I've never gotten splashed like that since then.
Seriously, no one cares that you're solo and there's honestly nothing to feel awkward about. Enjoy riding Pirates - it's great fun! The only rides I haven't ever done solo are Dumbo/Triceratops Spin, but I'm not even a huge fan of those even when I have friends to ride them with, so it's more a matter of me not caring to wait in line for them, not so much an issue of awkwardness.
I don't have any concern with most of the two-person seat rides, either: your seat mate just as well assume that you're also in an odd-numbered party if it occurs to them to think of it at all. It's very normal in every amusement park I've ever been to to not have seats left empty, so other than 7DMT, with its too-small seats squishing you together a bit, I don't see any other issues, and even there, I'm always too focused on trying to fit my legs under the bars to pay any attention to the person next to me.
While I don't ever feel awkward on the rides themselves, I will say my most common discomfort when I'm solo is when I'm stuck in line with an awkward conversation happening behind or in front of me (family arguments, political discussions, etc.), so I always make sure to have earbuds with me so that I can put on some music or an audiobook while waiting in line to block out the other sounds and entertain myself through the wait. (In the early days of Flight of Passage, I would even bring my iPad and watch whole movies when I had to wait for a few hours, but I'm usually fine with just the distractions available on my phone.)