Solo... but don't love being alone! Ideas??

[MamaMouse0920]

Help!

I'm traveling to WDW for a work conference (staying at Coronado Springs) in late Feb 2024. My DH will be with me for the first half of my trip, but for the second half he will return home to watch our kids while I stay and finish out the conference solo. In terms of 'needing to fill time', I will have:

-Tuesday from 4pm on (make a dinner ADR somewhere??)
-Wednesday from 12pm on

I'll be visiting the parks with DH while he's with me, not sure if I will splurge and buy more tickets for just me? If not, I'm thinking monorail/resort hopping or visiting Disney Springs.

The catch.... I don't love being alone! I am definitely more of an extrovert and would prefer to be with others, especially out in public. I've never dined alone or been to a movie alone, it's really not my thing. BUT I very rarely get time apart from my two young children so I want to cherish the time & take advantage! Plus, obviously Disney World is my all-time-favorite place on earth.... I'm just usually there with other people

I will take any and all tips/advice/suggestions!!! TIA, DIS fam!

 

[MIGrandma]

If you’ve never dined alone or gone to a movie alone how do you know it’s not your thing?

I have never gone to Disney alone, but have thought about it. I have done mock bookings but just can’t justify the cost. I have done solo trips to my favorite place on earth, Mackinac Island, though. My first one my DH was supposed to go with me but work got in the way. I considered canceling, but then decided to go alone. I was nervous, at first. But I absolutely loved it. Doing whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to, with nobody to be concerned about except for me, myself and I. Since that trip I have done several other solo trips, love them!

 

[Keladry84]

We're kind of exact opposites re-travel solo vs. with others. I spend a lot of time traveling alone. When traveling with others there is a lot of compromise in activities. Going solo you have full control over what you do. Think about: What is the thing or things that you really enjoy that you usually have to compromise on when with others because of their needs or wants? Focus on those when going through the parks. You have a rare opportunity to focus on just you.

If you start to get too antsy without others to talk to or do things with, there's some possibilities:
- look for someone else who is solo. Strike up a conversation. See if they want to team up for a couple of hours. My first trip to Universal someone did just that with me for the evening. It was actually quite fun.
- do character greets.
- you can involve your family through text messages and/or phone calls. You have all been to Disney quite a bit and are familiar with the parks. You could:
--Think about the places you are at or things to do that your kids would say- WOW my Mom is currently doing X!!
--Make a picture scavenger hunt for them. Send pictures of places you have been together on previous trips and have them try to guess where you are.
--Write clues for them to guess where you are or what you are doing.
--Have them guide you to different activities throughout the park. Maybe let them lead you to something that you will bring back for them as a gift, or make a surprise for them based off of the places they led you to.

 

[BostonEd]

Make a friend (or 2 or 3) at the conference and invite them along. (If it were me, I would have a plan already in place. Then it's like "hey, I'm going to XYZ, do you want to join me", instead of "hey wanna hang out somewhere Disney-related I'm not sure where yet" which is not as successful.)

 

[snowwite]

Help!

I'm traveling to WDW for a work conference (staying at Coronado Springs) in late Feb 2024. My DH will be with me for the first half of my trip, but for the second half he will return home to watch our kids while I stay and finish out the conference solo. In terms of 'needing to fill time', I will have:

-Tuesday from 4pm on (make a dinner ADR somewhere??)
-Wednesday from 12pm on

I'll be visiting the parks with DH while he's with me, not sure if I will splurge and buy more tickets for just me? If not, I'm thinking monorail/resort hopping or visiting Disney Springs.

The catch.... I don't love being alone! I am definitely more of an extrovert and would prefer to be with others, especially out in public. I've never dined alone or been to a movie alone, it's really not my thing. BUT I very rarely get time apart from my two young children so I want to cherish the time & take advantage! Plus, obviously Disney World is my all-time-favorite place on earth.... I'm just usually there with other people

I will take any and all tips/advice/suggestions!!! TIA, DIS fam!

I’m going on my own when hubby is away next year. It will be my first time doing parks alone. I’ve gone to camp, bingo, casino and Nashville alone. It was fun once I stopped worrying what anyone else might be thinking. Chances are I am not on their radar and if I am well it’s really unlikely they know me or will ever see me again. I’ve made some friends along the way. The first trip was planned with a friend who never showed up. I got on the bus and shared the extra coffee with my seat mate and we chatted. It was nice. She was an older lady and waited for me to sit together on the return ride. I’ve had another solo Person ask if I wanted to share a table in restaurant. I did but it was awkward so I usually have my kindle or other reading material and enjoy it. I take pics and send to my family. My mom watched my kids when they were young and I took myself to an art house film. Go and enjoy it!

 

[snowwite]

If you’ve never dined alone or gone to a movie alone how do you know it’s not your thing?

I have never gone to Disney alone, but have thought about it. I have done mock bookings but just can’t justify the cost. I have done solo trips to my favorite place on earth, Mackinac Island, though. My first one my DH was supposed to go with me but work got in the way. I considered canceling, but then decided to go alone. I was nervous, at first. But I absolutely loved it. Doing whatever I wanted to, whenever I wanted to, with nobody to be concerned about except for me, myself and I. Since that trip I have done several other solo trips, love them!

I’ve wanted to go there since watching Somewhere in time!

 

[loves to dive]

I'm just the opposite, absolutely have to have alone time, I travel alone since hubby hates to travel. Even at home I have my woman cave (upstairs bonus room) that I retreat to on football Saturdays.

I agree with another poster as far as striking up conversations with other people at the conference. I've done that lots of times and ended up having the best time. One time at a government cost accounting conference (boring I know) I struck up a conversation with a bunch of people and we ended up going to Georgetown to eat and accidently ended up at a gay bar and had a blast.

If you don't want to go to the parks, and I don't blame you for not wanting to spend the money, DS is a good idea. You are staying at a great resort as well. Go to the movie one night. Sit by the fire and make smores. Take your Kindle and go to Three Bridges and have a refreshing adult beverage and some dinner by the water. Join some of your conference mates at the bar on the roof and watch fireworks. Be warned though, it can get cold in Feb. so take cold weather stuff. Hop on a bus to HS and walk over to BW,YC and BC (or take the boat) and explore those resorts, hop into the Dolphin while you are there. Take a bus to MK and do a monorail resort crawl just looking at all those resorts. Take the boat from MK to WL and explore it. Take a bus to AK then a bus to AKL (pain I know) and explore it. All those resorts are beautiful and have loads to explore. There is a big ole fireplace at WL so grab a rocking chair and enjoy it. Just make sure you leave enough time in the evening if you do it at night to catch a bus back to a park to get back to CSR. You could UBER but I'm guessing you wouldn't be comfortable doing that solo.

 

[Miffy]

If your budget can handle the expense, perhaps adding a day or two to your own park ticket would be the way to go. It's great fun to tour the parks alone, and there are always plenty of people to socialize with--briefly--in many different circumstances, like standing in line.

 

[ShannyMcB]

What about a spa appointment at GF? Or if your budget allows a tour! They do offer some shorter ones that might fit your schedule.

 

[fla4fun]

I enjoy spending time alone at home, so I enjoy solo trips to Disney. You have received some good suggestions. I think for your shorter evening, perhaps some resort hopping with a nice dinner would work well, and for your longer afternoon, DS with a nice meal would be pleasant. You would even have time to take in a movie if you wanted to, as well as perhaps pick up an item or two to take home to the kids. A DS afternoon would work well for an outing with your fellow conventioneers as well, as it is simple to arrive, meet, and depart separately if you wish.

Is your conference selling any special admission tickets for conference attendees? Sometimes the conference negotiates for sales of the After 2pm and After 4pm convention tickets to be sold. The conference does not have to be on property for the tickets to be available. It’s simply an add on to the convention contract. If they are, compare those prices to adding days to an existing ticket. They may or may not be available to your group, and they may or may not save you money, but I wanted to be sure you knew to check. I probably wouldn’t go to a park on the short evening, but on the day where you have the entire afternoon free, it’s a good option.