Walt Disney World: It's Not Just for Kids » solo travel

The Top Five Reasons Being a solo adult Disney fan rocks

Hedy — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 00:09:10 +0000

So it’s Valentine’s Day. You’re read the posts on romance in Disney World, and they were great. But, what if you’re like me and have yet to meet that special someone to split DVC payments with and spare you the single supplement on cruises? Well, being single in WDW rocks, and here are the top five reasons why:

1. There’s No One You Need to ask when you want to go to Disney World. Have a sudden urge to hit up the Food and Wine festival? Decided that you can’t wait a year to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter? No need to check with the partner, you can go.

2. It’s easy to get an ADR for one! Let’s say you are like certain people (cough Hedy cough) and screw up an ADR. It’s much easier to slip in an ADR as a single person. Alternately, you could eat at some restaurants at the bar, no ADR required

3. You can do what you want. Want to wear your Mickey ears? Hug Mickey? You can do it when you’re solo, and not have to worry about the ball and chain being embarrassed, or being upset that your current Facebook picture is of you and Prince Charming.

4. You get extra space in your room. If you’re in a hotel room with two beds, and you are alone, the second bed can act as a staging area for your park bags, pins, case of water etc.

5. Single rider lines are your friend. Sure, you may end up sitting with some random family, but the ability to walk onto RocknRoller coaster, Expedition Everest, and Test Track is worth it.

Eating solo at Disney World…

Hedy — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 22:50:02 +0000

“Hello, I have an ADR for 4:50pm, under the name Hedy, party of one.” A solo trip may sound ok to some people, but then they get worried about eating. I think for some people, the idea of eating alone on a solo trip harkens back to memories of desperately looking for a place to sit in the high school cafeteria. As a veteran solo traveler, I’ve eaten solo at Disney World many, many times. It’s not too scary, but there’s definitely a Good, Bad and Ugly to it.

The Good: You can order whatever you want, without worrying about a traveling companion judging you for having popcorn for breakfast or a Dole Whip for lunch. As you have a table to yourself, you can position yourself as you like-so you can see the kitchen, be closer to the hot waitperson, or further away from the screaming baby or adult at the next table. Disney host people have never even blinked while I walk up with an ADR for one. Being solo also enables you to choose you type of dining adventure (sort of)-do you just want to chill with your thoughts of the day, or would you rather Tweet events of your day? Do you want to try to chat with the family next to you, or would you rather review your photos of the day?

The Bad: When eating solo at a counter service restaurant, you don’t have the luxury of sending a traveling partner up ahead while you order to grab a seat or fill your sodas. If you see some Disney big wig, you have no one to squee with you. You have no one to be there with you if the family next to you needs help getting from Kidani to Ft. Wilderness, you have to choice if you want to help other than sounding like an eavesdropper.

The Ugly: If you end up eating at an odd time, you may be the high schooler wandering to ind a table. If you’re in the Magic Kingdom, Main St Bakery has a counter with seats, which may be preferable. Similarly, some table service bars enable an adult to eat alone-the Prime Time Cafe springs to mind.

Disney World Basics: Tipping

Hedy — Mon, 24 May 2010 23:02:39 +0000

This post is a part of the 4th Disney Blog Carnival

To begin with, I should probably confess that I’m a little loose when it comes to tipping. When I lived in Mexico, I tipped my cabbies for over a month until I learned you don’t tip cabbies in Mexico. In my book, tipping is one of those basic pieces of the vacation puzzle-to be planned for, expected and not too small to save a few bucks. While there are plenty of guidlines on what amount and how to tip when on vacation, I thought I’d discuss a few scenarios and my thoughts on them: Please feel free to weight in on this issue!

At the airport: You’re at MCO. You have your carry-on (I wear contacts, so my carry-on is inevitably heavy). The driver puts your carry-on under the bus. You board the Magical Express bus. When you arrive at the resort, and you get your carry-on, I tip $1 per bag to the driver.
The luggage delivery to your room via DME already has your tip included, but what about if you have Bell Services bring one of your carry-ons to your room. A similar scenario I frequently find myself running into is having Bell Services deliver the flat of water I shipped to myself ahead of time. I usually tip $1 per bag once again, but I tip $3 for my flat of water.
Housekeeping (or “Mousekeeping,” if you prefer): Here’s something I’d really like your opinion on, please. I’ve heard the rule of thumb is $1 per night, plus $1 per person per room. It seems reasonable enough, but I wonder if as a solo traveler I am short changing my Mousekeeper by tipping less than she’d get in a fuller room. If you have thoughts on this idea, please leave a comment or Tweet me.
Restaurants: I tip 20% of my bill in table-service restaurants. At buffets, I tip 10%.

Any tipping opportunities I missed? Let me know!

Top five adult, solo, vegetarian friendly counter service restaurants at Walt Disney World

Hedy — Mon, 10 May 2010 11:34:58 +0000

Today’s post is inspired by last week’s WDWRadio show on the top ten counter service restaurants in Walt Disney World. I have my own favorites, all of which are great for adults, solo travelers, and vegetarians. Here are my top five counter-service restaurants at Walt Disney World:

Columbia Harbor House: Located in Liberty Square of the Magic Kingdom, Columbia Harbor House is the most vegetarian-friendly counter service in the Magic Kingdom. My personal favorite is the Lighthouse Sandwich (Hummus with tomato-broccoli slaw); however, the vegetarian offerings also include Vegetarian Chili (contains mushrooms, which I can’t stand), and the Garden Harvest Salad (sans chicken, obviously). My Coke’s are always ice free, per my request. You can get Miss Vickie’s chips, although the last time I was there and on the Disney Dining Plan, I got fries (WDW fries are the best!) instead of a dessert. The one downside is that it can get wicked crowded in there-it does have a upstairs and a downstairs, but during peak eating times, I have had to join others to get a table.
Tofu and Noodle Bowl at Sunshine Seasons, Oct. 2009

Sunshine Seasons: Located in the Land Pavilion at Epcot, Sunshine Seasons is themed after an airport food court (because it’s near Soarin’). I find it to be the best counter service in Epcot for a vegetarian. Its diverse offerings include salads, vegetable sandwich, vegetarian Asian samplers, and soup (the tofu and vegetable noodle bowl is my personal favorite). The also have their drinks bottled, which is great if you are looking to eat and go.
Earl of Sandwich: Located in Downtown Disney, Earl of Sandwich is a mini-chain which is inexpensive, and has really good food, mainly grilled sandwiches (go figure, right). Their vegetarian options include the Caprese (my personal pick!), Veggie, and Grilled Cheese or PBJ from the kids menu. My personal pick for a drink there is a Earl’s Grey Lemonade-their version of an Arnold Palmer. They have awesome cupcake tops as well. As it is a chain, you can get a little Disney hit elsewhere in the country (I’ve been to their place in Las Vegas, and am outraged that the one at Logan Airport is after security in a terminal I don’t use).
Caprese Sandwich at Earl of Sandwich Oct. 2009
Captain Cook’s: Located in the Polynesian, Captain Cook’s Snack Company is a hidden gem of a counter service restaurant. It manages to serve two of the biggest cult favorites in the Disney fan community: Tonga toast and Dole Whips. I’ve had both items here. The tonga toast is the exact same stuff that is served at Kona Cafe. For lunch, the grown-up grilled cheese is very tasty, PLUS you can get a Dole Whip for dessert.
Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory: Located at my beloved POFQ, the reason for this place;s inclusion is simple- not only do they have your standard Disney Counter Service options, but they have the delicious, good anytime of the day beignets.

Universal and WDW: Carless

Hedy — Fri, 07 May 2010 11:56:19 +0000

I can hear you yelling from here: “But Hedy, Universal isn’t Disney! How dare you compare the two!” “Hedy, Disney is magical! Universal is smarmy! They’re different!” And they are different, I’ll grant you that. However, the tomato and mozzarella salad at my Whole Foods is good, as is Bertucci’s tomato and mozzarella salad. I like both, and I compare them (both have nice little balls of mozzarella). Different means different, not incomparable.

Back when I first warmed up to the concept of going to the dark side, I figured that I’d have to wait until I was the age to rent a car sans fee. Truth be told, this is, IMO, a HUGE reason why Walt Disney World is a great destination for either people who don’t drive or that are too young to rent a car-you don’t need a car there. However, a killer Ding! on Southwest led me to take my first trip there at age 24, so I had to figure out how to manage it. Ironically, at age 25 I was carless at Universal again, as rental car was just too darn expensive.

Item the first: Ground transportation:

WDW: As long as you fly into MCO, and are staying on-site at a Disney owned hotel, you can take Magical Express for free.

Universal: You have to arrange, and pay for your own ground transportation. On my first trip, I had paid out the wazoo for my hotel room, so I opted for the Mears Shuttle for MCO to hotel transport It was pretty good-I spent the two nights on either side of my stay at airport hotels, which enabled me to save some money by only using the Mears van. However, I really liked getting a cab to the airport much better than Mears, to be honest. I did get a little pouty on my first Universal trip that I had to PAY! for ground transport. But I got over it.

Item the Second: Interpark transport

Walt Disney World: There’s a reason why the analogy to Disney World being the twice size of Manhattan comes up-Disney’s transportation system is akin to that of a large metropolis. The most common mode of transport is the Disney World buses. Now me, I love the bus. It says home to me. I love driving along from POR or POFQ, hearing the banjo twang out “Cruella DeVille.” Is it crowded? Are the buses sometimes not the one you need? Sure, but the same thing happens in Boston and New York City. Plus, the have ferries and a monorail to liven things up.

Universal Orlando: If DisneyWorld is a city, then Universal Orlando is a seaside resort. To get from the Studios to Islands of Adventure, you walk a short distance. At Royal Pacific and Hard Rock, you can walk to the parks from your hotel. I’ve also taken the boat, which is a nice trek when it’s safe to go out. Also, the Universal hotels have pedi-cabs you can take back to your hotel for the cost of a tip. This enables you to not need a car at Universal, whih is god given that their resorts charge for parking.

Any thoughts on this post? Feel free to leave them!

WDW Not Just for Kids Review: Ridemax

Hedy — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:18:08 +0000

I’ve been somewhat resistant to joining the club of people who use automation park planning sites such as Tour Guide Mike and Touring Plans. I figured that as a solo traveler, optimizing my rides were not a priority. Yes, I know going to the Magic Kingdom on a Saturday in December is a bad idea, but I’m still going to do it.

However, I heard about Ridemax for Disneyland via the Disunplugged podcast. A few of my Team Focker watch peeps on the DIS were trying Ridemax for Walt Disney World over the summer. Their reviews were kind of meh, but being the sort of girl who enjoys to be a horrible warning, I signed up within 30 days of my October 2009 trip (so I could get a refund if need be). I also asked about Ridemax on the Sunshine Rewards Forums. I heard the plans weren’t realistic, and difficult to use if you were with kids (as if a ride is down, you need to reenter the entire plan). As that’s not a concern for me, I gave it a shot.

Truth be told, my thoughts on Ridemax were pretty much over before they began. The crucial thing I wanted to do on my first day was meeting Tinkerbell. Going to Pixie Hollow was not even an option, I had to schedule it as a break. I was also annoyed that their plans did not include a Sunday plan. While I think it’s great that they opt not to work on Sundays, I kind of wish they could hire somebody to go on Sundays.

I gave up on Ridemax by the second day of my trip (a Saturday at Epcot during Food and Wine-I really am incorrigible, aren’t I?). I requested my refund at the end of my trip, which they did easily. However, my Ridemax experience has left me open to the idea of trying other vacation planning software-I’m debating joining Touring Plans, as their Lines app will work on my droid eris.

Have you ever tried Ridemax or another trip planning software? What was your opinion?

Safety at Walt Disney World

Hedy — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:04:48 +0000

This post is a part of the Third Disney Blog Carnival.
I recently listened to WDW Today’s Episode on Safety at Walt Disney World. I highly recommend this episode, it touched upon many topics: the recent bus accidents at Walt Disney World, how the media focuses on sensational stories from theme parks (see the recent Sea World tragedy), and how people do let their guard down at Walt Disney World.

It’s this last topic I’d like to blog about today. While Walt Disney World is the happiest place on Earth, I do think that people do have blinders on at Disney and do stupid stuff they wouldn’t do at other hotels.

One of the big ones for this stupidity is valuables in your on-site hotel room. For me, and many of my ilk, the most expensive item I bring with me on vacation is my laptop. However, in the hotel rooms I’ve stayed at in Disney World, the in room safe is not big enough for my laptop. As such, I’ve heard tell of people leaving their laptops on the desk in their room, or just in a backpack. This is incredibly stupid, and in my book is asking for trouble. I usually lock my laptop up in my suitcase-while not foolproof, it a)creates an environment in which a potential thief must take the time to open the suitcase, taking time, and b) keeps in out of sight for a potential quick grab. As long as we’re talking laptops, Never Ever put your laptop in your checked luggage. I also store my laptop in a locked suitcase if I leave it with Bell Services.

Second bit of common sense people forget when they are in Walt Disney World-if you’re traveling alone, don’t tell everyone! Me? The entire dang Internet knows I’m going solo. As such, I don’t decorate my room, or tell people I’m alone at meets or in the parks (on my first trip, the guy from Bell Services actually asked if I was alone. I commented on it on my comment card, and it hasn’t happened since). Want to meet up with internet peeps? Awesome-just be responsible about it.

Third bit of common sense? Don’t be a fool. Don’t get so smashed drinking around the world you can barely find your way back to your hotel room. Don’t wander around in the dark if you can avoid it. Use good judgment. Image by Free-StockPhotos.com