Advice for a solo-tripper (sort of)?

RVJarrett

Earning My Ears
Joined
Apr 7, 2018
So, I will be visiting Disneyland from the 31st of October until the 4th of November this year.

I am coming with a friend, who invited her boyfriend after we had booked, and added him onto the hotel, then told me afterwards.

I don't mind at all, but I don't want to be the third-wheel for the entire break (I'm coming from the UK, going to Orlando first to do WDW, then California with my friend and her boyfriend) so I can't change my flights either.

I'm hoping for advice on how easy solo-tripping in DL is? I've been to DL before, but that was maybe 4 years ago, with a group of friends. I'm confident in solo tripping in WDW as I used to live in Orlando - but not so much in DL.

I'm looking for advice on where is good to eat (quick serve or full service), if there's any recommendations on things to do solo, how I would go about looking for other solo-trippers/meet ups, if it would be strange to go to the Halloween party alone - my friend did want to go, but her boyfriend doesn't, and I really want to go.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! :D
 
I'm so sorry for that happening to you. That kind of situation would make me feel the same way.
Really any of the restaurants are solo traveler friendly. Many have smaller tables for two and seeing single folks is very common.
I would take advantage of all the single rider lines!
 
Try posting this in the Disneyland (California) forum. That is the trip planning forum, so you'll get lots of good suggestions and advice there. We have many DISers who make solo trips to DLR and have a wonderful time. They'll have plenty of great tips for you!
 
I'm looking for advice on where is good to eat (quick serve or full service), if there's any recommendations on things to do solo, how I would go about looking for other solo-trippers/meet ups, if it would be strange to go to the Halloween party alone - my friend did want to go, but her boyfriend doesn't, and I really want to go.
It is very easy to visit solo and many times, more fun than with visiting with others. You can dine solo anywhere. You can look at menus on the Disneyland website to see where you'd like to eat. When I am solo, I often walk the entire park and look at all the places to eat and then decide where I want to go. It's very easy to do that when I am alone.

For meeting up with others, you can certainly post a thread in the Disneyland forum here. There is also a Meet up group that regularly visits the park. You can find them on Meetup dot com. Enter Anaheim as your base area and then search Disneyland. Rob is the leader of the group. If you do meet up with them, I suggest going to the initial meeting spot. You can find them later on, but there is a little lag in the meet up posting updates. So, they may say there are at a certain ride, but by the time you get there, they have all moved on to something else.

Nothing strange at all about going to the Halloween party alone. In fact, I encourage it. There are way too many things to do/see during the party. You'll get to do more of what you want by not having to stop and discuss with other people what to do next, etc.
 


I go solo a fair amount, and LOVE it. In fact, I make a point to not plan meet-ups or such. At home, I've got hubby and a teen daughter, with an adult daughter, son-in-law, and 3 grandkids just a few miles away. In other words, I don't generally have much "me" space where I get to decide what I want to do, when I want to do it, and for how long I want to do it. So, my solo trips to DLR are my wonderful me time/space.

There's multiple single rider lines (Indy, Matterhorn, Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, Goofy's Sky School, Grizzly, Racers, and a few others, I think, that I'm blanking on). I do the single rider lines til my heart is content, using MaxPass to visit the other rides that I may want to go on (Big Thunder a million times). I get to choose when and what I eat, which means Dole Whip for a mid-morning snack, pomme frites for lunch at least twice, and the 5-cheese ravioli at least twice... and NO CORNDOGS. Hubs and Teen would eat corndogs every day if I let them, so I love not eating them while at Disneyland! It's also nice to eat waterside at the Blue Bayou solo. It allows for some relaxation and day dreaming while enjoying a delicious meal. The only place I've ever felt "odd" being solo in the parks was on the Storybook Canal Boats. There's families, there's snuggly couples... then there's the random solo lady, haha. But no one has ever said anything, or ever given me reason to feel odd about it! It was totally a "wow, I'm alone here today" kind of feeling on that one ride, at night, during the fireworks. Otherwise, I've never felt out of place. Bonus--SO MUCH EASIER to find a place for a parade when you can say, "Can I sneak in right between you and this other family? It's just me, and I don't take up much space!" and I've never been told no.

As others have mentioned, it's fun to go to the Halloween party on your own, if you are comfortable with it. Again, it ensures that you get to do what you want, and for the price of that little ticket, it's nice to know that your priorities will be completed. And they will shower you with so much candy! For me, it was about getting to experience everything I could without having to move on before I was ready. When the Cadaver Dans were on their raft, I just followed them right along the side of the river for their whole show. I caught the parade twice (first time on accident, second time on purpose). I didn't feel bad about missing Haunted Mansion during the party, because it wasn't on my list of "must-do" items (but totally would have been if Hubby or Teen had been there, meaning an hour long wait). I could just watch and enjoy, which was so much fun!

Reading this, I sound selfish; I promise I'm not. I'm just really good at self-care, especially where my Disneyland habit is concerned, LOL!
 
I am from Ireland and have been doing solo Disneyland visits for the last 8 years as part of a longer California trip. I love being solo in Disneyland, in fact I prefer it to being with friends. The first few times I was in the park I was with friends and honestly I felt very constricted. I am much happier doing my own thing, eating in the restaurants I want, going on the rides I want, sometimes multiple times in a row. I dont do the character meets and rarely watch the parade. I get to the parks early and stay until closing which in June when I go is midnight, so I spend about 14 hours in the parks :) I take a book, and have a chill out time, I people watch, I go for an alcoholic drink in either Californian Adventures or one of the Disney hotels. I can recommend the Disney Special cocktail Glowtini :)

I plan out my day using Google maps and have a written itinerary for each day. I book meals and dining packages. This year in June 2018, in a few weeks :) I have booked the Fantasmic Dining Package at Blue Bayou for one day and lunch at Storytellers Restaurant in Grand Californian Hotel for another day. I have previously done World of Colour Dining Package and Main Street Electric Parade Dining Package.

I dont see being solo as something to hold me back. I sit at 4 top tables if I want to, I book dining packages, I go to shows etc. Some people will try to guilt trip you for taking up space a family could use. To them I say Fridge Upper. I have paid the same as you, so big swing go play in traffic!
 
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