Oh, how interesting! I hate that they always ask to sit me at the bar, even though I always assume they have been all told they MUST ask all solo diners that, I now know that can't be true if they never have asked you. I know I shouldn't let it bother me, and perhaps they truly want to be helpful in making my dining experience more sociable and therefore more enjoyable, but I can't help but always feel it's at least partly (if not mostly) because they are hoping they don't have to waste a whole table on a solo diner when they could use it for a larger party. So, I don't appreciate being asked because it has the effect of making me feel guilty for wanting to use a whole table on little old me - again, I know I shouldn't be so sensitive and worry about it, but it does make me feel that way. And as you say, you don't need a reservation to sit at bars, so really why would a patron go to the trouble of making a dining reservation 180 days out at a Walt Disney World eatery if they only wanted to sit at the bar? It doesn't seem likely most would. If it was a normal restaurant, I might actually believe they are being considerate by asking me if I want to sit at the bar, but because it's Disney and they want to move everyone along and fit in as much business as possible, I feel it is more likely they are trying to maximize space by shuffling off solo diners to the bar. So to me, I feel it's a rude question to ask a solo diner - if a solo diner wanted to sit at a bar, they would bring it up to the host, the host bringing it up has the unintentional effect of emphasizing that we are just a party of 1. Just my own perspective and I'll admit to being a little weird about it.
And as it turns out, I really would hate to sit at the bar for many reasons, sitting in a communal like place like that for me would be like a nightmare LOL. There's a reason I go on vacation alone, I want the alone time. If that makes me weird or anti-social, so be it, but I really do go on vacation so I can get away from the world and major conversation - to me it is to relax and decompress, so aside from some delightful chit-chat I may have with the servers, I am not looking to "make new friends" necessarily. I say that because just a few days ago at work, a co-worker was talking to me about all my solo-trips and commenting that I must easily make new friends in Disney because it's such a friendly place and how the times they went on vacation alone, they did that. And I'm like, "No, not, really". While I always enjoy all the banter I have with various Disney cast-members, I also appreciate it's brevity. I don't enjoy talking to complete strangers, to be honest, for me it's awkward. There are a few people in my life I would love to go to Disney with if they were able to, and I would jump in a second to plan a trip with them if they could, but I am not just looking to share my vacation or dinner with just anybody, just so I can have some sociable interaction because I don't need social interaction to have a fun time.
People just can't believe I really do enjoy being myself and enjoy my own company, I guess. I'm a perfectly friendly guy in my life, but I do really love my solitude and I am not bored by having no one to talk to. And I understand that there are many other people who can't even imagine going out to eat or a movie alone, let alone a vacation, but I really do love it, it's actually soothing to not have to talk to anyone and just relax and absorb all the Disney magic.
