WDW is a great place to meet friends.
One of the unexpected benefits
of being online, at least for me, has been the chance to meet so many
new friends and acquaintances. Posting on a Disney newsgroup
or message board over time allows for friendships to begin, as people
become familiar with the screen names and find some common ground.
People can meet anywhere online, whether on purpose (via personals)
or by chance. And for those who have gotten to know each other through
some Disney connection, the logical next step is to meet in person
at Walt Disney World or Disneyland.
The most informal type of “meet” is when two or more parties
realize their vacation dates coincide with each other. Agreeing on a date,
time and place to meet in person can be a great deal of fun. Finally putting
a face and voice to that screen name and seeing how reality matches or
differs with what was in your mind is always interesting!
Common sense should tell you that all meets of this nature should be
done in very public places. There’s no need to meet someone in his
or her hotel room, and you should not let this stranger know your room
number until after you have met and are sure there is no reason to be
cautious. Typically, if you know the person fairly well, it could make
sense to meet for a lunch somewhere. For someone you know less well, you
may want to meet in a park at a designated time and place to ride a couple
of attractions together. If things click, you are then free to stay together
longer or make future plans, but if the friendship does not seem to work
as well in person, it’s very easy to go your separate ways.
A more involved type of meet is planning a trip for the sole purpose
of meeting your online friends. I have been involved in several of these
trips, and sometimes they work well and sometimes there are a few bumps
in the road. Although people on message boards might get along great online,
it doesn’t always go as smoothly in person, and all it takes is one
person to upset the balance. But with some planning, the group can work
around that. I was very fortunate: my last trip of this nature (with over
30 women from around the country) had no surprises at all, and everyone
was just as wonderful in person as they are online.
Most of the people at a recent meet, with the cast of the Comedy Warehouse.
When planning such a face-to-face meet, the first questions are usually
when to go and how long to stay. I’ve found long weekends tend
to allow the most people to participate, since it minimizes time off
for working people and minimizes time they need to arrange child care
for stay-at-home moms. I think all of my meets of this nature have been
Thursday until Monday or Tuesday. People who can extend their stay in
effect have two trips in one, with the meet followed by a solo or family
trip. Having the rest of the family join you for a vacation towards
the end of the meet also helps cut down on whining from the spouse and
kids who don’t think it’s fair for anyone to go without them.
The next decision is lodging. I’ve done trips where the entire
group stayed at the same resort, and trips where we’ve been spread
over many different resorts. In November, I booked a grand villa at
Old Key West, and others had at least three more studios there, while
the rest of the group stayed elsewhere. It was kind of nice having neighbors
we knew, but realistically staying at the same resort was not important.
Except for one afternoon we spent in the villa, we really did not spend
that much time at the resort together, and others from the other resorts
simply drove or took Disney transportation to get there.
Since the resorts are so different, I find it’s generally best
for people to stay where they feel most comfortable, considering that
not everyone shares the same budget. One person may be miserable unless
they’re at the Grand Floridian, while for someone else paying for
a room at the All Stars is a struggle.
During all of the meets I’ve attended, most people share a room
with someone else. This helps cut down on the cost and gives you a buddy
to share the downtime with. Some people prefer to not share a room,
and that also works fine. I’ve done it both ways, and the grand
villa was the perfect solution since I had my own bedroom yet had the
company of friends over morning coffee.
For more than two people, sharing a room it becomes rather expensive
unless you are a Disney Vacation Club member. DVC members have access
to beautiful large villas, but they tend to rent for $500 or more per
night (for a 2-bedroom unit), which makes it somewhat expensive if each
person wants their own bed. The Fort Wilderness Cabins are cute, but
really have only two sleeping areas, so unless you want three people
in the bedroom plus another in the living room, those are not the best
option for a group of single adults.
One easy mistake to make is to plan
to spend the entire trip together as a group. Anyone who has
ever traveled with extended family knows what a disaster this can be.
Interests and priorities differ from person to person, and the larger
the group, the harder it is to spend any length of time together –
particularly in the parks. What has worked for us was to identify a
park for the day and meet early to do certain attractions as a group
(things likely to appeal to the most people). Once those are out of
the way, the group can split off into smaller groups as appropriate
to do different things.
One big advantage to this method is that it gives people the chance
to spend time with different people in smaller settings, where they
can get to know each other better than in a big group. Meeting again
later as a bigger group for Illuminations, Fantasmic, Pleasure Island,
mini golf, or any other activity is also a good idea.
Sharing information on who’s planning to do what helps the others
to find you in a park. Last November, it was such fun wandering around
the Food & Wine Festival because we kept running into others from our
group – staying with them for a while until it was time for someone
or a small group to head elsewhere.
A few smaller groups who happened to find themselves in Epcot together
.
Meals provide an excellent chance to regroup. During my first meet,
we went a little overboard planning lunches and dinners each day, which
was way too much food. Not everybody can or wants to eat that much on
a daily basis. However, agreeing on one main meal priority seating during
the day is a great chance for people to get back together, share their
experiences that day, and then after the meal go off with a new group.
Disney will send you to Group Dining if your party is over a certain
size (six or eight), but if you call early enough they should be able
to accommodate you without any problem. We had 32 or 36 for dinner at
the busy Boma recently, and they had a section of the restaurant set
aside for our group. Doing a dinner show such as the Hoop Dee Doo Revue
or seeing Cirque du Soleil is another activity that is fun with a group.
When making plans, ask the group what some of the attractions or activities
are that they always wanted to do but never could for various reasons,
like the children were too small, or the spouse didn’t want to.
One friend of mine always wanted to do the Keys to the Kingdom Tour,
but with two young boys and a husband who wasn’t really interested,
doing it on our meet with a couple of the others was the perfect solution.
Had she gone with her husband, it would have cost a lot more for the
two admissions plus babysitting for the towboats for a good chunk of
the day.
Many of my friends had never been to Pleasure Island, since they are
typically at Walt Disney World with their children, so that was at the
top of their list of things to do. Maybe you’ve always wanted to
try the restaurant in Morocco, but your family members were sure they’ll
hate it – chances are, one of the others at the meet either loves
it or is willing to give it a try.
There are so many things to see and do at Walt Disney World, and being
there with new/different people can open up new opportunities for vacation
fun. In addition, some of your online friends are likely to become real-life
friends, with many future trips together!
