Solo Tripping to Disney World

In the summer of 2017, I did something completely unheard of for me... I took a solo trip to Walt Disney World. You see... I love just about everything Disney and have since I was the age of 3 (I wore out my Betamax copy of Mary Poppins after watching pretty much daily). And as many Disney World travelers will share, it's a great experience to share with friends, family, loved ones... Everyone really. And at the time I decided to start saving for this trip five years earlier, it was to share with a special person, my boyfriend. It was meant to be a surprise, 5-year anniversary trip and proposal all in one. I had everything planned down to the moment I'd propose. We'd go have a wonderful time at the parks, and him being a huge fan of horror and haunts and scare zones and I would propose in front of the Haunted Mansion, symbolizing the two of us: Me being Disney and him being the Horror man.

As you've probably gathered by the title of this story, this sadly didn't happen. He and I broke up a week shy of our 4-year anniversary. It was heart-breaking at the time as break ups tend to be complete with an onslaught of thoughts: What am I going to do now? How can I be single again? That didn't work out, so will I find a relationship that will? Will I be single for the rest of my life? And of course, what do I do with this trip now?

While break ups are not the funnest or most pleasant things to go through, they offer a wonderful opportunity to grow. For me this break up was about the exercising the most powerful ability we have as humans... The Power of Choice. This trip had been in the works for almost three-and-a-half years with a portion of each bi-weekly paycheck saved or invested in a Gift Card to pay for the trip. Being so close I had a choice to make: Do I cancel my plans and recover the money or do I move forward and continue to take this trip on my own? There were pros and cons weighed in this decision for almost two weeks: If I cancelled the money could go towards some credit cards that needed paying; it was meant to be a couple's trip and all my couple's plans won't make any sense; people will look at me weird because I'm a mid-30's guy with no family or friends traveling on my own. But at the heart of it all, my inner child was saying "Do this... It'll help you heal and you've been working hard to make this trip happen. Your happiness doesn't rely on anyone else."

So I decided I was a YES on going to my first solo trip to Walt Disney World. And the moment I said yes, everything in the trip lined up perfectly. I got elusive FastPasses to rides that would normally require 75 minute waits in line; ate incredible food (I am a foodie... more stories about that to come) all around the parks and resorts; got a free upgrade to my room; and received a gift card from Disney due to my resort being under construction with over $600 to spend due to the inconvenience. And all of this was possible because I said Yes to my own happiness and adventure.

Here I am three years later still saying yes to my own happiness and adventure. This has led me to many wonderful explorations and experiences, both within my city of Columbus as well as the country at large. You may want to try it sometime. What is something you want to say Yes to but your "adult" and "logical" mind wants to step in with a better idea? Try saying Yes to it no matter what it is and see how things fall into place. You may find yourself on a solo trip to Disney World.