Palo - Dining Alone

[TiggerBouncy]

No, I have never seen this. However, one of the saddest things I ever saw at Disney, imho, was a grown man dining alone at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort at WDW. It kind of creeped my kids out.

MUN

I have never eaten at chef mickey's alone, but I have eaten at Garden Grill and Crystal Palace by myself when I was in my late 30's. To be clear, I was not staring at your child (or you for that matter). I was enjoying Disney World and experiencing things I either had not experienced before or were long time memories.

And I do apologize if I sound rude, but I don't need you to feel sorry for me either. I always welcome a friendly conversation - especially from a fellow Disney enthusiast, but I was quite comfortable doing my own thing, too.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Please don't let an anonymous person on the internet, especially one who often posts in a way to rile people up, stop you from enjoying a trip to WDW.

You are a marvelous person. And absolutely correct.

 

[pgsle]

Why is that creepy? His family might have been off enjoying other things and he just wanted a meal. Or he could have been a blogger or reviewer or something like that.

I had breakfast at Chef Mickey's once by myself. Took a picture with Mickey. Hope I didn't creep anyone out!

 

[Dug720]

Please don't let an anonymous person on the internet, especially one who often posts in a way to rile people up, stop you from enjoying a trip to WDW.

Exactly! The vast majority of people are super chill - or flat-out don't even worry about - the people traveling solo. I've never had anyone comment to me about it being "creepy".

IMHO people who are going to think that - and admit it - are saying a lot more about themselves than they are about the people traveling solo.

 

[lucas]

To be honest, when dh and I dined at Palo, I felt a little uncomfortable with the 2 of us dining there! The waiter just hovered and talked to us a little too much. So, no. For me, I would not dine at Palo alone.

 

[Dug720]

To be honest, when dh and I dined at Palo, I felt a little uncomfortable with the 2 of us dining there! The waiter just hovered and talked to us a little too much. So, no. For me, I would not dine at Palo alone.

They are very receptive to a simple, polite request to be left alone.

 

[Snowwhyt]

Has anyone ever dined at Palo alone? If so, is it uncomfortable?

I see that you have your answer tenfold. I just wanted to offer an alternative to dining alone. If you can start chatting with your fellow cruisers perhaps during the "meet and greet" or if you go to one of the mixology or specialty beverage tasting with the group that has signed up to travel on your same cruise, You will also meet several individuals who are traveling alone or with their kids and would love to have some adult company to join you. Palo was happy to add one more person to my table when I had planned to dine alone.

Are you in contact with the group you will be traveling with? It's so nice to see if you familiar faces down the hall.

 

[lucas]

They are very receptive to a simple, polite request to be left alone.

I would feel even more uncomfortable asking that.

 

[Dug720]

I would feel even more uncomfortable asking that.

They are extremely receptive. A simple "Thank you. We're fine." will suffice.

If you're not proactive about stopping something that makes you uncomfortable, then continuing to feel that way or not doing something again as a result is all on you.

 

[lucas]

They are extremely receptive. A simple "Thank you. We're fine." will suffice.

If you're not proactive about stopping something that makes you uncomfortable, then continuing to feel that way or not doing something again as a result is all on you.

Um, ok.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I see that you have your answer tenfold. I just wanted to offer an alternative to dining alone. If you can start chatting with your fellow cruisers perhaps during the "meet and greet" or if you go to one of the mixology or specialty beverage tasting with the group that has signed up to travel on your same cruise, You will also meet several individuals who are traveling alone or with their kids and would love to have some adult company to join you. Palo was happy to add one more person to my table when I had planned to dine alone.

Are you in contact with the group you will be traveling with? It's so nice to see if you familiar faces down the hall.

'
So I will add a comment to this suggestion. On our first cruise, DW and I had not been able to get into Palo. Our table mates were WONDERFUL people who we absolutely enjoyed eating with. We talked about Palo, and they went up there and asked if they could change their reservation of 2 to one of 4 and Palo was more than happy to accommodate - so we were able to make it a group dinner instead.

That's IF you are interested in eating with others. Again, nothing wrong with dining solo either.

 

[scothen]

Thanks, again, everybody. I appreciate all of your input.

 

[AquaDame]

I had breakfast at Chef Mickey's once by myself. Took a picture with Mickey. Hope I didn't creep anyone out!

This is just one of those things people have different opinions about. You may have creeped someone out, but its just projection. They can't imagine anyone eating alone for a normal reason because they wouldn't chose to. The fact is there are a number of perfectly benign reasonable cases where people would, could, and should. I'm well aware that people may have 'felt sorry' for me when I went to Ohana's alone a few years ago but my husband didn't have the vacation time to stay a week like i did - he went home after a long weekend and I continued to enjoy myself. I lead a blessed life and don't need anyone's pity for being alone in WDW for a few days!

That said, unfortunately in some cases MUN and others may be right and that solo person could have some issues and there is no way for us or anyone to know. You either lose sleep over the maybe or don't.

 

[lorenni]

No, I have never seen this. However, one of the saddest things I ever saw at Disney, imho, was a grown man dining alone at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort at WDW. It kind of creeped my kids out.

MUN

I fail to understand why anyone of any gender eating alone would "creep" your kids out. It sounds like you are perpetuating stereotypes or making judgments about that person's reasons for eating alone. Are you similarly creeped out by adults standing in line without kids to meet characters? THAT seems far more questionable to me that having a meal.

 

[Neptune's Fork]

No, I have never seen this. However, one of the saddest things I ever saw at Disney, imho, was a grown man dining alone at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort at WDW. It kind of creeped my kids out.

MUN

I think being creeped out is a rather judgmental position to take. Sure it's possible that you could encounter a disturbed individual that could pose harm to others, and that unfortunately is the world we live in. But it could also be a terrific person trying to have a great time, and for whatever reason they are alone, you don't know. They could have just lost a spouse, could be as others have said, that their family had other commitments and couldn't be there, or could be they just prefer to be alone. Maybe in that scenario, ideally we should say hello and engage the other person because maybe they are alone not by choice, but because of some unfortunate circumstances and they would appreciate a 'hello'. You just never know.

 

[ozliz]

I travel alone often and have done Palo dinner solo and had a great time (nearly went and tried to book another meal there before the end of the cruise). Dining in Palo alone was no different to dining anywhere else alone.

I also did the Remy dessert experience solo. Was less comfortable because it was less than 10 people so it looked a little out of place me having my own table when others there were groups. Was delicious though and no regrets. I want to try Remy dinner which would probably be solo next time I'm on one of the larger ships - $ pending!

The only solo dining I struggle with are character meals - I'm an introvert and the interaction is something I might have to work out whether I enjoy enough to do solo. Also, no one to take photos of me with the characters meant I only got a couple that I really wanted as it felt like I was interrupting other diners to get photos taken.

As for the chatty servers. I found the one at Palo brunch too chatty but my travel companion was being polite and talking too and therefore they didn't get the message that I wanted to be sending. I was probably just having an introvert day though.

Palo is delicious so just go and enjoy!!!

 

[cedricandsophie]

I have done Palo once Alone when my husband was ill and couldn't go. It was lovely. i had a drink at th bar first and loved talking to the bartender. Same thing st the table. The waiter was very sweet and I loved hearing about where she was from, her fav ports, etc. I recognize though that not everyone is like me and would rather be left alone. I often start conversations with strangers just because I'm always curious about where they are from, where they got their shoes, etc. my husband is not like that at all and usually waits to be spoken to first. He finds me amusing because I make quick friends wherever I go!

 

[BruinEd03]

I would feel even more uncomfortable asking that.

There's also usually a manager that will walk around and ask how things are. In that case, a simple conversation to the manager will usually take care of things. Or, you can also discuss any deficiencies in past experiences beforehand. They are very accommodating. We've had a bad server once, for brunch. They were going to have the same server for dinner. We mentioned it right before dinner and they switched our server for dinner (the second server was fantastic). Another time, the server took a little too long to refill items. We mentioned it once to the manager, and lo and behold, the drinks started being refilled faster. The server never made us uncomfortable (and I'm sure the manager had a productive chat with the server in a non-threatening manner). Indeed, the manager mentioned that they welcomed the feedback and that the server would not be "in trouble." I would also note that the server never brought it up. Instead, the server, was very cordial still. The manager did mention that the team at Palo actually want you to tell them if something is wrong so that they can get it right for you. If the server is making you uncomfortable, then he is probably making someone else uncomfortable (sometimes without even knowing it).

I will say, the first time we mentioned our issues with our server for brunch, it was a little strange to do so. Socially, we didn't feel like throwing anyone "under the bus." However, the manager made us feel comfortable that it would just be a learning experience for the server. However, after we got a fantastic replacement server, we've been a little more open in saying something.

I think the walking around by the manager is also designed to ensure that there is someone you can talk to aside from the server.

 

[Tozzie]

No, I have never seen this. However, one of the saddest things I ever saw at Disney, imho, was a grown man dining alone at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort at WDW. It kind of creeped my kids out.

MUN

Sad? really i am someone who does disney solo most of the time and I eat where i want to eat and it isn't sad to see me dining alone I find it problematic that your kids were creeped out that screams intolerace by the parent maybe you need to do some soul searching

 

[mom+3girls]

I have dined at WDW alone and I have been to Palo for brunch alone. I totally enjoyed it. I am a single mom and it was nice to sit down and have a brunch and eat some amazing food.
I dined at WDW the night before my all adult cruise, my cruise mate wasn't arriving until the day of the cruise. I enjoyed myself, I even sat and watched firework while eating a Dolewhip. I certainly hope no one thought I was creepy.

Go enjoy yourself at Palo it's an amazing experience.