I Travel to Disney World Alone. These Are the 5 Rides That ALWAYS Feel Awkward.

If there’s one thing I do REALLY well, it’s be awkward.

That may seem quirky, and you may not be thinking it’s true, but here’s the thing — I have two modes: supremely smooth and witty in conversations or supremely awkward and put my foot in my mouth multiple times, and there is NO in between.  I travel to Disney World alone most of the time, and while that means my probability of being awkward toward other people is diminished, I still have my moments. I’ve become VERY aware of what rides give me a higher probability of awkward situations, and I’d like to share them with you so you can be prepared.

NOW, to preface, because I can already feel some of the comments coming — not all of these are awkward for everyone! If you’re a solo traveler who doesn’t suffer from anxiety like I do, or you have anxiety in a different way, a lot of these things will seem SO little and seem like they make no sense. If it’s not awkward for you, that’s fantastic! …but I still lie awake at night thinking about these moments ?

Kali River Rapids

Hello, Kali River Rapids, my long-time enemy. There is only ONE reason this ride is awkward for solo travelers, and it’s solely because of how the ride vehicle is laid out.

When you go to Disney World alone, you’re probably expecting to have to ride with other guests on rides (at least, you should be, because it’s going to happen), BUT this ride vehicle is a circle, with everyone facing in. So if you’ve been put with one big party or a few smaller parties…you’re all just staring at each other.

If you’ve got a buddy with you, you can chat it up with them (or if you’re really brave, you can talk to the strangers, please share that courage with me), but if you’re alone, you can just watch everyone else have conversations. Now, once the ride has really begun and you’re all focused on racing down the rapids, the awkwardness dissipates. (But if you’re the only one to get soaked in the vehicle, which does happen, it may become a little awkward again.)

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Unlike the ride above, I LOVE Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway — I know Great Movie Ride was fantastic, but I only got to ride it once, so it don’t have a strong nostalgia factor for me.

And usually I have no problem when I’m seated with another group of guests — those seats are plenty wide, so we can all have our own space…UNTIL we get to ONE SECTION of the ride.

Daisy, I love your dance class, I really do, but the Conga part THROWS me into the other guests and it’s SO AWKWARD. My shoulders are jamming into theirs and I simply do not have the core strength right now (working on it) to keep myself in place while the ride feels like it’s slingshotting me back and forth. Is everyone in the car in the same boat? Yes. Does knowing that make it feel any less awkward? NOPE.

Na’vi River Journey

Unpopular opinion, but I love this ride, too! I know it’s not nearly as exciting as Flight of Passage, but with my glasses the 3D glasses never really fit how they should on my face, so I feel I don’t get the whole experience. Na’vi River Journey is perfect for me to appreciate the beauty of Pandora without needing 3D glasses.

However, if you’re a solo traveler, and sometimes even a party of 2, they WILL shove you into the same row as another group of guests, and these bench seats are not NEARLY as large as Runaway Railway. So…yeah, you’re pretty close to each other.

I had forgotten about this myself until I heard Sage and Emma chatting about it a YouTube video and I remembered how right they are! So if you’re traveling as a smaller party, prepare yourselves ahead of time for this!

Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run

Now WAIT LISTEN BEFORE YOU KILL ME — I have a personal story here that shows how it COULD be awkward! I love using the single rider line to experience this attraction because, even though you often end up as an engineer, it’s still tons of fun.

In this particular instance I actually WASN’T alone — I was with my brother and we both went through the single rider line but were luckily put in the same ship since the group in line was a group of 4. We were put with this group of friends who were having TONS of fun during the ride, shouting out to each other and jokingly making fun of each other if they messed up. So what did I do? Well, I joined in!

Of course, I wasn’t making fun of people I didn’t know, but I was shouting out things like, “to the right, the right!” or “shoot, shoot, shoot, we’ve almost got it!” In the moment, it was all mixed in with their shouts, so it seemed like it went unnoticed or added to the experience. However, when the ride ended, they thought it was THEIR friend who had been making the comments, in which she then admitted it wasn’t her. Not that anyone was mad or angry, but it was SO AWKWARD to have them all turn to me and realize it had been me, someone they didn’t know, who had been joining in on their fun.

Now, are they probably thinking of it all this time later? No, not at all. But FOR ME? I was so embarrassed, and I still don’t even know if I really know if I had a reason to be!

Dinosaur

Again, this one is ONLY here because I have a personal story BUT I feel a lot of people can relate. If anyone’s ever made the same mistake I did and NOT READ THE SIGN before you head into the ride and then be taken aback with how LOUD and TERRIFYING it is, you’ll know exactly why this is awkward.

It’s my own fault, I didn’t read the sign, BUT I thought I knew what to expect from the ride! I knew it was a dark ride with some pretty realistic looking dinosaurs, but what really caught me off guard was the NOISE. I don’t do well with loud noises, never have, and some noises are louder to me than they are to other people.

So this meant my entire first ride, I was SCREAMING every time something loud happened…which is basically the whole ride. Thankfully I rode it for the first time during COVID-19 restrictions in the park so I wasn’t screaming right in someone’s ear and I had a mask on so you couldn’t see JUST how terrified I was (but the terrified look in my eyes is HILARIOUS).

Again, a lot of these situations may not be awkward for some people, but they sure are for me! I can’t wait to be heading back to Disney World in just a few weeks and tell you all about my experiences, so stay tuned to AllEars!

The Disney World Hangover is REAL — here’s how I’m curing it!

What’s the most awkward experience you’ve ever had on a ride? Tell me in the comments!

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