See Claudia Date

Date #28: Brad, mid-30s? (I thought he’d mentioned it in an e-mail and I never asked)
Location: Walt Disney World, Orlando

Yes, you read that correctly, the last date was in not in South Florida. It’s kind of a long story about how it came about, but don’t worry, I’m here to explain it all.

Right before I started the actual dating process of this month long journey, I got an e-mail from Brad saying he was planning a trip to Orlando in August (he currently lives out of state) and asked if I would be interested in going to Disney World with him. My initial reaction was no and I e-mailed him back a kind e-mail saying so. But after he explained he would already be in the area and that it wasn’t a special trip, I started to reconsider. I just didn’t like the idea of someone having to pay for such a “grand date”. But after he offered to arrange for two additional free passes for my friends, it made me feel a bit better. I wouldn’t be driving up alone, and if things didn’t work out, at least my friends wouldn’t be too far away. There are obviously a few more details, but I’ll spare you the e-mail exchange. 

So Saturday was the big weekend. I drove up with a couple of my friends from work and we stayed at the resort (that I paid for) for the night. The next morning, we met up with Brad at Magic Kingdom. Brad introduced himself to my friends, they thanked him for the tickets and I sorta sent them on their way. I figured it would be somewhat awkward to have them tag along for our date. When we walked in to Magic Kingdom, Brad had arranged to have someone from guest services accompany us for a few hours to escort us around the park and act as a “human fast pass”. I have to admit, I didn’t even know such services existed prior to this and it certainly helped us make the most of our time at the parks. We were able to play the getting to know you game while in line for the rides. We rode a few rides at Magic Kingdom (including Splash Mountain) and then moved on to the “grown up rides” (as our tour guide put it). We managed to hit up at least two rides in Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and finished the day at EPCOT. And just when I thought it couldn’t have gone any better, he surprised me with a lunch in “Mexico” at EPCOT. It was only then that it really started to feel more like an actual date since our guide had left us at that point. 

We enjoyed some yummy Mexican cuisine while talking about our families, stories about traveling, sports, and an array of other topics. All in all, a fun-filled day. At the end of the day, neither of us could believe that we didn’t take one picture! So unfortunately this is us at the Monorail station outside of EPCOT. It’ll have to do:

Bottom Line: I have to admit, I had some serious doubts before committing to this date. But I figured at the very least, it would go along with the spirit of this whole dating project. I’d get out of my comfort zone and meet someone new that could potentially become a friend at the very least. And considering that Brad doesn’t live in the area right now, that’s all I see us being for the time being. But I can’t thank him enough for the wonderful day and memories (not to mention the free passes for my two friends). He was a perfect gentleman and showed me a great time at Disney World!