1st Trip to Disney World

[janet sierra]

HI
I will going to Disney in December for the first time and I will be going by myself. I am 29 and a college student , and I have never traveled by self. But I have alway wanted to go to Disney. Do y'all have any advice for me? Any tips on restaurants?
thanks

 

[bryanb]

Yay! Have a great time. If you're going to travel by yourself, Disney World is a great first place to do it.
My advice is to include spontaneity into your plans. Solo travel means you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. And since it's your first trip, don't worry about cramming everything into this trip. WDW is very large and there is too much to do there for one vacation.

Have you ever been to a Disney theme park before? I would suggest getting familiar with the different parks so that you can be oriented. Maybe a good guidebook would be worth the money too.

As far as restaurants go, there are so many different kinds of food available -- from on-the-go snacking to fancy full-service dining. I'd check out the restaurants section of this site and join in on some of the discussions for whatever interests you. (Personally, my favorite restaurant is Boma, an African-inspired buffet at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge.)

 

[BalooFan]

If you are traveling alone for the first time, I think WDW is a perfect destination! Although no place is 100% safe, I feel quite safe there at any time of the day. There is such a variety of things to do that you should never feel bored. My suggestion is to do your homework and use any resources you can to familiarize yourself with not only the parks, but your resort and, if you are flying, the airport. I don't know about you, but I get a little overwhelmed and anxious when I'm traveling alone and get lost! It's hard to advise on restaurants. People will give you lots of opinions based on their own preferences and experiences. My advice is to look at the menus online and choose based on what sounds good to you. I hope you have a wonderful time!

 

[LadyDiznee123]

HI
I will going to Disney in December for the first time and I will be going by myself. I am 29 and a college student , and I have never traveled by self. But I have alway wanted to go to Disney. Do y'all have any advice for me? Any tips on restaurants?
thanks

CONGRATULATIONS! Lucky You! Welcome to the SOLO club!
My first tip is that between now and your visit, READ, READ, READ the DIS boards. They will answer just about every question you have. In particular read the SOLO threads. I will be going on my second solo in Sept 2017.
Restaurants??? Make sure you do a character breakfast! The one at Crystal Palace is great. So is the one at OHANA ( featuring LILO AND STITCH) at The Polynesian resort. All of the restaurants are and CM's are SOLO FRIENDLY. Are you staying on property. Are you on a budget? Plenty of reasonable quick food options. And if you go the right time of year, depending on the resort.. you can even fall into a FREE Dining Plan like I did in 2015 after booking Pop Century.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, ENJOY going the SOLO route. Often times when you come with family or friends or partners - you don't want to do the same things, you end up dealing with pickiness and crabbiness, or just compromising on something you REALLY wanted to do But alone - you do whatever suits you.

Disney is about as safe as it gets. Don't forget smile and chat up with people, especially the CM's, so that you may be remembered if needed. I got pixie-dusted a lot --- I think just because I smiled and looked happy as the dickens when making a purchase or at counter.

However, One thing I never do is advertise that I am alone. No need to reveal that. Tell them you've separated from your partners to do your own thing ("....My Sister and Cousin are at the Tower or Terror and I'm taking a pass, lol..."), and if you are at your resort, and it comes up - you can say your friends or family members are in another room, or something along those lines. Actually, being asked why or if you are alone never even come up anyway.

ENJOY!!! You are going to have a blast!

 

[gracie1]

HI
I will going to Disney in December for the first time and I will be going by myself. I am 29 and a college student , and I have never traveled by self. But I have alway wanted to go to Disney. Do y'all have any advice for me? Any tips on restaurants?
thanks

When are you going in December?

 

[daae3]

Congrats on being brave and booking the trip! Since this is your first trip you probably don't know yet what kind of traveler you will be. Have fun with it. The one warning I always give to fellow solos is that if you want to dine somewhere, make a reservation. Walk ups are very difficult to get- I discovered this my first solo when I went with a free dining plan and no reservations. After 2 days of not being able to get in to any sit down restaurants, I took the time to make reservations for the rest of the week. Don't be afraid of character dining- they can be great experiences. Esp if you have never gone before- Crystal Palace breakfast is one of my faves. Another word on dining...if you are not comfortable dining alone in a restaurant, you won't be comfortable doing so at Disney. My advice is take some practice runs at home. There are other alternatives such as sitting at the bar or just doing counter service...this is your vacation so take advantage of what feels best for you. I travel to Disney solo and with family/friends. At some point, even when I am traveling with a group, I always break off...sometimes to experience something different...sometimes because they are driving me crazy...so if you ever feel conspicuous, don't. There are lots of us who enjoy Disney solo and there are more who would be jealous of your freedom. Otherwise have fun!

 

[RADOPT]

Look at allears for menus (http://allears.net/dining/menu/) and see what sounds go to you. If there is somewhere you really want to eat, make a ADR. You can order a child's meal at a lot of places or just order an app or app/dessert.

These forums are filled with great information for everything WDW - ride, food, adult drinks, tours, FPs, Magic bands. You can watch rides, tours, etc on utube. Planning is at least half of the fun.

Have a wonderful time!

 

[janet sierra]

When are you going in December?

im going on the 14th-23rd

 

[RADOPT]

READ, READ, READ the DIS boards. They will answer just about every question you have

And when you have read, you will noticed how some hate xxx and will never go back while other love the same place and go every trip - polor opposite responses. The most informative are the posts that say WHY they don't or do like xxx so you can decide if it is right for you or not. None of them can be all that bad because they are still there.

The one warning I always give to fellow solos is that if you want to dine somewhere, make a reservation.

If you can't get a reservation, try changing the number in the party. There may not be a table for one but there maybe if you request for 2. You can always change the number of people after you have the reservation. There are a few restaurants that are communal tables so you would be sitting with stranger instead of at your own table.

There is a lot to do and see outside of going to the parks.

Have a wonderful trip.

 

[janet sierra]

Congrats on being brave and booking the trip! Since this is your first trip you probably don't know yet what kind of traveler you will be. Have fun with it. The one warning I always give to fellow solos is that if you want to dine somewhere, make a reservation. Walk ups are very difficult to get- I discovered this my first solo when I went with a free dining plan and no reservations. After 2 days of not being able to get in to any sit down restaurants, I took the time to make reservations for the rest of the week. Don't be afraid of character dining- they can be great experiences. Esp if you have never gone before- Crystal Palace breakfast is one of my faves. Another word on dining...if you are not comfortable dining alone in a restaurant, you won't be comfortable doing so at Disney. My advice is take some practice runs at home. There are other alternatives such as sitting at the bar or just doing counter service...this is your vacation so take advantage of what feels best for you. I travel to Disney solo and with family/friends. At some point, even when I am traveling with a group, I always break off...sometimes to experience something different...sometimes because they are driving me crazy...so if you ever feel conspicuous, don't. There are lots of us who enjoy Disney solo and there are more who would be jealous of your freedom. Otherwise have fun!

oh thank you for your advice

 

[Shellyred8]

I would research the dining options and make a couple of ADR's at the places that sound REALLY interesting to you. Then just go with the flow for the rest of your meals. We have a couple of places that we really like to go, so I make an ADR for them to make sure we can get in. Otherwise, I like being flexible with my dining options.

Are you staying on site? Or off site? Will your entire trip be at WDW? If your entire trip will be at WDW, I would recommend staying on-site. I love being in the "Disney Bubble" when I'm there. I feel like I can really disconnect from the rest of the world for a little while. And, as others have mentioned, staying on-site at WDW is about as safe as it gets. I've done a couple of solo trips where I stayed on-site and I love how safe I feel.

On a side note, we will be at WDW in December too!! I love WDW at Christmas. It's awesome! I would recommend building in some time to go see the decorations at the Deluxe resorts. If you are limited on time, perhaps just jump on the monorail and go check out those three resorts.

Have a fantastic trip!

 

[Sheldonman14]

One piece of advice: be flexible! Things tend to take longer than you expect and you wouldn't to miss something because of a delay. This is especially true if you are park hopping, give yourself at least a half an hour (probably an hour to be safe) to hop from park-to-park.

 

[adisneyaunt]

You ve gotten some great advice. Lots of really awesome ...helpful people here. I especially agree with becoming familiar with park layout, pick some must do/see, peruse the menu's, and most of all....
Have a great time!

 

[Jamie77]

HI
I will going to Disney in December for the first time and I will be going by myself. I am 29 and a college student , and I have never traveled by self. But I have alway wanted to go to Disney. Do y'all have any advice for me? Any tips on restaurants?
thanks

I was 27 when I went by myself for 8 days. It was the only way I could get anything done. Le Cellier is my favorite restaurant to go to solo. It's a little on the dark side so you don't feel so alone out in the open. I plan to go there again in July.