emilyann704
Solo Traveler
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2021
I just came back from my first solo trip and my first trip since 2006/2007ish. It was rescheduled from January because of Omicron when the idea popped in my head to go because Chicago winters are brutal and I wanted a quick weekend trip somewhere that I'd feel safe alone (my partner didn't have any PTO left to use) and was warm.
I had 2 day Park Hoppers Friday and Saturday and my plan was to spend all day Friday at the Magic Kingdom and Saturday split between Epcot first then Hollywood Studios in the evening (I had an Oga's reservation for 9pm). I decided to get Genie+ because it was just me and my limited time.
I'll admit to not understanding Genie+ (I woke up at 7am my MK day and still had to figure out where Genie+ actually was on My Tip Board) but ended up crushing it and got in pretty much every single ride I wanted to, plus randoms. I'm a fast walker but in no way did I run or even have a plan in my head. I think crowds were lower (any Genie+ reservation I snagged I walked right onto rides) and the longest wait was for Remy's at 45 minutes (at 10am!). I think being alone was great because I only stopped when I needed to eat, when I needed the bathroom, or when I needed a break. And I didn't have to stop and decide where to go next with someone else - I just went.
Friday 5/13 @ Magic Kingdom (in order)
Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Enchanted Tikki Room, Tom Sawyer's Island, Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of the Presidents, lunch @ Columbia Harbor House, Haunted Mansion, Mickey's Philharmonic, Carousel of Progress, Space Mountain and Jungle Cruise.
I did all that before 5pm so I decided to head over to Epcot where I walked onto Spaceship Earth, walked the entire World Showcase starting in the UK where I sat with a beer for a bit, had dinner at Tangierine Cafe in Morocco, grabbed a pastry in Norway, and rode Tres Caballeros in Mexico. It was around 8pm when I walked onto Test Track and then headed out to beat a gnarly looking storm.
Saturday 5/14
I let myself sleep until 7:30am since I didn't care about rope dropping Epcot too badly. Somehow was able to score a Frozen LL at 9:55am and walked right on. Saw the wait for Remy was 35 minutes but in the 10 minutes it took to walk over there it grew to 50. I think I only actually waited about 35 though. Then I left the showcase to do "boring" Epcot. Figment, The Land (my second longest wait at 20 minutes!), and Nemo. I made a last minute ADR at Le Creperie in Paris for lunch at 1pm just for some air conditioning but on my walk over I started in Mexico for a margarita. Did I mention being on your own rules?
After lunch I took the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios where I went to Muppets 3D, Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, Runaway Railroad, and Smuggler's Run. I had dinner at Docking Bay 7 for a Ronto Wrap and then wandered around the park as the sun set to wait for my 9pm Oga's reservation. I appreciate and enjoy Star Wars but am not a super fan -- but that said, Oga's and the Star Wars area were really, really cool. Especially at night. Leaving the park at dark with so few people was a really cool experience. Thankfully I was able to make the last Coronado Springs bus back to the hotel around 10:03pm otherwise I'd have to Uber.
All in all I was surprised after reading these boards for months how easy it was to do so much. I definitely will do Genie+ again since it made those rides a less than 5 minute wait but I didn't have any "strategy" issues. You can see from my MK day that nothing was out of the way geographically except my last Jungle Cruise LL of the day. In fact, on Saturday at Epcot/HS I found myself checking Genie+ and closing out of it annoyed that the times weren't late enough yet for me.
Summary: ditch your family, friends and loved ones and just go on your own. It rules
I had 2 day Park Hoppers Friday and Saturday and my plan was to spend all day Friday at the Magic Kingdom and Saturday split between Epcot first then Hollywood Studios in the evening (I had an Oga's reservation for 9pm). I decided to get Genie+ because it was just me and my limited time.
I'll admit to not understanding Genie+ (I woke up at 7am my MK day and still had to figure out where Genie+ actually was on My Tip Board) but ended up crushing it and got in pretty much every single ride I wanted to, plus randoms. I'm a fast walker but in no way did I run or even have a plan in my head. I think crowds were lower (any Genie+ reservation I snagged I walked right onto rides) and the longest wait was for Remy's at 45 minutes (at 10am!). I think being alone was great because I only stopped when I needed to eat, when I needed the bathroom, or when I needed a break. And I didn't have to stop and decide where to go next with someone else - I just went.
Friday 5/13 @ Magic Kingdom (in order)
Peter Pan's Flight, It's a Small World, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, Enchanted Tikki Room, Tom Sawyer's Island, Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of the Presidents, lunch @ Columbia Harbor House, Haunted Mansion, Mickey's Philharmonic, Carousel of Progress, Space Mountain and Jungle Cruise.
I did all that before 5pm so I decided to head over to Epcot where I walked onto Spaceship Earth, walked the entire World Showcase starting in the UK where I sat with a beer for a bit, had dinner at Tangierine Cafe in Morocco, grabbed a pastry in Norway, and rode Tres Caballeros in Mexico. It was around 8pm when I walked onto Test Track and then headed out to beat a gnarly looking storm.
Saturday 5/14
I let myself sleep until 7:30am since I didn't care about rope dropping Epcot too badly. Somehow was able to score a Frozen LL at 9:55am and walked right on. Saw the wait for Remy was 35 minutes but in the 10 minutes it took to walk over there it grew to 50. I think I only actually waited about 35 though. Then I left the showcase to do "boring" Epcot. Figment, The Land (my second longest wait at 20 minutes!), and Nemo. I made a last minute ADR at Le Creperie in Paris for lunch at 1pm just for some air conditioning but on my walk over I started in Mexico for a margarita. Did I mention being on your own rules?
After lunch I took the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios where I went to Muppets 3D, Star Tours, Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, Runaway Railroad, and Smuggler's Run. I had dinner at Docking Bay 7 for a Ronto Wrap and then wandered around the park as the sun set to wait for my 9pm Oga's reservation. I appreciate and enjoy Star Wars but am not a super fan -- but that said, Oga's and the Star Wars area were really, really cool. Especially at night. Leaving the park at dark with so few people was a really cool experience. Thankfully I was able to make the last Coronado Springs bus back to the hotel around 10:03pm otherwise I'd have to Uber.
All in all I was surprised after reading these boards for months how easy it was to do so much. I definitely will do Genie+ again since it made those rides a less than 5 minute wait but I didn't have any "strategy" issues. You can see from my MK day that nothing was out of the way geographically except my last Jungle Cruise LL of the day. In fact, on Saturday at Epcot/HS I found myself checking Genie+ and closing out of it annoyed that the times weren't late enough yet for me.
Summary: ditch your family, friends and loved ones and just go on your own. It rules
