Might be able to take my 1st solo trip

Figment Mom

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 31, 2014
I never, ever thought I'd want to take a trip without my kids but due to circumstances I can't control (and don't really want to get into) I may find myself with 3 weeks to myself this summer. If it happens I'm going to make the best of it and take my first solo trip.

I have a preschooler and a teenager who dislikes even the tamest coaster, so I think a big focus of my trip would be to ride everything they wouldn't ride with me.

BTMRR is my favorite ride and I haven't ridden it since I was a kid.

I've never been on Splash, EE, Kali, TOT, SDD, or RRRC.

I'm dreaming of hitting all of those rides plus other favorites on my own schedule.

I hate swimming so no pool time for me. Rope drop, down time relaxing in beautiful resort lobbies or napping in my room, and closing out the park every night.

Maybe taking my chances on a Priceline deal, maybe doing POP or an All Star to save money then splurge on a couple of nights at my dream resort, WL, or maybe going for a moderate and trying POFQ for the first time.

Snacking around the world at Epcot, Sanaa just for the bread service, a balcony seat at HDDR...

I'm thinking 7 nights would be the right length.

I'm dreaming. Dream with me!
 
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OP, you are a very lucky person to have this opportunity. I've always wanted to do this, but am too chicken.
Also, my husband loves Disney as much as I do:)
I dream of a solo trip one day, and yours sounds perfect! Please give us a trip report when you return and have fun!
 
OP, you are a very lucky person to have this opportunity. I've always wanted to do this, but am too chicken.
Also, my husband loves Disney as much as I do:)
I dream of a solo trip one day, and yours sounds perfect! Please give us a trip report when you return and have fun!


Thank you! I'm trying to turn a negative into a positive. It may not work out but I'm really hoping it does.

At the moment I'm having fun planning/dreaming at least.
 


I love doing 7 nights/6 park days; that's been my solo trip "sweet spot" and I'm freaking out a little because I'm doing only 5 nights next trip to save some $.

Splash is awesome and I love it! EE was super scary to me, but I'm glad I tried it and can't swear I'd never do it again. Now Kali - I got so miserably drenched on that, no way am I riding that again. I've done TOT twice with my sister and would probably go again with her, but too chicken to do it alone. Haven't been since TSL opened, and SDD is a big priority for me next trip. I've avoided RNRC (upside down and in the dark! Eek!).

I love POFQ, and like POP, too - I'm super excited for my POP stay in Feb for the new rooms and Skyliner!

Eating Around Epcot is always a worthy ambition (although when I did it, I spread it over the week so I could mix TS, QS and snacks).

I hope you get to enjoy all the good things of going solo to WDW.
 
I love doing 7 nights/6 park days; that's been my solo trip "sweet spot" and I'm freaking out a little because I'm doing only 5 nights next trip to save some $.

Splash is awesome and I love it! EE was super scary to me, but I'm glad I tried it and can't swear I'd never do it again. Now Kali - I got so miserably drenched on that, no way am I riding that again. I've done TOT twice with my sister and would probably go again with her, but too chicken to do it alone. Haven't been since TSL opened, and SDD is a big priority for me next trip. I've avoided RNRC (upside down and in the dark! Eek!).

I love POFQ, and like POP, too - I'm super excited for my POP stay in Feb for the new rooms and Skyliner!

Eating Around Epcot is always a worthy ambition (although when I did it, I spread it over the week so I could mix TS, QS and snacks).

I hope you get to enjoy all the good things of going solo to WDW.
Thank you so much! I haven't done a lot of coasters in my life but I don't think I'll ever get the opportunity when my kids are around so I think I need to try them.

I think I'd definitely need to plan Kali for last ride before an afternoon break. Although July is so miserably hot I may seek it out. Watch me be one of those people who doesn't get splashed at all.

My son and I (when he was 9) snacked around Epcot. We had to go back another day to finish. And we shared everything. Hmmmm. Maybe I'll have to be selective and not do every country!

I'm sure you'll love your slightly shorter trip but I know what you mean. Last trip we did 10 nights (and 10 park days) and it felt perfect to me. I'm hoping that by myself even 7 is enough. I plan to fly in super early and out super late to maximize my time. I have a hard time justifying shorter trips because the per day price for tickets drops so substantially and airfare doesn't change.
 
Just got back from my second solo visit - I hope you get the opportunity to take this trip. I find it so much easier to relax when by myself in the parks. It gives you a chance to really SEE things, you know? It's so nice to not have to worry about what anyone else wants to do and focus on yourself for a change.
 


@Figment Mom - Going in July is probably better for Kali, especially if you're a shorts-and-flip-flops person. I did it in December in long pants & sneakers. BAD idea!

While you're doing coasters, get 7 Dwarfs Mine Train in there. Mild on the coaster scale and really cute.
 
I loved all my solo trips - getting up when I wanted to and having the only say in what happens is a huge treat!

If you like to shop, also plan to hit Disney Springs. It's really a lot more than shopping now with tons of great restaurants and live entertainment.

Enjoy!
 
Thanks! The dream is already slipping away a bit (looks unlikely that it will work this summer) but I'm going to keep planning because it's fun.
 
Looks like the trip is back on!

I haven't booked anything yet. Will probably do 8 nights.

I need a combination of reasonable price and splurge.

Can't find a Priceline deal so I'll probably just book Pop direct. Would LOVE to do Wilderness Lodge but can't justify the price.

Found good flight fare on SW. To get the best price I fly in late, though. Would prefer an earlier flight.

I'll hit the parks every day probably. Rope drop, afternoon break (a nap!), then stay until close.

Doubt I'll do much table service. I don't mind dining alone but I don't eat much and will eat less in the heat.

Considering:

Villians event (don't particularly care about the villians but want to try a less-crowded night event)

Luau - never done this before

Keys to the Kingdom tour

What are your favorite things to do solo (besides whatever you want whenever you want)?
 
Trip is booked!

7 nights, 8 park days.

Booked FPs for 7 of them. Leaving one day open for now. Might add hopper and try to do favorites on all 4 parks that day, or I may take it easy and just pop into a park for a bit but mostly recover.

Some of my FP are later in the day than I'd like, and of course I didn't get SDMT, SDD, TOT, OR FOP. (My trip is less than 30 days out.) But I'll keep trying to modify.

Booked KTTK tour. Chose 10 am because I don't want to be on the tour during prime morning time, but now I'm 2nd guessing how hot it's going to be!

I've kept everything at $1800 (flights, hotel, and tickets).

Haven't booked any dining yet. May just wing it on that.

I can't believe this is actually happening!
 
Re: things to do solo--you're already on top of it for thinking of the things you wouldn't normally get to do! For me, one of those things is dining: my family members are generally more frugal about food on vacation than I am, so I never felt comfortable suggesting lots of table service dining. Plus, it's cheaper as a solo anyway! In the interest of not overplanning I'm not booking bunches of ADRs, but I did go through all the different restaurants on property and picked two I've never been to before--I'll be booking a lunch reservation at each. Then I'll look at adding more dining on the fly during my trip if I decide that sounds good. Last minute dining reservations are possible but a little hit or miss, so I really thought hard about what my two "must do" restaurants were, and anywhere else I eat is a bonus (and a bit of roulette--hopefully it'll push me to try more new things!).

I tend to go a bit crazy commando, especially on my own, so I'm setting a rule for myself that I must do one of the following every day: a.) sleep in and start late, b.) take an afternoon break between parks, or c.) start early but also leave early so I can get to bed sooner. I'll probably do afternoon breaks most days, but when I set up my FP+ I'm going to schedule a morning for sleeping in mid-trip and then hold myself to it.

Re: four parks in a day, it can be done! I've done it twice now, myself. It makes it easier if you maximize EMH to start at the park that's earliest to open and end at the one that's latest to close, and you'll want to have a set of priorities or "rules" for how you're doing it. The first time I did a four park day (when I was saying goodbye to WDW at the end of my College Program) I had a list of must-do attractions for each park, along with a list of "would-like-to-do's" I could hit if I had extra time. When I did another four park day in 2018 (just for fun), my only "rule" was that I had to ride at least one attraction per park and otherwise I just did whatever I felt like. You'll want to keep an eye on the clock and divide the day roughly in four to make sure you get through it, but it's not rocket science as long as you keep moving and keep your plans flexible.
 
Thanks! I started 2nd-guessing my lack of ADRs since I do like an air-conditioned restaurant as a nice break.

I'm not too worried about getting some on the fly, though.

I did just book a 7:35 PM Rose and Crown. Hope that means I'll be able to view Illuminations from there.

I think my currently unscheduled day will have to be a sleep-in day. I am afraid I'm going to run myself ragged.

Now I'm trying to decide if I should do the garden viewing area dessert party in MK or maybe it won't be too hard as a solo person to get a decent viewing area.
 
I did the garden view fireworks dessert party in MK in 2018 and was glad--but I only had one day there and absolutely didn't want to spend a bunch of time staking out a spot. Generally speaking it's easier with one person to find a place to view the fireworks, but I thought it was really nice to not have to worry about it at all. I found the dessert party itself a little bit awkward--they'll put you at your own table, and then the desserts are a buffet. None of the other guests paid any mind to me but it was one of the moments where I felt most obviously alone, and that's after having done table service and full buffets solo. It might be partly because the Plaza restaurant area they have you in for the party is...really bland and plain, frankly. There's not much there to look at; it's just a covered area with tables. But then the desserts were pretty good and I really liked strolling over to the garden viewing area at the last minute, assured that not only would I have a spot, but I wouldn't have anyone crowding up around me. I keep telling people it's the only time I've viewed fireworks from the hub without any strangers touching me.
 
Some of my FP are later in the day than I'd like, and of course I didn't get SDMT, SDD, TOT, OR FOP. (My trip is less than 30 days out.) But I'll keep trying to modify.


I wouldn't worry too much about that. I've had great luck using the refresh method to find same day FPs for all those attractions. Especially since you're a solo party!
 
So because I'm always playing in the app and tweaking my plans AND because I want to sit in air conditioning for a bit each day, I've started making some ADRs.

BOG, 50sPT, and Rainforest Cafe all for lunch.

Not sure I'm thrilled about Rainforest but none of the other TS restaurants in AK appeal to me. Well, I like the food at Tusker House but I don't want to pay for a character meal. Thought about Sanaa but I don't want to use that travel time in the middle of the day.
 
I did a solo trip last December after a conference where I did AK in the morning and then a trip over to Sanaa for a late lunch and then back to AK. I carved out more time than needed for the trip over to AKL because I wanted to make sure I didn't miss my reservation time and ended up checking out the lobbies and observation areas which was a nice experience in itself, especially looking over the different art pieces and having a moment to sit in a rocking chair on the balcony overlooking the animals and just relax.

I did the bread service (recommended) and a entree which meant I ended up boxing up the bread service leftovers for the trip back to AK and using it as an excuse not to go on Expedition Everest (I wasn't scared, I just didn't want the dipping sauces to spill... honest).

The rest of the trip was pretty much my regular pace (best described as a frenetic gerbil) but having that one afternoon as something a bit more slow paced was nice and the experience stands out.

P.S. I did end up going on Expedition Everest on the morning before I flew back home as my last ride in the parks (and managed to do it 3 times on my last trip in June... now tied with Big Thunder Mountain as my favourite coaster at the parks).
 

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