Just Booked My Solo Trip for November!!

[MIGrandma]

For several years I’ve thought about taking a solo trip to Disneyworld, but the price has always stopped me. And our last trip DH and I took 2-3 winters ago it was super crowded so I kind of thought I might be “done with Disney.” But! The current promotion pulled me in. That and the fact that I’m soon to be 67 years old and I’m not getting any younger, so I booked a week in November at Port Orleans Riverside, my favorite hotel. I got the 6 day park hopper ticket, and nice to know park reservations aren’t needed. And I added the quick service meal plan. I’m already excited about it.

I do miss being able to book airfare at the time of booking, and no Magical Disney Express transportation anymore. I’ve heard some take Mears transportation, how does that work? What other ways to get to POR from the Orlando airport are there besides renting a car? I’ll be flying out of Detroit, and will soon start watching the fares.

I know some things at Disney have changed since my last trip. I know nothing about the Genie or Lightning Lane options, except that they cost more $$.

Any tips from other solo Disney travelers would be much appreciated

 

[HCL]

Hello fellow Michigander! For my last two trips, and my next one coming up in May, I used/will use the Mears Connect from MCO to my hotels. It was just as good as Magical Express, just less themed to Disney. Congrats on the solo trip!

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Seconding Mears - unless you have a super early flight coming back it’s fine for what it is. Enjoy your trip!!

 

[Tinkaboo]

I just took Uber…about $40-50 I think.

 

[miksicnarf]

I’m also 66 and have been doing solo WDW trips, usually 2 per year, since my 60th birthday; been going with family for 27 years. I use Mears Connect, which you can book at Mearsconnect.com. Mears operated DME and I find it to be basically the same except for the small charge. Lightning Lanes will be changing as of the 24th of this month…they’re dropping the Genie name and adding the ability to book a week in advance if staying on property. There’s lots of info and discussion on these boards as well as the WDW site. Enjoy!

 

[Ann-CA]

I went solo in January (much less time than you - only 2 days). I think Mears would be totally adequate. Super easy to use especially solo. I did use an Uber if you don’t want to deal with waiting or if your airline requires a longer walk to the Mears station and you don’t want to do that. That was incredibly simple from airport to WDW but cost a bit more.

I can’t speak to taking Mears from airport but for the return trip, they’ll give you a return time and you’ll head to designated spot at your hotel (the CMs should know where it is). They show up and you get in the bus and you’re good to go! Do know they usually issue a pickup time about 3.5 hrs before your departure, which may feel early.

For Genie Plus and LL, I’d wait until July 21st to learn more since there’s a revamped system being released. If you have 6 days solo, you may not need it and just go with the flow. The new system seems to require some forward planning. If you have the budget, it’s always nice but I think you can get a bunch done without it. I liked doing rope drops and then focusing on getting on big rides at the end of the day.

I would learn about VQs and how to get them if you want to do GotG at Epcot or Tron or Tiana’s. There are some great YouTube channels that can explain them. I watch AllEars or Mammoth Club. Get familiar with single rider lines (don’t use it for RnR but the rest are all worth it to save time).

My favorite part of solo was doing what I wanted when I wanted. I had a few reservations but ended up cancelling most of them. You can likely get things last minute also!

Hope you have a great trip! POR was so pretty! I’d love to just walk around and enjoy the ambiance there.

 

[Simba's Mom]

You people in your 60s are "youngsters" to be solo travelers-I'm 72, and been traveling solo for almost 30 years-my first solo trip was a Mother's Day gift, a "Mom's weekend". I'm a dedicated Uber traveler-it's so convenient for Southwest and it's very safe, I get a description of the car, the license plate #, and the name and description of the driver. If you're lucky, when you're solo, sometimes a CM will mistake you for an off-duty CM and accidentally tell you something guests usually don't hear. And a couple times, College Program CMs at CS places have helped me get to my table so I don't need to try to juggle everything, then stayed to "keep you company" (although I'm sure the main reason was to sit and rest for a while, but "helping a guest" sounds good). Ask them about their job, how they like it, what they do, what job they'd like. Really interesting. In general, I've found that being solo is a great opportunity to chat with CMs. It's also a great chance to try out new TS restaurants and only pay for one diner instead of two.

 

[MabelMae]

Good for you! I’m coming on a solo trip in November too!

 

[bsmcneil]

WOOOO!

 

[kwdw]

Mears Connect is a cheap option for a solo. It’s typically $17 each way, so round trip is about $34. That is less, or if you are lucky, about the same price as a rideshare ONE way. You do have to get your own luggage now and then haul it to the far end of B terminal. I’ve finally decided that when I have a big bag, I just take the elevator instead of the escalators and that hassle isn’t so bad. From arriving at the bus boarding location, it can be 45-90 minutes until you find yourself at your resort. They will schedule your pick up back to the airport about 3-3:30 hours before your flight time. I would book it a few days in advance of your flight. They send you via email a QR code the day before that they scan for boarding (they can also look you up, but pulling up the code means you spend less time checking in. They do have signage on the bus asking for tips and last time I remembered to have some dollars for their help getting my bags on and off the bus. But I admit I’ve not tipped anything most times.

 

[Disneypeach]

I do lots of solo WDW trips. A tip: when booking advanced dining reservations (ADRs) book as tho you are two people. Disney’s system seems to prefer “even” numbers for reservations.

When I tried to book as a solo their system gave me the “off” times, ex. lunch came back as 3:30, nothing around noon or so. Putting in a party of 2 gave me timeframes closer to noon. When you show up alone just tell them it’s just you. The CMs have never given me a hard time with that.
Have fun!

 

[MIGrandma]

You people in your 60s are "youngsters" to be solo travelers-I'm 72, and been traveling solo for almost 30 years-my first solo trip was a Mother's Day gift, a "Mom's weekend". I'm a dedicated Uber traveler-it's so convenient for Southwest and it's very safe, I get a description of the car, the license plate #, and the name and description of the driver. If you're lucky, when you're solo, sometimes a CM will mistake you for an off-duty CM and accidentally tell you something guests usually don't hear. And a couple times, College Program CMs at CS places have helped me get to my table so I don't need to try to juggle everything, then stayed to "keep you company" (although I'm sure the main reason was to sit and rest for a while, but "helping a guest" sounds good). Ask them about their job, how they like it, what they do, what job they'd like. Really interesting. In general, I've found that being solo is a great opportunity to chat with CMs. It's also a great chance to try out new TS restaurants and only pay for one diner instead of two.

I’m an introvert, so not much for chatting with others. I don’t mind a smile and a hello, but just not into chit chat. I will have a book loaded on the kindle app on my phone so Will have something to read while in line or in a restaurant.

 

[MIGrandma]

Mears Connect is a cheap option for a solo. It’s typically $17 each way, so round trip is about $34. That is less, or if you are lucky, about the same price as a rideshare ONE way. You do have to get your own luggage now and then haul it to the far end of B terminal. I’ve finally decided that when I have a big bag, I just take the elevator instead of the escalators and that hassle isn’t so bad. From arriving at the bus boarding location, it can be 45-90 minutes until you find yourself at your resort. They will schedule your pick up back to the airport about 3-3:30 hours before your flight time. I would book it a few days in advance of your flight. They send you via email a QR code the day before that they scan for boarding (they can also look you up, but pulling up the code means you spend less time checking in. They do have signage on the bus asking for tips and last time I remembered to have some dollars for their help getting my bags on and off the bus. But I admit I’ve not tipped anything most times.

Thank you for the info, I definitely plan to take Mears transportation from and back to the airport.

 

[kwdw]

I do lots of solo WDW trips. A tip: when booking advanced dining reservations (ADRs) book as tho you are two people. Disney’s system seems to prefer “even” numbers for reservations.

When I tried to book as a solo their system gave me the “off” times, ex. lunch came back as 3:30, nothing around noon or so. Putting in a party of 2 gave me timeframes closer to noon. When you show up alone just tell them it’s just you. The CMs have never given me a hard time with that.
Have fun!

This! I even had to resort to party size of 4 on my last trip to get even more times. It didn’t use to be this way, but now solo diners are discriminated against. I get it from a financial perspective, but there are a lot of adult solo travelers to WDW.