Making a Solo Trip from December 14th-19th

[Vexorg]

Based on a combination of some upcoming downtime from work and cheap airfare from Seattle to Orlando, I find myself giving some serious thought to taking a solo trip down to Disney World for a few days on either the second or third week in December (either the 7th-12th or 14th-19th.) I'm thinking I might go for three days in the parks, and then couple of additional days of wandering around the area (Kennedy Space Center, Daytona, etc.) I've been to Disneyland a couple of times now, but this would be my first trip to Disney World, so advice on what to look for, and where to stay would be helpful.

Also, if I decided to put off the trip until the first week of January, would I be able to get a better deal? I'm having trouble with trying to figure out what one of the packages on their current promotion would cost for a single person, so if anyone has that info I'd appreciate it.

 

[CelticWoman]

checkout mousefest...a good time for a solo trip....our family loves it but LOTS of solos attend!!!

Based on a combination of some upcoming downtime from work and cheap airfare from Seattle to Orlando, I find myself giving some serious thought to taking a solo trip down to Disney World for a few days on either the second or third week in December (either the 7th-12th or 14th-19th.) I'm thinking I might go for three days in the parks, and then couple of additional days of wandering around the area (Kennedy Space Center, Daytona, etc.) I've been to Disneyland a couple of times now, but this would be my first trip to Disney World, so advice on what to look for, and where to stay would be helpful.

Also, if I decided to put off the trip until the first week of January, would I be able to get a better deal? I'm having trouble with trying to figure out what one of the packages on their current promotion would cost for a single person, so if anyone has that info I'd appreciate it.

 

[watank]

Hi, I booked a trip for early Dec. on impulse a few days ago, in my case the holiday decorations and Mickey's Christmas Party were the reasons.

-Ken

 

[Vexorg]

After doing a bit of homework on this, here's what I've come up with:

I would most likely be flying out on December 14th, and returning on the 19th (although I might decide to toss an extra day in there if I can make the budget work out, or try to take a redeye on Saturday.) I considered the previous week, but hotel availability looks like it would be a problem.

For hotel, I had considered the Pop Century, but on further investigation it looks like the Hilton in Downtown Disney has some good rates available for that week, and gets the same benefits as the Disney-owned hotels, and is a bit quieter than some of the other places. Any opinions on this?

-For a park ticket, I was considering picking up a 7-day non-expiration ticket to save for later. Would I be better off just sticking with a standard 4-day parkhopper pass?

 

[spiceycat]

7 day especially if you are coming back.

the HH does not have DME - so you are going to have find your own transportation from the airport to HH and back again

if you went with Pop - you could do DME.

HH only participates in EMH. It does not use the WDW buses - now the DDh buses are a little slower and they do go to the other hotels on that side before the parks. the buses are further away than WDW buses - especially for the MK.

 

[nurse.darcy]

For me the free transportation from the airport to the hotel is usually my reasoning for staying onsite. I usually avoid the parks with EMH due to crowd levels but the fact that the onsite disney busses run so frequently is a VERY convenient point of sale for me. I will be staying offsite in December so not sure how that is going to work for me yet. Although I will be with someone who has a car so that is good.

 

[Vexorg]

I just went ahead and booked my flight to Orlando and hotel this morning. I go out on December 14th and return on the 19th. I did end up going with the Hilton (For $99 per night I can probably live with waiting a bit longer for the bus,) but I still haven't filled in the rest of the details yet. More on this as I do...

 

[Vexorg]

OK, so as a result of booking on short notice, I have just three weeks to plan this... Now what?

As stated previously, I've been to Disneyland twice, but
this will be my first time at WDW. Here's what I've figured out so far. As a 30 year old single guy (LDS, never married, and probably just being waaaay too picky about the whole thing anyway if anyone's wondering), here are some of the questions I have:

-One of the reasons I went with the Hilton is that it participates in the Extra Magic Hours, and it looks like there are a couple of EMH evenings at the Magic Kingdom during the week I will be there. Since I'm a night owl (and I'll probably be on three hours of jet lag anyway) I'm sure I'll be taking advantage of at least one of those. The other two evenings are MVMCP, and I'm still on the fence about whether to do that or not. Thoughts?

-I still need to work out ground transportation to and from the airport when I get there. For those who have stayed at non-Disney hotels, any recommendations on those?

-I expect my flight to arrive on Sunday (12/14) around 7:30pm, and I'd guess it'll probably take another hour to get to WDW from the airport. This means there won't be time to do much that night, although I'll probably wander around Downtown Disney for a bit. How late are things generally open around there?

-Is DisneyQuest something that I might find interesting? I've always been something of an arcade junkie (I have an arcade game here in my office at home, in fact) although the place seems to be fairly kid-oriented.

-If you've never been to WDW before, where would you go first? I'm guessing I'll probably focus on Epcot the first day, possibly heading for MK later on. Also, if you've been to DLR before, would that change anything? When I went to Disneyland I was told by the CM at the ticket booth to go on Soarin' first, and as impressive as it is, since I rode it six times in three days when I was there I'll probably drop it down on the priority list a bit, but get to it eventually.

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I try to figure things out, but these will probably be a good start. I'm going to make the assumption that I should probably pass on most of the princess-related activities at this point (at least until I can manage to bring along offspring of the appropriate gender for such things,) but other than that, I'm not so sure. Thoughts?

 

[Tinkerbell_n_neverland]

OK, so as a result of booking on short notice, I have just three weeks to plan this... Now what?

As stated previously, I've been to Disneyland twice, but
this will be my first time at WDW. Here's what I've figured out so far. As a 30 year old single guy (LDS, never married, and probably just being waaaay too picky about the whole thing anyway if anyone's wondering), here are some of the questions I have:

-One of the reasons I went with the Hilton is that it participates in the Extra Magic Hours, and it looks like there are a couple of EMH evenings at the Magic Kingdom during the week I will be there. Since I'm a night owl (and I'll probably be on three hours of jet lag anyway) I'm sure I'll be taking advantage of at least one of those. The other two evenings are MVMCP, and I'm still on the fence about whether to do that or not. Thoughts?

-I still need to work out ground transportation to and from the airport when I get there. For those who have stayed at non-Disney hotels, any recommendations on those?

-I expect my flight to arrive on Sunday (12/14) around 7:30pm, and I'd guess it'll probably take another hour to get to WDW from the airport. This means there won't be time to do much that night, although I'll probably wander around Downtown Disney for a bit. How late are things generally open around there?

-Is DisneyQuest something that I might find interesting? I've always been something of an arcade junkie (I have an arcade game here in my office at home, in fact) although the place seems to be fairly kid-oriented.

-If you've never been to WDW before, where would you go first? I'm guessing I'll probably focus on Epcot the first day, possibly heading for MK later on. Also, if you've been to DLR before, would that change anything? When I went to Disneyland I was told by the CM at the ticket booth to go on Soarin' first, and as impressive as it is, since I rode it six times in three days when I was there I'll probably drop it down on the priority list a bit, but get to it eventually.

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I try to figure things out, but these will probably be a good start. I'm going to make the assumption that I should probably pass on most of the princess-related activities at this point (at least until I can manage to bring along offspring of the appropriate gender for such things,) but other than that, I'm not so sure. Thoughts?

I dont have all the answers, but I can help with some.

Can't help you with the hilton cause I've pretty much only stayed on property.. but take advantage of everything you can.

As far as transportation.. were you thinking of renting a car? If not there are always taxis or shuttle service. Also ask the hotel if they provide anything.

I personally enjoy DTD and always go at least once on my trip. There are some things to see and lots of shopping.
DTD hours are : 11pm Sun thru Thurs and 11:30p on Friday and Sat.
- if you need more info on DTD Shops and Places to eat try this link http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/moreMagic/moreMagicLanding?id=DTDLandingPage

As far as Disney Quest goes, good chance you'll enjoy it if you like video games. There are video game "rides" in there. You get to be a pirate and you can also go rafting. They have a build your own rollercoaster game that you ride. There's also a room with these bumper-like-cars you get in. They shoot giant nerf-balls. Its pretty cool. They also have classic arcade games, virtual reality games, and games that you play with groups. When I was married my (ex) Husband use to love going there. He was a bit of a game nut.

Epcot is probably a good first pick. They are geared more towards adult tastes. They have things for children but alot of the rides are more educational and some are fast paced (aka test track). World showcase has alot to see as far as other countries go. You can get food from around the world and in alot of the buildings they show movies or have rides that will bring you into other cultures. Its interesting if you are into that sort of thing.

Keep an eye for single riders lines (or for CM to call a single person to the front of the line). My mother often goes alone and alot of times she doesnt have to wait. Theres alot to see and do. Check out online maps before you go. Enjoy yourself and have fun. I'll be down there with my 4 year old the same time as you Have a magical trip!