Single Rider Advice Needed For A Somewhat Complicated Last Minute Trip...

[Little E]

My DH and I are going for our first ever no kid trip at the beginning of November. We have taken the kids once a year for several years, and we are a "ride as many rides as possible" kind of family of four. This kid free trip kind of came about unexpectedly, and is a pretty last minute long weekend trip.

I have never paid any attention to which rides have the single rider line, as we have always gone on rides as a family of four, and we've never used single rider options. Because this is a pretty last minute trip, we didn't get all the FPs we would have liked, especially Frozen at Epcot. (Our last trip fell before Frozen opened, so we've never ridden on it, and we'd really like to!). To make things slightly more complicated (but still awesome!), we are meeting up with another couple who are staying longer than we are, have a separate ressie, and have many special events scheduled that we don't have. So, we have to schedule our time together in the parks with them strategically around the stuff that we aren't taking part in. This means we can't do our normal RD-then-head-back-to-the-room-after-lunch-then-go-back-to-the-park-after-dinner plan.

I'm thinking we'd like to take advantage of as many single rider lines as we can, to help offset our lack of desirable FPs and our unique scheduling challenges. We have park hoppers and plan to hit all four parks during the Thursday-Sunday time we are there. I'm assuming that all the rollercoasters have single rider lines, but I have no idea what other rides in the four parks have the single rider option. So, here are my questions...

1. Is using the single rider line a good work around for us?
2. Do all the major rollercoasters in all the parks have single rider lines? If not, which ones don't?
3. What other rides, besides rollercoasters, have single rider lines in all four parks that we could use?
4. Are there strategies about single rider lines that I need to know?

Any advice anyone may have would be awesome!!! In advance, thank you so much!!

 

[SirDuff]

Only three rides have single rider lines - Everest, Test Track, and RnR.

 

[karly05]

Only three rides have single rider lines - Everest, Test Track, and RnR.

Those are the only 3 with single rider lines, but be alert when in regular lines: CMs will sometimes call out a request for a party of one or two to fill a car or row. I've had that happen for me a couple of times on TSMM.

 

[Alesia]

Only three rides have single rider lines - Everest, Test Track, and RnR.

Yup. And the single rider line at RnR is sometimes worse than the standby line.

 

[mousefan73]

we found the SRL faster at TT than the FP many times.. but you skip the computer room. we just wanted to ride.

 

[Hopefully]

Your assumption is not accurate. Most coasters/rides don't have single rider lines. You need another strategy. RD still maybe your friend. Will the other couple join you? Do you need to make all the schedule accommodations or are they flexible as well?

 

[mickeymom22]

No official single rider line on Space Mountain, but we have split up and gone "single" when they have asked for a "party" of one! It doesn't happen until you get close to loading so I don't think it will really help with saving you too much time.

 

[Accident]

Without the kids it's pretty easy to take a different approach to going around the park... What I like to do is loop it several times and basically we're looking for the walk ons at the moment and we'll toss in a wait when we know it's a ride that doesnt' really slow down.. generally in each loop around the park we discover something we forgot about, hit a few rides with no wait in a little section that for some reason has nobody in it and make sure we hit a longer line for the moment. by the time we end the third loop around we've been on everything we wanted a a few things we didnt' expect to be in the mood for because they were walk on... We also tend to notice a lot more as we're paying attention to what is around us better and not going ride to ride like most do.

We might do single rider but a couple ahve wait times and usually they aren't faster but ones like TT where it's easier to skip making your own car design it can be a great asset, and more than you would expect a party of 2 might be together but it depends on if there is any parties of 2 close enough tot he front that it's faster to let them in the car then single rider line people.

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

I think you need to decide whether you really want to, at least in terms of scheduling (which as you clearly know is paramount at WDW), piggy back on another couple's WDW vacation, or have one of your own. I have a feeling you're not going to enjoy watching them partake in and/or ride the things you can't, or knowing they'll be able to hit all the things you won't be able to since they'll be there longer. If you want a no-kids WDW experience, give it to yourself. That may mean you spend less time with the other couple and more time doing what you really want to do. Because in the end, it doesn't sound like the other couple is going to lose out on their WDW experience, but it sure sounds like you might. If group time is more important, given your restrictions, unfortunately I don't see how you'll really be able to avoid lines or maximize the ride time you want. Maybe that will work out for you anyway. For me, my number one rule about meeting up or traveling with anyone at Disney, and I stick to it (have for years)--if you're going to impact my experience of the parks, meet me some other time, somewhere else. There's nothing worse than going home with regrets from a Disney vacation.

 

[sharonabe]

This means we can't do our normal RD-then-head-back-to-the-room-after-lunch-then-go-back-to-the-park-after-dinner plan.

You won't need that afternoon break in November anyway. I'd be there at rope drop and just go all day. Meet your friends when you need to, and do what you want around that. Use park hopping to give you a rest time if needed. Boats, monorail, and buses at least give you a moment or two off your feet.

 

[Little E]

Thank you so much for all the feedback...it's so helpful! I didn't realize there were only three single rider lines at all the parks. Thanks for the help in the "looping" strategy...I think DH and I will use that! As far as the amount of time spent with the other couple, we'll have time in the parks on our own, as well as time in the parks and at nice restaurants with them. We have to be somewhat flexible because they are signed up for signature events that were full well before we decided to even take the trip.

The plan for this trip was "hatched' when we went to dinner with them, and they talked about an upcoming November trip that they were excited to take. By the end of the evening, they had convinced us to join them; we decided to see what resorts were available and go for a long weekend. DH and I know that this will not be like our regular trips with the kids where we do RD and hit tons of rides, and we're totally OK with this. We've decided to simply enjoy time on our own, enjoy time with good friends, and do things (like F & W and signature restaurants) that we've never done at WDW before, at a leisurely pace.

It also helps to know that we have a family trip planned with the kids next June, too.