Solo first timer

[wvjules]

I need a getaway so I just booked a "last" minute solo trip for May 10-14 at ASMo. I am also going in December with family so no need to see and do it all this trip. I just want to get away. That being said I have reserved park days in the following order:

May 10 -Arrive at 11am, check in, drop bags, go to Hollywood Studios
May 11 - Animal Kingdom
May 12 - MK
May 13 - Epcot
May 14 - HS - departure flight at 6pm

No plans for any sit down meals. I plan on QS and on Epcot day, eating at the F&G booths.

Any changes you'd make to this plan and any tips for a first time solo trip?

 

[BrianL]

Awesome - have fun!

 

[loves to dive]

I go solo often, have a trip coming up the week of April 17 actually. I just randomly book my park reservations because I always have hoppers but your schedule looks fine. I never book ADRs in advance, if I get a wild hair and want a TS meal, I just look at MDE while walking around that day and find what's available. That is a little easier with hoppers since it doesn't matter what park and being a solo adult helps since the time doesn't really matter. I usually go during festivals and at least one, if not two, meals a day come from the booths at Epcot. Again, that only works if you have hoppers.

An alternative to TS is lounges. I love me some HBD and Nomad Lounge, both have great food options and you can't beat Nomad Lounges selection of refreshing adult beverage. Neither are cheap though. I've also found a lot of snack type options work great for meals for me. Yak and Yeti has a chicken fried rice as a side that is more than enough for a meal for me.

Going solo is great for me, I get to get up when I want, ride or not ride what I want, just sit on a bench and sip on a refreshing adult beverage and people watch or walk and around and enjoy all the details. I can take my time on the trails in AK and talk to the CMs, I can take the train and go pet a goat. I'm never in a hurry when I'm solo, I know I'll be back again if not the current year the next one so there are no rides it's a bad thing to miss. If I want to ride a ride and there is a hour wait, so what, I really don't have anything else do do. I pull up my kindle app on my phone and catch up on some reading.

 

[wvjules]

I go solo often, have a trip coming up the week of April 17 actually. I just randomly book my park reservations because I always have hoppers but your schedule looks fine. I never book ADRs in advance, if I get a wild hair and want a TS meal, I just look at MDE while walking around that day and find what's available. That is a little easier with hoppers since it doesn't matter what park and being a solo adult helps since the time doesn't really matter. I usually go during festivals and at least one, if not two, meals a day come from the booths at Epcot. Again, that only works if you have hoppers.

An alternative to TS is lounges. I love me some HBD and Nomad Lounge, both have great food options and you can't beat Nomad Lounges selection of refreshing adult beverage. Neither are cheap though. I've also found a lot of snack type options work great for meals for me. Yak and Yeti has a chicken fried rice as a side that is more than enough for a meal for me.

Going solo is great for me, I get to get up when I want, ride or not ride what I want, just sit on a bench and sip on a refreshing adult beverage and people watch or walk and around and enjoy all the details. I can take my time on the trails in AK and talk to the CMs, I can take the train and go pet a goat. I'm never in a hurry when I'm solo, I know I'll be back again if not the current year the next one so there are no rides it's a bad thing to miss. If I want to ride a ride and there is a hour wait, so what, I really don't have anything else do do. I pull up my kindle app on my phone and catch up on some reading.

This is great! Thanks! I'm having a hard time trying to plan, nor not plan, this trip. I keep looking for ADRs, then changing my mind and deciding to decide each day if I want a sit-down.

I changed my tickets to PH so I can move around a bit if I want. It's hard to wrap my head around being in the moment and just going with the flow. I keep going from go-go-go to stop and smell the flowers. It's not my first time going and I will be back in December for 7 days so this should be easy!

Oh, I changed to ASMu Preferred. I was at ASSp but saw that they weren't renovated so I changed. Now I see PO-R has an opening. Is it worth $450 to switch? I. Just. Don't. Know.

*sigh*

 

[BrianL]

This is great! Thanks! I'm having a hard time trying to plan, nor not plan, this trip. I keep looking for ADRs, then changing my mind and deciding to decide each day if I want a sit-down.

I changed my tickets to PH so I can move around a bit if I want. It's hard to wrap my head around being in the moment and just going with the flow. I keep going from go-go-go to stop and smell the flowers. It's not my first time going and I will be back in December for 7 days so this should be easy!

Oh, I changed to ASMu Preferred. I was at ASSp but saw that they weren't renovated so I changed. Now I see PO-R has an opening. Is it worth $450 to switch? I. Just. Don't. Know.

*sigh*

All-Stars will be fine for a solo trip especially if you are spending most of your time in the parks. Personally, I'd spend the savings elsewhere.

 

[Oneanne]

Was just there solo early March. I only tried Genie+ one day at MK and it didn't work for me at all. I did have good luck with early entry. At DHS I got on Mickey's Runaway, RotR and Smuggler's Run all before general park opening. At AK I used early entry for FoP and was happy with that. At EPCOT I used it to walk on to Remy, which was great. My first MK morning was kind of a disaster. Despite reading up on current tips I had missed that only half of the park was available at early entry. I wanted to do PP, which was the ride furthest from the entry points and ended up shoulder to shoulder in a sea of people and by the time I got to PP it was a 40 minute wait. My next MK morning I decided to use my early entry time to line up on the Adventureland side and wait till park entry rope drop. I was at the front of the group waiting and was able to walk on to JC and Pirates, so that felt more successful. So long story short, if getting up that early isn't a vacation buster for you I do recommend making use of early entry.

Hope you have a wonderful trip.

 

[Simba's Mom]

As a first time solo-er, you'll probably notice a lot more solos than you ever noticed before. That's what happened to me the first time I went solo. Lots of people that you see are "solo at the moment"-that is, the rest of the family went to a different park; were tired, so are sleeping in; are sick; ate at a different restaurant; etc. You'll be pleasantly surprised how many other solos there are!
My only tip is to talk with the CMs. I've learned lots of information that families probably don't hear. Like why AK is the best park to work at if you're not a night owl, what different colored badges mean, why the skeleton is gone on the Pirates ride, etc. And the day a CM told me, very quietly "Channel ?? is filming here today, but don't tell the guests-we want them to act natural."And the only other tip-relax and enjoy!

 

[happiestpoe]

Have fun! I did my first solo in November and it was a great experience.

 

[xipotec]

Solo trips are the ultimate indulgance. Never waa I more relaxed at the parks, not having to worry about others..

 

[ScottOKW2K]

This is great! Thanks! I'm having a hard time trying to plan, nor not plan, this trip. I keep looking for ADRs, then changing my mind and deciding to decide each day if I want a sit-down.

I changed my tickets to PH so I can move around a bit if I want. It's hard to wrap my head around being in the moment and just going with the flow. I keep going from go-go-go to stop and smell the flowers. It's not my first time going and I will be back in December for 7 days so this should be easy!

Oh, I changed to ASMu Preferred. I was at ASSp but saw that they weren't renovated so I changed. Now I see PO-R has an opening. Is it worth $450 to switch? I. Just. Don't. Know.

*sigh*

I noticed that AS Movies shows King Bed rooms as a possibility. Something to consider. For the type of trip you are doing I would keep the All Star room, even though PO-R is one of my favorite resorts.

One useful tip from an experience when dining at the food court at the AS many years ago - have something to let a cast member know if you have left the table for a drink refill. I did not do that and when I returned to the table less than 2 minutes later my table had been cleaned! They replaced the food and I actually complimented the CM for his/her diligence.

 

[Annabell]

Have fun, I am considering a solo trip but still need time to do more research.

 

[Goldelpack]

I am a prefer to be solo person! Been that way for years - but as my family gets older I get more and more travel companions. So I extend my vacations to get those solo days in! My next one - IN LESS THAN 2 WEEKS - is 4 days solo & 3 with cousin. I will let her plan her 3 days and follow her schedule for the most part - but there's lots of time where I'll be sitting on my scooter drinking coffee in the hopefully hot bright sun whilst she rides this or that.
As a scooter user that's the only area where being solo has ever posed issues for me - some doors are very hard to open if I have to grab them, reverse, turn and head in only to find ANOTHER door.. but normally there's a human to help. Other than that I love my solo trips!

 

[fla4fun]

I go solo almost exclusively. As far as ADRs go, if you are going to visit your favorite restaurants on your later trip, I would encourage you not to make any reservations for the short trip. As a solo, I find on short trips, QS works best, so I can maximize my park time and only eat if I am actually hungry.

Otherwise, think about things you have always wanted to do, but the rest of your travel companions aren’t interested. Want to take lots of photos? Do it. Want to shop until you drop? Do it. Want to ride your favorite ride over and over without someone saying it’s a waste of time getting back in line? Do it. Enjoy doing exactly what you want, when you want, how you want.

One word of warning . . . Solo trips can become addictive!

 

[FangirlsDilemma]

Have SO much fun! Going on my first solo trip in a while in a few weeks and I can't wait for it. It's really nice to be on my own timetable and not take part in my least favorite activity, "stand around for ten minutes and discuss what we're doing next."

 

[zackiedawg]

Your plan sounds fine. It sounds like you might be looking for a more relaxed trip, so I think the less planning, the better when going solo...for me, it's all about not HAVING to be anywhere or do anything at a specific time. I strongly dislike having to make park reservation days and ADRs, but only do because you have to (ADRs if you want to go to a specific restaurant, since walk-ups are almost impossible at many restaurants if they don't have bar seating). SO when I go solo, I make the park ressies in no particular order, though DHS is usually my checkin day since I don't really do as much there so a half-day is fine. I make ADRs on some of the days if I really wanted to eat at a particular restaurant, though some days I don't bother and just hit quick serve or food stands instead.
Love solo traveling - I take a few trips to Disney a year as solo, and even for the other few trips each year that are with family or friends, I still end up taking half-day solo excursions or full solo days, meeting up with family for dinner some days, just so I can take a break and not feel like I'm rushing around following someone else's plans. Enjoy!

 

[wvjules]

I did make a few changes since I started this thread. I moved to POFQ, added a day and added PHs.

May 10 -Arrive at 1030-11am, check in, drop bags or nap if room is ready, Epcot for the evening. If room is not ready, Epcot in afternoon and then back "home" early.
May 11 - HS --> Epcot
May 12 - MK --> afternoon/evening at hotel/pool
May 13 - AK --> MK
May 14 - Epcot --> HS
May 15 - early flight home no park days

I think that's how I want to hop but not sure. I need to make a darned decision so I can make a G+ plan. I do want to keep it kinda relaxed and not fret about having to do it all because I will be back in 7 months. I really just need to make a list of "must-dos" and a list of "nah". Maybe I'll work on that tonight so I can nail down a plan-ish.

 

[Live@Disney]

I need a getaway so I just booked a "last" minute solo trip for May 10-14 at ASMo. I am also going in December with family so no need to see and do it all this trip. I just want to get away. That being said I have reserved park days in the following order:

May 10 -Arrive at 11am, check in, drop bags, go to Hollywood Studios
May 11 - Animal Kingdom
May 12 - MK
May 13 - Epcot
May 14 - HS - departure flight at 6pm

No plans for any sit down meals. I plan on QS and on Epcot day, eating at the F&G booths.

Any changes you'd make to this plan and any tips for a first time solo trip?

Also on a solo trip this week! No parks planned other than 13th at EP.

 

[Lori Duck]

Orig.Poster, let us know how your trip is going and how the crowds are!
Hope you're having a Magical day!

 

[kanerf]

I also do solo trips most of the time. No SO at the moment, so it is just me. I will be in EP also on the 14th.

 

[GAN]

I’m heading down in a week and don’t really have plans beyond park reservations -some I’ll keep some I’ll miss. Hang by the pool, golfing one day, some late nights in the parks….