Solo Trip Recap: 5/4 - 5/6

[Madani]

I just finished my second, 3 days at WDW solo trip. My first trip in 2014 was a bit of a disaster as I came down with a terrible upper respiratory infection right before I left and was miserable the entire time. This experience was much better!

Hotel: I stayed at POP, 80s building. Not my favorite room there. It just seemed like a long trudge back and forth to the front, and I like walking. But POP is perfect in all other ways as I just need a place to shower and sleep, and the bus setup from POP suits me.

Transportation: I used the bus, including the new express transportation for park hopping which was awesome! I had only 3 days so hesitated about it, but rationalized that my time is valuable since I planned a “greatest hits” trip with daily hopping. It was worth it but I wonder how long it can continue. The most I had was 7 other people on the bus with me, and once I was the only person on board.

Dining: I had ADRs at Liberty Tree Tavern, Nine Dragons, and the ROL dinner package at Tiffins. No problem and no weirdness about being solo. The wait staff and hosts were all uniformly nice. I bring my kindle and read with my dinner.

Parks: The biggest advantage in being solo is how much ground you can cover. The big day for me in terms of number of attractions started at MK: POC, HM, BTMRR 4x (it's my favorite!), quick break, IASW, PP with FP+, Philharmagic, Under the Sea, 7DMT with FP+, Lunch at LTT, Jungle Cruise with FP+, got a spot in the shade and waited for the parade while lunch settled, Pooh with FP+, People Mover, Buzz with FP+, then hopped on the Express Bus to Animal Kingdom and caught the last Lion King show with FP+, and finished with the safari ride with my final FP+ of the day. I could have gone back to MK for the fireworks but it was hot and I was tired. My worst day was my last day, split between MK and Epcot. It was Saturday and by 6PM I was done with the crowds. I couldn’t get an additional FP+ in MK for anything I wanted and I just wasn't feeling the magic anymore so I called it a night. I picked up some food and ate at a table by the pool at POP, reading and enjoying the nice weather. It was a quiet evening to wind down my trip and turned out ok.

Solo Guilt: yes, I did have a twinge of guilt and missing my family here and there, and occasionally caught myself thinking how much DD would have liked this or that. On the other hand, when I’m with family I occasionally think “if I were here solo I could have seen X more things by now” so I guess it all evens out in the end.

Do it Again? Yep. Probably not for another 2 years as we have a family Disney cruise planned for next year. But I’m sure I will be back on my own again. If you are considering a solo trip - go for it. If you can manage going to a movie on your own you can do a WDW trip. It is so easy and there is so much to do, that no matter your hang up (mine is characters, just can’t talk to them while there solo) there is plenty that you WON’T feel self-conscious about to enjoy.

 

[brad813]

I just finished my second, 3 days at WDW solo trip. My first trip in 2014 was a bit of a disaster as I came down with a terrible upper respiratory infection right before I left and was miserable the entire time. This experience was much better!

Hotel: I stayed at POP, 80s building. Not my favorite room there. It just seemed like a long trudge back and forth to the front, and I like walking. But POP is perfect in all other ways as I just need a place to shower and sleep, and the bus setup from POP suits me.

Transportation: I used the bus, including the new express transportation for park hopping which was awesome! I had only 3 days so hesitated about it, but rationalized that my time is valuable since I planned a “greatest hits” trip with daily hopping. It was worth it but I wonder how long it can continue. The most I had was 7 other people on the bus with me, and once I was the only person on board.

Dining: I had ADRs at Liberty Tree Tavern, Nine Dragons, and the ROL dinner package at Tiffins. No problem and no weirdness about being solo. The wait staff and hosts were all uniformly nice. I bring my kindle and read with my dinner.

Parks: The biggest advantage in being solo is how much ground you can cover. The big day for me in terms of number of attractions started at MK: POC, HM, BTMRR 4x (it's my favorite!), quick break, IASW, PP with FP+, Philharmagic, Under the Sea, 7DMT with FP+, Lunch at LTT, Jungle Cruise with FP+, got a spot in the shade and waited for the parade while lunch settled, Pooh with FP+, People Mover, Buzz with FP+, then hopped on the Express Bus to Animal Kingdom and caught the last Lion King show with FP+, and finished with the safari ride with my final FP+ of the day. I could have gone back to MK for the fireworks but it was hot and I was tired. My worst day was my last day, split between MK and Epcot. It was Saturday and by 6PM I was done with the crowds. I couldn’t get an additional FP+ in MK for anything I wanted and I just wasn't feeling the magic anymore so I called it a night. I picked up some food and ate at a table by the pool at POP, reading and enjoying the nice weather. It was a quiet evening to wind down my trip and turned out ok.

Solo Guilt: yes, I did have a twinge of guilt and missing my family here and there, and occasionally caught myself thinking how much DD would have liked this or that. On the other hand, when I’m with family I occasionally think “if I were here solo I could have seen X more things by now” so I guess it all evens out in the end.

Do it Again? Yep. Probably not for another 2 years as we have a family Disney cruise planned for next year. But I’m sure I will be back on my own again. If you are considering a solo trip - go for it. If you can manage going to a movie on your own you can do a WDW trip. It is so easy and there is so much to do, that no matter your hang up (mine is characters, just can’t talk to them while there solo) there is plenty that you WON’T feel self-conscious about to enjoy.

I actually left Orlando the day you arrived. Did Blizzard Beach on May 3rd and SeaWorld May 4th. Well worth doing solo.

 

[jsmla]

Thanks for writing, I have a solo trip planned in September and it will be my first time with the Dining Plan. How was your RoLDP experience? Did you get to the theater early? I'm hoping as a solo Imdon't need to get there so far in advance. The menu at a Tiffins looks so good!

 

[L_MD]

My worst day was my last day, split between MK and Epcot. It was Saturday and by 6PM I was done with the crowds. I couldn’t get an additional FP+ in MK for anything I wanted and I just wasn't feeling the magic anymore so I called it a night. I picked up some food and ate at a table by the pool at POP, reading and enjoying the nice weather. It was a quiet evening to wind down my trip and turned out ok..

Seems like you only were bothered by the crowds on Saturday (which I understand!) How were Thursday and Friday?

 

[Madani]

How was your RoLDP experience? Did you get to the theater early? I'm hoping as a solo Imdon't need to get there so far in advance.

Thirty minutes ahead of time there was still plenty of seating available in the reserved dining section. The FP+ section and standby were filling up. I liked the show but I think that the wind that night might have adversely impacted the special effects. I did not watch any videos or anything ahead of time so didn't know exactly what to expect or how the effects look on a night with less wind.

Also, about 7PM that night I was looking for available FP+ and ROL FP+ popped up repeatedly. This was Friday night on my trip.

 

[Madani]

Seems like you only were bothered by the crowds on Saturday (which I understand!) How were Thursday and Friday?

No problems with the crowds Thursday and Friday. I skip some of the high demand rides like Splash and Space Mountain as they aren't my thing, so I had no problems getting FP+ one after another in MK. I was there for RD on Friday at Epcot, walked on Soarin, did Living with the Land since it was right there, and THEN walked over and rode TT twice as a walk on, single rider line. The standby at that point was 40 minutes. Boy was it awesome zooming past that line! The most time I waited the whole trip was 25 minutes for Nemo and Friends, which could have been avoided if I hadn't had a brain fart while setting up my fast passes for the day. Saturday was more of a challenge. I did RD at MK and went straight to PP, walked on. By the time I exited, the stand by line was 30 minutes - at 9:07 or whatever it was. That was kind of how that day went. In the future I will see if I can avoid a weekend visit if possible. And the weather was beautiful which I'm sure was a draw for local AP holders.

 

[chudlyfudly]

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I must admit I'm mildly concerned about the solo guilt aspect, but I'm generally comfortable enough travelling other places alone - I figure though that the heavy connotations with it being an old family holiday destination could bring a couple of hitches here and there.