Solo trip soon in JUNE

[muppet_man]

Hi all! Solo Traveler planning to go to Disney World & Universal in Orlando first two weeks of June very soon from Australia.

I'm aware it's when the US school holiday season is beginning at this time and very hot, however this is the window that I can travel.

So my serious question is... How bad will it be in terms of queues, wait times, getting around the parks in the first 1-2 weeks of June in terms of a Solo traveler?

Is staying on site really worth it? Will I miss out on much if I go with a budget hotel very close by?
And would you stay 50/50 WDW & Universal or maybe a 60-40 split over the two weeks?

All advice appreciated

 

[ahhhshmatthew]

Hi There --

Essentially any time you are traveling solo, it is always easier to navigate parks, queues, etc. IMO. Single rider lines alone make many of the queues much more doable. Navigating the chaos on your own is also just logistically simpler: you don't have to worry about anyone else, what they want to do, where they want go, if they are keeping up with you, etc.

In terms of park attendance, the first 2 weeks of June are pretty good. Obviously, summer break crowds will start streaming in, but there are definitely far more busier windows of time in July and/or August b/c of holidays and "end of summer trips." Disney tends to manipulate things such that it can be hard to find any super "low crowd vibes" (refurbishments, staffing, etc. during low crowd times often times affect the vibe). All in all though, definitely not overtly busy; however, not sure anyone precisely knows how Universal opening Epic just a few weeks before your trip will affect WDW - TBD

In terms of the on-site question - probably the most often question asked on these forums haha. All a matter of personal preference. I personally love the WDW transportation - it's not that I'm not capable of driving, but having to get in the car, drive to the parks, find parking, pay for parking, potentially take more transportation (like at MK) to get to the park, then exit the park driving when I'm tired in a crowded crazy parking lot...I just don't want to deal with it on a vacation. Disney transpo of course has its ups and downs, but I far prefer it to driving. Definitely means a more expensive hotel, but we also just love being in the Disney bubble. You'd also miss out on early morning entry for all WDW hotel guests and late night hours (if you were staying at a Deluxe). I also find that I use the amenities of the hotel more on property given the transportation convenience (vs. off property I'm basically never there).

I think with Epic Universe, it'd make sense to give Universal more time (as a Disney person). Previously, I would have been in the 2-3 days max camp for Universal; now I think 4-5 would probably suffice for me with Epic, but that's coming from a Disney person

Either way it will be incredible - if it were me, and I were traveling that far, I'd try to maximize my comfort and ease as long as it fit the budget.

 

[clappyclaps]

In terms of the on-site question - probably the most often question asked on these forums haha. All a matter of personal preference. I personally love the WDW transportation - it's not that I'm not capable of driving, but having to get in the car, drive to the parks, find parking, pay for parking, potentially take more transportation (like at MK) to get to the park, then exit the park driving when I'm tired in a crowded crazy parking lot...I just don't want to deal with it on a vacation. Disney transpo of course has its ups and downs, but I far prefer it to driving. Definitely means a more expensive hotel, but we also just love being in the Disney bubble. You'd also miss out on early morning entry for all WDW hotel guests and late night hours (if you were staying at a Deluxe). I also find that I use the amenities of the hotel more on property given the transportation convenience (vs. off property I'm basically never there).

I think with Epic Universe, it'd make sense to give Universal more time (as a Disney person). Previously, I would have been in the 2-3 days max camp for Universal; now I think 4-5 would probably suffice for me with Epic, but that's coming from a Disney person

Totally agree with the transportation and staying on-site. I'd never stay off site, especially as a solo traveller. The Disney transportation is more than worth the extra cost for the benefit and ease it gives.

I'd probably go maybe 6 days Universal, minimum 5, the rest Disney. You only really need 1 full day at Studios, and the other 4/5 can be spent between Islands and Epic. No doubt Epic will need more time! However I am one of those people that always overestimates how much time I need to do things.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Hi all! Solo Traveler planning to go to Disney World & Universal in Orlando first two weeks of June very soon from Australia.

I'm aware it's when the US school holiday season is beginning at this time and very hot, however this is the window that I can travel.

So my serious question is... How bad will it be in terms of queues, wait times, getting around the parks in the first 1-2 weeks of June in terms of a Solo traveler?

Is staying on site really worth it? Will I miss out on much if I go with a budget hotel very close by?
And would you stay 50/50 WDW & Universal or maybe a 60-40 split over the two weeks?

All advice appreciated

The summer breaks are more gradual around this time. In my part of the US, we don't get out of school until mid-June.

Lightning Lane is a must buy if you want to get on more popular attractions like TRON or Avatar, as lines are still quite consistently long in those first 2 weeks.

The benefits of staying in a Disney Resorts Collection hotel do include that easy accessibility to all the parks, Disney Springs and other attractions on property. If you are planning to do parks other than Disney, which is your case here, I would suggest using just one non-Disney hotel like Holiday Inn Express or a similar hotel on that level. It would be more complicated to get one hotel just for the Disney portion and another for the Universal portion. If you are renting a car for your visit, you can drive to your desired parks from that one non-Disney hotel. Plus, you can also check out some other great attractions, malls, and restaurants outside of the bounds of the theme parks that you wouldn't find back home (I recommend checking out Pollo Tropical-they have great grilled citrus marinated chicken).

With respect to timing of your parks, I would recommend 60-40 of whichever park you really enjoy. If you like Disney a lot more, you can definitely shift most of your visit to the Disney parks and then a couple days in Universal.

 

[Bete]

It all depends on how much you want to be in the Disney bubble with regards to staying on site. Commuting with the offsite resorts takes longer; so, you lose park time being offsite. I've done it both ways and as a solo traveler I prefer onsite for Disney. You get some additional perks being onsite as a Disney resort guest. I feel safer at an onsite Disney resort. Car rentals are not free; car services are not free, either. If you get an offsite resort shuttle service, it's much more restrictive regarding hours of service and frequency of service.

I feel the same about Universal and would stay onsite there, too. You will have to arrange for one ride between Disney and Universal.

With coming from Australia, I would think that's hard enough; so, make it easy on yourself and stay onsite at both.