Solo trips? Yay or nay?

[hc88]

Hi all, I am an everything orlando fan, love all the parks disney, universal and seaworld parks. Used to visit with family (as a child) and with my now ex partner. With most my friends being coupled up or with families im considering a solo trip ahhh scary.

Wondered if anyone from the uk has done it before or has one planned? Any advice for money saving as a solo traveller. Are there any companies or groups that organise meet ups for social events or days whilst out there?

Also whats the most cost effective way to do it?

Open to all suggestions and advice. Experienced traveller to orlando as part of a group but no idea how to do it alone!

Thanks guys!

 

[disneyholic family]

i went on a solo trip a few years back.
well, it was partly solo.
I was on my own for the first 9 days of the visit to WDW, then my sister and mom flew down from detroit for a conference (reason i went to orlando to begin with).

i had never been to WDW without DH, DD and DS - so yes, i was a bit nervous.

I did a few things before the trip. i signed up for behind the scenes tours and arranged to meet with a few people i'd gotten to know on the podcast board in the dis (i'd never actually met them until the trip)

Everything worked out well.

the behind the scenes tours were fantastic!!! and it wasn't a problem at all being solo on the tours.

on one of the days that i wasn't touring, i met up with someone from the podcast board. we spent a wonderful day at epcot and then dinner at the celebration town tavern.
and i met with another person from the podcast board for dinner at the GF, and then joined in at a dis meet at the poly (and a bunch of us from there then continued to MK for the parade and fireworks).

so while most of the time was on my own, i did have some meets with people i 'knew' from the disboards.

by the way, there is a solo travelers board on the dis. But i never went onto that one. I met up with people from the podcast board.

all in all, it was a lot of fun and i'd definitely do it again.

 

[zavandor]

Solo theme parks trips? YES!!!
My first solo trip was to Disneyland (California) in 2012. I had a business conference in San Francisco so I added a little holiday to visit the city as well and then go to Disneyland: I just couldn't miss the opportunity to visit Walt's park. I liked it and now I'm less shy to have solo trips and went to Orlando for 2 weeks last September.
The best thing is that you can do whatever you want whenever you want. Do you want to wake up very early and rope drop? Do it. Do you want to sleep until noon and then go to the pool skipping a park day? Do it. Do you fancy to run BTMRR 5 times in a row? Do it. Do you want to spend time just walking and smelling the roses? Do it.
You can do much more when alone in the parks, no pauses to wait for others (toilet stops, phone calls, pictures....) and you can use single riders lines.

However you won't have one to chat about a ride you just has or to share a meal. Queues are your enemy, so my first tip is to bring something to keep you occupied with. Books to read (better if in an e-reader), games to play. Or maybe you can do a live trip report and use time in the queues to update it.

It would be a different experience, but you can enjoy it!

 

[Debbyt28]

Hi I made my first solo trip 2012 stayed at pop century for 10 days. I enjoyed myself so much I'm going back again in September due to job change I've managed to snag a stay at Swan and Dolphin
After approx 18 previous visits with family it was lovely to do what I wanted when I wanted . I made a few dining reservations but was on the QSVP so that suited me
As previously mentioned I found my kindle very useful and as I am a smoker enjoyed some good conversations at the designated spots
I also booked the wild Africa trek experience so this year I am planning keys of the kingdom
My only regret is that there are never any DIS visits during my stays

 

[disneyholic family]

Hi I made my first solo trip 2012 stayed at pop century for 10 days. I enjoyed myself so much I'm going back again in September due to job change I've managed to snag a stay at Swan and Dolphin
After approx 18 previous visits with family it was lovely to do what I wanted when I wanted . I made a few dining reservations but was on the QSVP so that suited me
As previously mentioned I found my kindle very useful and as I am a smoker enjoyed some good conversations at the designated spots
I also booked the wild Africa trek experience so this year I am planning keys of the kingdom
My only regret is that there are never any DIS visits during my stays

i organised the dis visit myself!!! and several of the podcasters even came to it!! i wouldnt' do it again though - organise it myself that is - it was a lot of pressure...i was worried it wouldn't work out, but it was really nice.
several UK dissers were there - Reid (Cyrano) and a few others.

 

[hc88]

Thanks for all your opinions guys.
Im definitely considering it. Im more worried about the evenings to be honest as i love going out and about around citywalk, downtown disney, international drive and kissimmee. But ive always done it with someone.

Id definitely be up for dis meet ups. Just hope ones happening when i finally plan to go.

 

[1nfrequent]

hc88:
Wondered if anyone from the uk has done it before or has one planned? Any advice for money saving as a solo traveller. Are there any companies or groups that organise meet ups for social events or days whilst out there?

Also whats the most cost effective way to do it?

I've made 3 solo trips to WDW and I have a blast.

For me the most cost effective way of doing it is to book everything myself and use a combination of airmiles, hotels.com and cashback sites. I put my Tesco clubcard points into Avios, which I use to redeem upgrades on my flights (note you need plan about a year in advance for that as they go very quick - especially if you're looking to go at peak time). For staying on site, I keep an eye on quidco, TCB the WDW site and hotels.com (which gives you 1 free night for every 10 you stay) and book the cheapest.

I've never needed to meet up with anyone because I've been really busy around the parks and I catch up on my reading and thinking time but the Solo forum has active threads for meets and it's really easy to just chat to people in line or at the restaurants so I don't feel lonely.

hc88:
Im more worried about the evenings to be honest as i love going out and about around citywalk, downtown disney, international drive and kissimmee. But ive always done it with someone.

Depending on when you go, the parks are open until quite late but when I've been in low season, I spend my evenings at downtown Disney and at the cinema - plenty to do, plenty of people watching and honestly - I'm so tired normally I'm sometimes glad to have an early night.

1F