Why did you decide to go solo?

I made the decision to go on my first ever solo trip after a tough year, with a painful break-up and a lot of soul-searching. I haven't been to WDW in almost a decade, as I could never find anyone who would be as excited about Disney and visiting the parks, as I would.
I will now be going at the end of September and stay for just over three weeks. I'm a little nervous about it, but very, very excited. Especially since I will be there during Food & Wine :lovestruc
 
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Just came home from my first solo trip (resort hopping & Disney Springs)!

The why: going through an unwanted divorce, and happened to be called to work in the Orlando area for a few days... so I decided I was taking a few days before coming home for ME. I had some hesitation, but I truly needed the shelter of the Magical land I had virtually grown up in, to feel like the world melted away and that the impossible was possible.

Would I do it again? Absolutely! There is nowhere else I would feel as safe traveling alone, and despite having some memories there with DH... the majority of my Disney memories are with my family from the last 30+ years, so it really does feel like going home.

I haven't scheduled the next solo trip that would include the parks yet, but I felt so welcomed and cared for this trip...I can't wait to get it planned. I didn't think I could ever be happy traveling alone... huge thanks to Disney for proving me wrong and healing a part of my heart in the meantime!

I totally get you, and I am so happy that you had such a wonderful time. Reading things like this really calms my nerves about my upcoming trip!
 
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I made the decision to go on my first ever solo trip after a tough year, with a painful break-up and a lot of soul-searching. I haven't been to WDW in almost a decade, as I could never find anyone who would be as excited about Disney and visiting the parks, as I would.
I will now be going at the end of September and stay for just over three weeks. I'm a little nervous about it, but very, very excited. Especially since I will be there during Food & Wine :lovestruc
Three weeks, wow! That’s going to be an incredible trip. 😍
 
Three weeks, wow! That’s going to be an incredible trip. 😍
I KNOW!
I figured, if I’m going to get on a plane from Europe, I might as well stay a while! Plus, I have a ton of vacation time that will expire unless I use it this year, so YAY!

And this way I won’t have to kill myself rushing through the parks in order to do everything at once.

I want to do a Halloween party, as well! I am so excited! 😍
 


I have my first solo trip coming up in September, and I am going solo for a few different reasons:

  • I wanted to go for Food & Wine and my SO will be in school
  • My SO is much more into a "slow and relaxing" pace while Disney puts me in a super "gogogo" kind of mode, so going alone will mean I can go at my own pace
  • I generally take 1 solo vacation a year anyway and really like "me" time, and thought F&W would be a good opportunity!
 
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I had my first entirely solo trip this past April - before that I have had an extra night at the end that was solo or solo evenings in the parks, but this was my first "go alone, come home alone" trip. A big reason behind mine was that during my College Program, a lot of the time I spent in the parks was by myself since my work schedule often didn't match up with my roommates/friends. Because of that, I sort of learned to do the parks by myself. So while I do love going with my family and sharing the memories with them, there was something so amazing about being back in the parks by myself. It meant that I could decide exactly what I wanted to do when. I didn't have to take into account the desires of others in my party, I didn't have to be held back by their not getting out of bed early enough in the morning or not walking quick enough through the crowds to beat everyone to SDD rope drop. It was just about me and what I wanted to do and that was absolutely incredible.

The other big thing for me was that WDW is my happy place where I can relax and just feel at home. There was something so cathartic about being there by myself, especially having dealt with a lot of stress this year at work. It's weird/hard to explain, but being there by myself just felt right and like I could just breathe it all in and unwind.
 
I am taking my first solo trip, also my first trip in 5 years! I am single and am finishing my first year of teaching. I am finally out of school and have the money to plan my own vacations so naturally I picked Disney! I am so excited to go on my own and do whatever I want, whenever I want!
 


I had my first entirely solo trip this past April - before that I have had an extra night at the end that was solo or solo evenings in the parks, but this was my first "go alone, come home alone" trip. A big reason behind mine was that during my College Program, a lot of the time I spent in the parks was by myself since my work schedule often didn't match up with my roommates/friends. Because of that, I sort of learned to do the parks by myself. So while I do love going with my family and sharing the memories with them, there was something so amazing about being back in the parks by myself. It meant that I could decide exactly what I wanted to do when. I didn't have to take into account the desires of others in my party, I didn't have to be held back by their not getting out of bed early enough in the morning or not walking quick enough through the crowds to beat everyone to SDD rope drop. It was just about me and what I wanted to do and that was absolutely incredible.

The other big thing for me was that WDW is my happy place where I can relax and just feel at home. There was something so cathartic about being there by myself, especially having dealt with a lot of stress this year at work. It's weird/hard to explain, but being there by myself just felt right and like I could just breathe it all in and unwind.

My experience is really similar! I went to the parks alone a lot when I was on the College Program and I got really spoiled by getting to do what I wanted when I wanted. Going with friends or family is a totally different experience that I love as well, but there's something special about just not having to please anyone other than oneself. Because of the College Program, too, my priorities don't always line up with those of my traveling companions. I still love the rides, but I like to spend more times on shows and fireworks than I used to, as well as things like hunting hidden Mickeys. And, too, my family was never big on eating in the parks for budget reasons, and then when I was a CP I didn't eat in the parks much because I had to be very budget-conscious. So while I had tons of time on property to explore things I might not otherwise have bothered to explore, I still have never eaten at most of the restaurants and I absolutely intend to start remedying that situation on my upcoming solo trip.
 
I am a single woman who never married. I have been on several group holidays where I found myself with groups made up of two or three friends and made me feel more isolated than travelling alone. so now I go alone and have always had a great time at Disney.
 
My first and only solo trip was the week after my mom died. I needed to go to my happy place instead of sitting around looking at my 4 walls. I was so worried that I would be talking in my head too much and feel crazy but you know, it wasn't anything like I thought it would be. I was surprised at how many stressed out people I saw while people watching. All seemingly because they were arguing about strollers and what to do with another person. When I wanted to sit I sat and when I wanted to go I went. I noticed how much idle chit chat was missing from this trip and I loved it! You know, the "well we could go ride Mission Space and then it should be time for our lunch, wanna do that or Living Seas since we're eating over that way?..." All of that takes place before you can make a move when you're with someone else. That was the most noticeable difference for me. I never found myself stuck in my head because it seemed that someone was always asking you a question or making small talk with you in the lines. I don't think I had noticed before how many people actually try to include you into their conversations because I was always with someone and you know how you just kind of naturally smile and nod and then get back to your own little bubble of family or friends because trying to talk to a stranger seems exhausting when you're with someone else who is also trying to talk to you? When you're alone you'll take the time to listen and respond a little less half heartedly and you'll be shocked at how much interaction you will have with others around you who are just as excited to be there. It was my best trip ever and I have been dying to do another one, but I have a best friend that insists on going with me all the time now. If I do another solo trip, I will just have to sneak off.
 
I decided to go solo after none of my friends or family wanted to go with me, and like you I had the disney bug! I went during my college spring break and it was the best decision of my life!!! i am normally very introverted and rarely do things on my own, and this trip gave me soo much confidence!! I even ate at 3 (!!!) table service restaurants and met characters!!! i did not plan on doing those two things cause I thought I would be too scared to do it by myself but it was awesome!! Honestly, I also thought I would get lonely and sad, but I went for 5 days 4 nights and did not feel lonely/sad once. there's so much to do you'll keep yourself busy all the time so you'll never feel alone.

I did not regret going solo once during my trip. i've been to disney 10ish times and it was hands down one of my favorite trips. i loved it so much that on my second day i upgraded to the annual pass so i can go solo again! seriously if i can enjoy a solo trip, you can too! :D

This is so awesome to read! Very inspiring. :cool:
 
Like a number of others, I decided to go solo in 2015 after the end of my relationship with my now ex husband. I LOVE Disney, and couldn't bear the thought of not going again. Plus, I wanted to go on holiday and Disney felt like a very safe option for a woman travelling on her own; I could even go out for dinner in an evening if I wanted and come back to my hotel in the dark and still feel way safer than in many cities.

What made it extra daunting for me is that I'm from the UK, so it was quite a major trip and I was really anxious that everyone would think I was a complete weirdo for wanting to go solo. I didn't tell that many people, only my ex (we're still friends) and my parents and they all got it; I'm quite an independent person, so a solo holiday wasn't a huge surprise and they also all know how much I love Disney.

Quick summary of my experience:

Bad points of my solo trip

Despite feeling a bit anxious I was really excited on the flight over but then I got to immigration and, okay, I know it's a bit strange for a 30 something year old English woman to be travelling to WDW on her own, but I really felt like a freak by time the guy had grilled me on 'did I really not have anyone to go with??!!??'. Don't get me wrong, he had his job to do, and I would probably have been pretty suspicious in his shoes, but it really deflated me for a while. I was pretty delicate anyway because you know, end of relationship, on holiday on my own and all that...but I walked away feeling like a total loser and a sad, batty woman. I even felt a bit tearful on the DME 😢 However, I decided to snap myself out of it because I wasn't going to mope around and let it ruin my holiday.

EVERYTHING ELSE was GREAT

I felt just as happy an excited as ever when I walked in to the Magic Kingdom on my first day
I loved the freedom of doing what I wanted when I wanted and sitting in the sun people watching for as long as I wanted
I rode all the rides I wanted to (and didn't have to go on Jungle Cruise :duck:)
I met some lovely people - usually just chatting on line or at adjacent tables
No-one, not one single person there made me feel weird (although occasionally I would fib and tell people that my family were still at the hotel or I was just going to meet them or something)
I was treated like a princess when I ate at Coral Reef - the server gave me an amazing table and was so helpful and attentive, but without being over-bearing
In fact, I really enjoyed my experience at all the places I ate, counter and table service. Table service - I also ate at Liberty Tree Tavern, twice (Ooey Gooey Toffee Cake 🤤), Yak & Yeti, Restaurant Marrakesh, Mama Melrose's, Sanaa and San Angel Inn
I really felt that I got to spend some quality time on my own recovering from the pretty emotional few months I had been through, and I got to do that in a beautiful, fun, magical place.

Reading though similar accounts from others, I think that a solo WDW trip could be the perfect antidote to rubbish life events!

I still have such fond memories of that trip, and would love to do it again, but I have also been incredibly lucky in that I have a new partner now who I introduced to Disney World in 2017. He wasn’t 100% sold on it at the time, but some months afterwards, out of the blue he asked if we could go again. So here we are counting the days until we get back in December of this year!!!! :hyper:

Long story short – if you’re the kind of person who is okay travelling alone, then a solo Disney trip can be amazing and good for you too...so it would be wrong not to go really!!!
 
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I am going on my first solo trip in August and I am really looking forward to it. I decided to go this year solo because my Disney travel buddies all have a lot of things going on this summer (DBFF is getting married June 15 and then we are all going on a 9 day cruise). So asking them to go on another trip would be too much.

I am looking forward to being able to ride the rides I want to, park hopping (my Disney friends don't usually park hop), watch shows I want to watch (multiple times if need be), I can people watch if I want to and other things too.

It till be interesting for me doing some sit down meals. Normally my friends and I just go to QS places to eat...don't get me wrong, I am going to do a lot of meals there too, but I do have some places I want to try (even if it is just sitting at the bar and eating).

I will have to report back when I get back on how my trip goes.
 
Mostly? Most of the people I know aren't that much into theme parks and I always feel bad when I drag them along with me. And its nice to be able to do whatever I want to in the parks without having to worry about others
 
Because I want to go all the time and my friends don't/can't. It's nice being able to just spontaneously decide to go out to the parks and not have worry about dragging along other people.
 
You'll only feel sad if you dwell on stuff like that. I haven't done a WDW trip solo yet, but I go to DLR all of the time by myself. I find it really relaxing and peaceful. I do everything on my own terms. I did struggle with longer lines originally, I hated waiting in them by myself. But then I started bringing my kindle with me and now I read while I wait. It helps a lot. Other than waiting in lines, I have no issues with being in the parks by myself.

I am going to do a WDW solo trip sometime early next year. My husband told me he wants to do WDW for 2 weeks next fall, but I haven't been in a few years. So I want to go for week by myself so I can relearn the parks and better prepare myself to plan & organize our trip. (Also, I just really want to go by myself!)

I do find that you have to do the parks with a different mindset when you're on your own, but once you get there, it's a blast. I like grabbing a snack and sitting on the bench and just people watching when I need a break. It's honestly great.
 
I made the decision to go on my first ever solo trip after a tough year, with a painful break-up and a lot of soul-searching. I haven't been to WDW in almost a decade, as I could never find anyone who would be as excited about Disney and visiting the parks, as I would.
I will now be going at the end of September and stay for just over three weeks. I'm a little nervous about it, but very, very excited. Especially since I will be there during Food & Wine :lovestruc


Too bad you weren't going a week or so earlier. We'll be there the week of 9/15. DH doesn't usually roll around to the parks until mid afternoon!!!! So my trips tend to be half-solo and half-group. I've touched base with other DISers - esp at MNSSHP - and always enjoyed the encounters.
 
I’m going on my first solo trip in August. It was a spur of the moment decision, my partner and I weren’t planning on going back until May 2020 because we need to save up, but I was getting the bug really bad and then all these crazy discounts were coming out for the summer and I got a sudden promotion at work so I was like why not go solo to celebrate? I watch a few YouTubers who go solo a lot and that gave me the confidence to try it. Honestly I’m an introvert and enjoy spending time alone—even with my partner I do some rides alone because she can’t handle coasters due to health issues. It works out because she gets time to decompress in a quiet spot. And she’s been really encouraging about this trip. It helps that she’s also an introvert.
 

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