What Would You Do (or Have You Done) Solo?

[Simba's Mom]

I'm another one who loves Animal Kingdom when I'm solo. I can stroll along the trails, spend as much time as I want watching the animals and the birds. Panjani has an Aviary with benches, and since I love to watch birds, I've spent up to an hour in there. Also, I've done the Wanyama Safari over at Animal Kingdom Lodge 3 times solo. Since it costs about $200/person, DH doesn't have a desire to do it THAT much! Also I've done "Lunch with an Animal Keeper" at Sanaa 3 times solo. Once again, it's not something we'd spend the money on for 2 people.

 

[SplitRaindrop]

Are you stressed about what type of bag you need? DD is going this week and plans on staying in the parks from morning through night so she'll need a jacket. She doesn't want to carry a back pack and we were discussing locker rentals. Well, I could have sworn that when my kids were young, say 15 yrs ago, the lockers were like $12-$15 per day. They are $7 a day now, much more reasonable! I think Epcot even has the quarter operated ones that may just be $1 each time you open them.

I have some nice crossbody purses but the last time we went I literally carried like 2 cards in my pocket (as a woman I wore cargo shorts...lol) my phone, and sunglasses (that I left on a ride....). All day by myself I'm not going to be comfortable with just that. I'll probably get a locker. but hopefully i won't need to access it too many times if that adds to the cost.

 

[YawningDodo]

Something I never expected to do but that I've reserved for my solo weekend stop in WDW later this month: a fireworks dessert party. I always looked at that and thought "no, not possibly worth the money," but you know what? With only one park day and a new fireworks show to see, it's really nice to know I'm not going to have to fight for a spot. None of my traveling companions have ever been enthusiastic about fireworks or parades; while I'm not going to get any parade-viewing in this trip, I might as well take advantage of the opportunity to see the new fireworks at MK without feeling like I'm dragging someone who doesn't want to go along with me. And, too, I can only think of one person who'd ever be interested in going along with the dessert buffet half of it, and I think she'd balk at the price. I've been careful to price out everything I'm doing and be realistic about how far I can stretch things, but my upcoming cruise/WDW trip is set up to be indulgent in ways I don't usually allow myself.

Are you stressed about what type of bag you need? DD is going this week and plans on staying in the parks from morning through night so she'll need a jacket. She doesn't want to carry a back pack and we were discussing locker rentals. Well, I could have sworn that when my kids were young, say 15 yrs ago, the lockers were like $12-$15 per day. They are $7 a day now, much more reasonable! I think Epcot even has the quarter operated ones that may just be $1 each time you open them.

+1 to this. My mom and I discovered the magic of lockers in 2015 when we daytripped out to the dark side for two days (we were staying onsite at WDW). First day, no bags, nothing more than we carried into the Disney parks, and of course we got drenched on a water ride and were utterly miserable through the rest of the afternoon and the cab ride back. Second daytrip out, we brought a full change of clothes and rented a locker and it was so, so worth it. Since I'm expecting temperature fluctuations at the end of this month I'll have the same sweater/jacket issue as your DD and I'm absolutely renting a locker for my evening in MK.

As for prices, I'm not sure about Epcot, but DHS has coin-operated lockers that are $0.50 per use. Disadvantage is you have to pay every time you access it, but unless you visit the locker more than fourteen times per day it's still cheaper than the $7 unlimited access lockers at other parks.

 

[caribbeandream]

I can never spend enough time in Main Street.

 

[crazyash83]

I enjoy all the streetmosphere when im solo.
I once rode rock n rollercoaster 5 times in a row in about 45 minutes because it was spring, quiet, and i utilized the single rider line. Thats as many time as my body could handle haha
I get the best views of fireworks. Im alone, i dont have to worry about anyone in tow, and i can get there early on my own schedule.
I take it REAL slow in Animal Kingdom. I often travel with people who want to hit the big rides and leave, so i take my time when solo.

OMG since planning my solo trip the last few weeks, I have been watching your YouTube videos (the solo trips grabbed me) and to see you on here I am star struck lol

 

[belledreamer]

I've never taken an 'official' solo trip, but I try to make a point to have some time just for myself when I'm at Disney and usually that's when I go do character M&G. My parents don't care for it much anymore and for some reason, I always get embarrassed when they come with me. Plus the CM's have all been very nice about taking a picture with my phone along with their camera so I don't have to worry about getting someone to take pics for me.

For our next trip, I actually have a solo day planned in MK that I'm dedicating solely for doing as many M&G's as I can! I can't wait!

 

[apurrazz]

Do you by any chance post you tube videos about solo travel???

I enjoy all the streetmosphere when im solo.
I once rode rock n rollercoaster 5 times in a row in about 45 minutes because it was spring, quiet, and i utilized the single rider line. Thats as many time as my body could handle haha
I get the best views of fireworks. Im alone, i dont have to worry about anyone in tow, and i can get there early on my own schedule.
I take it REAL slow in Animal Kingdom. I often travel with people who want to hit the big rides and leave, so i take my time when solo.

I read somewhere that rock n roller coaster doesn't always open up their single rider line...have you ever run into that?

 

[YawningDodo]

I read somewhere that rock n roller coaster doesn't always open up their single rider line...have you ever run into that?

We discovered in 2015 that the RnRC single rider line was no longer advantageous. We got turned away once when they'd closed it due to the single rider wait being significantly longer than standby, and when we did wait in the single rider line later on, it moved extremely slowly. I don't know if it's because there are too many people using it now or because of the way they handle loading the coaster trains, but it seemed like the CMs were tetris'ing groups into the coaster and only rarely calling for single riders to fill gaps. We might have saved a little time over standby, but watching the standby line trickle past us at a regular speed while we waited and waited to move up even one space with no certainty of how much longer it would be made the wait nearly intolerable.

 

[srwarden1928]

In the fall of 2016, the RNRC single rider line saved a lot of time. I used it every time--probably about five times total. It usually moved faster than the fastpass line.

 

[magical-me]

My favorite thing to do is after this trip is to watch Festival of Fantasy starting I’m Frontierland then walk really fast to Mainstreet to watch it again. I loved watching he CMs sing to it and seeing people reactions. Next time I’m fed bringing my DSLR. Dang I watched that parade ever single day of my solo trip. So good

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

I enjoy all the streetmosphere when im solo.
I once rode rock n rollercoaster 5 times in a row in about 45 minutes because it was spring, quiet, and i utilized the single rider line. Thats as many time as my body could handle haha
I get the best views of fireworks. Im alone, i dont have to worry about anyone in tow, and i can get there early on my own schedule.
I take it REAL slow in Animal Kingdom. I often travel with people who want to hit the big rides and leave, so i take my time when solo.

I usually ride Tower of Terror repeatedly when I'm solo, haha. It's on my list to go slow in AK, but I haven't yet planned a trip where I actually ended up doing it. :/

 

[1mena7]

Something I never expected to do but that I've reserved for my solo weekend stop in WDW later this month: a fireworks dessert party........

I want to do this too but I'm a huge introvert and am having doubts about it. Have you done yours already? If so, how was it? Do you get a table for yourself or do they make you sit with others?
I'm going in solo in April for the Dark Side 1/2 Marathon and am staying a couple of days.

 

[YawningDodo]

I want to do this too but I'm a huge introvert and am having doubts about it. Have you done yours already? If so, how was it? Do you get a table for yourself or do they make you sit with others?
I'm going in solo in April for the Dark Side 1/2 Marathon and am staying a couple of days.

Just did it last night (feels weird saying that; I just got back home this afternoon and my sleep schedule has been kind of wild the last few days). They seated me by myself, but it actually looked like they were sending most people to seat themselves where they pleased. I got special treatment because I'd marked an corn sensitivity concern on my reservation, so they had to keep closer track of where I was to be able to send a CM to talk to me. Really nicely handled, btw; they made up a special plate for me and then the guy was really helpful in terms of going through the book with me so I could judge for myself whether there was anything else on the general buffet I could handle eating.

I felt a little awkward at first, but honestly none of the other guests even seemed to notice I was there. I even went back and forth between the Terrace and the viewing area since there was a break between the projection show and the fireworks, and everyone was too wrapped up in their own business to bother about me. I had misgivings before I went, but I was really glad I'd reserved it because the crowds were pretty intense and it took alllll the stress out of finding a good spot for the shows.

 

[Heather Mooney]

As a solo I just like the flexibility to go at my own pace and experience what is important to me. This past Friday evening, I spent a few hours at EPCOT after work. I loved being about to take advantage of the single rider line for Test Track. It's also easier to find a spot to watch the fireworks. This is crucial for me since I am short.

 

[1mena7]

Just did it last night.......

That's great to hear. I think I will sign up. Thanks for the info!!

 

[YawningDodo]

Another thing I like to do solo: four parks in one day. I really don't think I'll ever attempt it when traveling with another person, because it's frankly exhausting and it requires a mixture of preplanning and willingness to make last minute changes that I think would make it emotionally taxing if one were doing it in cooperation with another person. It's not something I'd like to do on every trip, either, but this last weekend, when I had only one day for the parks, it felt like the right approach for what I wanted out of the day. There's a great sense of accomplishment in seeing how far you can push yourself as a park commando, but if I'd had multiple days for the parks I never would have expended that much energy on a single day's worth of touring.

 

[BbearRosenfeld]

Shopping!! I did my first every solo trip in 2016 and loved it so much I went again in 2017. I do shows, shopping and take my time and even change things up as I go. I'm a planner, I do a spreadsheet of my trip a year out, but when I am solo, I know that schedule can be changed the day of and that's okay, because it only affects me I also like that I can afford to do the halloween party or dessert party more often since I'm not paying for my kids and hubby to go as well. Last year I did the Halloween party 4 times on my trip - figured it would be the same if I had brought my family! I got to see every part of that party that way and actually enjoy it without trying to squash it all within the 5 hours they give you.
I actually walked into every shop and building in World Showcase, something I never had time to do in the past when kids would get bored and not want to shop. There are so many options of things you can do when solo.

 

[fhtpdw20]

Backstage tours are awesome and much more affordable for one than a family. I also like to take photos when I am solo. This next trip I am going to focus on shopping. Some of the store themes are pretty amazing if you look around at more than merchandise.

 

[PrincessIndia]

I'm planning on Keys to the kingdom tour in MK , wouldn't really be able to do with family due to cost ($99)

 

[PrincessIndia]

Also walking round taking stuff in