Just no telling how far I'll go solo - Solo WDW trip Feb/March 2019

[arisser]

I am no stranger to solo travel. Since 2016 I've visited Iceland, NYC, Chicago, Toronto, Stockholm, Dublin, Malta, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand (and probably others that I've forgotten!) all by myself and loved it every minute. Despite this, I always felt like WDW was the wrong sort of holiday to do solo.

Now, don't get me wrong! I've been in Disney Parks on my own before. I had an absolutely amazing day in Hong Kong Disneyland by myself where I managed to get absolutely tons done!

And I had a very wet, cold, and soggy day in Tokyo DisneySea on my own where a freak March snow shower and below freezing temperatures nearly had me give up altogether on what I'm sure is an AMAZING park in more clement conditions.

One of the only photos I took at DisneySea since I was desperate to spend as much time inside as possible!

But WDW is on another scale and I wasn't sure how solo-friendly it really was. Fortunately, I found the DIBB, and after reading through dozens of threads about solo travel in Florida, I was convinced. In August last year, I clicked 'book now' and haven't looked back!

The details

Flights
I booked a flight-inclusive package through Disney. I leave on VS27 from LGW on February 28th, and return on VS28 on March 10th. I did splurge and book a seat in the Bubble for the outbound journey. Paying for seat selection is something I never thought I'd do (I'm a self-confessed travel cheapskate!), but as a bit of an aviation nerd and with 747s being phased out by many airlines, I just don't know if I'll ever get the opportunity to sit in the upper deck of one again.

Plan is to travel down to Gatwick the night before - have booked the Premier Inn North Terminal so I can get an early start!

Hotel
I'm staying at All Star Sports in a standard room, purely because this was the very cheapest on-site option. I considered off-site to save some money, but as a non-driver, I decided the transportation perks of on-site was worth the extra money. In my other travels, I'm used to staying in shared rooms in hostels or cheapish Airbnbs, so the thought of ten nights in a proper hotel is really exciting for me!

Itinerary
Thurs 28th - Arrive in evening, check-in, dinner at Disney Springs
Fri 1st - Magic Kingdom
Sat 2nd - Hollywood Studios
Sun 3rd - Epcot
Mon 4th - Universal Park Hopper
Tues 5th - Animal Kingdom
Wed 6th - Universal Park Hopper
Thurs 7th - Shopping at outlets, Disney After Hours event at Magic Kingdom
Fri 8th - Epcot for Flower and Garden Festival
Sat 9th - Back to Universal if needed/Four Parks, One Day Challenge if Universal finished.
Sun 10th - Revisit favourite park/attraction, last minute shopping, travel home in evening.

The original plan was to do Disney only but a couple of months after booking, I decided to add Universal to the itinerary. I still don't have the tickets though! I should get on and sort that
I think I'm most excited about Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom out of my entire itinerary. Looking forward to seeing how many ice creams I can stick down my neck in one evening, and I also hope that the sparse crowds will mean I'll be able to get some great ride photos without a stranger sat next to me!

Fastpass day has been and gone, so they're all booked and I'm pleased to say I got everything I wanted. On my Hollywood Studios day the only Slinky Dog fastpasses available were late afternoon, so I'm keeping a close eye on that to try and modify it to the morning. Otherwise, I'm delighted.

Food
Free dining was on when I booked, so I got the free breakfast offer (i.e a single Quick Service credit per day). I decided against upgrading to the full Quick Service dining plan and will pay out of pocket for any other meals I have.

I've booked one ADR - Be Our Guest breakfast on my first morning in Magic Kingdom. Everything else will be Quick Service, on-the-go meals. I've been binge-watching Disney Food Blog on Youtube to try and decide where to spend my QS credits and am overwhelmed by choice! Lots of places in Disney Springs that I'd love to try - Polite Pig, Blaze Pizza, D-Luxe Burger, Chicken Guy. I'll probably end up spending my credits on my main meal here most evenings and sticking to park snacks during the day.


So! That's my first pre-Trip report for my first trip done! At the time of posting I'm just 24 days away from jetting off Looking forward to filling you all in on my next solo adventure!

[caitlinsmummy]

What a lovely pre trippie, I look forward to following you. Not sure I could ever go solo myself (well I wouldn't get the opportunity with the kid's and husband )

A few of our favourite QS's were BoG lunch, Blaze, Wolfgang Puck Express and Blaze.

I hope you have an amazing time. I'm all subscribed now xx

[arisser]

Originally Posted by caitlinsmummy

What a lovely pre trippie, I look forward to following you. Not sure I could ever go solo myself (well I wouldn't get the opportunity with the kid's and husband )

A few of our favourite QS's were BoG lunch, Blaze, Wolfgang Puck Express and Blaze.

I hope you have an amazing time. I'm all subscribed now xx

See more...

Thank you! It's very different to the type of travel I'm used to but I'm excited nonetheless. I keep calling it my relaxing holiday - people laugh when I tell them that, especially if they've been to Orlando before, but I mean it! I know I'm going to be on the go all the time and doing a lot of walking BUT I'm staying in a nice hotel, the transportation is all there waiting for me, I've got quick service credits to use. Compared to my usual jaunts, it's so nice to know that everything is sorted for me and I don't have to stress!

[vampiress88]

Too pre trip report. You definitely have more guts that me I don’t like going most places alone apart from the bathroom when you have little ones seriously you miss going to the bathroom alone.

I definitely looks all good and can’t wait to read the rest when your back

[Vinniecat]

I'm looking forward to reading your report.

[Inky]

Blaze is gorgeous!

[lizzie145]

I did the after hours last month. It felt so empty, almost to the point of no atmosphere at times.

I did a lot of rides more than once and at times the only person, especially on space mountain. I did this 6 times in a row in under an hour, much easier once you do the short cut.

I ate loads of Mickey bars that night too

[arisser]

Thanks for your comments guys!

I finally booked Universal tickets yesterday - went for a 2 day 2 park park-to-park ticket from Orlando Attractions. Undercover Tourist were selling a 2 day ticket with two days free for just a little bit more (£30-ish), so I considered this for a long time but figured that looking at my itinerary I probably wouldn't want to dedicate more than two days to Universal. Therefore it seemed silly to pay for a more expensive ticket on the off-chance I want a third visit! Really hoping I don't regret that decision and get to see everything I want to see in just 2 days.

I'm kind of nervous about Universal, if that's the right word. Even though I've never been to WDW either, I feel like I know a lot about those parks and am confident in my plan of attack re: rides, shows, food. When it comes to Universal, I know next to nothing! Time to do some research, I think!

Only three weeks to go!

[caitlinsmummy]

I felt a little similar about universal so I know what you mean. I think 2 days will be enough for you and unless you love simulators you'll probably want more of Disney. Xx

[Just_Pete]

I’ll keep an eye out for you when I’m there. I have zero structure yet to my days!