Mini Solo Trip Planning

So it looks like I might have to travel to Orlando for work this May for about a week. Now, how could I be so close to WDW and not stop by? I’ll have a couple of free afternoons/evenings (possibly a day), so I should be able to get some good park time in. I also might be able to procure a couple of cast member complimentary tickets, sweetening the deal even more.

So if this does come together, it’s going to be a bit strange for me. For one, I’ve never been to WDW and stayed offsite. I’ve also never been solo. I went as a kid, did adult-only trips with DW, and now family trips with the kids. But never solo… So this will be a bit different. Oh, and DS8 and DW are extremely jealous, although neither blame me for taking advantage of the situation…

I don’t have a lot of goals for this trip if I do end up going. My main ones are that I want to see Illuminations one more time before it ends, and I want to see HEA as I haven’t seen it before. Other than that, I’m kind of looking at it as bonus time, so whatever rides/attractions I get on, great.

I’m debating how much to actually plan. Part of me wants to just see how much I can actually get done without planning, given that I know the parks pretty well, and know how to work the system, grab and modify, etc… On the other hand, planning Disney trips is kind of in my nature, so we’ll see. The challenge there is I won’t know my work schedule for a little bit, so any planning I do may have to be late in the game.

I’m also not sure what to do about food… My time will be somewhat limited, so I’m not sure if I should spend what little time I have on a TS meal… But we haven’t done TS in our last two trips, due to DS1 not being particularly patient during mealtimes :slight_smile:, so it might be nice to enjoy something.

So many decisions for such a short trip. I’ll post here as I find out more, but regardless of what happens, it will be an interesting experience.

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Any chance you can get after 3 or after 5 convention tickets?

Unfortunately, no. It only applies if there’s a convention on Disney property, which isn’t the case here…

my advice would be to definitely plan things out, maybe even over-plan/book, especially with the limited time. The allure of “winging it” can go away the minute things stop working out lol.

And unlike traveling with someone, it’s far far easier to just change things around in the moment, but it helps to have a road map of what you could do, even while solo.

As far as food goes, you’ll be there during Flower and Garden, right? So that’ll take care of one night’s food. And I think a TS dinner shouldn’t be a huge time sink if it’s in park. It SOUNDS like it is, but often I can be in and out of a TS in roughly 30-40 minutes when on my own. Now if it’s in a hotel, that’ll take more time with travel.

You’re going to have a ton of fun!

I can relate to young kids abd TS. So if it was me I would pick one I’ve been wanting to try and enjoy! A nice quiet meal in Disney?? That sounds amazing!

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What’s your favorite TS - or one you’ve been wanting to try? A meal without my kids? Heaven. I’d probably just schedule that ADR and then plan around it (and Illuminations and HEA). I know on my own I’d be perfectly happy to just walk around WS or AK all day every day (recognizing that AK isn’t the best choice if you only have afternoon/evening time available).

Any chance there’d be a HS DAH while you were there? I’d consider doing that just to experience TSL at night. And eat at Woody’s LB. Or better yet - eat at the Brown Derby Lounge and then have a snack later at WLB.

So I was solo last week. I had a TP that I did not reference once. I consistently modified my FPs and changed the parks that I was going to, sometimes even mid-day.
I started with a general idea of a few things(RD TSL, Tiffins lunch etc.), but then I just winged it based on what FP I was getting, what I felt like doing, and how tired I got.
I actually had to stop because I just kept getting FP. I got 4 for FOP in 2 days by refreshing. I rode safaris 3 times. I pulled so many anytime FP because of rides going down, it was incredible.
Winging it was amazing. I wish I had actually skipped some things I though I “should” do and had actually done other stuff.

TS meals go quicker when its just you. While the are a time suck, I found that I had to wait in line at some QS places for a really long time. After that happened twice, I skipped anything that didn’t have mobile ordering and supplemented with popcorn carts. I had a TS at Liberty Tree Tavern with dessert that took 45 minutes. I told the server that I didn’t want to spend too long and she moved things along well so I didn’t feel rushed but didn’t sit too long.
I took my time at Tiffins, but it was so worth it, and was still faster than the groups around me.

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