Going by myself to walt disney world. Any Advice?

[DisneyZealotBJP]

Hello,

I am going to walt disney world by myself from May 15-23. I am going to walt disney world for 4 days (1 day for each park), hit seaworld for one day, and universal for 2 days (1 day for each park). Is this enough time to do most things in each park. I am going alone so hopefully that will increase my chances of getting on rides faster. What are the best things to do when by yourself touring walt disney world. I love disney and want to know any cool secret things to do and what not.

Which rides and attractions have single rider lines?

And does anyone know if walt disney world has a certain fastpass system like the Disneyland resort where some rides are not connected?

[DancinBelle]

I love visiting the parks alone, it's a very different experience. You get to do everything at your own pace, and focus on what you enjoy.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Expedition Everest both have single rider lines. Test Track has one, but it will be closed while you are there.

WDW Fastpass system is very similar to DLR. You can pick up a Fastpass at one attraction, but then you have to wait until the time on the Fastpass or 2 hours, whichever come first. Each Fastpass will always have the time you can get another one printed at the bottom, so you don't have to worry about calculating it.

Make sure while you are in line and getting close to the loading area, you are listening carefully. If a Cast Member has empty seats, they will ask if there are any groups of one or two, and then pull the first available group.

Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios can both be easily covered in a day each, Magic Kingdom and Epcot are both bigger. Just look at the maps before you go and get an idea of what attractions are your priorities.

Enjoy your trip!!

[DisneyZealotBJP]

I love visiting the parks alone, it's a very different experience. You get to do everything at your own pace, and focus on what you enjoy.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Expedition Everest both have single rider lines. Test Track has one, but it will be closed while you are there.

WDW Fastpass system is very similar to DLR. You can pick up a Fastpass at one attraction, but then you have to wait until the time on the Fastpass or 2 hours, whichever come first. Each Fastpass will always have the time you can get another one printed at the bottom, so you don't have to worry about calculating it.

Make sure while you are in line and getting close to the loading area, you are listening carefully. If a Cast Member has empty seats, they will ask if there are any groups of one or two, and then pull the first available group.

Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios can both be easily covered in a day each, Magic Kingdom and Epcot are both bigger. Just look at the maps before you go and get an idea of what attractions are your priorities.

Enjoy your trip!!

Thank You for the advice! Definitely bummed about missing test track though...I hear it is a great ride

[disneyfann121]

Join the Orlando Disney Meet Up group. Then you can join one of their WDW group activities, or maybe even organize one yourself.

[DisneyZealotBJP]

Thanks I will definitely look into that

[alphabassetgrrl]

I spent two days in the resort a little while ago, one park each day, and was able to get it all in in one day. I planned my day, though, looking at the website to see what rides and attractions I wanted to see, and plan a route to catch them all. I wrote it down on a little slip of paper so I could refer back to it during the day.

Enjoy your visit! Going solo is a lot of fun, and no stress! You do what you want, when you want to do it.

[redrhino54]

Another thing great about doing a solo visit, is you arnt rushed when getting pictures taken .When ive gone there by myself, ive notice how differant my trip pics are. Less people pics, and more landscape and architectual pics.

[aimster]

The Fastpass system at WDW is a little different from Disneyland's. As far as I know, there are no Fastpass machines that aren't connected to the rest of the system. Also, WDW has started enforcing strict return times for Fastpasses. No late return times are allowed anymore. You must show up within the hour window stated on your Fastpass.

I go to WDW by myself all the time (and I'll actually be up there 2 of the days you're going to be there) and I love it. I see what I want, when I want. No one complaining they don't want to ride something or see a show that I do. Eating when I want to eat. Getting there when I want and leaving when I want. It sounds a little selfish, but sometimes going solo is the best way to do it.

[Joshnyah]

Wow I have an annual pass to WDW but would be intimidated going alone, heck I get a little intimidated going to Disneyland alone. I bet you will see so much more stuff at your own pace. Have fun.

[sbk1234]

For meals, sit near the waiter station, if you can. It will give you people to chat with.

Have a blast and post pictures. I'd LOVE to travel by myself again!

Also, don't be afraid to ask people to take YOUR picture. Otherwise you won't have any proof that you were there on your own trip.

[Johnny]

I've gone to the parks by myself several times. While I prefer to tour with friends, I do find it a relaxing change of pace. You will acquire a new appreciation for the little things that are typically missed when darting from attraction to attraction. Check the Times Guide (given to you with the map when you enter each park) and make time to see some of the live performances. The Main Street Saxophone Four are great, and the Voices of Liberty at Epcot are not to be missed. Get off the beaten path. Go down to the old landing for the long-extinct Swan Boats in the Magic Kingdom Hub. It's still accessible and will give you the feeling of being the only visitor in the park. Stop to take note of the exquisite tile mosaic in Cinderella Castle. Take a walk down one of the nearly deserted paths that extend from the castle (the Cinderella fountain can be found here as well). Exploring the Epcot World Showcase pavillions in great detail is one of my favorite pastimes, especially the garden areas. If you enjoy photography, bring your best camera and stop often to compose beautiful shots. Of course you'll want to visit the attractions, but take your time and enjoy the experience. By the way, Snow White's Scary Adventures will be closing permanently at the end of May, so take a final opportunity to ride.

[lazyboy97O]

While many table service restaurants fill up months in advance, these are usually families. If there is a place you are interested in eating at, just go ask about the wait. More times than not I am seated quickly, often right away.

"Most things" is entirely dependent on what you consider important. If you add in shows, even the "half day" parks can fill up a lot of time.

At Islands of Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey has a single rider queue but you will not see the full queue. More of the attractions at Universal Orlando Resort have Single Rider and if they do it is usually clearly detonated at the ride entrance.

[wdwprince]

At Islands of Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey has a single rider queue but you will not see the full queue. More of the attractions at Universal Orlando Resort have Single Rider and if they do it is usually clearly detonated at the ride entrance.

Sounds like a blast!

[justagoofeymickey]

I've gone to Disney several times by myself and really enjoy it. One day for each park is plenty of time. If you know what you want to do and plan it out you can do 2 parks in one day. I've done all 4 in one day by myself a few times but I'm not taking time to really enjoy Disney that way. I'm just going ride to ride to ride. Have a great time.

[bearytrek]

I went to Walt Disney WOrld and Universal Studios two years ago by myself...I had not been to Florida in 20 years, so there was a lot that had changed and I knew I had to make the most of my time while I was there...the guidebook The Complete Walt Disney WOrld 2010 by Julie and Mike Neal was a good informative primer for my plan of attack...the official WDW website lists which attractions have FastPass and are open during extra magic hours to aid your plan...I made a list of what to do and when to do it and mostly managed to stick to it, deviating when things changed or opportunities arrived...the main big difference now is they seem to be enforcing FastPass return times so you wouldn't be able to save up some tickets till the end of the day (I mostly got a fastpass for say, Space Mt and then rode things in the vicinity till coming back to ride or a new fastpass was available)...

If you're staying at any of the on-site hotels for either Disney or Universal be sure and take advantage of the extra hour(s) that are available...it makes "doing everything" a lot more feasible (especially Universal with a 1 hr jump on the rest of the public trying to get to Harry Potter...I just happened to be there opening weekend, I cannot imagine how much more crazy it is there now)...

As far as Universal went, I travelled very light (just a fannypack and whatever I could get in my pockets) because the majority of their thrill rides do not allow you to carry-on bags the way the majority of Disney thrill rides do...so if you want to save time and hassles of the locker rooms, don't buy souvenirs till the end of the day when you are leaving (I'm assuming you are staying in the park the whole day long)...
I had never been to Islands of Adventure so I knew I wanted to ride/see pretty much everything...i arrived about 2 hours after the park opened due to a late flight so I knew Harry would be nutso, so I just started at Marvel Superhero Island and started working my way around the park in a clockwise path...I managed to ride Spidey a couple of times, Hulk, and Doom before it started downpouring (bring a cheap poncho just in case)...with no sign of letup I figured I may as well get in line for Harry since everything seemed to be shut down on that side of the park...after a brisk 2 hr + wait (it wasn't so bad, I got to take lots of pics of the queue and see the filmed sequences loop a couple times) I think I went back to Jurassic and the Toon water rides (You WILL get wet on Popeye and Dudley Do-Right, no ifs-ands-or-buts...if it ain't really sunny out you may not dry out all day long [aw heck, it's Florida, you'll probably dry out soon enough, but do be sure to wear sunscreen and I lotioned up my feet to prevent blisters and I was saved a lot of pain)...
I made it through Suessland and other than the Pteranodon flyers (which only allows adults to ride if they have a kid with them!) I did manage to see all the shows and ride all the attractions before heading back to Harry to do some shopping (butterbeer: yes!) before the park closed...

the next day I went back to Islands to ride Harry a couple more times before the public was let in and headed over to the Studios park...more or less I tried to hit all the e-ticket rides first in a roughly circular method (rip-it-rock it was down first thing in the morning...it wouldn't be till the end of the day that I managed to get on that...definitely ride the Mummy, it puts the CA version to shame (it's a true coaster, not a half-coaster) and Men In Black...Simpsons is essentially the same as Hollywood (but I rode it anyway)...I never got to ride ET 20 years ago so I went on it a couple times this time out to make up for it...definitely see as many shows as you can (the special effects show is a hoot...if you've seen Hollywood's you sorta know what to expect)...

It definitely is doable to see pretty much everything across the two parks over two days and get in some shopping...though I did bring snacks and only really ate one major meal in the park (and bring your own water bottle to refill)...being by yourself means you don't have to compromise with anyone else if you want to change plans and go on something else again or skip lunch...

Disney World is a whole different animal...I planned my visits according to which park opened earliest with the extra hours and figured a day minimum per park was enough for the four main parks (it almost was, I was in town for a convention and went in to Hollywood Studios again to see Fantasmic and ride Rockin'Rollercoaster + TWilight ZOne)...

If you want to see any of the shows (and you probably do) you need to plan your day around them...I went to Animal Kingdom first and hit Everest first thing a couple of times (ride at night once), then moved over to India and got the fastpass for the Rapids while hitting the animal exhibits in the area...this is the one park where you pretty much determine how long you want to stay in an attraction, so if you want to breeze through the animal exhibits you can or you can linger...speaking of lingering when I went to shows I tried to sit as close to the exit doors as I could, to avoid the crowds and make a speedy escape to my next attraction...any time you can save)...

Since this was the only park I was at with another group that I met up with it was of course the one park where I didn't see everything on my list (because of those aforementioned compromises...like eating!)...i missed the bird show, but I'm okay with that...I sorta stuck to that circular path around the park, making exceptions to see the Nemo show (a must-see) and the Lion King show (not as great but it was new to me)...that did mean walking all the way across the park sometimes, but it did allow me to see the shows (none of the parades though) and ride the rides...

The next day I hit the Magic Kingdom...It is fun to compare/contrast the similar rides in CA/FL, so that was definitely something I was paying attention to...the first thing I noticed is that WDW's Main Street was like the Bizarro-version of Disneyland's (everything was seemingly on the opposite side that it was in CA)...definitely ride SPace Mountain's two tracks (I was disappointed in how bright it was inside...you could see the tracks and whole sections were actually illuminated) for the uniqueness...I got through all the Fantasyland rides before doing Space Mt with a fastpass just to avoid the kiddie crowds later on...definitely see the Peoplemover and Philharmagic (I loved that movie, saw it like four times)...definitely be disappointed with Pirates (!)...I rode Haunted Mansion more than a few times due to its differences (the new effects/queue weren't there yet, so it might take even longer to "experience" everything there...the Hall of Presidents was pretty neat (again because it was new to me and is not in CA)...

About the only thing I didn't go to was Tom Sawyer Island (I did ride the steamboat around)...I did manage to see the fireworks and the Main St Electrical Parade (twice! I kept running into the showtimes as I criss-crossed the park)...you'll probably have extra time to do rides again if the park is staying open late (it was till 3am one night I was there...that's crazy/cool!)...

My Hollywood studios plan was to primarily see Fantasmic and the old Star Tours as well as the different Twilight Zone ride and Rockin...I did see American Idol (never have watched the show on tv but seeing a facsimile live version was fascinating) and the Motors show (worth it) and Belle and the Mermaid (the one time my exit seat strategy backfired as I couldn't really see Ariel clearly from my position) and the Indy shows of course...with more shows in this park your time could be eaten up pretty fast if you don't have fastpasses (riding TOy Story took two hours...but the queue is totally different from DCA at least)...

Epcot presents a challenge because it is essentially two parks in one...i did manage to get through all of the futureworld attractions plus some of the International pavillions on one visit and spent a half day completing my world tour and revisiting the two attractions I thought worthwhile to stand in line again for (Test Track and Mission Space...not so much because they were great rides-ok, Test was...but Mission is just...different from anything on the west coast so I had to do it at least twice)...if you want to do Soarin at Epcot be sure to get the fastpass first thing in the morning...there was an insane rush for passes right at the park opening...sure its the same as in DCA, but the queue games were different to me...I pretty much did/looked at all the stuff in each pavillion (briefly in some cases but I didn't skip) and managed to see Illuminations that first night (they set off their fireworks crazy low for the show!)...

What little downtime I had not in the parks was spent at the Boardwalk and Downtown Disney shops...i think i was out of the hotel room at 6am each day and not back till at least 1:30am each day I was there...definitely was running on adrenaline part of the time, but I think it was worth it as there was nothing major that I missed out on that I needed to see...(and I probably won't be back for another decade or so minimum, so I knew I had to cram in as much as I could)...