Sole Vets, What was the best Solo thing you did?

[xipotec]

Best experience?
Best Rides?
Best Park?
Best Meal?

Overall best or most surprising thing?

 

[Ross Kratter]

Best experience for me was probably the Backstage Magic tour. You'll meet lots of like-minded people.
Best rides, probably Expedition Everest via the single rider line. I also often get pulled to the front of the line at Tower of Terror, once in the loading room, although there's no single rider line.
Best park, for me, is a total crapshoot. I love them all for different reasons.
Best meal? California Grill at a time during which you can watch the fireworks. My favorite food on property, thus far.

 

[DeterminedOne]

Can't claim to be a vet with only one solo trip under my belt, but I have another one coming up in 76 days.

Best Experience:
Lunch at Harambe Market at AK. I enjoyed sitting along the fence and watching the Wildlife Express go back and forth. The vibe was awesome. Relaxing and didn't feel like I was in the park. The sights, sounds - good times!

Best Rides:
Slinky Dog Dash, which I recorded with GoPro and discovered the view from up there is wonderful. Flight of Passage
(3 times!! Once at rope drop, which took about an hour. Two more with FP drops. Awesome!)

Best Park:
Magic Kingdom. Always will be. My first time watching the Festival of Fantasy parade. Scoped out a good spot an hour beforehand, which my husband would never have been willing to do. Also, first time at MNSSHP. The parade and fireworks were magnificent! (I spent 13 hours at MK that day. Would have been 16, but left for a bit for dinner at The Wave.)

Best Meal:
The Wave (bacon and eggs appetizer was fire! Ramen was yum!!) Plus it was laid back and rather quiet.

Best or Most Surprising Thing:
I didn't expect to learn something about myself because of a solo trip. I learned that I am way too serious and restrictive at times. Had never seen the parades or fireworks because of being daunted by the crowds. While I did expect to take things in more with it being a solo trip, I didn't expect it to make me so emotional. I was sappy and teared up a lot because of the sights, sounds, people. I was extra happy simply because I plugged in.

Having always used the DxDP I thought I would try the regular plan because of being solo. I didn't really care for the counter service meals because I felt like I was eating the same foods over and over. I realized the DxDP works best for me because I love ambiance, and being able to take a break while someone waits on me. As a solo traveler, I found myself being anxious with being able to find a place to sit at counter service meals. No one with me to "save" a table.

 

[BalooFan]

Best Experience - Wild Africa Trek. This tour is not something any of my family members would have done with me, so I decided to do it by myself. Most of the people on the tour were friendly and inclusive. The tour was wonderful and I (temporarily) conquered my fear of bridges and have a great photo of my doing so.

Best Rides - I enjoy all the same rides that I do when I travel with others. I can’t think of any that are any better or worse as a solo. As a PP said, on some rides CMs may look for parties of one or two to fill out a ride (Soarin’ comes to mind), so that can be a nice perk of solo touring.

Best Park - Although I enjoy all of the parks, I have come to appreciate Epcot more as a solo. I make a point of checking the entertainment schedule and watching the performances, rather than just catching a snatch of a performance here and there as I pass by.

Best Meal - Again, I don’t think traveling as a solo makes much of a difference in terms of meal quality. That being said, I really enjoy the food at Sanaa and have been given window seats both times I have been there as a solo. I will also say that the service I have received as a solo throughout WDW has been great. Often parties of one or two receive sub-par service at restaurants (presumably because of smaller tips), but that has not been my experience at WDW.

Most Surprising Thing - I think I enjoy touring WDW solo more than I do with others!

 

[jsmla]

Best Experience-Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom

Best Ride-I’ve ridden RotR but it’s still Forbidden Journey

Best Park-Magic Kingdom

Best Meal-Brunch at the Top at California Grill

Most Surprising Thing-how quickly I adjusted to being solo at WDW. It’s now my favorite way to visit.

 

[StageTek]

Most Surprising Thing - I think I enjoy touring WDW solo more than I do with others!

Most Surprising Thing-how quickly I adjusted to being solo at WDW. It’s now my favorite way to visit.

I had been to Disneyland solo many times; but I worked there and live in the area so it's a day trip - no hotel, no flight and I can leave if I feel lonely.

I waited and waited to visit The World because I could never coordinate times with friends. I finally went in 2007 - solo. Since then I've gone with friends four times and solo eight times (four times in my 2018/2019 AP window) and I truly enjoy my solo trips better.

 

[kylenne]

Best experience?
Best Rides?
Best Park?
Best Meal?

Overall best or most surprising thing?

Best Experience was the Chase Disney Cardmember meet & greet at Epcot. I know a lot of people, even those who have no issues with solo travel, feel weird or intimidated by meeting characters solo. Characters don’t care if you’re solo though and you get just as much time and attention.I did this one in August and it was probably the best I’ve ever done, with others or solo! It rotated but that time it was Mickey and Goofy and they were hilarious. Mickey freaked out because I had the Evil Queen on my t shirt and made me pinky swear I wasn’t working for her lol. We took selfies together (something characters love btw) and Mickey and Goofy were total dorks—one I got was just their noses with me laughing in the background.

Best Rides, can’t really say because I ride coasters alone even when my partner is with me because she can’t do them for health reasons.

Best Park: Epcot and AK imo because when solo you can really slow down and take in the details and live entertainment.

Best Meal: Lunch at Wine Bar George. My server was amazing and patient and really engaged me about wine even though I don’t know much about it. His recs for my wine flight were spot on for what I like. The Steak Frites were phenomenal and not an insanely huge portion for a solo adult woman, just right.

 

[happymommy]

I enjoy using lounges for drinks or meals, as I would rather not be tied to dining reservations most of the time. The Nomad Lounge was a nice break! Also, it’s easy to get into Skipper Canteen, which I think is a hidden gem. I got the Landry’s Card, and had a couple lovely solo lunches at Yak & Yeti. I like to take a nice lunch break, as by late evening I’m often ready to head back to the resort and grab dinner there.

 

[happymommy]

Most Surprising Thing - I think I enjoy touring WDW solo more than I do with others!

After so many trips, I have to agree! My last trip, solo for a week, was the most relaxing, and at my age I’m done with groups! Done with my hubby, organized a tour group in my 20’s, taken the kids, but the last trip I could just do what I wanted to do. With DH, it’s all about him getting his workout in in the morning, then when are we eating next? NOPE. I don’t eat a lot at once, so a snack here and there is good, and I walk at Disney so screw the gym! LOL

 

[kria525]

Haha I'm building up to my eventual WDW solo trip (maybe this Dec? maybe next year?) with my solo Disneyland ones. Less intense!

 

[ludari]

Best experience?
Best Rides?
Best Park?
Best Meal?

Overall best or most surprising thing?

My best experience is Segway tour at Epcot.
Best ride was Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom.
Best park is Magic Kingdom
Best meal was at Bomas.

Overall best or most surprising thing was going scuba diving at Epcot DiveQuest.

 

[KBoopaloo]

Favorite moments of my solo trips were grabbing an iced coffee from Joffreys and something for breakfast and sitting down in a still quiet spot early in the morning to enjoy it. At Epcot I sat at the Yorkshire Fish and Chips seating area and I had the entire place to myself just listening to the music and looking out at World Showcase Lagoon. At Animal Kingdom I sat in that seating area in Asia across from Yak and Yeti and again had the entire place to myself for a good 30 minutes. I watched the parks come alive as more and more people made their way in and just sat and enjoyed the ambiance.

 

[ScottOKW2K]

Best experience?
For this - two.
Backstage Magic tour. Decided I wanted to do it, they had availability the next morning. Done !
Fireworks for December 30th. Fireworks in the Magic Kingdom with extended ending early evening, Epcot Illuminations with Holiday tag around 10, and then return to the Magic Kingdom for the NYE fireworks show they do on the 30th. A Blast in more ways than one. I think that's now my favorite day of the year for WDW.

Best Rides?
Expedition Everest Single Rider line - when you're solo it's like a super Fastpass. Second would be single rider at Rock 'n Roller Coaster.

Best Park?
In the Morning - Magic Kingdom. The whole kid at heart thing. In the evening - Epcot. It just has such a wonderful, relaxing feel at night.

Best Meal?
My needs are simple. I'm perfectly happy with a fresh, hot sandwich at Earl of Sandwich. Or indulging in a Banana Split at Beaches 'n Cream, waiting to hear everyone shout "a whole can!" at another table ,

Overall best or most surprising thing?

My natural walking speed is slightly faster than average. It's so nice not to have to stop and wait, or to have to look back for others. I go where I want to, when I want to, how I want to. Very simple, but quite freeing.

 

[Sir William]

Best Meal: I was at MK and it was way too crowded and raining so I decided to head to Epcot. I showed up at Rose & Crown without a reservation but as a solo they were able to seat me at a table in front of the fire. Since I was alone, the CMs were all very attentive, especially when the Brit CMs found out I'd lived in England, and I got a complimentary dessert. I always take a book with me when I travel, and in this case it was a SW novel with Chewbacca on the cover. Two tables down was Peter Mayhew and as he left he gave me a thumbs up.

Best Experience: When solo I can browse the shops or stroll along at my leisure. I was at HS under Mickey's hat and I saw a mother trying to explain pin trading to her young son, who refused to give up any of his newly purchased pins. I came up, gave him a pin, and suggested he go trade it for another pin with the CM. He came back with a new pin and was all excited to do it again. Mom thanked me and off they went to do some pin trading. I felt a hand on my shoulder and a deep voice said, "The Force is strong in this one." I turned and it was Darth Vader.

Best Park: Hard to say. I like the magical feeling MK provides. But lately World Showcase at Epcot is a huge draw for me, especially in the evenings. I love to travel and strolling WS brings back memories of my travels. Plus, I can enjoy adult beverages as I stroll around. I'll get something and sip it as I walk along, then get another one in another country as I criss-cross WS in the evenings.

Best Ride: Even harder to say. Perhaps I just like riding the rides I like as often as I want. Once did Star Tours six times in a row before the wait exceeded 5 minutes, at which point I went somewhere else.

 

[Nyxster]

Best Meal: breakfast at Be Our Guest. With no agenda, I was able to sit in all the rooms and enjoy the shows. Counter service meant I didn’t feel like I had to rush as a solo diner.

Best Experience: definitely the Disney After Hours events. Less crowds meant all guests were happier, quick access to rides made people less likely to behave badly, and free snacks are always a win.

Best Park: During regular hours, Epcot. So much to do and see, I could spend days there! I’m a huge fan of the After Hours events, and thus far my favorite is AK (I’ve done all three). AK used to be my favorite park pre-Avatar days, the lower crowds and fabulous theming made for a better overall Disney experience (for me, at least). After Hours brings back this magic with the bonus of Avatar.

Best Ride: unpopular opinion, but the people mover. Enjoying the sights and sounds of the MK while relaxing in my private transporter is, in my opinion, an experience like no other. I could ride it for hours. If only they served drinks!

 

[StageTek]

Best Ride: unpopular opinion, but the people mover. Enjoying the sights and sounds of the MK while relaxing in my private transporter is, in my opinion, an experience like no other. I could ride it for hours. If only they served drinks!

I'm interested in just how unpopular this will be with other solo travelers. People Mover is my favorite ride in MK. Imagine having a cocktail while cruising!

 

[YawningDodo]

Best experience?
Best Rides?
Best Park?
Best Meal?

Overall best or most surprising thing?

Having just gotten back from my first-not-really-first WDW solo trip (I did the College Program a decade ago, so I spent a lot of time solo on my free days but didn't have money for upcharges, wasn't really there purely as a guest, etc.):

Best experience: Wild Africa Trek. I did a bunch of upcharge stuff on this trip and it was a mixed bag as to how much value I felt I got out of each, but hands down, zero question, Wild Africa Trek was worth it. The guides were a ton of fun, I learned new things about the animals and about AK's brand of zookeeping even though I already had at least some familiarity with all of it, and the lunch they served was delicious.

Best rides: In a broad sense, the best thing about rides as a solo traveler was doing things as many or as few times as I wanted. I didn't ride everything, but the rides I skipped were ones I didn't really miss. I didn't feel pressure to do headliners on repeat just because they're headliners. Conversely, at Animal Kingdom After Hours, I rode Dinosaur seven times in a row without even exiting the vehicle, and I rode N'avi River Journey six times (they make you get out and walk a whopping twenty feet to get back in the boat on that one), because I wanted to and there was no reason I couldn't or shouldn't.

Best park: This time around I'd say it was DHS. I spent a lot of time there, and snuck in a few extra hours here and there, mainly because of Galaxy's Edge. Exploring SWGE alone was pretty rewarding--I could spend however long I wanted playing around on the datapad while sipping a blue milk, I could navigate crowds to watch character interactions (and got a talking-to from Vi Moradi about focusing my efforts on helping the Resistance when she caught me messing with a crate using my datapad), and I didn't feel any pressure to move on to the next thing or worry about getting on more rides when all I really wanted to do was enjoy the atmosphere. Epcot comes in second; I did Figment's Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt and spent half a day literally just wandering the World Showcase pavilions looking for paintings and checking out the shops. That never would have flown when I was traveling with family.

Best meal: Skipper's Canteen! Delicious food, funny server, overall a really good time. Honestly I had very few bad meals, and I was glad that I took time to do more table service meals and lounges. That's something I think I can carry over into my next shared trip, though, since my housemate also enjoys good food and downtime amidst the hustle and bustle.

Overall best: de-optimization. I had a schedule planned out for this trip and I surprised myself by mostly sticking to it, but I think it worked out as well as it did because my plans were relatively broad, consisting mostly of which park to start at and deadlines to leave places in order to make it to various reservations. But the thing that was surprising and refreshing to me was that for the most part, I didn't ride things more than once or twice, and I didn't consider that a failure. I didn't have my phone or camera out to record things during attractions; I was just present and engaged with what I was doing and I let each experience be special--quality instead of quantity. I think because of my CP background and because of the prevailing attitudes on these boards I had gotten swept up for years in the idea that if I didn't ride my favorite rides literally as many times as possible while maximizing FP+ use and using every trick in the book, I was somehow failing at Disney. I just threw all of that away and enjoyed things as they came and let myself take time to do what I actually wanted to do--and if something I'd planned no longer sounded like fun, I tossed it and did something else. For instance, I'd planned to see the parade at MK before leaving for dinner at Epcot, but about an hour before the parade I realized I was kind of tired and cranky and that staking out a spot didn't sound like fun. So I left and chilled out at the Polynesian until Trader Sam's opened, had a couple of drinks and a fantastically fun time, and then went on to Epcot from there. Zero regrets.

 

[RedK]

I always take a book with me when I travel, and in this case it was a SW novel with Chewbacca on the cover. Two tables down was Peter Mayhew and as he left he gave me a thumbs up.

Wow!

 

[xipotec]

Having just gotten back from my first-not-really-first WDW solo trip (I did the College Program a decade ago, so I spent a lot of time solo on my free days but didn't have money for upcharges, wasn't really there purely as a guest, etc.):

Best experience: Wild Africa Trek. I did a bunch of upcharge stuff on this trip and it was a mixed bag as to how much value I felt I got out of each, but hands down, zero question, Wild Africa Trek was worth it. The guides were a ton of fun, I learned new things about the animals and about AK's brand of zookeeping even though I already had at least some familiarity with all of it, and the lunch they served was delicious.

Best rides: In a broad sense, the best thing about rides as a solo traveler was doing things as many or as few times as I wanted. I didn't ride everything, but the rides I skipped were ones I didn't really miss. I didn't feel pressure to do headliners on repeat just because they're headliners. Conversely, at Animal Kingdom After Hours, I rode Dinosaur seven times in a row without even exiting the vehicle, and I rode N'avi River Journey six times (they make you get out and walk a whopping twenty feet to get back in the boat on that one), because I wanted to and there was no reason I couldn't or shouldn't.

Best park: This time around I'd say it was DHS. I spent a lot of time there, and snuck in a few extra hours here and there, mainly because of Galaxy's Edge. Exploring SWGE alone was pretty rewarding--I could spend however long I wanted playing around on the datapad while sipping a blue milk, I could navigate crowds to watch character interactions (and got a talking-to from Vi Moradi about focusing my efforts on helping the Resistance when she caught me messing with a crate using my datapad), and I didn't feel any pressure to move on to the next thing or worry about getting on more rides when all I really wanted to do was enjoy the atmosphere. Epcot comes in second; I did Figment's Brush with the Masters scavenger hunt and spent half a day literally just wandering the World Showcase pavilions looking for paintings and checking out the shops. That never would have flown when I was traveling with family.

Best meal: Skipper's Canteen! Delicious food, funny server, overall a really good time. Honestly I had very few bad meals, and I was glad that I took time to do more table service meals and lounges. That's something I think I can carry over into my next shared trip, though, since my housemate also enjoys good food and downtime amidst the hustle and bustle.

Overall best: de-optimization. I had a schedule planned out for this trip and I surprised myself by mostly sticking to it, but I think it worked out as well as it did because my plans were relatively broad, consisting mostly of which park to start at and deadlines to leave places in order to make it to various reservations. But the thing that was surprising and refreshing to me was that for the most part, I didn't ride things more than once or twice, and I didn't consider that a failure. I didn't have my phone or camera out to record things during attractions; I was just present and engaged with what I was doing and I let each experience be special--quality instead of quantity. I think because of my CP background and because of the prevailing attitudes on these boards I had gotten swept up for years in the idea that if I didn't ride my favorite rides literally as many times as possible while maximizing FP+ use and using every trick in the book, I was somehow failing at Disney. I just threw all of that away and enjoyed things as they came and let myself take time to do what I actually wanted to do--and if something I'd planned no longer sounded like fun, I tossed it and did something else. For instance, I'd planned to see the parade at MK before leaving for dinner at Epcot, but about an hour before the parade I realized I was kind of tired and cranky and that staking out a spot didn't sound like fun. So I left and chilled out at the Polynesian until Trader Sam's opened, had a couple of drinks and a fantastically fun time, and then went on to Epcot from there. Zero regrets.

Wow , we had very similar experiences....right down to the lecture from Vi and Skipper cantina!

 

[RailRunner]

Went to Disney World for the first time in September last year. I happened to go solo. Had so much fun I booked again for this year ;-)

One of the things I loved was watching Happily Ever After from the beach of the Polynesian. It was so relaxed, sipping on a drink, seeing the fireworks with the music piped through the speakers. The quirky floats going by before the show.

For me the best restaurant was Sebastian's Bistro. I staid at CBR, so it was close by and had a wonderful older lady as a server, who was mesmerised by me being solo there. Gave me lots of tips of things to do and where to eat.

The best park is a toss between Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom for me. Love MK for the playfulness and just a reminder to release my inner child. AK just had an awesome vibe!

Best ride was Expedition Everest. It's such a good ride, with hardly a wait.

Overall I just love the parks. Had a wonderful time, with people being interested in me being there solo. Had a conversation with two women in the queue for Splash Mountain and they invited me along to some other rides and it was cool. Sat with a family at the Japanese restaurant at Epcot and they told all about there favorite rides and experiences.