Solo Trips to Walt Disney World®

I, Lynne, had an amazing experience on a solo trip back on New Year's Eve 1999/2000.  I want to share as this is something that anyone can do.  

It actually all started when I was a child and had been permitted to stay up on NYE to watch a New Year's Eve program.  At different times during the show, they would flip from destination to destination and one time they flipped to Walt Disney World.  I decided that I wanted to be there on a New Year Eve one year and chose the year 1999/2000 because it seemed a long way off.

Well 1999 came and I had a decision to make. None of my friends and family wanted to or could come with me.  Because I had decided on this date and now understanding it was a special New Years Eve, knew that I could only do it this one year.  So... I decided to go by myself.  I planned to stay with my aunt in Zephyr Hills and drive to Disney each day.  I also would go to SeaWorld.  

I left my house at 8 PM on Christmas night and drove to New Jersey.  I lived in Massachusetts at the time.  I drove into the early morning and then stayed the rest of the night in New Jersey, getting up early the next morning to start my drive again.  I drive to the Carolinas and then stayed there the next night and then drove to my Aunt's house the next day.

My Aunt was not a fan of theme parks so I went to the parks by myself for several days.  A friend from high school did come down at the end of the week and I did join her and her family on my last two days.  I also had a friend who had moved to Florida that joined me on NYE.  

Knowing how the process works today at Walt Disney World, I sure do wish they had park reservations back then.  I heard on the radio (They had Disney radio on property back then) that the Transportation Ticket Center Parking lot was full at 8:00 AM.  We got creative and parked at Animal Kingdom and took the bus to Magic Kingdom, got in the park around 11:00 AM and stayed for the rest of the day to make sure that we could be there for the fireworks.  Epcot was the featured park but I wanted Magic Kingdom and Cinderella Castle.  It really did not matter as Magic Kingdom reached capacity about 45 minutes after we arrived.

This was prior to Genie+, Fastpass+ and just as Fastpass was starting.  I knew nothing about Fastpass at the time (Wish I had a Coasters & Castles Travel Advisor, lol).  Lines were crazy but I loved every minute of it.  Earlier in the week, when I was by myself, I did speak with so many people in line and learned about others as well as myself.

In many ways, this was the start to me becoming a travel advisor.  I learned that I could do anything that I put my mind to.  I fulfilled a promise to myself, made as a child and at the same time I saw the BEST fireworks show I had ever seen in my life and I saw a lot of great ones in Boston on the Charles River on Independence Day.

Experience Walt Disney World by myself was a treat I gave myself several more times in the years to come.  It is a freeing experience, where you can be the kid at heart, enjoy all the attractions, shopping, or dining that you love.