First Solo trip to Celebrate

Apple_Lyn83

Earning My Ears
Joined
Nov 12, 2017
I'm planning my first solo trip to Disney. I battled breast cancer all last year. June 13 I will have been in remission for a year and want to be in Disney on that day. I will also be making this trip as the first college graduate in my family. I graduate in May. I want to go alone. I'm okay with that part. I like to do my own thing.

Any insight on saving money? I've thought about driving, I've thought about trying to find a single room close, in DS maybe. But I don't really know what my best options are. I just know I've earned this trip in a huge way and if I wait for a family member to make the trek with me I'll be stage 4 by the time they get it together.
 
Congratulations and enjoy your well deserved celebration. Check out the budget board section for money saving tips. You are going at the beginning of a prime season, so not the least expensive time of the year. I think the current on property promotion includes one free counter service meal. Again, congrats and go dance down Main Street!
 
Congrats on both! I was able to do a four night/three day solo disney trip this past summer for about $900 which included my hotel (AS Music), Food (Reg Dining Plan), Tickets (3-Day Park Hopper), and Memory Maker. I had so much fun! I would definitely stick to a low dining plan and a park hopper. When you're by yourself, you get into that 'Imma do me' mood and you're free to do whatever you want! Plus getting in the single rider lines at Everest and Rockin' Roller Coaster is key!
If you can splurge a little bit, I did the Early Morning Magic at Fantasyland, and rode Seven Dwarves Mine Train probably ten times, got to do Peter Pan's Flight, and had a great breakfast. It's about $75.

Have so much fun and congrats again!
 
Have you looked in to a renting a DVC resort room? Checkout the DVC board for more information.
 


First - a tip for travel time. I'm not sure when you graduate - but if you can get your trip in BEFORE Memorial Day weekend - I would. The earlier you go in May, the better.

Room - Not sure where you are coming from - but really research costs. For me - because I live by a hub airport for Southwest - flying is cheaper. And with the Magical Express airport transport - I have no need to rent a car if I am headed on a budget trip. This means staying on property. And if you are trying to budget - that's going to mean staying at the All-Stars. Really - just pick the cheapest room you can get. Don't stress about which one - just pick the one with the lowest rate for your stay. That's often Music or Sports. I think folks at attracted to the theming at Movies a bit more - and the price always seems to be a tad higher.

Yes - staying off-property can be a way to save money - especially if you already have your car. But then you either have to rely on hotel shuttle transportation or drive yourself and pay parking. And parking is $20 a day. It's free to park if you are staying at a WDW resort. Only twice have I stayed off -property to save money - and it's because I booking a trip pretty late and rooms prices on-property were high. It really is a different experience to stay on vs off. As a solo female traveler - there aren't that many place CLOSE to WDW off-property that I am comfortable staying at that can save me much money. I really, really prefer not to stay off-property. It's just a very different experience.

Next - take snacks/breakfast food with you if flying. Really plan this a bit - or you might take too much and face having to lug it home, too. Realize you can buy milk at the food court if you are a cereal person. If you do drive - write a list in advance and visit a Publix's when you get there. And maybe still bring some things from home so you aren't buying more than you need. When I have a car as a solo - I typically plan on eating most breakfasts in my room (though I often booked a TS for one) - having a big lunch/early dinner in the parks - and if I need more before bed - I typically have sandwich makings in my room (which I also sometimes eat for breakfast). And I buy a case of water. I can easily budget just $25 a day in "food at the parks" this way. And that might include a TS meal on some days.

Good luck planning! And congrats - earning a degree and fighting cancer - yup - you deserve some fun!
 
I graduate May 15th but June 13th is my remission date and the date I'm going to be there. That date is much more important than the graduation. I live about 2.5 hours away from the closest airport it's a 2 hour flight and a 13 hour drive. So I'd be paying like twice what I would in gas for a 5 or 6 hour gain. I'm a night owl so I have no problem driving later at night.

I was specifically trying to figure out if there were any rooms in DS with single room rates but I don't think that is a possiblity.
 
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I graduate May 15th but June 13th is my remission date and the date I'm going to be there. That date is much more important than the graduation. I live about 2.5 hours away from the closest airport it's a 2 hour flight and a 13 hour drive. So I'd be paying like twice what I would in gas for a 5 or 6 hour gain. I'm a night owl so I have no problem driving later at night.

I was specifically trying to figure out if there were any rooms in DS with single room rates but I don't think that is a possiblity.
Ouch - yep - with that 2.5 hour drive to an airport plus 2 hours in advance for security plus 2 hour flight - I can see why driving becomes more of an appeal - time-wise and financially.

In general - the weather and crowds in mid-May are SO much better - I'd go then. I hear you stress the huge importance of the remission date - but can you still call it the trip to celebrate that? Clearly - that's only a decision you can make a judgment value on - but May is beautiful at Disney. For folks with flexible travel plans - standard advice would be to go before Memorial Day and US schools get out.
 
I graduate May 15th but June 13th is my remission date and the date I'm going to be there. That date is much more important than the graduation. I live about 2.5 hours away from the closest airport it's a 2 hour flight and a 13 hour drive. So I'd be paying like twice what I would in gas for a 5 or 6 hour gain. I'm a night owl so I have no problem driving later at night.

I was specifically trying to figure out if there were any rooms in DS with single room rates but I don't think that is a possiblity.

I understand the importance of wanting to be there on your specific date to celebrate. I have a significant birthday coming up in October. People have offered to join me if I would go in September during Free Dining. I considered it and eventually opted for a solo trip to honor the date that I wish to celebrate. Have a great time even if it is a bit crowded and warmer than a more convenient time of the year.
 
I understand the importance of wanting to be there on your specific date to celebrate. I have a significant birthday coming up in October. People have offered to join me if I would go in September during Free Dining. I considered it and eventually opted for a solo trip to honor the date that I wish to celebrate. Have a great time even if it is a bit crowded and warmer than a more convenient time of the year.

Booked today officially. June 10th thru 15th. I booked over the phone. We were both crying. That date is so important it is just nonnegotiable.
 
Booked today officially. June 10th thru 15th. I booked over the phone. We were both crying. That date is so important it is just nonnegotiable.
That's wonderful! Where are you staying? One tip I have for the summer is to take advantage of the long hours. Summer wasn't as busy last year as it's been in previous years, so you may not have crazy crowds. I've found the parks are most crowded during the hottest part of the day. That might not be accurate based on numbers, but when there are so many people and it's 100 degrees out, it feels awful. That's why I love to do rope drop for the parks, and then get out around noon/1pm. Go back to your hotel and take a nap/use the pool/eat lunch, and then head back into the parks a few hours later. You'll be recharged and ready to stay until closing time!
 
That's wonderful! Where are you staying? One tip I have for the summer is to take advantage of the long hours. Summer wasn't as busy last year as it's been in previous years, so you may not have crazy crowds. I've found the parks are most crowded during the hottest part of the day. That might not be accurate based on numbers, but when there are so many people and it's 100 degrees out, it feels awful. That's why I love to do rope drop for the parks, and then get out around noon/1pm. Go back to your hotel and take a nap/use the pool/eat lunch, and then head back into the parks a few hours later. You'll be recharged and ready to stay until closing time!
I'm staying at Pop Century. I was looking at the logistics of rope drop earlier. I don't really want to drive my car around and think I might need to if the buses don't start until 40 mins before open. (I don't remember where I saw that time frame. Am I wrong?) I could potentially be getting to the park when they dropped the rope, let alone being some where optimal inside.

I am also a HUGE Potter Head. I've bought a ticket to Universal. I don't particularly care about anything in that park that isn't related to HP so I only have one day, not any of my night, allotted for there.
 
I love this thread. Please post back hope you're healthy and well.
My first post treatment scan was in December and it was clear. I did have a moment of weakness the other day and broke down thinking what if I spent all this time and money planning this trip and my cancer came back before I left but I still deserve it. I'll go anyway.
 
My first post treatment scan was in December and it was clear. I did have a moment of weakness the other day and broke down thinking what if I spent all this time and money planning this trip and my cancer came back before I left but I still deserve it. I'll go anyway.
Yes, you do.
 
My first post treatment scan was in December and it was clear. I did have a moment of weakness the other day and broke down thinking what if I spent all this time and money planning this trip and my cancer came back before I left but I still deserve it. I'll go anyway.
You deserve every minute you spend for yourself, every penny you spend on yourself. I hope you'll write back after your trip.
 
I'm staying at Pop Century. I was looking at the logistics of rope drop earlier. I don't really want to drive my car around and think I might need to if the buses don't start until 40 mins before open. (I don't remember where I saw that time frame. Am I wrong?) I could potentially be getting to the park when they dropped the rope, let alone being some where optimal inside.

I am also a HUGE Potter Head. I've bought a ticket to Universal. I don't particularly care about anything in that park that isn't related to HP so I only have one day, not any of my night, allotted for there.
I *think* the busses start an hour before parks open, but I could be wrong. That's why I drive my car - it's a lot faster to get around. Sometimes I'll take my car for rope drop, and then use Disney transportation to get to lunch/another park, if I'm planning on coming back to the same park at the end of the day (especially if I have a great parking spot!). You'll have fun at Universal! I've only done the Islands of Adventure HP stuff, because I haven't been since 2013. I'm thinking of going in November to see the newer HP stuff.
 
Just a random update since I've completed my solo celebratory trip... I ended up getting super cheap flight tickets, $95 there and $72 home. So I didn't take my car. I extended my stay. I was there for 5 days alone and then the last 2 days my niece joined me to celebrate our graduations together. I had the most amazing time my first 5 days. There were a few issues that were a direct result of being given incorrect information from cast members that effected what I was able to do. I was given a free pass and will be going back down for the long July 4th weekend. Since I bought my 7D PHP on Undercover Tourist I was able to upgrade my ticket to an annual pass for like $340. I will be back down in April for 3 days and again in June so the pass should cover most, if not all of both trips. So I'll be stalking Southwest for cheap flights and Disney for cheap rooms for the next year.

Day 1- HS I really only went to this to watch the Star Wars Fireworks.
Day 2- Rope Drop AK BEST. IDEA. EVER. Off of FOP by 8:10 out of both Pandora attractions and Pandora by 8:30. The line for FOP was now out of Pandora. I had lunch at Tusker House and it was my second favorite meal of my trip. ROL is ahhhmazing.
Day 3- Epcot I did get all the major attractions in and got to walk around World Showcase but not like I wanted to. I will be spending most of my next trip in WS. I went to DS to walk around and have a couple drinks that night.
Day 4- I spent the morning on Main, had lunch at Mama Melrose (which was also very good), and watched Fantasmic. I wanted this day to be low key.
Day 5- This was my anniversary and I celebrated at MK and started the day with the Keys to Kingdom. On my bus that morning was 4 other breast cancer survivors and I lost all composure when I was told that Walt planned WDW while dying of cancer. I ate at BOG for lunch and CRT for dinner. I wanted to experience CRT but will never do that ever again. It was the perfect day for me. After the fireworks I went to pick up my niece.
Day 6- We went to Universal and had dinner at Spirit of Aloha. The food was not that good but we had a good time.
Day 7- PPO ADR at BOG which was really good. That Cronut like pastry is sinful. We were off of 7DMT before the park opened. We were able to enjoy the day, see everything and eat our faces off. My niece cried like a baby. We had lunch at Liberty Tree and it was the best meal of my entire trip.
 

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