Disney Solo Vacation (Complete 48 Hours Shared)
Hi I’m Makenna!
I went to Disney World almost two weeks ago solo for 48 hours to see the return of Happily Ever After and spend time with my cousin who is on her Disney College Program.
Those 48 hours were the best thing I could have ever done for myself! It was a trip I will absolutely never forget, and something I definitely want to do again!
Now I’m gonna tell you all about it!
I’m going to preface this by saying that I worked from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Sunday night and didn’t get home until 7:30. I didn’t get to bed until almost midnight.
Disney Solo Vacation – Day 1
Day 1 started in my hometown airport at 4 a.m. CDT Monday April 3, 2023. My flight didn’t leave ’til 6 a.m., but at that time of the day in a big city airport, I needed all the spare time I could get!
At the Airport
I had ‘Clear’, which was kinda like TSA pre-check. But it just dealt with the line, none of the other actual security stuff.
Anyway, I was able to get through security in about 20 minutes, and then got in line to order Starbucks (necessary!). Unfortunately, mobile ordering was out, and they were also out of the Grande and Venti ice cups (the cup for my pink drink). So I got a tall (small) instead. Keep that in mind for later on!
After I got Starbucks, I went and sat at my gate. It was close to 5 a.m. at that point, and I just sat down, I took some pictures, and texted my family briefly since it was so early. Shortly after, I got on the plane, and was finally on my way to Orlando!
Flight to Orlando
There was a church school field trip happening, so there were around 40 middle schoolers on the plane constantly talking. Of course, this meant that I couldn’t fall asleep. To be honest, I don’t think I even tried!
Touchdown Orlando!
We landed in Orlando at MCO at around 9:30 am ET. I got on the tram towards the baggage claim/security terminal, and looked for the Sunshine Flyer to take me to the Disney resort.
Funny story, I got to the main terminal, and thought I was heading in the right direction. But I ended up going to Terminal A, where I thought the Sunshine Flyer was. Fun fact: it was NOT! Sunshine Flyer is in Terminal B!
Anyway, I finally managed to get to the Sunshine Flyer stand at 10:15 a.m. ET. I got on the bus at 10:18 and headed to my resort for the night: All Star Music.
Just in Time for my Mickey Waffles!
Now, the drive from MCO to the Disney World Gates, is about half an hour, give or take five minutes. So, I thought I would be able to mobile order Mickey Waffles from All Star Music to pick up at 11 a.m. and be there by then.
But after stopping at three other resorts‒Animal Kingdom Lodge, All Star Sports, and Art of Animation‒it was past 11, and I wasn’t even at my resort yet! So now I was getting anxious about getting to my resort so I could order my Mickey Waffles.
I finally made it to ASM around 11:15. I had already mobile checked in by then, so I went straight to the quick service food area in ASM and by a Disney miracle, my Mickey Waffles were still there!
Now remember, I’d been awake since 3 a.m. and only had a tall pink drink from Starbucks. I hadn’t had anything to eat, solely because I was holding out for the Mickey Waffles! Needless to say I was very glad to have finally gotten them!
On the Way to Magic Kingdom!
After that, I got my celebration button for Happily Ever After. Since I already had my room, I dropped my stuff in there and freshened up, and got on a bus to Magic Kingdom. I was very fortunate because I got to the bus stop right before it was pulling away!
On the bus, I talked to my first group of strangers of the trip. This was something I got really good at that day since I was on my own, because at Disney, no one is really a stranger.
I should also mention that it was the return of HEA on that day, which was especially significant. Everyone else who was there for the same reason immediately felt like family. It was truly magical!
By this time, I was racing to get to MK. I had a Lightning Lane to meet Cinderella between 11:30 to 12:30, since I had my Cinderella Disneybound that day. Once I got in to MK, it was about 12:20, and was practically running through Main Street.
It just so happened that the Festival of Fantasy parade was passing the train station. That was a pleasant surprise because I wouldn’t have been able to see it on that trip otherwise.
Anyway, I made it to the Fairytale Princess Hall, met Elena (of Avalor) and then Cinderella. After that, it was only 1 o’clock, and I didn’t have anything planned ’til my lunch dining reservation at Crystal Palace at 2 p.m. So I walked around by the castle, took pictures with the amazing Photopass photographers, and watched the castle stage show.
After that I went to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, which only had a 10 minute stand by wait. By the time that was over, it was time for lunch!
Eating solo at Crystal Palace was amazing! The waitress was so sweet, and I loved meeting the characters! Everyone came around once while I was there, and Eeyore came around a second time before I left.
All of the characters have a Character Attendant (CA) walking around with them, so after I took a selfie, I asked the CA to take a picture of us, and they nicely obliged.
During the meal, my friend from home FaceTimed me for a little bit. She was actually still on when Eeyore came back, so they got to say ‘hi’ to each other. That was fun!
After that I had a LL for Big Thunder Mountain. I walked through the stores across from the Emporium before walking up to go to my LL to meet Mickey around 3:50.
After I met Mickey, I hopped on the monorail to go see my cousin who was working at the Contemporary Resort.
When I walked in one of the resort’s shops, I saw that they still had the 50th cupcake that I got addicted to when I was there last summer, during the 50th anniversary. Of course, I just had to get one! I ate it on the monorail on my way back to MK.
When I got back to MK, I went to Tomorrowland and hopped on Buzz Lightyear’s SpaceRanger Spin. I did the Carousel of Progress before mobile ordering dinner from Casey’s.
Happily Ever After
I picked up my food then went and found a great spot in front of the castle to watch Happily Ever After. While waiting for the show to start, I somehow ended up chatting with the strangers in front of me. We also talked during the show and for a while afterward.
HEA was better than I remembered. It was definitely worth being up since 2:30 am CDT that morning! The group of people that were there to see the return of the fireworks show was unbelievable!
I was at Disney for 4th of July over the summer, and the crowds then were nothing compared to the crowds for the return of HEA! Plus, Jordan Fisher (who sang the theme song for the show) flew in from New York that day to be at the return show!
Not a whole bunch happened after the show. I hung out a bit with the nice strangers who were by me at the fireworks, got on a couple more rides, and walked over to see Tron. I also got my Tangled Lantern pictures, which was pretty cool!
I didn’t stay on Main Street after closing, which I do regret. But it was still fun, and I had such an amazing night!
After I left the park, I went over to the Contemporary to see my cousin, and rode with her to her Flamingo Crossings apartment so she could get some stuff. We then drove over to ASM to hit the sheets for the night, as it was now about 12:30 a.m.
Disney Solo Vacation – Day 2
Day 2 started slightly later than we had originally planned. I did make sure to have my alarms set to wake me up before 7 a.m. to get our virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy. After doing that, my cousin and I both went back to sleep until around 10:30.
When we woke up, we packed our stuff and put in her car. We then drove over to Pop Century, which was where I was staying that night.
4 Parks, 1 Day Challenge
From Pop, we hopped on the Skyliner and went over to Epcot to start our 4 parks, 1 day challenge! On the agenda was a picture, a snack, and something to do‒either a ride or a show.
We started at Epcot, where we walked through the Around the World Showcase and got some drinks from Joffreys. I also got a strawberry margarita from Mexico and drank it as we walked around.
We made it back around to France and did the Beauty and the Beast Sing Along before going back to Italy to get pizza and take some fun pictures. We went back to the front of the park and got our celebration buttons. After taking more pictures, we got on a bus to go to Animal Kingdom.
When we got to AK, we went and did some pictures in front of the Tree of Life. Since we couldn’t get a DAS return time for any ride in the park, we went and saw the Festival of the Lion King. On our way out, we got a Popsicle and a Mickey Bar for a snack before getting on the bus to Magic Kingdom.
Return to Magic Kingdom
We got to Magic Kingdom around 5:20 p.m. Since my cousin is a cast member, she was blocked out of MK at the time. So we took pictures after security, and then she got on the monorail to hang out at the poly while I was in MK.
Once I got in, I went straight to the train station because I hadn’t ridden it in years, and never on the day before, so I had to before I left! After that, I did some serious damage in the emporium on Main Street. I also got my first Disney Dooney and Bourke purse and a Pandora charm to commemorate the HEA fireworks.
After that, I grabbed a Minnie Mouse Rice Krispy treat before going back to the monorail. I met my cousin at the ticket and transportation center and we took the monorail back to Epcot.
At Epcot, we were finally able to ride Guardians, just as we had planned to all day. After the ride, we raced from the front of the park all the way back to the Skyliner to visit the Hollywood Studios.
It was really cool because we got on at about 9 p.m. This was around the time the fireworks display at Epcot was starting, so we had a spectacular view from the Skyliner. And as an added bonus, we also managed to see the HEA fireworks at MK!
Hollywood Studios
By the time we got to Hollywood Studios, it was 9:20 p.m. The one thing I absolutely had to do was see Fantasmic! I had never seen it before, and my cousin loves it, so walked in and went straight to get in line. After stopping to take some pictures in front of Tower of Terror, we got our seats front and center, and got some food from the concession stand.
The show was amazing as expected. My cousin and I absolutely loved it, and can’t wait to watch it again!
There were still some shops open after the show, so we did some more damage before taking even more pictures on Sunset. We then hopped back on the Skyliner to go back to Pop.
Back at Pop Century, we took my shopping stuff to my room. We went back down to my cousin’s car to get my luggage and said our goodbyes.
The rest of the night back at my room wasn’t very eventful. I packed my luggage, showered, and watched Happily Ever After on TV until bedtime.
Disney Solo Vacation – Day 3
Almost Missed my Flight Home!
The next day started slightly frantic. I had set my alarms to before 7 a.m.‒or so I thought‒so I would have time for a last breakfast of Mickey Waffles. Instead, I woke up at around 8:15, which meant that I didn’t have time for waffles or anything else!
I barely made it to the airport before stressing about security and almost missing my flight, but everything turned out okay. I made it everywhere with time to spare, and even managed to get back home with plenty of time before I had to go to work.
An Unforgettable Trip
I will say this once and I’ll say it a thousand times: I want to do something like this ALL the time! I realized that I had so much fun on this solo trip that I want to try and do a trip like this every year! I strongly recommend that you take a solo trip at least once in your life! It’s definitely worth it!
Thank y’all for reading and I hope y’all have a magical day!
With love and pixie dust,
Makenna ❤️
Howdy! I’m Makenna, a Disney adult from central Texas! I have always loved Disney, my first trip to the parks was to Disney World in 2014, and then I fell “in love” with Disney in 2017 when I first saw the Happily Ever After firework show! My dream is to one day work for the mouse in Florida, but for now, I’m just living my life in Texas and saving up until I can get there!
PS: There are only a few pictures from my trip in my post. If you want to see more, follow @mclovesdisney815 for all of the magical Disney trip photos!
Expenses
I paid for everything myself and here’s how it worked out:
| Round trip flight with southwest | $$$ |
| Accommodations for two nights | $$$ |
| Tickets with Memory Maker for two days | $$$ |
| Genie+ for one day | $ |
| Spending money | $$$$ |
| Gift cards for food | $$ |
| Uber/Transport expenses | $ |
| Total (approx..) | $2500 |
