I’d been to Walt Disney World twice as a child, and twice as an adult. And yet it still didn’t feel like enough.
Although, I doubt anyone goes to Disney and says, “Yes, I’ve done it, no need to come back.”
There’s something about it that is addictive – once you’ve been once, you’ll want to go back again…and again…and again.
After my little one day solo trip to Walt Disney World last year (my very first solo trip to Disney!) while I was in Orlando for work, I was desperate to go back for a longer solo trip.
With my birthday falling over Easter weekend this year, I thought it was the perfect excuse to book a trip and maximise those free public holiday vacation days from work.
So back in the January sales, I found a good deal and booked the trip!
I’ve now been back a couple of days and can’t believe it’s already over…so obviously I’m now planning the next trip.
Anyway, ready to discover the perfect solo 5-day itinerary for Walt Disney World?! Let’s go!
What to expect in this blog post:
- Booking Your Solo Walt Disney World Trip
- Day 1 – Arrive in Orlando, Explore Disney Springs
- Day 2 – Epcot & Hollywood Studios
- Day 3 – Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom
- Day 4 – Magic Kingdom
- Day 5 – Disney Springs & Outlet Shopping
- So, Should You go to Disney World Solo?
Word count: 4781
Time to read: 15-minutes
Booking Your Solo Walt Disney World Trip
I live in the UK, so to book a Disney trip shorter than 1 or 2 weeks, I had to use a VPN and book using the US version of the Disney site.
The US site has lots of great deals on shorter stays, whereas the UK site only has deals for 2 week trips.
I got a great deal on a 4-night stay at Coronado Springs Resort (read my full review!), with a 3-day park hopper ticket. With the flight times, this meant I had five days to enjoy Walt Disney World and Disney Springs!
It cost me around $1600 (£1200) in total without flights for the hotel and park hopper tickets. I then booked my flights separately as I had an airline voucher to use up before it expired in June.
Honestly, I found this was the perfect amount of park time for me, and I used the other two days to explore Disney Springs, relax by the pool, and visit the Orlando outlets for some shopping.
Day 1 – Arrive in Orlando, Explore Disney Springs
I arrived on a Thursday, as my birthday was on the Friday. You could really arrive any day of the week, but if you want to do a long weekend, a Thursday is a great day to get to Orlando and Walt Disney World.
Check-in at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Check-in at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort. It’s a 4-star ‘Moderate’ resort, and much calmer than some of the other Disney resorts. It’s also more subtle in its theming, so it still feels like Disney but isn’t super intense and in-your-face.
It’s a great choice for solo travellers because it’s generally not overun with kids. It’s used as a convention centre and resort, so you get a lot of business travellers visiting, and is just feels a bit more sophisticated and grown-up.
If you don’t want to stay on-site at Disney, the Gaylord Palms Resort is nearby and I loved the huge atrium with all the plants!
Bus to Disney Springs
Once you’ve checked in at the hotel, have a quick shower and refresh, then get the resort bus to Disney Springs.
I hadn’t been to Disney Springs before this most recent trip, and I loved it SO much!
It’s such a cute area. You don’t need any kind of ticket, it’s free and open to anyone. You just need to go through a little security checkpoint, then that’s it, you’re in!
There are loads of shops, bars and restaurants to explore.
Drinks at Jock Lindsay’s and The Edison
Head to Jock Lindsay’s and The Edison for drinks. They’re pretty much next to each other, so you can do a mini bar crawl!
Make sure you sit on the deck at Jock Lindsay’s, but don’t miss seeing the interior while you’re there. Then grab some food at The Edison and work your way through their cocktail menu.
Get an early night!
You really, really want to get an early night before your busy few days in the parks. Trust me on this one!
Save your body, and get to bed by 9pm.
Day 2 – Epcot & Hollywood Studios
For my first ‘full’ day at Disney I visited EPCOT, and actually I think this was the best thing to do. It’s a much more gentler park than Magic Kingdom and sort of eases you in gently.
Make sure you get there for rope drop (usually around 8am-8:30am). The benefit of staying at a Disney resort is you get into the parks 30-minutes before non-guests, so you can run to the rides that get the biggest lines!
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
I’d recommend going straight to Guardians of the Galaxy first.
It’s right by the entrance of EPCOT and it’s the ride that gets the longest queue (you could be waiting up to 2-hours during peak time), so getting there early will ensure you’re not queuing for too long.
It’s also THE BEST ride in Disney World, and probably the best ride I have ever been on, ever.
It’s truly epic, SO much fun and 100% worth the queue.
You basically feel like you’re flying/dancing through space. Just make sure you take note of what song plays during the rollercoaster, because there are four different songs that rotate so each time you ride it might be a different song, and you’ll be surprised how different the ride feels depending on the song!
Breakfast Crepes at La Crêperie de Paris (France Pavilion)
After Guardians, walk over to La Crêperie de Paris in the French area for breakfast.
Their crepes aren’t as good as the actual ones in France, but they’re definitely tasty and worth trying! I loved the caramelized apple and caramel crepes.
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
After breakfast, walk 1-min from the Crêperie over to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
Remy’s has a single rider line, but you’ll want to go in the morning because later in the afternoon the single rider line gets blocked up with big groups of people who are together, but willing to ride individually to try and speed things up for themselves.
When I went in the morning I was on the ride in 5-mins, but later in the afternoon it was more like 40-mins and I actually ended up giving up because it took so long.
The ride is so much fun though!!
Frozen Ever After
Now, the queue for Frozen is usually pretty long. If you can, it’s worth getting a lightning lane for it, but if you can’t, stick it out because this ride is a good one.
Also, I did find that the ride queues were actually about half the time the Disney app said they were. So if the app said it was a 60-min wait, it was actually more like 30-mins.
Frozen is a super cute ride and just a really lovely gentle one that’s entertaining and fun.
Walk through Journey of Water Moana
Journey of Moana isn’t a ride, but a super cute (and refreshing) experience. It’s a simple sensory walk that has lots of water experiences and is great for both kids and adults!
Lunch at Space 220
After your hectic morning riding all the best rides, head to Space 220 for lunch!
You need to book in advance, but it’s worth it.
I booked in for my birthday lunch and I had the best time. The experience from start to finish is brilliant, and you actually feel like you’re sitting in a spaceship staring out into space.
The food isn’t amazing, but it’s tasty and better than some of the other Disney restaurants, and they gave me a cute lil birthday cake flavoured ice-cream with a candle for my dessert!
Explore World Showcase & Festival Booths
This day is one full of food, because after lunch you’ll want to explore the World Showcase and festival booths!
There are special dishes and drinks at each festival booth, but you’ll be working up an appetite with all the walking, so don’t be afraid to try everything.
I was really lucky that the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival was on while I was there, so I got to see all of these incredible floral displays at each of the country areas.
Get the Skyliner to Hollywood Studios
When you’re feeling tired from all that walking and eating, get the Skyliner from near the France showcase, over to Hollywood Studios. You’ll be sitting down in the Skyliner for about 20-minutes, which is the perfect amount of time to give your feet and legs a break.
Also, sidenote, my Kipling Mini City backpack was literally perfect for this trip!! It’s super light, the perfect size, and has loads of pockets!
Rise of the Resistance
When you arrive at Hollywood Studios, head for the single rider lane at Rise of the Resistance.
This is one of my favourite rides at Disney World and is super immersive. It’s a lot of fun and I’d say it’s one of the best rides in terms of the length of the ride and experience.
Star Tours
I know Star Tours isn’t a favourite for most, but I really love it! It’s an old fashioned simulator and just a lot of fun. There’s also usually a very small queue, and I’ve managed to get on it before within 10-mins.
Grab Dinner at Hollywood Studios
If you have some time before the Fantasmic show and you’re not still full from all your food at EPCOT, make sure you grab dinner before the show.
There are lots of places to eat at Hollywood Studios, but most of them close at 5pm so you’ll need to choose carefully.
Hollywood Studios Fantasmic Show
Finally, it’s time for Fantasmic!
In my humble opinion, this is actually the best show at Walt Disney World.
It’s electrifying, entertaining, it feels ‘old school’ Disney but with modern technology, and best of all? You get a seat!
Yep, that’s right, there’s bleacher seating so everyone gets to sit down for the 30-min show and enjoy it in (some) comfort.
It really is a spectacle and I loved it sooo much. There are usually two showings an evening, but I recommend going to the earlier one. Again, you’ll want an early night before the next day of walking and park time.
Day 3 – Animal Kingdom & Magic Kingdom
Before this trip I had never been to Animal Kingdom! The first time I went to WDW it was 1995 and it hadn’t been built yet, then the second time we went, it was still relatively new and we just didn’t end up going.
So I was super keen to go this time, and I loved it, it’s such a beautiful park – I was in awe of all the trees, plants, and rivers!
However, there weren’t really many rides I wanted to go on. I think most people go for the animal safari experience, but we have so many of those in the UK that I’ve been to (Longleat, Knowsley etc) so this didn’t really interest me much given I can do it at home.
But, the park did contain two of my top rides in Disney: Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey. And of course I had to do the Tusker House character breakfast!
Avatar Flight of Passage
I really wasn’t sure what to expect from Flight of Passage, especially as I’ve never seen Avatar, but it was unbelievable. It’s a 3D flying simulator and I couldn’t believe how incredible it was.
It really felt like you were flying through the world of Pandora.
The queues for this ride get huuuuge, so you’ll need to either get to Animal Kingdom at rope drop to beat the queues (again, if you stay at a Disney resort you’ll get access 30-mins earlier than the normal times), or buy a lightning lane pass for the ride in advance.
Character Breakfast at Tusker House
After Flight of Passage, head to Tusker House for the character breakfast. You’ll need to book this in advance, but it’s worth it.
I’d never done a character breakfast before and it was SO cute!
The food wasn’t amazing – the sweet options were far better than the savoury ones – but the staff were lovely and the characters (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy) were all dressed in safari outfits which was super adorable.
I was really worried about doing a character breakfast solo and thought it might make me feel a bit weird and lonely, but actually it was a fun experience and something a bit different.
Avatar Na’vi River Journey
Na’vi River Journey actually almost made me cry, it was so incredible!
It’s probably the most beautiful ride I have ever been on. It’s a very relaxing boat ride through a ‘bioluminescent rainforest in search of the Shaman of Songs on the Na’vi River Journey at Pandora’.
It’s stunning and relaxing and just felt completely magical.
Explore Animal Kingdom
Next up, you’ll want to spend some time exploring Animal Kingdom.
It’s quite a small park, so just soak up the atmosphere and take in all the little details everywhere that Disney is so great at.
Disney bus to Magic Kingdom
Exploring Animal Kingdom won’t take too long (unless you want to go on any of the other rides there), so get the bus from Animal Kingdom over to Magic Kingdom.
Honestly the Disney buses are so good – they’re just so easy and quick!
When you arrive at Magic Kingdom it’s going to be a bit hectic in the park, but don’t panic. You’re going back to Magic Kingdom the next day, so you can enjoy it empty the next morning.
This afternoon, it’s all about doing some of the rides so you can take things easier tomorrow.
Walk down Main Street
Of course, to get anywhere in Magic Kingdom you have to walk down Main Street.
Don’t rush through – soak it in and enjoy the crowds, the chaos, the magic.
The shops continue all the way up the street, so you can walk through the confectionary store and aaaall the way up to the top of Main Street through the shops. I like to do this on the way out of the park. On the way in, there really is nothing like walking up Main Street with the castle ahead of you.
Also spot the various characters nestled within the trees and plants dotted around the park!
The Little Mermaid
Once you’ve seen Cinderella’s castle, start with The Little Mermaid ride.
This one usually has fairly short queues and it’s a nice little intro to ‘classic Disney’. It’s one of those rides that’s very chilled and mostly for kids, but it’s just so whimsical and magical it’s still a favourite of mine.
Lunch at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe
I really love the tacos at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe. It’s also a quick service restaurant so you can order via the app on your mobile and then go up to collect the food when it’s ready.
The tacos are tasty and probably one of the best quality dishes in terms of Disney food.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pirates of the Caribbean is right by Pecos Bill, so head here next. It’s another one where the queue usually isn’t huge, but it’s a fun ride and is the ride the movie series is based on!
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
I WISH Seven Dwards Mine Train was longer. It’s such a fun rollercoaster (although I still prefer Big Thunder Mountain, which is closed for renovations at the moment), but it’s just not long enough.
Still, it’s a good one to go on and although the queue always looks huge, it moves quite quickly (probably because it’s a short ride).
Head back to the hotel to relax
Now, by this point you’re probably a bit exhausted. My top tip to last until the fireworks is to get the bus back to the hotel around 3pm, and have a couple of hours resting in the hotel.
Especially when it’s hot, sometimes you just need an hour or two laying on your bed in the air conditioning.
If you want, you could even put your bathers on and lay by the pool with a book. Just do something that gets your legs up and rested to help reduce any swelling from all the walking and standing.
I’d then recommend heading back to Magic Kingdom around 6pm for the fireworks and nighttime rides.
You’ll notice in this itinerary that there’s quite a lot of moving around between parks and the resort, but I honestly found this worked best for me. I really struggle to stay in one park all day and get a bit antsy and overwhelmed if I do, so it just kept things interesting for me and gave me a change of scenery and a bit of a break to reduce overwhelm.
Also, the buses make it so easy to get around! Honestly it’s just really easy and quick to move between parks and resorts, so it doesn’t feel like an effort. And it gives your feet a break while you sit down as well!
TRON
The reason you need to leave TRON to the evening, is because it’s more fun in the dark! It lights up and it’s just such a cool ride to experience at night time when it’s dark.
I was honestly SO scared of this rollercoaster, I think because the seats are so odd and nothing like anything I’ve been on before, but I had so much fun I was shrieking and squealing with joy through the whole thing haha!
Happily Ever After Fireworks
After TRON, find a spot in front of the castle for the fireworks.
I personally recommend finding a space on the left hand side near the Liberty Square side, because you then then run to Tiana’s straight after the fireworks for one last ride before the park closes and while the queue is super short.
The perk of being a solo visitor to Walt Disney World is that you can sort of slot yourself in anywhere for the fireworks. I’ve found that I always get a great spot right towards the front with a great view.
Happily Ever After is such an amazing firework show – it always makes me quite teary it’s just so magical!
I still really love the old fireworks show, but the new one is sooo clever in how they use the castle as a backdrop for the imagery.
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
After crying at the fireworks, RUN.
I mean it haha, run to Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (splash mountain)! Other people will also be running, and you want to get there before the queue starts again.
I managed to get there when there were only a few people ahead of me, so I got on straight away and it was AMAZING.
Tiana’s is my second favourite ride at Disney, it’s SO visually beautiful and so much fun!!
I also loved experiencing it both at night and during the day time.
Just make sure you sit at the very back if you don’t want to get wet – sit at the front and you will look like you’ve taken a bath!
After Tiana’s, if you have the energy you could do a little resort hop to some of the bars in other resorts. I was exhausted, so I headed home for another reasonably early night before my final park day.
Day 4 – Magic Kingdom
It’s your last park day! Well done for making it this far 😉
I really loved spending my last park day at Magic Kingdom, it just sort of finished off the magic perfectly.
Instead of telling you what to do and when, I’m going to tell you to just roll with the day.
Just enjoy it, take it easy, try and do the rides on the list below, but also just soak up the magic, enjoy all the food, and try and see a parade or two. If you’re lucky, you might catch the Main Street Philharmonic Band!
I had such a lovely day doing this, but I’m really glad I’d planned everything out the first two days because it then meant I felt like I’d conquered everything I really wanted to do, and it sort of helped me relax more on that last park day.
So, below I’m going to list out the rides to do on this final day, and also the food and snacks you need to try!
Rides to enjoy at Magic Kingdom:
Tiana’s Bayou Adventure
Make sure you head back to Tiana’s, because you need to experience it during the day time as well as at night, and it’s just SO much fun!
Just make sure you get lightning lane for it, because the queue is huuuuuge if you don’t – look at the size of it in the photo below.
Peter Pan
A lovely classic that you can’t really go wrong with! I always love the part where the flying boat flies over the little model city of London, it’s just so whimsical and magical.
Jungle Cruise
Again, a classic that I just really love and enjoy. It’s a hilarious ride – just make sure you watch the episode about the background of the ride on Disney+ first!
People Mover
A nice 10-min sit down that takes you around Tomorrowland. It’s super relaxing and a great way to see the park from a different viewpoint!
Carousel of Progress
A 20-min show that was one of Walt Disney’s creations. It’s nice just to experience one of Walt’s visions tbh.
Food/Snacks to get at Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom (and the whole of Disney) is famous for their snacks, so naturally I had to get my favourites. I’m super fussy when it comes to food, but I’ve listed the best ones below!
- Tiana’s beignets (SO delish)
- Casey’s hot dog and mint julep lemonade
- Mickey Pretzel with cheese sauce (my absolute fave)
- Pineapple DOLE whip (AN ICON)
- Aurora cone (a new DOLE whip twist on the OG icon)
Bus to Disney’s Boardwalk Inn
Now, because you saw the Magic Kingdom fireworks last night, later in the afternoon you’re going to go over to Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, and walk down onto the Boardwalk itself.
I LOVE the Boardwalk area. It’s super cute and just feels lovely and calm.
It’s set on a lake and is full of shops, restaurants and bars.
Dinner on the Boardwalk
If you’re not full from all the food and snacks at Magic Kingdom, grab some dinner on the Boardwalk.
I treated myself to the Gwendolyn’s Famous Earl’s Court Chocolate Cake from The Cake Bake Shop. It’s ridiculously expensive and ridiculously huge – I only managed to eat half of it – but it’s delicious!
If I had enough space in my belly, I would have 100% tried the seafood at The Flying Fish.
After dinner, walk the 5-minutes to Epcot to see the Luminous firework show.
Epcot Luminous Fireworks
I won’t lie, Luminous wasn’t my favourite show out of the three I saw, but I do think it’s one you need to see at least once.
The crowds start early and you’ll want a spot right by the lake if you want to see it properly, because the whole thing is set on the lake itself.
I think that’s why I didn’t enjoy it as much – my view was really obscured so I couldn’t really see it properly. So don’t make the same mistake I did! Get there early and get a good spot right by the railings around the lake!
Resort Hopping
If you’re not too tired after the fireworks, go for a lil resort hop and visit some of the bars in the resorts.
I went to Jellyrolls on the Boardwalk after Luminous, but I went the very last weekend it was open before it closed permanently.
There’s also the Dance Hall on Boardwalk, the Abracadabra bar, and then there are lots of bars in the other Disney resorts dotted around.
Day 5 – Disney Springs & Outlet Shopping
Your final day in Orlando will be spent enjoying the shopping opportunities, and having a very special solo lunch at The Boathouse in Disney Springs!
But before you go shopping, you need to fuel up…
Breakfast at IHOP
Start your morning with breakfast at IHOP! This American institution is a must-do, and every time I go to the US I have to go to one.
My order is always an Arnold Palmer with the Pancake combo. Usually I do eggs sunny side-up, sausages, and then either the cinnabon pancakes or the strawberry cheesecake pancakes depending on how I’m feeling.
There’s an IHOP close to the Vineland Premium outlets, so get an Uber to the IHOP then another Uber to the outlets.
Vineland Premium Outlets
I found soooo many bargains at the Vineland outlets! There’s also the i-Drive outlets and tbh I liked both, but the Vineland ones felt more manageable.
Make sure you stock up on brands that are generally cheaper in the US than in the UK – Ralph Lauren, Coach, Kate Spade, Victoria’s Secret, and of course, the Disney Character Warehouse!
The Disney Character Warehouse is the official Disney outlet, and they always have some good bargains in there.
After the outlets, get an Uber to Disney Springs and do some final shopping there – including anything they didn’t have in the Disney outlet.
The Disney stores at Disney Springs are huuuge and honestly have everything that the parks have, so you can buy anything you forgot to get in the parks.
Lunch at The Boathouse
Finally, enjoy one last lunch in Orlando.
The Boathouse is a beautiful restaurant set right on the lake, and the servers were so so lovely.
I sat outside on the deck and ordered the Lavender and blueberry mocktail spritz to drink, the Mahi Mahi tacos to start, and then the Lobster Roll for my main. Everything was delicious!
It was such a relaxing and picturesque setting and I loved my lunch there so much.
And that’s it! You have conquered Walt Disney World as a solo traveller in just five days.
If you have some time after lunch you could chill by the resort pool as you’re allowed to use the facilities on the day of check-out, or resort-hop and see some of the other resorts! I visited the beautiful Grand Floridian.
But if not, head to MCO and say farewell until next time.
So, Should You go to Disney World Solo?
I honestly had the best trip this time! To be honest, I wasn’t really expecting to have as much fun as I did.
When I first booked a solo birthday trip to WDW, all my friends and family thought it was really odd and couldn’t understand why I wanted to spend my birthday alone at Disney, especially when I’m not a Disney adult who goes regularly.
Truth be told, I was also slightly nervous just because you’re constantly surrounded by kids at Disney, and after two heartbreaking miscarriages I can sometimes struggle in those sorts of environments.
But the thing was, at the start of the year I felt so depressed about turning 34 this year.
I wasn’t looking forward to it at all, and I really wanted to just do something fun and full of joy, where I could do what I wanted, when I wanted, and not worry about anyone else and what they wanted to do.
I wanted to reframe my birthday as an opportunity to just have fun, spend a few days away from the ‘real world’, and do something for me and me alone. Especially while I’m still single, and with no children to think of.
Really, I think it was the best thing I could have done.
It was the most magical long weekend over Easter and I did ALL the things and felt no guilt over it. I actually feel quite emotional when I think of how much fun I had and how grateful I am that I can do those sorts of trips.
One day I’ll finally get a healthy baby in my arms and I’ll be able to show them the Disney magic, but for now, this was a nice way to celebrate myself and just allow myself pure joy for five days.
And you know what, I believe every adult should go to Disney at least once by themselves.
Check out my guide on How to Survive the Heat at Walt Disney World, Orlando!
