Help me plan my first time back in 15 years

[claudia95]

Hi! I recently remembered I have free will and, after the two worst years of my life, decided to do something I've been wanting to do my whole life: bought an annual pass and booked a week-long solo trip to Walt Disney World. I'll be staying at WL from 9/1 to 9/4, then ASMusic from 9/4 to 9/6, and then I decided to move my flight back a day and booked a night at the Drury for 9/6 and the last flight back to NYC at 7PM on 9/7.

I haven't been to WDW since high school, and haven't stayed on-site/been there longer than a half-day field trip situation since elementary school. I grew up obsessed with theme parks, glued to forums and blogs (including this one! but it's been so long I don't even remember my adolescent username), but could never afford to return in my twenties. This visit is to celebrate turning 30 earlier this year, surviving the aforementioned two worst years of my life, reconnecting with myself and indulging in solo time, remembering my late partner, and doing a nice thing for myself ahead of the second anniversary of his passing. So a very meaningful trip for me! It's also just something I wanted so so so badly as a little kid, and I am so thrilled to make this dream come through (for both little me and big me) that I keep randomly crying.

A whole lot has changed since I had my finger on the pulse, and while I've spent a lot of time getting my PhD in Disney again I think it has left my brain a little spent and I am experiencing some analysis paralysis, mainly when it comes to the question of which parks to go to on which days. I'm also considering one day of LLM but have no idea which day and park to grab it for!

Here is my current rundown, with italics being the most flexible/where I'm looking for the most schedule input:

• Monday 9/1: Arrival and Epcot EEH
  • Land at MCO around 9:30
  • Take Mears shuttle to WL, drop bags off
  • Go to MK to activate annual pass, do one or two things (grab food, ride a ride)
  • Return to resort, get room, settle in, maybe hit the pool
  • Head to Epcot for F&W dinner and EEH (through 11PM)
• Tuesday 9/2
  • Rope-drop MK
    • Current plan is to catch the first boat to the park unless y'all think that is a really bad idea and I need to take the bus instead; I've heard the bus is earlier/faster/more frequent, but that the post-boat security might help even that out?
  • Return to WL around 4 when the MNSSHP starts to arrive
  • Either hit another park in the evening, or enjoy the resort and turn in early if exhausted from travel
• Wednesday 9/3
  • Rope-drop Epcot?
  • Return to WL
  • Magic Kingdom late afternoon through EEH (through 1AM)
• Thursday 9/4
  • Drop off bags
  • If not dead from 1AM, rope-drop DHS until an early lunch at 50's Prime Time for the Fantasmic seating perk
  • Go to Epcot or back to ASM depending on my energy leves.
  • Back to DHS at night for the package.
• Friday 9/5
  • Rope-drop AK?
  • Probably go back to resort to rest
  • Evening at another park
• Saturday 9/6
  • Rope-drop a park.
  • Afternoon/evening: Meet up with friends at Disney Springs after bringing bags over to the Drury!
• Sunday 9/5
  • Go to whichever park I want one last round of, as close to rope drop as possible
  • Grab bags from the Drury, be at airport by 6 at the latest (I am usually a 2-hours-early-for-domestic-flights person but I have precheck now)

Some notes on my priorities, logic, etc:

• Rides and live entertainment (including parades, fireworks) are my top priorities.
  • Anything from New Fantasyland onwards I have not experienced yet.
  • I have never been to DHS! I'm so excited to do the rides there and finallyyyyy see Fantasmic for the first time!
  • I am definitely a "hit my favorite rides multiple times if possible" girl and am especially hoping to get a lot of Dinosaur time in. That was the first "scary" ride I ever rode, it has such a big spot in my heart.
  • I will be valiantly attempting (for the second time) to get a Beak and Barrel res tomorrow.
• I want to rope-drop as much as possible, and (where applicable) hit each park at least once in the morning and at least once in the evening.
• Similarly, I want to stay at evening parks until park close as much as possible.
• While I'm park-focused, I also want to enjoy WL as much as I can — this'll be my first time ever staying at a deluxe!
  • At the same time, I grew up with the values and look forward to returning to All-Star.
• While I grew up in Miami, I hate the heat which is part of why I'm building in a lot of midday park time.
• I am more of a quick-service girlie than a sit-down one. Other than the Fantasmic package, I do have a reservation for Be Our Guest because I kind of want a special sit-down to celebrate my return to the parks, make my own dreams come true, and commemorate everything I mentioned in the intro, but I'm not married to it and I am kind of psyching myself out about the cost (and time sink).
• I definitely plan to hit a lot of F&W stuff when I can.

Some questions I'd love your insight on, in addition to any other notes and suggestions you have about my gameplan:

• Which parks you would do on which days!
• Your LL thoughts!
  • If I indulge in one LLM day, which day should it be and which parks should I hit in which order?
  • Can I get away without LLM (or with just one day), considering the time of year, how much rope-drop/park close I have planned, and it being just me? I'm not completely averse to waiting but would love to keep my queue time under 30mins
  • Currently the only ride I plan to get an individual LL for is Tron so I can ride it at night.
• Rope drop and EEH strategy (and EEH expectations). Here is my current thinking:
  • EPCOT: Rope-drop Guardians, then TT. Caught between aiming for Guardians and Frozen/Remy during EEH.
  • MK: Rope-drop 7DMT -> maybe another FL ride -> Tron; for EEH... prioritize the more "little kid" rides? Idk.
  • DHS: Rope-drop Rise of the Resistance.
  • AK: Rope-drop Flight of Passage -> Na'vi -> Safari.
• Any Passholder things I might not know about (getting the magnet, considering the popcorn bucket, but otherwise very green here).
• Any solo trip pro tips you have! Obviously there's single rider lines, but is there anything you love doing when you're by yourself? Any favorite chill spots to read or people-watch? Any parade or fireworks viewing spots that are not ideal for families but great for someone flying solo? A solo tradition you want to pass on to me? Anything ya got.
• Ladies: Any clothes you swear by for the parks or for travel!
  • My bag plans are my Baggu medium crescent, and maybe my Baggu pack on days I have less to carry. I also ordered a 16oz Owala (I already have a bigger bottle but want to go light).

And finally, for context, here are screenshots of my "priorities" spreadsheet. Starred attractions are ones I have never been on; double-starred ones I have not been on since their newest iteration (ex. I've been on Splash but not on Tiana's). "Must do" are rides that I would, like, extend my stay for if I am not able to hit them. "High" priority ones I will be veryyyyy bummed to miss. "Mid" priority ones I'll be sad but will be fine leaving for next time. If they're on here at all, I really want to do them; if they're not on here, I don't NOT want to do them, but they're not my focus. Other than being ordered by overall priority group and by park, there's not a hierarchy represented here within those groups (I love CBJ but that is not my top must-do, for example, lol). Some food is on here but a lot of food I want to try isn't! This is mostly a rides/shows tracker.

Okay, I think that's most everything on my mind!

I am so, so excited and can't wait to hear your thoughts.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Girl, your planning skills are top notch. I think for someone who hasn't been to Disney in a long time, you have definitely done your research! I have found that no matter how much you plan, everything goes out the window, and you end up realizing that what you thought would work best for you doesn't because you figured something that works out better. With your schedule and evening hours, I feel you will be able to get so much done.

Have so much fun! Take notes of your trip and post them over in the Trip Reports forum, we're nice over there.

I am so happy that you have decided to follow your dream and get the annual pass, and I'm sorry you had to go through two years of crap.

Have a Magical time!

 

[JIMINYCR]

Happy 30th !! There's nothing better than a well planned trip to WDW to celebrate and help start a new focus on life.
Besides looking through this site you should also read through the Unofficial Guide Book to WDW which covers a lot of material and they have trip plans for each park to go by which can save time.
Ive done several solo trips to WDW and enjoyed them all. It allows you a lot more freedom to do everything and you do get more done because you are focusing on only you and your wants. The down side is no one is with you to share those moments. You should be able to do all on your list because you are not waiting on others and can move through the parks easier alone. I spend more time interacting with the CM's and other guests in line. I trade pins, explore areas guests rarely go, look at Main St windows and building architecture, do park scavenger hunts, look for hidden Mickeys and take my time enjoying the atmosphere and theming that most overlook.
LL overall aren't needed except for those few attractions you really are desperate to do. GoTG and Tron is a LL must. Dis is making lots of $$$ off of guests. Do take advantage of rope drops ( being solo you may not need it every day ) and single rider lines. When checking in request BOG dining in the West Wing. It's been our preference since it's less noisy and themed better. You can walk through the other dining areas to see how themed they are so you won't be missing out. The Fantasmic dining package gets you in a better location of seating and it is worth doing. Use mobile ordering for your QS dining and do it at times when it's not usual dining times. It can be lengthy waits to get food if you don't. QS along with snacks can be just as filling as TS dining and will be less costly. Checking menu sites can inform you of what the costs are and the menu items you might want ahead of time.
Figure out what your trip budget is and what amount you have to spend on yourself and others and stick to it. Being solo its easy to overspend as you go along. I always plan on splurging on one special and costly item for myself as a treat.
As far as what days for which park, you can look for multiple crowd calendar sites online and get a somewhat picture of how crowded parks are on certain days. None of them are totally accurate but they can give you a picture of historically what parks were like in the past and get an idea of what to do. I look at them all and then take a consensus of what days are best. Reports are that Dis is at a low time for crowds now and it's a good time to go. Again being a solo traveller crowd conditions are not going to be as much an issue for you as if you were going as a multi person traveller.
I think Ive covered much of what you've asked. Hope your trip is all you wish for and everything goes smoothly. Pre planning and being knowledgable about WDW will get you far ahead of the typical guest who goes in uninformed.