A magical journey of finding myself
During the first week of January 2022, I decided to do something that scared me and also something I've never done before - I took a solo trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida! ( I know it's technically located on Lake Buena Vista, don't beat me up :D )
Check out the companion video to this article here!
To give a short back story of why I decided to take a solo trip - over the past 6 months I went through some pretty hard things emotionally and started trying to figure out who I was. It's been quite the journey, but long story short, I made the decision to stop living as a victim and to start living my life to the fullest. If you can dream it, it's possible! Back in September of 2021, I went skydiving by myself (well, the person with the parachute also went with me) as a 29th birthday present to myself and that was an absolutely exhilarating experience. To follow that up, a couple of months ago, I decided to do something akin to a 100 fears challenge starting 2022. One of my biggest fears is doing things by myself. Or maybe it's not a fear so much as just something I've never really enjoyed doing. Going on a solo trip to the most magical place on Earth really hit the nail on the head here, and Disney World is a place I have been wanting to go back to for a long time. Two birds with one....fear. One bucket list item? We'll figure something out...
Now that we've got that covered, let's get to the exciting parts!
Preparation
To be honest, I didn't really do too much in terms of preparing for this trip. I kind of wanted to go in with an open mind. I did watch a bunch of videos by DFBGuide over on youtube, and those are super helpful, so check those out! I also googled some guides on what to bring to WDW. As far as packing goes, I brought two pairs of jeans, one pair of shorts, four different pairs of shoes and then a couple of different tops, a sweater and a jacket. Orlando weather is fairly fickle, so it's best to be prepared for anything. And of course, my mickey ears.
For filming and pictures, I carried my GoPro Hero 10 around with me everywhere and took pictures on both that and my phone. I also brought a nifty little mini backpack with me which was big enough to carry everything I needed but small enough to not be a hassle. For sun protection, I kept my tube of Supergoop Unseen Suncreen with me everywhere I went. This is an SPF 40 and I love it. No, I do not receive anything if you, the reader, decide to purchase a tube. I just really love this sunscreen.
Luckily, I have family in the area who I was able to stay with, which not only gave me wonderful time with family but also saved me money when it came to lodgings and food.
Getting over my fears at Epcot
Ah, the iconic giant golfball. Or, as it's apparently actually called - Spaceship Earth. This giant technological marvel is the icon of Epcot and absolutely gorgeous at night. Speaking of Epcot, this is the first park I hit to start off my Disney adventure. Now, full disclosure, I was actually at Epcot not too long ago to do a runDisney race which was really fun and would definitely recommend, even though it was raining, 5AM and freezing. I got a cool shirt and medal out of it anyway ;)
Since I had already partially experienced this park in the recent past, I did not mind getting here a bit later than opening. The first thing I did when I got to the park, besides take a picture of Spaceship Earth, was head to Figment's Journey into Imagination. I never had the chance to ride this in its original form, so I don't really have much to say as to whether this version was better or worse than its predecessor, so I won't be getting into that. This ride does represent an important part of this story though, and here's why:
When I got off of this magical musical journey and stepped into the gift shop as one does, I took a look around. I, like many others, find Figment to be an adorable little dragon and I was interested in getting some merchandise featuring him. And of course, I was in luck! The ride gift shop had an adorable Figment shoulder plush as well as Figment ears. I bought both and promptly placed my little Figment friend on my shoulder. And then I stepped outside and my self sabotaging thoughts started. No one else is wearing one of these, people are going to look at you and think you're weird. You're here by yourself, what will people think.
It was at this point that I realized that I shouldn't care what anyone else thought. This was my trip - I was here by myself. I was allowed to do what I wanted. And who cares what anyone else thought? If they thought I was weird then clearly they probably didn't matter to me. If it made me happy to have my little buddy on my shoulder, that's what I was going to do. And that's what I did. I wore my little Figment around for the rest of the time at the park, including almost every ride. And I had people compliment me. People asked me where I had gotten him. And so whatever strange ridicule I had feared and made up in my mind didn't actually happen. I think that was my first win of my my trip - realizing that it didn't matter what other people thought because most of my fears were just in my head. Those ears did give me a headache though. Thank goodness I had ibuprofen! Another positive note - I was able to ride single rider for Test Track and get on way faster than the standby line. Win win.
Feeling Lonely at Magic Kingdom
How is it possible to feel lonely at Magic Kingdom?? (You may be asking yourself that, or maybe you aren't)
Either way, let me tell you, it's possible. Now, walking into this park, I can't lie. I was in awe of seeing that beautiful castle all decked out in her 50th Anniversary attire. Of course I had to get a picture, even though I could hardly see what I was doing thanks to that bright Orlando sun.
I didn't feel the loneliness setting in until I got in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, my first ride of the day. Everywhere I seemed to look, there were friends, families and couples laughing and having a great time in line with each other. And I was there in line by myself, occasionally looking at my phone. It really started to get to me. When I later got in line to get some of those famous spring rolls outside of Adventure Land, I saw it again. Couples eating together. Friends sharing their spring rolls and having a good time. And I was eating two spring rolls by myself (which were really good by the way. I had the cheeseburger spring roll and 50th anniversary pastrami spring roll. Def. recommend)
I was trying really hard not to feel sorry for myself. And to not let my thoughts get to me. It was in the line for Jungle Cruise then that something magical happened. Get it. Magic in the Magic Kingdom?? Anyway....as I was standing in line, the people in front of me turned around and STARTED TALKING TO ME. As in, having an actual conversation. And though we only chatted occasionally during that entire horrendous two hour line, I didn't feel so lonely anymore.
Side Note: I bought lightning lane access for both this park and Hollywood Studios. I would not recommend or not recommend it either way. I think it's personal preference.
At 8 PM, my lightning lane for Big Thunder Mountain came up and I hopped on the ride. For those that don't know, 8 is when Magic Kingdom does its fireworks show. I was able to watch the fireworks from one of the higher points in the park, while riding a rollercoaster. And it was absolutely beautiful. I would definitely recommend trying to get on this ride at that time if at all possible. And thanks to the fireworks, I was able to ride Big Thunder a second time in under 20 minutes. So my second win - realizing that I wasn't so alone, and despite being by myself, there was still so much beauty and magic to be found.
Movie Magic at Hollywood Studios
Walking into Hollywood Studios I wasn't entirely sure what to expect except that the rides I was most excited for where located at this park.
After stepping through some of the stores on the main drag, I headed almost straight for Galaxy's Edge, the land based off of Star Wars. I was immediately captivated. The immersion of this land felt just like stepping into a different world. It felt alive. I walked around like a kid in a candy store, eyes wide and taking in everything I possibly could with my first stop being Ronto's Roasters for some quick breakfast.
While I was chowing down on my food, I caught my first glimpse of Stormtroopers and of course took a couple of very blurry photos. As I continued my wandering, I came upon a stage that had two storm troopers on it and a crowd of guests surrounding them. I really wanted to get a picture with them but was unable to work up the courage to do so until they were leaving - sad moment. Luckily, right next to the stage was the Milk Stand. And guess what they had? You guessed it! Blue and Green milk!
I got the blue milk, which was really good and had more of a slushie consistency - next time I'll have to try the green. I'll have to admit, I'm a bit apprehensive about it but hey, we're on a face my fears trend here right?
After I got my beverage, the Stormtroopers happened to show back up. I didn't want to miss my opportunity this time so I just swallowed my nervousness, walked up to someone standing by the stage, and asked them to take my picture. Progress is not always big steps. I am not the most confident person, but doing little things like asking a stranger for a photo helps to build it up. And sometimes you get nice photos out of it :) So thank you, random stranger who took my picture!
After taking this, I continued my wandering and eventually made it over to the Millenium Falcon, which is where the Smuggler's Run ride happens to live. The sheer size of this area and detail put into the land continued to amaze me. I could have spent most of my day at Galaxy's Edge (and if we're being honest, I did do just that).
Smuggler's Run was another ride that had a single rider line and at the time just so happened to only be about 15 minutes long so I chugged my blue milk and hopped in line. The ride, which is a motion simulator, is actually pretty interactive. It was definitely a lot of fun. After, I decided to check out the line for Rise of the Resistance...and it was about 3 hours. I debated standing in this line for about 30 seconds before changing my mind and heading to the marketplace located in Galaxy's Edge where I adopted a this guy...
He makes noise sometimes, though he wouldn't make it when I wanted him to, so I guess he's kind of not reliable. But he was cute and soft.
My next stop was the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular which had standing room only. I didn't mind, and since I was by myself I had no one to tell me they would rather not stand at the back of the stage for 30 minutes. I had a great view of the show and really enjoyed it. Whenever there were small pauses it the show, I kept checking the My Disney Experience app to see if the wait time for Rise of the Resistance would go down and at one point, the ride said it was temporarily closed. I shrugged, pinned the ride to my favorites using the Genie feature of the app, and went back to watching the show. The next time I checked, the ride was open and had a 70 MINUTE wait! Without further adue, I rushed over to Galaxy's Edge. Of course, everyone else seemed to have the same idea as me so the wait jumped up pretty quickly. I was able to get in line before a huge crowd of other guests and happened to be standing behind two people who I wasn't paying attention to. Until one of them turned around and said he liked my shirt. And then this random encounter launched us into an entire hour and a half conversation during the wait for the ride. Funny thing is, if I had jumped into the line the first time I thought about doing it, I would never have met these guys. So whether it was just a funny coincidence or not, I was able to make new friends waiting in line for what turned out to be an incredible ride.
I spent the next few hours riding Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, building a droid at the Droid Depot (this was also a really cool, interactive experience), grabbing food and hopping on Tower of Terror. By this time, it was about 8:30 and the park closed at 9, so I checked the wait time for Rise of the Resistance. I got lucky and was able to ride it one more time before park closing and didn't have to wait very long. So, what was win number three? Well, a lot I think. Because I was by myself, I was able to experience everything in the park I wanted to experience. I was able to choose whether or not I wanted to rush to a ride or stand in line or eat at a certain place. It was nice, and almost liberating in a way. And I feel like I got to experience so much at the park because I was open to just going with the flow and letting myself be open to new experiences.
A Roarin' Good Time at Animal Kingdom
(I couldn't think of a better title)
So remember how I said this was a mostly solo trip to Disney? Well, on Thursday I was able to go to Animal Kingdom with my awesome cousin!
Together, we went through every Safari and wilderness trail in the park and saw almost every animal that we could. We make it our goal to get all of our Wilderness Explorer Badges so that we could become Senior Wilderness Explorers. We rode almost all of the rides (except for Expedition Everest because it was sadly closed for Refurbishment) and got to experience the beauty of Pandora at night.
We even tried the giant 50th Anniversary ice cream cookies. Judging from the photo, we had no idea they were going to be so large - we should have shared one. We saw lions, and tigers but no bears. Oh my. It was a great time.
In Conclusion...
Before I actually headed down to Orlando, I almost changed my mind about going. I almost decided I would just post pone my trip until I could possibly go with someone else. But I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't. I am glad I turned my almost didn't into I'm glad I did. Going on a trip like this helped me to figure out a lot of things out about myself and let myself be open for new adventures and experiences. And to me, this is just the beginning and I can't wait to take more trips, be they to Disney or a city I've never been to. Of course, I always love having company but now I realize I can still have fun when my only company is me and the thousands of strangers around me. This trip gave me more confidence in myself and my ability to be okay when I don't have a companion and to me, that is a beautiful thing.
And in case you were wondering, Hollywood Studios was my favorite park :)
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