I want you to know that you’re choosing a great way to travel to the parks. Lots of people may be asking if it’s weird to go to a theme park alone?

Absolutely not!

It’s different for many people, but you should try going solo to a theme park. I love this form of travel, but I don’t expect anyone else to jump on the bandwagon. It’s something you have to get used to and I always want to make sure you’re comfortable with going to a park like Walt Disney World alone.

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One of the benefits a lot of theme park hoppers talk about is the advantage of having a sense of freedom. You can cover so much territory, because there are certain things you would be hesitant to do in a larger group.

When you’re by yourself you’re more likely to say, “hey, why not?”

And that’s pretty much the gold standard phrase of your entire trip alone.

There’s no complaining of “I don’t like this ride,” or “why do we have to see this show, I only want to do rides.”

This is your trip and your time, which is an amazing way to travel. We’ll save more of that discussion for another post to come. I want to focus on giving you some quick tips.

For you guys, I now have The Solo Theme Park Traveler’s Guide for theme park hopping alone. A quick handbook I wanted to share with you all. In celebration of the release, I put together this post of tips for enjoying a solo theme park trip.

Watch the full video of 18 Tips to Do Theme Parks Solo below!

18 Tips for Going to a Theme Park Alone

1 – Pack lightly.

If you’re planning a half a day or even a whole day, it’s important that you pack light. I recommend wearing shorts or pants with pockets to place your essentials in. The most I’d recommend bringing is a small camera bag to use instead of your pockets.

2 – Bring a camera.

3 – Plan your day.

There are days when the voyage is sweeter with spontaneity. Mapping out your day is a good way to make sure you’re able to enjoy each must do item. Route your path around the park in advance by downloading a map online or on your phone.

4 – Get there early.

The early bird catches the worm, you snooze, you lose…well you know what I’m trying to say. It’s the classic tip for any theme park goer in Florida particularly any fans of the famous Mouse or Wizard.

5 – Go during the slow season.

The best times to visit Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, or the other Florida parks are:

second week of January

late February

between the second week after Easter and the week before Memorial Day

September

mid to late October

second to third week of December

6 – Try something new.

Get out of your comfort zone. Enjoy a new attraction, show, drink, or photo-op you’ve had on your theme park bucketlist for a while.

9 – Dine alone.

Dining alone is still a little bit uncomfortable for some. It’s more uncomfortable for me to dine alone than to go to a theme park alone. Yeah, I know that sounds crazy seeing as I love taking on a whole theme park by myself.

Dining alone is a great way to expand food based hobbies such as, food touring and food photography. The parks offer great restaurants too. They have improved from the normalcy of hot dogs, hamburgers, turkey legs, and funnel cakes.

10 – Take your time.

This is the time for you to get into the nooks and crannies the theme parks have to offer. Explorer the shops and alleys. You can even enjoy different parades and shows that you wouldn’t normally do in a larger group.

11 – Enjoy a nice cocktail and a view.

I love combing a good cocktail and a great theme park. You can enjoy the ambiance of having a drink in one hand and a roller coaster behind you. You can also do this inside a theme park resort.

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cocktail Wizarding World of Harry Potter

12 – Be sociable.

You may think only families go to theme parks, but other solo adult park hoppers meet up and go together. It’s an aspect of solo theme park hopping most people don’t think about. Be sure to use websites such as MeetUp.com and link up with people in the theme parks groups.

13 – Take photos with characters in the park.

This may seem a little childlike, but it’s actually a pretty cool thing. I know people who go alone just to do character photos. Character lines can be long and are considered as important as an actual attraction.

Hipster Power Tip: Go to Disney on special event nights. You may meet a very rare character out in the park taking pictures.

14 – Decide on a destination.

Decide which park you would like to try on your adventure. I would say this tip is very important. It helps make you more excited than nervous because you’re in vacation planning mode.

One of my favorite parks to go alone is Epcot. If you’re a first timer it will be hard for me to give you a recommendation on which park to start your first solo trip. I would have to know what kind of things you like to do, what city you will be in, and for how long?

15 – Keep in touch with your love ones or someone that’s close with you.

Safety in solo traveling should always be at the top of your priority list. The theme parks are definitely safe places to be, especially here in Florida. Tighter security measures have also been added to the theme park protocols.

Hipster Power Tip Let people know what your itinerary is, the park you will be attending, and ways to contact you.

16 – Do a special theme park tour.

A great solo tour for any theme park goer is the Keys to the Kingdom tour. It takes you on a thorough behind-the-scenes tour of the Magic Kingdom.

The VIP Experience is also an option and gives you an in-depth guided tour throughout Universal Studios.

Busch Gardens offers so many tours that a lot of people are not aware of, including a Keeper for the Day tour. You can refer to the Complete Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Guide for a list of each tour.

17 – Take advantage of the single rider line.

This line can cut your wait time in half and that’s always a benefit of going to a theme park alone. It allows you to get around to many of the attractions quickly, because you don’t have to wait in the normal ride line.

Be aware that on busy days if the regular line is long, then there’s a chance the single rider line may be long as well.

NikkyJ

JOIN NIKKYJ ON THIS SOLO THEME PARK JOURNEY
NikkyJ is the author of The Solo Theme Park Traveler's Guide who loves ALL things amusement park related. She was born and raised in Florida which attributed to her passion for theme parks.
Instead of rushing over to the thrill rides, like she used to, you may find her in the Italy Pavilion at Epcot enjoying a nice glass of Pinot Noir and a delightful book!
NikkyJ enjoys traveling solo to theme parks and wants to show you how you can overcome any of your fears and TAKE THE SOLO THEME PARK CHALLENGE!

I’m so happy I was able to help. Canada’s Wonderland is on my theme park bucket list. It looks absolutely amazing! I hope you have a great trip and please let me know how it goes whenever you make that solo journey 🙂

This is just the article I was looking for. 2018 was a good year, but I didn’t take a vacation because I was too busy waiting on other people to go with 🙄. Nw I am planning a trip to Florida to hit up Seaworld and Busch Gardens, as well as Los Angels to hit up the infamous Magic Mountain. I will be vlogging the experience on my YouTube channel, Coragee. Thanks for the encouragement!

Oh wow! I’m soooo happy that you’re taking the leap and doing a theme park vacation solo…insert my happy dance, lol!
You’re going to have a blast and if you need any additional help with planning just hit me up.
I can’t wait to see all of your adventures on your YouTube channel 🙂

As a coaster/ amusenent park enthusiast this dosnt seem like a bad idea. And since being an enthusiast i feel like it would be less weird to go to an amusement park alone. On the flip side however would be the by yoyrself part. I dont want it to look like im isolating myself espesialy since im a lone wolf who isnt the most socialble person out there.

The good thing about the theme parks, especially the ones in Florida, is that everyone is usually in a really good mood. I mean, who could be sad at a place like Walt Disney World.

Plus, no one ever notices that I’m alone when I go. Usually everyone is deep into jumping from ride to ride or trying to get a last minute seat at a popular show or parade.

You will definitely not feel alone or isolated.

To help alleviate the anxiety, I always recommend having somewhat of a plan of the rides you want to enjoy that way you’re not constantly thinking about being there alone. I also recommend maybe starting out small at a local amusement park for about an hour or two just to see if you like going by yourself.

You may come to really enjoy it and want to do a whole day alone.

I also love having my favorite Disney Pandora station or my favorite theme park podcast playing in my ears.

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