A Day in Disney Without Kids
As much as I’ve travelled around the world, I hadn’t made my way to Disney World in Orlando, FL yet. So, for Christmas this year, my husband and I decided to fly out to Orlando and spend a day at Disney being kids, without kids. Who said Disney is just for kids!! We, of course, managed to pick the coldest weekend to be out there. Christmas Eve was in the 30s…freezing cold to be walking around but it was well worth it.
Tickets:
Tickets can be purchased online or on-site. To be safe and ensure entry, we purchased 1-day park hopper tickets online and reserved Epcot as our first park. With park hopper tickets, you can visit a second park after 2pm on the same day. Be sure to download the Disney app to access your tickets because the QR will be needed at the entrance.
Transportation/where to stay:
We stayed in Kissimmee to avoid paying Disney hotel prices. The commute from Kissimmee to Orlando is approximately 20-30 minutes via Uber. No need to rent a car because Uber/Lyft/etc are conveniently available. It also saves time and money from parking at the park. Park shuttles run every 5-10 minutes to go from one park to the next or to a Disney resort.
Epcot:
Avoid the long wait times to enter the park by arriving early. We entered around 10am and had less than a 2 minute wait. Be prepared to walk ALOT!!! It took us about 5 hours to walk around the world, with pit stops for drinks and food. Keep your phone handy for pictures because you will be taking tons of them. Invest in a phone strap. I got mine from Baki Sisters and love it. Credit cards are accepted all throughout the park - no need to carry cash. Last but most important tip - pace yourself with the drinking! Since Disney has an open container law within the parks, it’s almost too easy to go bar hopping when the cup empties. Drinks cannot be taken on rides.
Closest shuttle from Epcot to other parks is from Beach Club Resort (5 minute walk from Epcot’s exit). Our next park was Animal Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom:
Check the timings for Safari because you do not want to miss the last one. On Saturday (Christmas Eve), the last safari was at 4:45pm. If Animal Kingdom is your second park as part of the 1-day park hopper ticket, you will most likely be arriving after 2pm. Head straight to the Safari before exploring rest of the park. Wait time was approximately 20 minutes, which actually is not bad for a Disney ride. Lines do move quickly because of the multiple jeeps they have running.
Next stop, Disney Springs. Shuttle from Animal Kingdom to Disney Springs was at the same spot as drop off. Disney Springs is a regular outdoor mall, with restaurants and bars. If your wallet is still heavy from visiting the parks, feel free to visit Disney Springs to make it lighter!
Now that I’ve experienced two of the parks, I’m extremely excited to plan a family vacation to Disney for the full magical experience. Unfortunately, Magic Kingdom was at capacity for that weekend so we couldn’t visit. When we’re ready to start that planning process, I’ll be sure to work with the wonderful travel planners at Shoreline Destinations who actually has a team dedicated solely to Disney vacations!
