When anyone talks about going to Disneyworld, people typically first think about going with their family or friends for a week long vacation. I myself often travel to Disney as a vacation and not as a spontaneous day trip by myself. However I had a one day ticket that was going to expire on September 26th, and as one does I booked a one day round trip plane ticket to Orlando on the 21st! My flight left Philadelphia at 5:30 AM and landed in Orlando at 8 AM where I took an Uber straight to the park. Here’s all the things that I got to do at Disneyworld for one full day!
Animal Kingdom
The first park I went to was Animal Kingdom. I wanted to see the Avatar world portion in the park since the last time I had been there was middle school and never got to experience it. I got to the park as early as I could with just a backpack on. I made it to so many rides with me being the only one in my party. The waits we’re all within 15 minutes except for the two rides in Avatar, which were under 50 minutes. Compared to going here in the summers the waits were extremely short and I was able to ride onto everything in the park, do a little shopping, and grab some lunch before heading to my next destination.
EPCOT
My ticket was a park hopper pass so after 2 PM, I decided to switch over to Epcot. I always loved the feeling of traveling around the world without actually having to. My first stop was when I went to England to browse through all the little tea shops. Then to Paris, Morocco, Japan, China, Norway, and Mexico where I literally ate around the world. This definitely was the one time I wished I had someone with me to help me eat. It was the food and wine festival when I went so I tried to experience all the vendors I could. At some point my stomach and wallet couldn’t take it so I ended my day by going on all the rides which was another 15 minute or less wait before heading off to the airport around 8 PM. Out of all the rides, the Dinosaur ride is definitely one I feel is more overlooked as it’s tucked away in the park. It’s a true classic dark ride with time travel and dinosaurs, what’s not to love!
FOOD & SHOPPING
Since it was such a big part of my trip, I wanted to highlight some of the best parts. For the cheapest meals, order from the kids menu ahead of time. I would order while waiting in line for a ride and pick up right afterwards. When in Animal Kingdom, I went to Satu’li Canteen and got the kids cheeseburger steamed pod that was basically a bao bun similar to the ones at Trader Joes. Once getting to Epcot I ate at so many places but the two that stood out the most were L’Artisan des Glaces and the Hawaii booth. To my understanding, the Hawaii booth was one of many kiosks that were only there for the wine and festival. I got the Kona pork slider and though it was tiny, it sure was delicious! In Paris, I got a seasonal ice cream macaron sandwich at L’Artisan des Glaces. The seasonal flavor was raspberry for anyone wondering and it was so good to have on a hot day. There were so many good flavors I wanted to try a ‘seasonal’ treat to save some of the decision making time. If in the mood for some gifts check out the Village Traders. They had a man carving by hand animals and walking sticks out of wood and they were all so detailed and well made and not too expensive for the smaller models.
Taking this spontaneous trip, especially during the school year, was such an exciting break. It was so much easier to get around through the shops by myself and easier to browse. They would either be so crowded or so small depending on where they were located so being able to get in and out was very easy. Not to mention since I only had to worry about myself, I could search in my own leisure, making check out all more enjoyable to not have to worry about waiting on someone else or going to any places not of any interest to me. For anyone who wants to take a trip but has the time restraints of school and work or friends with conflicting schedules, I recommend taking a day trip on your own for wherever you want it to be! It is definitely possible to do and maybe even a little better than you thought it would be!