First solo trip & 3 different resorts! Tips please!

[DDDC1972]

Hello!

I’m doing my first solo trip this year and i’m using my DVC - staying at SS for 3, contemporary for 1 and OKW for 3!

Does anyone have any tips to make this a seamless transition and be able to try as much at the hotel?

I’ve only stayed at riviera before and got deluxe magic hours, do we get this at SS or OKW?
How long does a bus take to springs/MK/Epcot roughly?
Is there a resort thats safer to walk through if i do a park close? As i’ll plan my park evenings around that and i’ve heard SS is huge!

Nervous and excited for the unknown hotels!

 

[Simba's Mom]

I've done split stays as a solo many times, and my tips may or may not work for your situation. However, here goes-for one thing I always plan to go to a theme park on "switch over" day. However, I don't plan on "rope dropping" the theme park. That's because I don't want to get up, quickly finish packing, and immediately rush out-for me, that's how I invariably forget something. However, you may be less forgetful! Or, depending on the day of the week, maybe I'll plan on Disney Springs. The important thing is go someplace where, at the end of the day, I can go directly to the resort by Disney bus (yeah, I'm too cheap to pay for Uber). I ECVed around SSR once, and I thought it was huge, too-probably my least comfortable to walk around late at night, but all the DVC resorts do get deluxe magic hours. I've never stayed solo at OKW, but even though it's pretty big, I don't think I'd feel too bad walking around at night. Before I was DVC, I walked around the parking lot at All Star Music solo after midnight after an E-ticket night, remember those? I felt fine then-but now I kind of wonder-"what was I thinking?"

 

[kwdw]

Okay, despite me thinking this sounds like a nightmare as it’s three places in 7 nights, I do have a tip. You need to make that night at CR easy. When you pack up at SSR, be sure that what you need for one night at CR is easy to access. Because it’s only one night there, assume you aren’t leaving in the morning until 11.

Rideshare between the resorts as I am assuming you have no car. If you plan on having stuff that needs to stay cold in the fridge, bring an insulated reusable grocery bag with you so you can easily tell Bell Services which food bag needs to go in the refrigerator assuming your room isn’t ready.

If you are an AP holder, your plans on moving days are more flexible because you aren’t using up a ticket. But if you don’t have an AP, plan how those moves are going to interrupt park time that time. Will you still be headed to a park long enough for you to use a ticket? Or on move days do you go to DS or plan lots of pool time?

 

[DizneyFamof4]

SS and OKW are deluxe resorts, so yes they get extra evening hours.
It is a pretty quick walk from SSR to DS or take the boat. The bus would be my last option. The actual ride is short but it depends on how long you have to wait for the bus, max is usually 20 minutes. But SSR and OKW has multiple internal bus stops, so it also depends on where you catch the bus at. Our family loves exploring the resorts and walking around them. It's funny because we actually find walking around the Mods better than the deluxes.
Personally, would never do a resort for only 1 night, but that is just us. As far as safety, my DD's and I feel totally safe at all WDW resorts, one of the very few places that we can say that about and had no problems walking around late at night. We have let our DD do a late night snack run just before they close at midnight. I would also have done either an EPCOT or MK resort in place of either OKW or SSR, because I find SSR & OKW pretty similar.

 

[Stacybaeasm]

If by "walk around at night" you mean get back to your room at park close - there are multiple bus stops at both SSR and OKW that will get you close-ish to your room. I've stayed at both solo and never felt uncomfortable at any time of day or night moving around on my own (and 2 stays were for Princess races so I was getting up to the lobby area at like 3am on my own.) I saw a previous poster mention the boats to DS at both SSR and OKW - they are lovely BUT I read an article yesterday that said the boats were down for a bit due to low river levels. I'm not sure when your trip is, but know that sometimes, the boats aren't an option. Parts of SSR are close enough to DS to walk though.