They were done, but I wasn’t. The three hours I stayed alone at Magic Kingdom in Disney World!

My phone was dead. It was topping nearly 100 degrees. We’d already spent four full days in parks, walking more steps than I’ve ever seen on my steps tracker, double that for my little guy we figured. “My feat are dying!” he was saying.

First it was Legoland, about 45 minutes South of Orlando. We did that for two days, then drove up to stay in Disney World at the Caribbean Beach Resort. It was right next to Epcot, which was the first of the Disney parks we did, followed by Hollywood Studios next. Today was Magic Kingdom day!

We were standing on the sidewalk of Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom, Friday, May 24, 2024. If you’re looking down the rode at Cinderella’s Castle from the entrance of the park, we were on the left side. It was extra crowded because what we thought was the afternoon parade was starting soon and people were grabbing their spots. A high school marching band was coming our way and people clapped as they passed. We took a moment in a sliver of shade provided by the storefront behind us to watch, and even sat on the curb for a moment while we decided our next move. But moving our bodies had increasingly slowed from the time we got there a little after 9:00am, Florida time, to this moment, which was about 2:30pm, I think. I can’t quite remember. The heat messes with your brain function when it gets this hot. I know because I was having a hard time thinking clearly. At this point I wasn’t sure what we all needed. But I did know I didn’t want to be done.

The band passed and we looked for more parade but that was it. I hadn’t looked at when the big parade was scheduled. It wasn’t on our list of “must sees, must dos.” My kids didn’t seem to care.

My husband looked at me and said, “What do you want to do?”

I knew my boys, seven and ten, wanted to go back to our resort and swim. I couldn’t blame them, it was so hot! But in my mind I was like, if we go back, there is no way we’ll come back later! We’ll crash. We leave tomorrow for our long, two day drive back to Wisconsin and I’m not sure when I’ll ever be here again anytime soon. And the fireworks? That seemed like an excruciatingly long time away.

“My phone’s almost dead.” I said.

So it wasn’t actually dead yet. I had less than 20% I think. But the warning kept popping up. To me that was as good as dead. Either way, I didn’t feel like it was reliable anymore.

“Mine isn’t.” He said.

This is the moment I’ll always remember. It’s the moment I considered staying at the park alone. Yes this was a family vacation, but let’s face it this was kind of “my park.” No one had really said it, but I knew it, I believe they knew it, and I was being reminded of it constantly. It was the one park I was most excited about.

I’d like to say I was the one who came up with the option to split up, which would allow me more time at Magic Kingdom. But I wasn’t. But neither did my husband, exactly. His comment, “mine isn’t” was like us communicating the option without even really discussing it. It was hot, not the time for a lengthy ponder. I knew he knew having a working phone was making me pause about staying alone. It was like we were communicating in a secret language, an understanding I at the moment it was happening didn’t fully appreciate perhaps. But zooming out a bit, now do. To lend someone your phone, which I knew was what he was suggesting… now that is… fantastic!

I looked at them all.

They were done, but I wasn’t.

The day before we had gone to Hollywood Studios and stayed the entire time in the Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge area of the park. The boys had spent over two years saving money in envelopes for the build a droid and light saber workshop experiences. It was amazing and well worth it! But let’s face it, we left the Magic Kingdom for last for a reason. They were just not as into it. We knew we’d be getting tired by the end of the week. Accepting this was an ongoing process for me the entire time we were there.

But here we were. Decision time.

I grabbed his phone. It was heavier than mine. I paused to see if I could remember his passcode. Slowly I tapped my finger on the screen, and I was in! (Insert Disney Fireworks!)

I think I can do this, I thought.

I gave him my phone in its soft yellow case, asked him to charge it when he got back. It was like I was giving him a baby and telling him to feed it, dah. He nodded. I grabbed one of the cooling towels from around my youngest son’s neck. We only had two towels and had been sharing them throughout the day. They worked great, and I’d need it if I was going to stay. I had my water bottle that needed refilling soon, but I thought, okay I’m doing this! They’d go back to swim, and I’d stay.

And just like that, they left.

“If you can dream it, you can do it.” ~ Walt Disney ✨

Now’s a great time for me to quick ask: What did we do before cellphones?! Obviously we didn’t have them when I first went with my family to Disney World in 1988 at the age of six. Read: The Christmas I Unwrapped Mickey Mouse 👈🏽 (This content is for Annie Lynn Club members only.) To gain access, claim your GOLDEN TICKET OR when I went again with my grandparents at the age of 11. Read Flying to Florida alone when I was eleven AND we did have them when I went in 2011, but it was different. There was no Disney app with wait times, or a map that could GPS track where you were and guide you where you wanted to go, to the nearest restroom or dining spot. At least if there was, I didn’t know about it.

I want to clarify though that the main reason I wanted a working phone was this: I wanted to take pictures!

My phone is my camera, my video camera, my way to capture my experience so I can remember it all. Getting great pictures from our trip was super important to me. So with my, mostly charged, borrowed phone in my pocket I was set, or at least I believed I could better “do Disney” on my own with a phone. Follow me?

It took me a moment to orientate myself to being on my own at Magic Kingdom, being alone at all for that matter! I had driven 20 hours in the car with my family to get here, and we’d spent every last moment together for the past, almost full week. It was a lot of togetherness.

What did I want to do?

Get out of the heat first, a voice in my head said.

Right behind me were the Disney shops. The best thing about them at the moment was that they were air conditioned. I stepped into the closest one and immediately felt relief as the cool air swooped downward over my body like a magical breeze. I didn’t have any idea what I was looking for, but just started wandering. Wandering is something I rarely do. It felt unnatural. I had nobody to keep track of, no agenda, no list of must finds, or budget even. I was there for myself.

I loved it.

I first looked at keychains. So many colorful characters to choose from. Cute! Then mugs. Boy I love mugs. But I have a few already and it’s breakable… I moved on. The stores were all connected, which was great because you could essentially walk the length of the street completely indoors. This allowed for me to stay out of the heat. I noticed there were registers to pay at, but also that you could pay by your phone using the Disney app, another update that made it super convenient and a way to avoid waiting in line. And another reason I wanted a charged phone with me. I had already paid for things using my Disney Magic Band, which looks like a watch but doesn’t actually have a watch. (Kinda think they should, but that’s another story.) It’s not necessary to get into the park, but acts as your ticket and connects to all your resort information and credit card. You use it to get into your hotel room, the boys loved that! Not a must have, but handy.

Some of the rides at Disney and places in the parks interact with the Magic Bands. Here’s what mine looks like:

Then I saw something. A Disney photo album! This was me. Perfect for actually printing photos from our trip. A place to journal a little on the sides. I loved it. I grabbed it. Here’s what it looks like:

I had been carrying a crossbody bag the entire trip that worked okay, but I saw some fanny packs over on the far wall that caught my eye. One was a fun bright blue with Mickey Mouse on it, kinda retro looking. Another was all black, with a white Disney logo on it and had multiple compartments and even a place to hold mouse ears if you wanted! I decided on that one. I’d been wearing mouse ears since I bought my first ever pair at Epcot two days earlier. My head was getting sore a bit, and in the heat I could see the need to take them off once in a while. Plus I wanted a new everyday purse. This fanny pack seemed like something I’d use a lot.

With my two very practical items in hand I felt the need to still get something a tad more “magical.” I was like, come on Annie, you can treat yourself to something else a little more fun!

Over by one of the checkouts was a carousel of jewelry. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets… and then I saw rings. I don’t wear jewelry a whole lot, but they sparkled, and I thought, what would I pick? Up near the top, I found some in rose gold. The stones were clustered in three in the shape of a Mickey head with ears, and the band had a twist intertwined with more smaller stones. I loved it! My hands were a little swollen from the heat but I tried a couple sizes on and it immediately made me feel, I know this sounds corny, but princess-like! Well, at least pretty, and very sparkly. It was the perfect last thing I wanted to get.

I decided to wait in line at a register that had an older gal working. She was dressed so cutely in the old-timey attire they have all their shop workers wear. She saw the ring and said, “Oh, I have this one too! I love it!” This made me smile.

I asked her, “Should I wear the stones facing me or out?”

She seemed tickled I was wondering, and said “Well when I got engaged years ago I had stones in a heart-shape, and I was told you want to have them facing outward so you can show it off.” She held her hand out to show me. It was super cute. She asked if I wanted to wear it now, and I did, so she cut the tag off, slipped the tag itself and my album and fanny pack into a big plastic Disney bag with Cinderella’s Castle on it.

Shopping at Disney alone. Check. ✨

At this point I was ready for that refreshing drink and snack I so needed. I grabbed my husband’s phone from my pocket and opened the Disney app to see what was near for dining. I saw that there was a bakery across the street and thought that sounded perfect.

Outside I noticed even more people gathering on the sidewalks from before. I heard some people mention the parade, and I started to hear music. I noticed nearly nobody crossing the street and wondered if I even could. The sun was fierce, with the bakery in my eye sight, I quickly squeezed through the crowd to cross the street. It felt like I was in the parade for about ten seconds as I hurried over, but with only a few steps more I was in the air conditioning again. Thank God.

I got in line right away and saw a sign for a Mickey Mouse shaped cinnamon roll. That looked fun. I ended up pairing that with a pink strawberry acai iced drink that was very refreshing.

I actually found a ledge by the window that was free to sit and have them both while watching the parade go by! It was so nice to be in the cool air and catch a part of that too. I felt a little bad my kids were missing a big dragon going by at one point, and I wondered how Tinker Bell looked so calm and happy in the sweltering heat, waving her arms back and forth so controlled. Memories of myself performing came to mind, the difficulties audiences never really are aware of, and I had such appreciation for how at ease she seemed to be. It truly was “magical.”

Watched parade and ate bakery treats in the air condition. Check. ✨

After this much needed break I grabbed a spot in the center of Main Street USA to have my picture taken. The parade had just ended and the professional photographers were available again to take photos with the castle in the background. I was able to have them scan my Magic Band to immediately connect my photos to my Disney account! It was super cool. Throughout our time at Disney there were spots to do photo moments like this. I loved doing that, especially since a few of the times the photo they uploaded had an animated Disney character in it with you. It was really fun.

Next I walked down Main Street USA further towards the front of the park and heard a quartet singing. I stopped for a bit to listen and then quickly had someone nearby take my picture on the bench next to Walt Disney and Minnie Mouse.

Magical photo moments. Check. ✨

All aboard!
It was shortly after that I heard the train whistle up on the platform right above the entrance to the park. We hadn’t rode it yet this visit and I thought sitting down for a bit would be a nice way to get to the other side of the park. At that point I didn’t really know if I’d ride it the whole way around or where it stopped exactly. But after I hopped on, and just a little ways down the track, we passed Adventureland and stopped outside of Frontierland!

Disney’s Magic Kingdom has six different themed areas: Main Street USA, Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, Liberty Square, Frontierland and Adventureland. I happen to really like the last two. Adventureland has the Pirates of the Caribbean ride that we actually did ride with the boys earlier that day, and we’d stopped at the Swiss Family Treehouse, one of my all time favorites! Yes it’s still there. In Frontierland we took the little raft over to Tom Sawyer Island for a bit, but it was so hot. We had wanted to do Splash Mountain, but to our surprise and a few other people I overheard, it’s no longer there and is being replaced by a new ride called Bayou Adventure. That’s opening later this summer 2024. (They were ride testing the day we were there)

Took the train to Frontierland. Check. ✨

As the train came to a stop, I heard the roar of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and decided last minute to hop off the train. I didn’t have a plan, but kinda was just following my curiosity. Would I want to ride the rollercoaster?

I made my way over to the ride and the wait time was under 30 minutes, so I decided I’d just get in line, and go for it! “Make it an adventure!” I thought.

At this point I had gotten my cooling neck towel wet multiple times and filled up on more water too. I also had these little electrolyte capsules my sister recommended to me. They seemed to be working so I continued on my adventure!

I loved talking to a group of girls from New Jersey while waiting in line. It was one of their birthdays. They were so hot too, and tired. I made a joke about my hat and cooling towel being great if ya weren’t too worried how you looked. At this point my entire front of my shirt was wet with water from the towel. I looked a little special. They laughed. I did too. At that point I really didn’t care. I had put my Mickey ears away and opted to put on my super light hat instead. I felt like I was teetering on survival skills by this point. One of the girls, who I believe was the older sister of the girl who was celebrating a birthday, told me she had gone to Marquette near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I had told her I was from Wisconsin and that I knew exactly where that was. “Small World” I thought. (yes I did ride “It’s a Small World” earlier that day – Love that one!)

Once we got closer, they lined us up to which seat we’d be in. A little girl in line was crying and so scared to ride. Her parents were trying to comfort her but she was not having it. Once we got on board, I was seated alone in front of her. They ended up having to unlock my lap bar and the two rows behind me as they did some swapping of seats so she could ride with both parents. Then the gal running the ride said she had to send the train, even though the little girl was still sounding really unsure. I hadn’t remembered it being that bad years ago when I rode it. Did she know something I didn’t?

Off we went!

And it was so fast! I had my bag with the photo album, fanny pack, and Mickey ears in it between my feet. It wasn’t all that secure in place though as I slid from side to side as the coaster rolled inside and outside along the track. At one point I hoped my bag wouldn’t fly out! The girl behind me was screaming and crying. I was like, OMG this is actually pretty scary as we swooped into a dark tunnel and then popped out to then dip down really fast into another tunnel that I wasn’t so sure we had clearance above us to make! But we did. Thank God. “Make it an adventure!” I thought.

When it was all done, I was like. I think I might have gone as far as I possibly can in the heat. Instead of waiting for the train, as I had just missed the one in front of me. I decided to walk back toward Main Street USA instead.

Rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad by myself. Check. ✨

On my way back I walked through Liberty Square and stopped in front of the Liberty Bell and Hall of the Presidents for a picture. I was remembering going there back in 1988 with my family. I didn’t go in this time, even though I knew it was air conditioned and maybe one of the reasons people still go in it.

It seemed to take me a lot less time to walk back alone. I was able to zip in and out of the crowd quicker. I paused to take a few more photos with Cinderella’s Castle in the background.

On my way out I grabbed a cold $5.00 Gatorade from one of the shops and tried to use my husband’s Disney app to pay, but wasn’t able to because I couldn’t remember his login for the app! So I opted to wait in line. Seeing that most lines near me were kinda long I went over to where I had bought the ring. That line was really short, and the lady who helped me earlier was still there.

This time though an older gentleman who was dressed all dapper helped me. It was my last purchase at Disney. I thought to myself, I’ll bet this would be a fun job to have at his age, at any age really. But the heat! Not sure I could do it. Either way, I thanked him and said goodbye. He nodded politely.

Survived the heat at Disney alone. Check. ✨

Outside the park I felt like I’d run my version of a marathon. I asked a couple to snap one last picture of me, and returned the favor for them as well.

I ventured over to where the busses would line up and looked for my resort on the sign. What number was it? Found it.

As I waited I couldn’t believe I’d now gone to Disney 4 times. I’d be leaving tomorrow. It had gone so fast. I had stayed an extra few hours and it had been unlike any other experience I’d ever had before. I had done it, alone. Yet, I never really felt alone, and people everywhere were so kind.

The entire time I was there I felt surrounded by the “magic” of Disney. Maybe this is why they say “it’s the happiest place on earth.” It’s hard to describe other than I can say it feels like being somewhere else completely, yes like in another “world.” It’s hopeful and nostalgic all at the same time.

Would I do it again? You bet, especially to see the fireworks.

Have you ever traveled or explored a place all on your own? Where did you go? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment below.