I did something a little impulsive.
Actually, I did it twice—within about 14 hours.
On a Monday evening, I booked a solo trip to Disneyland Paris for March 2027. By 7:00 the next morning, I had also booked myself on Disney Cruise Line’s westbound transatlantic for September.
This would be a perfectly reasonable sequence of events for an experienced solo traveler. There is just one problem: I have never actually taken a solo trip.
I’ve Been Alone—but Never Truly Solo
I have had solo days at Walt Disney World. I have wandered the parks on my own, chosen exactly what I wanted to eat, and changed plans without needing a group vote.
I have also had my own room on family trips to places like Cancún, Dubai, and the Maldives. But my family was still nearby in other rooms at the hotel or resort. I had privacy and independence without being truly on my own.
I have never taken a trip that was completely mine from beginning to end. No family traveling with me. No one sleeping down the hall. No built-in travel companion if something goes sideways.
The transatlantic comes with a small asterisk: friends will be on the cruise, which is how it entered the conversation in the first place. But I booked my own stateroom, and I will be traveling as a party of one. Disneyland Paris will be the truly solo leap.
Apparently, I decided the best way to find out whether I enjoy solo travel was to put two very big experiments on the calendar.
There is at least a little logic buried in the timing. The cruise’s paid-in-full date is not until May, after I return from Disneyland Paris. If I take that first trip and discover that I absolutely hate traveling solo, I still have the option to cancel the cruise.
But I suspect I am going to love it.
It Started With the Embarrassing Answer to One Question
I was recently in a one-on-one with an employee who loves travel as much as I do. We often talk about trips, and because I have this year’s big transatlantic coming up in September, she asked the obvious question: “What’s next?”
I was almost ashamed to say: nothing.
I almost always have two or three trips on the horizon. I love having multiple things to look forward to, and I try to space vacations three or four months apart. Those breaks give me a chance to step away, reset, and come back feeling more like myself.
Having nothing planned after this year’s transatlantic felt very unlike me. So I started thinking.
My Original Idea Was Solo Travel With Training Wheels
I had actually been looking at small-group tours designed for solo travelers. A friend has taken a few trips like that, and they sounded like a wonderful way to experience somewhere new: a guide, a thoughtfully planned itinerary, and a group of people who also arrived on their own.
My tentative idea was to choose a European tour and add a side trip to Disneyland Paris. It felt like a gentle introduction to solo travel—independence, but with some structure and companionship built in.
Then, as travel plans often do, the idea took a sharp turn.
Then a Friend Mentioned a Transatlantic
A friend told me they were planning to book next year’s Disney westbound transatlantic that day. It was the first day of booking, and because they are Pearl Castaway Club members, their booking window opened before mine.
The itinerary immediately caught my attention. It begins in the UK, like this year’s sailing, but after that it is completely different: Scotland, two days in Iceland, Canada, and an ending in New York City. Scotland, Iceland, and Canada will all be new countries for me.
Without giving it much time to become a fully formed thought, I told him I had been looking at solo trips for next year and maybe I would crash their cruise.
His immediate response was: “Please do!”
I am Platinum, not Pearl, so I had to wait until the next morning to see whether I could actually book it.
Meanwhile, Disneyland Paris Became Very Real
That Monday night, while I was waiting for my Disney Cruise Line booking window to open, I started looking more seriously at Disneyland Paris.
Visiting all of the international Disney parks has been on my list for years. That desire grew after I spent an incredible—but far too short—three hours at Shanghai Disneyland. I loved getting even that small glimpse of how a Disney park could feel both familiar and completely different.
I had always meant to visit the others. I just had not turned that wish into an actual reservation.
Until that Monday.
At around 6:00 p.m., without having discussed it with anyone, I booked Disneyland Paris for March. The theoretical solo trip was suddenly real.
Fourteen Hours Later, I Had Booked a Second One
The next morning, my Platinum booking window opened. By approximately 7:00 a.m., I had a stateroom on the September westbound transatlantic aboard the Disney Wish.
I was excited—and honestly shocked that I got a room.
The sailing was so popular that every stateroom appeared to be gone partway through the Platinum booking day. I am sure availability will change as courtesy holds expire and again before the final-payment date, but at that moment the cruise was completely unavailable. I felt terrible for Gold, Silver, and first-time Disney cruisers who had been hoping to book after us.
Somehow, in the space of about 14 hours, I had gone from having no travel booked for next year to having two major trips on the calendar.
These Are Two Very Different Kinds of Excitement
Disneyland Paris is the first real step toward a dream I have had for years: experiencing all of the international Disney parks. There are attractions unique to the Paris parks and new expansions to look forward to, and I cannot wait to see what makes this resort different.
But I may be most excited about my hotel: I booked the Art of Marvel hotel! Even before I have planned every park day, knowing where I will be staying makes the trip feel special.
It will also be my first genuinely independent trip. There is something thrilling about knowing that every choice will be mine.
The transatlantic excites me for almost the opposite reason. It was the itinerary—not the ship—that sold me.
You know I love the sea days on a long cruise, and this sailing has plenty of them. It also takes me to three countries I have never visited and finishes in New York City.
The funny part is that it is on the Disney Wish…and I did not love the Wish when I sailed on her before. This is not me pretending the ship suddenly became my favorite. It is me deciding that Scotland, two days in Iceland, Canada, New York, a long stretch of sea days, and friends onboard outweigh my mixed feelings about the ship.
Apparently, I am willing to give the Wish another chance when the itinerary is this good.
Am I Nervous?
Mostly, I am excited.
My biggest concern about Disneyland Paris is the language barrier. How much English will people speak? I do not speak French, and language was definitely a challenge when I navigated Shanghai Disneyland by myself.
The encouraging difference is technology. Back then, we did not have such easy translation apps sitting in our pockets on our phones. This time, I will have tools that can help me translate signs, menus, and conversations as I go. I have done this alone before—and now I will have a little more help.
I will also have to manage every logistical decision, dine alone, and experience those “Can you believe this?” moments without someone beside me.
But the excitement is louder than the nerves. I am making a long-held Disney goal real, visiting new countries, putting meaningful breaks back on my calendar, and finding out what kind of traveler I am when every decision is mine.
I did not carefully decide to become a solo traveler and then slowly choose the perfect beginner trip. I admitted that I had nothing planned, started looking, followed two opportunities, and booked both before I had much time to talk myself out of either one.
That may not be the most conventional way to begin.
It is, however, extremely me.
Two Bookings, Two Stories Still to Come
The Disneyland Paris trip and the transatlantic came together during the same whirlwind 14 hours, but they deserve their own stories.
In Part 2, I will share exactly what I booked for Disneyland Paris, why it felt like the right first solo destination, and how I am planning for a trip that is completely my own.
In Part 3, I will dig into the Disney Wish transatlantic: the unusual booking rush, the itinerary that convinced me to sail a ship I did not love, and what it means to travel solo while still having friends onboard.
For now, I am still slightly stunned that one innocent “What’s next?” turned into two confirmation emails.
Have you ever booked a trip that surprised even you?
Comments