We rode 12 rides at Disney World without paying for Lightning Lanes. The secret was leaving our kids at home.

We rode 12 rides at Disney World without paying for Lightning Lanes. The secret was leaving our kids at home. The author and her friend went to three parks at Disney World. Courtesy of the author My friend and I felt like we were overdue for a trip without our kids. Between the two of us, we have seven children, ranging in age from 6 to 10, including three pairs of twins.We knew we wanted it to be a warm-weather destination to extend the feeling of summer, as the leaves are already turning red in Maine, where we both live. The author grew up going to Disney World. Courtesy of the author The one destination we kept coming back to was Florida. And because we are both huge Disney fans, I threw the crazy idea of going to the parks without our kids.Getting to feel like a kid again alongside my friend was one of the most uplifting experiences in my years as a mom.We got Park Hopper ticketsBecause we still wanted to lounge by the pool and drink frozen drinks, we figured we'd dedicate one day and one day only to Disney World. So we got Park Hopper tickets that allowed us to move between parks.The way we used them was absolutely key, and was very different from the trips I've taken with my kids. Whenever I've gotten Park Hopper tickets at the parks with my kids, I've felt like I wasted my money because they just wanted to do one park at a time, or we would take forever with meals, snacks, potty breaks, and all the things little kids require. The author and her friend got park hopper tickets at Disney World. Courtesy of the author With just the two of us, we were able to do three parks: Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and Epcot. Our initial plan was just to do two and skip Magic Kingdom, but we did so much of Hollywood Studios by 1 p.m. that we decided to add one more stop.We rode 12 ridesSure, our approach was not to do absolutely everything in every single park. We were just going with the flow, especially considering that we didn't splurge on Lightning Lanes since we didn't have a firm plan and didn't want time slots to deter our adventure. On the Sunday we were there, Lightning Lanes ranged from $24 to $27, depending on the park.We started our day at Hollywood Studios because we are both big Star Wars fans and hadn't done that area yet. We were able to get on rides super quickly without waiting in line. After we made our way to Toy Story, I finally rode the highly coveted Slinky Dog Dash, which had by far our longest wait at 45 minutes. The author and her friend got to ride everything they wanted. Courtesy of the author Both my friend and I grew up going to the parks, and we knew we had to ride the Tower of Terror because it's just a classic. I hadn't done that ride in 15 years (my kids are not enthused about thrill rides), and it was even better than I remembered.When we entered Magic Kingdom, our first reaction was how empty it was — especially for a weekend day. I looked at the map, and wait times were surprisingly low. I think that going during a day when Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party was happening played in our favor. Those attending the ticketed event can enter after 4 p.m., so while we didn't have the park to ourselves, our longest line was at Tiana's Bayou, at 30 minutes. The author didn't have terrible wait times at Disney World. Courtesy of the author To end the night, we moved on to Epcot to experience the International Food and Wine festival, another thing we had never been able to do because kids have little patience to walk from booth to booth to try new things. At one point, while we were eating, it started drizzling, so we made our way into the Frozen Ever After ride to wait it out, because after all, October is hurricane season in Florida, and some weather is to be expected.We tried 6 different foodsWe actually didn't know the food festival was happening, but we knew we wanted to end the night at Epcot because we wanted a full meal there, since we had only been snacking at the other parks.As soon as we entered the festival section, we grabbed a frozen mango margarita (we had earned it) and started our dinner with samosas and chicken tikka masala at the India stand, then followed up with a spiked mango lassi. We then moved to Greece, where we had a spanakopita that was out of this world. The author's favorite food was the Mexican paleta. Courtesy of the author After that, we went to Brazil, where we had a moqueca de camarão and a frozen caipirinha — the latter had nothing on the margarita and mango lassi we had just finished. We finished the food portion of our tour around the world with some escargot in France. But the last thing we had was a Mexican paleta, which was, hands down, my favorite thing of the entire day. We then walked around the park, rode rides with no lines, danced to live bands, and kept reminding ourselves that we wouldn't have been able to do all of this if our kids had been there with us. After over 27,000 steps and hours of laughter, we headed out of the most magical place on earth and collapsed in our beds. For one day, I wasn't anyone's mom. I was just a girl at Disney with her best friend, and I didn't realize how much I'd missed myself. Read next Conz Preti doesn't just cover the stories that matter to modern families — she shapes them.An award-winning editor and author with over 15 years in digital media, Conz has built a career at the intersection of parenting, health, and culture. Armed with a master's in digital journalism from Columbia University, her byline has appeared across the publications millennials turn to most — and her editorial instincts have shaped countless more stories behind the scenes.She's the author of "Too Pregnant To Move" and a contributing voice in "100 Diverse Voices on Parenthood" — because she doesn't just edit the conversation around modern parenting, she's part of it. As Deputy Editor, she leads a team of editors and reporters, and works with endless freelancers covering parenting, health, college life, and sex and relationships.Originally from Argentina and a mom of three under 8, Conz brings lived experience and sharp editorial vision to every room she walks into.Some of her viral essays are:My 8-year-old invited his 4 best friends to dinner. I sat at a separate table and watched them have fun independently.We gave our kids only my husband's last name. Years later I regretted it, so we changed them all to include mine.My toddler wanted to be a sand dune for Halloween. I asked a costume expert for help and the results didn't disappoint.I realized I was spending over $2,000 a year to get my builder gel nails. I decided to stop and save that money.I got my kids, all 7 and under, a landline. They invited friends over on a snow day without my help, and I was thrilled.A mom of identical twins said she had to go to the police to tell her babies apart. As a parent of twins, here's how I avoid mix-ups.Besides creating viral content, Conz was also the editor behind these powerful stories:I stopped being the first to reach out to friends. It made me realize I don't need to be liked by everyone.My toddler came out as trans at age 4. He's so much happier now.Long-term elder care in the US can cost 5-figures a month. These families are moving to Mexico for cheaper options.Boomers seem to have traded in the child-raising village for traveling. Now millennial parents say they have no one to support them.I moved with my kids to a hotel room. It's cheaper than renting an apartment and has many amenitiesMy 11-year-old walked less than a mile away from home. I was arrested and charged with reckless conduct. Essay Parenting Disney World More