Sorry for the delayed update! I am so grateful to everyone for all of the wonderful advice and insight!
My 2 day September trip was...a learning experience? The flight was easy, the parks were lovely. I did learn a few things - curious on others' thoughts.
1) I hopped from Animal to Magic Kingdom the first day; Hollywood to Epcot the second. That was too much - I learned that less is more. And Epcot was/is my favorite solo park.
2) Too much food!! I typically share meals with my daughter; we share big desserts like cupcakes between 3 of us. Even kids meals seemed too much. I actually had to throw away 2/3 of a Karamel Kuche cupcake. It was tragic.
3) Great hotel deal = empty resort = sad, deserted, and low key creepy. I stayed at Saratoga, and was THE ONLY PERSON at the pool in evening and the only one on the walking paths. It was a little sad not to see little kids and other people. It also felt a little...unsafe?
I did go back in October for the Passholder Moana preview (which I adored).
I started both days at Epcot and took my time. No meals (other than a kids meal at the America Barbeque place); I did get a Wookie cookie and snacked on that for a whole afternoon.
I only hopped to Hollywood the one afternoon, and left time to relax at the resort. And I stayed at Pop; it's been our family favorite but I love the vibe and the families and little kids enjoying their trips.
And both flights were empty-ish, so got to nap on the way home.
So, I was able to enjoy my second trip even more than the first. I certainly enjoy a break from work and cold - and there are still a bunch of $38 fares !
Next trip might even be a down and back the same day! Has anyone tried that?
When dining solo at WDW, I've enjoyed the opportunity to really focus on the theming at each restaurant, which I tend to not notice as much when dining with anyone. I feel this is one of the main advantages of solo dining for those who like theming, and to me it would be a waste to spend most of that time reading a book or looking at my phone.
OP, I see that by now you've probably done one or two solo trips. How did they turn out?