I'm headed down there in 2 weeks, and it's my first solo trip. I'm headed to that age, you've just got a couple of months on me
I have been before, just not alone. It's always been DH and myself (no kids).
I've gotten quite a few useful tips here, as have some others asking. A quick search of previous posts should pop them up. Scan most of the other planning threads, too. A lot of tips are useful no matter the age or number in party.
Have you chosen your resort yet? If not, you may want to give some thought to what you'd most like to do, and check out the resort options closest to that. On the other hand, the resort itself can be a big part of the trip. If you're looking for a compact, not dreadfully expensive resort, Port Orleans - French Quarter is nice. All Stars are basic motel style, but not bad. Can be a long walk to the main building for food and bus transport, though. I haven't stayed Deluxe in years, but most people who do like them.
Birthday Pins are great
Not only are they a nice souvenir, but CMs and some other guests will wish you a Happy Birthday and chat with you for a moment or two. You
sometimes,
but not always, get little treats, too. A free dessert, a standard drink (coffee, juice, soda), a bit of fluff to show off. And nothing says you have to wear them
ON your birthday. Wear them all week with pride. It took a bit to get to our age, enjoy it.
As
@BrandonH mentioned, learn the layout. Disney World is
BIG. If you rely on internal transport (Disney Bus, boat, monorail) it may take up to 90+ minutes to get from there to here.
Uber and Lyft are new to me, and pretty much to WDW, but seem like a much better alternative for getting from resort to resort. Disney is pretty good at getting you to and from Parks, but not to a different hotel from a hotel. I'm planning on using that for a breakfast ADR.
There's an excellent thread under Transportation that goes over this
Getting from A to B at Disney It's long, but most of the really important stuff is pinned to the top of the posts. And you can always post your own questions
Disney has a very good interactive map, too. You can scroll out to see the entire place, and zoom in almost to ride level. It's quite useful for figuring out what's near which --
Official WDW Map .
Look over the menus. The DIS has a good page that has menus and prices, as does AllEars. They're usually (mostly) up to date, and include pictures and reviews.
Disney Dining official is also a decent source of menus but not always price - they like being vague on buffets and platter-style prices. And they don't have a lot of pictures.
Many times you can order from the child's menu, if you're not a big eater. Counter (Quick) Service really doesn't care what you order, although they sometimes balk at ordering a kid's meal and a beer.
Table service is a bit different, depends on both the restaurant and your server. If you don't like the answer you get from your server when you ask you can always ask politely to see a manager. But even then, the answer to 'Can I order from the child's menu' is 'It depends' For a buffet or AYCE meal, it's always 'no'.
Staying onsite (Disney property) you can make your ADRs (Advanced Dining Reservations) at 180 days from the first night of your stay -
plus at that time you can make them for your entire length of stay, not
just the one day 6 months away. They aren't actual
reservations, except for a few places - think of them as 'call ahead seating'
If you're not quite sure you want to eat alone in a big dining room, many of the lounges at the resorts (and parks) serve food, some from the main menu. Character meals can be fun, if you're interested, and they're just as happy to visit you as they are to stop by a whole table full of people (maybe happier - you won't have grubby little hands that tug and smear
).
Yes - definately get the
MDE (My Disney Experience) app. It's quite helpful at showing you what needs to be done and when. I've found that working with the Disney website (Plan My Trip) is good, but sometimes the app seems to be better. It does need to be updated frequently, and mine sometimes crashes a lot, but I think that's more my phone than it is the application.
Tickets: decide how many days you want to spend in the Parks. Remember to take a day of downtime (or at least half a day). Decide if you want to visit more than one park a day. Park Hoppers are a tad expensive if you aren't planning to visit 2 or more parks every day.
But one park in the am, a break to eat lunch and wind down, then a different park in the pm is doable for the most part.
I'm going without a Hopper this trip - I think I can find enough to do in 1 park to thoroughly wear me out
If, for any reason between now and then, you think you might NOT go, do not link your ticket until it's time to make your FastPass+
choices.
Park Tours: can be pricy, but are an excellent way to learn more of the history behind the Parks. There are some Resort tours, also, and those are (to the best of my knowledge) free.
And kid-type activities are not just for kids. Anybody can participate in some of the free things to do in the parks. There's Pirate Adventure and Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom; KidCot Stops and Agent P's spy quest in Epcot; Wilderness Explorers in Animal Kingdom...
But I think the most 2 important pieces of advice I can offer are 1) visit with an open mind, and 2) have fun !