WDW with Recovering Parent and Young Nephews

[Chropistopy]

Hi! I posted this question on another board and was directed here. Thanks in advance for any advice!!

I'm traveling to WDW in December with my parents and my nephews. We will be touring the parks for 5 days. My dad had bypass surgery in March. He is doing well but is not back to his old self yet. He walks quite a bit at work but his legs have been bothering him lately. My mom has troubles walking long distances normally. On the other end of the spectrum, my nephews are 4 and 6. They will be running wide open the whole time we are visiting.

Does anyone have any advice regarding strategies on seeing the parks while making it an enjoyable trip for both my parents and my nephews? Any ideas for relaxing places for my parents to rest in the parks while I take the nephews on rides...if the walking gets too much for them?

Thank you!

[OneLittleSpark]

I would suggest you talk to your parents about the idea of renting an ECV, it would certainly help them do the distances more comfortably!

Oops, got to go, write more later!

[OneLittleSpark]

OK, sorry about that, my lunch break at work had finished.

I think renting scooters for your parents might help them to enjoy them the holiday more. A holiday to Disney can easily involve 6 - 10 miles of walking a day, which they may be able to manage once or twice, but could be difficult to do every day of your trip. Also, if you've got kids with you, they might be reluctant to go slowly with all the fun things to run to in Disney!

Sensible planning goes a long way to helping make things easier on you all. If you all make a list of your 'must see' attractions, then even if you don't do everything on your trip, everyone can go away from it happy. Keep your plans fairly flexible, so you can change things according to everyone's needs.

A lot of people, especially those with young kids or people with pain and fatigue issues, find that a break in the middle of the day helps to space things out. I'm guessing that you'll be up fairly early anyway with the kids, so you might want to just head to the parks first thing. The crowds and heat are both less at this time, so you should be able to get more done. You can then head back to the hotel for the middle (and hottest part) of the day, for a rest, a swim or some TV time, and go back to the parks in the evenings for night entertainment.

Hope this helps, and have a great trip!

[Chropistopy]

Thank you for the advice! It is much appreciated.

[OneLittleSpark]

Glad to help! If your folks decide to go with ECVs, we can give you a heap of information on renting and touring with them, but I won't over-load you with info now. Do keep us informed, and if there's anything more you need help with, just shout!

[cclovesdis]

Originally Posted by OneLittleSpark

A holiday to Disney can easily involve 6 - 10 miles of walking a day, which they may be able to manage once or twice, but could be difficult to do every day of your trip. Also, if you've got kids with you, they might be reluctant to go slowly with all the fun things to run to in Disney!

Sensible planning goes a long way to helping make things easier on you all.

A lot of people, especially those with young kids or people with pain and fatigue issues, find that a break in the middle of the day helps to space things out. I'm guessing that you'll be up fairly early anyway with the kids, so you might want to just head to the parks first thing. The crowds and heat are both less at this time, so you should be able to get more done. You can then head back to the hotel for the middle (and hottest part) of the day, for a rest, a swim or some TV time, and go back to the parks in the evenings for night entertainment.

Hope this helps, and have a great trip!

My sister and I used this strategy when we went in August. It was a lifesaver. I am on a medication that comes with an "Avoid Prolonged Exposure to Sun/Artificial Sunlight" warning. Taking a break really helped.