Disney Parks with Grandmas/Grandpas

[TigersLions]

I'd love any tips you have. This time we are bringing Gma and Gpa and we are a very go go go type family so we'll need to slowwwww it down. Also, if there is anything special we can do for them. Thanks!!!!

 

[OKW Lover]

A bit more info please about the grandparents. What is their overall health, activity and fitness level?

We are grandparents ourselves and don't find WDW much more stress in going to WDW than our normal daily life. It is nice to plan some down time in the mid-afternoon, which is something that I recommend to just about any family visiting WDW.

 

[denisecolby]

A lot depends on the grandparents. Knowing a little about them would help. Age? Any mobility issues? Early risers? Night owls?

I'm a grandma and went with all 5 of my grandchildren and their parents 4 years ago. At the time, the oldest was 9 and youngest was 5. Everyday I outlasted them all.

Do you plan on sticking together like glue or just planning some get together times? Remember, as much as they would love spending time with you and your family, they may not always have the same interests as you every second.

Have they been to Disney before? Have you asked them what they think would be a nice vacation for them? Are they interested in rides, shows, tours, or would they just like to sit on a bench taking up the atmosphere and people watch?

Do they have any special dietary needs? Would a character meal be exciting to them or give them a headache? Are they ok with your family's eating schedule

Its so hard to give any advice without knowing what specific questions you may have.?

What we did worked perfect for us, but may not for everyone. We started every morning together and went to the same park everyday. After about an hour or so we tended to start splitting up when people wanted to stop to do things others didn't. We sometimes met up for lunch. We met up every night for dinner at a sit down restaurant and stayed together to see fireworks, or shows. We would go back to the resort whenever we felt ready. We felt we had enough together time and enough alone time that we never got sick of each other.

The best advice I can give is to have them help with the planning.This will give you a good idea of what their expectations are and what they want to do. Hopefully they can tell you what a good pace for them would be and you will all have a great time.

 

[Angie_Ohio]

Good Advice! We travel with my parents regularly but they are early 70s now. I am a grandma in fact. I am also traveling with me 2 teen and young adult sons. We plan to have a table service dinner each day and start the day together. With some planning we should all be able do our thing with out causing stress to each other. Communication is the key. Hopefully everyone feels comfortable enough to say what they want to do or don't want to do without anyone taking it personally.

 

[TigersLions]

Thank you everyone! Sorry for the lack of detail! They are in their mid-60's. My MIL just had the weight loss surgery last year (forgot which kind) so she doesn't move around really fast but she is definitely trying to. my FIL just broke his ankle so that is probably going to slow him down even by the time August rolls around. They really love being around the kids and seeing how excited they get about things. Both are pretty tough and can adapt to things. But, I haven't spent an entire week with them (staying at SS in a villa) so I don't want to wear them down too much. The advice you gave me is great though and I needed to hear it.

 

[GatorChris]

When I was able to bring my folks, my kid's grandparents, they were only able to stay for three days. I made sure that we spent those days at MK, Epcot, and AK. At they're age, I figured they wouldn't care for the video game Toy Story Mania, nor the extreme RnRc or Star Tours, ToT, and they wouldn't appreciate (as people who didn't grow up on Disney) Playhouse Disney, Beauty & the Beast Live, or Under the Sea w/Ariel. So we hit the other three parks and they really loved it!

 

[Kristina4109]

My parents are the ones who got me into Disney in the first place! They took my sister and me to WDW in 1976. They are still die hard fans. Now they are "Grandma and Grandpa" and they are still up at the crack of dawn so they can make rope drop!