Dragging Grandma to Disney, this will probably be her last trip

[5stljayhawks]

Hi all,

Just wanted to throw this out and see if there are any folks who have brought an older parent,73 and still very mobile, to stay in their RV with them. Looking for the good, bad and ugly.... We'll have 3 A 3 K, in a 25' HTT. BTW under this condition I figure I will be sleeping in the tent out back. Any recommendations on cots?

 

[LONE-STAR]

My 90 year old grandma still travels from Texas to the fort with my parents. She has been coming with them since 1991. Since 02 we get a site next to my parents and we have fun. The last few years my grandma can't do the parks like before. But at 71 she rode space mountain and every other ride there was in 1991.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

Except for that cot thingy(gotta do whacha gotta do),,I think it's very cool that granny wants to go and that you would take her,.
I love see'n the world thru fresh and newbie's eyes,,it would be very way cool if it's grannies first time .confused3)
and if it's not her first time, STILL VERY COOl !
The only down side I can imagine would be the speed of a person that age may be a little slower and a little more attention and care (love) may need to be directed her way due to her age.
In my little mind it's kinda like history meeting the happiest place on earth.

okay, I'm rambling, I'll shut up now.

If this happens we'll need lots of pics with her,

Pleeeeaassee!

 

[5stljayhawks]

Fishing,

I am the one in the cot, given up the bed for her. Probably will have a few of the DK out there with me as well. She taken me a few times before, so this will not be her first trip. The trip is not a fast one, 13 days at FW maybe 5 or 6 days in the parks. Lots of looping and resort hopping, something we have not done.

 

[Judy in Texas]

People age so differently. Some 73 year old people could run rings around younger folks while others are ready to sit on the porch and watch the world go by. I think you need to let Grandma dictate what she does and doesn't do. Make sure she knows how the internal transportation system (buses and boats) works so she can have a bit of independence. I plan on hauling the camper from Texas to The Fort long after I hit 73.

Don't plan on grandma being in charge of the kids all the time. Hopefully she's not there just to be a babysitter.

The older I get, the more set in my ways I become. I was at WDW last week with my daugher and her husband. I stated up front that each person had the right to go off on their own whenever/whereever they wanted. I didn't want to go on Mission Space so we agreed to meet up in an hour at a specific place. We were all happy.

Communication will be the key.

 

[CCIntrigue]

People age so differently. Some 73 year old people could run rings around younger folks while others are ready to sit on the porch and watch the world go by.

How true! DH's parents let the world go by. My parents towed their Airstream until Dad broke his hip at the age of 82. If had been able to hitch and unhitch after the surgery, they wouldn't have quit traveling then!

I certainly hope my kids don't worry about me being able to keep up when I hit 73. We hope to camp for many more years.

 

[5stljayhawks]

Judy good points on transportation. This is not bring grandma for babysitting. Haven't even really thought about that, I guess I should look for dinner for the DW and I, for a night or two while we are there.

 

[fla4fun]

Some 73 year old people could run rings around younger folks while others are ready to sit on the porch and watch the world go by.

LOL! This will be my Dad and I in a couple weeks. He's almost 80. He will be wanting to go, go, go 24/7, and I'll be the one in the rocking chair asking for a break!

I've traveled to WDW a lot with senior family members, and the most important thing is to make it OK for everyone to take breaks as needed. Make sure everyone has some way of communicating, whether by cell phone, or two way radio, so that people can split and re-group when the need arises. Everyone in the group is important, and no one should feel like they are dragging the group down if they need to rest a while, or if they want to skip a particular attraction for whatever reason.

I'm sure you'll have a great time, and you'll do just fine fitting everyone into their niche at the campsite.

 

[RocklandRVers]

A few years ago we "dragged" my late MIL down to FL. It was a rough time in her life. Her husband died after a long battle with cancer about 2 years prior. Then while we were at the Fort for our first visit in 2003, her best friend who she had been staying with died in front of her. The following February her son died of pneumonia. My prescription for her and my DW was to get away for a while so I set up a 2 week vacation in July. DMIL was very stubborn and afraid we might force her onto roller coasters and squawked about not being able to ride 20 hours in our motorhome. No problem. I booked a flight for her and DW along with the limo to and from the airport. DS and I would drive down ahead of them in the RV. She also griped about staying in the motorhome. Solution? I got her a motel room in Kissimmee where she and DW would stay while the guys would rough it at the Fort. Finally she gave in and once she got off the plane in Fl she was fine. She loved seeing the Fort and especially HDDR! She spoke about it often until she passed away in 2008. Had we not "forced" her to go, that would have been a very happy memory tragically lost forever. Sometimes the "tough love" of dragging someone along to Disney is one of those magical things we can do in our lives.

 

[FWFans]

We are currently at the fort with my 82 yr old FIL. DMIL passed away 1 yr ago on Nov 30th. He he fairly mobile but his back gives him problems with too much walking so we rented him a wheelchair at the parks. He loves being with the family. We have 7 of us on the trip 5A and 2K the motorhome sleeps 6 so we have a tent that the 2K and 1A are sleeping in. We wouldn't have missed spending this special time with DFIL. We will always remember this trip.

 

[FWRR3]

This is a great thread! Kind of emotional for me, to my surprise. My parents are in their upper 80's now, and will celebrate 70 years of marriage next year. They just gave up their last motorcoach a few years ago, but used to go to the Fort a lot. I wish they still could, but that time has passed. Everyone should enjoy it while they can!

 

[SandrA9810]

A few years back my aunt decided to get every one together at Disney for Thanksgiving. It was just my aunt, grandmother, and cousin the first few days. Then my sister, her brood, and my mom and brother showed up for the final few days. Complete disaster if you ask me after they showed up.

But it was a really great time the first few days. We took it slow, and kept Ma in a wheelchair. She doesn't have any independence, so there was no breaking up and regrouping.

After that disaster, on my aunt's annual trips to Florida, me and Kari would take just my aunt and grandmother for a day in the park. Last year, we did just the Christmas Party and they loved it.

The biggest thing about that Thanksgiving trip though, was my aunt spending time with her granddaughter. She was about 12 years old, and kind of getting to that age of loosing magic, and getting too old for family time. Now she's the 16yr old social butterfly with a booked up calendar.

My grandmother is stubborn and always saying "I don't want to go, I'll just stay home". Yeah right Ma, you can't even make a meal anymore... so we toss her in the car and tell her to buckle up. But everything winds up way more stressful than it should be.

Now on the complete other hand, I have cousins that are late 60's I think, and they still hitch up and go across the country every year. Never been to the fort, but I'm working on convincing them for Feb, gotta convince them there's more to Disney than the theme parks.