First Trip for elderly parents

[MARDUN]

I am taking my parents (87 and 88) to the world in September 12 - 18). This is their first trip to WDW. Looking for suggestions and tips for the trip. They are fairly mobile but I plan to rent scooters. This will be their only chance for a Disney trip as they both have advanced medical condition. What are the don't miss items? Should we do Park hoppers? What places to eat? All suggestions welcome and appreciated.http://www.wdwinfo.com/images/smilies/hourglass.gif

 

[Bete]

I'll chime in and I'm sure others will add comments, too.

First, don't expect them to be in the parks from opening to closing. If they take an afternoon nap at home then do the same at Disney World. Think about having an off day away from the parks to just relax. Alternate your activities with doing a ride and then a show which will provide rest. Even with doing a scooter you still make an effort getting on and off the rides.

Practice with scootering at home by using the ones in the grocery stores and such. The grocery stores ones are harder, but it will be good to get familiar with one before leaving for Disney. The best practice would be to go to a local zoo and use a scooter there for a day. They will get a feel for crowds that way, too.

You can rent a scooter at the park or offsite. Offsite will be cheaper and you will have the benefit of using the scooter at the resort, too. If you will be using Disney bus transportation that will probably be the most challenging. Getting the scooter into position on the bus is not the easiest. You may even have to do this for them. Keep in mind there are normally only two spots per bus for handicap vehicles which includes wheelchairs and scooters. If you want to stay together you may have to wait for another bus if someone is before you. If you are using a car/van then you have to have enough room to fit two scooters.

When getting a scooter from an outside vendor you are responsible for charging the scooter every day. You have to fit two scooters in your room, too. Some get the table removed from the room to fit two scooters. This is another situation where you may have to drive the scooter in and out of the room for them. At least, you need to hold the door open if they drive the scooters in and out.

If you rent from an offsite vendor, keep the battery charger with you in the park. You may have to do an emergency charge up in the park if you run out of juice. Keep in mind that you need to get the appropriate size scooter based on their weights. The smaller scooters max out at 175 pounds.

Okay, now for the fun part. I was surprised, but my mom, who was 89 at the time, enjoyed meet and greets. She enjoyed Toy Story Mania in Hollywood Studios and Soarin' in Epcot's Land Pavilion the best when it came to rides. The great Movie ride in Hollywood Studios was another good one. The Safari ride in Animal Kingdom was okay, but there are bumpy spots as you ride which are a little jerky. The Buzz Lightyear ride was good in Magic Kingdom, too. We stayed away from all roller coasters. We spent the most time in Epcot's World Showcase where you can see live street entertainment and movies and do a few boat rides. The parades and fireworks were a must see.

I would splurge for the Fantasmic Dinner package; so, you can get reserved seating at the show. My mom really enjoyed the Cinderella Royal dinner in the castle. Some character meals were fun like the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom and Akerhus in Norway at Epcot.

Other than the dining at our resort we stayed away from going to many resorts for dining. It takes more time to go a resort for eats and it's tiring, too. We did go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for a dinner on the day we went to the Animal Kingdom park. We did Boma's, but there are other choices there, too. We took a tour of the grounds while we were there.

 

[kitkath]

I don't really have much advice to offer, just want to wish you and your parents well wishes!! Last time I was at the parks, I saw some elderly people and they were just plain adorable!! How fun they'll get to experience the joy of WDW! Hope you all have a safe and wonderful time

 

[disneyseniors]

have a few observations! We have been to WDW several times, trying to go once a year as we are not getting any younger. We move slower, but don't need scooters yet I would suggest a nap, relaxation time each day, even if they only rest on the bed or sit by the pool with feet up! We do this every day and it makes a world of difference in our mobility and comfort! We get to the parks at rope drop and leave after a sit down dinner at noon, for the resort. We rest for 3 hrs or so and then off to another park til we are tired. We find that having our main meal at noonish is a big help, its less crowded and cheaper, and we don't have a heavy meal in the evening before early bed time. It works for us. We tried it the other way, eating at pm, but it was too much for us that late, and we found we were too tired to go to some of the reservations at all. All of our suggestions are from trial and error We like a sit down at noon, not counter service, so we can rest and relax with our meal. Our favorite places? At the MK, Liberty Tree tavern, Crystal Palace. We love the characters at CP At AK, we love CS at Flame tree BBQ. At HS, we love the Sci-Fi theater (I know a lot of people don't care for it) but we love the dark cool atmosphere with those cheesy old sci-fi movies. Gives us a cool place to rest and eat without having to talk, just watch movies. At Epcot, we like LeCellar, the Biergarten, Fish and chips place outside of England by the waterfront with good fish and chips, the Italian restaurant, Via Itilia???, just to name a few. BUT it will be quite a distance around Epcot!!!! Also most seniors don't realize just how far it is to walk to the bus stop or main buildings. Then it's quite a walk from the buses to the parks. So, take your time, go at your pace, stop and sit and people watch, while you are going for the attractions. It all works for us and I hope it works for you too. You are so lucky that your parents are able to go to WDW. My Mom is 87 too but can't walk that much and won't use the ECV Let us know how the trip goes!

 

[MARDUN]

Thank you for the advice and well wishes. I know they will have a great time and I will post a summary when we get back.http://www.wdwinfo.com/images/smilies/dance.gif

 

[YouGotaFriendInMe]

Yes, very different in ages. But the most important thing i did was carry a list in my back pocket of bathrooms! this woman i swear, she had to go every hour. Don't do dinosaur... I'm pretty sure we should've peed right before that

She loved epcot... LOVED. Soarin' and living by(off?) the land was her favorites...

we only had two and a half days...

day one,
ak until 1 then mk

day two,
epcot until 2 then hs (didnt last there long as it was soooo hot)

we also did the following morning at downtown for some quick shopping and stopped by akl, poly, gf and the boardwalk in between.

Good luck and make great memories!

 

[MARDUN]

Bathrooms are a definite priority, great idea. Was considering dinosaur as a possibility will probably cross it off the list. Thanks for your suggestions.