How Old is Too Old?

[Forevermarypoppins]

On a trip with my parents and sister celebrating theirs birthdays ( 3 b-days in 3 days) I gave my dad a 78th birthday day present of the Steam train tour! My dad absolutely loved Disneyworld! I'm certain he made it back again after that trip.

 

[KPeterso]

My mom is 85 and showing no signs of slowing down on Disney visits. Just got back last Friday from almost 2 weeks at WDW. And she has a magic key for Disneyland and does go a lot. Yes, we use a wheelchair (Disneyland) or scooter (Disney World), but as long as she wants to go and has fun, she is always welcome to go with me! We have met a woman a couple different times when she was there celebrating her 90 and 91st (or maybe 91 and 92) birthdays at Disneyland. This was pre covid, so I hope she is still around. Her birthday should be coming up again in November! We have also seen Peter Tu (the clapping man) many times at Disneyland and he is now in his 90s.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Actually, DM is a widow in her 70s and would love to go to the parks regularly if she could. She was one of those kids that experienced DL in the first year it opened. Anyone know of any senior groups in So Cal that do this that she could join?

 

[BayouQueen]

I just returned from a DL trip with DD and her five-year-old and one-year-old. We had an amazing time. I shed tears in IASW -- couldn't believe I was sitting in the boat with my DGD. That's four generations of our family now who have enjoyed that attraction.

I plan to keep on going. It was super exhausting trying to keep up. I know I'll have to make adjustments -- take more breaks, skip some things -- but it's worth it.

 

[DizMe]

My sister and I are up there in our 60s (she turns 70 in Jan) and we're like a couple of little kids at DLR. Here are a couple of pics from last Dec. I'm on the right in both.

 

[Tinkaboo]

Lovely@DizMe…you’re looking fab…I especially love the second pic !

 

[DizMe]

Lovely@DizMe…you’re looking fab…I especially love the second pic !

Thank you That was one of our pictures with Santa at the GCH --gotta love the PhotoPass photogs!

 

[starlite_]

My sister and I are up there in our 60s (she turns 70 in Jan) and we're like a couple of little kids at DLR. Here are a couple of pics from last Dec. I'm on the right in both.
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Life goals. You look so happy!

 

[DizMe]

Life goals. You look so happy!

I used to get soooooo mad at my sister when we were kids. Young me would be shocked and appalled to hear that we ended up being best buddies

Can you stand more pics? We always try to get fun Santa pics at GCH. That year, we were walking down the hall from our room, on our way to the lobby, when these little kids spotted us and their eyes lit up and they got so excited. They loud-whispered to their parents, "The Elves!!! The Elves are here!!!" LOL. It made us happy. That second pic is me trying to do an impression of Will Ferrell.

 

[starlite_]

I used to get soooooo mad at my sister when we were kids. Young me would be shocked and appalled to hear that we ended up being best buddies

Can you stand more pics? We always try to get fun Santa pics at GCH. That year, we were walking down the hall from our room, on our way to the lobby, when these little kids spotted us and their eyes lit up and they got so excited. They loud-whispered to their parents, "The Elves!!! The Elves are here!!!" LOL. It made us happy. That second pic is me trying to do an impression of Will Ferrell.

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Awww you guys are totally rocking the elf look. Honestly gives me hope for me and my sibling. Still in the fighting stage

 

[PineappleSky]

My dad just turned 73 yesterday and hes already packed for our Disney vacation this fall. That man is so giddy he can hardly contain himself.

 

[BriannaRuth]

I had my first kid when I was 40 years old. I'd never been to DL but had always wanted to go, so when she was 5, I had the perfect excuse! Loved it and we've been pretty much every other year ever since. I'm now in my 60s and have been noticing that I am older than the vast majority of guests. I have no idea why, because DL is a great place for people my age IMO. I have no trouble getting around. I still love it and it never occurred to me that I'm "too old" or shouldn't he there based on someone else's opinion. Never even realized that might be someone's opinion until I saw this thread, TBH. That's the thing about being over 50, you give fewer and fewer F's about what other people think.

When I was in my 40s, I did offer to both my dad and my mom (who are 20 years older than me) to go with us and they both looked at me like I was crazy. I'm now the age they were at the time and can't wait for my next trip!

 

[Judy from Boise]

My grandma was riding BTMRR in her 80’s, and her som my dad celebrated his 87th riding BTMRR, in April we are taking dad to DLR to ride BTMRR and radiator springs racers to celebrate his 90th !

 

[disneyseniors]

So just for fun, here's a picture from Nov 1973. I'm the one in the hideous orange bell bottoms and suede clogs

Our first trip was l977, and I had those horrible polyester orange wide leg slacks too, LOL. I had a beige, orange, and green peasant top that I wore with it! Those were the days, LOL

 

[evilmommie]

When I worked at the park in the 80’s/90’s we had several “elderly” guests who attended the park almost everyday. It was literally a park for them…to wander the hub, enjoy the Main Street atmosphere…sit on a bench and tell stories.
We also had several couples who were in their 60’s+ that came in on Friday night to swing dance at Carnation Plaza Gardens (now the Royal Theatre). It was so fun to watch all of the couples!

Frank, the Porch Potato (IG) continues in that same tradition with coming in most days and posting up in a favorite spot. Love to say hi to him. Feels very nostalgic for me.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I saw a picture just the other day of a woman celebrating her birthday at Disneyland. I think they said it was her 98th birthday, and she celebrates there every year.

 

[Tinkaboo]

When I worked at the park in the 80’s/90’s we had several “elderly” guests who attended the park almost everyday. It was literally a park for them…to wander the hub, enjoy the Main Street atmosphere…sit on a bench and tell stories.
We also had several couples who were in their 60’s+ that came in on Friday night to swing dance at Carnation Plaza Gardens (now the Royal Theatre). It was so fun to watch all of the couples!

Frank, the Porch Potato (IG) continues in that same tradition with coming in most days and posting up in a favorite spot. Love to say hi to him. Feels very nostalgic for me.

I hope Frank is there when I’m there in a couple of weeks. I’m gonna stop and have a chat with him!

 

[gardenrooms]

I love this picture! That was the era when my mom would wear polyester pantsuits and heels to Disneyland.

My sister and I were there last week. You are very right about the nostalgia and happy memories pulling us back. My dad passed away 8 years ago -- he started going in 1964. He would be appalled if he knew what we were paying to get in these days!

And just last night we were talking about when the ticket booths used to be in that location, and how we wouldn't know what rides were closed until we saw them listed on a board at the ticket booths.

I use to LOVE the sign on Harbor, which sometimes would announce the park would be open till midnight (didn't know ahead of time - depended on how crowded the parks were! - back in the day when customer experience mattered...but must have been tough on the CMs).

 

[gardenrooms]

I was just bemoaning the fact that our my favorite DVC will expire when I am "only" 92. I plan to still be enjoying the parks then. Just take a little more planning for me - when I get on a roller coaster type ride, I always sit on the left. For some reason, if I sit on the right, it hurts my neck. I know it shouldn't make any difference and it's probably all in my head, but there it is. I have to be ready to move "fast" (for me) on continuous load rides, especially Goofy's Sky School (especially since on that I have to get in first to be on the left lol), and, sad to say, on some rides, it's hard to lift my leg up high enough (bad hip and knee on one side and ankle on the other) to load or unload quickly if you have to step over something (I forget which particular ride that is). But goodness Disney keeps all their rides running smoothly (when they are running...). Recently went to California's Great America, and GoldStriker, which I really enjoyed when it was new and I was "only" 64, now rattled my brains like no other ride at 75. (Their newer ride, Railblazer, was silky smooth!) And I have trouble keeping up with my group. I don't want to make them wait for me so I usually catch up with them in line, but I understand from reading other threads that lots of people object to that, though everyone has always been nice in line when I say I am catching up with my family (and we have seen a lot of teenagers doing it for less legit reasons, and in large groups!). If anything keeps me away, that might be it.