Ideas for my 53 year young Mom's visit??

[KSgirl]

Hi everyone!

I am leaving very soon for my first vacation ever alone with my mother! Of course, I'm taking her to Disney! Though I've been several times, and twice already in the past year, this will be my mom's very first trip to the world.....ever! I was wondering, can you all think of some special things I can do for her, show her, involve her in, to make her experience all the more magical? I have planned no less than 3 character dining experiences, and we are planning on visiting all four parks (and Downtown Disney) during our visit. I am so excited, I've even made a scrapbook for her to record all of her memories and photos we plan to take. We are staying at the Pop Century Resort and renting a car.

Thanks for helping me plan a wonderful mother-daughter vacation!

 

[dgaston]

I will be turning the same age as your Mom in MK on Monday!! I love to do everything--especially the thrill rides, so you will see me on the Disney Mountain Range, RnR, Tot, and Mission:Space.

I also enjoy the 3-D movies, especially Mickey's Philharmagic.

I also like the Adventurer's Club and Comedy Warehouse at Pleasure Island. This trip I'm hoping we get to Jellyrolls at the Boardwalk.

HTH

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'm 53 and still love to see Cinderella and all the characters. The Share a Dream Come True parade is very neat.

We've gone to the movies over at DTD three times now and it is the neatest theater. I love Disney Quest, especially Pirates of the Caribbean. My son and I love to make a CD over at DQ where we get to pick the lyrics, tempo and singer. Way fun. I love the cotton candy and caramel corn. Don't forget to ride Buzz Lightyear.

 

[AKbabe]

I think alot of that will depend on your Mom. Most of my Disney trips have been with my mother (sometimes leave hubby home). My Mom is 65 and she enjoys WDW every bit as much as I do. And one of the reasons I like to take her is she doesn't dilly dally. She not only keeps up, she walks faster than me! She loves RnRC, TOT, Pleasure Island, etc. So I would plan it as you would for anyone's first trip, just keep her likes/dislikes in mind. I know my mother would not enjoy DQ.

 

[jennymouse]

I'm doing a FATHER daughter trip and Dad is 80 years old. I've rented him a ECV for the week. He dosen't do thrill rides but will love the shows and slow rides. This isn't his first time, but the last time he was there it was only Magic Kingdom and 2 hotels. He thought 7 days was too long. Said he'd get bored. I turned him loose with my Unoffical Guide and he's starting to get the picture now. He read about Cirque and said he wants to see that so I've got us tickets for our last night. Your mom would probably love Cirque. I also let Dad pick the restaurants and I printed the menus of the ones he picked so he could look them over. All I can do now, is hope for some pixie dust while we're there!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Does your mom have some sort of planning WDW book, official or otherwise, so she can pick somethings that she would like to see/do?


Bobbi

 

[Simba's Mom]

Great idea- ask your Mom what she wants to do. Maybe there's a Disney character she's always wanted to see. I'm "only" 51, but one of my most favorite things in WDW is all the "kiddie" rides. I love to do Dumbo, Alladin's Magic Carpet, Triceratop Spin, Cinderella's Golden Carousel, etc. The opportunity to really feel like a kid again. But maybe that's not her-ask her, maybe get her a guide book. And BTW, I think it's so sweet of you to want to make this a nice trip for her-just the show of concern will make it magical!

 

[KSgirl]

bobbiwoz~ Yes, I gave my mom my old Passporter (last year's) so that she can read it. My kids also gave her the Disney for Kids guidebook last December when we were trying to get her to come with us. She really wants to go to the MK out first day (Sunday), so we'll use EE, then move to Epcot for the rest of the day.

jennymouse~ Have a wonderful time with your dad....looks like you leave very soon. I would love to do Cirque, but I don't think we'll have time....this will be a 3 1/2 day mini-marathon trip!

AKbabe~ I think my mom will be much like yours, only I'm hoping she'll enjoy browsing the shops more than my husband does.

Any other first-timer tips for a mom who's never been to Disney World before?

 

[bobbiwoz]

KSgirl, I hope you and your mom have a great time. My mom was 83 when DH and I took her for a quick trip in October. This was not her first time, she loves WDW, but we went to MNSSHP and it was the first time she ever went Trick or Treating, imagine that! The official souvenir photo of the party is really a great momento, mom is not "whimsical" by nature AT ALL, but the party brought out the kid in her. She hardly ever eats candy, but she kept her stash with her, not trusting us to bring it home with us. She flew into Philly, we into Dayton, so we brought most of her things to make it easier for her to fly, but she kept her candy!

Can't wait to hear how it goes!

Bobbi

 

[BonnieA]

How about the afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian? It's a wonderful relaxing change of pace after a morning at the parks.

 

[Madi100]

OK, you might not like my advice, but here it is. We just returned from a trip with my mom and stepdad. They are 53 and 52. This was their first trip. So, I wanted to make it special for them. For Christmas my siblings gave them special things to do on the trip: surrey bike ride, miniature golf, carriage ride, etc. I planned Chef Mickeys, Cinderella's Breakfast, 50's Prime Time Cafe, and Rain Forest Cafe. It was our 3rd trip, and we wanted to do some new things. However, it was their first.

I could have let my parents do nothing but spend 5 days in the parks and they would have been thrilled. We had too much planned. They didn't do the bike ride or the golf. We changed reservations about 3 times. Too many times our reservations got in the way of exploring in the parks. I changed many reservations throughout our stay too.

So, my advice is reserve the must do things like the character meal, but anything that you could make a reservation for that day (many of the restaurants are that way), do it that way. If you are going when it is busy it might not be that way, but I had no problem switching our reservations when we went.

Then, just enjoy the parks with your mom and enjoy seeing things through a first timers eyes.

 

[lynn71092]

Madi100 I think that is EXCELLENT advice.
I am 57 and all I want to do is be in the parks.
And I love the entertainment at Pleasure Island.
I agree with you especially since this is her first time.
Let her relax and take in all there is to see and do.

 

[KSgirl]

I agree! Since she has never experienced anything in the parks, I have planned our days to be in the parks for pretty much the entire day so that we can take in all the sights. I know we won't be able to do everything, but we will sure hit all of the major highlights!

I've planned our Character meals at times we could really use a break from the touring, and the other meals are flexible. I don't think we'll to any other Character autographs, other than our Character meals, unless there is somebody special she would like to see. Oops, I forgot...one of our Character meals is at 8:05 on a non EE day so that we can walk down Main Street without crowds. Is there anything else "special" like that, which would be really magical for her??

 

[jann1033]

since I am close to your mom's age.... we loved Cirque de solei..didn't think we would/ wondered if the tickets were worth the cost but it was a real highlight of our trip...also we had dinners at a few places planned which we skipped( mostly due to the hassle of getting there) and really enjoyed doing things on "cruise" instead of "overdrive" like we have with the kids in tow...loved just sampling our way around epcot instead of our usual ps for every meal there and loved AK the best ( new favorite park) esp. the Kill. safari ( did that 3 times) but we are into that type of thing anyway.

 

[Eljay]

You both will really enjoy the live entertainment around World Showcase in Epcot. Pick up a Show Schedule and travel around the world watching all the amazing shows. Then, end your day with Illuminations!
I especially recommend the Celtic Rock band, Off Kilter in Canada. They play usually 4 sets in the afternoon & evenings.
The last set or 2 gets very wild and entertaining!
Have fun!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

I think she'll love the character meals - seeing the kids enjoy the characters has to be the best, and that is a relaxing way to do this.

I think I'd try the tea, if I were with just my mom -- haven't done it yet.

Leave time for shopping, if she enjoys that (In the parks and DTD).

Cirque is great - but you may be able to see a Cirque show near your home town at some point in time, so it depends on how much time you have.

For something special, you might want to do the Leave a Legacy tile at Epcot. You pay (of course) to have your photo engraved on a samll metal tile that is then placed inot a giant mosaic of tiles on large stones to be displayed for sometime.

Spend plenty of time in the World Showcase! And the department store in Japan you can pick an oyster and find a pearl and then get it set into a piece of jewelry -- that could be a great memento of your trip for your mom to bring home. And don't miss the parade in Epcot.

Hit lots of shows - especially Festival of the Lion King in AK.

Is your mom interested in a special show? EIther the Luau or the Hoop De Doo? And what about visiting resorts? My mom would love seeing the top end hotels, I think.

And how about one really nice dinner? Maybe at the Contemporary, watching the MK fireworks afterward.

I think a meal in the castle in special, too. Skip the Princess breakfast since it so hard to get, and just enjoy a relaxing lunch or dinner in the castle - great atmosphere, and very Disney.

That's all I can think of off hand....Enjoy!!

 

[KSgirl]

SnoWhiteRabbit~

Great ideas!

I especially like the idea of spending lots of time in World Showcase which you and another poster suggested. My kids (and husband too, now that I think about it) don't really enjoy exploring this part of the parks, but I know my mom and I will. We'll also check out Leave a Legacy.

And I'm hoping we can hit lots of shows, which is another thing my family doesn't seem to have time for. With the kids, they just want to go on the ride-type attractions! I can't wait to show her Carrousel of Progress (hope it's still open...I heard Timekeeper closed again).

Thanks to all for your great advice and suggestions!

 

[jann1033]

timekeeper was open when we were there ( got home the 21) but opened later, I am thinking 11 or so..there was a sandwich board type sign out front of it that stated it's hours that day.

 

[Eljay]

Originally posted by SnoWhiteRabbit


Spend plenty of time in the World Showcase! And the department store in Japan you can pick an oyster and find a pearl and then get it set into a piece of jewelry -- that could be a great memento of your trip for your mom to bring home. And don't miss the parade in Epcot.

I hate to break it to you SnoWhiteRabbit.....
There is no parade in Epcot any more!

One more cool thing though, if you're trivia buffs, sit in on a show at Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in MGM. It's really fun!