International Gate

[susanh]

This is our second trip to Disney and I suspect in the August heat it will be the second time we don't make it to the World Showcase at Epcot. We will be traveling with my mom, who is in the middle of a 6 month chemotherapy course, and my 5 and 7 year old boys. Would it be closer to say, park at the Yacht Club and walk or boat to the international gate? Help me out here. BTW, there is no way she will agree to a wheelchair or scooter.

 

[Alesia]

Closer to what?

If you want to park at a resort for park access, you'll need to valet park.

 

[Missyrose]

This is our second trip to Disney and I suspect in the August heat it will be the second time we don't make it to the World Showcase at Epcot. We will be traveling with my mom, who is in the middle of a 6 month chemotherapy course, and my 5 and 7 year old boys. Would it be closer to say, park at the Yacht Club and walk or boat to the international gate? Help me out here. BTW, there is no way she will agree to a wheelchair or scooter.

If you want to visit the World Showcase, then yes, coming in through the International Gateway would be a shorter commute. It's about a third of a mile from Beach Club to the IG, then the full WS is a little more than a mile itself.

Depending on when your trip is, you may not be able to self park at any of the Epcot resorts without an ADR at one of the resort restaurants. Valet parking at the resorts could be an option ($20 plus tip).

I'm glad your mom is feeling well enough to travel during chemo, but I would make sure she knows that a typical day of walking at Disney involves anywhere from 5 to 10 miles of walking. A scooter would help her a great deal. And renting from an offsite vendor (instead of at the parks) will save you time and money.

 

[OhThePain]

You could, in theory, park at an EC area resort, but you'll have to pay to valet park your car, which if the resort is crowded they can turn you away.

An option would be to take Disney transportation to DHS and then take the nice boat ride from DHS to the International Gateway (I think it's a 20-25 minute ride, but it's relaxing).

 

[anniemae]

Aw, hope your mom is doing okay. I have no idea about parking and walking to IG, but is it possible to try to convince her to rent a scooter? My goodness the Aug heat is brutal for a young healthy person, I am worried thinking of what a difficult time she could have. She would be so much more comfortable with a scooter and would be able to do so much more. If not, perhaps she could go back to the resort to rest after doing the front of Epcot and you and the rest of the family could to the WS. If she wont do that, I like the pp idea of taking the boat from DHS. Best of luck!

 

[piccolopat]

Tell your mom she would only use the scooter to get between countries. Once there she can walk to everything that country has to offer. Have fun!

 

[ParrotBill]

Even if you plan to stay in FutureWorld, be careful of overextending her for the day. She could get so tired you have to go get a wheelchair to get her back to the front and your car. You get to 2 miles of walking pretty fast even up there.

 

[loves to dive]

You could take Disney transportation to the YC/BC and hop on the boat there, it takes you right to the IG. I agree, you should try to get her to accept a wheel chair, even if it's just a push one you rent at Epcot for the WS day. Bonus, one of the little guys can sit on her lap when he gets tired, can't tell you how often that happened when my DS was around 3 and my mom was in a wheelchair. Another bonus, you can hang all your bags off the back. Tell her she will be doing you a favor.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

You could drive to DHS and then take the boat to the IG. It's a nice boat ride and you don't have to worry about valet parking at the BC.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

That's a tough nut. We go Aug and Sept because it's hot and rainy. Perfect crowd control.