My Elderly Mother…

[MickMick]

Is going to Disney with me. She’s a youthful eighty-four, but I still need to be concerned for her. I’ve completely changed my solo trip To accommodate her. She’s social, active and has been cooped up in the house. my family made the decision that I would be in a bubble with her, but I can see the global health crisis is getting to her. She cried when she asked to tag along. Of course! My mother is the bomb!

My concerns are “staying safe” and making sure she can walk the park.

We’re driving to Orlando to avoid the airport crowds. I’ve picked parks to avoid the TTC (parking). We’ll just drive and premium park. I’ve purchased n95s And will take the necessary hand wipes and such. She has good tennis for walking.

She rides the non-thrill rides, eats snacks, souvenir shopping is a must and people watching is a hobby. The change of scenery, fresh air and sunshine will be good for her. We’re both excited to get out.

I think I should reserve a scooter. Not sure she’ll need it. Any recommendations?

Am I missing anything?

 

[MICKIMINI]

Yes, I would get a scooter. You have two choices:

If she is mobile, you can rent at the parks and DS for about $50 a day or rent from a local company for the entire time. Personally, I pay more to rent at the parks as I don't want the responsibility and hassle of getting the scooter to the parks on a bus and having to keep an eye on it all the time. We rent a car, park in HA space if we go to a park and either walk with my cane or use a wheelchair available near HA parking if it is a long walk to the entry.

A scooter will make your trip amazing - do it!

 

[DaisyDuck001]

It's great that she's such a fun person!

Have the two of you already worn N95s for extended use? They can be difficult to breathe in, especially for those not accustomed to them.

 

[MickMick]

It's great that she's such a fun person!

Have the two of you already worn N95s for extended use? They can be difficult to breathe in, especially for those not accustomed to them.

We haven't. I wonder if it is overkill. If we were flying, it would be necessary but maybe too much for driving and walking around the parks. We do use the grid things under our masks, we'll have to do a trial run.

I will also encourage her to get the scooter from the parks. She'll be okay at Animal Kingdom but may struggle at Epcot.

 

[KittyKitty]

I'm 72 in good health, and get tired walking all those steps in the park. Does Disney have scooters? I would get one to use. Try it for a day, if it helps then rent one for your trip. I would test out the N95. See how she does, and take back up masks, K95, disposable masks.
You might want to take a daily break back at the resort.
If you decide to drive, be sure to make stops to walk around. My body gets stiff if I sit too long.
I am walking each day to build up my stamina. Goal is to walk 10K a day before I arrive in Oct.

Have a great time!

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Take a lot of pictures!!!!!
Scooter yes
If she's willing to sit and people watch while you do something else, let her!
Is your mom a big Disney fan? If yes, I'd try a day of DisneyBounding.

 

[sdk1231]

Is going to Disney with me. She’s a youthful eighty-four, but I still need to be concerned for her. I’ve completely changed my solo trip To accommodate her. She’s social, active and has been cooped up in the house. my family made the decision that I would be in a bubble with her, but I can see the global health crisis is getting to her. She cried when she asked to tag along. Of course! My mother is the bomb!

My concerns are “staying safe” and making sure she can walk the park.

We’re driving to Orlando to avoid the airport crowds. I’ve picked parks to avoid the TTC (parking). We’ll just drive and premium park. I’ve purchased n95s And will take the necessary hand wipes and such. She has good tennis for walking.

She rides the non-thrill rides, eats snacks, souvenir shopping is a must and people watching is a hobby. The change of scenery, fresh air and sunshine will be good for her. We’re both excited to get out.

I think I should reserve a scooter. Not sure she’ll need it. Any recommendations?

Am I missing anything?

I rented my first ECV/scooter about 4 trips ago, and have rented one every time since then. I love it. I can't do all the walking that's required in the parks. I rented a Resort Scooter from Scooterbug. They drop off, pick up from the Disney resorts. The scooter is waiting for me at Bell Services when I arrive and I drop it at Bell Services when I leave. It's about $20/day. You didn't mention where you're staying, so I'm not sure if you're on site. If so, it's very easy to rent from Scooterbug. Best part about the ECV? It's fun. My teen/20's kids are always jealous of my scooter. I can keep up and/or outpace them and can last longer in the parks. When they're getting tired, I am still rolling! It's fun for me not to be a "drain" on the park day. It's fun for me not having to have my kids worrying about whether or not I'm "okay". The Scooterbug Resort ECV is smaller, a bit faster, and more nimble than the theme park rental ECVs. It's cuter, too. When I want to ride or shop, I simply park it, take my keys and walk on foot to my heart's content. Highly recommend it for your mother - and you can have fun trying to keep up with her!

 

[RoseGold]

You might consider renting a real wheelchair.

I’d recommend the Whill Ci or Ci2. I have a permanently disabled relative and the thing is awesome. You can rent it in your hometown and fit it in your car, if you can lift a fairly heavy object. If you can handle the transportation, Disney is quite accessible. You can even bring it in a lot of line queues. The scooters are huge, slow, hard to drive, and they don’t help when you’re standing in line for an hour.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

practice small walks with your n95 on! Like one stair landing at a time.
If you're not used to wearing one, you will be a gasping hot sweaty mess before you know it.

 

[goofyernmost]

Yes, I would get a scooter. You have two choices:

If she is mobile, you can rent at the parks and DS for about $50 a day or rent from a local company for the entire time. Personally, I pay more to rent at the parks as I don't want the responsibility and hassle of getting the scooter to the parks on a bus and having to keep an eye on it all the time. We rent a car, park in HA space if we go to a park and either walk with my cane or use a wheelchair available near HA parking if it is a long walk to the entry.

A scooter will make your trip amazing - do t!

Yea, but you also cannot take them out of the parks and that is when you are likely to need them the most. It can be a hassle, believe me, I've done it a few times but it has enabled me to flat out enjoy the parks like I did when I first started going there in my mid 30's. Leaving and getting to the car at the end of a long day, is sometimes a very painful experience. It is worth the money to just get one and try and convince her to use it. She will be very glad it is there. Honestly, very glad. I'm only in my early 70's and appear to be very healthy, but the body just doesn't care what you think you can do, it has it's own limits.

 

[DeeBee3]

I recommend looking into the scooter you rent where they deliver to your resort and you can keep it throughout the stay (ScooterBug is the only authorized rental company that is able to drop off and pick up at resorts). It was worth the money for me in August. For the first part of the trip I used it everywhere and then there were certain days I didn't need it so I would leave it in room for half the day. I will also add that I am only 39, but was having health issues at the time that limited my stamina.

p.s. I walked the most steps in Animal Kingdom (16,000 ish) and all of us in the party were exhausted at end of the day - that was me totally without scooter. Epcot is a lot of walking, but we also took breaks during hottest part of day.

p.p.s. I have used real N95s walking around certain environments and they definitely are different than surgical or even the masks with extra filters in them. Let's just say they actually do what they are supposed to do. I know if I had to wear it all day in the heat, it would not be fun. I actually found a step down for us for flying through Lutema - I believe it is an "M95" - 4 layers so it is definitely more effective at blocking small air particles, but it is much more manageable than the N95. Lutema is USA-made too, so you can get all their info and reviews through their site and also on the FDA/CDC site where they talk about approved masks, etc.

YAY for you and your mom!

 

[lanejudy]

I would do an offsite scooter rental, one that breaks down to put in your vehicle. The parks tend to run out and can't be reserved in advance. If she doesn't need/want to useit in the morning, park it in a "land" while doing the attractions in that area. If she has been largely cooped up at home for the past 18months, she may well find her stamina is much lower than expected regardless of how healthy and fit she is.

 

[MickMick]

She purchased a scooter!!! She said that there are places she'd like to go, but doesn't because she's afraid that she'll get winded. I wish she'd said something sooner. We ordered a travel scooter which will give her time to learn how to use the scooter, break it down and set it up.

 

[MickMick]

[QUOTE="Forevermarypoppins, post: 63377508, member: 544127"
Is your mom a big Disney fan? If yes, I'd try a day of DisneyBounding.
[/QUOTE]

She showed me her outfits. She has an animal print something or another for Animal Kingdom. I'll lend my coordinating ears. That's as bounder as it will get with her. But I'll be there in full-on Luxo Ball attire. LOL

 

[Bete]

She purchased a scooter!!! She said that there are places she'd like to go, but doesn't because she's afraid that she'll get winded. I wish she'd said something sooner. We ordered a travel scooter which will give her time to learn how to use the scooter, break it down and set it up.

Glad you have a scooter. Please get her to practice with one before the trip. Maybe, you can go to a local zoo or botanical park to practice; those places are outside and safer. Please, pretty please don't expect your mom to take the scooter apart or put it together on her own. Don't expect her to get the scooter in and out of the car on her own. Even broken down one scooter piece can weigh 30 pounds. If you are using Disney transportation getting scooters on and off the buses or whatever can be the most difficult part; so, you may have to takeover and do it for your mom. Ride queues can have a lot of turns; so, it takes more effort to do them. You have to be careful not to hurt anyone before you, going through them. You need to get a stride worked out; so, you can keep pace with the scooter yourself. You can adjust the speed to the scooter.

 

[Bete]

A few more hints for a newbie: Nothing is worse than a scooter without enough battery power. There is a guage to watch to make sure you have enough battery power. If you are getting low on power then you have a couple of choices: find an outlet at the park to recharge some while you go enjoy a lunch or dinner someplace close or go back to the resort for a rest and do some recharging of the battery while you rest or enjoy the pool, etc. There is a manual override on the scooter allowing you to push it but that's not fun. Make sure you take your battery charger with you to the park. Most scooters have a compartment where you can keep the battery charger with the scooter. Don't leave the battery charger in your resort room when you are in the park.

Some people to conserve their battery will park it for rides and walk through some ride queues. Usually, you can park the scooter near the strollers. If you are viewing a show or fireworks remember to shut off the scooter. Shut the scooter off if you are using Disney transportation; it doesn't need to be on while you are getting back and forth from the parks. Waits for Disney transportation is another time to shut off the scooter.

We bring a door stop to hold our resort door open while getting the scooter in and out of the resort room. You can hold the door open but we find the doorstop easier. You will have to find the sweet spot where to position the door stop. Some people even use two doorstops. Also, remember to charge your scooter battery every night.

If you park the scooter make sure you are not blocking a door or whatever. Cast members will move your scooter with the manual override to get it out of the way. Then you will be stressed out not knowing where your scooter is.

 

[disneyseniors]

We have always just rented a scooter at the park if we needed one. Some days at some parks, we found out that we just didn't need to rent one. With plenty of stops and taking our time, it was ok. At Epcot, a scooter is a must for us. It's just too big to navigate if you have mobility issues. We have never not been able to rent a scooter at the parks, whatever time of day. But we tend to go on less popular dates. I guess you have it all figured out now since she bought one. Sorry I didn't read it til now!

 

[olwyngdh]

She purchased a scooter!!! She said that there are places she'd like to go, but doesn't because she's afraid that she'll get winded. I wish she'd said something sooner. We ordered a travel scooter which will give her time to learn how to use the scooter, break it down and set it up.

Excellent!! I was going to recommend renting a go-go transportable since you are going to be driving to the parks, but if she has her own, that is even better. My scooter is one of the best investments I have ever made and has allowed me to do so much more than I could before.

 

[KPeterso]

Glad you got the scooter for your Mom. I will be there starting Friday with my Mom who is 83 (mother-daughter trips are the best). We rent her a scooter as she cannot walk the parks anymore.

Regarding the KN95 masks - my Mom likes hers (trying to remember if she has worn it at Disneyland or not). I find I cannot breathe in them at all. She will wear the KN95 for the plane and I will just double mask with a disposable mask + another mask over it (used to it - did it for many months before getting vaccinated). We are both vaccinated but will very careful too due to her age. We have been to Disneyland 8 times since reopening (local), and we wear our masks all the time including outside, so will be doing the same I believe at WDW too (or at least that is the plan).

 

[MickMick]

Her scooter arrives on Friday. We’re, ahem, she’s excited. I mentioned that we will need to customize it so it’s recognizable in the park. I also said we will put an Airtag on it.

We also watched a couple of videos on using ECVs in the park so she’ll know what to expect.

Lots of great advice here. Thank you! I will definitely do a picture filled trip report.