Non-ride activities for older couple

tbandemommy

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 7, 2009
Messages
65
Looking for experiences in all parks for older couple to enjoy. Rides are not high on their list of to-dos. They are celebrating 45 years of marriage. A lot of walking may be problematic.
 
watch the show on main street ( magic kingdom) ( the trolly show is nice) talk to random CM you can learn so much,

HS( sam thing there are tones of shows going on all over)

EPCOT world show case need I say more

AK

look at the animals

If there have problems walking an ECV ( off site would be cheeper they do not have to use them all the time they could park them in the different lands and walk some)

at any park look at all the detail at the parks there are so much little hidden things foot prints in the walk way at AK huff print in fantasy land at MK

This is just a few
 
Looking for experiences in all parks for older couple to enjoy. Rides are not high on their list of to-dos. They are celebrating 45 years of marriage. A lot of walking may be problematic.

Boat rides... Take the boat from DHS over to EPCOT and go in thru International Gateway which puts them right in WS. Also resort hopping by taking the boats to the MK resorts.
 

Nemo show
Lion King show
American Presidents exhibit / show and Voices Of Liberty show
Little Mermaid live show
Mickey's Philarmagic(?) show in MK
Disney Springs resort boat- sit on the boat for about an hour as it makes stops at a few resorts.
About 3:00 everyday,the band at the GF plays beautiful music in the lobby. There's also a piano player there. It's nice to sit in the lobby,listen to music and people watch
 
They can probably manage things like TSMM and Buzz, ride the train at MK, pirates,Beaty and Beast , F!,indy show,movie ride,safari,all the animals, lion king,nemo,wings of flight, started with a mouse, living with the land, all the countries, shows and movies at epcot,...Disney springs, riding the boat from there to POR, monorail rides...Parades, FW's...

I took my parents for the 50th anniv, both in ecv's, and they loved it, and they had been going since '71, every year,.

So much for seniors to do, and the parks, resorts, restaurants all are very good about helping if need be.
 
There are plenty of live shows and several movie-type attractions in the parks that are fun. And there is always the option of getting a coffee or some ice-cream and people watching from Main Street or Hollywood Blvd.

It's not in the park, but there are free tours of Wilderness Lodge where you learn about the details of the lodge and the grounds.... might be an interesting morning. I think it is offered Wed-Sat at 9am.
 
My last trip included my parents who were also celebrating their 45th anniversary! My parents rode nearly everything, but even if this couple isn't interested thrill rides, MANY of the rides are non-thrill and great for being a kid again. In all parks, you can spend quite a lot of time in shows. My parents especially liked all the shows available in epcot's world showcase and Hall of Presidents and Carousel of Progress in MK.

My parents were very interested in the Keys To The Kingdom tour but didn't do it because they wanted to stick with the grandkids instead. Ditto Behind Zthe Seeds tour in Epcot.

A snack or a beverage and a spot for people watching were welcome breaks on their way from one attraction to the next.

Definitely progress through the parks clockwise or counter-clockwise and tackle each attraction as it comes vs zigzagging around.
 
It's not in a park, but one of my mom's favorite things to do is to visit the Grand Floridian, sit in the lobby, and listen to music. There is often a live music performance there. She also enjoyed her afternoon tea at the Grand Floridian. Mom also likes riding the boats between the resorts and the parks. She really enjoyed seeing the horses at FW. There is a lot for an older couple to do outside of the parks.
 
It's not in a park but our favorite non-ride activity is Hoop Dee Doo Revue! This is a fun night out, the food is really good and the show is sooo entertaining!! It's been an absolute must every trip!
 
My grandmother enjoyed sitting by Cinderella's wishing well to people watch, parades, the fireworks dessert party, and character dining. A scooter was a life saver. She also liked exploring the world showcase and the epcot fountain show.
 
Wishing the couple a happy 45th anniversary! 43 years and counting here. These are our favorite things to do:

MK: Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion, PotC, CoP, Hall of the Presidents, riding the train around the park.

Epcot: Soarin', Living with the Land, wandering through the aquarium, slow stroll around the World, American Experience

AK: Safari, Lion King, ITtbaB, wandering through the Pangani and Maharajah trails

HS: Great Movie Ride, Indiana Jones, Muppets 3D, One Man's Dream

Another fun thing to do is to do is the monorail tour of the resorts, especially the GF and the Poly.

If walking is a problem a scooter would be a valuable addition. There is no question that getting around WDW takes a lot of walking. Look into renting one for the visit to save money.

Go slow, take time to rest and enjoy some people watching. Have Mickey Bar. Enjoy!
 
The Boardwalk is another great place to just stroll around and relax. They could take the boat from the International Gateway at Epcot. The Bellevue Lounge at the Boardwalk Inn is a lovely place to get out of the heat - they have board games for use and the old radio shows playing in the background. If it is a nice day, they can sit outside with a tasty baked good from the Boardwalk Bakery. I can spend a whole day just hanging around the Epcot resort area.
 
Boat rides... Take the boat from DHS over to EPCOT and go in thru International Gateway

Yes! And as another poster mentioned, stop off at the Boardwalk. We enjoy a nice ice cream treat sitting on the Boardwalk watching the world go by. All scooter friendly.

And we also enjoy the ferry ride between the TTC and MK.
 
OP, we are seniors too. I am 66 and my husband is 69 y/o. We both LOVE Disney, and go each year. It's great to enter the Disney bubble and feel like a kid again:)
We do ride all the rides, even the "thrill" ones. But we also love all the other attractions. Disney springs is a fun area. Be sure to see LaNouba at DS. It is an awesome show, well worth the money IMOP! We take the boat from POR to DS 2 or 3 nights to shop, eat, people watch, take in LaNouba, etc. It is always a fun, relaxing, enjoyable evening! Earl of Sandwich is one of our favorite QS at DS.
Love the Lion King at AK; also love to just walk around the place and take in all the unique details of each area. The nature walks are fun too and not too long a distance.
My advise would to be to take it slow and easy. It is great at our ages not to have to run to each attraction! We are early risers so we get a light breakfast at the Mill, then go to a park from opening to about 12 or so. Then back to the resort to rest up. We really need to rest our legs and feet after a morning in the parks. Then in the afternoon, we decide where we want to spend the evening. No fast passes, just don't need them for our 2nd park of the day. We always go slower and rest a lot, eat when we want to, and sometimes just spend time looking at things we usually used to rush by. It's great. We have a list of things to do and see and have not finished them yet.
No matter what you do you will have fun!
 
Magic Kingdom (my minimal walk tour)
Map here
http://www.wdwinfo.com/maps/disney-magic-kingdom-map.jpg

Take the Walt Disney World Train upon entrance.
1.People Mover (Tomorrowland Transit Authority)
2.Carousel of Progress
3.Mickeys Philharmagic
4.Haunted Mansion

Lunch--Be Our Guest-Columbia Harbour House

5.The Hall Of Presidents
6. Liberty Square River Boat
7. Country Bears Jamboree
8. Pirate's Of The Caribbean

Break for snack/ .Plaza Restaurant
Shop
Afternoon Parade-Festival Of Fantasy

Hugs Mel
 
Some of my favorite low-key activities are riding the Liberty Belle Steamboat and the steam train in the Magic Kingdom, the resort monorail, and the Main Street Vehicles. The nice thing is you get to see a lot while you're taking a leisurely ride. Same goes for the Peoplemover, but the snag with that is that they can't slow down the moving walkway. So, it can affect people with mobility issues.

As others have mentioned, show type attractions like the Hall of Presidents and the American Adventure are good, too.
 
Took my husband's aunt several years back. She is not a ride person. This is what she enjoyed:
Magic Kingdom
Hall of Presidents
Carousel of Progress
Mickey's Philharmagic
Riverboat
Pirates of the Caribbean
Train
Parades, especially Electrical Parade. Scored her a great spot near Liberty Tree Tavern, saw the fireworks from the same spot without some of the affects, and crowds

Epcot
American Adventure
Impressions de France
Spaceship Earth
Universe of Energy show
Living Seas
World Showcase countries, shops
Boatride from International Gateway to DHS, rode it back but stopped and checked out Beach Club, Yacht Club and Boardwalk

DHS
Voyage of Little Mermaid
Fantasmic
Lunch at Brown Derby
Great Movie Ride
Beauty and the Beast
Everything else at this park she loved is now sadly gone.

Animal Kingdom
Safari
Nemo and Lion King shows
Flights of Wonder
Trails
Train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch
Tough to be a Bug

We had dinner at 1900 Park Fare, then sat in the lobby and enjoyed the music. Then rode monorail to CR and Poly and checked those out.

Also rode the monorail to Epcot

Dinner at Boma and checking out the animals.

The shows, shopping, resorts and dining kept her busy and she enjoyed it all!
 
I've been to Disney more as a senior than as a kid. There is plenty of live street entertainment to enjoy at the parks especially at Epcot's World Showcase. The show attractions are good, too and they have them at every park. There are rides that are quite manageable for seniors. Boat rides and train rides are easy. There are parades and fireworks and water shows to enjoy.

We do rent scooters, now. We feel we can accomplish so much more using a scooter that it's well worth the extra cost. We don't ache at all coming out of the park. It's quite nice having a seat for the parades and fireworks.

We mix it up by doing low key rides with shows and alternating them. The shows are a good rest. You can do the same with dining; it's a nice rest.

You can try with walking, but I would be ready to go with a scooter. You can break up your day with going in the morning in one direction at the park, go back to the resort for a rest/nap, and then go back to the park and go the other direction. When we did it this way we usually spent 3 to 4 hours in the morning in the parks and then took a two hour rest at the resort and then return for another 3 to 4 hours at the park. You do waste some time going back and forth twice.

With a scooter we can manage 6 to 8 hours at the park all at once. We do have a meal at the half way point. For us, this is the way to go, now.
 


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