Seniors at Disney?

[Genieklone]

Hey folks, TIA for helping me on this one.

I'm not sure that this is the right forum, since my folks are not disabled. But we will be meeting with my parents who are older (in 70s) and they have never walked more than a few times around the block!

We were just talking and my mom asked me what do you think she should bring. I am afraid that the walking you do in WDW will put them out of commision.

What do you think I should bring/do to make them more comfortable? They are coming with the 2 grandkids and I don't want to wipe them out. Mom faints a lot when she is in extreme heat!! ahhh!! Maybe we should have gone to another park???

 

[ntsammy5]

Consider ECVs for them. The walking will be a problem, almost definitely.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I would start asking about their ability to walk to a location that is about a mile from their house. When they say they could do that, then say "and back". After they give you funny looks then add "Three times in a row". At that point they will tell you that you are out of your mind.

Point out to them that once around the World Showcase Lagoon Promenade is more than 1.25 miles, and most people tend to do eight to twelve miles per day at WDW.

Then ask the following questions. Here are the suggested answers to go with them.

1. Are you disabled (even temporarily)? Yes.

2. Do the people you are traveling with, such as your family, know you are disabled? Yes.

3. Do you expect to meet anyone you know during this trip who may not know you are disabled. Probably No!

4. Do you expect to meet a bunch of people who you will probably never meet again in your life? Probably yes!

5. Is there any reason at all that you should care what these people think about you? Absolutely No!!

6. Will using a wheelchair or ECV make for a better vacation for you and your family? Absolutely YES!

 

[Bete]

If they car drive they can do scooters. They can practice on scooters in the retail stores like Wal-Mart.

It will cost $40 a day per scooter from Disney. If money is tight, maybe they can share a scooter and take turns with it. I would be careful on the sharing that they indeed take turns or I would get two of them. The added cost is worth it; because, you will get more time in the park with everyone being able to cope better. There are other options to rent scooters for cheaper from outside rental companies. Personally, I like the Disney scooter; because, it's well built and if your battery charge gets used up or something else goes wrong you can get a replacement very quickly. I don't want to deal with chargiung them up each night, etc. either; so, I always use a Disney scooter.

Doing a wheelchair is a cheaper alternative, but some able body seniors get offended by this choice. Also, it gets tiring to push one all day.

I would never put my parents at risk by chancing a day of walking at Disney especially with hot and humid weather. My hubby is 72 and he wouldn't go if he didn't have a scooter. I'm younger and I push a wheelchair with my 88 year old Alzheimer's mother in it. She's very petite and I'm grateful for that one.

The only exception I would possibly make to the above is with half days at the park like possibly your arrival and departure day.

 

[SueM in MN]

We had 2 older than 80 women on our trip with us in March (my mom and my MIL), but both are used to walking. My mom especially does walk a fair distance each day and my MIL had been 'in training'. We are not power tourers and stopped, or at least slowed down, quite often.

I would definately agree with the others who suggested an ECV (or 2) in the situation you described. Practicing in stores is a great idea because if they feel somewhat comfortable driving those big things with a cart attached, any other ECV is going to feel small compared to that.
Once you get there, Epcot is the best park to start with because it has a lot of large spaces. MK and AK are more the expert parks to make sure they have a little practice before going to.

 

[danders2]

I am a senior in many ways but definitely no where near the 80s and the walking is rough on anybody. I do have a heart condition and I am not suppose to be in the heat any length of time which does not fit in real well with my love of the world!!!! I get the doctor to write a note stating my problem then take it to City Hall at the kingdom which allows me to stand/sit in the ac even while I am waiting for other family members to get out of a ride.