Curious - Other Adult Kids and Senior Parents Traveling Together?

[xterratri]

On our first ever visit to WDW in Apr 04, it was just my mom(52), my sister(18), and myself(31) but we talked my relatively recent widowed grandmother(75) into going back with us for the Dec trip. So some thoughts on travelling with older adults: Grandma has had both knees replaced and has a limited range of flexion in them so we discovered Space Mountain seats are too low and too cramped(other than problems getting in and out, she didn't mind the ride). After that we were a little more careful with evaluating ride entry. Grandma(and Mom) skipped Splash Mountain, Rockin Roller Coaster, and Tower of Terror but otherwise did everything including Test Track.
The first day/night I had booked a Candlelight Processional dinner package with dinner at the Garden Grill(which we had planned on even before I found out about the package) and then the show. It was awesome and we tried going to see the Processional again 2 nights later but it was Saturday and we didn't get in line early enough. The point though is that Epcot is a rather large amount of walking which Grandma did all of and then we hit MVMCP at MK the next night. By the third day, we decided we would get a wheelchair for Grandma because her knees got so they were quite painful. We had planned on going back to the rooms to relax each afternoon but that only happened twice out of 7 days there. It's so easy to get caught up in wanting to do this or seeing that show that time gets away and before you know it, it's 12 hours after you left your rooms that day. Our solution for the our next trip(s) was to buy DVC so we know that we will always be going back so we don't have to try and do everything each trip. Even after 13 days there in 2004, there's still stuff I haven't seen or done.
Meals with older people: portion sizes are a real problem. We did Garden Grill for dinner, Mama Melrose's for dinner/Fantasmic, Planet Hollywood for dinner, and Chef Mickey's for breakfast. Grandma liked Chef Mickey's the best becuase of the buffet style so she wasn't overwhelmed with the amount of food. No, we aren't too old for characters just because the youngest in the travelling party is 18. It was really neat interacting and Grandma got more character kisses that I can count.
Another note on wheelchairs and Disney transportation: don't wait in line with everyone else, wait just to the side of the front of the line and the wheelchair user/party gets loaded first. Grandma can walk OK just not long distances so that made transferring for rides easier but we got "yelled" at by the Transpo people for trying to wait in line to get loaded. Now we know.
So by all means take your older friends and relatives. Grandma enjoyed herself and hopefully we made her first holiday season in 55 years without Grandpa a little better than it would have been otherwise.

 

[travelbug]

Great thread! I'm taking my parents to WDW (dad 75 and mom 72) in just a few weeks. They've been to WDW on day trips in years past while on other Florida vacations. But they've never been to MGM or AK, and they've never stayed onsite. We'll be staying for 9 nights (7 nights BCV and 2 nights POFQ), and we're all excited!

We'll be using a wheelchair for mom because she has bad arthritis in her legs and can't walk very far. She doesn't want to miss seeing anything, so she has agreed to the wheelchair.

xterratri, thanks for the tip about wheelchairs and Disney transportation. We certainly would have otherwise gotten in the regular line as you did at first. Did you get any dirty looks from those in line, thinking you were unfairly cutting in front of them?

I've vacationed pretty often with my parents in the past, and we always have a great time. It will be fun enjoying WDW at a leisurely pace with them.

 

[xterratri]

There is a great section on the DISboards titled DISabilities. I very much wish I had read their frequently asked questions and a few of the other sticky posts before our last trip because we figured stuff out the hard way such as where to wait for transportation. Another thing I found out when I went to get a wheelchair for the third day was that there is a discount for multiday rentals if you pay ahead so days 3,4, and 5 with the chair were cheaper. I knew that we could park hop with our receipt and get a chair at each park but didn't know/won't have thought to ask about multiday discounts. The DISabilities has some great info about ECVs(those scooter things) and off site rentals of both wheelchairs and ECVs. Advantages of off site rentals that are delivered right to your hotel are cost and it allows you to use it around the resort too. While it would be nice to have that planned ahead of time, apparently the companies are good about responding under short notice and the resorts apparently do have some free chairs for use by guests also. I haven't decided what we are using yet for our next trip end of May/ early June. Heat will be a concern for all of us Northerners(although I'm hoping the WDW trip will help to acclimate me from ME weather so I don't wilt when I go to San Antonio a week after seeing Mickey) so we will definitely be making afternoon trips back to OKW or may just do nice relaxing sit down lunches in A/C and then get lighter dinners.

 

[Taja]

Unfortunately, my parents didn't have the opportunity to go to WDW. By the time it grew beyond MK, my father was experiencing severe spinal degeneration.

However, both loved Disneyland and visited several times each year until about age 80. I traveled with one or both of them for many years to Disneyland, Las Vegas and other locations. We did things together and separately, depending on our preferences.

It's really great when you can be friends with your parents and really enjoy them!