Help: Grandparents want to come to WDW but don't want to walk or stand in line much

[famy27]

OP mentioned that the parents are doing a "timeshare swap" into Silver Lake. Do they actually own at Silver Lake, or are they exchanging in? If they are exchanging in and don't own at an Orlando area resort, they should be able to do an exchange into an onsite resort. Chances are they'd get SSR or OKW, but they might get AKV. You could possibly get two units if the one bedroom would be too tight for your group. I don't know the trade power of what they own, but you may be able to get two units at SSR for a relatively cheap cost. Or exchange into a one bedroom and then rent points for a studio from an owner and try to get assigned rooms close to each other, or connecting.

We took my parents with us to WDW four years ago. My dad has bad knees, and he debated renting a scooter. He decided to test the waters and see how he did without it. He ended up being fine and handled the walking with no problem. My parents had such a good time that March, that they went back in September of the same year by themselves and stayed in a one-bedroom at BWV. Now they are planning to join us on one of our trips next year. We don't do every single thing together, but we do try to make a few ADRs that are of interest to everyone. They like character meals just to see my DD get excited when meeting the princesses. It's such a fun experience and so worth it to rearrange your normal style of touring a bit. The pictures of my dad dancing with Chip and Dale at the dance party in Tomorrowland are some of older DDs absolute favorites. Those are the memories that you'll be glad to have.

 

[chelynnah]

I don't know exactly but I think the cost of two vehicles will be at least 300 each for a week, with gas. Add $30 per day for parking and you are adding up.

I agree about herding everyone out and back. I would not do it. In our case, traveling with my sister would be a nightmare in regards to getting out. She works nights, her clock can't just change. She's pokey, I'm not. No one would be happy.

Worse, $20 per car per day so $40 per day parking

 

[Nancyg56]

Worse, $20 per car per day so $40 per day parking

Can you tell that I do not drive in Disney?

 

[Novakm]

We went with my daughter's family and stayed at BAy Lake Tower. We don't have mobility issues, but are getting to the point that we don't have the same energy as a young family.

The BLT 2 bedroom unit was perfect. We were there when everyone woke up, and at night to tuck in the little ones. There was room to relax in the evening, or while others were napping.
We used the third bathroom as a nursery for the baby ( the crib just fit), So we did not have to tiptoe around for naps and early bedtime.
It's on the monorail, but also close enough to to walk to MK. Super convenient, especially if you have a stroller.

You could offset some of the cost if you cook some meals in the room. Definitely look into renting points, since it's way less expensive than booking through Disney.

I agree with most of the others that it's super important to make it clear up front that you don't need to do everything together. Tring to stay together the whole time is a recipe for frustration. With cell phones, it's easy to find each other after your split up.

As far as the scooter rental, they may change their minds once they get there and see how many others are using them. I even saw college kids on spring break using scooters, so there is no stigma attached.

 

[kwdw]

OP, I think if you stay on-site so they can join you as they are able each day, all the other concerns become minor. So, I'd push that topic. The flexibility that will provide is huge.

 

[GrrArrgh]

There are so, so many other people with scooters. I might rent at least one anyway for them. My mom, who is 75, was a real trooper on our trip and did manage, but I think she would have been far more comfortable if we had gotten a scooter. With the heat and humidity, we were all feeling wiped by mid morning. The distances between things are just too vast for those with mobility issues. Just getting from the front gate to, say, fantasyland, is a hell of a hike. Use the Magic Kingdom railroad when you can instead of cutting through the park.

I would much prefer to stay onsite than off, but that to me is less of a problem than the issue of getting around while in the parks.

 

[kjw42]

We were in a similar predicament with my mother on our last trip and it was pretty rough. However, since you parents come as a pair, perhaps they'll be less likely to push themselves. If it's too much, would they be happy just hanging out with each other at the hotel or taking extended breaks in the parks?

 

[smidgy]

I vote for onsite. often us older folks don't see very well to drive after dark, esp on unfamiliar roads. I think you would end up being "joined at the hip" more if you stay offsite.

on property, there are more options to split up and meet backup later. good luck and have fun!

 

[Yarbogash]

Excuse the late reply. Trying to sort this out has taken more than a few conversations but I think we have made some headway. Like I said before, every post in this thread has been great. I have gotten so many good ideas and useful perspectives here.

My folks are set on using their timeshare. They can't bring themselves to spend money when they have that available. It's frustrating on the one hand because like so many have noted staying onsite would be so much easier for everybody but at the same time I am immensely grateful that they are offering us a free and nice place to stay. My overall concern is making this work for everybody and I have gotten thru to them that the crowds and walking can be pretty intense. They can exchange their timeshare thru RCI and there's nothing there right now for onsite. I've had them set up an ongoing search for anything onsite. Disney wil cost more 'points' so I expect they will only be able to get 1 unit for themselves. If they get a hit they will take it and we will happily pay our own way likely by renting dvc points. I'm expecting SSR will come up; we love that resort and DVC availability is always good so fingers crossed.

In the parks we plan for a relaxed itinerary centered around adr's and a few special events we can all enjoy. I am going to try to very gently sell them on the idea of a scooter and we will see how that goes.

Ty again everybody! Every Disney vacation we take seems to be a work in progress right up until the day of departure but it always all works out. So same old same old.

 

[Yarbogash]

Just a little update:
We decided on spending a couple nights at CBR. So will be 5 days at the timeshare and 3 nights at CBR. My dad wants no part of the theme parks and will be happy by the pool. My mom is gung ho for the parks and I think this will give her a taste and plenty of time to take it easy without anyone breaking the bank.

 

[JMommyof3]

Glad you guys are making some headway. Have you looked into MK cabanas at all? Seems like it might work well in your situation.

 

[Ametista]

My mom wanted to do something similar (much younger but has had hip and knee surgeries and refuses to use a scooter). It did not go well, at all, and I would never do it again. Ended up being her in a lot of pain and pissed, us pissed, she was angry we would go without her, we were angry she expected us to give up our vacation for what we told her would probably happen. Never again.

 

[luvthemouse71]

Hi,

We are doing a cruise in early March. DH and DW with our two kids, DS 6, DD 1. My parents, both in their late seventies, are coming on the cruise and want to join us in Orlando for the week after the cruise. We'd be in Orlando Mar 12-19. This is surprising as we go to WDW almost every year they have never expressed interest in coming before. They have even offered to put us up for free using time share swap at Silver Lake, condo resort right by AK.
Sounds great, a very generous offer and I am very happy family can spend more time together but problems are we prefer staying on site (I'd rather pay and stay on site), we don't like going when it's really busy (crowd calendars say that week will be very busy), my mom said she wants to go and 'do what we do' but she doesn't want to stand in line anywhere and on top of that neither of them has good mobility and neither would use a wheelchair or scooter.
So in my mind this visit could just be a disaster. I've stayed at Silver Lake, decent but not a 'destination resort.' Not somewhere my parents would be happy too long sitting around while we are at the parks.
I'm thinking if we take their offer of accommodation I'd splurge on a VIP tour for us all but not sure if they could handle even that.
Not sure what to do. Anyone had experience with seniors who won't use mobility assist at WDW? Any tips on how to make this work?

I would find a way to make this work, even if that means you skip some things that you usually do or you have to go at a slower pace. I say this because on my dad's last WDW trip at 69, He made a comment that "this could be my last trip". I kind of laughed and said that he would live into his 90's and this would not be his last trip. The following year, he was diagnosed very suddenly with Stage 4 lung cancer and passed away two months later. I cherish all of those memories of our trips..

Not trying to be morbid..just trying to point out that none of us knows when we will lose those we love.

Gently tell them that there is a lot of walking and that there is no shame in using a chair or scooter. Maybe once you all are there, they will see for themselves how much walking there is and will be more receptive to using assistance. If no, then they will just have to join when they can, they can do that and still have an enjoyable trip.

 

[Yarbogash]

Glad you guys are making some headway. Have you looked into MK cabanas at all? Seems like it might work well in your situation.

Not a bad idea. I was down on that whole concept (especially how they look) but now I get how they could be very useful. However Grandma wants to hit all of our son's favourites and his favourites are all in Epcot and AK, which we love too, so that will be our focus. Would also like to get a look at one in person first.

And very happy bonus, I got a pin code so our rooms at CBR just got a little cheaper. Yay!

 

[Yarbogash]

My mom wanted to do something similar (much younger but has had hip and knee surgeries and refuses to use a scooter). It did not go well, at all, and I would never do it again. Ended up being her in a lot of pain and pissed, us pissed, she was angry we would go without her, we were angry she expected us to give up our vacation for what we told her would probably happen. Never again.

Wow, very sorry to hear that. Sucks when something that's supposed to be fun for everybody goes off the rails like that.
My mom hates being a burden on anyone so that if she was laid up she would insist we all carry on. But I'd be feeling so bad. Like somebody suggested previously if she has issues I'm gonna get a scooter and just say it's there if you want it.
Hope you guys have or have had a better visit since!

 

[Nancyg56]

Wow, very sorry to hear that. Sucks when something that's supposed to be fun for everybody goes off the rails like that.
My mom hates being a burden on anyone so that if she was laid up she would insist we all carry on. But I'd be feeling so bad. Like somebody suggested previously if she has issues I'm gonna get a scooter and just say it's there if you want it.
Hope you guys have or have had a better visit since!

I'll tell you, that scooter can be a life saver! My friend reserved one for our trip and I was so grateful! She was in so much pain on day one that my heart was breaking. There would not have been any way to go all day that way.

Everyone is so helpful when it comes to scooters. Even the most proficient user may have a learning curve with one they've never used, and the cast members understand that.

 

[Yarbogash]

Trip is done and it actually went pretty well. As I expected neither of them would use any kind of mobility assistance. I tried, went with some of the above suggestions but no, no takers. So we slowed it down a lot. Did one nearly full day at epcot with both of my parents, my Dad dozed on a lot of benches but they had a a lot of fun going on Mission Space and Soaring with us. They really liked Soaring. We just let my Dad sit when he wanted and ended early. Other days we were together for parts and gave everyone space and time to do their own thing when we weren't together.

I think the big upside to the more relaxed schedule was because we would be back from the parks earlier or hanging out at the resort we had time to do dinners together at some non-park restaurants we had never been to before and they were fantastic. We usually ate right after 5 so crowds were very light. Olivia's is now one of my favourite Disney restaurants. Everybody loved Boma, huge hit and exploring the lodge and seeing the animals was great fun. Whispering Canyon was a hoot; I didn't tell my folks anything about it and they got no hints as we were seated. When the waitress came up and did some of her routine my mom thought the waitress was insane and wanted to leave. Mom figured it out and we had such a fun time. Dad and I had the endless platter; I didn't know my Dad could eat so much. It was a blast.

Here's a pic of us after our dinner at WL:

Great trip and ty again for all the good advice here!

 

[mrzrich]

Hooray! It is a trip you and your family will cherish forever!

 

[elaine amj]

So glad you had such a wonderful time!! Thanks for coming back to report to us! Where did you end up staying?

 

[Yarbogash]

So glad you had such a wonderful time!! Thanks for coming back to report to us! Where did you end up staying?

Very welcome!

We ended up doing 3 nights CBR, 5 nights Silver Lake. No Disney resort came up for our week to swap into or at least none we could catch. Both resorts were very nice; CBR made for a good resort day. Suites at Silver Lake were huge which was welcome after the cruise we did the first week.