My parents are so naive.

[2Lunds]

I'm about to plan a very similar trip! My parents decided to accompany my husband and me on our trip next fall. The last time they went to Disney was in the 90s and my Dad still uses that trip as a reference point "Well did you know you can get a dining plan? And did you know they have a bus system?" YES, DAD.

They're both technophobes so there would be no using MDE or ADR / FP+ booked if I left it to them. I've offered to plan the whole thing, and they've agreed to leave it in my hands.

I started by making a spreadsheet of every attraction/show etc... from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Walt_Disney_World_Resort_attractions) and sending it to them (the links are still clickable when I paste into Excel, so they can read exactly what everything is). I made a separate tab for each park and asked them to rank
1. MUST DO
2. WANT TO DO
3. DON'T CARE IF WE DO
4. DON'T WANNA DO

Turns out they're only really jazzed about a handful of attractions, and noting at HS at all, so they'll be enjoying a relaxing pool day while we go. I gave them a list of 2 counter and 2 table service restaurants in each park to choose between, and the same for Disney Springs. Since they're older, but early risers, we plan to use EMH whenever possible, use Park Hopper to start and end our day in whichever parks have extended hours, and get out of the parks mid-day for nap/pool/dinner.

Any attraction we want to do that they don't, I have a nearby lounge or shady bench spot mapped out for them to chill out at.

So this is a very long-winded way to say, don't try to show them *everything*, find out where your priorities match up and enjoy those activities together.

 

[YawningDodo]

This is the most difficult for any adult child to grasp. It took me years. As I got older I changed with the times yet my parents didn't.

Another thing that's difficult for a young adult to grasp is those getting on in age parents will soon not be able to travel at all and far too soon won't be around. I know I didn't fully appreciate those facts of life until much later in life. Excellent advice, Macprincess! I hope toonaspie takes all this advice and makes a little trip her parents will enjoy even if it isn't her perfect trip.

Honestly...this. It's why I asked my mom to come with me on "my" trip in 2015, and why I'm thinking that if my housemate doesn't come with me in 2020 I'll as Mom again (Dad hates theme parks, so asking him would not be doing anyone any favors). I enjoy solo trips, but part of me always thinks...there'll always be time to go solo and do everything my way. There won't always be time to go with Mom. And that's hard to grasp and accept but just a basic fact of life.

 

[Dbktmc]

Dh and I and I are 54 and 49 respectively. We may be the age of your parents, I don't know. But we still take his Mom and my Parents every other year..76, 75 and 80. So age is relative until you give us the age range, IMO. If they are our age, 50s-60s then the tech aspect isn't beyond their grasp and you should just be able to explain that things have changed and you have to go with a plan approach to get most things done...need to kinda know park hours, which park, which days and uses of their FPs. They will likely be into shows and less thrilling rides...the old staples in fantasy land and one or two elsewhere. As far as driving two days...well that presents a whole other set of issues that you can deal with one of two ways...pay for your own flight or ride with them.

If they are my parents age...which I doubt because the "tone" of your post, sounds on the mid 20ish side to me( although 2007 CP may make you 30ish)...but the internet makes assumptions sometimes. You have to plan according to what they can physically do...a lot. My Mom has the most physical limitations that the other two, though her pride will not let it show much. So I base my trips with them on them...period. They raised me to cherish these years with them and DH and I are a little slower paced as well. We focus on rides my Mom can do safely and eating out...which they love. It is about the time with us and getting away from the "norm" at home. Anything we do is amazing to them and they usually have a fantastic time. MIL got a little overheated once and my parents had some gastric issues but you get the drift. Dad caught a cold at the end of their last trip with us...as did I.

MIL loves to fly and we love to fly as well. However, my parents do not. They prefer driving due to expense and anxiety of TSA, etc. They just have always lived that way. So our last trip with them we drove down. I had leased a new Cadillac and they were in hog heaven. I make dam sure to treat them like a king and queen when we go. In fact if it weren't for them, I would not be the adult I am today.

I can remember being the person you are and dreading the time it took to travel with them in my 20s...kinda on the cheap side, using a paper map, taking a cooler of food and stopping at the rest area on the way to eat lunch... GEEZ folks can't we just get a burger. It is the gen gap today like it was then...but looking back it was fantastic and those memories are priceless.

It is like I tell the younger patients I treat...at 18 your parents are stupid and don't know anything, and certainly don't know you enough to be giving you their advice

at 23....eh, Mom makes a little more sense but you have to be careful with her "old school" advice and tweak it a bit. Dad is reaching retirement and is well, good ole dad and still is good to ask about money issues.

at 35...Mom is a bit of whimsy and magical and you see her as a oracle of sorts...dad is great and loves to drink a beer with you and reminisce.

at 45...Mom is a wise wise woman who knew you the best all along and just smiles when you ask her questions and is noted for her honesty, loyalty and love. Dad sleeps more in his chair when you visit but is very interested in where you are, the successes you have had and enjoys going anywhere with you to get out of the house.

Please don't loose patience in helping them plan...do it with a glad heart, knowing they won't be there all the time. My FIL had his last trip with us to WDW in 2004, with Cancer and a scooter in tow it was all about him. It was perfect, fantastic, slow and enjoyable. We have a pic of DH and his brother, in sunglasses on either side of the scooter and as his security agents, guarding the surrounding two feet of space and protecting the ankles of others.

Relax, find the joy in planning with them and laughing to yourself when they say and think they can "do stuff" that you know isn't possible. Some of this relaxing comes with age and looking back. You won't be disappointed.

And like PP feel free to ignore my advice...most 30 year olds do...LOL!

I wish that there was a "love" button. I'm 48 and wish that my parents would join us at Disney. They are now 73 and 79 and, due to money concerns and medical issues, haven't joined us the past 2 trips. Everytime that we go without them I just worry that they won't ever have the opportunity to join us again. We tour very differently when they are with us but it is still enjoyable. I love watching them enjoy the park and just "let go". As we get older, we turn into the care givers. Our parents took care of us for many, many years and now we have to face the reality that they will not be with us forever.

Okay, I am willing to admit that I came off as sounding a bit harsh in regards to my parents which was not the case from the beginning of this thread. My concern was the lack of time we would have there (in conjunction w/expected crowds) as we clearly are not capable of going to WDW every year like some can (for both time and money reasons). Thank you to all those that mean well. My biggest stress came from worrying over FP and hotel booking deadlines.

But I have some good news to report: in the past couple of days, my dad and I have been working out the plans for the trip hardcore. And he's made some surprising changes to the plan (of his own accord). We are going to fly instead of drive after all. I suspect that he knew that driving would take too much time away from everyone involved. So we're gonna do a morning flight on day 1 and a late flight on day 4 home. The plane tickets have now been booked. We hope to book everything else tomorrow. We are now going late September instead of late October, which hopefully means less crowds. I know this means we've missed our FP booking window. However I'm not that concerned. I will be relying on MDE hardcore and hoping that the thinner Sept crowds will help us out.

Our biggest concern in the end is apparently going to be money. Doing all I can to help. Parents are excited about the trip so that has given me drive and optimism.

I'm so happy that things are turning around for you. Trust me, you will look back on this trip for the rest of your life and will be so grateful for the time that you were able to spend with them.

 

[fairestoneofall]

i am such a disney planner like everyone here and we've driven down to florida and did ONE day of Disney in AUGUST and it was still super MAGICAL. trust us, it's freaking doable. sure you may not ride on FoP or TSM without waiting for like 2hrs, but do they care? maybe they just wanna eat a mickey waffle in front of the castle with you.

This. My husband and I went down for one day on a whim, after a wedding I photographed in St. Augustine. We were able to find one ADR and make a few random FPs. But it was all very last-minute. Other than being super tired from not getting sleep the night before, we had a great time. We did what we could and enjoyed that. It was nice to not have to stress of feeling like we had to do EVERYTHING.

We ended up at a Disney Springs resort, which had the best value at that time. So, consider that option as well.

We currently have a trip planned with our youngest for two park days and MNSSHP later this month. We are going into it knowing we have a few must-dos and then will do what we can otherwise. The youngest is choosing what we do because it's "his" trip. We're going to have a blast!

 

[MinnieMyers]

It has definitely changed since they were last there, but that is where you come in! You will still have a great time!