Taking mom "home"!

[skorpie]

I'm finally taking my 88 yr old mom to the BCV on Jan 13-16. She's only heard us talking about going "Home" since 2001. It will be a "me and mom" trip- no kids no husband. I know that I can take her into Epcot and rent a wheel chair, but does anyone have a "special" idea/event that perhaps you've tried with a senior citizen that turned out to be special? I plan to show her our 2 Homes(we own at VWL and BCV.) I was thinking about a few nice dinners but any rough rides are out of the question. Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[goldilocks_63]

Wheel chairs fit on the pontoon boats for the fireworks, and then you don't have to strugle with the crowds.

Illuminations is available from BCV.

Also, if you go to GF, the have high tea (make a reservation).

It;'s very pretty in the rose room.

Hope this helps,
Goldi

 

[Maistre Gracey]

What a great thing to do for your Mom!
I wish I could get my Mom to visit with us...

Enjoy your trip!

MG

 

[LisaS]

DH and I are taking my 85-years-young mom for 5 nights at BWV in May. It will be her first trip to WDW so everything will be new to her. We plan to do things like the 3-D movies, live shows, parades and fireworks in each of the parks. My mom is in very good shape for her age so we plan to take her on a few rides such as the riverboat, Pirates, Haunted Mansion (if she can handle getting from the moving walkway into and out of a doom buggy), maybe even Soarin' if she's feeling adventurous, Maelstrom, the boat ride in Mexico, etc. -- all gentle rides.

I'm thinking she also would enjoy the Carousel of Progress, given that she personally experienced many of the different stages of "progress" during her lifetime. We plan to do "Walt Disney - One Man's Dream" at MGM, again because she will remember a lot of the things on display there. We're planning to eat at the 50's Prime Time for similar reasons.

We also plan to have dinner one night at AKL. DH and I have stayed there a few times so mom has heard a lot about it. I want her to see it for herself. We also plan to tour a few other resorts since I think she will enjoy seeing all the theming -- the Grand Floridian, YC and BC (since they are just the other side of the lake from BWV), and WL come to mind as places my mom would enjoy seeing. I think she will enjoy taking a ride on the boats that go between some of the resorts and nearby parks. (I love that boat that goes from the Grand Floridian and MK -- I think my mom will, too.)

I haven't really started planning our trip yet, so these are just off the top of my head. I'm very interested to see what other people have to suggest on the subject of taking an 80-something to WDW!

 

[WOW]

I used to take my Aunt when she was 88 90 and 91, sometimes just her and me and sometimes with other family members. She was in good health so she didn't need a wheelchair, but we lost her in February.

On the lighter side and the good times!!!!!!! She became a Disney nut like me and just loved going to WDW. She was a pro!!!! Some of the great things we shared with her are: The Illuminations Cruise at Epcot, she was just in awe of it all, she loved the Mimes at France and Italy, dinner at the castle was a great place for her --- one year it was her birthday and they treated her extra special. She enjoyed the Polynesian Luau (I think it has a different name now). We went to "Millionaire" at MGM and they put us in the front seats and she was so excited, The Presidents and the show at the American Adventure were also good. She enjoyed the dinners at the steak restaurant at the Contemporary (can't think of the name) and most of restaurants. What we did do was ask for child's portions as she couldn't eat too much at one time and they always accomodated her.

Another favorite was the dancing fountain at Epcot, she loved to just sit and watch it "dance". We are members at OKW and she used to love to just hang around the condo and chill and go to the main pool.

There are so many memories that you can make there with her. Those are the precious things that you will always remember. I hope that you both have a wonderful time.

 

[fkj2]

If she has a wheelchair at home, you can easily take it with you to the airport. The flight attendents are great about taking it once you board the plane and it will be waiting for you upon arrival. If not, you might want to consider arranging for that transportation service within the airport to save her some walking and from being run over by the crowds.

She might enjoy 50s Prime Time Cafe for a meal. My mom always enjoyed Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, Pirates of Carribbean and all are HA. The Kodak attraction is HA and she loved Figment. In Animal Kingdom, your mom might really enjoy The Lion King production; really, any of the stage productions. Oh, and The Land at Epcot. We even did Spaceship Earth.

If she doesn't have her own and you need to rent a wheelchair while you're there, keep the slip and you can go to other parks and retrieve another wheelchair without paying at each individual park or DTD.

I always thought the cast members were wonderfully accommodating to us. Just thinking about it, well. . . you can imagine. Have a wonderful trip!

 

[MLK-RI]

We have been fortunate that both sets of parents have come with us for visits "home". My folks are the older (85/82) and have the mobility issues. Dad got an Electric drving chair (ECV?) , but we elected for everyone's safety to push mom in a regular wheelchair. They could both get out of the chairs to stand or board a different vehicle if need be, it was the walking that they couldn't do.

They really enjoyed everything about the Animal Kingdom - the animals, the shows, even Killamanjaro Safari was a hit. (That is a bit rough though so might not be an option?) They also loved the AKL and we had breakfast at Boma which they enjoyed, then a "stroll" out onto the savanna viewing area.
Fantasmic, illuminations, a dinner at Spoodles, all things we enjoyed together.

Hope you have a magical time!

 

[dianeschlicht]

Also, with the wheelchair, she will have a comfortable seat for Fantasmic at the top of the stadium in her chair. I think she would enjoy all of the evening fireworks shows on site.

 

[kathleena]

Hope you have a great time with Mom!

One of our bus drivers on this last trip was giving a monologue about the new attractions. He said the oldest person known to ride Soarin' is 104. Said the lady comes a few times a week just to ride it.

It is a very gentle ride and a wonderful movie.

 

[tinkgrl]

Hi,

Have a great time!!!!! I always go to Disney with my mom!!!! BCV is a lot of fun!

 

[JimMIA]

I would certainly consider doing a "Living Legacy" tile at Epcot. We're going to do that with GM and Auntie in December.

 

[DVC Jen]

I would certainly consider doing a "Living Legacy" tile at Epcot. We're going to do that with GM and Auntie in December.

What a wonderful idea. I love that!

We are taking my 82 yr old DMIL to Vero with us next summer. If she would be willing to go to WDW (she isn't because she has mobility issues too) I would love to do that.

 

[T.E. Yeary]

My wife, Judy, arranged to take her parents on a trip to Hawaii. They talked about that trip to everyone they saw. My wife made a special photo/scrapbook album for them, which they kept proudly displayed on their coffee table.

They have both passed, but whenever someone mentions Hawaii or taking a special trip with their elderly parents, my wife gets this far away look in her eyes.

Do it while you can folks, life is too short!

Sincerely,
Tom

 

[dianeschlicht]

I so agree with that, Tom. My parents spent one trip at WDW with us prior to our getting DVC. A short time after that trip, Mom discovered she had breast cancer, and we never got to take another trip with her. Do what you can when you can and make adjustments for mobility etc. Disney makes lots of things easy for folks with mobility issues, and there is plenty for them to enjoy.

 

[babylisa4]

After my dad died 10 years ago, we started taking my mom with us. I am an only child and she sort of depends on me so it was easier to take her than leave her at home. My big suggestion is to not plan on rushing around but sort of set your pace each day. I agree that Prime time was fun for my mom at MGM. My mom doesn't use a wheelchair at home but we had gotten her one because she does have mobility issues. The airlines are good if you want to gate check it and we would get it in between flights to get us through the airports. If she needs a wheelchair at Epcot, she might need one in the airports too. You can either get a service or take your own- just ask the airlines if you think you need to. Because my mom was not used to using a wheelchair after we had been at the parks all day- her neck was really sore form looking up I guess. So take advil or something for that. Also, if you just tell the people at the rides they can stop the moving walkways etc. My mom did a lot of rides but some of the moving sidewalk things were a little more difficult for us to board her on than I thought they would be. I would ask Disney to send you the handicapped guide just for you to be aware of what all is available. I think there are some helpful hints either on this board or on the www.wdwinfo.com site. My mom loved the character meals and really liked having the pictures of her and the characters to take back home. She also loved to people watch and to just be with us. She loved the parades at Magic Kingdom and she just liked all of the snack foods(Dole Whips etc.) that we would just stop and get. Kind of surprising thing to me was that she just didn't have much opinion about what we did. She was content to let us plan everything-so we just kind of had to do things and she liked them but she wouldn't really say what she wanted to do or didn't. Its just like she was along for the ride. The idea about getting child sized portions is a good one too or share an entree and then get desert unless she is a big eater. Some days you might not even feel like you did a bunch but it will be a full day for her so take it easy. My mom even did splash mountain. But we did do the wheelchair entrances a lot because for one thing they give you a little extra care and it was too much for her to even stand up for a long time in line. (Some of these things were kind of a surprise to me since we didn't have these issues at home but remember Disney just takes a lot more stamina- if you are pushing the wheelchair by yourself- you will be using new muscles too so take that into account. It still was worth every minute of it and my mom loved it but I just want you to have realistic expectations and be armed with lots information and resources.

 

[babylisa4]

We also have taken my 86 year old mom to Vero every year for the past 5 years- it is just an easier trip for us than WDW. My mom does use a wheelchair there but each day we would get a home base set up at the pool and she loved just being there and watching all of the people. She would get in the pool- I had a noodle that we would give her and she would just hang on that and float around. She loved sitting in the rockers on the inn porch in the evening and sometimes she wanted just a light dinner and would want to watch tv in the evening and not even go out to eat. (At first it bothered me to leave her but I finally learned she was just tired and really wanted to rest in the evening but she didn't care that we went on out to eat.) We did take her out to the beach- got chairs closest to the ramp and that was about all she could walk in the sand. Getting her on and off the beach was a little more difficult. I have two big teenage boys that would just get on each side of her and basically hold her up. Also don't forget to take lots of pictures with her in them that she can have to remember the trip by.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Not sure how much traveling you plan to do around WDW, but my mom really loved the Afternoon Tea at GF. It was a lovely relaxing time overlooking the garden there.
Mom gets an ECV delivered to our resort by an Orlando company, I forget the name though, they also pick it up before you depart. It is very reasonable.
Mom doesn't do alot of rides, but as others have mentioned does enjoy people watching. She also enjoys all the gardens, the different snacks, and the shows.

 

[skorpie]

I really appreciate everyone's ideas. I really appreciate babylisa4's advice about my issues pushing mom around in a wheelchair. Mom doesnt use one but for WDW I will coax her into it. She really can't walk around too long. I'll look intoo the Illuminations cruise and the otehr things mentioned. I can't wait to take her! Thanks

 

[SueM in MN]

If you follow the link in my signature to the disABILITIES Board, you will find a lot of information abotu travel with a wheelchair.