Tips/ideas for couple trip - adult with mild mobility and cognitive issues

[Wrexali]

This may be a little long and rambly, but I feel like you may be able to give better advice if you know the big picture.

I’ve been away from the forum for quite a while but am coming to WDW in May with my husband, who doesn’t generally do a lot of walking (he can go maybe a 1/2 to 1 mile and then needs to sit down) or standing and I don’t think he is very self-aware of his own limitations, so if I suggest a scooter he will probably pitch a fit. He also gets easily confused, doesn’t have a great sense of direction, and does best with me navigating and arranging things. I think he could probably get to the bus and back to the resort (French quarter) to take a nap and then meet me, but he might get a little lost unless I was right there at the bus stop to meet him, for example.

He loves Disney World and when I offered him a couple of ideas for how to use some frequent flyer miles this May, he picked Disney.

I think this should work well because there won’t be any driving (he also has macular degeneration and probably won’t be driving much longer, but he prefers to be the one who drives, so taking a trip with no driving at all is best).

Also, we’ve visited WDW about every 5 years or so, so it is familiar. I chose French Quarter because it is a smaller resort, but we’ve usually stayed at the Dolphin.

A few questions:

I got him a walking stick with a seat. Has anyone used something like this for waiting in lines and was it helpful? Could he carry it on most of the rides? If not, is there a way to store it?

If we were to decide he needed a scooter last minute because he finds he just can’t get by without it, how doable might this be?

He loves his iPhone and should be able to use it for admission, rides, etc. but could I store his park pass/linked to any ride reservations on my apple wallet/Apple Watch to make it easier if he has trouble with the app? What about getting him a magic band? I have an apple watch but he does not. Just now I asked him to check the Disney app and make sure the dining reservations I had shared with him were showing up, but he said he couldn't remember his password and the app froze, so I think we do need a back-up for him using his phone.

Is it worth it to do Genie or lightning lanes to limit how long he has to stand? (I miss Fast Pass).

We typically take a few photos but have never been to a photo pass station or got memory maker. Last trip I had a couple selfies of us, but I am feeling like I don’t know how much longer he will be able to travel, so I’m considering getting some photo pass photos just to have a couple nice photos of us together to save. How are the prices if you just want to buy 2-3 photos as opposed to going all out with memory maker?

I’ve browsed some threads to learn a bit more about some of these things, but didn’t find a lot that was helpful in this specific situation. Thanks in advance for any advice or threads you can direct me to where some of these questions may be discussed.

 

[lanejudy]

Wow, I feel like I could have written a lot of this. I'll give some thoughts...

I got him a walking stick with a seat. Has anyone used something like this for waiting in lines and was it helpful? Could he carry it on most of the rides? If not, is there a way to store it?

A cane with a fold-out seat, with 3 legs? It can be used as a cane/walking stick but not as a seat/chair. Portable seats or folding chairs are not allowed. Those cane/seat things are also unsteady with just 3 legs and easily tip over. Typically a cane can be taken on most attractions and laid at your feet; if not allowed on a given attraction the CM at boarding will hold it until you exit the ride vehicle.
***ETA: "cane seat" is now an allowable mobility device as of 4/9/2024.

If we were to decide he needed a scooter last minute because he finds he just can’t get by without it, how doable might this be?

That kind of depends on timing. In-park rentals frequently "sell-out" by mid- or late morning. There may or may not be some returned by mid-afternoon, but they likely are not fully-charged. If you are thinking of contacting a 3rd party vendor, that may be do-able -- I suggest keeping a couple of vendor numbers in your phone to contact. Other than ScooterBug they'll meet you at the resort (ScooterBug uses Bell Services). Honestly, I might reserve the scooter in advance and have it "just in case." Maybe you offer to share it. If he only walks 1/2 to 1 mile, it's either going to be a challenging day without getting much done, or it's going to be a very short day that he calls it quits early.

could I store his park pass/linked to any ride reservations on my apple wallet/Apple Watch to make it easier if he has trouble with the app?

Does he have his own MDE account or is he a profile managed on yours? I think if he is a profile managed on your MDE account then you can pull his ticket to your wallet or Apple Watch. But admittedly I'm not up on much in this area so hopefully someone else can comment.

Is it worth it to do Genie or lightning lanes to limit how long he has to stand? (I miss Fast Pass).

That might depend on how much you really want to do and how long you plan to stay in the park. If you aren't planning to stay in the park all day, you could end up missing some of the G+ times and I'm not sure they work if you arrive late. Also, what would you be doing while waiting? More walking around? Unless you have a meal there isn't really much place to sit and wait, very few benches. Again, the scooter will provide a seat both in the queue and outside the queue.

Good luck!

 

[Wrexali]

Wow, I feel like I could have written a lot of this. I'll give some thoughts...


A cane with a fold-out seat, with 3 legs? It can be used as a cane/walking stick but not as a seat/chair. Portable seats or folding chairs are not allowed. Those cane/seat things are also unsteady with just 3 legs and easily tip over. Typically a cane can be taken on most attractions and laid at your feet; if not allowed on a given attraction the CM at boarding will hold it until you exit the ride vehicle.



That kind of depends on timing. In-park rentals frequently "sell-out" by mid- or late morning. There may or may not be some returned by mid-afternoon, but they likely are not fully-charged. If you are thinking of contacting a 3rd party vendor, that may be do-able -- I suggest keeping a couple of vendor numbers in your phone to contact. Other than ScooterBug they'll meet you at the resort (ScooterBug uses Bell Services). Honestly, I might reserve the scooter in advance and have it "just in case." Maybe you offer to share it. If he only walks 1/2 to 1 mile, it's either going to be a challenging day without getting much done, or it's going to be a very short day that he calls it quits early.



Does he have his own MDE account or is he a profile managed on yours? I think if he is a profile managed on your MDE account then you can pull his ticket to your wallet or Apple Watch. But admittedly I'm not up on much in this area so hopefully someone else can comment.



That might depend on how much you really want to do and how long you plan to stay in the park. If you aren't planning to stay in the park all day, you could end up missing some of the G+ times and I'm not sure they work if you arrive late. Also, what would you be doing while waiting? More walking around? Unless you have a meal there isn't really much place to sit and wait, very few benches. Again, the scooter will provide a seat both in the queue and outside the queue.

Good luck!

Thank you—lots of great suggestions here! He has his own account—I don’t want him to be totally dependent on my phone/watch because I’m envisioning that he may get tired and want to go back to the resort and take a nap while I keep going. Some of this we will have to play by ear. Last time we were there was January 2020 and we usually stay in the park all day and he thinks he will be fine as long as he gets to sit down regularly (we can always stop for a beverage), but I’m not sure what he thinks he can do matches the reality of what he can do. I am thinking maybe I ought to get a magic band for him, I just need to frame it in such a way as “look at the cool thing I got you so you don’t have to get your phone out to get in the hotel room or into the attractions!” And not “I am afraid you will mess up something with your phone and not be able to access the park/attractions!”

 

[elaine amj]

Will he consider a manual wheelchair with you pushing him? (Is he capable of steering a scooter through crowded parks safely?)

In our family, we use wheelchairs as necessary. My mother walks pretty well at 75 (she goes on 30-60 min walks/hikes with me, depending on her condition), but can get pretty tired in the long walk from the car all the way to the first attraction in a park. So I told her - why waste her energy on the boring parts? Save it for the real fun. So we use the wheelchair about 75% of the time and the rest, we park it and she walks.

I used it myself when I had health issues and so did my DH when he needed it.

A magic band sounds useful for him. But if you are always together, you can just load his ticket (and yours) into your phone’s wallet. Or get him a physical card ticket at the turnstiles when you enter.

Is DAS something that would be useful for him? Does he have any issues (other than mobility which can be solved with a wheelchair/scooter) that would make being in line difficult?

When DH’s health deteriorated, we switched from all days park-goers to going back to the resort daily for an afternoon break so he could nap (Often, I would too). Some mornings I’d go by myself and then come back to the resort around lunchtime and we’d go together for a half day in the evening. Or he’d skip the night portion after the afternoon break. I just worked with what he could handle as he only had so much stamina.

 

[hertamaniac]

I am thinking maybe I ought to get a magic band for him, I just need to frame it in such a way as “look at the cool thing I got you so you don’t have to get your phone out to get in the hotel room or into the attractions!” And not “I am afraid you will mess up something with your phone and not be able to access the park/attractions!”

From my experiences, the phone opening our resort door worked, at best, intermittently. This was at every resort we have stayed at over the past 5 years. The last thing I wanted to do after a day of walking is struggle with my resort's door (especially in the summer heat on outside entrances).

We opted for the room scan cards at check-in. They worked flawlessly and were complimentary. I also use my FL resident AP card for the parks and no magic band.

 

[jimmymc]

I got him a walking stick with a seat. Has anyone used something like this for waiting in lines and was it helpful? Could he carry it on most of the rides? If not, is there a way to store it?

Most rides he can carry it on, and for the few he can't, there will be a place to store it near the ride exit.

If we were to decide he needed a scooter last minute because he finds he just can’t get by without it, how doable might this be?

Since it sounds like he can get from the resort to the park without one, it should be easy. You can decide as you're walking into the park if you want to get a scooter or pushchair and rent one there.

He loves his iPhone and should be able to use it for admission, rides, etc. but could I store his park pass/linked to any ride reservations on my apple wallet/Apple Watch to make it easier if he has trouble with the app? What about getting him a magic band? I have an apple watch but he does not. Just now I asked him to check the Disney app and make sure the dining reservations I had shared with him were showing up, but he said he couldn't remember his password and the app froze, so I think we do need a back-up for him using his phone.

Magic bands are an easy option IMO. You can make passes and reservations on your phone for the party, and he can just scan his band at the ride and park entrance.

Is it worth it to do Genie or lightning lanes to limit how long he has to stand? (I miss Fast Pass).

I think it's usually worth it in general to get on more attractions and free up more time for other things.

We typically take a few photos but have never been to a photo pass station or got memory maker. Last trip I had a couple selfies of us, but I am feeling like I don’t know how much longer he will be able to travel, so I’m considering getting some photo pass photos just to have a couple nice photos of us together to save. How are the prices if you just want to buy 2-3 photos as opposed to going all out with memory maker?

Single photos are about $20. A single day of unlimited digital photos is $75, and buying in advance for the whole trip is $185.

Some general advice, renting a wheelchair for days where you anticipate a lot of walking can be a great option. If he feels like walking, he can just push the chair around, but then sit down when he needs it.

 

[lanejudy]

I got him a walking stick with a seat.

A cane with a fold-out seat, with 3 legs? It can be used as a cane/walking stick but not as a seat/chair.

So just a follow-up here... Disney has recently released new information regarding DAS changes and one thing of note is they now allow the "cane seat" device. I still recommend being careful that it's stable before sitting.

 

[jo-jo]

And to sound like a broken record. How about a rollator? Not as big as a wheel chair, but bigger than a cane chair.

I may be reading too much into your post, but you say you feel his could take the bus back to room. Would something like an apple tag be helpful? That way you could be able to check on him. I know he has a phone, but I had a dollar for every time DH didn't answer a call or text, I'd own disney world.