Need Help with Touring with Older Parent suggestions About This Page:

[apk]

I am planning a small immediate family reunion for my Dad's 80th birthday and we are at WDW Oct 19-24. He has diabetes and is not in great shape. He just doesn't exercise on any regular basis and sometimes has problems with his feet due to the diabetes. I had a nice talk with him last week and asked him to please get to a Sam's Club or indoor mall to try to do some walking to ramp up to the trip. (He lives in Oklahoma City and they've had over 21 days of above 100+ days!)

He hasn't been in the disney parks for 15 years and I'm sure he's forgotten just how big they are or how tiring being on your feet for an extended period of time can make you. This trip is all about him and my stepmom who has never been to Disney.

DH and I go every year and have done nearly everything so my plan is to take it very slow, try to fit in as many air conditioned sit down shows as we can, etc. This should be easy as we don't have any children involved, just adults. I'm really concerned about them holding up. In all the parks except Epcot, we plan to be there at rope drop and slowly accomplish what we can then leave after lunch for a break and rest before heading out for dinner. Epcot didn't work out that way because our dinner is at Biergarten at 4:30 and we wouldn't have time to get out and back in for that dinner. We'll do The Seas, The Land and all that stuff before slowly making our way around World Showcase until we get to dinner but I'm scared they will poop out even with all the movies and stuff inbetween. We plan Sunshine seasons lunch that day.

Well, Dad reported back this weekend that he went to Sams to walk around some and did less than a mile and was totally worn out the rest of the day. While this is good information and shows the need to prep before the trip, I'm slightly panicked and trying to come up with a back up plan. He was so discouraged that he realized he was way out of shape and couldn't walk as far as he thought. It nearly broke my heart. He has some concerns now whether they should even go as they wouldn't be able to do anything if they sat in their room because their feet were sore, etc. I encouraged him and reminded him that's why I sent him to walk to start up a program a baby step at a time to toughen up his feet and stamina. I tried to assure him that he's got 90 days to work on this and he can get there.

One idea is to have him rent an ECV for the later days in the week when we are touring parks. Normally he would have been extremely resistant to the idea, but given now that he's seen he's not in shape, pehaps he would be more ameniable to the idea. My questions are these:
1. Where can I rent them from offsite that will deliver to the hotel and how much do they run?
2. Can anyone tell me how much they cost in the Disney parks and if they've ever wanted to rent one and been told they were sold out? We will be at each park at rope drop so don't think that will happen. And most importantly.....
3. Anybody got any arguments for why their parent should use one and how they convinced them to do it?

Thanks for any helpful suggestions! Annette in WI.

[JoanneS]

We took my DFIL Thanksgiving or 2010 and I cannot stress strongly enough GET YOUR DAD AN ECV. My DFIL refused and could barely make it through tomorrowland before he gave up and went back to the resort. It was too much walking for him and he was SOOOO slow, people on crutches were passing us. Start now by telling him you are renting him an ECV. Don't make it a choice. You will all have a better time. Tell him to do it for you.

I would rent from an outside company, so you can use it everywhere. It's also less expensive than renting one everyday from Disney. Although I've never rented one (yet), I think passporter may have a sponsor that rents ECV's. I would check them out first.

Good luck. And don't forget the power of the phrase, "Please, Daddy!" coming from his little girl.

[jimmymac]

Definitely rent a scooter, and NOT from Disney. We used Scooterama after DW surgeries, and they were great. They deliver / pick up right at your hotel

[disney_duke]

My mom was in that same boat until our trip in 2008 when she finally gave in to her worries of being embarrased. She has asthma (sp?) and COPD. She had lung surgery to remove a mass (benign) 10 years ago so they took out 30% of her breathing capacity. To say she struggles at WDW is an understatement! Add to that her being overweight.... you get the idea. Since her issues are with her lungs and not obvious to anyone, she feared to be embarrassed by people thinking she needed the ECV because she is fat. (her words, not mine!!!)

But on our family trip in 2008, she just couldn't breathe. Could not breathe! Her inhaler wasn't doing the trick anymore and she was wasting too much time - and money - by sitting on the benches waiting for the rest of the family. For the last half of the trip, she finally gave in and rented the darn thing so she could keep up with the grandkids. And she's now the first to persuade folks to just rent the darn thing because it's sooooo worth it!

Now she doesn't miss out on anything, and we have a hard time keeping up with her! That first trip, we rented from Disney, albeit expensive, I think $50/day. (we were there early too, so they never ran out of them.) For subsequent trips for her (3 and counting), she rents from Walker Mobility. Orlando scooter rentals, scooter rental orlando, orlando ecv rentals
No reason in particular why she chose that company, but like I said she's used them at least 3 times now (I may have missed a trip in there....) and loves it. $30/day, they deliver to/from the hotel or condo/house rental, and she's never had any issues with her scooters.

It's changed the way she views Disneyworld! She used to roll her eyes and sigh, and say "I suppose it's time for another trip there, huh?" But now she gets excited about it and budgets in the money for her scooter! It's awesome.

As for convincing your Dad, it sounds like you're well on your way already by showing him how tired he's getting by walking around Sam's Club. You can also assure him that he will not be one of few on the scooters. He will in fact be one of many! Every trip I take I see more and more scooters around WDW. And it doesn't take long to learn how to use one. Does the Madison zoo rent scooters? I bet they do (Milwaukee does). Maybe have him try it out one day at the zoo so he can get a feel for it and then he'll see how much more enjoyable it is to be out and about without being exhausted and in pain.

[notjustamom]

1. Where can I rent them from offsite that will deliver to the hotel and how much do they run?

We used Walker Mobility in October and they were wonderful. It was delivered to the resort and I believe it was $30/day.

3. Anybody got any arguments for why their parent should use one and how they convinced them to do it?

My mom used one for the first time in Oct. She is only 71 but sufferes from Parkinsons and she tends to get very worn out by mid-afternoon. She was very resistant to say the least. I think it was mostly a vanity thing but her excuse was "I don't want to slow anybody down". I tried to be gentle at first letting her know we were in no rush, it may help her in the end, etc. I then got to the point of brutal honesty "Mom, you're going to be exhausted by the time you get to the gate at MK, you NEED to have an ECV." She agreed albeit begrudgingly but realized I was serious and ordering one whether she agreed or not. She practiced around the resort for a bit and was nervous about getting on/off the busses so we just loaded it for her. by the end of the first day, she was thanking me up and down. She had a fabulous trip and knew she wouldn't have without it. Trust me when I tell you it was worth every penny and now even dad wants one next trip. Best money ever spent. Good luck, I know it's a tricky situation when dealing with a parent. Be firm and be realistic.

[yalibrarian]

We've used both Walker and Buena Vista Scooters. Both deliver to your resort and pick up when you are finished. Both were about $30/day. We rented the kind that we could take apart and stash in the trunk of our Camry. After a few tries, we became quite adept at set up and tear down. Disney buses, monorails, and most boats will take them too, without any dismantling.

Having a scooter will make so much difference in everyone's enjoyment. Once he gets there and see how many folks are using them, and realizes that he is having a good time and not longing to go somewhere to sit down, he'll be fine with it.

My husband is a bit younger (60) but also has neuropathy from diabetes, among other problems. Having a scooter means he can actually go to the parks with us and not be stuck in the room or on a bench as he was before when he walked. Any of the companies that folks are recommending are good, and having one at your disposal, including at your resort, will make such a difference, so rent from an off-site vendor and don't bother with day rates at the parks.

[dolphin041599]

You can certainly get a scooter for him. When we went in 2010 with my parents, I gave them a "training" schedule. I didn't figure my dad would have too much trouble, but I knew my mom would. The schedule was simple - walk x each day for 7 days, increase by x amount. I even bought them a pedometer! LOL! My mom and dad thought I was joking, but in the end, I think they appreciated the work they'd put in.

[aislinn0903]

Originally Posted by yalibrarian

Having a scooter will make so much difference in everyone's enjoyment. Once he gets there and see how many folks are using them, and realizes that he is having a good time and not longing to go somewhere to sit down, he'll be fine with it.
.

Absolutely agree. We used Walker also, when I surprised Gramma with a trip for Mother's Day. She has pretty limited mobility, and while I never wanted to make her feel like she was holding us up, I also wanted her to be comfortable and have a great time. I never presented it as an option, simply told her about what a great deal it was, delivered right to the resort, etc. She seemed relieved that it was not going to be a big thing, and we ended up having an amazing trip that my kids will never forget.