I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis and wish the best for you. I think the trip is a wonderful idea, and have a few thoughts based on my own experience (as a fellow 40 year old AP holder who has some major health conditions—heart failure, I need a transplant—and getting close to the point where I will need a mobility scooter in order to make it through the partial day in the parks that my condition allows), which might be helpful.
As I will probably need a scooter soon, I really paid attention last time I was in the parks to the scooter using population and was pleasantly surprised that it is a really widely varying group of people. I saw everyone from teenagers on up using them, people who had visible disabilities and those (like myself) who didn’t and “looked healthy”, and I did not see very many people giving them judgmental looks. It seemed like the population using them definitely skewed younger than the population I’ve seen using them at grocery stores. I was there nearly a week, doing half days with breaks, during Dapper Day (so, read: very busy) and I could basically count on one hand the number of times I saw someone giving a rude look. At Disneyland, people seem a lot more understanding than at the grocery store. So, don’t worry about the looks.
With major or chronic health conditions, stamina can often be an issue, so what I often do is plan a lengthy midday rest break, or I plan to hit the park at rope drop and go until I run low on energy (usually after lunch) and head back to the hotel for the day at that time. You’ll have a good handle on your energy flow and peaks and valleys by that time and can better plan your day to take advantage of your peak energy times. For me, it’s early in the day, so I always do rope drop, but for one of my friends who had cancer and visited Disney, it was usually late morning, so she shifted her day to focus on being in park when she was feeling her best and had the most energy.
Also, as I never know, from day to say, how my energy will be, I tend to be flexible in my meal plans, booking table service for lunches instead of dinner, and planning dinners to either be counter service or my own food I bring (I have a fair amount of dietary restrictions with my condition). Also, this way I am also less tired and better able to enjoy my nice meals, I am not so exhausted and can enjoy my meal more with my companions.
MaxPass is amazing. The photopass feature is great, I would just suggest (since you will be there during a busy and warm time of year), possibly planning your family photo taking sessions or character meet and greets earlier in the day when possible so you can limit the amount of time you have to wait in the heat/sun (also, the lines are shorter then). And being able to get fast passes without having to head to the rides will save you so much time/energy and reduce your frustration levels. It is worth every penny.
Talk to your doctors (both specialists and general practitioner) and ask them for suggestions or guidelines to help make your trip better. They will know both you and your condition the best and could give pointers. I’ve found that if I tell them a brief synopsis of what I am already planning to do to make my trip successful, that helps them think of suggestions to add on.
Familiarize yourself with the locations for the first aid locations in both parks. And be prepared to use them if you need a cool rest spot in the summer heat. Also, keep a mental or written list of places you can go to cool off quickly (like Tiki Room, Great Moments with Mr Lincoln, etc.) in case you need them.
I always make sure I have a printed list of all of my medications with me (my health care system actually prints out a visit summary where it lists all meds and all major medical conditions, and I take the most recent summary with me in my purse into the parks just in case) just in case I need to visit first aid or go to the ER.
If you have any medical alert bracelet/necklace with details about your condition, wear that (or possibly consider getting one made—ask your doctors if they think you should based off of any medications you may still be on or issues related to your condition or recent chemo). I wear mine because I am on blood thinners and also have a defibrillator/pacemaker implanted (so I am not supposed to be shocked my an external defibrillator), and I also carry my defibrillator info card from my device maker in my wallet in the photo ID window so it is highly visible. I’m not sure what doctors are currently advising for travel while battling cancer. My grandmother (an inveterate traveler) had one made when she had cancer & traveled per her doctors advice, but that was years ago.
Drink plenty of water. If your doctors have you on any sort of fluid restrictions/limitations due to your condition or meds, ask them specifically what they would suggest you drink while being at Disneyland in Southern California in July. Mine usually require very strict limitations, but when I’m at Disneyland during non-winter months they always have me boost my fluids by 25% extra because I sweat so much.
And I agree with Kyrkea...I focus a lot more on the ambiance and special moments with family and friends nowadays versus hitting a million rides and I feel like I love the parks even more now that I have to go a little slower and take more rest breaks. You truly can enjoy so much in the parks, they are incredibly well designed so that every person can take them at their own pace/preferred touring style and have a great time regardless.
Have fun on your trip and I am sending all my best thoughts your way to help you through the chemo and afterwards. I hope you guys have a truly magical trip.
~Meg
