Mother-adult daughter trip.. tips!

[Off to Neverland 7]

My 61 year old mom has been asking about going to WDW for a while now and I'm gifting her a trip next October/November 2018 for 7 nights, 8 days. This will be my first trip with her and have always gone with my husband so it'll be a very different kind of trip since she doesn't like thrill rides and can't move fast through the parks. Any suggestions on planning? It'll just be me (29) and my mom (61). Thinking of staying at AoA (per her request), POFQ, or Boardwalk if our budget permits. We're big foodies and F&W fest is also why I chose this time of year.

FP+? Resort recommendations? Restaurants?

 

[brad813]

My mother is just a bit older, and if your mother isn't a thrill ride fan, I would lean more towards Epcot and Animal Kingdom in the planning. None of the Disney parks will be anywhere near the intensity of Universal though so she may enjoy some of the rides at Magic Kingdom. The key is not to push too much on her. Also consider Halloween Party tickets since you will be there at that time, and Epcot Food & Wine Festival(if you do this, dont book restaurants that day unless you want a premium experience or Eat To The Beat dining package) will be going on then as well. Resorts and restaurants depend on tastes and budget. I will be going this September so I can give you more input then if it isn't too late.

 

[com_op_2000]

Stay away from EPCOT F&W on the weekend. Go on the weekdays as the weekends are when locals come out.
The more details of your what pre-planning you have done the more details we can suggest.
My one recommendation that has received the most support here on the DIS is:
Go the parks for 2 days, take a day off, go to the park for 2 days, take a day off, etc. This way you do not need a vacation from your vacation when you get home.
Some of things to do outside the parks on the off days, depending upon what you are into:
sports: golf, mini-golf, fishing, marathon, bowling, ESPN Club, WWS/ESPN Zone, etc
shopping: DTD, area outlet malls, large scale malls
drinking: Jellyrolls, Raglan Road, monorail tour of resorts, walking tour of resorts in the Boardwalk area
movies: DTD 24 screen theater some with meals served by waiters
night clubbing: Jellyrolls, Atlantic Dance, Raglan Road, Citywalk
resort tours: monorail tour of resorts, Boardwalk around the lake tour of resorts, horse drawn tour of FWC, AKL/AKV
offsite: Gaylord Palms Resort, Citywalk, swamp tour
eating: Formal GF 5* Chef's Table @ V&As

 

[brad813]

Stay away from EPCOT F&W on the weekend. Go on the weekdays as the weekends are when locals come out.
The more details of your what pre-planning you have done the more details we can suggest.
My one recommendation that has received the most support here on the DIS is:
Go the parks for 2 days, take a day off, go to the park for 2 days, take a day off, etc. This way you do not need a vacation from your vacation when you get home.
Some of things to do outside the parks on the off days, depending upon what you are into:
sports: golf, mini-golf, fishing, marathon, bowling, ESPN Club, WWS/ESPN Zone, etc
shopping: DTD, area outlet malls, large scale malls
drinking: Jellyrolls, Raglan Road, monorail tour of resorts, walking tour of resorts in the Boardwalk area
movies: DTD 24 screen theater some with meals served by waiters
night clubbing: Jellyrolls, Atlantic Dance, Raglan Road, Citywalk
resort tours: monorail tour of resorts, Boardwalk around the lake tour of resorts, horse drawn tour of FWC, AKL/AKV
offsite: Gaylord Palms Resort, Citywalk, swamp tour
eating: Formal GF 5* Chef's Table @ V&As

I forgot to mention that about the F&W Festival. Locals also means droves of college kids in that case. I am going on a Tuesday when Epcot had Evening EMH so that I can ride the rides without having to get in a hurry, splitting them between standard FutureWorld times and EMH. Off to Neverland 7, if you go to Epcot during F&W festival, consider getting a light breakfast in France or Norway pavilions at one of the bakeries since you would probably start at the kiosks around 11AM. You can do table service for breakfast but there are enough kiosks you need to pace yourself.

 

[srwarden1928]

If you're looking at your budget in regards to hotels, based on what I have seen, POFQ is actually less expensive than AOA. I know that doesn't make sense, but that's what I found when I was looking at May in January.

 

[Wild4Walt]

I've gone with my mom ( now in her 70s ) and she also was a bit slower in walking around etc. I've been so many times that when planning with mom, we did a lot of the planning together. We'd discuss different hotels and the pros and cons of each. If pricing is an issue, be upfront. We liked to plan a TS lunch - over the years I found it was a nice break from the walking, giving both of us time to relax a bit. Then we typically did QS for dinner. We made it a custom to stop at the bar at the hotel for a nightcap and talk about the day and do a little of pre-planning for the next. ( Mom and I are both planners so it just helped us both to know we were on the same page for the next day. ) Enjoy!

 

[brad813]

I've gone with my mom ( now in her 70s ) and she also was a bit slower in walking around etc. I've been so many times that when planning with mom, we did a lot of the planning together. We'd discuss different hotels and the pros and cons of each. If pricing is an issue, be upfront. We liked to plan a TS lunch - over the years I found it was a nice break from the walking, giving both of us time to relax a bit. Then we typically did QS for dinner. We made it a custom to stop at the bar at the hotel for a nightcap and talk about the day and do a little of pre-planning for the next. ( Mom and I are both planners so it just helped us both to know we were on the same page for the next day. ) Enjoy!

I would consider a slightly later breakfast, eating lunch between 2pm and 3pm, and finishing out with dinner(before or after fireworks). Most people eat lunch between 12pm and 2pm and you could take advantage of the shorter waits on shows and rides.

 

[LifeWithLouie]

2 years ago my daughter, my son-in-law, and I went on a trip to Disney for the Food and Wine Festival and MNSSHP. Our trip was planned well in advance, but and by the time the trip rolled around she was 5 months pregnant carrying twins. Well there was no way that she was going to be able to do that sort of walking. So we bit the bullet and ordered a motorized scooter for her to ride that week. I've got to say it was the best decision we made. Sometimes she rode the scooter, sometimes I did, and sometimes my son-in-law would. It was wonderful. None of us passed up on any portion of the trip due to tired or sore feet.

I know you are trying to closely budget this trip, but you might want to put serious consideration into a scooter. If she can't make it around the park because she's too tired or is walking slowly, neither of you might enjoy the full value of the trip. I tell you honestly it made a 100% difference in the enjoyment of our trip.

 

[TMcDwyer]

My Mom and I have done multiple trips together to celebrate out Birthdays because they are only a day apart. We love taking time to just sit and people watch. If you can swing the Boardwalk I would recommend that because it is so nice to walk (or boat) out of EPCOT at the end of the day instead of dealing with the busses. We also enjoy having long dinners and trying different wine flights throughout EPCOT.

 

[artinlife]

My 61 year old mom has been asking about going to WDW for a while now and I'm gifting her a trip next October/November 2018 for 7 nights, 8 days. This will be my first trip with her and have always gone with my husband so it'll be a very different kind of trip since she doesn't like thrill rides and can't move fast through the parks. Any suggestions on planning? It'll just be me (29) and my mom (61). Thinking of staying at AoA (per her request), POFQ, or Boardwalk if our budget permits. We're big foodies and F&W fest is also why I chose this time of year.

FP+? Resort recommendations? Restaurants?

Me (74) and my daughter (53) have been going together off and on for over 20 years and our trips are always based on the gorgeousness of the resort (FPFQ is our favorite) and the excellence of signature restaurants. We usually do a half day (in the morning) in the parks, lots of reading by the pool, some resort hopping to have a drink and/or shop (we rent a car). At night we go to dinner at our long-time favorite restaurants (Narcoosee's, Ohana, Shula's, The Cotton Mill in PO, and Citrico's. I move slowly, as I just had a hip replacement but we do move, so the walking turns this into sort of a 'fitness' trip. Next year we are going to stay at the Yacht Club, to use the pool so that is something we are looking forward to.

 

[ChiTownZee]

My mom has gone on several trips with my and my daughters and her favorite resort is POFQ, because she has some minor mobility issues, and after a day in the parks she can get pretty achey and appreciates the small layout at FQ - the walk is minor coming back from the bus stop at the end of the day no matter where your room is, and she feels she can kind of saver her steps for the parks staying there. She's also loves WL, but we haven't gone to that one for years due to budget restraints, and she's also stayed at Riverside. She also loves the theming, etc.