SallyEppcot's Helping-My-Mom trip report, otherwise entitled "We need a wheelchair or ECV!"

Just a spoonful of tequila helps the momma-stress go down… :smile:

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I would second the EVC option. My DW had a stress fracture in her foot when we went a few years ago and was wearing a boot. We rented an EVC from one of the offsite places and it was great. Wheelchair would have been much more difficult. And your mom couldn’t be any worse driving it than folks I saw on my last trip.

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If you do go with the EVC (which I’d also recommend), try to convince your mom to practice with it a bit before getting on the bus or going into the parks. They aren’t as easy to operate as you might think, especially in a large crowd where inattentive people will jump in front of you and then get irritated that you clipped their ankles despite the fact that the entire situation was avoidable if only they looked where they were going.

Not that I have ever seen that happen to my Da or anything like that.

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Thanks everyone. I really was trying to laugh at myself for worrying when I don’t need to. I must not have gotten the tone quite right. I’m sure I’ll be fine.

I’ll write about more fun stuff tomorrow, like plans and ADRs and meeting friends.

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Everyone had good advice so I’ll just add this.

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Perfect. Thank you.

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Relax, ECV may be the way to go. Any uphill push might wear you out. Uber will be impractical. It is two tenths of mile from the international gateway from the Beach Club. The bridge is also a good place to watch the Illuminations fireworks.

My late FIL had MS. He was a good 200 pounds. He only used a wheelchair when he had to be transported because the wheelchair could be strapped in. Your mom can do short walks.

What if you hijack the Uber driver. Use Disney transportation and save money and stay out of the news.

You will be fine. Just duck onto a shop and jump on the Open Thread and we will talk you off your ledge.

You have been there alone before. You can do this.

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So perfect and so beautiful!

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I love your trip reports @SallyEppcot and especially how honest you are in your writing! I have several worriers in my life and your second post was so right on and awesome. Your wit is fabulous and style reminds me a bit of Dave Barry, who I adore as well! Can’t wait for MOAR!

You got this, girlfriend :thumbsup:

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I also highly recommend the ECV. Last trip (darn, I still haven’t gotten around to that trip report :wink:) I twisted my ankle at typhoon lagoon and DS12 pushed me around for the next two days. There are LOTS of slopes you don’t even realize are there. He did it, but he’s a very in shape and strong young man. I couldn’t get up some of the slopes by myself and needed some assistance. If I had known how tough it was going to be I definitely would have rented an ECV.

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Yup! As you walk in at Epcot and MK, there’s a slope. It’s more noticeable at EP, not so much at MK. The idea is that it makes leaving at the end of the day a little easier on your feet, because you’re going downhill.

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Even going into and coming out of Club Cool there a big ramp. After all, she does have to try the Beverly…:wink:

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I just sent my mom and email (and left a phone message) asking her if we can upgrade her rental from a wheelchair to a ECV. I’ll let you know what she says. I offered to pay the difference. She was going to do an ECV until I said I would join her to help, but then I suggested she switch to a wheelchair for our days together. I thought it would make us more flexible. You all made very good arguments for doing it the other way, though. Thank you.

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Thanks for this @SallyEppcot…its so much more difficult being responsible for another person. Being able to list your worries now shows how much thought you’ve put into this, and how much you want to make it special for both your and your mom. Hopefully those things that you can’t control will turn out not to be problems, and you seem ready to deal with anything you can control. Deep Breaths…

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She changed her rental to an ECV. I hope this works out! I don’t want us to be a menace. You hear such horror stories. Today has been crazy, so I’ll write up our general plan tomorrow. Four more sleeps!

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Yeaaaaay!

I think it will be much easier on both of you, and consequently you’ll both enjoy the trip more.

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That is good. You don’t want to be sore and tired of pushing her.

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Two more sleeps! I won’t have time to pack until tomorrow night, so it’s a good think this is a short trip.

The Plans

Sunday - I’ll fly out early in the morning, and arrive at MCO at around 3:30 pm. My mom’s flight doesn’t arrive until 6:30 pm, so I will have 3 hours of me-time. Her pre-conference room is at Beach Club, so we plan to meet for a late dinner at Crew’s Cup. It will probably be at least 9 pm. I’m thinking I will try to squeeze in 2-3 hours at the Magic Kingdom before I need to meet my mom. I know it would be more efficient to walk from Beach Club to Epcot, but if I’m going to add a day onto my park ticket, I’d rather use it for Magic Kingdom. We will see how things go. Travel days can be unpredictable.

Monday - This is the day mom had planned to spend in Epcot. We have ADRS for Via Napoli at 2 pm and Spice Road Table at 7:40 pm. (Mom is on Pacific time, so that’s why all the meals are so late.) I’m not going to rush her in the morning, but I was thinking we’d eat breakfast in France after entering through the International Gateway. Then we have FPs for Spaceship Earth and Living with the Land. I think those are the only 2 attractions we will do, although I might be able to convince her to do 3 Caballeros after a La Cava margarita. I’m thinking she will want a rest after lunch, and we will probably stretch out dinner and watch Illuminations from Spice Road Table.

Tuesday - My birthday! We have to move from Beach Club to the conference facilities at Coronado Springs in the afternoon, but I’ve settled on a plan to do Hollywood Studios in the morning, then return to BC to turn in the ECV, and then Uber over to Coronado. At Hollywood Studios, we plan to do Muppets, Star Tours, Great Movie Ride and Beauty and the Beast show. My birthday lunch will be at the Hollywood Brown Derby. Yum! After I get mom settled at Coronado, she will start her work stuff and I’ll head out for my birthday evening with @jkizjkiz and @MooreDisneyPlease. I’m planning to meet them at Disney Springs for dinner at Morimoto Asia. We might have a drink at Jock Lindsey’s as well.

Wednesday - My flight home is scheduled for 3:30 pm, so I’m going to squeeze in a Magic Kingdom morning. I have an 8:10 breakfast reservation at Be Our Guest. I have no idea if I’ll be able to make it or not. It will depend on how late I stay out on Tuesday, how early I wake up, and how quickly I get packed and say goodbye to mom. I’m not going to do MDE back for various logistical reasons, so I plan to bus back to Coronado, pick up my suitcase at bell services and taxi or uber to the airport. I think I’ll be OK as long as I leave MK no later than 12:30. It seems like going to the airport in the middle of the day on a Wednesday will take less time than the MDE usually requires.

What do you think? It will be a quick, whirlwind trip, but I’m super excited about it all.

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Looks like a great Mother/Daughter trip. A lot of great highlights but not too packed a schedule. If you have some extra WS time, you might consider adding AA and Impressions de France…

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Good suggestions!