Help Plan a Trip!

[FoundMyHappyPlace]

Here is the situation:

An older widow in our church gave a trip to a young man who has never been to Disneyland. She passed away last month so its bittersweet. He has had recurring brain tumors since the age of 11 (he is now 29) and his Dad would take his brother, but he has never been. He and his mother (who he completely depends on) are going on a Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in September. They will fly in on Sunday, leave Thursday. I get to help plan what they will do. I am having so much fun I thought I would include you all in the planning!

Remember that there are no fireworks . DL is open from 10a to 8p every day and DCA from 10a to 6p. We've made BB priority seating for Monday and Goofy's Kitchen on Thursday. No jerky attractions or things that turn you upside down.

Have fun! Can't wait to see the results!

[FoundMyHappyPlace]

*sniff* Nobody wants to play?

[wbarley]

Hi there! I would start in Fantasyland and work my way through there, lots of fun rides that are not jerky. Where are you staying? If you have an early entry that works great as you can head straight in to Fantasyland and get in line early for Nemo.

[FoundMyHappyPlace]

Hi there! I would start in Fantasyland and work my way through there, lots of fun rides that are not jerky. Where are you staying? If you have an early entry that works great as you can head straight in to Fantasyland and get in line early for Nemo.

Good point! I will mention that too them!

[startours1]

would it be possible to go on star tours? You can go on buzz, and tiki room... I highly recomend eating at espn zone, and afterwards go upstairs and play in the arcade area... then maybe pick something up from the hagen dazs place....(dulce de leche shakes)... then you can maybe catch fantasmic or something. Plenty of things to do in the park for limited people.

[penguinsoda]

Three days huh.... that should be plenty of time to take their time and enjoy everything! Mid week will be nice because the crowds should be much smaller, so the shorter times the park opens won't be much of a factor.

Like wbarley said, Fantasyland is a good place to start. Most of the rides there are pretty mellow. Even Mr. Toads Wild Ride should be ok. I don't remember when Small World goes down for its holiday ovelay, but thats a must do if he's never been there.

If he can't handle jerkey rides I would avoid Matterhorn, Indy, Space Mountain, and even Star Tours might be a bit much. You do get tossed back and forth on that... not hard but it might be to much.

Can he do drops? Splash Mountain is great fun! There are a few small drops, and has scary as the last big drop looks its not that bad. There are a couple of drops on Pirates too, but they aren't big ones. He might even enjoy riding some of the vehicles on main street. Haunted Mansion I think will be closed then, getting its holiday overlay.

In DCA Screamin' has a loop so he would have to avoid that. Soarin' over California is very visual, and he might not be able to handle the sensory input. Even I tend to bet vertigo on the ride (but then I also have a fear of heights ). Avoid Mullholland Maddness, the Maliboomer and maybe even Tower. Maliboomer and Tower aren't jerkey rides, but they do have very sudden drops and going ups. Grizzly River Rapids is great if its a warm day, it has a few drops but they are pretty smooth ones. A Bugs Life is a Must see.

Thats all I can think of for the moment.

[RangerSyl]

I would suggest that you explain the FastPass system to them so they're comfortable using it. Things like Soarin', Roger Rabbit, & Autopia might be fun for them, and FPs would be great help. He might be able to handle Splash and GRR -- depends on how he feels about drops (aside from the drops they are pretty mild rides).

Make sure they hit Pirates, Haunted Mansion, the Tiki Room. If he can handle the 3d shows, my personal favorite is It's Tough to Be A Bug (Muppets are okay, and HISTA is painful to sit through).

Oh, and catch the Aladdin show at the Hyperion! Take the time to watch Billy Hill & the Hillbillys for one meal.

[MarenBoBarren]

If they can try and have them hit the blue bayou for a meal....the atmosphere is very calming and might be nice for a break in the day for them!

[Leofoenget]

*sniff* Nobody wants to play?

Order Ridemax and plan away!

[Kath2188]

You mentioned already having the Blue Bayou reservations, were they for lunch or dinner? If it were for lunch they can do the Golden Horshoe Revue afterwards in the mid afternoon show. That is a must for them, so if not then, make sure you are planning it in their trip.
Also no one has mentioned Indiana Jones, I believe that Star Tours is OUT because it is way too jerky for him. My brother has an inoperable tumor and he can not ride Star Tours. I am not sure, though about Indiana Jones.

[knittingknerd]

Just a thought: Could you mention this to Guest Services ahead of time so that way they could do something special?

Get mouse ears!

[FoundMyHappyPlace]

Thank you so much for everyone's help. I have been getting reports and today is their last day in the park. They fly home Tomorrow so Goofys Kitchen will be their last stop.

I have to tell you what happened Monday because it was baffling. Monday, they left the hotel early and headed for the Monorail. One of the family members had stressed that they really should use the Monorail. It was closed for the morning so they went to the front gate. She said "There mus have been about 300 to 400 people there so we just did Downtown Disney instead". *gasp* In all of the explaining I didn't even imagine having to tell them that the lines would be big in front but move fast and to just get in and go. They spent the whole first day (they are there three days with 3-day hoppers) without going into the park. They called to check in and I told them they still had a few hours left. They went back in and enjoyed the parade. They missed their priority seating at Blue Bayou so I made them another one for Tuesday. Goofy approached them in the D Hotel and totally made his day!

Tuesday I only got a partial report from a friend. They finally got in and enjoyed Pirates and other attractions. They missed BB again but this time because he had a Grand Mal Seizure and had to go back to his room for a while. I thinnk the heat may have gotten to him. I am waiting for tonight's report but I wanted to thank you all and fill y'all in on their trip.