Welcome back, James!
James, I have done two Walt Disney World Resort vacations with my in-laws who, although they are able to get around fine at home, still find a full day in the theme park to be more than a little challenging.
I have two great options for you in terms of mobility solutions.
When my family stayed at an off-site resort and just visited for a day, my in-laws would
rent an Electric Conveyance Vehicles (ECV) in the theme park. ECV rentals are available in each of the four theme parks and Disney Springs. While my in-laws did not use the ECV all the time, they used it when we would be traveling long distances between sections of the park, or towards the end of the day when they wanted to rest while still having fun with the little ones. I do recommend renting an ECV first thing on in the morning since they are available on a first-come-first-served basis. You can always park it in one location and come back to it when you need it. Just remember to take your keys!
James, when we are driving with my in-laws, I also choose to pay for
preferred parking. This allows us to be a little closer to the front of the parking lot and take advantage of a shorter walk. While this may not mean much at the beginning of the day, by nightfall our entire party was grateful for the quick journey back to the car.
When my family took our last vacation with my in-laws we chose to stay at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, so our mobility plan looked a little different. For this trip, we opted to rent a scooter from a third-party vendor. Currently, ScooterBug is the Disney Featured Provider and will simply leave your ECV at Bell Services for you to pick up upon your arrival. Since I knew that we would be taking
Walt Disney World Resort transportation everywhere we went, we were able to easily maneuver the ECV on and off the busses and monorail. This also allowed my in-laws to have the ECV at the hotel, should they feel that they needed it after such a long day.
James, it was a really pleasant surprise to find out that the queues for
most attractions were actually mobility disability friendly, so my in-laws were able to bring the ECVs in the line with us!
I hope that this helped, James. Please come back here to PlanDisney if we can help as you plan the vacation of a lifetime.
See you real soon!
Sarah B.