Here is what Ninja Mom, who has had a bout with cancer herself and is missing a part or two, has learned to do when going on a Disney trip....
1) Have realistic expectations
First of all try to convince your Mom that She won't get it all done in one trip! Nobody ever does and believe me people have tried. Just tell her that you are going to have a great trip, that you will do what you can do and that DISNEY will STILL BE THERE for the next trip. Don't be fooled into making this a race from attraction to attraction. Do some of the things, enjoy them and realize you have an opportunity to plan another trip so you can keep crossing off experiences at WDW. Think Easy and Enjoyable touring plan instead of Crazy, tiring, racing around the park touring plan.
2) Plan Ahead!
That being said, planning will be your best friend! Before the trip go to the Disney web site and have everyone that's going acquaint themselves with the things that they want to do at each park. We have a family meeting and everyone picks the top things that they want to do. We
make a list where we target what we want to do and we use this touring plan
http://www.easywdw.com/cheat-sheets/disney-world-cheat-sheets-maps-touring-plans-and-wait-times/ to tell us WHAT TIME OF THE DAY that we need to hit the attractions on our list.
3) "Zig" when everyone else "Zags" to avoid the crowds and spend less time waiting in lines
Here is another link to that Easy WDW site that tells you what day to go to which park:
http://www.easywdw.com/
On the right side of the page there is a month by month assessment called January, Feb, March etc...
Crowd calendar. It will tell you for EACH day what each park is going to be like as far as crowd levels. I LOVE the fact that it even tells you WHY!!
If you read this you will understand which park to go to on what day to avoid the crowds. Yeah, there will still be people at the parks but there will be less people if you follow that plan. For example people always want to go to MK at the beginning of their Disney trip and since they travel on the weekends Sun and Mon are the most crowded days at the MK. You'll get the idea when you read up on that site. You probably already know that but I'm putting that in there for all the lurkers that are reading this and may have the same concerns...
4) Go EARLY at park opening, LEAVE at Lunch time and go back to the hotel for a rest. Go out again for dinner and an evening of more attractions.
Most older people only have the energy to go to the parks for about 4 hours. If you follow that morning/lunch rest/ dinner and a few more attractions plan you will be satisfied and not over tired. There is stuff at the hotel like the bed for a nap or the pool or the HOT TUB that really helps to reinvigorate a person and give them the energy for a beautiful evening. Follow that schedule whether you have a toddler or a two hundred and something year old
and you will be in good shape with fewer burnouts and melt downs. If you are going in the hot summer months you will avoid the hottest, sunniest parts of the day! Play/rest/play while at Disney.
5) Start walking now
If you can with the crazy winter weather, see how she is making out walking around now. A scooter or other assistive device is perfectly reasonable so tell her no worries. There are so many people using them that she won't feel self conscious after the first 5 minutes. Most people walk between 6-8 miles a day while touring the parks and it can be exhausting! If she is not able to get up to that level she needs to understand that a scooter will help her conserve her energy so that she can ENJOY the parks and that it will be no trouble for her to jump on and off as needed. The BC/YC is the perfect resort for scooters because you are a quick boat ride or a walk away from 2 parks and the buses are equipped to handle the scooters for Animal Kingdom or MK.
Using a scooter is not a sign of defeat,
it's a wise use to conserve her energy and allow her to enjoy the parks with out wearing herself out! She will probably get further along in her recovery and in the future not need the scooter, but for now, the two of you need to be honest about where she is in her physical recovery and err on the side of conservation of her energy if necessary, especially since touring Disney parks can be such a physical grind.
To sum it up, most of us go Disney crazy and try to run around like chickens without heads when we see all there is to do. If you go in with a plan and reasonable expectations you won't be disappointed. All that stuff that you are not getting to do will still be there the next time, and hopefully Mom will be in better shape as here recovery progresses. I personally use my Disney trips as an incentive to work out and get in shape. It took me a while after my cancer to get my mojo back so to speak and I had to come to terms with the fact that the old gray mare just ain't what she used to be. So I got smart and I got more patient with my limitations and I learned that if I kept swimming, so to speak, that I can adapt and find different ways to accomplish my goals. It's all about coming to terms with your new "abilities" and not getting frustrated with your limitations. So GO to Disney and ENJOY it. Be smart with that touring plan and take the time to smell the roses and don't be afraid to slow down and take it all in on the slow track. I just love the way that Disney also has so many things for people who don't want to be on the theme park death march. This is your trip. You are going to have a great time! All you have to do is realize that it's going to be great just being there. The rest is gravy!!!
Good luck with your trip. Tell mom not to worry if she has any set backs as they are bound to happen. Just tell her that Dory says to "Just keep swimming" and she will get there. No worrying either... it doesn't do any good and all the stuff you worry about never happens anyway.
~NM