Hi. I know I’m like 4 years too late lol but worth a shot. I am 5’10 500 pounds and planing on going to Disney in July with a couple of friends and my godchild. I honestly don’t plan on riding rides because of my weight. Most times when I go to fairs or theme parks it’s just join in on my godsons excitement. Paying $328 (3 days) just to enter the park to walk around sucks but hey. Could you possibly give me an idea of what rides your husband did ride? Imma start doing some more conditioning because I was like your husband a few years ago until I broke my ankle on a job site. Now it’s been down hill for me with conditioning lol. Any help would be great. Thanks.
Not the original poster, but I am a 3L - a Large Lovely Lady - and I can say from experience that your size may matter less in some cases than the overall condition of your hips and knees!
For example, you might find that you can climb in and out of the boats for Small World and Jungle Cruise just fine. My size doesn't stop me from riding many rides (although some I don't ride because of other reasons) but I have bad knees and hips, and some of the ride seats are pretty dang low; there are a few that I swear aren't much more than 12 inches off the floor of the ride vehicle, and a lot of them are in the 18 inch range. Doesn't sound bad until you have to lever yourself back up from down inside the ride vehicle.
One ride I currently avoid, simply because it hurts my hips and knees for them to dangle is Soarin' at EPCOT. It can be (depending on where you carry your weight) difficult to get comfortably seated if you are a person of size.
However, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what you *can* do. There are TONS of shows (think Country Bear Jamboree, Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor, and Philharmagic at MK alone) to see, not to mention experiences at the Parks like the Grand Circle Tour at MK on the steam train, the Safari at AK and if you are OK with the moving ramp, the TTA at MK. Outside the Parks you can ride boats all over WDW (think from Disney Springs to several different Resort hotels - or even the water taxi service from dock to dock at DS - or the boat from HS to EPCOT's International Gateway that stops at several Resorts along the way plus the boats to and from WL and FW - as well as the boats to and from GF & Poly!) The Monorail is still popular - it's truly an icon of the Parks, and the ride through Contemporary, as well as the loop through EPCOT are still as amazing to me now as they were as a kid. Disney Springs is free - no Park ticket required! and there is an abundance of things to see and do down there, especially in the evening when the entertainers are out and about. Some of the street musicians are amazing. The
LEGO store is great fun, even if you never buy anything, just go in to see all of the bricks!
There's other forms of entertainment too - you can sign up for the Hoop Dee Doo Revue* (dinner and a show!) over at Fort Wilderness - and again, no park ticket required. While you are over there, hang around and wait for the Electrical Water Pageant - it still runs every night on the lake! There's a dinner show at Poly* too - and if those aren't your cup of tea, you might like something like the Pirates N Pals fireworks cruise* out on the Seven Seas Lagoon. If you are on a budget (and that's totally cool) then while you are at Disney Springs, grab a boat over to POR in the evenings to see YeeHaw Bob (or other live entertainment). It's always a great show, and if you have your Resort mug, you can fill it in the QS, no cost! *
extra cost or fee per person required
Maybe you want more things to do while in the Parks? OK, you can collect and trade pins - there's tons of info on that all over the Internet, but it can be a lot of fun - and every Resort has a pin trading board where you can trade once a day for free!
Smashed pennies are probably one of the cheapest souvenirs, and are just a lot of fun! Disney has the machines everywhere - keep your eyes peeled, and ask CMs if they know of any in their area; sometimes they kind of blend in to all of the theming!
Last but not least, you can always be the Official Photographer Of The Trip (registered trademark LOL) and while you wait for everyone to get done with the rides, you can take all of those artsy Instagram-worthy shots that we all *want* to take, but never get to. Don't worry about lugging along a camera (unless you happen to have all the equipment and you want to) just use your cellphone's camera, and snap away! You can pick a theme (flowers, Hidden Mickey's, princesses, whatever strikes your fancy) or you can just take pictures of everything. Pictures are my favorite keepsake from every trip, so I know I would really appreciate having someone along who took pictures from their unique perspective to add to my digital album!
Don't give up - and don't worry about what you can't do. Focus instead on what you *can* do, and have as much fun as you can!