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Category Archives: Disney for Seniors
Christmas Gift Ideas For Your DCO (Disney Crazed Oldie)
Hi, my name is Ken and I’m a DCO (Disney Crazed Oldie). A lot of my life, even smack dab in the middle of my 60′s, revolves around everything Disney. When I was a kid (in my 40′s) a pair of Mickey Ears would have thrilled me but as we become Oldies, our tastes change. With that in mind, here is my top 5 list for Christmas gifts for us, the DCO’s in your life. You will forgive me if a lot of this stuff is colored by my personal taste. In no particular order the list is:
Oldies like to stay warm so a very nice robe like this makes a great gift. This one is plush and of course is genuine Disney Parks. You can find it at: Disney Parks Robe
My dear wife loves purses, so for the DCO in your life with the same fetish this Dooney and Bourke Champsac Bag would be a lovely addition to her collection. Even if she is not a total DCO it is subtle enough so as not to attract smart aleck comments from observers. You can find this item at:
Here is where my personal taste comes in. I have over 30 Disney Snowglobes and they make wonderful collectibles. I admire the clever subject presentation and the intricacy of the handiwork. They make a great gift!!! This one can be found at the following location along with many others: Disney Snowglobes.
What DCO would not love a Mickey Mouse Watch? That’s not really a question because we all love them!! This is a particularly nice one and not all that expensive. It can be found at:
Giclee’s are another wonderful collectible with one MAJOR drawback – they are very expensive. Although I would love to have a nice collection of them I find that putting money towards Walt Disney World vacations is a better use for our cash. But – if you have extra money lying around with no one to spend it on you can reach me through Chipandco.com and I’ll provide you with the information you need to send it to me (just kidding of course). These particular types of items that I dream about are at:
There you go! These are the types of items that appeal to your DCO’s (at least this DCO) and would all make great Christmas gifts. I hope you all enjoy the holidays with your families and as always, enjoy your visit to Walt Disney World!!
Ken
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Oldies But Goodies – Don’t Miss These Holiday Experiences
The holidays at Walt Disney World, as we all know, are extra special for everyone but there are some experiences that are especially appealing to us, the Oldies. There are four that I think we find especially pleasing and if any of you chronologically advanced folks out there haven’t seen them you might find it worth your while to schedule a Walt Disney World visit during the Christmas season. In reverse order they are:
4. – The Grand Floridian Lobby – This is truly a marvel and is best visited during the evening when not only the tree and other decorations will be in their glory but the life size gingerbread house will be on display and the Grand Floridian Orchestra will be there playing some fantastic holiday music.
3. – The Candlelight Processional – This is always a treat. High school choirs from many states but primarily Florida fill the American Garden Theater in Epcot’s World Showcase all carrying candles and wearing beautiful gold robes, singing as they enter. It is a very moving experience and is narrated by a different celebrity who changes every couple of evenings.
2. – The Lighting Of Cinderella Castle – Once you see this in person, you will never forget it. Hundreds of thousands of ice lights are turned on bit by bit as the narration progresses. Once it is complete you will see the castle as you have never seen it before. The first time I saw it I actually misted up a bit – it’s that beautiful!!
1. – The Osborne Family Spectacle Of Dancing Lights – O.K this is number one. It takes place in the Streets of America area at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and there are literally MILLIONS of Christmas lights that are all turned on at the same time .You can hear the gasps from those in attendance when the switch is thrown. The lights are then choreographed to Christmas music for the rest of the evening in a spectacle that that will stay with you forever. If that is not enough it actually snows – an amazing evening.
If my Oldie friends visit Walt Disney World during the holiday season and do nothing but experience these four events, the visit will be well worth it. But – we all know that there is so much to do there that you will have a wonderful time no matter what. As always, enjoy your visit to Walt Disney World!!
Ken of Disney for Seniors
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Oldies But Goodies – Becoming A Kid Again At Walt Disney World
This Classic Oldies article goes out to our writer Ken who is home dealing with some major health issues. Get Well Soon Ken we miss you!
Oldies deserve to have as much fun as everyone else at Walt Disney World, maybe even a little more. The folks in my generation and older generations are a group of people who have spent their entire lives being mature and as we got older, more conservative and serious about their own behavior. Maybe it was Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War that did it but just plain silly fun was not a part of our adult lives. I’m not saying that today’s adults aren’t serious and mature, it’s just that us Oldies have been that way for many more years (given our ages). It’s not that we didn’t enjoy doing the things that we love to do but we haven’t spent a lot of time doing just plain ‘goofy’ things (notice the appropriate picture).
Enter Walt Disney World into our lives!! We can go there and behave exactly like a ten year old; skipping and singing, smiling and laughing, and just plain being silly. We can do this without fear of criticism or absorbing any inappropriate comments because everybody else is doing the same thing. It doesn’t matter if you were a high powered executive or someone like me who just worked hard his whole life, people don’t know who you are and they are just happy to see you enjoying yourself. So – join me in having fun and feeling like a kid again!!
If you spot me at Walt Disney World, you will see an old guy with a big smile on his face, a sparkle in his eyes, and a song in his heart (most likely ‘When You Wish Upon A Star’) because I am in the place I enjoy the most . Hopefully, Walt Disney World has the same effect on you. If it doesn’t, just give it a chance and let go a little bit, the magic will happen.
It doesn’t matter if you are traveling alone, as a couple, or as part of a multi generational group do something you have always wanted to do. Have a snack that everyone has told you was not good for you ever since you were a kid but be aware of your own medical restrictions. Ride the Prince Charming Regal Carousel or take a drive on the Tomorrowland Indy Speedway with all the other kids (you can even drive). Sing while you watch Wishes or Illuminations and when you are watching a parade, make sure you wave to all of the characters.
Hopefully I’ve convinced you that whether you are fifty, sixty, seventy or more that you too can be ten years old again if you give Walt Disney World a chance. I know it works for me. As always, enjoy your visit to Walt Disney World!!
Ken
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I Won’t Be Able To Eat Anything – Special Dietary Requests at Disney World
Have you ever heard this? Do you think this is accurate? Would Walt Disney World allow this to happen? As science and medicine progress, it is being found that many more people than were previously thought have food allergies or sensitivities. There are also many food issues among folks with chronic diseases. This issue runs the gamut from the very young to Oldies like me. Thankfully for me, my only food issue is that I love it way too much.
Disney takes these food issues very seriously and offers solutions at the large majority of their restaurants so their guests will not be subjected to the problems that can happen as a result of these allergies/sensitivities. Let’s take a look at what some of the major food allergies are:
- gluten or wheat
- shellfish
- soy
- lactose or dairy
- peanuts and tree nuts
- fish
- eggs
- corn
The best way to avoid problems with these types of allergies/issues is to note them when you make your table service reservations or if you prefer, discuss them with the Chef or Restaurant Manager upon your arrival. These things can generally be handled quite easily
There are other types of dietary issues that can cause problems for those folks with either metabolic disorders or multiple allergies. Some of these are:
- Allergy or intolerance not listed above under Common Food Allergies
- PKU
- Metabolic disorders
- A single guest with multiple allergies/intolerances or multiple guests with allergies/intolerances within the same party
These types of dietary issues require a bit more planning and Disney would like you to contact them at least 14 days in advance of your arrival by e-mailing them your information (restaurant, specific issue, how many members in your party with the issue, and any other pertinent information). The specific e-mail address is: SpecialDiets@DisneyWorld.com. You should have all of your reservations made and the reservation information assembled before contacting them.
You are not restricted to table service restaurants if you have one of the simpler allergies mentioned above. The following counter service eateries can also deal with the simpler allergies:
- Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café
- Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn & Café
- Main Street Bakery
- Columbia Harbor House
- The Pinocchio Village House
For further information you can visit the Walt Disney World Special Dietary Requirements web page. Walt Disney World is vastly experienced in handling dining needs of every type from those mentioned above to providing Kosher Meals upon request. Trust them but make sure you give them the correct information when they ask. After all, they have your and their best interests at heart. As always, enjoy your visit to Walt Disney World!!
Ken of Chip and Company and Disney For Seniors
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Five Ways To Ruin A Walt Disney World Vacation
Walt Disney World is a magical place to vacation and if you do most things correctly it is difficult to not have a wonderful time. Some people are planners and some are not but some planning is essential. Every traveling group has a definite dynamic and there are travelers within each group with different abilities and needs. The magic of Walt Disney World can overcome most things but there are a few things that MANY, MANY visitors do that can defeat even that magic. Let’s look at five things that can derail an otherwise incredible visit.
- OVERPLANNING: An awful lot of people get carried away with the planning portion of a visit. They try to plan every minute of every day and more often than not they suffer some disappointment because of the dreaded “Disney variables”. Although there are a lot of sites around that do a good job of predicting crowd levels, none of them are always accurate. You must allow some spare time to account for unexpected crowds and other things like an attraction going down because of a malfunction – it happens!! If you find yourself asking how long it takes to walk from attraction A to attraction B so you won’t miss anything, you are overplanning
- THE DOMINANT PERSONALITY: As I mentioned in the introduction, every traveling group has a dynamic which includes a dominant person in the group. If you don’t recognize who that person is in your party, it’s probably you. I speak from experience here because I am generally the dominant personality. I have learned over time that I have to step back and let the other members of the group take the lead. When I find myself taking over the group I have to say to myself – Ken, it’s not all about you!! Let your family and friends make some touring decisions.
- GOING COMMANDO (NO RESTING): It always amazes me the number of visitors who feel that they have to be on the go and hitting attractions every minute of every day. They are easy to spot because they are the ones in full meltdown about half way through their day. I’m not just talking about the kids either, grownups have meltdowns too. Kids cry and grownups yell or grimace at each other. Do yourself a favor, relax your pace and make every attempt to get out of the park for an hour or two each day. Take a nap or a dip in your resort pool and if you are not staying on site go visit one of the beautiful Disney resorts to just sit down for a snack or a cold beverage – you will not regret it.
- NOT LISTENING TO YOUR BODY: Your body knows when it needs something!!! When it’s tired it needs rest of one type or another, when it’s hungry it needs nourishment. and when it’s thirsty it needs fluids. One of the worst things you can do to yourself at Walt Disney World is to not stay hydrated. You get caught up in the excitement (happened to me in October) and you don’t drink as much WATER as you should. Dehydration is the quickest ticket to feeling just plain miserable and is the easiest thing to prevent – water, water, and more water!! Don’t worry, there are plenty of restrooms at Walt Disney World and they are generally spotless!!!!
- WINGING IT (ZERO PLANNING): I did this once and believe it or not, this is worse than overplanning. Walt Disney World is huge and very complicated so if you don’t do any planning I can almost guarantee you will spend a significant portion of your vacation standing in line for attractions. Equally as important, one of the easiest ways to rest is at a table service restaurant but if you don’t pre plan at least some meals and make the appropriate reservations you are very likely to be disappointed. The internet is a gold mine for research and any planning you do (just don’t overdo it) will be rewarded.
It’s very tough to ruin a vacation to Walt Disney World but if you do some of the things I mentioned above you are on your way. I learned most of the things I talked about through many, many visits over the years and I hope reading about them will help you maximize your visit. As always, enjoy your visit to Walt Disney World!!
Ken
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