@sandersmom, thank you for the reply. I know this can be a very stressful time not knowing what to expect. Mayo Clinic provides free Concierge Services to help answer questions about what you might expect during your visit. They can provide free information and guidance with travel, lodging, tourism and community resources. I'm also tagging Chelsea (@clockrem12) from Mayo Clinic Concierge Services who may be able to give you some information on what to expect on your first visit.

Contact form: http://bit.ly/2nM3mr0
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. CST by phone, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. in person
Location: Mayo Building, Lobby level, International Center
Email: concierge@mayo.edu
Phone: 507-538-8438

Rochester and the surrounding area have a lot of activities that may be fun to take in. I'm sure the Mayo Clinic Concierge can help you and your husband find something fun that you can do with your daughter.

Mayo Clinic has some great videos on YouTube to help visitors to Rochester Mayo Clinic:
http://bit.ly/2o3jvMj
God Bless,
John

Mayo will doubtless do lots of tests on your daughter so you need to plan to stay. The doctors often do tests on the first day. They are very efficient at the clinic. Blood tests often need to be a fasting test so that will probably be the next day. Be sure to check with the concierge for activities but I don't think you will have that much free time. Several tests are usually scheduled for each day. There are many places to stay in Rochester from the very expensive to the very reasonable so don't worry about that.
The doctors there are so kind and will probably put your daughter at ease. Good luck to you. The doctors there work as a team so you may go to lots of departments. Everyone at Mayo seem to be exceedingly polite and caring. Good luck-I am fairly certain the doctors will get to the problem!

Hi @sandersmom, I am a Mayo Clinic patient, and based on the successes I have experienced with Mayo since 09/2015, I plan on bringing one of my daughters to Mayo for a week within the next year or two for evaluation for several things. My daughter is nervous as well, but in realizing that they saved my life, in addition to returning quality of life to me, she knows that this is the best thing to do. As an aside, some of my doctors also treat children, and they are wonderful, calming people who have always made me feel comfortable.

At your daughter's initial appointment, they will do a thorough review with you and her, and at that time, they will also ask how long you are there. At that time, they will schedule specialist appointments, and they will also schedule as many tests and appointments as they can fit in during the timeframe you are there. Testing, whether lab or imaging, is all at the main Mayo campus, and they have the bandwidth to schedule tests very quickly. (There's no waiting for weeks and then driving all over the place to get to appointments like most of us are used to at home.)

For things to do...
• Be sure to walk around the first floor of the Mayo building. There's a museum with a small theatre in there. And if you can, stop by every floor of the Gonda Building, which has one side that's glass. There's a lot of artwork near the elevators and along the glass sidewall of the building on every floor.
• There's a small mall very close to the Mayo/Gonda buildings that you can walk to. Walk on the Peace Plaza to the Shops at University Square. There are a few restaurants in there, gift shops, clothing shops, and there's a fancy chocolate shop in there, too.
• There's also another mall called the Apache Mall that runs a shuttle all day between the hotels. (It's not as large as the malls I'm used to at home, but it's definitely more like a normal mall.) My favorite store in there is one that sells a bunch of kites.
• For movie theaters, there's a large multi-theatre complex near Super-Target and Lowe's just off of the main drag between Mayo and the airport. From Mayo Clinic, if you drive south on South Broadway, go past Soldiers Field on the right, keep driving past Walmart and Kohls on the left, and the road automatically turns into an expressway. Keep driving until you see the car dealers, Target, Lowe's, etc. on the left, and McDonalds up to the right, and get off at that exit. At the light at the top of the exit, take a left, and drive through a couple of lights. You'll see the entrance to this huge retail area on the left, and that's where you enter. I believe the theatre is called Galaxy 14 Cinema.

@sandersmom, I will add one thing to @kdubois's excellent response. In addition to scheduling your daughter's tests very efficiently, they have the results almost immediately. This sometimes leads to schedule changes as the day progresses. Do not worry about this, they will direct you every step of the way.
The environment is beautiful. And the buildings are easy to navigate with helpers everywhere.
Rosemary