A Few Questions About WDW

[KlippertFan]

Ok so I'm trying to plan a trip but I've never been to WDW before. I would really really love to see MMVMCP but I've read in a few places that December weather is unpredictable and there is a chance that the water parks won't be open, which is also important to me. In a 7 or 10 day vacation what are the chances that the water parks would be open for at least one of those days?

Also another question....When reading about the rides at the WDW site all of the big thrills say Warning: possible motion sickness. I really would love to try some of those but do tend to get quesy, are there any rides that are considered to be Big Thrills that anyone could say really don't apply to motion sickness?

One last question....I'm a bigger lady, how accessible are rides at the theme parks for those of us on the bigger side? Plus any of the bigger people out there, did you have a hard time walking the theme parks or was it alright?

Thanks for the help !

 

[fizz13]

Hi there and welcome to the DIS December can be a little unpredictable for weather and it could be a gloves and scarf day next to a shorts day, you just never know. However, one of the two waterparks should always be open as they try to refurb one while the other stays open. They then switch but there is no way to know which one they will do at what time so keep posted to the refurbs and closures info for more details.

As for motion sickness, it is hard to say what you can cope with until you try. Start with a relatively gentle one like Kali River rapids at AK and then work your way up through the terror scale. Also, you may know which type of motion affects you. Is it drops, spinning, speed...this may help other DISers give an informed opinion. The only rides in all of WDW that made me ill was the teacups with all that spinning, but give me Mission Space and I'm fine .

Hard to answer the question about size as each ride is different. Maybe some other DIsers will have been more observant than me on where they may have had "Pooh Bear" size problems. Maybe Space Mountain as its quite narrow or Rock n Roller Coaster with the harness.

I'm sure more DISers will be along to help you and welcome once again,
Claire

 

[KlippertFan]

Thank you fizz13! The motion sickness is actually fairly new to me, lol, I used to be able to ride any and all rides but over the last few years they have started to make me nauseous (very sad because I so like them). Probably the spinning is what does it to me the most, although I have struggled with the drop ones at times too . Just to clarify in terms of being a "big lady", airplane seats (providing they are not those like 30 seaters that are tiny little planes) are not a problem, no seatbelt extender needed or anything like that, although the seatbelt just fits perfectly, maybe that will help people in terms of being able to offer feedback on any issues I may encounter due to size. Thanks again everyone!

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

You may want to check out Deb Will's site www.allearsnet.com There is a feature there called Disney at Large. It will give you some ideas.

Also- about the motion stuff. Only a few rides will be a factor w/ spinning. Mission Space, at Epcot, Mad tea cups,at MK and the Primevil whirl at AK, are the only ones I can really think of. The prob. w/ drops, would be Tower of Terror, at MGM, and Splash Mountain at MK. There are prob. more, but can't think of any right now

As for most Disney rides, They are wonderful, but I find them to be pretty tame, and slower than a lot of rides at other parks I go to. The only "thrill" ride I have never been on at WDW, is Rock and Roller coaster, so not sure how fast it is.

Our last trip in Dec, was the week of Christmas. Shorts, during the day, but usually w/ a jacket, and long pants after dark. DH went swimming, but he was pretty chilly. If you do want to swim, and want to see Christmas stuff, I'd go w/ late Nov., Early Dec. Maybe a little warmer??

The projected hours posted here on the Dis, has Typhoon Lagoon, closed for Rehab, most of December, and when it opens up, Blizzard Beach is going to be closed.

Have fun planning!! Welcome to the DIS

 

[ncbyrne]

Besides the rides that spin, the simulator rides, like Body Wars also make me nauseous.

 

[KlippertFan]

Thanks everyone for the great tips and info ! I'm definitely going to check out that link .

 

[KlippertFan]

Just read that site, put my mind at great ease ! Thank you! Now if I could only figure out how to survive all the walking, lol, at least it will be great exercise!

Has anyone with motion sickness ever tried Gravol or some other medication to go on some of the rides that would typically cause them motion sickness? If so, did it work? Or does WDW provide sick bags like airplanes just in case? lol Actually, providing that I have something so that I know that IF I do get sick I've got something available it tends to not make it as bad, I think the fear of "what will I do if I get sick" tends to make it worse than it actually is. I don't want to have to skip any rides, I so wish this wasn't a problem .

 

[Deb & Bill]

There is always one water park closed during the winter months. They do all the renovations at the water parks starting around Nov 1 or so. One is closed until about Dec 25, then the other one closes. But we have gone swimming at BB in January (this past January) and the weather was great.

 

[KlippertFan]

I guess I need to decide how important being able to go to both waterparks is then, is it more important than MVMCP. Any feedback from anyone that's been? Will I be really missing out on something if I don't go to one of the waterparks? Or would I miss out more by not going to MVMCP? I'm from a city in Canada that is considered to be one of the coldest so sometimes cold to some people is downright balmy to us, lol. Can anyone give me an average (in Celcious) of the coldest it might be at WDW at that time?

 

[twinz]

The last time my sis and I were at Disney (2 years ago) we were 80 and 90 pounds heavier then we are now...I was 280, and she was 250, and we never had a problem with ANY of the rides. I always felt comfortable riding the rides, and never felt like I squeezed into a small space.
Also we were in WDW in December 2002, and we must have been really lucky because we had AMAZING weather. We also over heard people saying that it was colder the year before. that was the only time we were there in december though.

 

[Shell76]

Drammamine works really well for both DH and I for our motion sickness. DH has a much bigger problem with this then I do, so it is an automatic that every morning before we hit the parks, he will take a couple of the pills and they usually work all day. After taking the pills, we don't skip any of the rides.

 

[KlippertFan]

Excellent! Thanks everyone!

 

[traumamama]

Just read that site, put my mind at great ease ! Thank you! Now if I could only figure out how to survive all the walking, lol, at least it will be great exercise!

Has anyone with motion sickness ever tried Gravol or some other medication to go on some of the rides that would typically cause them motion sickness? If so, did it work? Or does WDW provide sick bags like airplanes just in case? lol Actually, providing that I have something so that I know that IF I do get sick I've got something available it tends to not make it as bad, I think the fear of "what will I do if I get sick" tends to make it worse than it actually is. I don't want to have to skip any rides, I so wish this wasn't a problem .

not sure how long away your trip is but mine is 9 weeks and i am gonna start walking every day beginning monday to recondition me just a little hope it helps me some

 

[ABWTmom]

Hi - everyone has such good suggestions - I'd like to add my two-cents... I've been to WDW in December of 2003 and 2004. Weather is unpredictable. You do have to plan for temps between 30 and 70 degrees! On the plus side, ALL the pools are heated... (resorts and water parks).

MVMCP is wonderful! I always enjoy the snow on Main Street. It tends to be a little crowded until the fireworks, then thins out quite a bit. The cookies and cocoa are a really nice treat.

I can't offer any input on the motion sickness end, but planning a walking routine to build up some endurance is a great idea, but Disney also provides lots of park benches if you need to take a little break!

The crowds in the park for December 7th to the 18th timeframe (those times we went) are really low - the only really crowded area was Fantasyland, everywhere else you could pretty much walk on most of everything.

Have fun planning and of course, have a magical trip.