Anxiety- couple of questions...

[SDSorority]

Hello. I have anxiety and another person in my party does as well (my mom).

Here are some questions:

1- what are your favorite 'quiet' places around the parks? Do you have any lesser-known pathways that kinda get you out of the 'line of fire' between attractions?

2- at the resort check in, is my husband, if the room is in his name, able to go up and do the check-in by himself if we all have a dining/room/ticket package or do we all need to be present? I'd rather take a walk with my mom around the resort so that we can get used to our new surroundings during this time....

3- any tips for being around the crowds (in line, walking through the parks, etc)?


THANKS for any advice you can give!!!

 

[clanmcculloch]

1 - I don't think you'll like my family's coping strategy. We leave the parks for our resort after 3 hours max in the parks so that DD13 isn't overwhelmed. What we do that might be of interest to you for avoiding crowds between attractions is to follow a good touring plan services best parks per day and best attractions per time of day recommendations.

2 - If you're going during a free dining promotion then you might want to make sure that you and your mom are at least visible from the front desk as sometimes the CMs checking people in like to see that everybody on the reservation is actually present. Some unscrupulous people unfortunately have tried to list phantom guests during free dining in order to get extra free meals. Maybe you could have your DH text you when he's getting near the front of the line so you can wander back over towards the lobby and stand to the side at that point. If the CM wants to see you, your DH can motion you over at that point or if you need to stand outside the doors then he can text you and you'll already be close by and therefore it'll be quick for you to get over there.

3 - I really can't stress enough the benefit of a good touring plan service. These days, I tend to recommend easywdw. Also, look over park maps online and watch some youtube videos of attractions so you'll know what to expect. Sometimes unknowns cause a lot of anxiety so knowing what to expect can help offset that.

 

[gritzel4]

Some quiet places that we enjoy are:

Any first aid station will be a cool and calming location.

MK: Adventureland by the Dole Whip area.

EPCOT: most of the countries have a quiet area to sit in

AK: the benches in the jungle when you first enter the park.

DHS: the area outside of Rock n Roller Coaster.

In case of serious over stimulation, we head back to the resort for some pool time or relaxing in bed (can't call it a nap - son does not like naps )

 

[Dan1]

Hi,

My 24 year old daughter is special needs including high anxiety.

So, you know as I do that everyone's special needs are different.

Yet, I hope this helps.

Try and plan to attend the parks on the days of the week when the parks are not as busy. I recall seeing every now and again a listing indicating which days of the week are the busiest for specific parks. I don't have the link but a simply Google search should help.

Yes, your husband should be able to check-in by himself. If you are concerned at all, call the resort to confirm.

Do as much research on all of the rides and shows you plan on experiencing. In my daughters case, the more she knows about exactly what a ride will do, which way it will go, etc. the more she is able to handle. This includes all of the shows. For example, the Lion King show in AK has the performers & props enter from the back so if you are sitting on an ailse seat you might be surprised. And, they perform really close to the front rows. Therefore, you might want to consider sitting in a middle row away from the seats on the edge.

As far as crowds, you might want to be aware of the route each park's parade will take and what time the parade operates. This way you can avoid the route numerous minutes before the parade starts as people will be heading over towards the parade route making it crowded.

Lastly, consider eating your meals in the parks during 'off' typical meal hours to avoid crowded restaurants. What I mean by that is have an early light lunch around 11 am and then another light meal around 3 or 4 in the afternoon.

I hope this helps.

You'll have a great time! After all, it is the happiest place on earth!
Dan

 

[Singledad]

Some quiet places that we enjoy are:

Any first aid station will be a cool and calming location.

MK: Adventureland by the Dole Whip area.

EPCOT: most of the countries have a quiet area to sit in

AK: the benches in the jungle when you first enter the park.

DHS: the area outside of Rock n Roller Coaster.

In case of serious over stimulation, we head back to the resort for some pool time or relaxing in bed (can't call it a nap - son does not like naps )

I wanted to add this.. I am very social phobic, and it scared me about going to the first aid with my daughter, to get her in a quiet cool place (she was showing signs of heat exhaustion.) I was scared of it being a 'big deal', but the nurse was nice and calm and just lead us back to one of the curtained rooms, showed me where the bathroom is, and said to try to get her to drink some water.

So don't worry about causing a stir by going into first aid!

also, depending on when you go, by ahola isle itself can be crowded, but there was an area right around the corner, sorta bridge between adventureland and liberty square... I never knew it was there until this trip.. quiet and shaded! The area in hollywood studios that was quiet and people free was near the little mermaid show. that whole section was empty most the time I was there.

for epcot, we rode living with the land. it was nice and calm. never made it to the WS so don't know about that side.

just remember to pay attention and don't let yourself get to the overwhelmed point. if you start to have troubled, get out. don't worry about missing things, if you are overwhelmed you would be missing them anyway!

 

[cyb]

I suffer from anxiety too, I have trouble when I have to wait, the longer I wait the more my anxiety builds, I'm afraid I'm going to have trouble waiting in lines when we go to AK in Oct. does anyone have any ideas to help me get over this?
I just wanted to add that this anxiety started again about a year ago. I suffered from it a long time ago and somehow it went away and now it's back, has anyone had this problem?

 

[clanmcculloch]

I suffer from anxiety too, I have trouble when I have to wait, the longer I wait the more my anxiety builds, I'm afraid I'm going to have trouble waiting in lines when we go to AK in Oct. does anyone have any ideas to help me get over this?
I just wanted to add that this anxiety started again about a year ago. I suffered from it a long time ago and somehow it went away and now it's back, has anyone had this problem?

A really good touring plan and maximizing fast passes should result in wait times of no more than 10 minutes. There is no accomodation (i.e. GAC) for reducing wait times. My current favourite site for this is easywdw.

 

[kneemeister]

I have panic attacks when in a "herding" situation such as after Fantasmic! or Wishes, I just have to go off to the side and wait till there is open space before I can move again. In lines such as the Ferry at closing I try to stay as close to the outside so that I can look at the water and not the people. And at the larger shows I try to make sure I am sitting at the end of a row. At Fantasmic, or LMA etc, I simply tell the CM herding people in that I need to sit on the end and will get up and let people pass me to fill up the row.

Last 4th of July weekend was a real struggle but I made it. thank goodness I saw the fireworks on the 3rd as I did have to flee MK after about 2 hrs. 4th of July morning. But Animal Kingdom was virtually empty, so all was good, and I was then able to Tackle Epcot that evening.

As for quiet places to calm down, I like the boardwalk along Rivers of America, the Area behind Rose and Crown or over by the old Wonders of Life building.
At DHS it is usually peaceful between Muppets and LMA stadium. At AK down by the river behind Flame Tree Barbecue.

 

[SDSorority]

Thanks for all of your wonderful suggestions!

I'm having even more anxiety now, though... DH and I are starting on a doctor prescribed special diet where we'll only be able to eat 10-ish foods (think ingredients... like spinach, eggs, potatoes, no gluten or nuts or soy, butter not olive oil, etc.). I know to contact special diets... I am now just overwhelmed about where to actually MAKE our dining reservations, where we won't pay $$$$$$ for a plate of veggies or whatever else we're allowed. I had reservations at:

Via Napoli (for the pizza that we won't be able to eat due to the crust...)
Raglan Rd (for the portabello sandwich... we might be able to do this if they make it without the bun?)
GF Cafe (for the salad with strawberries on it)
The Wave (just because I heard they were vegetarian friendly)
and we were going to also go to ESPN (for the veggie sandwich and DH likes to make their nachos veggie... but we now can't eat chips because we can't have any oil other than butter and coconut oil)



Other than that, we WERE planning on going to the grocery for breakfast and lunch items anyway, but we're staying at POP for most of our stay. We will have a fridge for our special diet, but no 'kitchen' like we will for the couple days we're staying at SSR. Just what I need... something else to worry about. Maybe we'll at least be able to have a treat at Babycakes... still need to check their ingredients list. We've been to the world as vegetarians, but never this restricted.

 

[cyb]

Hello. I have anxiety and another person in my party does as well (my mom).

Here are some questions:

1- what are your favorite 'quiet' places around the parks? Do you have any lesser-known pathways that kinda get you out of the 'line of fire' between attractions?

My favorite quiet place at Epcot is in Japan either by the Koi pond or inside where there is a gallery of pictures, not sure what it's called. There are a lot of out of the way places in the different countries at Epcot.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I can think of a few quiet, out-of-the-way spots in AK. One is along the path near the Tree of Life. Enter the trail shortly past Pizzafari to the right.

The entrance to the trail looks like this-

Also, partly along the trail, you pass under a nice waterfall. If you like (I do this), just stand under the watefall for a while, lean against the wall, and all you'll hear is the sounds of the water-

Another nice quiet, resting place is across from the Flights of Wonder stage show. There's a few tables and chairs set back in the bushes under cover.

 

[Aisling]

A nice quiet, indoor spot to get away from the heat and crowds for a while is the Kodak store on the right side when you enter the MK. I think I heard it's not called Kodak anymore, so I hope someone will correct me with the new name.

Anyway, we found this spot by accident. Just go in and keep walking and there's a "hidden" area with theater seats in the dark showing old Disney cartoons. There wasn't a soul there when we came upon it and we sat and promptly fell asleep in the seats, it was so restful. It's a good place to calm anxious nerves when things get overwhelming.

 

[jmartinez1895]

My son has immuno issues so we try to avoid masses of people. One thing that we have found to help at MK is to use the train to bypass main street. We get on at the main street station( When you walk into the Magic Kingdom, you walk through a tunnel -- in the center there are stairs that lead you up to the railway platform. ) and we get off at Frontierland Station ( located near Splash Mountain.) We do the reverse when heading out. We also try to avoid the hour the park opens and closes.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I've always found that bathrooms help to stop my anxiety (mostly because I have immediate stomach issues as soon as the anxiety starts up, and because they're usually cool and secluded). If there's a clean one nearby, I will go into a stall and just try to relax and get my breathing/thoughts under control. This usually works best if there's not a lot of other people running in and out of the bathroom!

Epcot is great for "getting away" because there are so many lovely places to go. So many of the pavilions stretch further back than you realize, and you can step into them and remove yourself from the crowd. I also like the pathway to the International Gate, since there are often people but not HORDES of them. My suggestion is to sit with your back to the crowd and your face to the themed area. Sometimes, looking at a lot of people when I'm already feeling anxious just makes things worse. In Future World, you can go sit by the area around Journey into Imagination; it's usually pretty quiet and subdued over there!

In HS, I feel most relaxed in front of the Muppet theater. I watch the fountain. Unfortunately, I don't feel a lot of relaxation in that park in general! I'm pretty much guaranteed to have anxiety and stomach issues walking up towards Tower of Terror. *sigh* I still go, but usually have to stop off a few times at the bathroom.

 

[livndisney]

A nice quiet, indoor spot to get away from the heat and crowds for a while is the Kodak store on the right side when you enter the MK. I think I heard it's not called Kodak anymore, so I hope someone will correct me with the new name.

Anyway, we found this spot by accident. Just go in and keep walking and there's a "hidden" area with theater seats in the dark showing old Disney cartoons. There wasn't a soul there when we came upon it and we sat and promptly fell asleep in the seats, it was so restful. It's a good place to calm anxious nerves when things get overwhelming.

I am pretty sure this is not a quiet area anymore, since they opened the area to meet and greets with fastpass return.

 

[rileyreese]

You might look over the breastfeeding spots forum, I know a lot of those places are quiet and off the normal path, just an idea?!?!?

 

[Evi]

Thanks for all of your wonderful suggestions!

I'm having even more anxiety now, though... DH and I are starting on a doctor prescribed special diet where we'll only be able to eat 10-ish foods (think ingredients... like spinach, eggs, potatoes, no gluten or nuts or soy, butter not olive oil, etc.). I know to contact special diets... I am now just overwhelmed about where to actually MAKE our dining reservations, where we won't pay $$$$$$ for a plate of veggies or whatever else we're allowed. I had reservations at:

Via Napoli (for the pizza that we won't be able to eat due to the crust...)
Raglan Rd (for the portabello sandwich... we might be able to do this if they make it without the bun?)
GF Cafe (for the salad with strawberries on it)
The Wave (just because I heard they were vegetarian friendly)
and we were going to also go to ESPN (for the veggie sandwich and DH likes to make their nachos veggie... but we now can't eat chips because we can't have any oil other than butter and coconut oil)



Other than that, we WERE planning on going to the grocery for breakfast and lunch items anyway, but we're staying at POP for most of our stay. We will have a fridge for our special diet, but no 'kitchen' like we will for the couple days we're staying at SSR. Just what I need... something else to worry about. Maybe we'll at least be able to have a treat at Babycakes... still need to check their ingredients list. We've been to the world as vegetarians, but never this restricted.

Sounds like your on the clean diet. I'm sorry both you and your husband have same food issues. That must be extremely difficult to deal with. I know of no restaurant in Disney that uses coconut oil. You may have to stick with salads and streamed veggies. Sorry I'm not of more help.

 

[SDSorority]

Sounds like your on the clean diet. I'm sorry both you and your husband have same food issues. That must be extremely difficult to deal with. I know of no restaurant in Disney that uses coconut oil. You may have to stick with salads and streamed veggies. Sorry I'm not of more help.

That's ok- we can have butter, so that might be a cooking option, too! But steamed veggies, rice noodles, rice, potatoes, most all beans, most all veggies, most all fruits, all milk products. I know the chefs will take good care of us. It's been a crazy adjustment period for us... but we're already feeling better inside