anxiety - what is your opinion?

[ZehnJahren]

Hello all,

I'm going in November for the first time in many years, and although this is a little embarrassing I thought this is a good place to put this question.

For years I suffered from pretty extreme anxiety, and after a life changing illness I have lost the majority of it (thank God something good came out of that!). However, one thing still affects me VERY deeply, and it has come out on rides at other theme parks: I have severe, crippling anxiety and panic when I'm stuck on a shut-down ride.

I was stopped on a roller coaster at another theme park two years ago, and the reaction I had was almost violent - I was at the point where I was ready to break the restraints to get off. Within seconds of being told we would have a "temporary shut-down" I was in tears. It has gotten just a touch better, but not much - I can't handle feeling like I'm being "forced" to do anything, and my body reacts very suddenly. Usually, this reaction puts me out of commission for a few hours afterward; it's been very nasty in the past.

I only remember being stuck on a Disney ride once or twice many many moons ago, and I seemed to be ok then. But someone recommended I get one of those "disability passes" (forgot what they're called) to alert cast members to what happens to me so that in the case of a longer shut-down they would "rescue" me quicker. I really don't want to miss out on all the rides, and there's no guarantee they would either shut down OR that I would have the same reaction as I have in the past - but I also don't want to start sobbing uncontrollably and scare any children around me , or end up in bed for one of my precious Disney days because I freaked out.

What do you think?

 

[livndisney]

Hello all,

I'm going in November for the first time in many years, and although this is a little embarrassing I thought this is a good place to put this question.

For years I suffered from pretty extreme anxiety, and after a life changing illness I have lost the majority of it (thank God something good came out of that!). However, one thing still affects me VERY deeply, and it has come out on rides at other theme parks: I have severe, crippling anxiety and panic when I'm stuck on a shut-down ride.

I was stopped on a roller coaster at another theme park two years ago, and the reaction I had was almost violent - I was at the point where I was ready to break the restraints to get off. Within seconds of being told we would have a "temporary shut-down" I was in tears. It has gotten just a touch better, but not much - I can't handle feeling like I'm being "forced" to do anything, and my body reacts very suddenly. Usually, this reaction puts me out of commission for a few hours afterward; it's been very nasty in the past.

I only remember being stuck on a Disney ride once or twice many many moons ago, and I seemed to be ok then. But someone recommended I get one of those "disability passes" (forgot what they're called) to alert cast members to what happens to me so that in the case of a longer shut-down they would "rescue" me quicker. I really don't want to miss out on all the rides, and there's no guarantee they would either shut down OR that I would have the same reaction as I have in the past - but I also don't want to start sobbing uncontrollably and scare any children around me , or end up in bed for one of my precious Disney days because I freaked out.

What do you think?

There is not a disabilty pass. There is a GAC=Guest Assitance Card that provides assistance for those with unseen disabilities. There is not assistance to be rescued sooner.

That being said I have been going to WDW for over 15 years and have never been walked off a ride. I can only remember once getting stopped on Splash for about 15 minutes. The ride started with no issues. Not to say a ride stopping can't happen, but to let you know how uncommon it is.

You may experience short stops for loading/unloading of a wheelchair guests. But those are kinda fun on rides like Buzz because you can get more points.

Personally, I would have a plan (breathing exercises etc) in case a ride stops, but I would not worry about it.

 

[ILoveMyGirls]

I have extreme anxiety too and am on Xanax for it and an anti-depressant. I think you should talk to your doctors about this. We were stuck on one ride at Disney and yes it freaked me out BUT due to my meds it reduced my anxiety so I would not freak out.

 

[WildGrits]

I cannot see where it would even be safe to exit after leaving the dock.

I would strongly suggest that if you know this is an issue, you talk to your doc or maybe find someone who does those fear of flying classes and see what they recommend.

Having panic attack that are so strong they kick up your fight or flight sense could be not only dangerous to you but others as well.

I truly feel for you and hope you find the answers you need.

 

[SueM in MN]

There is information about Guest Assistance Cards in post #6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. That thread is near the top of this board or you can follow the link in my signature to get there.
I agree with the other posters that a GAC would not be useful for you with the concern of being rescued if an attraction stops. There is no GAC that can really deal with that situation.

Situations where an attraction stops and people need to be evacuated/rescued are pretty rare.
The majority of stops are short and don’t involve any rescues.
It might be helpful for you to be aware of some of the reasons attractions might stop for a few minute, because most of them are not anything wrong with the ride itself. Here are a few reasons rides stop:

1. planned stop for someone with a disability to board
2. planned stop for someone with a disability to get off
3. unplanned stop because someone took a little longer to get on or off
4. unplanned stop because someone had difficulty getting off
5. unplanned stop because someone with a child had to lift the child out and took a little longer
6. unplanned stop when someone dropped something
7. unplanned stop when someone forgot something on the ride car and went back to get it
8. unplanned stop when someone on the ride was misbehaving (standing up, reaching over the side, etc)
9. unplanned stop for a technical reason (usually something like a computer glitch; for example, the music not being in synch with the audioanimatronic figures
10. unplanned stop because a guest became sick or something

There are lots of other potential reasons for attractions to stop - most of them are not ‘bad’ things, just unexpected things.

A few other things that might be helpful for you to know about:
- Attractions have hidden cameras (even the dark attractions) so that CMs can see what is going on. If you have ever been on an attraction where someone tried to stand up and a voice from the ceiling said all guests need to remain seated, a CM actually saw the person. So, you don’t have to worry that something will happen and CMs will not know.

- All attractions have plans for what to do/how to evacuate if that is needed. Because of the cameras, they can make sure that no one is forgotten or left behind. For actual evacuations, they will turn on the lights. For short stoppages, they will have announcements telling guests to stay in their seats.

- All the attractions have planned routes for evacuation. You can’t see it in some of the dark rides, but if you look for it, you will actually see a set of stairs right next to the ride car path in rides like Spaceship Earth. They may involve a lot of stairs, but in an evacuation, they would turn the lights on and you could see where you were going.

- Most evacuations are not emergencies, but are for things where guests would have to sit for too long while the problem is fixed.

As the other posters mentioned, you may want to talk to your doctor or therapist for other ways to deal with your fears.

 

[Debbie-TN]

I have trouble with panic attacks also. I want to warn you about Mission:Space. I love this ride, even the orange side that spins. They have shoulder harnesses. For many years I never thought about it, but one time the ride didn't start right away and I suddenly felt trapped. I started to panic a little and had a hard time breathing. As soon as the ride started I was fine, but now I have a hard time making myself go on it.

 

[Stag]

Hi there! I battle with severe anxiety too on a daily basis, so here are a few of the tricks I use to help calm myself when I get panicky.

1. Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth, as slow as you can. Close your eyes. Focus on relaxing each part of your body-- I like to tense my muscles, then relax them as much as I can, from the head down.

2. The colors game! I open my eyes and try to focus on finding all the items of one color in the room. If I finish with one color, I move onto the next. And so on.

3. It might seem silly, but movement helps me. If you're on a ride, you can do things like rolling your wrists/hands, clenching and unclenching your hands, flexing your fingers, rolling your ankles-- I like to try to draw my name with my toes, and just got out of the habit of clicking my teeth together. My service dog is trained to nudge me when I do repetitive behaviors, so I don't do that anymore.

4. I keep the beat. Tapping my fingers on things helps. One, two, three, one, two, three.

5. Count down from 100, then repeat.

6. Relaxing imagery. I picture a jungle. Lift my hands, plug my ears, and breathe while I imagine everything about it-- the cool air, the birds chirping, the humidity.

7. Pressure. I press on my hands, press on my knees-- sometimes I take it up a notch and massage my hands each in turn.

I'll come back if I remember anything else! Everyone else had really good things to say too, especially the list of different reasons rides might stop!

 

[Debbie-TN]

Thanks for all those suggestions. I'm going to write those things down. I might need them some time.