Any aphakics? Did UV lights bother you!

[MeeskaMomma]

A little background. Our DS (2) is aphakic (lenses were removed). He doesn't have his IOL so his eyes do not have natural protection from UV light. Like most Aphakics he is very light sensitive.

DH noticed a lot of the fantasy land rides have a lot of black lights. DS isn't very verbal yet so it is sometimes hard to tell hen lights are bothering his eyes, right now he gets inexplicably grumpy, eventually I think, oh his eyes might be bothering him, put his sunglasses in and boom instant mood improvement.

DS seemed bothered on some of these rides but it is hard to say whether it was the light or just his age, maybe he was over stimulated. We considered switching out his normal glasses to his sunglasses but his sunglasses are so dark I was worried it would make it harder for him to see what is going on.

At last on to the question. If any of you are aphakic or have older aphakic children could you tell me if any of these rides bothered your eyes? If I know it is going to be a problem I was thinking I could get some sunglasses with lighter lenses for next year.

 

[jmartinez1895]

I do not have any personal experience with this so I did a search and I found some info, I am sure it is stuff you already know, but here is what I found about black lights:
Individuals who have aphakia also experience increased light sensitivity, especially to black light. For this reason, it can help to wear sunglasses and other protective eye wear in bright light, and to avoid extremely bright or blacklit conditions. Failure to observe precautions in bright environments could result in permanent damage to the retina, which will obscure vision even further.

I think I would skip the rides with black lights untill your child is older and can tell you if it is a problem or not. I would think that with dark sun glasses very little or nothing would be see in the ride like Peter Pan. But there are plenty of rides that do not have the light.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

Thanks for looking that up for us. We knew going in UV light is harmful, but I didn't notice it until we were half way through PP. We then noticed UV lights on Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, and several other places around the park. He was exposed for such a short time I don't think it did any harm, but we may need to do a little more research before our next trip. Disney seems to love the black light effect. I was considering talking to guest assistance and seeing if we could get a list of rides with UV lights, but If it is not something they already have I don't want them to go out of there way to put it together.

Perhaps we should talk to his OP next time about sunglasses I between his spectrum 4 lenses for outdoor use and his normal lenses for indoor.

 

[SueM in MN]

I doubt that Disney would have a list of attractions with UV (black) lights. They just generally say that different lighting effects are used in different attractions.

As you may have noticed, there are attractions with some scenes with UV lights, but the entire attraction doesn't have them.
I think we posters could probably come up with a list of attractions for you that would hit most of them.
People may not know if an attraction has UV lights, but one of the effects of UV lights is they can make parts of your clothing glow - usually whites.

Here's the ones I think use black lights in at least part of the attraction. Some would not be appropriate for a 2 yr old because they are too scary or have height restrictions.

Magic Kingdom
Peter Pan (the entire ride)
Winnie the Pooh (parts)
Space Mountain (most of it)
Journey of the Little Mermaid (parts - specifically the parts with Ursula)
Jungle Cruise - the temple part
Splash Mountain - possibly the parts just before going down the big drop
Tom Sawyer Island caves - not sure about this
Haunted Mansion
Buzz Lightyear - not sure, but think it is the entire ride

Epcot
Journey into Imagination
Spaceship Earth (parts)
Test Track
Maelstrom in Norway

Disney's Hollywood Studios
Rock N Roller Coaster
Tower of Terror
Toy Story Midway Mania - not sure
Legend of Captain Jack Sparrow (parts)
Voyage of the Little Mermaid

Animal Kingdom
Dinosaur

If he would also be bothered by flashes of light, there is a list of attractions with flashes on page 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

SueM thank you!

That really is helpful!

 

[SueM in MN]

SueM thank you!

That really is helpful!

It is just a guess, going over the park maps, so may not be complete.
Hopefully, other posters can give more input.

 

[MeeskaMomma]

It sure would be helpful to know ahead of time. I didn't realize it would be used on so many attractions. Not that it bothers me, it is a really odd problem to have, aphakia is pretty rare.