Automatic Flush Toilets

[knoxt]

Does anyone else have a child who is terrrified of the automatic toilets??? My daughter is not afraid of characters, Santa, Easter Bunny or rides, but she freaks out everytime we go in a bathroom that flushes on its own!!! Sometimes it makes her end up running out without going the bathroom! My question is are there any bathrooms at WDW that don't automatically flush and if so, where? And also can you cover the sensor with something until she's done? Any suggestions???

 

[stacy6552]

Most are automatic, and some are pretty sensative, so you might want to get her used to them before going.

 

[prplcrzy]

I recall seeing this before on another thread and someone said to cover the sensor with a band-aid and then have your child go into the stall.

I haven't had to deal with this yet, but thought I'd pass along someone else's tip.

Nancy

 

[CDoobee]

Someone else on that thread mentioned carrying a small pack of post-its for this purpose. My kids are way, way, way, past the age to worry about this, but it sounded like a great solution!

Hope this helps!

Debbie

 

[extreme8]

I saw a tip in another thread about this same problem, and the mom used a post-it note to cover up the sensor.
Haven't had to try it myself but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

[cajunmommy]

We were there in Feb. I was suprised that there were actually non-automatic ones in Epcot (at least the ones at the entrance). If I remember correctly, the family / companion restrooms also had non-automatic ones.

I was also going to recommend the Post-it tip as well.

 

[SueM in MN]

If I remember correctly, the family / companion restrooms also had non-automatic ones.

Some of the Companion restrooms have them and some don't (the same as the other restrooms in WDW).
Just a note about these restroom: in many of the parks (especially MK and Epcot) these are the only toilet stalls in the entire park that some people with disabilities can use. The handicapped stalls in the regular restrooms look large, but most are not big enough to get a wheelchair or a helper for an adult in and close the door. There are only a few of these restrooms in each park, so Disney does not list them as family restrooms and you will not find them on the maps.

 

[degrapevine]

I had the same problem with my DD, now 3 1/2.
While at Disney over Christmas, we were almost done potty training with her when the automatic toilet scared her so much she wouldn't sit for the rest of the trip!
She's very petite and just a little movement to the side, and whoosh!
(This was before I realized what to do ...)
I started that other thread about the "Attack of the Self-Flushing Toilets" and shared my tip about the Post-its.
We like using them because I can put a pad in my fanny pack and they cover the sensor completely while in use and come off easily (much easier than a band-aid or sticker).
My daughter even likes to take it off herself - She knows that way, she's in control of when the potty flushes.
I know that this whole issue may seem silly to some, but if you ever have a hysterical child who won't sit on the toilet for a whole vacation (thank goodness we brought Pull-ups, just in case, and she would use those or wait until we got to the hotel), you'd realize how it can just ruin the magic!
I hope the tip helps - Have a great vacation ... We'll be there next week for our Spring Break.
(Just look for the crazy mom with the Post-it notes!)

 

[MomE@Home]

My DD(3) loves self-flushing toilets ! We went to Sears the other day and she kept making the toilet flush over and over again. When it first flushed she looked a little startled but I said "What a funny potty-it flushes all by itself !". After that she thought it was funny too.

 

[tjmw2727]

My 7yo still dosen't like the self flushers! Most of the rest rooms at WDW do have the autoflush. We also use the post it's and they work perfectly. Just remember to take them out and throw them away LOL. When mine were young I just explained to them how they worked and why they were a good think. (A few times into a yecky stall and no more explanation necessary, yech.).

Then I put them in charge of the post it and assured them it would work. With my youngest since we go in together anyway I would sometimes "go first" and show her that it works.

When I put her in charge of putting on the post it and taking it off that worked very well. If you forget your post it's covering it with your hand in front of the sensor - (you don't have to touch it) works as well.

btw I don't blame the kids for not liking them, the few times I have been caught by surprise It wasn't fun (ok tim sorry!

Tj

 

[Vanryan]

My 6yo was 3 on our first trip. The automatic flushing freaked him out. He didn't want to go in the parks, at all. Just last week we went to a new bathroom in his school and he asked if they had the automatic flush. I was tihnking I had better get him and our new little potty boy 2.5 yo used to the idea. But the post it note thing sounds like a magical fix!!

 

[CarrieAP]

OMG- I never saw this topic posted before and it has me laughing hysterically! Just when I thought I had the only toilet neurotic child in the world I find there are more of her out there! She was very late potty training and developed her idiosyncracy 2 years ago when she was 3. She became terrified of the toilets midway through the trip. Her fear has continued and she now checks out the toilets in every public restroom before deciding if she will go. Let me tell you, she as developed amazing bladder control.

Usually I have to stay in the stall with her and hold my hand over the sensor. Even then, it takes a lot of coaching and encouraging. I always wonder what people must think! The post-its are a great idea that I will have to try this in May. Probably should start preparing her now for this aspect of the trip. She actually started keeping track of toilets last year and was so proud when she located a "regular" one.

 

[jazznms]

durring mnsshp trip last year we herd this as we where walking out of the restrooms
" don't worry son this is disney and they flush magicaly" the boy eyes lit up, and i still think he is looking for tinkerbell with the wand to flush them with

 

[tmfranlk]

My 8yo sister still hates them. We leave in a few days and I asked the other day if there was anything else I needed to make sure we did on our trip. Her response..."Make sure we don't use any electrical toilets." I told her about the post-it note idea and, though she's a little hesitant, she is a little better about them. Until now, I've had to go in too and put my hand over the sensor.

 

[peg2001]

I don't think this is a silly topic at all. DD7 doesn't like automatic flush toilets but she will use them. DD4 can become hysterical about them. If we go into any public bathroom, she asks "Is it automatic?" and if she sees the sensor, she starts to back up and deny having to use the bathroom.

I've been in the unenviable position of covering the sensor with one hand while using the other one to wrestle to get her to drop her drawers and sit on the pot.

The post-its are a good idea. I need to start carrying them in my purse.

Peggy

 

[MomofKatie]

My DD was 3 the first time she went to WDW, and it was her first experience with autoflush toilets. I thought she would freak out a little, but when she used one for the first time and it "did it's thing", her eyes got real big and she said, "Mommy, even the potties here are magic!" It is one of the few things she remembers about that first trip, and we get a big laugh out of it1

 

[disdreams]

My 4 year old isn't "terrified" of them but they do startle her a bit because some of them seem to be more sensitive and will flush several times while she is sitting on it!! I hate that! I think they are motion activated, so I think when I stand really still while in there with her, it doesn't happen, from what I can remember. Try that.

 

[sarahsmom73]

We found this out in the airport on the way down! She was OK by the end of the trip...

 

[Selina]

Both my kids freaked out at the automatic flushes, especially if they were doing a number 2!! and moved - then it flushed! My youngest who was 6 at the time used the disabled toilet as they usually have a button or small handle, rarely automatic flush. If disabled one was in use, went in and covered the sensor with my hand - but the post-it sounds like a good idea.

 

[SueM in MN]

My youngest who was 6 at the time used the disabled toilet as they usually have a button or small handle, rarely automatic flush.

All the handicapped toilet stalls I have encountered have whatever the rest of the bathroom has - if the others are automatic, the handicapped stalls are too.
We were at WDW at the end of March and I can report postively that was the case in all the restrooms we used. Some of them had a small button in addition just below the automatic eye, which meant that even if I covered the sensor, the toilet still sometimes flushed if DD bumped it (she has cerebral palsy and has a hard time sitting totally still while using the bathroom.)