Epilepsy?

[Eball2]

Hi all! I'm very new to this board and I am super excited to have found a place where everyone is so nice ) I absolutely love disney and have been there 7 times. I will be there this August with my husband and parents. Two years ago I was diagnosed with epilepsy and I was wondering if there is any way that I could get any handicap information? Is there any special info I need about the parks in regards to seizures? Is there a way to move quickly in line bc the heat sets off my seizures? Thank u for ur help!

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[Mama Who]

Hi there!

My husband has epilepsy and let me start off with the good news- everyone is different but many epileptics do Disney with NO problems whatsoever.

Papa Who's biggest challenge is remembering to take his meds when his normal routine is thrown off by vacation. Enlist your parents to help, get a daily pill box, set alarms, do whatever but make sure you stay on your meds!

The best way to reduce time in lines is FastPass. Yes, there's a Guest Assistance Card (GAC) which helps some people but it won't really keep you out of the heat and it won't shorten your wait times like FP does.

Know where the first aid stations are. They are air conditioned and relatively quiet and if you start over heating they are a good place to rehydrate and relax.

Do you have other triggers? Guest Services can let you know where you might run into things like strobe lights. (They're not an issue for Papa Who, but I know they're a common trigger.)

 

[Eball2]

Thanks! No specific triggers just lack of sleep or forgetting my meds mostly (

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[Mama Who]

Thanks! No specific triggers just lack of sleep or forgetting my meds mostly (

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Then I suggest a midday nap because I suspect at your age, calling it a night early is out of the question!

 

[SueM in MN]

Hi there!

My husband has epilepsy and let me start off with the good news- everyone is different but many epileptics do Disney with NO problems whatsoever.

Papa Who's biggest challenge is remembering to take his meds when his normal routine is thrown off by vacation. Enlist your parents to help, get a daily pill box, set alarms, do whatever but make sure you stay on your meds!

The best way to reduce time in lines is FastPass. Yes, there's a Guest Assistance Card (GAC) which helps some people but it won't really keep you out of the heat and it won't shorten your wait times like FP does.
The coolest part of the day is early morning until about 10:30 or 11 am and again in early evening. So, many people try to get to the parks early at opening, leave midday when it gets hotter and more crowded and thn come back in the evening.

Animal Kingdom feels hotter to many people (and also more humid). We watch the weather reports and try to go there on one of the cooler days during our stay.

Know where the first aid stations are. They are air conditioned and relatively quiet and if you start over heating they are a good place to rehydrate and relax.

Do you have other triggers? Guest Services can let you know where you might run into things like strobe lights. (They're not an issue for Papa Who, but I know they're a common trigger.)

For people who are concerned about lights - WDW doesn't have any of the lights most people think of when they think of strobe lights (i.e. very rapidly flashing lights). There are some flashing lights in some attractions, but not the rapidly flashing ones.
If you want more information about lights and epilepsy, there is a post about it in page 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread, which is near he top of this board, or you can follow the link in my signature.

Lack of sleep, forgetting/getting off schedule with medications and dehydration are not really triggers, but do lower the seizure threshold (how much it takes to trigger a seizure). Many attractions have queues that are inside, so will not be as much of a problem as just walking around in the heat between attractions.
There is information about Guest Assistance Cards (GACs) in post 6 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread. As Mama Who mentioned, they were not designed to shorten waits. You will have much more consistency by using Fastpasses and a touring plan ( or at least going to the least busy park) based on websites like www.easywdw.com and www.touringplans.com

As was already mentioned, each park has a First Aid station where you can recover from a seizure or just get into air conditioning.