Friend with Morning Sickness...help?

[GBShorts]

Okay, I think this is the right place.

I have two very good friends going to WDW together for the first time, husband and wife. They've had this trip planned for quite awhile. Very recently, after trying for many years, she recently got pregnant. When the trip was planned, she was not pregnant.

Anyway, to make a long story short, she has extreme morning sickness all day...and if it's not feeling nauseous, she's got to use the restroom. From what I understand, she's heading for the restroom for one thing or the other on average every half hour.

SO, my question is this. Would Disney consider her to be disabled and let her use the handicapped lines in the parks? She obviously can't ride the crazier rides (She gets motion sickness too), but what about for the little dark rides? With her inability to be that far away from a bathroom, I've been racking my brain to come up with alternatives for those long summer lines.

I understand there are many people out there with many more disabilities than her case, but I'm trying to think of a way that they can still enjoy their trip despite her feeling like she needs to lie down a lot and having to hit the restroom so often. Disney is all for attempting to make every guest's trip a memorable one...in a good way, and I'd love to have some input on things they could do to improve her trip.

Right now, cancelling the trip isn't an option. They leave next Saturday for Orlando, and couldn't get their money back.

They will be staying at All-Star Music resort and she's about 10 weeks pregnant, hopefully at the end of her morning sickness but right now she's still feeling very ill. They are going to be there from Saturday night until Thursday morning.

Thanks in advance for your help. Again, I'm not looking for people to tell me she's not handicapped. I know she isn't, I'm just looking for other experiences or ideas people have about how she can make the most of this trip with her husband. It's a trip for her birthday! In a way, she's disabled from her normal self since she can't be away from a rest room longer than a half hour.

Thoughts? Should they ask at guest services when they get there? I'm not sure...

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Hi and to disABILTIES!

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information, including information on Guest Assistance Cards.

The would have to to to Guest Relations in the first park and explain her needs. Note that a GAC is not designed to allow people to skip lines. And almost all attractions do not have an alternate entrance but are designed so a person in a wheelchair or ECV can go right to the boarding area.

However, each park has a first aid station staffed by at least two RNs while the park is open. One thing they have is an area where if a person has to rest they can lie down for about an hour, so at least that is an oprion compared to leaving the park to return to the room.

 

[GBShorts]

Hi and to disABILTIES!

If you click on where it says "disABILTIES" at the top of this page it will take you to the Index. One of the top items is the "disABILTIES FAQ" which will gives lots of useful information, including information on Guest Assistance Cards.

The would have to to to Guest Relations in the first park and explain her needs. Note that a GAC is not designed to allow people to skip lines. And almost all attractions do not have an alternate entrance but are designed so a person in a wheelchair or ECV can go right to the boarding area.

However, each park has a first aid station staffed by at least two RNs while the park is open. One thing they have is an area where if a person has to rest they can lie down for about an hour, so at least that is an oprion compared to leaving the park to return to the room.

Thanks I did hit the sticky with the FAQ first, it just wasn't quite what I was looking for.

I know it's not designed to skip lines, but in her case, it would make her Disney experience a good one instead of bad. Does that make sense? I'm sure they've had guests before who, for whatever reason, could not stay upright for long periods of time due to a whole array of disabilities. That's all I'm asking is if there is a provision in place for such a thing.

 

[Piper]

Thanks I did hit the sticky with the FAQ first, it just wasn't quite what I was looking for.

I know it's not designed to skip lines, but in her case, it would make her Disney experience a good one instead of bad. Does that make sense? I'm sure they've had guests before who, for whatever reason, could not stay upright for long periods of time due to a whole array of disabilities. That's all I'm asking is if there is a provision in place for such a thing.

One difference is that your friend's "disability" will be gone in less than 9 months. In its place she will have a child to return to WDW with--she can enjoy the magic through her little one's eyes!

The other guests will have their disability for life (and often face the condition getting worse instead of better.)

 

[allyphoe]

she has extreme morning sickness all day...

If she's really that sick, she ought to be working with her OB to find a solution. http://www.gynob.com/mornsick.htm has a couple of alternatives to try. Seriously, she's not going to be able to get from the room to the park in 30 minutes. If she's that sick, IMHO she has a very real possibility of being refused boarding to her flight. Waiting in ride lines is the least of her problems.

IMHO, even the GAC that gives you the fastest entry (other than the MAW one, which she obviously wouldn't qualify for) wouldn't be sufficient if she really does need to be in the bathroom every 30 minutes. Thirty minutes just isn't enough ride + transit time.

I'd plan for a very low-key trip. Swim at the pool. Look at the scenery. Meet characters.

 

[bumbershoot]

FWIW, while I didn't really have morning sickness until third tri, I could easily have slept straight through from one week post-conception into the second tri, so I know the utter exhaustion. I pretty much slept through my honeymoon (which started a week post wedding and conception) and did NOT have anywhere near the experience I had planned for the 8 months of honeymoon planning. And your friend might have that same experience.

I've never been to WDW, but I doubt there are bathrooms at every ride, so she very well might end up getting out of every single line, possibly more than one time. Perhaps a GAC could let her get back into line, but since I've learned here that there are really no "front of line" passes, she's very likely going to have to wait in line.

WDW really doesn't let you reschedule, even with a fee, or keeping the deposit? If I were in her shoes, having experienced the bummer of my honeymoon, I'd be looking at happily losing money in order to reschedule the trip for a later date.


Even for a couple months. Many women perk right up after the first tri. Didn't happen for me; things just got more and more difficult in new and incredibly UNinteresting ways, but many women do experience quite a bit of renewed energy and much less throwing up later on, as well as a decrease in the peeing, for that middle part of pregnancy.


I'd say it can't HURT for them to ask about any sort of GAC, figure out what she might need, and see if they can help her. But I'm obviously not any sort of expert, just giving ya my experience and what I've read here.

 

[Stitch#1]

If she's really that sick, she ought to be working with her OB to find a solution. http://www.gynob.com/mornsick.htm has a couple of alternatives to try. Seriously, she's not going to be able to get from the room to the park in 30 minutes. If she's that sick, IMHO she has a very real possibility of being refused boarding to her flight. Waiting in ride lines is the least of her problems.

IMHO, even the GAC that gives you the fastest entry (other than the MAW one, which she obviously wouldn't qualify for) wouldn't be sufficient if she really does need to be in the bathroom every 30 minutes. Thirty minutes just isn't enough ride + transit time.

I'd plan for a very low-key trip. Swim at the pool. Look at the scenery. Meet characters.

I would have to agree with allyphoe. It almost sounds like your friend might has something else going on besides being pregnant if she is in the restroom that much.
It might be a good idea for her to speak with her doctor more in regards to her current problems.
I know when I got pregnant it started out fine and then I was constantly in the bathroom. Well long story short I got very sick and found out I had ulcerative colitis. I too had a trip to Disney pre-planned which I went on but did few rides and relaxed more and did a return trip when my son was 8 months old.

 

[lisadoll93]

She should really contact her dr if thats bad. Something just does not sound right. I hope she feels better.

 

[GBShorts]

Thank you to those who are providing constructive ideas toward a solution.

By saying she was heading for the rest room every half hour, I didn't mean to imply it's ALWAYS a half hour, that was a generalization her husband gave me via AIM last night. I'm not living there with them so I can't give you a minute by minute account of what she's doing. Also keep in mind that half hour statement was from a male perspective. He also told me later that often she feels nauseous, heads to the bathroom to be sick and nothing ever comes of it (dry heaves).

Frankly, I'm a bit surprised at some of the responses I've gotten here. I KNOW she's not permanently disabled and I KNOW she'll be better after the baby is born. That fact is NOT up for dispute here. I was simply asking for a bit of help from some people I thought would be helpful. To those who have been, I thank you.

Because she's got a high risk pregnancy (after many failed ones and one where the baby was developing with the heart outside its body, fertility trials etc...), she has been to the OB/GYN EVERY WEEK for ultrasounds and other such things since she realized she was pregnant over a month ago. I'm quite sure she's had discussions about her morning sickness with the doctor. Her ability to talk with her doctor is not up for discussion right now. Let's assume that has been done and that she's a normal responsible adult.

With regard to rescheduling, they got one of those summer special things you see on the internet from the WDW site. I don't know which one. So many days at a value resort plus hoppers for xyz dollars or whatever. I don't know how theirs specifically works for getting money back, but when I did one of those in the fall of 2002 it was a lose it all situation if you cancelled. They don't have money to be throwing around like that-this is their first trip to WDW ever.

This thread was simply to ask what you all might think would be helpful for a person who is heading out for a trip to help make her experience a good one at Disney...something we all deserve when we go there. Regardless of how long she has this condition, the fact is that she HAS IT for the time she's at WDW. You wouldn't deny a person with a broken leg and in a wheelchair an access pass because "they won't have a broken leg in 8 weeks" would you? Come on.

So please, unless you have something that might help her with her trip, please don't grill me on if she's been to her doctor to talk about her morning sickness or debate whether or not she really "deserves" to be classified as disabled. I wasn't even sure when I wrote this thread if that was the way to go. I thought the people here could at least provide some input on how her experience could be enhanced, not solve all her life's problems.

Thanks

 

[kmjmom]

After trying for a long time to be pregnant, I think your friend's priority should be the safety and well being of herself and the baby. I would cancel a trip before taking the chance to fly and endure the stress of being away from home at such a critical time in a pregnancy. I had three relatively easy pregnancies and I don't think I would have enjoyed being at Disney with all of the sights and sounds during the morning sickness phase. I had the all day morning sickness and I often couldn't stand to be around colognes, perfumes, foods etc. Basically anything with an aroma sent me to the bowl! I can understand not wanting to lose money, but in my opinion, the benefits of staying home appear to outweigh the losses. I hope her health improves quickly and she enjoys a healthy pregnancy and birth!

 

[livndisney]

Thanks I did hit the sticky with the FAQ first, it just wasn't quite what I was looking for.

I know it's not designed to skip lines, but in her case, it would make her Disney experience a good one instead of bad. Does that make sense? I'm sure they've had guests before who, for whatever reason, could not stay upright for long periods of time due to a whole array of disabilities. That's all I'm asking is if there is a provision in place for such a thing.

To my knowledge No, there is no such provision for "such a thing".

I am going to end my post at that.

 

[allyphoe]

I thought the people here could at least provide some input on how her experience could be enhanced, not solve all her life's problems.

All we can go on is what you give us, and if you're giving third-hand information, you probably aren't going to get first-rate solutions.

Personally, I don't agree with the position that people with temporarily-disabling conditions don't "deserve" GACs. The problem you've represented your friend's wife to have (inability to go extended periods without a restroom), though, isn't one that's fixable by GAC (because GACs aren't intended to expedite access), or by any other action on Disney's part. The standard suggestion for fatigue is to rent a wheelchair, and it doesn't solve the "needs easy access to restrooms" problem, either.

IMHO, the best way to enhance her experience is to either lower her expectations, or ameliorate the morning sickness, or both. If that solves all her life's problems, all the better, but the fact remains that morning sickness is generally treatable (both medically and behaviorally) and many Disney-related morning sickness triggers (like being in a hot, confined, crowded space with many smelly strangers and many smelly foods) are not avoidable if you want to ride rides.

Assuming that she does what she can to treat the morning sickness, and it's not as severe as you first represented (so she could, for example, manage the bus ride from ASMu to the parks), I would suggest:
- taking a very early-morning or late-morning bus, rather than the ones that would get them there in the first hour of park opening, to avoid a crowded bus ride. Ditto for afternoon.
- do less-popular rides, with less standing in line. Spaceship Earth and Ellen's Energy Adventure are both good places to take a rest break, and there won't be a long line
- pack snacks that she knows reduce nausea. Nausea begets nausea, and the best way to treat it is often to nibble nibble nibble bland, low-fat foods with some protein. Don't rely on being able to get snacks in the parks
- have a list of which locations serve which foods (both good foods and bad foods). Plan to send someone else in to get the food and bring it outside to eat. (I had hardly any morning sickness, and the food smells in a CS restaurant would have been too much for me)
- The Baby Care / First Aid centers are good places to take a rest, when she needs to lie down.
- After the first day, maybe reassess whether renting a wheelchair would make more sense, or coming back to the room midday for a nap, or doing only partial days in the parks

 

[GBShorts]

All we can go on is what you give us, and if you're giving third-hand information, you probably aren't going to get first-rate solutions.

Personally, I don't agree with the position that people with temporarily-disabling conditions don't "deserve" GACs. The problem you've represented your friend's wife to have (inability to go extended periods without a restroom), though, isn't one that's fixable by GAC (because GACs aren't intended to expedite access), or by any other action on Disney's part. The standard suggestion for fatigue is to rent a wheelchair, and it doesn't solve the "needs easy access to restrooms" problem, either.

IMHO, the best way to enhance her experience is to either lower her expectations, or ameliorate the morning sickness, or both. If that solves all her life's problems, all the better, but the fact remains that morning sickness is generally treatable (both medically and behaviorally) and many Disney-related morning sickness triggers (like being in a hot, confined, crowded space with many smelly strangers and many smelly foods) are not avoidable if you want to ride rides.

Assuming that she does what she can to treat the morning sickness, and it's not as severe as you first represented (so she could, for example, manage the bus ride from ASMu to the parks), I would suggest:
- taking a very early-morning or late-morning bus, rather than the ones that would get them there in the first hour of park opening, to avoid a crowded bus ride. Ditto for afternoon.
- do less-popular rides, with less standing in line. Spaceship Earth and Ellen's Energy Adventure are both good places to take a rest break, and there won't be a long line
- pack snacks that she knows reduce nausea. Nausea begets nausea, and the best way to treat it is often to nibble nibble nibble bland, low-fat foods with some protein. Don't rely on being able to get snacks in the parks
- have a list of which locations serve which foods (both good foods and bad foods). Plan to send someone else in to get the food and bring it outside to eat. (I had hardly any morning sickness, and the food smells in a CS restaurant would have been too much for me)
- The Baby Care / First Aid centers are good places to take a rest, when she needs to lie down.
- After the first day, maybe reassess whether renting a wheelchair would make more sense, or coming back to the room midday for a nap, or doing only partial days in the parks

I do appreciate these tips; I'll pass them on.

I received a pm from one user who suggested something that worked for them. Having a member of their group in a wheelchair, a CM wrote them up a "fastpass" that was to be redeemed the length of the line (if the line was 2 hours long, they were to report to the handicapped entrance or fastpass line after 2 hours). They suggested mentioning to guest services that the issue is not skipping the wait, only being offered the option to wait somewhere else, say in the shade or near a rest room until their "spot" in line came up. It seems like an option that may work, we'll just have to see.

I believe the reluctancy to get rid of the morning sickness with medication is due to her pregnancy being in the first trimester and previous issues. Obviously she's not going on rides like Space Mountain or Rockin' Rollercoaster. Many rides she could ride don't have the fastpass machines so the hand-written idea might be an option.

Thank you!!

 

[allyphoe]

I believe the reluctancy to get rid of the morning sickness with medication is due to her pregnancy being in the first trimester and previous issues.

Doxyalamine and B-6 are both pregnancy category A - "Adequate, well-controlled studies in pregnant women have not shown an increased risk of fetal abnormalities to the fetus in any trimester of pregnancy." For comparison, Tylenol is category B. If she's discussed it with her doctor and reached an informed conclusion, far be it from me to second-guess. But if she's assuming that there is no proven safe & effective medical treatment, she might want to look into it. It's hard to be a healthy mom and grow a healthy baby if you're really sick all the time.

BTW - AFAIK, the current recommendation is that women with high-risk pregnancies not fly, other than in emergency situations. If she's really risk-averse (and I don't blame her one bit, given her background), staying home may give her more peace of mind. The vacation costs are sunk at this point, so the real question is - "If you won a free trip to WDW next week, would you take it or would you say 'give it to someone else!'?"

I went to a conference across the country at ~8 weeks (driving, not flying), and it was nerve-wracking. Am I overdoing it, will there be something safe for me to eat (no risk of listeria, minimal risk of any other foodborne illness), what if something goes wrong. And I had a normal, healthy pregnancy with no history of loss. As I said in another thread - nothing you'd do at Disney World is going to hurt a healthy early pregnancy. But if something did go wrong, do you really want your memory of Disney to be the place you lost a baby?

Obviously, all of those are decisions for her to make. If she's already considered them, that's great. But if she hasn't, I'd hate for her to not have all the information she needs. (Although, I personally would be unlikely to gather that information from strangers on the internet. )

 

[dawnball]

Make a list of all the rides she thinks she could go on if there were no wait at all. Cross off all the fastpass rides (because she can get FP for those).

You're probably left with a list something like this (for example at MK)

Railroad - Pretty much a fixed wait
Enchanted Tiki Room - another fixed wait for the show
Magic Carpets of Aladdin - Best during the afternoon parade
Pirates - GAC would almost certainly do nothing, and there's no FP.
Swiss Family Treehouse (may be too much climbing) - GAC does nothing
Country Bear Jamboree - Show, fixed waiting time.
Hall of Presidents - Show, fixed waiting time
Riverboat - fixed waiting time
Carrousel (probably a motion-sickness hazard)
Dumbo (probably not worth the line anyway)
Small World - Generally a fast-moving line
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Mickey and Minnie's Houses - GAC does nothing
Carousel of Progress - unpopular show, fixed waiting time
Monsters Inc - Does this have FP? Fixed waiting time anyway
TTA - GAC does nothing

If your friend could get one there would be very, very little benefit to a GAC. I think that she's much better off prioritizing the rides she wants to ride and making a good touring plan (with some room in it for bathroom breaks). She might find TGM useful, for example.

Also, you can almost always postpone a trip without forfeiting all your money. You just apply the trip to new dates and there may be a change fee if the cost of your trip drops. It would be worth calling Disney and asking at least.

Use FastPass. Use it a lot. Take it easy and enjoy the scenery. Carry gallon sized freezer ziplocks. They're excellent for dry-heaving into and can be disposed of in a restroom trash if more than dry-heaves occur. She should make sure to stay well hydrated even if it means more frequent bathroom runs. It will help with the nausea.

Consider a rental car or the occasional use of a Taxi if it's affordable. The buses can be pretty crammed full of smelly people at park opening and closing. Add in the swaying of the bus and she's likely to be miserable.

As for the handwritten fastpasses - that's very, very rare at WDW now. There isn't a GAC for "come back when your place in the line would be up ". Managing that would be a fiasco. I think that there is a GAC stamp she could get if she were persistent. I don't think it would be useful.

Really, I had moderate morning sickness, and I wouldn't have survived a trip to WDW theme parks. Particularly in June with massive crowds it would be absolute misery. She has my sympathy.

 

[dawnball]

With regard to rescheduling, they got one of those summer special things you see on the internet from the WDW site. I don't know which one. So many days at a value resort plus hoppers for xyz dollars or whatever. I don't know how theirs specifically works for getting money back, but when I did one of those in the fall of 2002 it was a lose it all situation if you cancelled. They don't have money to be throwing around like that-this is their first trip to WDW ever.

Almost certainly if they call on MONDAY they would likely have a cancelation fee of $100 and have the rest refunded. And only $50 if they reschedule. However, they're pretty close to the window in where their cancellation fee would double. There may be some unusual cases in which that isn't the case, but the Disney portion is mostly-refundable until very close to your arrival day. If her doctor would prefer her not to travel due to the high risk pregnancy, they may be eligible for travel insurance they purchased or that is included in the benefits of the credit card they used to purchase the package.

 

[GBShorts]

Thanks for all the info everybody

By "high risk" I simply meant that she's had much trouble getting pregnant before. Right now aside from this nasty morning sickness, all tests the doc has performed have shown her hormone levels to be normal and all of the ultrasounds she's had (one a week) are showing normal as well. So...while she's got a normal pregnancy, I classify it high risk simply because of the trouble she's had getting pregnant to this point...that is to say, might be hard to get pregnant again.

I'll mention to him about the possible refund/change in reservations. I know that right now she just wants to sleep a lot, so if there's a chance they could get almost everything but plane tix back, she might go for it. I must be remembering wrong about the trip I planned back then or maybe something was different. Who knows

You all are very kind to continue helping me out on her behalf.

 

[Pomlover2586]

OK Flame suit on.........Obviously this does not apply to your friend......but the CM"s won't know it I have a stomach condition called IBS [irritable bowel syndrome] and I have to use the bathroom frequently as well. I get a GAC card because of this....nothing worse then waiting in line for 45 min to an hour only to have to leave the line and use the potty and start the process all over again! Trust me been there done that! Since you don't have to show proof of your condition you shouldn't have an issue. Now I will agree with the other posters that your friends and her new babys health should come first......but I don't think cancelling the trip is necessary! Take it easy, relax go slow and enjoy your time! CM's are great at dealing with all types of situations and you don't always have to give them exact reasons!

 

[dclfun]

I've had four children and four pregancies with severe morning sickness like you're describing. There's no way I would've wanted to go to WDW...no way. Just the morning bus ride to the parks would have been torture and then feeling nauseous all day long would have ruined my trip. There is no GAC that will help her either since trust me, she won't be worried about the lines so much since I doubt she'd enjoy the rides or shows either while her stomach is so queasy. She'll mostly want to stay in the resort to rest in the dark, cool room, and AS Music isn't the most relaxing place in the world, esp. during the day. Besides that there's the food court with all the smells, lines, and crowds. I'd take the suggestion about checking into whether they have trip insurance either by purchase or with their credit card and calling Disney to explain the situation. I was surprised with this, but last year I had to cancel a trip just a few days before we were scheduled to arrive as my son was in the hospital with renal failure ( we didn't even know he was sick). The very kind Disney CM could tell I was upset, more over my son's condition than losing the money, but I was refunded back the entire amount. It doesn't hurt to explain the situation and ask, but they should be checking into that now vs. waiting til they're in a higher penalty period. If your friend is visiting the OB every week, then it sounds like a high-risk pregnancy to me and perhaps a Dr. recommendation that she not fly, etc. would be helpful in terms of a possible cancellation, not just that they don't want to go. Also I don't have any problem considering someone's temporary situation including your friend's as being a possible reason to ask for a GAC but having been in her shoes and knowing all I know about the GAC...there really isn't something that GS can give her that would solve the issues she's facing. ---Kathy

 

[bzzymom]

I can relate, I have 2 children and had hyperemesis gravidarium with both pregnancies. I was put in the hospital numerous times for IV fluids both times. I lost over 20 pounds in the early part of both pregnancies. There is no way I could've done the parks in my early pregnancy. If I had to go, I would stick close to the resort, maybe go out to the pool for awhile in the am, if the afternoon when the heat is at it's worst, I would be in the room, and If I would go in at all it would be at night, only if I hadn't had a problem all day. The heat at this time a year will not be good for her if she is vomiting. The thing I found was that it doesn't take that long to get dehydrated when you are sick, if you can't get anything down. The more dehydrated I got, the more sick I got. When I would get IV fluids, I would be have less sick episodes for a couple days, but then it would get to the point of dehydration again and it would be almost continous sickness. With my first pregnancy 10 years ago, the only way to control my vomiting was shots of Vistaril. I am a nurse, and I taught my DH how to give me the shots. That would then cause me to sleep a lot. With my second pregnancy, there was a dissolvable pill I took which helped. It costs $30 per pill, and I took 3 per day. It was very expensive, but insurance paid a good portion of it. I didn't loose as much work than I did with the first pregnancy. I did go to Orlando to a conference when I was around 20 weeks pregnant. I had quit vomitting by then, and it was in the fall. I did go to MK and I rode jungle cruise, potc, HM, peter pan, IASW, snow white, pooh, buzz light year, and TTA. I saw the tiki and country bear shows which I hadn't seen in a long time either. I stayed away from the teacups and the round and around rides (dumbo and aladdin). I did fine then.

What I recommend for her is to talk to her OB/GYN and get a recommendation. Having to go to get IV fluid would be a real drag, believe me. Good Luck. Let me know what happens.