PTSD/TBI issues questions

[LLR5654]

There maybe a board for this already but I can't seem to find anything so if there is someone please point me in the correct direction!

My family is coming to disney world in June and is bringing my best friend with us. It now seems that her husband may actually have time off and be able to join us for the trip. Background is that he is in the Army and has been deployed 3 times. In between two of those deployments he was hit by a van and on the last deployment he was blown up... Needless to say he has a TBI and has mild PTSD. He has difficulties with crowds at points but is good at knowing when he is going to have an issue and just getting out of there. While for the most part we think he would be perfectly fine with lines since it's not usually a mass of people in one place. My friend and I are mildly concerned about the bus system if it's packed but they will have a car with us so they could use that instead.

Has anyone ever traveled to Disney world with someone with this problem? And if so do you have any tips for us?

 

[dawnhaze]

I would suggest they use their car if crowded buses would be a major issue. I've been on crowded buses even at slow times of the year and it's hard to predict. If they do want to use the buses, I would suggest avoiding "rush hours" at park opening and closing - especially closing. I've never been on a bus that wasn't packed at park closing.

 

[LLR5654]

I would suggest they use their car if crowded buses would be a major issue. I've been on crowded buses even at slow times of the year and it's hard to predict. If they do want to use the buses, I would suggest avoiding "rush hours" at park opening and closing - especially closing. I've never been on a bus that wasn't packed at park closing.

Kind of what we were thinking. Thanks!

Besides pirates of the Caribbean are there any other rides anyone can think of that we should have him avoid?

 

[intheshadows]

Test Track is noisy and jarring.
They use simulated weapons in the Indiana Jones Show.

I'm not sure what his triggers are, but there are two off the top of my head.

 

[powellrj]

Fireworks were a huge trigger for my DS so you may want to ask about those.

 

[LLR5654]

Fireworks were a huge trigger for my DS so you may want to ask about those.

Oh wow I hadn't even thought of those... Fireworks and stuck in a crowd are probably not a good combo... Thanks!

 

[LLR5654]

Test Track is noisy and jarring. They use simulated weapons in the Indiana Jones Show. I'm not sure what his triggers are, but there are two off the top of my head.

The jarring would be fine. Mostly crowds and loud unexpected noises like a car backfiring are his major triggers.

 

[ttintagel]

The Haunted Mansion has lots of sudden, loud crashes of thunder.

Also, I'd avoid parade routes completely. Even on "slow" days the crowds are impassable. Either get out of the parks an hour before the parade is scheduled to start, or plan on staying in a part of the park the parade doesn't go through, until it is well over.

 

[jac1976]

I would suggest that you pay close attention to what time your ADRs are at night and when you may be getting out of dinner. We were there over Labor Day and had 7:30 ADR at Be Our Guest. We hadn't given any thought to the fireworks since we weren't planning on watching them. We got out right at 9pm. We were in back of the castle when the fireworks started going off. they were coming from all different directions and my DH completely freaked out. It has been 7 years since he was in Iraq and 2 years since he returned from Afghanistan and I have never seen him react like that to anything. He picked up my DD, asked her to squeeze his neck as hard as she could, and he started running. The worst part was they had areas roped off, so we could only go in one direction and it was crowded. When I talked to him about it later, he said it was especially bad because he couldn't tell where the explosions were going to come from next. (It really did seem like they were going off all around us.)

He didn't have any issues with Test Track, but we do tend to avoid any sort of loud stunt shows.

 

[LLR5654]

The Haunted Mansion has lots of sudden, loud crashes of thunder. Also, I'd avoid parade routes completely. Even on "slow" days the crowds are impassable. Either get out of the parks an hour before the parade is scheduled to start, or plan on staying in a part of the park the parade doesn't go through, until it is well over.

Yeah I believe the current plan is to avoid the routes all together... I've been to disney 3 times now and have never watched a parade.

 

[LLR5654]

I would suggest that you pay close attention to what time your ADRs are at night and when you may be getting out of dinner. We were there over Labor Day and had 7:30 ADR at Be Our Guest. We hadn't given any thought to the fireworks since we weren't planning on watching them. We got out right at 9pm. We were in back of the castle when the fireworks started going off. they were coming from all different directions and my DH completely freaked out. It has been 7 years since he was in Iraq and 2 years since he returned from Afghanistan and I have never seen him react like that to anything. He picked up my DD, asked her to squeeze his neck as hard as she could, and he started running. The worst part was they had areas roped off, so we could only go in one direction and it was crowded. When I talked to him about it later, he said it was especially bad because he couldn't tell where the explosions were going to come from next. (It really did seem like they were going off all around us.) He didn't have any issues with Test Track, but we do tend to avoid any sort of loud stunt shows.

Omg that must have been beyond horrible for him. That is exactly the situation we want to avoid so thank you so much for sharing... Also thank your husband for his service and as a Air Force Brat from a very military family thank you to you and your family also for your sacrifices if allowing him to protect our great nation.

 

[pheonixheart]

The fireworks are always a main concern for my family. With the crowds I just always find a corner and breathe. (I have serious anxiety with crowds but its me and I force myself to confront it. But I don't have anything close to what these amazing heros have). My brother absolutely can not be near fireworks. My mother has a hard time too bc of being on the phone with my brother at 3am while he was in bagdad and a fire fight broke out and the phone went dead.
I know its tough but the most important thing is that you know about it. First thing though I would say explain the rides that may bother him but since idk him I won't assume. But maybe he has to decide what he wants to do. Maybe certain things you think would bother him won't and some other things may. What I always do with my family is try to know the best way to help if/when an anxiety attack happens. Thank him for his service from a former army wife. I hope you have an amazing trip!

 

[peemagg]

You might want to ask him if there is anything that helps him to cope when he might be in a situation like that. I know that some people find one of those stress balls to squeeze helps them to get thru short situations (like knowing that there is gun shots on the Jungle Cruise, but when they squeeze the ball thru the ride it makes the ride do-able). If it is loud noises that can set him off like fireworks, then maybe some noise canceling headphones could be useful.