Rides with Back Issues

cheerbaybee

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Messages
240
My family and I go to Disney all the time. We love riding rides and just enjoying the overall park experience. My mom does not share my true love of Disney but is willing to experience it with her family. The last time she went to disney she was able to ride everything. However, this time she has back problems. She plans to stay away from most rides ( space mtn, Everest, and frozen) however, I am curious what rides she can ride. I have an idea. I just would like other feedback from others in the same situation.

Yes! I know disney has warning on every ride and I have been reviewing it. I just want additional feed back. I want to make this as memorable as possible for everyone!
 
My son has nerve damage in his spine so he can't ride rides that jerk around. He can't do Space Mountain at MK. He does o.k. on Seven Dwarves and Big Thunder Mtn. because he can kind of brace himself with his arms and knows where the rough spots are. At AK - can't ride Everest, safari hurts but again he kind of braces himself. At HS no RnRC but he does ride ToT. We don't ride Star Tours because he is claustrophobic and he can't ride the Alien thing in Toy Story. Has no problems with Slinky Dog or TSMM. At Epcot, we don't ride Mission Space - again with the closed spaces. He can ride Test Track but only once and usually the last ride of the day. Frozen is o.k. as long as he braces. Basically if we ride something that we know is going to hurt, it is the last ride of the day and he doesn't do any of them the day we arrive since we drive down and the 7 hour car ride does him in.
 
Hi There! My Mom has similar issues with her back and now her neck. Obviously we can no longer get her on a Roller Coaster. Safari is now too rough, as is Dinosaur. She loves Spaceship Earth, Na'vi, Jungle Cruise with help getting up and down steps, Small World. Pirates as long as I remind her about the drop. We no longer do Splash with her. But she loves Haunted Mansion, TCC, Can you picture my walk around MK :) Loves Soarin! Nemo and TSM. So those are some that I do remember.

My Mom is very prideful and didn't want to use her WC...until day 2. Now she and Daddy both have a scooter. She has had to get over it...so someone else loads her scooter on the bus and we go. She and Daddy sometimes share one because neither one have great endurance at 76 and 82. We just do what we call "a ninja strike". Into the parks for three fast passes together and back out again. Then back in the evening for the shows. We always can do a few more things like FoTLK and Nemo the Musical. But we don't get up so early and DH and I are in our 50s...so heck we aren't far behind.

Disney has become and true relaxing vacation for us...finally
 
I started to write this really detailed post... and then I remembered this page at Disney World's official website!

Just tick the boxes in the categories to the right of "Filter by" and it should help you sort it down quickly.

As my Mom got older, she cared much less for the rides, and was much more interested in the shows and attractions - like the little museums that are tucked in all around the World Showcase at Epcot, and the films that several of the countries show. She also enjoyed the shopping, and because she was an artist, and very visual, she loved to take photos (especially details of architecture, or objects) and so occupied herself that way.
 
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My family and I go to Disney all the time. We love riding rides and just enjoying the overall park experience. My mom does not share my true love of Disney but is willing to experience it with her family. The last time she went to disney she was able to ride everything. However, this time she has back problems. She plans to stay away from most rides ( space mtn, Everest, and frozen) however, I am curious what rides she can ride. I have an idea. I just would like other feedback from others in the same situation.

Yes! I know disney has warning on every ride and I have been reviewing it. I just want additional feed back. I want to make this as memorable as possible for everyone!
Yup, Disney has a warning on every ride, which means if you follow the warnings, you can basically do nothing. I have a ruptured disc in my lower back, have had it for probably 11 years or so now. I have done most of the rides in Disney World. Big Thunder sometimes gets the back going for me, other times it is ok. 7DMT I can usually ride, if the back isn't bothering me already when I get on it. I had no problem with Everest. Frozen I ride every time we visit, and haven't regretted it yet.

Some of the "tamer" rides are the ones that I have the most trouble with. The Tomorrowland Speedway absolutely kills me if we get bumped from the back, or if my son decides to bump from side to side against the guide rail. Thankfully, the son is 16 now, and generally drives his own car, so I am saved from that lol. Winnie the Pooh is rough for me with the bouncing and swaying. And, I kid you not, the worst pain I've ever felt in Disney from my back was on the Killmanjaro Safari. I wasn't sure I was even going to be able to get out of the truck at the end of the ride. Note that I only had that experience one time on that ride. I have been fine on it ever since, but that one time it was awful.

I don't ride Tower of Terror, or Space Mountain. TT because it scares the crap out of me, Space because I fear my back would be done. I don't do Primeval Whirl because I am nearly 100% positive that would fire my back up. Beyond that, I pretty much ride what I want to ride usually with no regrets.
 
My son has nerve damage in his spine so he can't ride rides that jerk around. He can't do Space Mountain at MK. He does o.k. on Seven Dwarves and Big Thunder Mtn. because he can kind of brace himself with his arms and knows where the rough spots are. At AK - can't ride Everest, safari hurts but again he kind of braces himself. At HS no RnRC but he does ride ToT. We don't ride Star Tours because he is claustrophobic and he can't ride the Alien thing in Toy Story. Has no problems with Slinky Dog or TSMM. At Epcot, we don't ride Mission Space - again with the closed spaces. He can ride Test Track but only once and usually the last ride of the day. Frozen is o.k. as long as he braces. Basically if we ride something that we know is going to hurt, it is the last ride of the day and he doesn't do any of them the day we arrive since we drive down and the 7 hour car ride does him in.

Thank you so much!! I also considered Toy Story Mania to be a smooth ride. But for someone who does not have back problems it's hard for me to know for sure. Thank you!

Hi There! My Mom has similar issues with her back and now her neck. Obviously we can no longer get her on a Roller Coaster. Safari is now too rough, as is Dinosaur. She loves Spaceship Earth, Na'vi, Jungle Cruise with help getting up and down steps, Small World. Pirates as long as I remind her about the drop. We no longer do Splash with her. But she loves Haunted Mansion, TCC, Can you picture my walk around MK :) Loves Soarin! Nemo and TSM. So those are some that I do remember.

My Mom is very prideful and didn't want to use her WC...until day 2. Now she and Daddy both have a scooter. She has had to get over it...so someone else loads her scooter on the bus and we go. She and Daddy sometimes share one because neither one have great endurance at 76 and 82. We just do what we call "a ninja strike". Into the parks for three fast passes together and back out again. Then back in the evening for the shows. We always can do a few more things like FoTLK and Nemo the Musical. But we don't get up so early and DH and I are in our 50s...so heck we aren't far behind.

Disney has become and true relaxing vacation for us...finally

Disney is never relaxing for us. But I believe this trip will be a new experience for everyone and I really want her to enjoy it. Do you think flight of passage will be ok? It doesnt move, but sitting on the bike can be a challenge.

I started to write this really detailed post... and then I remembered this page at Disney World's official website!

Just tick the boxes in the categories to the right of "Filter by" and it should help you sort it down quickly.

As my Mom got older, she cared much less for the rides, and was much more interested in the shows and attractions - like the little museums that are tucked in all around the World Showcase at Epcot, and the films that several of the countries show. She also enjoyed the shopping, and because she was an artist, and very visual, she loved to take photos (especially details of architecture, or objects) and so occupied herself that way.

As I mentioned, I've clicked the boxes. If we followed all the rules, jungle cruise would be too much for her. I know that isnt the case. We are going to watch all the shows. But she wants to ride. I cant deny her of that. 😔
Yup, Disney has a warning on every ride, which means if you follow the warnings, you can basically do nothing. I have a ruptured disc in my lower back, have had it for probably 11 years or so now. I have done most of the rides in Disney World. Big Thunder sometimes gets the back going for me, other times it is ok. 7DMT I can usually ride, if the back isn't bothering me already when I get on it. I had no problem with Everest. Frozen I ride every time we visit, and haven't regretted it yet.

Some of the "tamer" rides are the ones that I have the most trouble with. The Tomorrowland Speedway absolutely kills me if we get bumped from the back, or if my son decides to bump from side to side against the guide rail. Thankfully, the son is 16 now, and generally drives his own car, so I am saved from that lol. Winnie the Pooh is rough for me with the bouncing and swaying. And, I kid you not, the worst pain I've ever felt in Disney from my back was on the Killmanjaro Safari. I wasn't sure I was even going to be able to get out of the truck at the end of the ride. Note that I only had that experience one time on that ride. I have been fine on it ever since, but that one time it was awful.

I don't ride Tower of Terror, or Space Mountain. TT because it scares the crap out of me, Space because I fear my back would be done. I don't do Primeval Whirl because I am nearly 100% positive that would fire my back up. Beyond that, I pretty much ride what I want to ride usually with no regrets.
Thank you!!! We both went through the filters and she had the same idea. That disney did not want her to ride anything. I think most of the newer smoother rides she should be ok! Thank you!!
 
I have a bad back and I think the worst rides for my back are Toy Story Mania and the dip and swerve on Test Track. I still ride both but brace myself where I know its going to hurt.
 
I started to write this really detailed post... and then I remembered this page at Disney World's official website!

Just tick the boxes in the categories to the right of "Filter by" and it should help you sort it down quickly.

As my Mom got older, she cared much less for the rides, and was much more interested in the shows and attractions - like the little museums that are tucked in all around the World Showcase at Epcot, and the films that several of the countries show. She also enjoyed the shopping, and because she was an artist, and very visual, she loved to take photos (especially details of architecture, or objects) and so occupied herself that way.
The link doesn't seem to work for me.
 
I agree that Toy Story Mania can be a challenge. My dad has a bad back from a car accident in his youth. He rode it after talking with a cast member who told him it should be fine. He was in a lot of pain after.

While it is “smooth,” there is a lot of whipping back and forth that can cause an issue.
 
The My Disney Experience smartphone/tablet App has filters so that you can look at things like warnings, height restrictions for attractions at each park.

Disney gives a general warning without detail. Post 23 on Page 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread is a little more information about those attractions with warnings. It’s based on my family’s experiences and videos/ comments /reviews from other people.
Each person’s concerns will be different and should be discussed with their own medical providers, but hopefully, that post will give a bit more information to base decisions on.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/d...trip-next-trip-wish-trip.595713/post-40191044
 
What I find interesting is that a lot of people have different issues with different rides. I think to some extent it is how backs are, lots of different things that can aggravate different parts depending on what is hurt. I also think its hard to generalize as what someone can brace for, sounds good until they don't brace at the right time and it hurts.

My worst was big thunder mountain. Not sure where exactly, but got bumped hard somewhere in it and was miserable for a while. Had some pain on everest and space mt, didn't ride RNR. Rode mission space once and will never do that again for both back and claustrophobic reasons.
 
My biggest tip regards Kilimanjaro Safari. I'm a huge fan, but have a bad back. Make sure you're in the first or second row of the jeep. If they try to put you near the rear, tell them you have a bad back and need to be near the front. CM's I've encountered have always been very understanding. It's a whole different (and MUCH bumpier) ride back there. Also, avoid Barnstormer.
 












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