Seizures and quiet places at WDW

[NCRedding]

My friend will be going to WDW in June. She suffers from seizures which are manily under control with medicine--but she still has them when around lots of noise-and under stress. Are there areas in the parks--like small gardens, quiet stores, etc where she could go to relax and escape the hustle-bustle in the parks, for just a few minutes.

 

[teri]

There are several areas for these purposes. Small gardens and quiet areas can be found throughout the resorts. Also, the First Aid stations are very quiet, cool and restful places where your friend would be safe. Many of the stores can be overstimulating, so they may not be your best choice for sanctuary. If you explain to the CMs what is happenng, they will usully be able to direct you to a quiet place.

You might want to take a look at the disABILITIES FAQ, and see if the GAC would be appropriate for you.

 

[Michelle NY]

I agree with Teri, the first aid stations are great but if they are not close by they really wouldn't help
All of the parks have many "quite " Places. They are usually places that others might just walk by.
Once you are in the park I would recommend just looking around and notices places and also like Teri said if you need a little
help I am sure that any CM would be able to help.

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree with the others that there are nice quiet spots in each park. The best way to find them is to just walk around and look before you need them. Some of them aren't on the maps, it's just a bench sitting in an area with a few trees.
I think there are the most little secluded sitting areas at Epcot. There are a lot of little bench areas that face the WS water. We've been lucky that when DD has had seizures, most have been at Epcot. We've just sat down on a bench, leaned her wheelchair back against us and she's slept for a while. No one bothered us (most didn't even notice us). There are nice little gardens at Epcot. One is in the UK, on the side closest to International Gateway. France has a garden too along the side by the International Gateway.
One time, she had a seizure at MK and we were close to First Aid. It was very nice, but unless you are close, it's not much help.

 

[Nanajo1]

Be aware of the smoking areas if smoke bothers you. We were looking for a quiet place to sit when one of the babies was napping. We were upset when somone sat down beside us and started to smoke! We were in a smoking spot! We quickly moved and were very happy we noticed our mistake before saying anthing to the considerate smoker!

 

[SueM in MN]

Good point, Nanajo.
And be aware of the wind direction if you are not in a smoking area. We settled down in a nice area outside the smoking area, but when the nearby show let out, a lot of people cmae to the smoking area across the walkway from us. Since the wind was blowing our way, we got the smoke anyway.

 

[NCRedding]

Thank you all so much for the replies. I have printed them out together with the info linked about relaxing and enjoying the trip. I plan on having her look into the GAC, which I had never heard of before. She was getting so worried that she couldn't go, for fear of embarassment. This info will help ease her fears.

 

[JudithM]

I hope you & your friend have a wonderful, enjoyable trip to WDW. You will find many quiet spots. My first thought was many of the areas in the World Showcase countries at EPCOT. Find a bench, sit down & people watch! If your friend does not do well with noise, then be careful at some of the attractions - many can be loud & dark. Have fun!

 

[SueM in MN]

Another thing that might be useful to you is the Guidebook for Disabilities. There is one for each park and you can pick them up at Guest Services, where you can buy tickets or usually at your resort if you are staying at WDW.
The Guidebooks don't have a lot of information about boarding the rides that would be useful, but they do list a little bit about each ride, so you can figure out if it's a quiet boat ride or a turbulant thrill ride. It also lists things like loud noises, dark rides and flashing lights. This might seem like a strange suggestion, but look for the rides/attractions that say they are not recommended for guide dogs/service animals. Those rides tend to be the ones that have loud noises, bright or flashing lights, jerky motions, which are probably things your friend would want to avoid.