touring the parks with PTSD

[ArwenMarie]

To the OP, if you're still reading this, I just wanted to add again that WDW can be therapeutic for conditions like this. Now, I don't know the details of your husband's condition, but focusing on the fear or stress of being in crowds that you mentioned...

Yes, there will be crowds, but there is so much stuff to look at and do and see that it can be very distracting. Distraction is an excellent coping tool. I don't do well with crowds at all, even somewhere like a zoo, but due to the distractions at WDW, the happy distractions, I did really well. And because of that, I made progress on overcoming my condition in general.

Anyway, just one person's experience. Regardless, I would caution you to take it slow and keep your expectations low, for both yourself and DH and your children.

One more tip...Character meals and other meal experiences can be a great way to get some Disney immersion without having to stand in lines.

 

[Schmeck]

One more tip...Character meals and other meal experiences can be a great way to get some Disney immersion without having to stand in lines.

There can be quite a crowded, long wait to be seated at character meals, even with an ADR, so that might not be a good choice, unless they can get a first seating time.

 

[buffettgirl]

My husband has PTSD. Enclosed spaces full of people are a problem for him. I already know that the stretching room at HM is out of the question. Is it possible to bypass that? We plan to use FP to avoid the queues and the inevitable personal space invasion. Is there anything else I am missing? A day at the zoo can be very stressful for him and I do not want our vacation to be a miserable experience.

I think people are really trying to go by what the OP said in the first post. I've bolded the key parts and I do think people are responding directly to what the OP has asked.

HAS a diagnosis of PTSD
Enclosed spaces are a problem
Places full of people / personal space invasion is a problem.
Going to avoid the queues by using FP
A day at the zoo is stressful
Anything I'm missing?

And I think in every response I have read those issues have been hit upon: Disney in May / June is full of people.

Go very early but avoid rope drop. I don't think any of us have ever been to a zoo which is as crowded or chaotic as Disney, even on Disney's slowest day.

Even FP queue lines are going to be crowded and they will give you some personal space invasion. You may end up in a long line jammed in with other people as they load the standby line.

Are you missing something - see all responses - people are trying to say what you're missing, what parts you haven't considered.

Good luck with your trip. I know that you're determined to go.

 

[ArwenMarie]

There can be quite a crowded, long wait to be seated at character meals, even with an ADR, so that might not be a good choice, unless they can get a first seating time.

I didn't find that, but always a consideration for sure. I guess it depends on the character/experience meal and location. For me, they were much more manageable than the lines for rides and the crowds in the parks. They ended up being a significant part of my trip. Maybe because they were more predictable I had an easier time with them. Along the same train of thought, I am looking forward to the new FPP system.

 

[KBoopaloo]

One of the things that I noticed more on my last trip than in the past was the cramming of people in pre-show areas to the point where it was uncomfortable and anxiety causing for me, a person with no real issues in that area.

If your DH has trouble with being surrounded in closed spaces with a lot of people, I would avoid things like Mickey's Philharmagic, Monster's Laugh Floor, Haunted Mansion (I found the pre-boarding area at HM way more anxiety inducing than the stretching room), Tom Sawyer Island rafts. I am not sure if a GAC will allow you to avoid having to be crammed in the pre-show areas but if not, I would be aware that even some of the "shows" can have very crammed waiting areas.

 

[WheeledTraveler]

One option for shows if it's the pre-show waiting area that is the problem is to wait and not get in line for them until not long before they're scheduled to start. Then you can let everyone else crowd into the pre-show waiting area and wait for it to clear out and pretty much walk into the show. This obviously doesn't work for everything (things that are new or where the number of showings are very limited, such as Fantasmic, may not be possible to do this way), but it will work for many shows. If you don't know how long until the next show, you can ask the CMs where you'd enter for the show how long until the next show. You might miss some pre-show stuff, but it would reduce the crowding.

 

[SueM in MN]

One option for shows if it's the pre-show waiting area that is the problem is to wait and not get in line for them until not long before they're scheduled to start. Then you can let everyone else crowd into the pre-show waiting area and wait for it to clear out and pretty much walk into the show. This obviously doesn't work for everything (things that are new or where the number of showings are very limited, such as Fantasmic, may not be possible to do this way), but it will work for many shows. If you don't know how long until the next show, you can ask the CMs where you'd enter for the show how long until the next show. You might miss some pre-show stuff, but it would reduce the crowding.

That might work for some shows, like Tiki Birds, Lion King or Nemo the Musical.

In the continously running shows, like Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and Mickey's Philharmagic, there are several rooms that groups of people for one show are sent thru.
Guests enter the attraction in one room, then when the previous group exits the next room, they enter that room. That process continues until the group reaches the theater room.

Guests who need more space can often stay toward the back or one side of the room, even though the CMs are asking guests to move forward and fill all available spots.