WDW and CHD in a child?

[twins4me]

I was skimming the boards to see if anyone travel with a child that has a CHD. My son had open-heart surgery at three days old for chd and is so-called "fixed" meaning he has no cardiac complications with that said he is still has a "heart conditions" and there will future restrictions on what he will be able to do. The cardiologist said he can ride anything that is appropriate for his age group (toddler) but I still worry. I worry about him getting scared, worry about the heat, worry .... He pedi said we should visit guest services and let them know. So if anyone is in a similiar position - can you share some of your experiences. He had TGA- so pretty major but not he worse CHD out there!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

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[GEM]

I think it just totally depends on the child, the condition, etc..

We've taken my nephew (now age 3) several times. He was born with Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) and had a repair at about 8 weeks old. Like your son, he is considered "fixed" for now, although there may some future restrictions on things like sports, etc. That will depend on how he looks at future checks, whether he eventually has to have another repair, etc. His doctor told us to consider him as and treat him as a normal toddler, no restrictions on anything he could ride or do as of now. We went in September once, and the heat wasn't a problem for him. We didn't get a GAC or anything for him, since he didn't require any special accommodations or assistance.

 

[cm8]

I agree with PP, you should go with what you know, If he is indeed "cured" for all intent and purpose, just try to go easy on some of the things that you feel very nervous about and see how he feels as well, I know that it is hard to let go, but just have as much fun working your way from small attractions to some that may be a bit taxing and see where it leads, if he gets scared, then you have some way of knowing which rides would cause him to feel that way. I hope this helps.

 

[SueM in MN]

I agree if the doctor said he's good to go on anything appropriate for a toddler, you should have no problem finding things for him to do.

Most of the attractions with any kind of warning are aimed at older and bigger children and adults.
You can look at the park maps for the attractions with warnings - they are marked with a red triangle on the map and also on a sign at the entrance to the queue and again before boarding. So, you won't be getting on any of them by mistake, without knowing that they have warnings.
Most of the attractions with warnings (and all of the roller coaster type attractions) have a height restriction. You can click here to get to a height calculator that lets you figure out which attractions your child is tall enough to ride. Those without height restrictions are ones that any toddler would be able to ride.

The wording for the general warning is:
WARNING! For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.

For Epcot here are the attractions with warnings:

• Mission Space - simulated trip to Mars. Very rough and includes a centrifuge to simulate weightlessness.
• Test Track - simulates a car going thru the manufacturer's testing for things like brakes, steering, rough roads, handling.

For Magic Kingdom:

• Splash Mountain - cute ride, but has some scary drops, including a very large steep drop that you can see from outside
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - a roller coaster
• Tomorrowland Indy Speedway - this is more for back and neck problems; cars behind can hit you since it is children driving most of the cars
• Space Mountain - roller coaster
• Goofy's Barnstormer (this doesn't have a triangle warning sign on the map, but does say that pregnant women should not ride, so it is not completely tame. It is a short roller coaster)

For Disney Studio

• Star Tours - very rough simulated tour of space with a new spaceship pilot who gets you into danger
• Rock N Roller Coaster - roller coaster
• Tower of Terror - scary with ghosts and a drop (well, many drops) in an elevator

For Animal Kingdom:

• Kilimanjaro Safari - this warning is more for back and neck problems. The ride is bumpy because you are going over simulated dirt roads in Africa. There are a few sequences that may be a bit scary - a bridge that may or may not move as you go over. Generally, it's very tame and I have never heard any children crying on it.
• Kali River Rapids - a raft trip down a river rapids. THe only thing scary about it is whether or not you will get drenched with water.
• Expedition Everest - a roller coaster
• Primeval Whirl - a roller coaster combined with spinning.
• Dinosaur - a rough, dark and scary ride thru the time when dinosaurs roamed. I would not recommend it for most children.

Bug's Life at AK does not have any warnings, but I have never been in there without at least a few children crying and several leaving. It is an educational story about bugs from the bug's viewpoint. Some things that are scary include a bug that sprays the audience with 'acid' because it sees humans as invaders and the villian bug (Hopper) who sends his 'bad bugs' out to rid the audience of humans.

 

[pnutallergymom]

We are planning our daughters 3rd disney trip!! She has Noonan Syndrome, amongst a multitude of other diagnosis...including CHD's. She has Pulmonary Stenosis, ASD, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. We also learned last week that she is missing her right coronary artery.

She is very tiny, so just because of her height she is limited to what rides she can get on anyways. She does go on all the "toddler appropriate" rides. We do get a GAC each time we go because she has stamina issues. She actually just started walking about 3mo ago, and isn't very good at it yet. It allows us to bring the adaptive stroller in line with us, instead of parking it in the stroller areas.

We make sure she gets back to our resort in the early afternoon for a nap and some pool time to avoid the high heat times. Then we usually go back to the park after dinner.

We have 3 other children (8,7,6) so we hit all the rides for them!!!

I think you have to use your judgement on what is appropriate and what isn't for your child to do. Just keep in mind that Disney is exhausting, so don't try to do everything!! You'll all need your rest!! Make sure you stay well hydrated. Brigitte has a Gtube and a central line, so we are able to keep her hydrated even when she doesn't want to drink.

Good luck!! Feel free to ask questions!!!

 

[rustynation]

Please excuse me for this thread being the impetus for me to register to post on this board, but...

If a congenital heart defect was termed "cured," and the kid has no other issues that might affect him, I don't see what problem there can be with his going on age-appropriate rides. I was born with a small VSD and lived in Tampa between the ages of 1.5 and 4.5 so went to WDW a ton.

And I haven't been to WDW in eight and a half years, but I mostly rode the roller coasters when I was there. I haven't been to Animal Kingdom yet. I've been begging my parents to let me use their/our leftover parkhopper passes and checking Travelocity for cheap flights.

As for going back to the hotel in the middle of the afternoon to rest, I'd recommend that to anyone. Well, except for me, because I have trouble taking naps.