Dealing with Fears at the World

[Norm The Skull]

Hi everyone

I am starting to plan our holiday for December 2008.
I will be going down with my wife and daughter by plane but my sister and brother in law will be driving down. We have gone before (2005) so I have no problems planing out days but I also need to plan there days. This will be there 1st time at Disney. My sister is one of the biggest Disney fans ever.

This is where it gets complicated. My sister is terrorfied of water and my brother in law doesn't like heights.

So I know I wont be sending them on Kali or TOT but do any of you have any info to wear I could send them while my wife and daughter and I will be doing these great attractions.
There in the late 50's and love Disney

Also how deep is the water in Pirates, Small World, Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain

Also if any of you have had any experiences dealing with these fears I would love to hear whet you have to say.

Thank you

 

[ThinkTink721]

Hi everyone

I am starting to plan our holiday for December 2008.
I will be going down with my wife and daughter by plane but my sister and brother in law will be driving down. We have gone before (2005) so I have no problems planing out days but I also need to plan there days. This will be there 1st time at Disney. My sister is one of the biggest Disney fans ever.

This is where it gets complicated. My sister is terrorfied of water and my brother in law doesn't like heights.

So I know I wont be sending them on Kali or TOT but do any of you have any info to wear I could send them while my wife and daughter and I will be doing these great attractions.
There in the late 50's and love Disney

Also how deep is the water in Pirates, Small World, Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain

Also if any of you have had any experiences dealing with these fears I would love to hear whet you have to say.

Thank you

While you all do Kali, you could send them on the Maharaja Jungle Trek (this is a trail near Kali).
While you all do TOT, they could take in a performance of Beauty & the Beast (which is not far away) or they could visit the many shops in the area.

The water is not very deep on any of the rides that you listed.
In fact, Small World & The Jungle Cruise are very tame.
There is one small drop on the POTC ride.
But, if you fear heights, do not do SM.

Hope this helps!
:wave:

 

[ThinkTink721]

I almost forgot...there are also boat rides in the World Showcase at Epcot in the Mexico & Norway pavillions.
The Mexico one is the most tame, but they are both fun.

 

[EPCOT.nut]

My first thought was Xanax. :ROFLOL:

What gets me on rides is seeing little kids get on them and they are happy and not scared. Hope that environment helps! As far as I can tell in POC and IASW, etc the water is not deep. There is a track bolted to the floor that these rides go on, right? So I would think if you got out of the boat you'd not be past your knees. Also you can see coins tossed in the bottom of some of the rides.

GOOD LUCK!

PS I am afraid of Astro Orbiter.

 

[coasterphil]

All the rides you mentioned you can stand up in the water, so I don't think that should be a problem. You could have them see Beauty and Beast while you ride ToT and they could see Flights of Wonder at AK while you are on Kali.

 

[Monty]

Hi everyone

I am starting to plan our holiday for December 2008.
I will be going down with my wife and daughter by plane but my sister and brother in law will be driving down. We have gone before (2005) so I have no problems planing out days but I also need to plan there days. This will be there 1st time at Disney. My sister is one of the biggest Disney fans ever.

This is where it gets complicated. My sister is terrorfied of water and my brother in law doesn't like heights.

So I know I wont be sending them on Kali or TOT but do any of you have any info to wear I could send them while my wife and daughter and I will be doing these great attractions.
There in the late 50's and love Disney

Also how deep is the water in Pirates, Small World, Jungle Cruise, Splash Mountain

Also if any of you have had any experiences dealing with these fears I would love to hear whet you have to say.

Thank you

The best approach is to explain the individual rides to them and let them decide:

Water:

IASW is a boat that floats slowly through scenery, no rocking, no splash.

Gran Fiesta [Mexico] is a boat that floats slowly through scenery, no rocking, no splash.

Living with the Land is a boat that floats slowly through scenery, no rocking, no splash.

Jungle Cruise is a slow boat ride, the boat swerves a bit, but not radically.

POTC is a boat that floats slowly through scenery, there is one small down-hill drop with a slight splash if you're in the front row.

Maelstrom [Norway] is a boat that floats slowly through scenery, there is a steep upward ramp in the dark and a single short, steep water-slide drop with a splash at the bottom.

Splash Mountain is a flume ride with a few short water-slides, a dark roller-coaster-like drop-and-back in the dark and one steep drop with a splash.

Kali is a fast moving rapids ride, which although very safe is definitely going to get you wet and may get you soaked.

Heights:

Depending what the fear is, it could be falling, seeing down or just knowing you're at height even if you can't see it, there are different things you need to consider:

The height and drop aspects of ToT, RnCR, Star Tours [simulated], EE, Primeval Whirl, Kali, Dinosaur [can feel like you're dropping], TriceraTop Spin, Mission Space [simulated], Soarin', Test Track [the outside loop is elevated], SSE [you go very high, although it's all indoors and you couldn't fall], Maelstrom, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Donald's Boat, Dumbo, Peter Pan's Flight, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, TTA, Astro Orbiter, Goofy's Barnstormer and Swiss Family Treehouse should all be explained depending on what his fears are and how severe they are.

 

[kstella]

My DH is afraid of heights but managed to overcome to ride TOT and now he LOVES it! Maybe they could give it a try?

There's lots of stuff to watch by Kali. They could just watch the monkeys on the temple, or stand on the bridge over Kali and watch all the people in the rafts. Same as with Splash, or if it wouldn't bother them too much, maybe they could try The Rivers of America. Nice big boat, not too high...Hardly like a water ride at all.

 

[Rob562]

If you want to talk about actual depths, I don't think there's any water ride in WDW that's deeper than waist-deep, except for the larger bodies of water like the Rivers of America (steamboat and TSI rafts) or the large lakes, and some are relatively shallow.
Something also to consider in addition to actual depth, is the issue of being "surrounded" by water on all sides is an issue on some rides. My suggestion would be to take a look at the loading area of Small World and look at the section the boats float along just after leaving the loading area so she can get an idea of what the rest of the ride is like. (I think you can also see how deep the water is there)

-Living with the Land is less than knee-deep. And in most places, the water is strictly in the trough that the boat is floating in, with "land" on either side of the boat. (If you didn't look down at the water, it's no different than any of the other Omnimover type rides)

-Pirates, IASW and Gran Fiesta Tour are probably somewhere just over the knee. Most places along the ride the boat appears to be floating in a "lake-like" setting, so there are sections where the boat is totally surrounded by water. Pirates has the one gentle drop near the beginning.

-Splash Mountain is also about knee-deep, and similar to LwtL, the log is flowing along in its own trough of water with land/walkways on either side, though there's a couple places where there's a few feet of water on either side of the log. There are three smaller drops and the one large drop during the ride.

-Maelstrom is similar to Splash Mountain, with knee-deep water and a trough in most places. The final scene, though, you float through the "North Sea" for a minute. There's a backwards section where you go down a slight ramp similar to Pirates' drop, and then a forwards drop similar to one of the smaller drops in Splash Mountain.

-Kali River Rapids is probably thigh-high water, but it's very fast-moving water with a spinning, rocking boat, and thus might not be the best for someone afraid of water.

-Something noone else has mentioned, but Catastrophe Canyon on the Backlot Tour has a flash flood effect, where a wall of water comes crashing toward the tram (though it never hits the tram, apart from a heavy mist). Might be a little upsetting to someone with a major fear of water.

-Water transportation like the boats to/from the Magic Kingdom, the Epcot Friendships and the ferries to the various resorts from Downtown Disney are free-floating craft that traverse waterways that are probably 10-20 feet deep or more.

-Rob

 

[kimmychad]

My first thought was Xanax. :ROFLOL:

What gets me on rides is seeing little kids get on them and they are happy and not scared. Hope that environment helps! As far as I can tell in POC and IASW, etc the water is not deep. There is a track bolted to the floor that these rides go on, right? So I would think if you got out of the boat you'd not be past your knees. Also you can see coins tossed in the bottom of some of the rides.

GOOD LUCK!

PS I am afraid of Astro Orbiter.

astro orbitor scared the heck out of me when i rode it in 2005. never again

 

[mousermerf]

If we're talking some phobia of drowning in a large body of water - be wary of Nemo and Friends. The vehicles go through a tunnel under water which apparently is too akin to Jaws 3 for some folks.

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Give them a guide book and let them plan their own Disney experience :shrug:

 

[EPCOT.nut]

astro orbitor scared the heck out of me when i rode it in 2005. never again

OH NO! I just worked myself up to ride it Thurs during MNSSHP or just before - not sure if it is open late.

I shouldn't ride it, huh? Space Mountain is my favorite but I get scared on the Aladdin's Magic Carpets. Explain that! :lol: I think it is the going round and round and being up so high. I watch the arms of the vehicle as if they will break off.

 

[kstella]

OH NO! I just worked myself up to ride it Thurs during MNSSHP or just before - not sure if it is open late.

I shouldn't ride it, huh? Space Mountain is my favorite but I get scared on the Aladdin's Magic Carpets. Explain that! :lol: I think it is the going round and round and being up so high. I watch the arms of the vehicle as if they will break off.

If Magic Carpets scares you, then Astro Orbiter, especially at night, is REALLY going to scare you. It's really cool, though, especially at night!

 

[EPCOT.nut]

If Magic Carpets scares you, then Astro Orbiter, especially at night, is REALLY going to scare you. It's really cool, though, especially at night!

CRAP!

Ok I need to score a Xanax by Thursday! :lol:

 

[kstella]

CRAP!

Ok I need to score a Xanax by Thursday! :lol:

Hmmm...if you can't get Xanax, maybe some Percocet or Vicodin? They make a happy feeling!:lol: