Epilepsy and the rides

[harg7769]

We are due to go to Orlando in June this year. This will be our first visit since my DD aged 5 was diagnosed with epilepsy. She isn't photo sensitive but I'm wondering what other people's experiences are going on rides with epilepsy.

Is it just a case of taking it as it comes and seeing how she copes with it
or should we avoid any particular rides? We'll only be going to Disney this year so the only big rides I can think of that might overwhelm her would be things like Everest and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster but I doubt she'd be going on them anyway even if she didn't have epilepsy.

Also, in previous years we have gone in May when the weather was pretty hot. Given how humid it can be in June/July and how tired I can get, would people recommend letting her dictate the pace to try and avoid triggering seizures?

harg7769

[orlando10]

Hi
My daughter was diagnosed at age 4 in the july with epilepsy and we had a trip booked for the october including a disney cruise and I was worried about going as well, she isn't photo sensitive but we just went along with how she was feeling on each day if we saw she was starting to flag then we headed back to home for a rest which to be honest was how we did on previous trips before the epilepsy, we have always just taken the parks at our own pace and wouldn't be the type to do a park everyday we usually have a park day and then a rest day maybe doing a short visit in the evening if we felt like going.

My daughter was four then and wasn't tall enough to do the bigger rides but loves the smaller coasters and is a real thrill junkie and had no problems. As you are probably aware most rides have the warning signs which state if it is suitable for certain health conditions including epilepsy but to be honest I don't think there were that many we needed to worry about.
We were also able to use the GAC card in both disney and universal which helped a great deal and had the use of a buggy which meant she could sit in the shade and rest.

[sunseeker]

We make sure our son has plenty of sleep. Travel day is a very long day, try to get your DD to sleep on the plane. Make sure she stays hydrated and seek A/C whenever you can. Heat exhaustion is probably the biggest problem for our lad, we have a scarf which soaks up water that we put around his neck to keep him cool.

Dave

[Noddy22]

I have epilepsy and although controlled well with medication I still try to keep well hydrated and not too hot. I've never had any problems with any rides but everyone is different. Hopefully you will learn your daughters seizure triggers and avoid them where possible. Being overtired or stressed are the biggest no-go's for me and I think you may find that's the same in most people with epilepsy.
On the other hand, the sheer excitement and happiness seems to counter effect any symptoms I've had before.
If I can help at all please feel free to ask anything that may help.

[harg7769]

Thanks everyone for the comments, a lot of useful information there that I hadn't considered.

I have the towels and intended to take them this year but that was more to do with my ability to deal with the heat. We all have one so I'll make sure she has hers on at all times.

I hadn't thought of stress as a trigger before but it's certainly another think to take into account as its always a bit hectic in our house in the morning.

Just one more question - what is a GAC card? How would I get one?

Thanks again

Harg

[harg7769]

Please ignore the comment about Gac cards. I've just Googled it and found the FAQ on the Disney site.

[wintersun]

We too are travelling to US for the first time since DGD was diagnosed with Epilepsy. We have been to Europe on numberous occasions, and she has only had seizures once when flying. Hopefully with plenty of rest on our trip she will be seizure free. She mainly likes character meet and greets, but likes some of the less scary attrations.