Claustrophobic, what to avoid?

[ashely612]

I am traveling with a friend with claustrophobia. Enclosed spaces and tightly packed crowds will set her off. Tips on what to avoid and how to manage this at Disney without missing out on too much?

 

[Mmouse1588]

Mission space in epcot for sure.

 

[Dayzy]

The stretch room in the Haunted Mansion. They pack you in there.

 

[gap2368]

this really depends on the person for me Mission space ( but I have done it before) the fact there is a video you are watching helps me out ( I hat the 10 or so seconds they put you in that sleep mode)
Haunted Mansion stretching room and the part right after is 100X worst for me I ask to skip it.
BTMRR going down the ramp at the end.
A2S at the end right before you load ( I still have no idea why)
space ship earth at the end ( with the interactive thing it is doable for me.)
RNR and TOT preshow room
I am sure I can think of more but there are some

 

[SueM in MN]

Post 27 on page 2 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread has a lot of information about claustrophobia and attractions different people have reported problems with.
You can find that thread near the top of this board or use the link in my signature.

People vary though and one person’s ‘impossible’ might be someone else’s ‘favorite’. Just knowing what to expect might be enough for some people to not have an issue.

 

[EEva]

The stretch room in the Haunted Mansion. They pack you in there.

The stretch room for sure. But I believe you can ask to skip the stretch room?

 

[gap2368]

The stretch room for sure. But I believe you can ask to skip the stretch room?

Yes talk to the CM right when you get inside most of the time they let you

 

[old feller]

I am traveling with a friend with claustrophobia. Enclosed spaces and tightly packed crowds will set her off. Tips on what to avoid and how to manage this at Disney without missing out on too much?

Hi
I am claustrophobic and can ride mission space.The cast member was very nice and understood.She let me go into the ride and closed the door for a couple seconds for me to check it out.She said " I will not leave you in there and it will only be a few seconds"....she understood.

 

[redberyl]

i have issues with big crowds in enclosed spaces. the only time i had a problem at disney was test track. after you get through the line you go into a room where you get to design your car. that part wasnt bad because the room was big enough. then they herd you into a room to wait to go to the boarding area. room is tiny and packed, the doors behind you and in front of you are closed so you are completely shut in. it was bad to begin with, but then the ride broke down and they kept us there for what seemed like a very long time. I had a panic attack and there weren't any CMs in the room. I ended up going back out through the doors into the design room again to find a CM to show me the way out. I might have managed it if they hadn't kept us in the room for such a long time, but I haven't tried it again to see for sure.

 

[cmwade77]

The stretch room in the Haunted Mansion. They pack you in there.

You can let the person that is putting you in the stretching room know and they will put fewer people in and out your party in last. This may not help everyone, but may help some.

 

[cmwade77]

i have issues with big crowds in enclosed spaces. the only time i had a problem at disney was test track. after you get through the line you go into a room where you get to design your car. that part wasnt bad because the room was big enough. then they herd you into a room to wait to go to the boarding area. room is tiny and packed, the doors behind you and in front of you are closed so you are completely shut in. it was bad to begin with, but then the ride broke down and they kept us there for what seemed like a very long time. I had a panic attack and there weren't any CMs in the room. I ended up going back out through the doors into the design room again to find a CM to show me the way out. I might have managed it if they hadn't kept us in the room for such a long time, but I haven't tried it again to see for sure.

You could request the alternate entrance, but you would need to explain why you need it and would definitely need a FP or return time on a DAS. They would then take you through the exit, but it may take a few minutes for a manager to get there to do so. When we went in January we had somone with similar issues, but also having a service dog meant we had to go that route or do a dog swap. They were very nice though and even let us ride twice, they asked if we wanted to when we boarded, it was not our idea and we had no clue they would offer.

To that end, I would definitely ask about getting a DAS at guest services, I have seen people have panic attacks in the middle of a queue and shut rides down as they curl up in a ball and no one can get past them, never fun for anyone involved.

 

[cmwade77]

this really depends on the person for me Mission space ( but I have done it before) the fact there is a video you are watching helps me out ( I hat the 10 or so seconds they put you in that sleep mode)
Haunted Mansion stretching room and the part right after is 100X worst for me I ask to skip it.
BTMRR going down the ramp at the end.
A2S at the end right before you load ( I still have no idea why)
space ship earth at the end ( with the interactive thing it is doable for me.)
RNR and TOT preshow room
I am sure I can think of more but there are some

For BTMRR, you could ask to use the alternate entrance at the exit, just like test track you would probably need to explain why and would definitely need either a return time or a FP. Same goes for RNR and TOT. Just giving some options in case you do want to ride these rides as they don't advertise these as available, but they are if needed.

Not sure what A2S is though, can't seem to figure it out in my head.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Not sure what A2S is though, can't seem to figure it out in my head.

I'm guessing she is talking about Alien Swirling Saucers. That one is tough to refer to by normal acronym.

 

[cmwade77]

I'm guessing she is talking about Alien Swirling Saucers. That one is tough to refer to by normal acronym.

Yeah, I realised the acronym issue the other day when I was talking about it.

 

[philharmagic fan]

Astro Orbiter! My claustrophobia isn't too bad, but a crowded elevator is just not something I can handle. However, I once rode early in the day when it was a walk-on, and they gave my party our own elevator.

 

[gap2368]

Astro Orbiter! My claustrophobia isn't too bad, but a crowded elevator is just not something I can handle. However, I once rode early in the day when it was a walk-on, and they gave my party our own elevator.

I am the last one on the elevator so I can stand infront of the windo as it goes up. But if it every got stuck I would be bad for me.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Don’t even consider going on Mission Space if you are claustrophobic!

 

[cheshirecollector]

Mine gets triggered during the Little Mermaid ride in New Fantasyland. At one point, you're kind of leaning back and looking up at the ceiling, and it's uncomfortably close.