Which rides would you avoid in this situation?

DisneyJade

Two decades on the DIS, lurking and learning
Joined
Nov 8, 2002
Well, this is rotten timing, but due to a large kidney stone and an emergency surgery to bypass it until it can be removed, I will unfortunately have an uncomfortable ureteral stent in place during my upcoming trip. My doctor says everything is safe (stone too big to go anywhere, stent securely in place), and I do okay walking. However, I'm very hesitant about the rides. Sudden jerky movements are painful. Also, some of my meds make me a little light headed.

I am planning to avoid Test Track and maybe, sadly, Millennium Falcon, due to the jerky aspects. Any others in that category I should avoid? I have not yet ridden these rides and am wondering what the experience is like on each (smooth? abrupt motions? g forces?)

  • TRON
  • Slinky Dog Dash
  • Guardians
  • Remy

I'd love to hear from anyone who has been to WDW in my same condition and can share ride experiences or warnings. My favorites are Flight of Passage and Tower of Terror, so I *really* hope I can do those, but I'm worried.

Thanks in advance!
 
This may sound strange but my son mentioned the other day that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is known for helping people with kidney stones. I don't know how it would do with a stent in place, but if you get a chance to ride it without the stent, it might help your situation. I thought my son was joking; but when I googled it, I found out he wasn't. https://www.livescience.com/56261-kidney-stones-roller-coaster.html
 
This may sound strange but my son mentioned the other day that Big Thunder Mountain Railroad is known for helping people with kidney stones. I don't know how it would do with a stent in place, but if you get a chance to ride it without the stent, it might help your situation. I thought my son was joking; but when I googled it, I found out he wasn't. https://www.livescience.com/56261-kidney-stones-roller-coaster.html

Yes, I saw this article too. How funny! Apparently those were small stones, but it definitely has me wondering.
 
Tron was very uncomfortable with the restraints. Remy is fine to ride. The other two are coasters but I don’t find them jerky. Guardians can cause motion sickness with the screens so keep that in mind.
 


Recent G Force discussion here

“Sudden jerky movements are painful” This really might not be the right time for you to do Disney. If you’ve been you know that almost any ride has the potential to stop suddenly with a serious jerk if they have to shut it down or pause it for loading. And then there are the slam stops where even smooth as silk rides like 7DMT or SDD come to a very abrupt stop that kinda slams everyone into their forward restraint.

MMRR is jerky because of the Daisy scene. GOTG is smooth as silk through the whole thing including the end. Expedition Everest & Kilimanjaro Safaris at AK are jerky. BTMR is definitely jerky and ends with one of those slam stops that leaves everyone audibly going “oof!”. You’re laying your stomach on Tron straddling a motorbike so idk about if that would be uncomfortable in your situation, they have an option to sit upright in a back car but it has a longer wait.
 
Yes, I saw this article too. How funny! Apparently those were small stones, but it definitely has me wondering.
It said they used small medium and large stones in their experiments. The biggest factor was seating position. “When the researchers were seated in the rear car of the roller coaster, the kidney stones, regardless of their size or location in the kidney, passed nearly 64 percent of the time.” [emphasis added] While being in the front had a passage rate of only 17%. That’s a night and day difference.

A spokesman for the group extrapolated their results to include all “medium intensity roller coaster” as having the potential to aid passage of at least small stones, particularly after procedures such as lithotripsy (in which large stones are pulverized by ultrasonic waves).

Hey, I’m taking it. I now have a real reason to go ride coasters at Disneyland! You know it’s funny, because BTMR is not my favorite coaster—I’m generally kinda meh about it—because more often than not, I end up with increased kidney pain after riding it… somewhat more than other coasters cause me to have. Enough so, that I’ve made that connection in my mind at least . I guess I know why now.

But hey silver lining and all— I can now say I have a legitimate medical need to visit the Mouse! Wonder if DH would be swayed into getting AP’s? 🤔😉
I mean, I’d rather shake them on thru while they’re tiny— before I even realize they’re there would be ideal. The more I ride, the more I pass, right 🤣🤣

OP idk that I could go to Disney with a stent. I could barely move at all when I had mine. It was abysmally awful.

FoP is a pretty smooth ride, I think, as is Tron from all reports, but leaning forward with pressure on my lower abdomen would’ve been utterly excruciating! Definitely try the seats out front before waiting in the whole line.

I think lap bars on many rides would’ve been awful too. I guess if you know the sudden stop is coming, you could brace yourself, like on BTM or 7D, but an E stop on one of those, probably would’ve required EMS to get me off.
But again, I flat out couldn’t have gone in the first place, so…

Good luck. I’d maybe look at some ride videos to see what might be doable. Stent pain is just so individual, that it’s hard to give much advice.

I will say GotG is absolutely the smoothest, most comfortable ride I’ve ever been on, and it’s just an awesome ride all around. Thrilling and exciting and fun. I only got to go on it once, but I *really* want them to shoehorn this ride into the Avengers campus at DCA. I really think they could. Heck they could even theme it to a different Marvel Universe character and it would still be awesome! Although the 80s music is a perfect fit, so that would be a loss…
 
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I echo the sentiment of not wanting to be at Disney with the stent. Mine had gotten crinkled after my kidney surgery and I shudder just thinking of it.

ETA: I had to have a second surgery just to find the stent. 🤢
 


Lemon juice and apple cider vinegar help with dissolving them (researching for family friend) and preventing in the future (wouldn’t change anything without talking to your Dr first so maybe avoid these things so they don’t dislodge them?).
 
Well, for some reason on my last trip (September) I got very sick when doing Guardians. It can be that due to my age now I'm more sensitive to these kind of rides. On the other hand, I didn't have any problems with Space Mountain, BTMR (which yes, it's kind of jerky) or any other ride during my trip.

You know, Disney World is such a magical place that it can be enjoyed without having to ride any medium to high intensity attractions. Just being able to stroll down Main Street, seeing the parades and the castle shows is magic for me (doing things like Tron doesn't hurt, either :-) )

Regards,
Luis
 
Thank you, everyone, for the insights. I do think it depends on a person’s individual experience with a stent. While I’m managing quite well and discomfort seems to be improving, I think I’ll be avoiding those g-force rides! Not worth the risk!
 

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