So, I’m back from my anniversary trip as of super early Saturday morning. I’ll be throwing a full trip report together soon, but for the short term: a couple of notes regarding Animal Kingdom:
Pandora – Flight of Passage: Didn’t fit. Did a full post explaining the issues my wife and I had with it on Tuesday that you can check if you want more info.
Pandora – Na’vi River Journey: Fit perfectly well, very neat ride. Sit up front if you need extra leg room. The song is super catchy.
Pandora – Satu’li Canteen – Try the Blueberry Cream Cheese Mousse and thank me later.
Dinosaur – This was my 5th visit to Disney, and I had avoided Dinosaur every other time because I’d heard it was a tight fit and was painful on the hips. I am kicking myself for not just trying it sooner. I fit FINE. I am 384 lbs, with wide hips, and I fit perfectly FINE. It was less cramped than Test Track, Soarin, and Star Tours (all of which I can also ride, but those actually DO feel tight on my hips). There’s lots of seatbelt room (pull all the way out, then sit) and there’s no “top part” to the seat dividers like on Star Tours, so it’s SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE. It is a bit of a rough ride though, so be careful.
General Disney Heat Warning: Y’all, please be sure you are getting enough water and electrolytes out there. On Tuesday (my anniversary) they wanted to call the medics on me while I was trying to prevent an oncoming vasovagal attack while we were out on the Gorilla Falls trail. Animal Kingdom is the hottest park in the World due to how it was built, and I have these vasovagal reactions every once in a while under combinations of heat and exertion. (I recognize the warning signs and know how to respond to them, but they can take a lot out of me, and while they aren’t life threatening and not a full-blown emergency like people were concerned was happening, they suck and are nauseating and disorienting. It took me three hours to walk to the bus from the trail simply because I would start feeling sick again – normal- and have to sit and try to prevent the full-on fainting that would come next.) Drinking powerade or vitamin water is much better than straight water in these situations. While I had been drinking water consistently all day, it didn’t help too much when I felt like crap. The vitamin water got me back up and moving to the bus. I need a nap after these attacks. Lesson learned to carry vitamin water around in my bag as well in case I run into a problem out there in the future. Point being: listen to your body and err on the side of caution if you are concerned you may be overdoing it. I’m lucky in that I know what is happening when I start having the warning signs and how to react quickly to stop it, but I can tell you firsthand it is disorienting and scary and claustrophobic. And fainting is nothing in comparison to heat stroke or one of the other things that could happen.
Take breaks.
Drink water.
Stay cool.
Use those fans, cooling towels, umbrellas.
Rent a scooter if you need it.
Have fun and be safe.
Access the Mouse 