Rides after heart surgery?

LuLuO

<font color=darkblue>I am against mandatory fun<br
Joined
Mar 8, 2010
I had open heart surgery in June to repair a congenital defect. We are going to Disney in January. My surgeon gave me the all clear for rides/roller coasters/etc. My cardiologist wants me to wait until I am closer to a year post-op. I don't want to do anything stupid, but I was thinking that as long as I have no complications between now and then that I will only go on the rides that my 2 year old, 36" tall son can go on. I figure all of those are pretty tame but does that sound too optimistic?

If you have visited Disney after a recent heart surgery, what was off limits?

Also, if I were to avoid all rides, can I stand in line with my DH and the two kids but bail out once they get on the ride? I think it would be hard for him to keep both kids in line by himself for more than a few minutes.
 
I would ask your dr exactly what you need to avoid. G-force, speed, jarring?

I can not imagine that most things your little one does would not be ok. There will be tons of stuff you should be fine doing.
 
You can look at the park maps for the attractions with warnings - they are marked with a red triangle on the map and also on a sign at the entrance to the queue.
The wording for the general warning is:
WARNING! For safety, you should be in good health and free from high blood pressure, heart, back or neck problems, motion sickness, or other conditions that could be aggravated by this adventure. Expectant mothers should not ride.

For Epcot here are the attractions with warnings:
  • Mission Space the sign outside the attraction says that pregnant women are advised not the ride both the more tame (green side) and the more wild (orange side)
  • Test Track
For Magic Kingdom:
  • Splash Mountain
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Tomorrowland Indy Speedway
  • Space Mountain
For Disney Studio
  • Star Tours
  • Rock N Roller Coaster
  • Tower of Terror
For Animal Kingdom:
  • Kilimanjaro Safari
  • Kali River Rapids
  • Expedition Everest
  • Primeval Whirl
  • Dinosaur

Soarin' doesn't have any warnings that would affect pregnancy; just heights and possible motion sickness. There are some scents used on the ride (ocean air, oranges, pine) that you may want to be aware of if you are sensitive to smells.

The Safari and Kali River Rapids are listed because you can get unexpected hard bumps and drops during the course of the ride. Some moms late in pregnancy have posted it felt like the baby was using their bladder as a trampoline, so it was not exactly comfortable. Many people suggest that the Safari is less bumpy closer to the front, but it is still bumpy. We sit in the front seat because youngest DD needs to stay in her wheelchair; we still get bounced around a lot. It all depends on which ruts your ride car hits. I have also ridden it without DD, and have found the farther back seats are about the same (unless you are talking about the back 1/3 of the tram). Also, the tram is quite far off the ground; in case of a problem with the tram, you will need to get off of the tram without aid of the boarding area which raises you closer to the level of the seats.

The main drop is the reason for not riding Splash Mountain. The big drop takes you down at a very extreme angle at a high rate of speed (I think you get to 40 mph). At the bottom, your ride car stops abruptly. That sort of combination of fast speed drop at an extreme angle and then abrupt stop can theoretically cause placental abruption - where the placenta actually peels away from the wall of the uterus. That's the main reason for warnings at Splash Mountain.
For rides like Dinosaur, Star Tours, Test Track, Big Thunder Mountain you are not moving that fast, but experience sudden changes of direction that jerk you around a lot.

This is a link to the height calculator.
He will be too short for most of the ones with warnings.
There are lots of other things to do though.
For those he can ride, you will be able to wait with them until boarding and then leave without riding.

For those he is too short for, you and he will need to wait outside the attraction.
 
When I had a kidney removed, my surgeon told me that any warning signs for people with bad backs, heart conditions, or pregnancy also applied to me for six months.
 
Went to Disney last February with my parents - Dad was 5 months out from heart procedure, and was advised to heed the warnings on the rides by his doctor. My dad is stubborn and was feeling great so he decided to ignore that and went on Expedition Everest. Thankfully, he was fine but he said he felt a lot of pressure on his chest and it scared him enough that he didn't push it, and won't when we leave in 3 weeks. I hope you enjoy your vacation, just remember to pay attention to what your body is telling you.
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. This has been quite an adjustment for me. I will definitely ask my Cardiologist for specific things to avoid.
 

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