Riding Flight of Passage while pregnant?

[famy27]

Truth: you’d be just fine riding it.

Truth: As a PP who was a high risk practitioner noted, and as I know as well, and regardless of what we all believe, no one can medicolegally give you a thumbs up safely, especially when the ride itself has a warning. So, it’ll be hard to get official validation despite reasonable safety. It’s seldom a question about the activity itself but the risk of perceived association of that activity to a very low likelihood unfortunate outcome.

Last thing: We are evolved to be able to carry gestations to a high percentage of success through reasonable daily activities that our remote ancestors would have faced. Use that as a rule of thumb.

Yep. And it's all about how risk-averse you and your doctor are. My OB gave me the green light to ride KS when I was pregnant, even though it had a pregnancy restriction. A whole lot of things you do at Disney (riding in the car, taking a shower, walking up and down stairs) are probably statistically more dangerous to a normal pregnancy than going on a ride, and nobody gives those a second thought. I agree that certain rides like RNRC are not appropriate for pregnancy but I would definitely get a judgment call from my doctor on FOP.

 

[LSUmiss]

And therein lies what I found so frustrating during my pregnancies (which were high risk because of a health issue I had earlier). I know I have seen people post here that their doctors told them that most rides at Disney are perfectly fine and I have no doubt they we told that. So if the experts can vary from 'OMG!!!!! Don't do it!!!' to 'Its no big deal, you'll be fine' how is anyone supposed to make an informed decision?

OP, congrats on your pregnancy. I hope all goes well. Hopefully you have a doctor you trust. Talk thru it with her/him and make the best decision you can with the info you have. Good luck.

I think it depends on the pregnancy itself, of course, but also the familiarity of the MD with the attractions at WDW.

 

[cep101]

Talk to your doctor about it. My doctor said that in my first trimester the baby is very protected and didn't have any problems with me going on any rides that I wanted to. I went to Disney when I was 5 weeks and 15 weeks pregnant. I rode on everything except Tower of Terror.

 

[cutigerlady]

Lots of people have given you the polite "I wouldn't risk it" advice. I'm part of the lost numerous pregnancies club and trust me, you really don't want to be a member! More than likely it has nothing to do with whether or not you ride a particular ride, but if it means you never know the feeling of losing a pregnancy it is worth it.

There will be plenty of more times to ride this ride!

 

[tinkb]

There must be some kind of extenuating circumstances there. It's perfectly safe for a woman with a normal pregnancy to hang out on Peter Pan, small world, Spaceship Earth, or any of the other slow moving rides.

Nope, regular old pregnancy. I was 16 weeks at the time. I asked my OB what rides were ok and he said "Really none of them. I would advise not riding any of the rides". All physicians looks at things differently I suppose.

 

[hertamaniac]

They'll be plenty of future times to ride FoP and the next latest WDW attraction, but I wouldn't dare risk anything with the birth of a child.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Nope, regular old pregnancy. I was 16 weeks at the time. I asked my OB what rides were ok and he said "Really none of them. I would advise not riding any of the rides". All physicians looks at things differently I suppose.

Just out of curiosity, what reason did he give for it being unsafe for you to ride? I actually haven’t heard of anyone else say that they had a typical pregnancy and their doctor advised that all rides are off-limits. It seems odd to me that a doctor would say, yep, go ahead and get on an airplane (or into a car), but don’t you dare sit on Voyage of the Little Mermaid!

 

[tinkb]

Just out of curiosity, what reason did he give for it being unsafe for you to ride? I actually haven’t heard of anyone else say that they had a typical pregnancy and their doctor advised that all rides are off-limits. It seems odd to me that a doctor would say, yep, go ahead and get on an airplane (or into a car), but don’t you dare sit on Voyage of the Little Mermaid!

I didn't grill him as to why but I'm assuming it was a blanket statement because he didn't know the specifics of each ride. I'm guessing maybe also based on what if the ride malfunctioned? He is an overly cautious doctor and we live in lawsuit happy NY, so maybe he was just covering his butt. As a nervous first time mom (at the time, I now have three) I listened to him. The only ride I went on was the old Snow White ride and of course it kept malfunctioning and coming to abrupt jerking stops. Scarred the crap out of me at the time! I didn't push it any more after that.

 

[hertamaniac]

He is an overly cautious doctor and we live in lawsuit happy NY, so maybe he was just covering his butt.

And there you have it; any medical practitioner or licensed medical employee, should not endorse riding any rides at WDW given this condition. A litigious society is where we live.

 

[LSUmiss]

Talk to your doctor about it. My doctor said that in my first trimester the baby is very protected and didn't have any problems with me going on any rides that I wanted to. I went to Disney when I was 5 weeks and 15 weeks pregnant. I rode on everything except Tower of Terror.

I went on most things also when I was 5 weeks, but I didn’t know I was pregnant yet. But I didn’t have any issues. But I also don’t ride Everest, rockin roller coaster, space mtn, or tower or terror.

 

[DisneyOma]

Truth: you’d be just fine riding it.

Truth: As a PP who was a high risk practitioner noted, and as I know as well, and regardless of what we all believe, no one can medicolegally give you a thumbs up safely, especially when the ride itself has a warning. So, it’ll be hard to get official validation despite reasonable safety. It’s seldom a question about the activity itself but the risk of perceived association of that activity to a very low likelihood unfortunate outcome.

Last thing: We are evolved to be able to carry gestations to a high percentage of success through reasonable daily activities that our remote ancestors would have faced. Use that as a rule of thumb.

How do you know she'd be just fine? Care to write a guarantee, with a monetary amount for that?

Your last statement is an oxymoron. We've evolved past the remote ancestors so much that C-sections are necessary to save the lives of babies that are too big to be born and mothers. Our remote ancestors foraged and eventually hunted for survival, and we are a sedentary population, for the most part. Our body shapes are different, our hips, spines, legs - so different. We do not compare in giving birth, at all, IMO.

OP - listen to your doctor, and your own body.

 

[ManmanMoana]

Rode it at 16 weeks and everything was fine. Had a great healthy pregnancy. But everyone is different.

 

[Sepo]

How do you know she'd be just fine? Care to write a guarantee, with a monetary amount for that?

Your last statement is an oxymoron. We've evolved past the remote ancestors so much that C-sections are necessary to save the lives of babies that are too big to be born and mothers. Our remote ancestors foraged and eventually hunted for survival, and we are a sedentary population, for the most part. Our body shapes are different, our hips, spines, legs - so different. We do not compare in giving birth, at all, IMO.

OP - listen to your doctor, and your own body.

I’ll send you a PM. Not looking to fight. I am a physician myself.

 

[MickeyWaffles]

Just out of curiosity, what reason did he give for it being unsafe for you to ride? I actually haven’t heard of anyone else say that they had a typical pregnancy and their doctor advised that all rides are off-limits. It seems odd to me that a doctor would say, yep, go ahead and get on an airplane (or into a car), but don’t you dare sit on Voyage of the Little Mermaid!

I wonder what the explanation was!

My friend’s doctor told her to avoid anything with a moving walkway in the loading/unloading area where the cars and the walkway are moving. She was later in pregnancy, though (she was at least 30 weeks.) It was more of a concern of weight transfer and balance. So rides like Peter Pan, Buzz and Haunted Mansion were out. I was so surprised to hear of her doctor’s concern about this! Some doctors are definitely more cautious than others and I think they don’t want to give a blanket statement that rides are ok especially if they aren’t familiar with the rides.

I traveled to WDW at 10 weeks and Disneyland at about 28 weeks. My doctor just said “Go on rides! Just don’t go on anything that will toss you around too much.” I basically just heeded the pregnancy warnings.

OP, as others have suggested, I wouldn’t go on anything with a warning. For me personally, ignoring the warning would just cause anxiety and worry. I skipped anything with a warning on my trips during pregnancy and still had such an enjoyable time.

 

[Snowsprite]

I was nervous about it at the time, but rode this at 11 weeks pregnant and was fine. I went because I had been on it before and didn’t remember anything concerning.
It is a very smooth ride. It looks like the whole compartment you’re in moves, not the seat you’re on. I was just conscious of how I was positioned and braced myself on any of the big dips.
I think the problem is the seat itself when you’re further along. Your stomach is pressed up against a wide bar in front and the restraint is brought up against your back, holding you against it. I positioned myself so the bar was high on me, just under my chest on my rib cage, not pressing on my stomach. I can see how you wouldn’t be able to sit comfortably in it if you were further along though. Try the seat they have out in front of the ride and see how you feel about it.
I hope this helps explain the ride. Only you can make a decision you’re comfortable with when it comes to risk though.

 

[Tksolomom]

I would talk to your doctor, but personally I wouldn’t worry about it. When I was almostv3 months pregnant, I was in a very bad car accident where my car was totaled. I was freaking out about having a miscarriage but my doctor said the baby was the most protected thing in my body. I think they are sometimes over-zealous because of lawsuits. I wish you all the best with your pregnancy.

 

[lillyshula]

Congratulations! I went to Disney when I was about 4 month along with my second daughter. I was one of the lucky ones that had no adverse pregnancy issues such as morning sickness. I had a great first pregnancy with no complications and after talking to my doctor, he gave me the green light to ride whatever I felt comfortable riding. I had been to Disney many times and knew what to expect on each ride. I wasn't really showing yet and felt comfortable on pretty much every ride. I had a jacket that could help cushion lap bars if needed, but I didn't really need it. I did avoid the tea cups and Mission:Space Orange, but I rode all the other E-ticket rides with no issues. Knowing your body and what you are comfortable with is the best advice I can give. Everyone has different pregnancies and what works for or doesn't work for one may or may not work for you.

 

[AGoofyUser]

on the park map you can see that Flight of Passage has an red triangle next to it signaling that expectant mothers should not ride.

also, here's a decent pregnant specific ride search tool to see what you can ride while pregnant:

https://www.ashlylocklin.com/pregnant-at-disney-world

 

[hiroMYhero]

The OP of this thread went to the parks in December; closing.