Motion Sickness

[maryinaz]

We just booked a trip to Disneyland for next weekend, kind of a spontaneous thing for us. This is the 4th time we've been as a family. The last 3 times we had all 4 boys and DH would take the big boys and I would take the twins and we would separate for part of the day. So they could do the bigger rides and we could do the kiddie rides.

Well, now all my boys are big so we'll all be staying together. I usually stay away from anything like a roller coaster because I have really bad motion sickness. I feel like I'm going to be sitting around by myself a lot waiting for them to get off the rides.

So...does anyone take anything for motion sickness for rides? What has worked? I can't do the Dramamine since it just makes me drowsy. I'd be willing to try something else so I can go on more rides with my family.

*sigh* such a wimp...

[haydensmommy217]

my dad takes the Walgreen's brand i believe its called motion sickness something lol. He cant take Dramamine (it knocks him out). It helps him a lot. Hope you can find something so you can enjoy those roller coasters with your boys.

[BrattyMeg]

there's 2 different dramamines..there's one that's just basically benadryl and another that's meclizine (better for nausea IMO)

do you know which you have tried? I'd check the ingredients and maybe try the meclizine one and see if it doesn't make you sleepy. Would your dr give you any phenergan for nausea? (although that makes me crazy sleepy)

I'd hate to go to Disney and not be able to ride anything

[thompsonc2007]

I don't know if it works for motion sickness from roller coasters but there is a patch your doctor can perscribe for motion sickness (like you get on a cruise). Might be worth checking on though

[Patti]

Sorry, I'm no help.. if the motion sickness doesn't get me, the whole height thing does! Ugh!

[maryinaz]

I'll check out these suggestions. I'm getting kind of bummed now though. I hadn't really thought about how much time I might be alone if I don't ride all the rides. But I don't want to spend my days queasy either.

[BrattyMeg]

They make those seaband wrist band things that people take on cruises. Maybe try those too I bet it spreads out the effects of the meds so it doesn't hit you all at once to make you sleepy?

[YepBrook]

I think the patch for motion sickness really works and doesn't cause drowsiness. My dad and I both get motion sickness (although I never experienced it at Disney... just rocking boats and driving in the car long distances) and we both used something different on a cruise. I had a sea band thingie on my wrist and he had a patch. I got sea sick, he didn't!

[Julie Billingsley]

If you aren't riding the rides, maybe bring your camera and use the time to do some pretty scenic pictures. I've seen some wonderful pics that people have done at Disney, but I've never had the time to recreate them for myself. I've told my husband I want to do a "photo vacation" at Disney just for that reason. Maybe search on flickr for Disneyland pictures to see what others have done. I bet you'll feel really inspired!

[maryinaz]

That's a great idea Julie! I'll definitely check out the photos. Of course, then that gets into the what-camera-do-I-bring issue. Ha!

I think I will also bring my Nook and make sure I have some great books ready to read. I'll just enjoy being somewhere fun that doesn't require my cooking and cleaning, if I can't get the MS thing figured out.

Sounds like the patch works, but if it's a prescription, I'm doubting I'll be able to get it in time. I haven't exactly been regular about seeing my doctor for well visits and they aren't too keen on prescribing stuff if they haven't seen me. But, I will ask anyway.

[scrap2day]

Originally Posted by Julie Billingsley

If you aren't riding the rides, maybe bring your camera and use the time to do some pretty scenic pictures. I've seen some wonderful pics that people have done at Disney, but I've never had the time to recreate them for myself. I've told my husband I want to do a "photo vacation" at Disney just for that reason. Maybe search on flickr for Disneyland pictures to see what others have done. I bet you'll feel really inspired!

This is what I was going to suggest. I went to Disney and did a TON of fun stuff and Peter Pan & Spaceship Earth (which is a bit jerky) was about as crazy as I can ride. There are tons of little details and hidden stuff to do if you can't ride.

At all of the parks:
Take photos with characters
Parades
Shows

At the Magic Kingdom:
Detail photos of Main Street windows
Walt Disney statue
Roy Disney statue
Lady & the Tramp paw prints
Photo cutouts/old cartoons (I think there was also a timeline on the wall) in Exposition Hall (and it's air conditioned!)
Look for the paintbrush on Tom Sawyer Island (be one of the first boats over in the morning)
Ride the double decker bus/car from Cinderella's castle to Exposition Hall
Take a photo of you with photo of Walt Disney (I think this may have been on the wall under the railroad station)
Carousel of Progress in Tomorrowland

In Epcot:
Explore Innoventions and Imagination Labs displays
Living with the Land boat ride through the greenhouses
Country hopping in Epcot
Another boat ride in the pyramid in Mexico (Gran Fiesta Tour with Donald)
In Japan, watch the candy lady transform sugar into animals
If you have Park Hopper, ride the boat between Epcot and Hollywood Studios

Animal Kingdom:
I went on the safari ride but if that is too much for you there are animals to see where you can walk

Hollywood Studios:
I enjoyed taking photos of old cars, buildings, etc.
Near the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular there is a sign that says "Don't Pull The Rope" but the "Don't" is sort of crossed out -- Definitely Pull The Rope!
Take photos of the characters in the Muppet Fountain. Which main character is missing?
Lots of hidden things and puns in the preshow as you enter Muppet 3D
I took photos inside the Muppet store -- it looks a lot like the Happiness Hotel from The Great Muppet Caper
Check out the Singing in the Rain umbrella
Explore the city backdrops -- pretend you are in New York or San Francisco
Go to You're a Character -- take the quiz to see which Disney character you are most like
Take photos of the hand prints outside the Chinese theater

If the boys are going to be on roller coasters for awhile, go to tea at The Grand Floridian hotel (I made reservations)
Sit in the lobby of the Grand Floridian and listen to the live music

Take photos of the different hotels

Search for Hidden Mickeys

Have fun!

[jessica31876]

Im sure you probably tried this in the past but have you tried just closing your eyes? I keep thinking Dr. Oz said a lot of motion sickness is caused by the signals sent to the brain by how your eye focuses while moving. Although he was talking about car rides but um I just thought that maybe that might help with some of tamer roller coasters. My first was space mountain which feels like you are flying because you cannot see a thing but it supposedly only goes like 25mph. I cried when I got off of it LOL. Cause it scared me bad. But I was determined to do all the coasters at Disney World so we went to Splash Mountain and then Thunder Mountain. By then I was ready to ride Space Mountain again.

[Txcorey]

I also get motion sickness on the roller coasters. I bought some stuff for it last time we went and then somehow forgot to pack it. I've heard that ginger pills help and there is also some stuff called MotionEaze. It is a liquid that you rub behind your ears. It's supposed to be good for dizziness and nausea. You might try that.

One thing I like to do when my dh and son are riding is to get pictures of them on the rides. I got some cute ones of them on Big Thunder Mountain and Expedition Everest. Of course, Caleb was so small that I could only see the top of his head in some of them. lol

[MissKim]

My son (18) has awful motion sickness, and I have it to a lesser extent. We use ginger. We buy it in pill form and take 1-2 in the mornings to help with the motion sickness. Mythbusters actually did a motion sickness thing a few years ago -- testing the patch, dramamine, etc. -- and ginger worked the best. I even bought some ginger gum for Brady to chew on our upcoming trip.

There are several rides I only do once each trip -- at DL it would be Matterhorn, Big Thunder, Space -- and I spend the time "waiting" either taking photos or taking a break. I need some down time every day and that's often hard to get on vacation. It's not selfish to take a few moments just for a break.

[maryinaz]

You all have been so helpful! I'll definitely try the ginger pills as I keep hearing about ginger being good.

Matterhorn is closed for maintenance right now (it was closed last time we went too, but that was 6 years ago), but I want to try Big Thunder Mountain. I doubt I will even attempt Space Mountain. I do close my eyes if I have to, but I feel like I might as well skip the ride then.

Good ideas for all the other things to do (although we are going to Disneyland not WDW) and I will take more pics than I usually do. After all, there are all those new Disney kits in the shoppe right now!

[scrap2day]

Oh sorry. Saw Disney and short circuited to WDW.

[WendyBird]

We're going to DL the second week of June. I get some motion sickness too, but just driving and boats - rides don't usually get me too bad, though I don't really like most roller coasters. Disney ones I can do - but we're doing CA Adventures too, so there will be a few I won't do like Tower of Terror....

But I'm going to be spending a lot of time searching for hidden mickeys to take pictures of!
http://findingmickey.squarespace.com/
http://www.hiddenmickeyguy.com/