I don't know if this question belongs in this forum, but I'll post it here anyway.

I will be taking a friend to Disneyland & California Adventure this coming week, and she is pregnant. What rides should I tell her to avoid??

The rides all have warnings at the entrance to each queue, however I'd probably avoid Indiana Jones and the Temple Of The Forbidden Eye !

Originally posted by DopeyWife
I will be taking a friend to Disneyland & California Adventure this coming week, and she is pregnant. What rides should I tell her to avoid??

Here are the officially restricted rides at each park:

Disneyland:

Splash Mountain
Space Mountain (which is closed anyway)
Star Tours
Matterhorn
Indiana Jones Adventure
Gadget's Go-Coaster
Big Thunder Mountain
Autopia

California Adventure:

Grizzly River Run
California Screamin'
Orange Stinger
Mission Tortilla Factory
Maliboomer
Muholland Madness



At both parks, there may be a few other attractions that your friend may feel uncomfortable going on. My wife, for example, is kind of uncomfortable with Pirates at Disneyland and California Soarin' at DCA, even though neither have official restrictions. My advice is to let her use her own judgment and not push her to go on anything that she is mostly concerned about. As much fun as Disneyland is, it isn't worth taking unfortunate chances.

-Jeff

P.S. I added one extra one to the list that didn't really belong. See if you can find it... :)

My first though when reading the title of this thread was, now that Adventures Through Inner Space has gone to Yesterland, you should have no fear of getting pregnant on any attraction.
;)

Depends on how pregnant she is - in the first trimester then most rides will be pretty much ok.

If she is getting larger then the motion rides could be uncomfortable.

Lisa rode Pirates when she was 25 weeks pregnant - 2 reasonable drops but she was fine - most disney stuff is pretty mild really and should be safe. Dont worry too much about the warning signs they are there for legal reasons rather than a representation of risk to the pregnancy

The CM's at loading dont had a ultrasound scanner before you board so if she is in the early stages no one will know.

Trust us we are doctors!:)

Originally posted by Chris/Lisa
Dont worry too much about the warning signs they are there for legal reasons rather than a representation of risk to the pregnancy

I just couldn't disagree with that more. Most of the rides that have warnings on them at Disneyland are quite turbulant, with lots of sudden drops, stops, turns, and/or jolts. As far as I'm concerned >no< amusement ride is remotely worth even a relatively small risk to a pregnancy.

I admit that I'm not a doctor myself but I'm inclined to trust our own OB/GYN, and the general consensus within the field, on this issue.

-Jeff

Originally posted by Chris/Lisa
The CM's at loading dont had a ultrasound scanner before you board so if she is in the early stages no one will know.

Trust us we are doctors!:)

Well, then you know that most miscarriages happen in the first trimester, right? And that this is when the embryos are still snuggling in and getting ready for the long haul?

With all due respect, I strongly disagree. I'm not a doctor, but my sister is. And my father-in-law is. And one of my best friends is. And I suffered through a very complicated miscarriage and 4 months of follow-up treatment during which I researched this subject extensively. (And no, I don't believe that if you read it on the internet it's automatically true.)

This is the article (http://www.mouseplanet.com/akrock/akrock15.htm) I wrote about going to DLR when pregnant. The list of rides Jeff G posted is more accurate than the 3-year-old list on that article, but the rest of the article does address other issues.

I do think there's LOTS of pregnant women to do at DLR, including Pirates. I want to make that clear. However, I'm not an advocate at all of ignoring the DLR warnings to expectant mothers on the rougher attractions.

Adrienne

A lot also depends on how far along she is. My wife was about 6 months pregnant and went on Peter Pan. The lap bar hurt her tummy. So if she's showing then watch out for rides with lap bars. Sudden stops are to be expected.

But she had no trouble with Pirates. The drops are mild and there's no lap bar. But trust your instincts too. Every woman is different.

Originally posted by JeffG
California Adventure:

Mission Tortilla Factory

P.S. I added one extra one to the list that didn't really belong. See if you can find it... :)

You mean that one?

Thanks for all the help & info!

I really feel I must defend what has been said.

Of course I would not recommend a pregnant lady going on any of the BIG rides - that is common sense. And of course I take the point absolutely that no theme park ride is worth a pregnancy(!).

I was simply pointing out that in the main Disneys rides are very mild - probably a darn site milder that the car journey to the park!

Common sense is your best guide - of you are not happy dont do it.

I have been a Ob/Gyn and I know the heartache and pain a miscarriage can cause. I do not intend to use this forum to go into the bio-mechanics of miscarriage.


I hope we have not lost you all as friends as a result of this:(

I agree that it is better safe than sorry. Even if the "warnings" are more for legal reasons than danger, if the woman should happen to have problems later with her pregnancy, she will always wonder if her decision to ride caused it. Not worth it.