Guests with "Unnatural" fears

[bpgstudios]

So I was at Small world greeter the other day, and a guest comes up to me.
Guest: What is this ride?
CM: This is "it's a small world," a 10 minute boatride with the children of the world.
Guest: Is it in water?
CM: (thinking uhh...yes its a boat ride but she may be asking because peter pan is a 'flying boatride') Yes there is water.
Guest: Like how deep is it?
CM: about 4 feet or so in the ride, and 10 under the loading area.
Guest: I have an unnatural fear of water...would this ride be OK?
CM: well there are wide bodies of water inside, but its up to you.
Guest: Could I drown in it?
CM: well you shouldnt be out swimming in it, and weve never had a boat sink. The water is only 3 or 4 feet so if you stand up in it, it will come up to your waist or chest.
Guest: OK, i'll try back later.
CM: (thinking wtf was that about?)

She was totally serious about it, and I could tell it wasnt a prank.
Anyone else encounter guests with "unnatural" fears? :confused:

[darph nader]

Just being 'Monkish". ( I can see that expression winding up in my coaster some day). Hey,I have 'acute' acrophobia,I LOVE to fly. But get me up in a tall building,or on the balconey of a movie theater,and I'm quaking in my shorts. :(

[BRWombat]

So I was at Small world greeter the other day, and a guest comes up to me.
Guest: What is this ride?
CM: This is "it's a small world," a 10 minute boatride with the children of the world.
Guest: Is it in water?
CM: (thinking uhh...yes its a boat ride but she may be asking because peter pan is a 'flying boatride') Yes there is water.
Guest: Like how deep is it?
CM: about 4 feet or so in the ride, and 10 under the loading area.
Guest: I have an unnatural fear of water...would this ride be OK?
CM: well there are wide bodies of water inside, but its up to you.
Guest: Could I drown in it?
CM: well you shouldnt be out swimming in it, and weve never had a boat sink. The water is only 3 or 4 feet so if you stand up in it, it will come up to your waist or chest.
Guest: OK, i'll try back later.
CM: (thinking wtf was that about?)

She was totally serious about it, and I could tell it wasnt a prank.
Anyone else encounter guests with "unnatural" fears? :confused:That's odd, yes, but better to have a guest who knows her limits, asks questions and then acts appropriately than to have her freak out while loading or further into the attraction!

[Driver_dylan]

Happened today at LMA

Guest: I cant climb, I have a fear of hights.
Me: Well we have reserved rows at the bottem of the theater for those who can't climb
Guest: But if i'm down here, I won't be able to see that well.
Me: I'm afraid I don't understand.
Guest: Well where is the elevator.
Me: It's around the corner but you will still be on the second level.
Guest: Oh that doesn't matter. I just can't climb.
Me: :banghead: :blowup: :kaboom:

[Syndrome]

I can actually sympathize with the "non-climber!" I can tolerate heights, but I have a thing about spiral staircases and open metal staircases if they go above a few floors. I'd be fine if you could get me up there in an elevator, but I can't stand walking up on open metal stairwells.

The tragic thing is, I am a doctor of psychology, so I should be able to get myself out of that with some cognitive self-talk...but not yet!!

[Rob562]

I can actually sympathize with the "non-climber!" I can tolerate heights, but I have a thing about spiral staircases and open metal staircases if they go above a few floors. I'd be fine if you could get me up there in an elevator, but I can't stand walking up on open metal stairwells.

Yeah, I have no fear of heights at all, but there's a theater in Boston (The Colonial) that has a *VERY* steep second balcony. Whenever I go up there and have to walk down to my row, I get a bit of a feeling of vertigo from looking down the stairs. I have to make sure to hold onto the railing. :) Going back up I'm fine, though.

-Rob

[SueOKW]

I guess you can't lock yourself in a room with a staircase and get over your fear :D:

I'm the standard "hates balloons popping" mom. I saw my mom wince forever, and now I wince whenever anyone is blowing up balloons in my house. :rolleyes:

[LittleDollClaudia]

I had a guest leave because she couldn't open her window. On the higher floors, the windows have been sealed for protection of people falling. Well, it wasn't a safety issue for her, like if the hotel was on fire or something, no. Which I would have understood. No, her reason was that she always had to have fresh air at all times when she slept. I tried to explain about our rooms have A/C's but she said no, that's stale air. I had to bite my tongue as to what does she think Anaheim air will do to her. It ain't mountain freshness, I tell you what! :eek:

[leftcoaster]

The tragic thing is, I am a doctor of psychology, so I should be able to get myself out of that with some cognitive self-talk...but not yet!!

So do you have a lot of couches in your house?

If you were to talk to yourself, would you have to put a mirror on the wall and lie down on a couch ?

:p:

[ktulu]

So do you have a lot of couches in your house?

If you were to talk to yourself, would you have to put a mirror on the wall and lie down on a couch ?

:p:

And do you charge yourself? If so, do you give a discount, or is it at standard rates?

[BRWombat]

And do you charge yourself? If so, do you give a discount, or is it at standard rates?And do you ever tell yourself, "Sorry, time's up!" :D:

[kickman77]

All I can say is WOW

[Syndrome]

So do you have a lot of couches in your house?

If you were to talk to yourself, would you have to put a mirror on the wall and lie down on a couch ?

And do you charge yourself? If so, do you give a discount, or is it at standard rates?

And do you ever tell yourself, "Sorry, time's up!"
You are all assuming that I would actually trust my own treatment methods and professional competence!! Do you really think I would ever entrust my mental health to someone who has been on 55 Disney cruises, who rode Everest 13 times in a row (and another roller coaster 40 times in a row) and who still nearly has a heart attack when she meets Stitch, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Mr. Incredible?

[Main_Street_Merch]

I have a lot of people who freak out at really random points during the Safari. There was a lady once who was terrified of the Ankole Cattle she wanted to climb out the opposite side of the truck. Not sure how that would have helped?

[hhsrat]

I have a lot of people who freak out at really random points during the Safari. There was a lady once who was terrified of the Ankole Cattle she wanted to climb out the opposite side of the truck. Not sure how that would have helped?

I had a trainee that was absolutely terrified of the bridge. Persuading them that they'd have to drive across it was quite an adventure.

[jjarman]

I can honestly say my only unreasonable fear is those big roaches that fly or Palmetto Bugs. I live in South Mississippi in the middle of a bunch of pine trees so I am doomed. I am so afraid of them I can't see them on tv and once I used to by my dog food from a feed store that had a huge picture of one in front of the cash register (advertising some pesticide I think). I had to stand on the side of the counter and not be near the poster.

[LittleDollClaudia]

and who still nearly has a heart attack when she meets Stitch, Captain Jack Sparrow, and Mr. Incredible?


I'm right there with you. Even my little black jaded heart gets all flippy when I see my fav. characters walking down the way. Hell, when Darth Vader popped up from the stage with the fog swirling about, I got goosebumps. Cruella is such an evil treat if you get a chance to visit with her. So snarky!

[disneyprincess1988]

Well, I used to be absolutely petrified of Tower of Terror after I first went on it back in 1994. Now, I've been on it 82 times and I love it. So I guess you could say the 10 years I spent being terrified of the ride would be consired having an "unnatural" fear as I now realize that ride is one of the best rides in all of WDW.

[Euterpe]

This tops them all.

I had a guest afraid of her seatbelt.

I was loading my gate at Soarin', and I was about to enable my carraige and leave, when someone shouted "Someone's freaking out over here!" So I run over, and this woman's like "Get me out of this thing, I want out!" So I immediately unlock her seatbelt, and she takes it off and I figure she was just scared of the ride itself. But then she asks:

"Can I just ride it without my seatbelt?"

Yeah. The answer was no. No we will not bring you 40 feet in the air without a seatbelt. So she chose to leave. The man next to her said "Sorry about that, she's a very extreme claustrophobic."

Very extreme.

[bpgstudios]

I had a guest afraid of her seatbelt.

Holy crap, get out of my head! I was JUST talking to a friend about how crazy it would be if someone was afraid of a seatbelt. wow thats amazing...How do they ride in a car? how did they get to wdw? how did they deal with the monorail? Thats pretty insane!

[LittleDollClaudia]

I was thinking the EXACT same thing after I read that. If a person is extremely claustrophobic, how would they even be able to handle just being in the building itself? Hell, just being at the park in general. Such unfamiliar terrority to deal with. I know it's not the same thing but my son is Autistic and sometimes that sensory overload is too much. Most attractions are inside very close spaces. There are times that I get a little panicky if the park is really crowded. How did she get through the gate without freaking out??

[SueOKW]

It's kind of the same thing in the way that the reaction is unpredictable. I've seen lots of people with claustrophobia post on the boards created for disabled people (as well as people with autistic kids etc.)....

Anyway - the claustrophobic will be right up front - - what does this ride do, what's this like, what's that like?

I never thought that Soarin' would be considered that frightening ..... the seatbelt. Wow. Poor thing. I can understand her wanting to enjoy what she can in life with her limitation. I would SO be on meds for that... if there are meds.

[Syndrome]

Sometimes claustrophobia isn't just about being in an enclosed space, but rather about being in a position from which there is no escape. For her, the seatbelt probably made her feel trapped, even tho' Soarin' itself takes place in a relatively open area (I know there are the overhead canopies, but I doubt that's what got to her.

As a comparison, when I am flying for the DCL repo from Spain to FL this year, I plan to be so zonked on Xanax that I am a drooling zombie. I have flown to WDW countless times before we moved to Celebration, but the big difference for me is being over the water. When flying over land, I know there is a place to land in an emergency. The idea of being over water, with no "escape zone" if we needed to land, is what makes me crazy. Thus, I will remain peacefully knocked out till we land (the really crazy thing is that it won't bother me being out in the middle of the Atlantic on the ship...just in the air).

[leftcoaster]

As a comparison, when I am flying for the DCL repo from Spain to FL this year, I plan to be so zonked on Xanax that I am a drooling zombie. I have flown to WDW countless times before we moved to Celebration, but the big difference for me is being over the water. When flying over land, I know there is a place to land in an emergency. The idea of being over water, with no "escape zone" if we needed to land, is what makes me crazy. Thus, I will remain peacefully knocked out till we land (the really crazy thing is that it won't bother me being out in the middle of the Atlantic on the ship...just in the air).

You're not into "water landings," eh?

I sympathize. I am not afraid of heights, but am afraid of "freefall." So, I don't do coasters, etc. I suspect (I am not an expert), that if I could go on the same ride several times in a row, that I could get over my fear of freefall." *shrugs

[Euterpe]

Sometimes claustrophobia isn't just about being in an enclosed space, but rather about being in a position from which there is no escape. For her, the seatbelt probably made her feel trapped, even tho' Soarin' itself takes place in a relatively open area (I know there are the overhead canopies, but I doubt that's what got to her.Actually, people get scared at Soarin' more than you would think. I think it's just because they don't understand the nature of the ride. I'll admit that when I was 15, I went to DCL and refused to ride Soarin' because I'm afraid of heights, because I didn't understand the ride. But I was chicken about everything then.

And I do think Soarin' can definitely create a claustrphobic mood. The Gate area gives me panic attacks, where I can't breathe and I'm afraid I'm just going to burst into tears for no reason. I think it's either the weird lighting or the idea that I can't leave under any circumstances because no one could take my place, if I got sick or something. I'm kinda glad I don't work there anymore. I used to feel the same, though, when I was on cash at the food court at Port Orleans, and all the other cashiers would leave me alone out there for extended periods of time. It's like... Social claustrophobia. That physically you can leave, and you're not closed in at all... but if you were to leave, it'd be your job.

Scary, scary... And a little off topic. Sorry.

[RagnarokandRoll]

I've got one!

Last time I went to WDW as a guest, I took friends along: Let's call 'em, Bob and Jane, who were my good friends and a couple, and Steve and Emily, who were friends of Bob and Jane and whom I had never met before. (none of these names are real)

Emily turned out to have an extreme fear of what she called "grated bars"; what any normal person would refer to as simply a grated floor, the likes of which they have all over property.

She made a BIG DEAL out of this, to the point in which it seemed as though it was for attention. It might sound mean of me to say that, but that's how it came across. Case in point: We were on line at Dinosaur, and when we got to the actual loading area, she made a SPECTACLE out of not stepping on the "grated bars" that made up the floor. I am sympathetic to people with these unnatural fears (I myself used to be terrified of dogs, after being attacked as a 5 year old - I am pretty much over it now, but I can understand), but the narcisstic way this person seemed to carry on, drawing as much attention to our group as possible, was an unwelcome surprise.

[LittleDollClaudia]

May she never play Silent Hill in nightmare mode. That place is covered in grates and when you move your character, you can hear the tromping sound. I love it, but that's just 'cause I'm weird. :twisted:

[Marilou]

Ok, so this prob doesn't fall under the category of "unnatural fears" but my thing is heights. Which sux because I love the sensation of the roller coasters, but visually seeing how freeking high I am keeps me off many.
I never miss Space Mtn......its dark so I can't really see how high i am! I also did RnR for the 1st time last yr and loved it! I did ToT just for my daughter (she's the daredevil of our group) and had to keep my eyes closed the whole time.
Uhh I even feel slight panic attacks on Dumbo (hanging my head in shame) so with me its the heights thing. TTA doesn't bother me and I'm ok on the monorail except for the one time we rode right up front. I liked Soarin' altho it was a lil overwhelming....but I just kept reminding myself that I was only a lil bit high.

[CycloneMan]

This isn't Disney related, but here you go anyway!

I'm a Jr Docent here at the Staten Island Zoo and last year I worked the summer camp as a counsler. It was a normal day camp (well not that normal), but anyway! This kid, was terrifyed of Snakes and hated all animals! So why was this kid here anyway? He was a nasty little son of a bitch and fought with all the kids. Also, he was too young for this age group, so we are still baffaled on how he got in.

So as one of the counslers, we had to give them a tour of the Rainforest section. I told the kid that he could close his eyes, and I can walk him through to the end of the exhibet! That's not what happened. The kid pulls up my shirt and sticks his head under it and snugged against me grabbed on rfeally tightly :eek: ! "OWE!!!!!!!!!!!" So I pulled the kid out and I thought to my self ("Hell no kid, you are NOT doing that!"), so I covered his eyes, well he clung on to my shirt and I walked him out.

-Dainan "But Jesus Christ, why the hell was this kid here?" Rafferty

[leftcoaster]

Ok, so this prob doesn't fall under the category of "unnatural fears" but my thing is heights. Which sux because I love the sensation of the roller coasters, but visually seeing how freeking high I am keeps me off many.
I never miss Space Mtn......its dark so I can't really see how high i am! I also did RnR for the 1st time last yr and loved it! I did ToT just for my daughter (she's the daredevil of our group) and had to keep my eyes closed the whole time.


I have the exact opposite problem. I am afraid of the "free-fall" effect, but I don't have a problem with heights (if I feel that I am properly secured).

I wonder if Syndrome could give us free counseling ? :p:

Actually, my thought is that if I could ride the same ride a half dozen times in a row, I could get past that free fall sensation. Hmm..a medical note from Syndrome, to get a GAC card to ride Space Mountain 10 times in a row. ;)

[mechurchlady]

My mother was in the Artic exhibit at SeaWorld. She freaked out over the open grates. I got the elevator open and told her I was leaving her. At San Diego Wild Animal Park we were way up where the condors are kept. She freaked out when we got near a railing with a steep drop.

I only cannot handle fear of falling. There is no way of getting mom on a moving walkway usually or escalator. SeaWorld was not a happy place when I would have to trick her into getting onto things. She was getting antsy over tunnel through the shark tank.

My cousin's kid used to freak out over specks of white stuff on carpets.

[BRWombat]

My mother was in the Artic exhibit at SeaWorld. She freaked out over the open grates. I got the elevator open and told her I was leaving her. At San Diego Wild Animal Park we were way up where the condors are kept. She freaked out when we got near a railing with a steep drop.

I only cannot handle fear of falling. There is no way of getting mom on a moving walkway usually or escalator. SeaWorld was not a happy place when I would have to trick her into getting onto things. She was getting antsy over tunnel through the shark tank.

My cousin's kid used to freak out over specks of white stuff on carpets.Churchy! Hi! :waves: Haven't seen you here in a while!