Anxiety is the ultimate vacation saboteur.
It’s the tension that upends the fun, the hijacker that turns Disney magic to nail-biting stress. Anxiety has proven one of the toughest challenges of this generation, and it’s only gotten worse in the midst of a global pandemic that has dramatically changed the way we are able to travel. During a time when many people crave a fulfilling vacation more than ever, is there a way to stop anxiety from seizing control in the middle of a trip?
I struggled with severe anxiety for over ten years—social and generalized anxiety was the official diagnosis. Many basic situations like shopping for groceries, calling for pizza, attending classes, parallel parking (okay, that one’s pretty normal), and even vacations caused my mind to kick into fight-or-flight mode at the worst of times. My brain flooded with stress and alertness, and I lost my ability to reason and function soundly until the tortuous episode (e.g. anxiety attack) had passed.
If you’ve seen the movie Inside Out, you can picture anxiety like one of the characters from that cast—it’s essentially what happens when a part of your brain (the amygdala) that is trying to protect you from danger seizes control, diverting resources to get ready to fight, flee, or freeze. In some cases, this mechanism connects to the concept of wisdom—if you’re being attacked by a bear, you do need to be able to quickly react to escape danger.
It’s not such a helpful thing in the middle of Walt Disney World though…
You see, anxiety is something of a poor judge of situations. It attempts to predict the future to assess potential threats—usually, based on kernels of truth. Anxiety is fear of things that have not happened yet based on what might happen. It’s such an overwhelming response, that it can override wisdom, hope, happiness, and reason for fear of what may come. Even if the threat is genuine, anxiety often cripples more than it enables, catastrophizing instead of problem-solving.
Don’t be ashamed if this sounds familiar—if you’re reading this, you’re among friends who have experienced the same thing…
I am not a psychologist (and therefore cannot give official medical advice), but I am someone who came out on the other side of being ruled by anxiety—I no longer suffer under the effects of those disorders. When I do get anxious, I know how to respond and adapt using tools I learned through counseling and perseverance (and most of all in my personal case, faith). This has not only helped me be able to live my life, but it has allowed me to banish anxiety from sabotaging my Disney vacations.
Want to do the same? Here’s a few tips that can help drastically reduce stress from your next vacation to Disney parks or beyond…
1. Plan what you can
Anxiety is often a response to feeling like a situation is out of control—it’s a reaction to the unexpected or overwhelming. If you know you trend towards anxiety, one of the best tools you can use when getting ready to go on a vacation is to plan what you can.
Many people assume that Disney parks are always stressful and busy, but this isn’t necessarily the case—for one thing, if crowds stress you out, do some research into what times of year the parks are less hectic. Right now, Disney parks are capped at 35% capacity. While that’s a pretty low number compared to Disney’s pre-pandemic busy days, I wouldn’t recommend that someone who struggles with anxiety visit somewhere like Disney’s Magic Kingdom on a full-capacity day (Disney’s Hollywood Studios has these days more often, but it hasn’t felt as stressful on our previous high-capacity visits). These are generally going to fall on holidays and their corresponding weeks, major school breaks, and weekends. We don’t know enough to guess what summer is going to look like this year, but historically, it can be a busy time (not to mention hot and humid).
While winging it on a Disney vacation can be fun for some, you can reduce anxiety by planning what you can. Pick a resort or place to stay that is nearby so you have a retreat to return to (some of Disney’s resorts may be ideal, for example, due to ease of access). Make dining reservations early so you have one less thing to worry about. Oh, and definitely get tickets and make Disney Parks Pass reservations ahead of time—buying tickets at the gate is not a good idea on the best of days, but during this unusual season, you will want to make sure you’ll be able to get into the parks since reservations are required for the foreseeable future.
2. Build buffers into your day
Anxiety can sometimes be a reaction to feeling like we don’t have enough time—we feel a sense of conflict between what we want to do and what is actually possible. Maybe an unexpected shift in circumstances (e.g. a ride closure, inclement weather, etc.) forces you to change plans in the middle of the day.
Building buffers into your day can help reduce the stress-effect of unexpected changes.
Planning a day at Disney parks isn’t nearly as rigid an affair as it’s been in years past—Fastpass+ is no longer the immovable spine of scheduling. While dining and experience reservations still provide some fixed points to work around, you may find yourself adapting on the fly more often.
Instead of scheduling every minute of your day, purposefully schedule buffers into your plans—extra space in the schedule in case a queue is long, you want to try something different, or even if you just need some time to recoup. Buffers reduce the impact of “Murphy’s Law” moments by allowing you space to adjust. It’s purposeful flexibility so something going wrong doesn’t feel like a house of cards toppling. It also leaves space for you to recover if anxiety starts creeping in and you need to take steps to get grounded (more on that in a bit).
3. Know your way around before you arrive
Video: YouTube, Jett Farrell-Vega (@My Kingdom For a Mouse – Glimpses of Disney)
Just like anxiety can be a reaction to the unexpected, it can also be a response to the unfamiliar. Just knowing your way around somewhere as convoluted as Walt Disney World can make a big difference.
If you trend towards anxiety, I don’t recommend visiting Disney parks blind to what to expect. Before your trip, familiarize yourself with the layout of the parks. Read articles with details about what the parks are like right now (we recently did updates both for Magic Kingdom and for Disney’s Animal Kingdom), and watch some videos (shameless plug for my bonus-content YouTube Channel) to build that sense of familiarity. Virtual tours of the parks and even rides can be helpful as well.
A few things to be aware of—Walt Disney World has gone through a lot of changes over the course of the past two years. If you haven’t visited in a while, you’ll want to get the latest information on park layouts. Future World in Epcot, for example, is extremely confusing to navigate right now due to construction barricades throughout the entire park. Disney’s Hollywood Studios changed after the additions of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (which has limited signage) and Toy Story Land. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is famously easy to get lost in on the best of days, particularly in the World of Pandora. Whatever source of information you use, make sure it is up to date.
4. Don’t follow the crowd
Crowds are a primary source of anxiety and frustrations at Disney parks—it’s why it’s usually a good idea to avoid them if possible. The best way to do this? In both planning and during your Disney day, don’t follow the crowd.
People tend to move in somewhat predictable ways at theme parks, but a lot of what we know about this subject has changed over the course of the last year. Even before COVID-19 arrived, crowd trends changed dramatically at Walt Disney World after the opening of Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. While some things have remained familiar (like increased crowds on holidays and weekends), other factors are new territory.
On one hand, crowds are less of a problem during this season because of the capacity limits on the parks. Even on a 35% max capacity day, I was able to move about in Magic Kingdom without feeling stuck or smothered (though it did feel busy nonetheless). Crowds also don’t congeal as often since there are no scheduled parades or fireworks right now—guests might stop to watch a passing character cavalcade but not in the same numbers they used to.
Early in the pandemic, crowd trends during specific hours of the day shifted in unusual ways. For a while, opening gate at parks like Disney’s Hollywood Studios was the busiest time of the day with line lengths tapering down as the day went on. Slowly, things are starting to shift back to the old patterns. In most cases, you can expect the shortest lines of the day the first 30 minutes and last two hours that a park is open.
This is more pronounced in some parks than others. Magic Kingdom tends to be a good park to arrive right at opening—lots of families show up just before lunch time and lines may stay long well into the day after that. People also tend to tour rides in a particular order, starting at Fantasyland and slowly working their way through the park. Epcot often tends to be quieter in the mornings and around lunch, then grows busier as the evening wears on. Disney’s Hollywood Studios tends to be busiest about an hour after opening until later in the day due to people trickling out after riding Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is currently the most pandemic-friendly park thanks to having lots of space and things to do, but the fact it closes early means if you arrive late, you’re going to lose time.
5. Know the safe places to take a breather
Sometimes, spikes of anxiety cannot be prevented—they are a natural reaction to stress and circumstance. In these cases, sometimes you just need a little time and space to collect yourself and let the initial surge of emotion pass. You can also reduce stress overall by planning purposeful breaks into your day—in many cases, even to the point of leaving the park around lunch time for an afternoon nap then returning later.
Inside the parks, it can be helpful to know the best places to take a breather and relax. If you need to take off your mask (and aren’t actively eating or drinking while stationary and distanced), you’ll want to look for the Relaxation Stations. These are special zones where guests can remove their masks for a time while distanced from other parties. Some are quite pleasant, like Star Wars Launch Bay (our favorite!).
· Magic Kingdom
o Pete’s Silly Sideshow (Inside with A/C)
o The Golden Oak Outpost (Outside)
o Tomorrowland Terrace (Outside, Covered)
· Disney’s Hollywood Studios
o Star Wars Launch Bay (Inside with A/C)
o Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular (Outside)
· Epcot
o Akershus (Inside with A/C)
o Near Rose and Crown Pub (Outside)
o Between Mission: SPACE and Test Track (Outside)
· Disney’s Animal Kingdom
o Pizzafari (Inside with A/C)
o Across from UP! A Great Bird Adventure (Outside)
Video: YouTube, Jett Farrell-Vega (@My Kingdom For a Mouse – Glimpses of Disney)
Walt Disney World is also home to lots of surprisingly quiet places. At Magic Kingdom, Tom Sawyer Island is the best example—it’s difficult to get to, but once you’re there, it’s usually the quietest place in the park. When the PeopleMover reopens, it’s an excellent choice as well. At Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we are usually able to find some peaceful spots arounds Echo Lake. Portions of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge can be particularly nice later in the evening when crowds have reduced as well.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Epcot have a lot more choices in this arena: the walking trails of Disney’s Animal Kingdom and gardens of World Showcase are full of quiet havens where you can withdraw for a little recovery time. I especially enjoy the courtyards of the Morocco pavilion. Outside of the parks, Walt Disney World is home to many walkways (like the walk between Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios), and Disney resorts also provide another haven for collecting yourself.
In a particularly tense situation, another option you can try is visiting Disney’s First Aid stations in each of the parks. Each of these stations has a quiet area where guests can recover from dehydration or even something as simple as a panic attack. I am not certain if this has changed since the arrival of the pandemic, but the staff at these stations are very friendly, and this has been a possibility in the past.
6. Hack your brain
This is a particularly fun subject because there are so many different ways to do this—a few of which we’ve covered here at Theme Park Tourist. The human brain really does act similar to a computer at times, and like a computer, there are ways to utilize the senses to hack it.
When anxiety strikes, it can help to get grounded in some way to work through being “flooded” (that moment when the amygdala takes over)—the goal is to settle your mind back into the present instead of focusing on the frightening future that hasn’t yet come to pass. There are many exercises you can do to accomplish this (apps like Sanvello offer some good options) ranging from measured breathing, to mindfulness, to prayer. Even something as simple as slowly tensing and releasing each part of your body one at a time can help diffuse some anxiety.
One hack involves carrying a set of lightweight headphones with you so you can access relaxing music or nature sounds on your phone (I usually use Relax Melodies, Spotify playlists, or Headspace). Just shutting out the chaotic noise of the parks for a few minutes can help provide some disconnection from the craziness around you. You can also utilize apps that help you with anxiety reducing breathing exercises (I’m a fan of Relax Lite or Calm) to help calm your heartbeat and settle your mind. If you’re concerned about phone battery, use data instead of park Wi-Fi (or keep a good power block on standby).
Your ears aren’t the only tool for hacking your brain—scent can have a powerful effect on calming the mind as well. Keeping some aromatherapy oil with you can be a good idea to help you get grounded (I use this little keychain kit from Doterra to keep a few with me when I visit Disney—for anxiety, my go to scents are Jasmine, Frankincense, or Lavender). Drinking some relaxing hot tea or even just getting hydrated can also help.
7. What if I have a panic attack?
Let’s say you aren’t able to head off anxiety that strikes during a Walt Disney World vacation, and that anxiety spirals into a panic attack. What can be done about it? We wrote an in-depth guide to this subject previously, but here’s a few highlights.
During a panic attack, your amygdala takes over your brain, diverting energy away from other parts of the brain and body to get ready to fight, flee, or freeze. That’s why the symptoms of an attack can feel startlingly physical—it’s because something physical is taking place in your brain and letting that process pass can take time.
Remember those breathing exercises we mentioned? Despite the fact that they may not feel that helpful in the moment, they really do make a difference in helping the brain and heart to start to settle. Here’s one potential breathing pattern to try:
1) Breathe in slowly through the nose for about 4 seconds, letting the air fill your lower belly.
2) Hold the air in for 1-2 seconds.
3) Exhale through the mouth slowly for 4 seconds.
4) Wait a few seconds before taking another breath.
5) Repeat
“One thing someone might do at [Walt Disney World] is to start looking for hidden Mickey’s, count the number of Mickey ears you see, or count the number of tiles on the ground. Another technique is to name 5 things you see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can smell, 2 things you can feel, and one thing you can taste. Another grounding technique is to count backwards from 100 by 3’s (100, 97, 94), or say the alphabet skipping every other letter (A, C, #…).”
While retreating to a quiet place to walk through these steps can be helpful, there is also a good argument to be made for doing what you can to “ride out” anxiety attacks. Try not to completely withdraw if possible—in this case, bolting from the parks entirely. There is a difference between a strategic retreat to regroup yourself and full on flight. In my case, I found there were long term benefits gained by enduring through some “exposure therapy” and withdrawing enough to get my brain grounded, but not completely running from the situation. If you have to go, that’s all right—these things take time—but there are benefits if you can learn how to process anxiety in the midst of a situation. Some of the quiet places we mentioned earlier can provide good examples of places to get grounded.
Remember Disney First Aid remains an option for a strategic retreat if things get really intense—let the nurses know if you have a history of anxiety and just need to time and space to walk through it.
8. Adapting vs. Reacting
This statement really changed things dramatically for me when it came to overcoming anxiety: “Bad things feel bad, and that’s okay.”
Wherever there are human beings you will find conflict—conflicts of values, ideas, even just accidental human-bumper-car moments where people all are trying to occupy the same space. There is no way you can gather as many human beings as you generally find in a theme park and not encounter conflict. Particularly in the midst of a pandemic, we’ve seen some pretty troubling cases of conflict increasing in startling new ways.
And yet, it’s okay.
There are times you are going to experience unexpected circumstances, unexpected conflict with other guests (even something as innocuous as, “Oops, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you”), or moments where our expectations aren’t met. Those things are no fun, and it’s totally normal that they feel bad. Bad things feel bad, and that’s okay. They’re going to happen sometimes—we can’t control that, but we can choose how we respond.
Anxiety and instinct is going to want to react to tense situations and things that feel bad—it’s like the movie Inside Out again. Anger, Sadness, and Fear all start wrestling for control. If we react immediately to things that go wrong, we’re liable to say or do something we will regret, and that can create new situations for anxiety to fester. It’s entirely based on external circumstances.
Instead, there’s a certain power in acceptance of these situations. We can accept that bad things feel bad, that’s okay, and then adapt to it. We can take a breath before saying something we’ll regret to family or a cast member. We can step off to the side to read the menu even if someone in your party wants to go faster—they can wait even if they get salty. You are not responsible for their feelings—you are only responsible for you. We do what we can to treat people with kindness and courtesy, to follow rules and honor others, but you are responsible for your own choices, not everyone’s feelings. You learn how to not sweat the small stuff, to exercise patience, to adapt.
There are so many things that used to stress me out at Disney parks that no longer phase me because I’ve learned how to adapt. I almost never get frustrated with scooters and strollers anymore because I recognize they’re usually having an even harder time than I am trying to navigate the parks. If something triggers a spike of anger—like a rude guest or a change to something I value (like food quality or experiences), I’ve learned over time how to take a breath and walk it out rather than react in the moment when I’m flooded and likely to say something I’ll regret. I’ve learned to identify which encounters with crowds I can handle and when I need to stay away from a situation beyond my emotional capacity. If something goes seriously wrong on a trip day, I try to remember that I can’t read the future. The day is only wrecked if I abandon hope and don’t find a way to reassess and adapt.
Bad things feel bad and that’s okay—life has not stopped. You can do this. Have a great vacation.
Enjoy this article? Keep reading to get a glimpse into Magic Kingdom on a full capacity day… or dive with us into the cultural shift that is making things challenging for Disney cast members.
