How to Survive a Walt Disney World Trip With PoTS & Dysautonomia.

I was diagnosed with a form of PoTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome) back in 2022 at age 32, but I’ve actually had it since I was twelve. But like with many of women’s health issues, it took 20 years to formally diagnose.

I’ve now done three solo trips to Walt Disney World since my official diagnosis and have a fourth trip booked next year, so thought I would impart my wisdom and learnings to anyone else who might be planning a Walt Disney World trip with PoTS!

Especially now that DAS (Disney’s disability access service) is now impossible to get approved for (don’t get me started on this lol).

So, ready to learn how to make your Disney World trip EPIC despite having PoTS?! Let’s go!

The first time I went to Disney solo after being diagnosed, I did just one day at Disney World solo as I was in Florida with work and had a single day off to do what I wanted.

The second time I went for four days, and the third time I did ten days.

Yep, ten whole days at Disney World, and thankfully only one faint (at the airport on the way home lol).

With all that Disney time I have looooads of tips to provide on how to survive and have a truly epic trip despite being a Potsie.

1. Take it slow & have afternoon breaks

The best tip I can possibly give you is: take it slow and listen to your body.

My first solo trip I spent the entire day in the parks from opening to close and was well and truly exhausted by the end.

For my second solo trip I discovered a better strategy: get there for rope drop/early entry, leave the park at 12, spend the afternoon in the pool or resting in the room/aircon, then shower and head back to the parks at 6pm until close.

This strategy worked so well for me that I did the same on my third trip. 

It truly made such a difference smashing out a load of rides in the morning when it’s emptier and cooler, and then leaving the park at the start of the hottest and busiest time of the day. 

Being able to spend the afternoon resting in the aircon with my legs up on a pillow, or in the shade by the pool, gave my body a huge break each day and reset it before the evening.

And then heading back at 6pm means you’re heading back when it’s cooler and slightly less busy, feeling rested and rejuvenated.

The only day I did do all day was the day I completed the Walt Disney World four park challenge, but even then, I did rope drop until 6pm rather than rope drop until close, and got an early night that evening.

2. Stay at a Disney resort

The first time I went to Disney World solo I stayed off property at the Gaylord The Palms, but I honestly think staying on property makes things much easier for people with PoTS and dysautonomia.

Mostly because the staff are amazing and the transport is much easier to navigate, so it’s easy to get back to the resort in case of an emergency.

When you’re staying on property you don’t need to worry about anything. If you have any issues with your health the Disney staff are incredible and they even have onsite doctors.

When it comes to transportation, if you urgently need to get back to your room from the parks (either to rest or to take any salt tablets etc), it’s much easier to get back to a Disney resort than an off-property resort.

There are buses, skyliner, and boats. With off-property hotels you’ll need to get an Uber, as the bus times are very infrequent.

Personally, my favourite resort is Port Orleans French Quarter. It’s small and intimate, so doesn’t take ages to walk from your room to the bus stop etc. I think it’s much better for PoTS people than the bigger resorts like Disney’s Coronado Springs.

Read my comparison of the best Disney World resorts!

3. Wear a Sunflower lanyard

I usually only use my Sunflower Lanyard at airports, but I would recommend wearing it at Disney if your PoTS is severe.

It just lets staff know that you may need assistance, and it’s very useful if you’re travelling solo as you can have your emergency details on the back so if you faint staff can figure out what’s happened (I have the giant words ‘POTS’ on the back of mine lol) and get you the right help and support.

It also helps on the buses. They can often get very busy and if you’re wearing a sunflower lanyard you’re more likely to be offered a seat if you need it.

You can purchase a Sunflower Lanyard here.

4. Use Lightning Lanes

I highly recommend buying lightning lanes (both multi-pass and individual ones) for your Disney World trip.

I promise they are worth the cost and extra expense, especially if you have PoTS.

Another reason to stay in a Disney resort is that you get to buy and book your lightning lanes 7-days in advance (compared to just 3-days in advance for off-property guests).

Make sure to book your lightning lane times for first thing in the morning (between 9am-11am), because once you use one you can then book another for later in the day/evening.

For me, lightning lanes coupled with utilizing early entry was a gamechanger and made my days so much more relaxing and easy. 

Is PoTS eligible for the Disney DAS System?

Now, the first time I visited Walt Disney World solo I was eligible for the DAS System, which is Disney’s Disability Access Service, and provides you access to virtual queues on their app. 

Unfortunately in 2025 they changed the rules, and PoTS is no longer eligible. Now DAS is just for those with autism. 

It’s really annoying having to pay a lot more money just to make sure you don’t faint and become unwell, but for me I found just sucking it up and paying it made my trip far more enjoyable.

Disney Accommodations for PoTS

When I went through the DAS approval process in 2025 and got rejected for the first time, the cast member told me they would have accommodations for me.

I was told to go to the cast members at the queue entrances and tell them I have a disability and need an accommodation where I return at a designated time. 

Unfortunately, the handful of times I tried this none of the cast members had any idea what I was talking about and told me I had to join the queue just like everyone else. It made things really stressful and I’ve never tried it again.

5. Manage the queues effectively 

Even when you purchase lightning lanes, you’ll still have to queue, especially if it’s a busy ride. I have a couple of techniques to manage the queues and prevent a faint.

1. Sit down. I don’t care where I am or what people will think, I will just sit on the ground. 
2. If the queue is too tight or moving slightly too quick for a sit down, I just did ankle raises and walking around on the spot to keep the blood moving.

This worked great for me and I got through an entire ten days at Disney without fainting in a queue, which I’d call a massive win (lets not talk about the faint at the airport lol). 

I also made sure to sit down and find a seat early for the parades. I took a book with me and was quite happy sitting for 30-minutes reading my book before the night parade started!

6. Utilise shows & low queue rides

I would also alternate rides with shows and low queue rides. Disney has soooo many amazing shows and smaller rides at all the parks, so I made full use of these!

Because I was there for ten days on my recent trip, I couldn’t justify lightning lanes for all ten days, so I had a couple of days without LL and I made full use of the shows and lower queue rides on those days. 

Note: I class ‘lower queue rides’ as rides that usually have a wait time of less than 20-minutes. My tilt-table test showed my body can stand for 15-20minutes before fainting, so I tend to do rides with wait times of less than 30-minutes as those rides have queues that move at a slow walking pace so I’m never standing still for too long.

Magic Kingdom Low Queue Rides/Shows:

• The Carousel (ride)
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic (show)
• Country Bear Jamboree (show)
• It’s a Small World (ride)
• Carousel of Progress (show)
• People Mover (ride)
• The Little Mermaid (ride)
• The Hall of Presidents (show)
• Walt Disney World Railroad (ride)

EPCOT Low Queue Rides/Shows:

• Journey into Imagination with Figment (ride)
• The American Adventure (show)
• Beauty and the Beast Singalong (show)
• Gran Fiesta Tour (ride)
• SeaBase Aquarium 
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends (ride – often has lower queue time early in the morning and later in evening)

Animal Kingdom Low Queue Rides/Shows:

• Na’avi River Journey (ride – often has queue time less than 30mins)
• Expedition Everest (ride – single rider line)
• Festival of the Lion King (show)
• Finding Nemo: The Big Blue… and Beyond! (show)
• Feathered Friends in Flight! (show)

Hollywood Studios Low Queue Rides/Shows:

• Star Tours (ride)
• Alien Swirling Saucers (ride)
• Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage (show)
• Disney Villains: Unfairly Ever After (show)
• For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration (show)
• Indiana Jones™ Epic Stunt Spectacular! (show)
• The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure (show)

7. Mobile order your food and drinks

The main mistake I made was queuing up to order food and drinks. Some food queues can be 30+ minutes long at busy times.

Then I realised you can do mobile order and it was an absolute gamechanger for me.

Download the My Disney Experience app and it’ll show you all the food outlets where you can mobile order (most of the quick service places allow it).

My recommendation is say you’re getting on a ride at 11:30am and you know you’ll want food after – do a mobile order when you’re about to get on the ride, and order the food to be ready for around 30mins later than the current time. It’ll give you enough time to ride the ride, and then walk to the food outlet.

Then, when you go to the foot outlet, you just go to the mobile order window, tell the app you’ve arrived, and your food will be with you within a couple of minutes!

8. Hydrate & take plenty of electrolytes

The most important thing you can do when visiting Disney World with PoTS is to make sure you stay hydrated, and keep your sodium levels up.

There’s free water available at all quick service restaurants, even if you don’t buy any food.

You can also buy bottles of Powerade everywhere in WDW – all the quick service and snack stands have them.

And definitely make the most of all the iced drinks in Disney as they’re also really cooling and refreshing.

However, one thing I do is make sure I have an electrolyte sachet in the morning before I leave the resort, and another one when I get back to my room in the afternoon.

Liquid IV is my go-to for electrolytes as they contain around 500mg of sodium which is much higher than most brands.

It’s usually cheapest on Amazon (buy it here!) and they have all the flavours on there. Guava, Strawberry, and Arctic Raspberry are my favourites! It’s great if you have a sweet tooth and aren’t a fan of really salty flavoured electrolytes. 

If you’re more of a salt than sweet person, get LMNT Elecytrolytes. LMNT contains a whopping 1000mg of sodium in each one and is sugar free, so the sodium content is much higher but it does taste much saltier, so just be warned. 

In addition to electrolytes, make sure you have regular snacks throughout the day. EPCOT was the best for me as they have soooo many food stalls and snack huts everywhere – I loved trying all the different non-alcoholic iced drinks during the EPCOT Flower & Garden Festival.

Another great snack for keeping your salts up is the Mickey Pretzels, and I really loved the pizzas at Disney World. Salty and filling!

9. Keep cool during park days

As well as staying hydrated it’s really important you stay cool during hot park days.

The best places to get aircon in the parks are the shows, but some of the rides are also great for aircon. I also loveee going on the People Mover when I need a rest and some cooler air. 

Another trick, is to make use of the shops! When it’s hot I walk through the shops along Main Street in Magic Kingdom because you can walk all the way along Main Street through the lovely aircon.

I also recommend buying a cooling towel. They’re much cheaper from Amazon than the ones in the parks, and do exactly the same job. Put them in a ziplock bag with ice until you need them and they’ll be lovely and cool when the heat gets too much.

Read my guide on What to Pack for Walt Disney World (Ultimate Disney Packing List 2026)

Read my guide on how to survive the heat at Walt Disney World

10. Don’t be afraid to use additional help

Don’t be afraid to use additional help if you need it!

Make sure to invest in compression socks. I use them for the flight (I love these ones which are made from cotton!), and then I also wear them at night when I’m at Disney. I don’t like wearing them during the day as I find them too hot when walking.

This most recent trip I also used a sacroiliac belt as I have difficult hips, and it was honestly incredible. Lots of people with PoTS often have co-morbid conditions, including some hypermobility. A sacroiliac belt can just help to stabilize your joints and muscles when you’re doing lots of walking. 

I also know people with PoTS who choose to rent a scooter for the parks.

I personally haven’t done this because my body deals with walking much better than sitting down for long periods of time. If I sit for too long that can actually cause me to faint, so I personally feel better walking and then just using lightning lanes and sitting down on the ground/finding a chair when I need to sit down.

Interestingly, my resting heart rate went down my 10bpm the whole time I was at Disney, and I’m convinced it’s because I was doing loads of walking (27k steps on my most intense day!) but at a more gentle pace: I was ambling around the parks instead of racing here-there-and-everywhere like I do at home in London.

11. Consider visiting in cooler months

If you really struggle with heat and your PoTS is severe, I’d really recommend visiting in the cooler months between November-March.

My first solo trip (the one where I just did one day at Disney World) I visited in February and it was the perfect temperature for PoTS.

Sure, it rained a little, but it also rained when I went in May.

Just make sure you avoid visiting on Presidents Day weekend, and take layers for when it’s chillier!

Have a perfect Disney trip with PoTS 

I think a lot of people with PoTS panic about visiting Walt Disney World, but I promise you can have a truly epic trip even with this horrid disability. 

I’ve had the best trips, you just have to be careful in how you manage it, and truly listen to your body!

If your heart is racing or you’re not feeling great, make sure you immediately find a seat and some aircon, and eat a salty snack and rehydrate. Don’t wait, because the longer you wait the worse it will get.

I really hope this blog post helps you feel more confident and comfortable going to Disney!