how to convince kids who refuse to try a ride

[Sunny37]

I'm the mean Mom...my kids have to try everything at least once, if they don't like it, they don't ever have to do it again until they decide they want to.

I was the same way when my boys were younger...my 25 year old still won't get back on TOT.

 

[#1DopeyFan]

I'm sure that makes all the innocent bystanders whose ears are still ringing from the screaming and crying feel MUCH better.

Seriously? PP never said anything about her child SCREAMING, big difference. Plus, I'm VERY sure it will not be the only crying child you see the entire time you are at WDW...if you don't like kids, who all cry at times, don't vacation at WDW or eat at McDonald's or play at the park, etc.

 

[#1DopeyFan]

I was the same way when my boys were younger...my 25 year old still won't get back on TOT.

Funny you say ToT...that's the same way it was for my now 14yo DS. I made him try it when he was 3yo, he didn't like it...tried it again the next trip, still didn't like it. He didn't go on it again until this most recent trip in August, I bet he rode it at least 12-14 times while we were there.

 

[TJDisneymama]

yes, i will totally try bribery but if he doesn't want to, I won't force him. I haven't rode HM in a looooong time (because both times we went recently, I sat out with him!) so I didn't know if there was anything specific I could tell him about how non-scary it was. I only vaguely recall what it was like, lol.

 

[DorianDonP]

I'm sure that makes all the innocent bystanders whose ears are still ringing from the screaming and crying feel MUCH better.

Kids cry constantly, whether they are in line for a ride they are nervous about or wanting a toy that their parent isn't going to buy, or just tired of walking in the hot sun all day. It sort of comes with the territory.

 

[finbait]

I NEVER said my kid was SCREAMING. You know, I thought this board was a way to help people who want to travel to Disney. 8 out of 10 times though, it seems to just be a board for snobs to make people feel like crap. Excuse me for not having perfect children who behave like angels 24/7. And if you don't like listening to whining, crying kids, maybe Disney isn't the best place to take your family on vacation.

OMGosh I so agree! I usually am only on here when I have a trip coming up. But it seems that lately, every single thread is a "hot topic" and someone is always putting someone else's parenting style down!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

When we were on our last trip, we probably received a lot of side eyes for people for taking our unwilling/screaming child on rides "he didn't want to be on." He was just shy of three and in the middle of his "NO" phase. He was saying no to everything. So, we just dragged him on anyway. He didn't scream through any actual rides, although he did sit there and pout a lot and then claimed that he didn't like any of them when we were done.

Of course, ever since we've been home he sings "Under The Sea" constantly and talks about how POTC is his favorite ride. To hear him talk about it, he had the most magical vacation EVER. Kids.

Anyway, to the OP...for our older child, who is half way reasonable, we just explain the rides to her and let her decide. There's really nothing that I want to force them to go on, and certainly not before they're ready. My husband isn't a thrill rider and I don't mind riding alone, so he just takes the kids to do things while I ride some of the bigger rides. Our daughter generally has a hard time working up the courage to try new things, so we do encourage her to try rides just to get her out of her comfort zone. But I'm not going to force it. She'll be ready for all the rides one day, and if not, I'm sure Daredevil Child #2 who was Mr. No the last trip will be ready to roll as soon as he's tall enough!

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Agreed. I was forced on Space Mountain when I was nine. I got sick, and I've never gotten over my fear of roller coasters or other "scary" rides. I don't think it's right to force a child to go on a ride (and I know the OP wasn't suggesting this at all!)

Space Mountain was the only bad memory of our last trip. I had gone on Space Mountain during a post-college trip 15+ years ago, but hadn't gone on it since. I really didn't remember anything about it, other than it was an indoor roller coaster that's in the dark, and I remember thinking that it was a lot of hype because I didn't remember it being that bad. I told my daughter (6) it was like flying through space, and she's totally into space so she wanted to try it. OMG, it was so much worse than I remembered! I felt so awful because we were both totally traumatized. It's so dark, and so jerky, and you have to ride alone...my poor little baby. She was so scared, and I was so mad at myself for not trying it alone first and just relying on memory. I had a bruise on my arm for the rest of the week from reaching back and trying to hold onto her. Ugh.

She did recover and had no problems on rides for the rest of the week, but I still felt awful, and we've both declared we will never do Space Mountain again. In retrospect, on that post-college trip we went to Islands of Adventure, which was in soft opening, and rode both Dueling Dragons and the Hulk, so of course Space Mountain was going to see tame in comparison.

 

[Jasonkat]

Tell him about this girl

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3047466

And that maybe if he rides Haunted Mansion he might be able to see something more exciting than just the ride...

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I had and still have the same problem with my DS15. He finally tried HM when he was 10 but DH had to take him out before the stretching room. DS11 has rode it since he was 3. Every kid is different.
He finally went on it I think the following year. It is now one of his favorites (go figure ???) He rode it over and over last year while we were on Splash. He is deathly afraid of heights. We use to force him on rides and tell him if he didn't like it he didn't have to go again. That has worked pretty well. We now know he is afraid of rides with heights and doesn't like fast coasters.
The rest of us like the thrill rides so he sits them out or looks in a shop and waits for us.
So I think, try to get him try it each time eventually he will, but accept it if he doesn't want to do it again.

 

[KittyyKattyy]

First time I went on HM I was five, and I cried and plugged my ears and covered my face the WHOLE time. Then when I was 11, I went with my aunts, and they (forced is the wrong word) kinda expected me to ride. I was nervous, and was almost crying when we borded our doom buggy. After the skeleton opening the coffin, (which my aunt told me not to look at, and I only know what it is because I asked after we rode) I was fine. My aunt bought me a HM pin as a reward for riding it.

 

[disnut8]

it' s maddening to me that ODS (9.5) WILL not give Haunted
mansion a try. refuses! thinks it will be too scary. he goes on just about everything else and his irrational fear of HM drives me crazy. his 3.5 y.o. sister went on and that didnt even sway him. ive showed him videos of the ride but theyre mostly pretty dark which doesnt help much. how can i convince him to go on it?

Add a "1" onto the age of your child and then switch the young man to a friend of yours. Would you "force" that person onto Haunted Mansion? I highly doubt it.

Why is it adults think they know what is best for a child when a child is adamant about one thing? It's not like this kid doesn't want to do anything at Disney World - it's one freaking attraction!

I can't imagine that kid walking around Magic Kingdom thinking "darn it, mom is going to pester me about going on the Haunted Mansion" all day long. Instead, he should be thinking "I'm going to enjoy my day because I don't have to do Haunted Mansion unless I want."

Now, compare that to something you dread doing and see how you feel about it.

 

[pigletto]

I'm not going to debate right or wrong.. simply share what we do and works for us. We don't force. We do try to reason, and in fact just did so at dinner. Ds loves Space Mountain but is scared to try Rockin' Rollercoaster. We explained what is similar and what is different but I don't think he will try it this time.'

DD and I hate Tower of Terror and will likely never ride it again. We still have a wonderful trip and don't feel like we're missing out. If they were refusing to ride anything then I would rethink where we were spending our vacations. I don't force my kids to do a themepark ride. They are optional amusement to me and if they are terrified that kind of kills the amusement part. That's just what works for us.

 

[rebeccaariel]

The first time I went to WDW I was 8, and scared of a lot of things. But I ended up riding everything. My parents never forced me to ride, but they told me that if I didn't ride I'd never know what I was missing out on, and I could only really know if I liked a ride or not by experiencing it. They said I didn't have to if I really didn't want to, but they thought I'd enjoy it if I did. The idea of not knowing what I was missing seemed to intrigue me enough to try all the rides, and I'm glad I did, because I loved them all and I'm now a fearless rider. But not every kid will try the rides and like them, some just really aren't thrill seekers.

 

[ttintagel]

Kids cry constantly, whether they are in line for a ride they are nervous about or wanting a toy that their parent isn't going to buy, or just tired of walking in the hot sun all day. It sort of comes with the territory.

Not in my experience. Chacun a sa gout, but that seems like a really sad, defeatist outlook to me. I think most kids are a lot more capable than you're giving them credit for.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Add a "1" onto the age of your child and then switch the young man to a friend of yours. Would you "force" that person onto Haunted Mansion? I highly doubt it.

Why is it adults think they know what is best for a child when a child is adamant about one thing? It's not like this kid doesn't want to do anything at Disney World - it's one freaking attraction!

I can't imagine that kid walking around Magic Kingdom thinking "darn it, mom is going to pester me about going on the Haunted Mansion" all day long. Instead, he should be thinking "I'm going to enjoy my day because I don't have to do Haunted Mansion unless I want."

Now, compare that to something you dread doing and see how you feel about it.

Add a 1 to what and think about a what?!?
What kind of logic is this?!?!?
As a parent you know what's BEST for your child... No one else does!
If a parent thinks their own child will like a certain ride then by all means crying or not get the kid on there. He doesn't know it's fun! But once the child is on it and loving it as a parent you have shown the child experiencing new things is fun and enjoyable...
This new way of parenting their children in bubbles I don't agree with.

 

[Peter Fan]

Add a "1" onto the age of your child and then switch the young man to a friend of yours. Would you "force" that person onto Haunted Mansion? I highly doubt it.

Why is it adults think they know what is best for a child when a child is adamant about one thing? It's not like this kid doesn't want to do anything at Disney World - it's one freaking attraction!

I can't imagine that kid walking around Magic Kingdom thinking "darn it, mom is going to pester me about going on the Haunted Mansion" all day long. Instead, he should be thinking "I'm going to enjoy my day because I don't have to do Haunted Mansion unless I want."

Now, compare that to something you dread doing and see how you feel about it.

But you can't dread anything if you don't try it.

 

[Cap'nJack'sMum]

I always say to my kids..."Just one ride. If you love it, we'll go again. If you hate it, you can say that you rode it and don't care for it. If you don't ride it, you'll never know." My daughter refused to ride TOT for years. I told her this, she rode it once and now she LOVES it. She also rode Space Mountain, and decided that was a one time only ride. I don't make the kids ride if they don't want to, but I always offer the "just one ride" choice. She still won't ride Mission: Space, and I don't push it.

 

[h&D3]

I always say to my kids..."Just one ride. If you love it, we'll go again. If you hate it, you can say that you rode it and don't care for it. If you don't ride it, you'll never know." My daughter refused to ride TOT for years. I told her this, she rode it once and now she LOVES it. She also rode Space Mountain, and decided that was a one time only ride. I don't make the kids ride if they don't want to, but I always offer the "just one ride" choice. She still won't ride Mission: Space, and I don't push it.

I agree. When I was 5 my parents took my brothers and myself to Disneyland. There was no way that I wanted to go in HM. They told me this same thing. My dad said "If it's to scary for you, then I'll sit close and keep you safe. Look away if you want to". I think I started crying in the "elevator" when the voice said "and there is no way out!"

My dad held me close and told me it would be ok.

I think I did hide my face a few times, but I'm glad to this day that I went.

Now HM is one of my favorite rides. I can't go to a disney park without going on it at least once.

Funny, but my daughter is now the same way. We took her when she was 17 months, and again at 3 and she was fine with it. Now at almost 6, she declares this time that she is NOT going on HM.

We'll see....

 

[MinnieLovesMickey12]

My DS11 is a very fearful child and the first time we went to WDW he was too scared to ride RnR. SO the rest of the family went on it while he waited at the exit and after I rode it and saw it wasn't that bad I bribed him to try it. I told him I would buy him the set of drumsticks in the giftshop he wanted if he rode. That was an expensive bribe because we had to buy all 3 kids a $20 set of drumsticks to be fair. But once he rode it he realized it wasn't scary and he rides it without hesitation now.

He rode ToT with me the first time we ever rode it and after riding it he realized he really doesn't like it. So I don't make him ride it.

We went to Busch Gardens and the whole family got on the Cheetah Hunt ride and I didn't realize until we were strapped in and about to take off on the ride that DS was scared to death and tears were welling up in his eyes out of fear of the ride. I felt like such a horrible person that I let him get on that ride and never asked him if he was scared to ride it. We just all piled in.

I promised him I would never make him ride anything he didn't want to ride, so after that I always ask him if he wants to ride. Most of the time he doesn't. And that's ok. He is 11 and he is big enough to wait for us at the ride exit while we ride.

From my personal experience I would suggest just letting him be. If he is scared of the ride the fear is real to him. We have all ridden it and know it really isn't scary but for some reason he doesn't want to ride it. I promise you, if you tried to make him ride it then he started crying (like my son did) you would feel horrible. I still feel like crap when I think back on that ride that day. My son is such a sweet kid that never does anything wrong or mean and to think I did something that made him cry tears me up. I won't make that mistake again.