5 years old and 40.5 inches

[sunkissed4]

My 3 year old is 41 inches and I was nervous he'd be too young but test track and big thunder mountain are now his favorite rides! He's been on soarin too, but didn't seem too into it and splash mountain us next for him. I showed him videos on YouTube so he would know what to expect and he wasn't scared at all- give it a try!

 

[clareita]

My son is very tall for his age and was already 40 inches tall when we visited DL a few weeks shy of his 3rd birthday. He rode, and loved, Splash Mtn., Space Mtn, and BTMRR. We started on Splash Mtn since that was the mildest ride and just kept going.

 

[njmom76]

DD rode all except for Test Track at 4.5 this past August. She is a daredevil though and loves all rides.

 

[yankeesgirl63]

My son is tall for his age - he went on Soarin, Test Track and BTM when he was 4. He wanted to go on them when we asked. But, he still won't try Splash Mountain or even the Barnstormer and he is now 6 and 1/2. Every kid is so different.

 

[carolinamama]

My DD is 5, and she rode EVERYTHING multiple times - ToT, EE, SM, BTMR, etc. She was an inch too short for Rock and Roller, but she would have done it in a heartbeat. It just depends on the child!

 

[mara61]

You don't mention it as being a choice, but if you "thought" you might I would personally skip Space Mountain if she is on the slender side. My youngest was 6 his first time riding it and it's not a tight ride for kids, kwim? With many of your other suggestions your sitting right next to them. My son slides all over the place and last year I told my DH my youngest was not going on. He personally was not displeased. His favorite speed is the Tomorrow Land transit authority

Your choices, probably okay.

 

[mara61]

duplicate post

 

[BabyTinkerbell321]

We just got back and almost 4 year old went on all of these (except splash, because of the refurbishment) plus she also did Tower of Terror and loved them all! Have fun!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[TheDisney411]

We've watched the youtube videos, and she wants to try all of them. I'm having a hard time finding the balance between not scaring her by being cautious but also not making her feel like she has to ride them. We'll definitely let her choose at the time. I'm working on our touring plan and trying to play the odds on what she'll want to do. I'm excited for her, but it is a little bittersweet. It will be our first trip where everyone isn't a "baby".

In the scheme if things, none of those rides are THAT intense, especially compared to thrill rides in other parks. All of our kids rode those rides by about age 4 - even rode Tower of Terror and loved it. I think by 5 years most of them rode Space Mountain, Everest and Mission Space too.

 

[CarolineB]

Nice and helpful thread for many OP!

We are taking our 9 & 11 yr old granddaughters for the 1st time in June.
They were afraid of the rides at the nearby Mall of America Amusement Park.
I am HOPING that being Disney and that we will be with them,
that they will be encouraged to try the rides.
We will let them make the calls though of course, as said by many PP.

We will also be employing a if you don't like it once on it,
just say so and we will snuggle and you can shut your eyes and hold on,
it WILL be over in a short few minutes.
They seem to like that idea, so we are hopeful!

Enjoy the Magic !

Exactly, even when kids are older than 3 to 5 years old (or above 40 inches), there are still going to be concerns about rides that are too scary. MY DS9 does not want to ride Mummy at Universal Studios or the Great Movie Ride at Disney MGM again -- once was enough.

It took him almost one year before he would ride the Dinosaur ride and a few other Disney rides because he could read the warning signs posted outside the ride -- we have APs and he eventually rode Dinosaur but I wouldn't say he's excited to go back anytime soon -- there's plenty of time for kids to go on these rides -- it's not worth ruining their day, causing nightmares, or ruining their trip.

 

[Mama Who]

Our 5yo daughter will be going with us on her first trip above 40 inches. Please let me know your thoughts on the following rides for this age. My husband and I are having some debate about whether or not she should ride some of the rides she meets the height requirement for.

Big Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
Soarin
Test Track
Star Tours


Would you avoid any of these?

My fairly timid six year old fell in love with both Star Tours and BTMRR. He did not want to try Splash with the big drop, and I cannot remember about Soarin. (And there's no Test Track at our park.)

 

[magicwishes]

Thanks for all the experiences and thoughts! We will let her decide. I think we may skip TT this time as it seems not to be a favorite of quite a few kids. Thanks for helping us in this new territory.

 

[Suzanne74]

My daughter was 3 and went on all of them and loved them. Bugs Life scared the crap out of her. We won't put her on ToT or Dinosaur just yet.

 

[mom2jcg]

You don't mention it as being a choice, but if you "thought" you might I would personally skip Space Mountain if she is on the slender side. My youngest was 6 his first time riding it and it's not a tight ride for kids, kwim? With many of your other suggestions your sitting right next to them. My son slides all over the place and last year I told my DH my youngest was not going on. He personally was not displeased. His favorite speed is the Tomorrow Land transit authority

Your choices, probably okay.

When my son was smaller but tall enough for SM, my husband sat behind him and reached over the seat, keeping his hand on his shoulders. It made all of us feel better because you're right, you do move around in the seat a lot.

 

[mom2jcg]

Thanks for all the experiences and thoughts! We will let her decide. I think we may skip TT this time as it seems not to be a favorite of quite a few kids. Thanks for helping us in this new territory.

My kids always loved TOT, but we did tell them there was a "silly video" that was just make believe to try to scare people. Sometimes they didn't watch it, but they loved the drop at the end so much, they didn't care about the video or in ride graphics. Watching the video on you tube should be a good way to prepare her and see if she can handle it.

Don't be sad about leaving the "baby" phase...I think you'll find she's still quite a little girl when you ride Pooh, Peter Pan, visit characters, etc. Ours are 9, 11, and 13 now, and we still have a blast. Have an awesome trip!!!

 

[disnut8]

Thanks for all the experiences and thoughts! We will let her decide. I think we may skip TT this time as it seems not to be a favorite of quite a few kids. Thanks for helping us in this new territory.

The thing with Twilight Zone is that you can see the drop from the outside and you can hear people screaming on the way down. That can be a factor. Despite this, the grandson still wanted to do it (at the age of 5) while his sister (at the age of 14) said "no".

BUT - if the child says they still want to do it, that's fine. If they get scared after the lobby and preshow in the library, just talk them into getting through the boiler room and then leave with them via the Express Elevator.

And remember - you can exit ALL Disney World attractions before boarding the ride vehicle. Even Dumbo.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Our 5yo daughter will be going with us on her first trip above 40 inches. Please let me know your thoughts on the following rides for this age. My husband and I are having some debate about whether or not she should ride some of the rides she meets the height requirement for.

Big Thunder Mountain
Splash Mountain
Soarin
Test Track
Star Tours


Would you avoid any of these?

Our son rode all the 40" rides at 3 1/2. He didn't want to re-ride ToT but otherwise was fine on everything else.

 

[Cappy81]

Every child is different. My DD was 3 on our trip last Sept. and went on everything except TT which was closed. She also went on Dinosaur and TOT. Her favorite was BTMR. When we were in line at HM a boy looked to be about 7 or so was crying he didn't want to go on the ride. I remember the mom pointing to my DD saying "if that little girl can go on it then you can". I thought that was so not cool!!! Watch you tube videos, explain the ride and listen to your child!