DD 4, terrified of WDW rides, anyone else?

[slm05]

We took a famiyl trip to WDW the end of May, DD 4 and her one year old triplet brothers. People thought we were crazy for taking so many little kids but it was the 4 yr old that made the trip difficult not the boys. Our first ride was Figment at Epcot and she was terrified and refused to ride any other "indoor" rides or do inside any buildings. She would scream and cry and was so scared.
She is very fearful lately, her fear of the dark and monsters has kicked into high gear. She also usually loves the princesses but at WDW was terrified because she assumed that were ever the princesses are the "evil stepmothers and queens" were not far behind.
So needless to say we did not ride much. I love Dsiney and wanted to share the magic with DD but she tells us know she want to go back to the hotel and ride dumbo but nothign else.

So i guess my question is wondering if anyone else DC has a simula reaction? Did you take them back later and they were still scared?
I want to return to disney in early 2013 before our boys turn 3. But i worry if DD will still be scared at almost 6?

Thanks for any encouragement.

 

[Minniemouse07]

Ds is 5.5yo and has hated rides since infancy...to the point that he doesn't like playground swings!

He took his first trip to WDW during his 2nd bday and I was really worried he wouldn't ride anything.

The first ride for both my kids was Small World, and then we stuck to the "easy" stuff for the rest of the first day (Dumbo, Peter Pan, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Aladdin, etc). He wasn't thrilled w/ Dumbo or Aladdin and the "dip" on Pirates wasn't popular either. By far the favorites were Muppets 3D and Mickey's Philharmagic, but he did enjoy himself overall.

We visited last year and he seemed to enjoy a lot more. He really liked Dumbo, etc, was a bit freaked out on Star Tours, and outright refused Test Track once we were standing in front of it w/ the reflection of the cars zooming by!

He did tell me while waiting for the MSEP one evening that he was going to ride Splash Mountain when he was 6yo! Knowing we were going back this summer (next month) I asked him if he would do it at 5.5yo and he agreed. We'll have to see if he will do it!

I have accepted that he just isn't a ride kid, for now. We don't push him on anything he REALLY doesn't want to ride.... and we did see a difference between visits to WDW as well as what he is willing to ride at home at carnivals, etc.

Maybe someday he will be willing to ride RNRC w/ his older sister (10yo) who is fearless when it comes to rides and has been riding coasters since she met the requirements.

 

[mouse2mouse]

My DD5 has been every year and this past March she was all of a sudden in the fear stage. She was afraid of everything even though she had ridden them before. I have no clue why. We are dealing with it now "Is it going to storm?" every day she asks me. She also ask can we go to DW? I think its a phase. I also think she has seen things on TV that she doesnt understand and it has caused the fear.

 

[aidtrismommy]

It sounds like she may be afraid of the unknown and feels like she has no control. That can be a scary thing; it certainly is for me. Kids thrive when they know what is coming or when things are predictable, hence schedules. She may not like the indoor rides because she doesn;t know what to expect and is afraid of not knowing. Figment may have turned her off because there is complete darkness and that wind blowing thingy that can be scary. I don't think you did anything wrong and I am glad you didn't force her to ride other things. I think you can prepare her for the next trip by playing youtube videos of rides to her (some are harder to watch if they are too dark). Be completely honest about the ride (it is really loud, it gets really dark, it is bumpy, there is water spraying, etc) I think she will grow out of it, but always be honest with her (I'm not saying you're not) so she completely trusts you when you tell her about a ride. I think she will get over it, just give her time. She's not the only one

 

[proud_canadian]

My younger DD went through a phase where she was scared of all characters and rides around 3 and we actually thought about leaving her home on our trip last year. She matured a lot before the trip and when we went at 3.5 she actually enjoyed it and went on everything.

This year she will be 4.5 and I imagine she will be the same. At least I hope so!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I never really know what to expect out of my kids until we get there, they change so much from year to year. Since my DD was little she wouldn't ride any roller coasters at all, then all of a sudden when she was 13 she decided to ride Expedition Everest and loved it and has ridden coasters since. My 7yo has always loved all rides and will ride anything, but on our last trip my 5yo niece freaked out after BTMR so DS wouldn't ride it again, but we convinced him to get back on by telling him I needed his help looking for a hidden Mickey I read about and about halfway through the ride he yelled "THIS IS AWESOME! I HAVE GOT TO RIDE IT AGAIN!" So we got off and right back on two more times, lol.

My 10yo used to be fearless, but this last trip he decided that he was too scared to ride things he used to enjoy We just go with it. We do try to talk them into it by reminding them what they liked about it before, but if they don't want to ride we don't push it.

 

[tripplanner2]

I find it funny that you wrote about this. My dd, that is now 7 was 5 for our last trip. She was afraid of EVERYTHING...even Pooh! All she wanted to go on was Small World, Goofys Roller Coaster, and Big Thunder Mountain. All stuff that is not dark. So now we are 2 years older and we leave in 3 weeks and during dinner 2 nights ago she said she is going on all the rides except...Rockin Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Soarin, Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, Pooh, "the bug movie and another other movie with glasses where things splash and smell"...the list kept going. I told her that we would just get a babysitter for her! All she wants to do is go on Small World. And of course Goofy is shut down!

 

[Disneygal4life]

Our DD did that on our last trip. We went at 2.5 years and she was good with most things and rides but at 3.5 she went on Finding Nemo and had a breakdown because of the dark. After that she would ask about the rides and if they had dark. We didn't push it. We stuck to stuff like Dumbo and Small World and things that didn't have dark or a scare factor. She also loved to see characters so that trip we did a lot of meet and greets. I'm interested to see how she'll do at 4.5 as she still has a fear of the dark at night. A part of me feels like we should still have her try some of the rides that are dark but not really scary just so that she doesn't have a constant fear but then I also figure we're at Disney and I want everybody to have fun in their own way and not push it.

 

[KeepSwimming]

She sounds like my two nephews! The first time they went they were 5 and 3 and they were scared of everything! The only ride they liked was Winnie the Pooh and I am not exaggerating when I say that they must have rode that thing 10 times. They didn't like ANYTHING else (including Dumbo).

We went back a year later, (my poor SIL was so worried it would be a waste of money), and the boys both did a lot better! They rode almost everything in Fantasyland and a lot of the smaller rides in the other parks. They still would not ride Splash Mountain, or anything dark or loud like Pirates or Bugs Life.
We are all going again in October and I am eager to see how they do now!

I'm a big believer in "selling" the ride to the kids before we get on. Stuff like, "This is going to be SO great! It gets dark and then bumpy and WOW is this going to be fun!" I know it doesn't work for every kid, but it has been effective with mine.

I know everything will work out....in its own time.

 

[of2dbeach]

our youngest will be turning 9 this trip and wow does she get freaked over things. Like the train whistle at MK. Why I have no clue. the announcer even scared her to the point she ran down the stairs. but se rides roller coasters with her daddy.. go figure! We have done ear plugs to no avail. going to try ones from a gun range this time. one thing that HAS helped is getting her a small pen light or a key chain one. I attach it to y camera bag and if its really dark I let her shine it on the floor of the rise so it wont bother others.Watching the ride on you tube seem to help her too.She still wont really get near the Characters but I think thats more a shy thing. I thought she would out grow it but so far she hasent. i know she has sensory issues and we are working on them, but they happen at the weirdest times! Like the stupid flushing toilets, nope wont use em.if not anything maybe this will help other feel that they arent alone. bribery works well especially now she is into pin trading .

 

[Chee Chick]

DS was afraid on all the dark rides when he was both 3 and 4 years old. My mom bought him a light up toy at AK while DH and I were off riding Expedition Everest. He would use it every time he would get scared or nervous on the dark rides. It helped to calm him and he was able to enjoy the rides. The toy was the type that has lights that spin around and makes different patterns. It wasn't bright at all, so I didn't feel that it disturbed others on the ride. That toy saved us on those two trips. I plan to bring it back next year for DD2.

 

[Pixieflip]

Oh, poor thing. Figment has that one part that is REALLY loud, I don't even like it. You know, my DD had a stage like this, too, wait, 3 of my 4 went through this at some point. Heck, my oldest was 13 before he would do Pirates! He did other stuff, just not Pirates!

Two suggestions. First, as previously mentioned, watch the youtube videos of the rides to help her see what to expect. Secondly, try the Birnbaum's Walt Disney World For Kids By Kids book. It has great descriptions of each ride/attraction...by kids. ANd it has a rating system of things like if it will be loud, wet, dark, fast, etc. You might discover a pattern of what really terrifies her. For my one DD who really struggled, it always helps her to have more info. And no pressure. We just kid swapped until she was ready. Gradually she tried more things because we worked and talked about it.

Now at 13 she will tell you that Space Mountain is her favorite ride! She conquered Everest, but doesn't feel the need to do it again yet! TOT and RRC are still on the horizon, not yet ready. And that's okay. We still have tons of fun WDW family memories.

On the flip side, her sister, DD14 did TOT at the age of 5 and loved it. They're just all different.

 

[02AggieGirl]

My girls are scared of pretty much everything outside of Fantasyland & the Nemo ride. My oldest is absolutely terrified of the Goofy roller coaster!

 

[disneymarie]

DD did that the year she was 6. Very unexpected and frustrating as it was just her Dad and I. We ended up not doing a lot of what we would normally do. Things like Muppet theater, because it was too dark, the Hall of Presidents because they frightened her.

We did finally talk her into letting us switch off to do a child swap just to do something. That was the year she did get tons of autographs and photos with the characters. She hugges and loved them to no end.

The next trip was many years later and she did not recall why she had been such a party pooper the previous trip.

It will pass.......
PS it was the same year that our friend with a kiddo that age had a similar issue.

 

[WantToGoNow]

It may have been your choice for a first ride - my ds10 is still afraid of that ride with Figment (go figure, because it sure isn't scary). When he was 5, our first attraction was Tough to be A Bug at AK - yep, I didn't get to see a single show the entire trip and he screamed and cried through most of the dark rides - including Winnie the Pooh. Now we start with calm, familiar rides and shows to work him into them (he is still a very fearful child when it comes to rides). My dd7 will ride almost anything - only Dinosaur upset her and she hasn't been on ITTBAB since the incident above with ds - she was 3 and was also upset. I am going to try to get them both back to that once in October.

Before you go back, I would to on the internet and show her videos of the various rides and shows so she knows what to expect.

 

[1971DBday]

Before you go back, I would to on the internet and show her videos of the various rides and shows so she knows what to expect.

I don't have the same problem as you...sorry. This year will be DD5's 6th trip and she rode the ToT nine times at the age of 4 last year! However, I did have her do the above and told her that she needed to try things and if she didn't like them we wouldn't do them again.

It worked for us, but I definately don't belive in forcing children. DS11 was 7 the first time he was old enough to ride big kid rides and got upset before TT and we had to walk off. The next year no problem what so ever...he's embarassed to this day when we bring it up.

 

[tripplanner2]

DD did that the year she was 6. Very unexpected and frustrating as it was just her Dad and I. We ended up not doing a lot of what we would normally do. Things like Muppet theater, because it was too dark, the Hall of Presidents because they frightened her.

We did finally talk her into letting us switch off to do a child swap just to do something. That was the year she did get tons of autographs and photos with the characters. She hugges and loved them to no end.

The next trip was many years later and she did not recall why she had been such a party pooper the previous trip.

It will pass.......
PS it was the same year that our friend with a kiddo that age had a similar issue.

I agree that it is frustrating. My daughter would not go on the boat ride in Mexico. Nor would she go on Nemo...Only rides that were outside.

I think I will do what others suggested and you tube some videos for her. I think it is a dark thing but she actually would run away. It was pretty bad. She used a stroller at 5 which she would not get out of and I did not think it was even an option for this trip but now I am rethinking that.

 

[sarmat1]

My DD6 is similar. She's scared of almost any ride and is even scared of mascots and characters. So what am I doing? Taking her to Disney World (maybe I should have my head examined). Seriously, the best way to conquer fear is to experience these things. Kids do what they do when they're ready.

DD used to be afraid of pony rides. Last month she went to a friend's equestrian brithday party and at the urging of the birthday girl she tried riding a pony. Now she loves it. She was also previously afraid of fireworks because they were too loud, but this past July 4 she came up with the idea to cover her ears, and now she thinks fireworks are great to look at (just not listen to).

I wouldn't be concerned. Encourage and support her and one day, she'll surprise you and be ready to go on everything.

 

[slm05]

Thanks so much everyone for your advice, ideas and stories! I am glad that i am not alone. I hope she outgrows it, i LOVE disney and really want to go back. She loved goofy's rollercoaster and we wantt o go back in early 2013 hoping most of the new fantasyland expansion may be open

 

[wasnotafan]

I won't even ride ToT or some of the roller coasters. FWIW, DS was terrified of splash mountain when last we went but when he went with my in-laws this year he loved it.