Harry Potter rides for timid 8yo?

[Tinkjon]

My daughter is 8 years old and is tall enough to go on the Forbidden Journey and Hippogriff rides, but I'mn wondering if they will be too intense for her (physically-speaking, that is, I'm not worried about scary bits). As a guide, she loves Casey Jr in DIsneyland Paris but she would be much too scared on Big Thunder Mountain. Does anybody know how either of the Harry Potter rides compare to those two?

 

[bicker]

I came off FJ wrecked. It was too intense for me, while I enjoy Big Thunder Mountain.

 

[Tinkjon]

Oh what a shame, I was hoping it would be much tamer than BTM, So poor old DD won't be able to do any rides there then Which is more intense, the Hippogriff one or FJ?

LOL though, I was only thinking of it from her point of view but now you're making me wonder whether even I might not be able to go on it

 

[Tinkjon]

Actually, I think I might be muddling up my rides - is FJ more intense than the Hippogriff one? Maybe she could do the Hippogriff...

 

[faqwa]

Although FJ throws you around a lot more than the Hippogiff, i actually felt very very safe on it. My 9yr old was fine and he is quite small (only just over teh height requirement). He held my hand at the spiders bit and in the end we went on about 5 or 6 times.

 

[FrancieNolan]

The Hippogroff is a junior coaster, pretty tame as far as they go. The Woody coaster at The Studios feels faster to me.

As for the FJ it is not a coaster but a dark indoor ride that can be very difficult for people with motion sickness, so it is very intense in that respect.

Are you traveling alone with your daughter? Or is there anyway that you could use the single rider line and preview it for her.

My 6 and 8 year olds love FJ but if your daughter is not into Thunder Mountain then the thrill factor might be too high for her. But then again people physically process rides so much differently, my aunt can ride coasters all day but felt ill after the Cat in the Hat!

Good Luck!

 

[Tinkjon]

Thanks for your replies, everyone. There are lots of us going so I will definitely be able to preview it for her once we are there - I just wanted to know whether to warn her now that he won't be able to go on it or not!

 

[damo]

If she is fine on Dinosaur, she will probably be fine on FJ. I don't think FJ knocks you around anymore than Dinosaur. It is actually very smooth but there is a lot of movement. If she is not scared of the ride emotionally, I would definitely let her go on.

 

[ToyStory]

My 8 year old son liked it. He hates Dinosaur at Disney and even River Adventure at IOA he wouldn't go back on.

 

[Tinkjon]

We've never been to Florida before so I can only compare it to the rides at Disneyland Paris.

 

[SmallWorld71]

I can't imagine anyone who would be really scared on Thunder Mountain would like FJ. IMO, it is a much more intense ride because it assaults all your senses whereas Thunder Mountain is a much more simple ride. That said, everyone is different, so you never know. I would definitely preview it first, though.

Flight of the Hippogriff is a kiddie coaster. It is zippy, but short enough that if she got scared it would be over very quickly. Also, you can see the whole thing from the ground so no mystery about what you are going on. Out of all the kiddie coasters at the Orlando theme parks, I found this one to be the most enjoyable by far for whatever reason.

As far as other things to do in WWOHP, make sure you get to Ollivander's first thing, as that is a cute show that anyone can enjoy but the lines build quickly. Also, your DD can still enjoy going through the castle without going on the ride itself; the theming is incredible. And she can still check out the great shops and enjoy the butterbeer.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We are just back from Universal and also went last year, and I have a timid 8 year old. She loves Hippogriff and wouldn't go near FJ. Hippogriff is not as intense as Big Thunder Mountain (she has ridden BTMRR once, but I couldn't get her off Hippogriff). Hippogriff is faster and longer than Goofy's Barnstormer at WDW, which I'm guessing is similar to the Casey Jr.

She was scared to try Spiderman since she rode it at 3 1/2 and got traumatized. But she liked it this time. No way could she have handled FJ, but that is partly because of the intensity of the things that jump out as much as the ride motion. FJ makes me sick to my stomach - I only ride it once per trip.

Another thing about FJ is that you can't really see the person sitting in the seat next to you, so even if you are next to her, she will feel like she is by herself.

 

[cleophus12]

Clearly, I do not know your 8 year old, but my 18 year old DD and I were as weak as water when we got off FJ this past Friday. I was not prepared for its intensity. The flying scenes are great and not at all scary, but the dark spider and dementor scenes were quite something. We did ride it again and enjoyed it much more after we knew what to expect. That "unknown" factor can be pretty scary on a ride like that.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hippogriff is an easy coaster, and you can see it all from outside the line.

FJ made me sick, but I wasn't feeling 100% when I rode it. And I think it was a combo of the actual ride and the visuals and my awful arachnophobia combining together.

There's the third ride, Dragon Challenge, that will probably be too much for her, too.

Start with Hippogriff, see where she goes from there. At the very least do that and go through the FJ line (or just the castle tour (ask the TM) if you know that no one is going on the ride).

 

[hugApug]

As someone who was a timid 8yo, I definitely could not have handled FJ at that age. On the ride, you can't tell what comes next (very dark) and you cannot see the person sitting next to you, which can be frightening for a timid kid.

Though, as an adult, I love it. I'd take everyone's advice to ride single-rider, since you ultimately will be the best judge for your daughter.

 

[Tinkjon]

OK, so it sounds like FJ is definitely out but hopefully Hippogriff will be ok. And yes, Dragon Challenge is definitely out - for me too

Thans so much, everybody!