How do I build courage for going on rides?

[tylerg]

How do I build courage for going on rides?
My Daughter will be 6.

So far has only going on the most basic of rides at carnivals and other theme parks.

What would be a good progression of rides to introduce her to build up her riding confidence?

Thank You

9/4 - 9/7

 

[Aunt Michelle]

YouTube videos were very helpful with my nephew before visiting WDW - I would guess people post videos of DL attractions as well. We were able to show him how people were reacting to the attraction and he was able to get a sense of the movement, all while in the safe confines of the sofa!

 

[Hoku]

The best way is to introduce her to rides in stages. One of the scariest things for kids to overcome is darkness and scary images that are in even the simplest rides like Snow White. I'd start with Small World to get her used to being inside with lots of things going on. It's not even remotely scary for anyone. If she seems reluctant, have her watch the kids getting off the ride that are happy and well. Then you can move up to Peter Pan. A little darker, a little scaries, but still not as bad as others. If she's ok with Peter Pan, you're well on your way. Save Snow White and Mr. Toad for last.

The other thing for kids to overcome is moving fast and rides with drops. At Disneyland, you can try the Gadget Coaster in Toontown. It's a mild roller coaster to see how she does. You can request to sit in the front, if you don't mind missing a turn. The front gives her greater visibility so she knows what's coming AND it starts her down the hill at a slower pace that speeds up when the rest of the train has caught up. In California Adventures you can try Jumping Jellyfish.

After you've done these rides, you'll have an idea of whether she's ready for some of the bigger rides, like Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Carribean or Haunted Mansion. The latter two can be scarier, though, so be sure you explain the ride to her (including the unexpected drop at the beginning of Pirates). Like Aunt Michelle suggested, you might YouTube those rides before your trip so she better knows what to expect.

 

[nancy drew]

If she is fearful, then your best bet is to reset your own expectations and plan on going on small, slow, easy rides for the duration of your trip. DD is fearful, and at age 7.5 will only do Small World, Monsters Inc, Alice, some of the Bug's World rides, Little Mermaid, Buzz, Toy Story, and will now do Jungle Cruise. I've tried telling her that rides like Snow White are just like PP, but slower and more calm, but she refuses to even get in the line. She won't do Pirates, Mr. Toad, Roger Rabbit, Snow White, Pinocchio, Haunted Mansion, or anything more intense than the rides listed, despite having ridden them before, watching people exiting the rides, asking kids her age whether the ride was scary or fun, and watching the YouTube videos enough to have them memorized. None of the calming/preparation tricks work for her, she just ends up completely hysterical and panicky, screaming and crying, if I try to get her on a ride to see that it isn't scary at all. She goes on less rides now, at age 7.5, than she did at age 4.5. So plan for those slow rides, and hope that maybe she will try others, but if she is fearful in general expect to walk out of a lot of lines.

 

[cpster]

Definately avoid the dark rides! We made the mistake of going on Roger Rabbit (not knowing ourselves what is was like) early in our trip and it definately scared our DD for a good day or two. She loved It's a Small World though...a great one to start with.

 

[tylerg]

Thanks for the advice

 

[PirateFish989]

I don't have children yet, but I remember my mom trying to convince me to go on rides when I was younger (I was afraid of my own shadow). She would always make sure I knew that nothing was real and that if the ride wasn't fun, it wouldn't have been made for children to ride. She would always tell me to look at the faces of the people coming out of the rides and would ask what I saw. Did anyone look like they were having the worst time ever? Was anyone crying? Was everyone still alive? 99.9% of the time the answer was no (or yes regarding the last question), everyone exiting the ride had huge smiles on their faces and many were laughing. and everyone was still alive! She somehow convinced me to go on everything and I lived to tell the tale. In fact, I still sometimes use this method to calm myself down before I go one rides that make me nervous, just the big rides now, like TOT or Splash.

I grew up in the early 1990's so the internet wasn't as big a deal and as readily available as it is today. YouTube was just an idea in the back of someone's youthful mind, I'm sure. I wish I had had YouTube to prepare myself for rides though, that seems like such a good idea! Then you know what to expect!

I hope this helps and I hope you have a great trip!

 

[tripletlyblessed]

Take it in steps and be ready to change plans.

Dd3 especially was fearful of many rides including Small World. We gave them all Peltor Jr. earmuffs and she would wear them and sunglasses.

Finally we showedher YouTube videos and it helped a lot! The best one was a video from when they redid POTC and Johnny Depp got off the boat to comment on how much one of the characters and dd3 could see that they weren't real.

We're on our 3rd year of going to DLR and on Thursday they are going on HM and and Splash MT.

 

[PHXscuba]

I would start with rides that she can see what is going to happen -- you can tell exactly what Dumbo is, vs. the unknown of Peter Pan . Unless she has motion sickness or already a fear of heights, start with the Fantasyland outdoor rides (or Bug's Land). Then see if she wants to go on something like Peter Pan or Alice that has familiar characters. Let her decide if she wants to go on Pirates on Haunted Mansion.

For "fast" rides, I would also recommend to start with the Gadget Coaster in Toontown. If she likes it, try Thunder Mountain (she can see the ride) or Splash Mountain before trying Space Mountain.

Your familiarity with the rides (being able to describe Pirates as "a boat ride like Small World, but with one short drop and some goofy pirates singing") will help her -- she trusts your judgment.

Every ride has a "chicken exit". I think it's OK to coax an unsure child onto a ride, but I'd never force a child on. The best policy is to be relaxed and accept whatever their definition of "fun" is.

PHXscuba

 

[MyYearWithTheMouse]

Pirates actually has two drops .

I would add Pinocchio to the list of scary dark rides. I didn't remember it being that scary but when I rode it with DS, he was pretty terrified, especially when Monstro comes after you. I blogged about it here. Seriously, don't do Snow White. It still kind of freaks me out as an adult. DS also found Winnie the Pooh to be pretty scary--the dream sequence is very, very weird. I blogged about that here.

I would also make sure to tell her that Dumbo (and the Astro Orbiter) doesn't have to go up and down. You get to control whether you go up and down and if you want to stay at the closest level to the ground, that's okay (I mean, kind of boring for mom and dad, but better than having to pay for therapy later). I've found that it does help the fear factor when the ride has something the child can control.

 

[cpster]

Pirates actually has two drops .

I would add Pinocchio to the list of scary dark rides. I didn't remember it being that scary but when I rode it with DS, he was pretty terrified, especially when Monstro comes after you. I blogged about it here. Seriously, don't do Snow White. It still kind of freaks me out as an adult. DS also found Winnie the Pooh to be pretty scary--the dream sequence is very, very weird. I blogged about that here.

I would also make sure to tell her that Dumbo (and the Astro Orbiter) doesn't have to go up and down. You get to control whether you go up and down and if you want to stay at the closest level to the ground, that's okay (I mean, kind of boring for mom and dad, but better than having to pay for therapy later). I've found that it does help the fear factor when the ride has something the child can control.

Great blog! Thanks for the warnings!

 

[HappyHaunt]

I don't think all Dark Rides should be off the list, depending on the child of course. But I think most love Peter Pan, and Alice should be okay. Maybe even Toad by 6 years old. I would stay away from Pinocchio and Snow White for sure. Small World is a great one as well. We started going when my son was 2, and just kept trying to rides and went with how he was feeling about them. He loved Pirates and the only part of the Haunted Mansion that scared him was the screaming in the beginning. Now he loves that part. lol