How to get a child to have be scared of rides

[monica9]

Our 4 year old is scared of rides. She was even scared on Winnie the pooh and when we got to the beginning of the 1 hour line for Buzz lightyear, She screamed and wouldn't go on. Something about the darkness and when there are loud parts and villian parts. The pooh ride scared her during the raining and thunder part (even though she loves thunder storms at home and isn't scared of the dark one bit). She whined a little during the nemo ride at epcot when the shark came on. She HATES 3d shows (but I can understand that). She was 3 1/2 when we went last year and will be 4 1/2 this time. How do we psych her up for the rides? Im not expecting her to go ride splash or thunder mountain, but not being able to do buzz or winnie the pooh? Cmon! We alternated dumbo, aladdin and small world the whole trip last year. If we can add at least 3 more rides in MK, I'd be happy!

Any suggestions about things to say to her to prep her, or things to bring for her to wear? We got her to go on a roller coaster this summer at a carnival and she loved it. It took a lot of bribing though. Am I just wishing when I think she might go on Goofini with me?

 

[minnie mum]

Have you tried viewing You tube videos with her? You can judge her reaction to the video and she can see what's in store. I still wouldn't push her to go on any ride that she is reluctant to try. It's probably a sure way to freak her out completely. She'll grow out of this eventually.

 

[Spunky946]

We watched You tube video's with my kids the last trip and it really helped my timid ds who was 7 at the time. He even went on the snow white ride, which he would not ride when he was 4.

I think that would really help. It's worth a shot.

 

[sharadoc]

I second the youtube idea. And if she's too scared to do anything, then maybe you could postpone until you feel you'll get your money's worth out of your ticket. I waited to bring my daughter until she was no longer scared of things like Chuck E. Cheese or the Chik-Fil-A cow and I'm glad I did. We would have been pretty bored and spending all of our time running away from characters LOL.

 

[kydisfan]

Exactly what they said above. My daughter (4 1/2) watched a lot of YouTube vids in the weeks coming up. We also explained to her what was real or make believe. She came close to riding POC.

 

[CajunMomof3]

My child is older but has autism so he's close to 4 developmentally. We brought earmuffs for him to carry and wear if he wanted to when the noise was too intense. We did prep him with videos but brought the earmuffs so he had some control over the situation...

 

[wdiosa]

My DS(5) hated any indoor rides last year. He loved any ride as long as it wasn't enclosed. He has some sensory issues so this year we've been using headphones to help him not get startled by the sounds. I think that is his biggest issue. So I agree w/ Youtube and earplugs or headphones. We are going to be in WDW in a week and I hope he does better. Good luck.

 

[duckiegirl]

Get/make her a Mickey magic necklace. Use uour best acting skills and tell her tinker belle sprinkled pixie dust on it to help her get through. The nervous necklace was the only was ds made it through many dance recitals.

 

[Canadian Girl 77]

We bought DD a pin for every scary ride she was brave enough to ride when she was 4. That helped her gain the courage to try Tower of Terror (which she loved!)

 

[pirateprincess1976]

If the dark makes her nervous you can try a little glow stick or glow bracelet. They're super cheap and you can get a ton of them at the dollar store or the dollar section of target. That way she has the comfort of a little light but it won't ruin effects for anyone else.

 

[ttintagel]

Goofini's a good choice because she can see the other kids riding on it and having a good time while she's waiting. Maybe the carrousel and Mad Tea Party would be the same.

 

[GreenCntryGirl]

My first thought was YouTube videos, as well.

I also like the idea of ear muffs and I wish we had thought of that the first time I took my youngest. I spent all of Countdown to Extinction (now Dinosaur) trying to cover his ears instead of holding on. Made for a bumpy ride!

ETA: my granddaughter absolutely hated having her hair brushed. I bought her a brush with the squishie handle and told her if she squeezed it a couple of time, it would magically stop her hair from being pulled. Hair brushing quickly became a non-issue except for when we would have to take a break so she could squeeze the handle some more to add more magic.

Said all that to say that maybe you can come up with something (besides a hair brush with a squishy handle) to create a similar experience of having a tactile object to deal with the anxiety.

 

[Marthasor]

She may surprise you. Children go through phases. When my son was in his 3's, he didn't want to ride anything dark or fast. The Winnie the Pooh ride scared him as well - didn't like the Tigger part. We did a lot of Dumbo, Aladdin, Jungle Cruise, Tomorrowland speedway that trip. Couldn't do ANY rides at EP that year.

On our last trip, he was 4 1/2 and rode just about everything his height would allow. His favorite is Goofy's roller coaster and we rode that several times. He rode many dark rides including Spaceship Earth (less intense), Soarin', Mission Space, etc. I even, eventually, got him to ride BTTMRR (had to bribe him with a toy for that one and it took two days of gentle prodding), but I only did it because I knew he would love it and he needed just a little incentive to help him get over his fear. But I only took him on the ride when he agreed to go. I would have never forced him as much as I want to go on the ride myself. We have been lucky to go a few times since he was 1 and every time I end up with a mental list of "maybe next time" rides. I think the situation forced me to look for and enjoy other experiences that WDW has to offer that I may have bypassed otherwise.

I love the youtube ideas, but I wouldn't worry too much. She is a whole year older and a different child - she may just surprise you!

 

[NYDisneyKid]

Please whatever you do,dont force the kid on the ride. That is my worsed pet peeve.

 

[kandb]

We would bring a disposable small flashlight into the rides and let my kids hold them. They really didn't use them but just knowing they had them, made them feel better. I would say, "you got your flashlight". I agree with not forcing them on the rides, my 9 year old still doesn't want to go on haunted mansion, BTM, splash, and great american movie ride, even though he's been on them before. This year he tried star tours and loved it. They do thing's when they feel comfortable. I've seen some parent's force scared kids on rides, where the kids were actually shaking and crying, IMO that sick on the parent's part.

 

[blessedby3]

My dd5 has been timid on dark rides. We are getting ready to hit up WDW again in a week, and I have been watching youtube videos of various rides with her. Rides that she is familiar with and others that she was too short to ride last year and can ride this year. She is very excited to try out some new rides, and I think letting her watch them ahead of time has really helped.

 

[valandemmy]

We gave our daughter "BRAVE" sunglasses that would protect her when she got scared...all she had to do was put on her "brave" glasses...and she didn't have anything to be scared about...

 

[kaligal]

She's so little. If she's scared, just skip it. When she's a little older, she won't be scared.

You cannot logic a frightened child out of their fear because the fear is irrational. But she is no less frightened - her fear is no less genuine - than you would be if a tornado came down your street or you found a man in the house.

She trusts you to protect her and not drag her into a frightening situation, which is why she will plead and cry. If she didn't trust you, she'd be silently petrified.

When you get there, see how she behaves. You'll do what is best naturally.

 

[Eosphotog]

We have a 4YO who sometimes is scared of dark rides, and other times embraces them. I'm really not sure what to expect, however we too have been try to prep him with videos and are planning on arming him with a red LED glow stick which isn't too bright, but he enjoys playing with and gives him comfort. I'm also considering picking up some earmuffs to pack just in case. Probably won't need them but they may come in handy.

 

[2binak]

Our DD was fearful of rides last year, just before turning 4. She had been on these rides in the past and loved them (POTC, Buzz, TTA). We have an LED glow stick that we bought at Target but even with that, she wanted nothing to do with some rides. We didn't push the issue though. We respect her fears and didn't want to force her into a situation she isn't comfortable with.

This year, we'll have the LED glow stick with us and we're showing her youtube videos of some rides and talking about what to expect but if she's afraid when we get there, we'll avoid those rides again.