snow white ride and little mermaid show question: how scary to a 2yo?

[nancy drew]

first of all, snow white ride:

ok, my dd loves snow white. she loves the dwarves. she thinks the witch is funny. she is iffy on the wicked queen. the magic mirror scares the bejeezus out of her. seriously, she runs in terror when he comes on the screen. she will now accept hiding her face behind one of our hands when he is on the screen but she does.not.like.him. so how will she do on the snow white ride? is the magic mirror a big part of the ride?

next, the little mermaid:

she also loves all things little mermaid. she isnt too scared of ursula. but she doesnt like loud noises and flashing lights and giant booming sounds, like a thunder storm. how scary is the ursula part of the little mermaid show in mgm? how long does the "Scary" part last?

i dont want to ruin the magic for anyone else, so if anyone wants to PM me with details about the scary parts id appreciate it. or you can post here, whatever works.

thanks!!!

(we arrive at disney a week from yesterday, woohoo!!!!!!! )

 

[disneymom225]

The magic mirror does come at you and it can be scary. We took DD in Feb on Snow White (she turned 2 on the trip) and she was ok but slightly freaked. We kept focusing on the positive and saying it was "silly"- she's never seen the movie though (we only have it on VHS and no VCR anymore!) so she doesn't have the connection but she does remember the ride because she still talks about the witch and the apple. I think I might skip it if I were you- especially since she already has a fear. The Little Mermaid-I haven't been in about 4 years so it's hard to remember (and I wasn't a parent then so perspective changes!) but I don't think that was as much? I might be wrong...
Good luck!

 

[mytwotinks]

I think that some things are actually less scary for a 2 yo than they are for a 4 yo. My daughter just didn't notice as much at that age. I think when she saw something that she liked she just focused on that. Neither of those bothered my daughter at 2 or at 3 years. My other daughter was o.k. with both to at 6 & 7. My daughters both get that Disney is about make believe and really weren't bothered by anything. I think it is different for everybody. My girls are always up for all of it!

 

[knovak]

We were their last May when our DD was 2, almost 3. She was slightly afraid at the Little Mermaid show, but she survived. We didn't take her on Snow White, as my mom warned me that when I was her age and they took me on it - well let's just say the rest of the day was shot for them. I was so scared I would only ride on Small World because I went on that 1st and knew I wasn't afraid of it. We are going to try it with her this May as she is almost 4 and hope for the best! It all depends on your child and you know them best.

 

[skuttle]

We went to WDW in December with DS who was 2 1/2 at the time. He wasn't afraid of the Little Mermaid show at all.We sat up close, too, and it didn't phase him at all. We skipped Snow White since it is a bit scary.

 

[Vickie46]

my 4 yr old.. 3 at the time.. hated snow white ride.. will not do it again she says... its dark and creepy! She says!

And she loves the mermaid show.. she sits in our lap with Ursala comes out.. other than that its just the loud storms that does her in a little!

Every kid is different! You just never know..

My little girl didn't like the Tiki Room either because of the loud storms at the start! We had to leave .

 

[Breakfast@Tiffany's]

I'll chime in and say that we didn't even attempt the Snow White ride with dd4 last year. And she LOVES Snow White...she insists that Snow White lives in the castle and Cinderella is just visiting!! I had read enough of the WDW travel books to take caution with a few of the rides and ruining the rest of our vacation.

 

[scrapmoose]

We took my 2 1/2 yo and 4 1/2 yo in January and they both loved Snow White and the Little Mermaid show. My youngest has no fears, but my oldest was a little nervous with the witch in Snow White, but was fine.

 

[belle&beast]

The Snow White ride scared our DS2 so badly that he was afraid of any other ride that was dark (Pirates, Spaceship Earth). I would suggest skipping it. To me it seems to be from the wicked queen's perspective and she pops out a lot!

On the other hand, my DS loved The Little Mermaid and was not afraid at all.

 

[nickelsfamily]

If your DD is frightened when it comes to the mirror than I would NOT do the snow white ride. I have not taken my boys to see the Little Mermaid show yet, so I can't speak on that.
But, you know your kids best, and if there is any chance that they may be scared, I wouldn't do it! I am careful what I bring my DSs on, I don't want to ruin the ride experience for them!!

 

[murcor]

This was the first ride we went on last year and my ds 4 was horrified. Normally he loves rides, even the smaller roller coasters, but this ruined all dark rides for our 9 day trip. I should have clued in when the ride is called "snow white's scary adventure"......

Good news is this year when we went, he wanted to ride it again...he was a little timid but very prepared.

Good Luck

 

[nancy drew]

thank you all for your replies. i guess one of us will haveto go on the snow white ride with our son (7.5 months old = not afraid of anything yet ) and see whether it will be too scary for our 2 year old. she wasnt afraid of it when we went last year, when she was 15 months old, but i know a lot can change in a year

i think we will see how she does on other dark/loud shows and rides before attempting the little mermaid too.

thanks again!!!!

 

[linda_loo]

Nancy - last year we went, A was almost 3 and M was 1.5. A was terrified by Ursula (as well as the pooh ride, muppets and philharmagic)... we didn't do snow white, M was oblivious and loved everything.

SW - IIRC, the magic mirror is very early in the ride. I would be honest with her and tell her that. Offer to cover her face with her special hat (which is useful for protection from more than just the sun, dontchaknow?) when you see it and ask her if she wants to do it. Like, before you go. While you are watching the movie. We made a bit of a game about the witch, I made them sing "oooohhhnnnoooo thewitch!" in a goofy voice when they saw her. Corny, but they just laughed at it.

LTM - This year, i knew better to get them prepared. Any time that we watched tlm, i talked to them about how Ursula is just a big meanie and that Ariel's daddy will help her (and the feminist side of my bristles at this, but E loves the idea that daddy protected Ariel).

I think the scary part is short, but there is some rain/thunder early in the show. Again, I'd just go over it before you go, while you are watching the movie. We talk about "noisy rain" and how lots of rain makes the flowers grow, etc. Explain what is coming up and ask her if she wants to go or not (magic hat again).

Both of my girls are bothered by loud noises... I learned this the hard way last year. We saw a couple movies this past year, which helped, and I was very clear about saying that they could cover their ears or turn away at any time. I seriously drilled it into their heads before this trip... and we had NO problems whatsoever. In fact, the 2nd time that we saw TLM, we sat in the front row and they loved it.

 

[luvmesometigger]

My son was 4 when he did the Snow White ride and was terrified. It is almost 2 years later and he still talks about it.
We asked him if he was going to ride it this time (he is now 6) and he looks at DH and I like we have completely flipped our wigs!

 

[donnajon]

My DD turned 3 when we went last fall. She is obsessed with Snow White. She thinks she IS Snow White. But, she will not ride Snow White's ride again. She didn't come off the ride crying or anything but if you ask her (even now) she will tell you she doesn't want to ride it because "Snow White is scarey!"
Little Mermaid didn't phase her. She loved it.

 

[mcrockett1220]

We just got back yesterday from an 8 day trip. My DD 3.5 was terrified of every 3D show because of the loud noise and darkness. After the first one we saw at Epcot, she would cry everytime we into an attraction where the line was inside. She also did not like the Ursula part of TLM which lasts about 7 minutes. Nor did she like the Tiki Room. I do not understand why Disney feels they must turn up the volume SO LOUD on everything. That was a huge complaint of mine and another couple we went with whose kids were 6 and 4. They did not like the loud noises either. In fact sometimes the volume at the shows was so loud that you couldn't even understand what was being said. She did, however, enjoy the fireworks, parades, Country Bear Jamboree, Playhouse Disney live, and Barnstormer roller coaster, all of which are not quiet.

 

[nancy drew]

donnajon yay! some great ideas!!!

linda thanks for the tips on prepping her. im definitely trying to do that. hopefully she understands, prehaps once we get there she will understand a little better. magic hat is a great idea. she is obsessed with hats (all accessories, actually. girl much? ) so that may work really well.

luvmesometigger back in the old days, i was afraid of the snow white ride, too. i know they have changed it since i was 6, but it scared me! i think i went on it again at age 8 and was ok. hopefully your little guy will be ok with it soon.

donnajon yeah i can see that happening with my dd too. hopefully it doesnt.

mcrockett1220 ITA about the noise level and "scary" factor on some things. dh didnt go with us last year, so when i told him that dd had been afraid of the tiki room he looked at me like i was nuts. i had to explain that they changed it and added some scary stuff that freaked her out. its too bad, i know older kids are fine but the little ones can be so sensitive!

 

[CrazyChik]

My little sister was 2 when she first went on it and despite always being a scaredy cat she enjoyed the snow white ride and she was fine with the little mermaid but it is different for every child.



gota wait a year and 3 months til we go again

 

[Mickeys.friend]

My 4 year old dd was 2 when we went on our last trip, and she still talks about the "scaryyyyy" witch in the Snow White ride. It was all about the mean witch and the scary talking mirror. She is not afraid of loud or booming noises, but just does not like mean and scary characters....However, she was totally in love with the mermaid show/ride. Ursula was loud, but my dd was too mesmerized by the whole thing that she was not afraid. We sat close enough for her to see the puppeteers in the black light, and she knew it was make believe. She also was distracted by getting to pop the bubbles floating around. This summer we are going again, and she has already pointed out that she will NOT be going on the Snow White ride this year!! LOL!