What's the youngest age your kids have enjoyed the "scary" rides?

tgbanks3

Mouseketeer
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Taking a 4 year old and a 2 year old (along with their 2 older siblings) this fall. I know the 2 year old will be limited. The 4 year old will be tall enough for most rides including ToT, Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, etc. I know it varies from kid to kid, but just curious if you've had any this age that actually enjoyed these rides?
 
My DD15 was 5 when she went on those rides and liked them so much we repeated them. However, my DS10 still does not want to ride anything bigger than BTMRR. I think it varies a lot from child to child. My youngest DS4 would not be ready for any of those yet. He liked 7DMT our last trip just before he turned 4, and we will probably try BTMRR with him next trip before his 5th birthday. But he has seen the videos of TOT, Splash, and Space Mountain and does not want to go on any of those.
 
My boys both loved Haunted mansion at age two. My four year old will get on anything he is tall enough for. When he was three he rode Splash mountain and BTMRR at Disneyland. Last month he got on Splash mountain,BTMRR, SDMT,TOT, Dinosaur multiple times. I think it all depends on the child.
 
Taking a 4 year old and a 2 year old (along with their 2 older siblings) this fall. I know the 2 year old will be limited. The 4 year old will be tall enough for most rides including ToT, Splash Mtn, Space Mtn, etc. I know it varies from kid to kid, but just curious if you've had any this age that actually enjoyed these rides?

My kids are a little cautious when trying these rides. But they do when they are tall enough and form their own conclusions. My son, like his dad, his not a fan of drops. The aren't scary. Just unsettling to the tummy.

Otherwise, my kids try them around age 4 (my kids are short). They sometimes appear hesitant. But they do usually enjoy the ride.

Everyone rides HM.
 


Went with my 4 and 6 year old nieces for their first visit in 2013. 4 year old loved HM, 6 year old hated it and was scared the whole time. 4 year old wouldn't touch ToT, 6 year went on it and FREAKED OUT! I thought that would be it, no thrill rides for them. Went back a year an a half later so now they are 5 and 7 and they went on and loved Mission Space, Soarin, 7DMT and TT. I still remember the first time I road space mountain I was 6 years old and LOVED IT.

Each person is unique and what I found is that watching the rides (The Dis has some great ones) on youtube can really help gauge if your children will be able to handle the rides. Also I found that the darker rides tended to seem more intense to the children, even if they weren't. I still can't believe I got them to rider the INTENSE version of Mission Space, but I walked them there right after they got off of Soarin which they loved, they were more willing to try it.

Start with the less intense rides and build to the more intense.
 
my niece went on splash mountain, test track, and soarin when she was 2yrs4mos.
she started screaming when getting off test track because she wanted to ride again and didn't understand you have to go wait in line again.
at 3yrs4mos she insisted that she go on TOT.
she was fine. she didn't cry or get scared.
in the pic she has a look of concern like "is everyone experiencing what i'm experiencing?"
she said she wanted to ride again but then she did get scared the second time so my sister left through the chikcen exit with her.

the only way you'll know if your kids like something is to have them try it if they want to.
 
Last trip, my boys were a few weeks shy of their 4th birthday. One of them is more adventurous and did TT (his fave, still talks about it), Splash, and Soarin'. Twin brother did TT and Soarin' and hated it. So we didn't put him on Splash. The next time we go, they will be just shy of their 6th birthday and I think the one will go on every ride he's eligible for. Daughter, at almost 7 that trip, did her first ever roller coaster (Space) and then proceeded to do all of the thrill rides. Didn't put any of them on HM or POTC - I just know those will be too "scary" for them.
 


You may be surprised at what fits a kid's definition of "scary." ;) For us, it seems to be a constantly moving target.

My kids (4 & 7 at the time) both hated TOT and will never go on it again. My oldest was 6 the first time she rode Space and hated it, will never go on it again. Based on his sister's reaction to it, my youngest refuses to ride it ever. Our oldest was 8 on our last trip and tried EE and hated it. Both kids will ride Splash and BTMRR over and over again, though.
 
We were at wdw in April and our middle ds turned 4 in January. He loved splash, thunder, 7D, And TT. Did dinosaur and ToT, which we thought he would be scared of but he wasn't. However, he didn't ask to ride those again! He did pirates and loved it. We didn't try HM.
 
My fondest Disney memory is chasing my then 3 year old daughter back to the entrance of Space Mountain moments before midnight with her screaming "One more time Daddy" all the way.
 
Depends on the kid, my 4 year old did not like ToT. She did like Splash and Big Thunder. She wasn't tall enough for Space.
 
Definitely depends on the kid. My DD at age 5 HATED barnstormer, and even told Goofy he needs to take it down. Won't even discuss going on the big coasters almost 3 years later. I talked her into HM on our last trip, and that was traumatizing, but I know a 4 year old who loves it.
 
Agree with the PP- all depends on the kid, and the ride, sometimes even the day lol. At least that's what I've found my my sons. My oldest was 13 when he went on Aerosmith, but that same trip we couldn't get him to go on BTMR, even though he rode it when he was much much younger and he was fine with it. My youngest hated HM from the time he was 4-6, but once he hit 8, he loved it, and my oldest has been fine with it as long as I can remember. At 15 and 11, we still can't get either one of them anywhere near ToT, and my 11 year old is still wary of Dinsosaur because "it jerks you around a lot and it's so loud!" Go figure. :-)
 
My kids both rode TOT at 4 and it was a disaster. They loved splash but only with a poncho. Test track, soaring, btmrr, 7dmt all huge hits
 
With my kids (7 and 4 at the time), it depended more on the theme than the thrill factor. DD4 liked BTMRR, Splash, barnstormer, 7DMT, TT, Kali River Rapids, and Soarin'. She wasn't tall enough for RnRC, EE, or Space but her sister was and loved them all, plus the other rides already mentioned. They were so freaked out by HM I didn't try ToT even though I know they would have loved the drop portion. They even got scared for a minute on the TTA of all things, when it was completely pitch black as it went through Space. However they had recovered enough from that one to ride it again later in the trip. :) They really have no problem with the thrill aspect, but if it has a creepy theme they're out. Although POtC was totally fine, so who knows. I have been showing them some youtube videos of ToT to help them be ok with it for our next trip, but if they're not then oh well. Just an excuse to plan another I guess.
 
At 4 1/4, my dd was super brave! Went on everything she was tall enough to ride (she was a fairly tall 4 year-old). During the pre-show for TOT, she asked me if she was going to be alive at the end of the ride! LOL. She loved it, though. The ride that frightened her the most that trip was the Haunted Mansion. Oh, and Bug's Life creeped her out but she didn't freak out or anything.
 
The 2 year old will probably be less frightened of "scary" rides than the 4 year old. At 2, they're too young to be afraid!
 
I agree with rosebud. Most kids I know get irrational fears around 4. Start with one without a big drop and see how the dark and content affect them before you progress to dark thrill rides. DS did all those things from 2-3 then later at 4 got out of wanting tot or space for a while and is now back on them at 5. We just try to encourage without pushing. We will push more if he's never tried it but accept that he doesn't want to do it again. If pirates and hm are bad, I wouldn't go for tot, but if splash and btmrr go well, maybe give space a try. Definitely start the day with something easy though. DS loves certain rides he just won't do first ride of the day. In the end, I don't think you will be know for sure until you try a few things with them. We once took my nephew on Snow White first thing at dlr and he wouldn't go into the bathrooms with me for an hour. Rookie mistake before I had kids.
 
My 3 yr old cried on SM. We were double dipping with the fast passes and rode BTMR afterward. When we were supposed to get back on SM, I pulled him aside and said this is the ride you don't like. He insisted on riding it again. I was completely prepared for the chicken exit, but it never happened. He loves it to this day.
 
My son first went on (and loved) Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain at 3, Space Mountain at 4, Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller coaster at 5. But my 8 year refuses to go on any of those. I'd start small and build up -- see how they react to Goofy's barnstormer or 7DMT for roller coasters, or a dark ride like Winnie the Pooh.
 

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