11 yr olds first time on roller coaster

[Erlene]

I am embarrassed to post this, but.......here goes. My 11 year old DS has never ever been to an amusement park before, much less on a roller coaster. (Slacker parents He's pretty tough, but I'm worried because our first day in parks will be at MK. Everything I read says head straight to space Mountain first. Will this be too overwhelming? Will it be wiser to start off on "Weenie" rides and work our way up?

 

[Skylarr29]

Well I think if it were me I would start off with thunder mountain... maybe you could get a fast pass for space mountain first thing and then ride thinder mountain and return later to use your fast pass for space mountain. Space Mountain is in the dark and can be intense for that reason.It just depends on if you think he will be frightened by being in basically complete darkness and not knowing what is coming.

 

[tmt martins]

Two ways to go

Get a fastpass for SM and yes get on some other rides 1st Buzz ,Autopia,even work your way around to Splash Mt and BTMR as these are in the daylight for the most part.

OR

Yea just put him on the darkest ride there is and let him tough it out and tell him thats the worst there is.

Have fun you should be fine in MK

 

[Ears2You]

I think Space Mountain is defintely one of the more scarier rides at Disney b/c it is all in the dark. This is what I would probably do if I was you- I would start at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This one is a roller coaster but has no big drops at all. Just let your DS know that before he goes on. Sometimes the ride makes you THNIK that you are going to go down a large drop at the top of the hill but you dont. Then, if he likes that then I may go on Splash Mountain becuase the drop is much larger than anything at Space Mountain. If he is okay with these rides I would go try to either (1) wait in line for SM or (2) get a FP for later. If he is still kinda scared it may be a good idea to ride the TTA because part of the ride goes into SM so he can have an idea of what it is like. Also one other thing about SM- you are seated in your own car and you dont have anyone sitting next to you. This also might matter if this is his first ride. Have a great trip!

 

[traviesojmt]

I'm in the start small and work your way up crowd. Not exactly the same but in the same vein: My SIL took her young son, around 4 to WDW. First ride they rode was the Pirate Ride. Freaked him out. He was scared to ride anything the rest of the day because he thought that they would all scare him. I say get fastpasses for the bigger coasters and then ride other things to make him comfortable. Does your son have an opinion? Is he gung-ho to ride the big ones or a little uneasy?

 

[KimR]

I agree with the others who have suggested to start small and work your way up. It's so hard to anticipate what your child will like if you've never been to a themepark before because some kids love thrill rides, some hate them no matter what the age. MK is really the best park to start at if he's never ridden a coaster before. BTMRR is very tame, so he should be fine on that. With Splash, the biggest hill is out in the open, so he can watch and decide for himself if he wants to ride. If either of those rides seem to push his limits you might want to rethink Space Mountain because it is in the dark and the seats are one behind the other so he would have to sit alone.

If he can he can handle the 'Big Three' at MK and is ready for more, then he'll probably enjoy the rides at the other parks as well. Disney's thrill rides are rather tame compared to IOA and other theme parks so my hunch is, unless he has motion issues, he'll be fine.

 

[tmt martins]

You could also put him on the PEOPLE mover (TTA) and have him take a look into SM and see what he thinks.

 

[LadyZolt]

Goofy's rollercoaster (Barnstormer, I think) is pretty tame, so that's one he could start with, too. You can see the whole thing from standing there looking at it. I personally don't like roller coasters that have a big "drop" and make my stomach feel all weird. LOL! But I can ride the Goofy one because it's so tame and it gives you an idea of what the larger ones can do. If he likes the feelings he gets, then I'd say go on to Big Thunder. Just my two cents!

-Dorothy (LadyZolt)

 

[Pokprincess]

Well.. here goes my 2cents too... ok, my son who will be now 11 next week.. has been going on roller coasters since 8 years old. His very first one to go on was Kracken at Sea World.. Not tame what so ever.... he has done them all.. Hulk, Dueling Dragons.. you name it.. but he really does not like Space Mt. it freaks him out for whatever reason.. Just to let you know

 

[Tink-n-Belle]

SM was my 1st roller coaster at 14. We waited 2 hours for it - It was and still is awesome. My dd5 & dd8 just went on it the winter and my dd5 said it was to short-

My dd8 met her friend who is 7 at Disney and her 1st roller coaster was the RnRc at MGM- Now that is an intense roller coaster for your 1st ride and she did great.

Have a great trip!!

 

[jaycns]

If it were me, I would head over and ride Big Thunder Mountian Railroad followed by Splash Mountain...then head straight over and grab a fast pass for Space Mountain. At this point, do Buzz Lightyear (FUN no matter what your age) then if you have any time left do the TTA (you will get a little peak at Space Mountain). It's not that SM is ultra fast (BTMR goes faster) it's just in total darkness. It's the coaster that "creeps me out" the most...but I LOVE it as do my 9 year old and my 6 year old (although my 6 year old said it was great, he said he didn't really ever need to ride it again until he was "lots bigger"). It's a good ride. A fun ride. A ride worth riding...just might not be the first coaster I would take anyone on...child or not. It's easier to get used to how your stomach feels on drops and how it feels to do such quick turns when you have your vision. BUT SM is great...do make sure that if he enjoys the others you do go!! It's a BLAST...no pun intended!

PS our favorite "big ride" is Splash Mountain...it is NOT to be missed!!

 

[DISUNC]

Work your way up! A 11 year old is MUCH TOUGHER than you think!
Have a great time!

 

[mrzrich]

My ds went on Space Mountain when he was 5. I think an 11 year old boy will handle it just fine.

 

[Boncho]

I think your son would be fine, but since he hasn't been on anything like that before, I go along with the tread to get a fastpass for Space Mtn. and while you are waiting test him out on Splash Mtn. and Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad just to make sure. If he is anything like my dare devil 10 year old son, he will love it all

 

[momandseandodisney]

I think your son would be fine, but since he hasn't been on anything like that before, I go along with the tread to get a fastpass for Space Mtn. and while you are waiting test him out on Splash Mtn. and Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad just to make sure. If he is anything like my dare devil 10 year old son, he will love it all

Heck I say start with goofys barnstomer! i know he is 11 - but heck I LOVE THAT ride lol

in order though I woudl say (at least when it comes to my DS 8 (six at the time)

thunder mountain
splash mountaion
space mount.

then EVEREST

 

[Sinclare]

I'll have to disagree with most here; Space Mountain should be first (it was my sons and nephews first coaster; ages 7 and 6 at the time). The ride is so well themed with the effects on the ceiling and such that it takes their mind off of the ride being a coaster and relieves the tension.

(was my first coaster too ~age 7)

 

[Yacht Club Family]

We've been going every year since before he was born, but I was the one afraid to let him ride SM before last year - can we all say "over-protective", Last year, he insisted on doing the "big" rides (I'll give the kid credit, he was polite about it, though). I went on it with him and he did great - me... thought I'd have a heart attack, My biggest fear in him riding it wasn't him, come to find out, it was me and my fears. He rode it 6 or 7 times last year and all of the other big rides as well and did fine. Me, I needed to go back to the smaller rides and work up again! FWIW, he even rode Mission: Space and loved it. My DH who used to be a big roller coaster fan, turned greener than Martian Marvin! Hope he has fun!

 

[penguin087]

Another slacker parent here!

I took my 11 yoa son to WDW last year without even realizing he had never been on any big amusment rides until he told me.
The first coaster we went on was BTMRR. Its a great 1st coaster for anyone. Its big and fast enough to be cool but not too intense. From there I worked him up to Space Mountain with a few stops along the way and by the end of the week he would ride anything ( even Krakken at seaworld which I sat out)