2.5 yr old on Haunted Mansion??

[DisFam95]

We're leaving on Sunday and I can't decide on this ride. We've been talking about it a lot and how it's pretend and playing the music for it so he might recognize it. He rode it at 17mo and just stared at everything. I guess we'll see how Peter Pan and other dark rides goes.

Any other experiences with your kids this age?

 

[lemondog]

At 2.5 my DD would have been fine on it. At 3.5, however, there is NO way I would take her on it. She is very much in a "fearful" phase right now. Afraid of monsters, the dark, the wind, train horns, big trucks, loud noises, thunder, you name it! Although the HM is not a scary ride, to a child like her it would be terrifying.

You know your child best. If he is not in a "scary" phase then chances are he'll be fascinated with the ride and the sights and not know well enough to be scared. If he seems like the kind of child that's scared of a lot of things, then I would skip it. Good luck!

Angela

 

[KerriMc]

We did it last February with our dd, who was a month shy of 3yrs and she was fine. My dad had her with him and "Poppy" just has a way of making her try new things and not be afraid. This year she is going to be turning four while we are there and I think she will be more "in tune" and would actually be afraid. Last time, half of the stuff she didn't understand, but now she'll get it a bit more. But ... my dad is going with us again and it is one of my favourite rides, so hopefully she will do it. I'm not sure about my youngest who will be 20 mos during our vacation ... she is a different kind of kid than her big sister!

I would think he'd be ok ... the part I worried about most was when the room went dark at the beginning ... that is the scariest part I think ... the rest is just really neat. My dad had a hold of her in the first part and talked to her all the way through. that really helped her!

Have fun
Kerri

 

[alacazander]

My son rode it last September at 2 1/2 years exactly and loved it. We had the cd at home and played the disneyland video with the haunted mansion part so when we went it he thought it was great! He sat in between my husband and I and smiled because he reconzied the music. My son doesn't scare easily but I still thought - should we do this? Not a problem - we'll do it again this year.

 

[Princess Glenda]

My nephew was 2.5 when we went in May--no problems. DD was 3.5 and buried her head in my chest! It all depends on the child. It is a little spooky but nothing extremely scary so I think most kids are scared or spooked for the moment but it doesn't scare them for the rest of the day.

 

[sarahsmom73]

Our DD was 2 1/2 and LOVED IT! Whe now sings along with the Haunted Mansion song on the CD!

 

[alecam]

I also had a 2 and 1/2 y.o. on our last trip in September, and he also loved it!!We had the "talk" before we even left for WDW about the fact that everything we see there is pretend. While alot of people think that it takes away from the magic, for toddlers, just getting on a plane and flying there is magic. The rides do not have to be real for them to enjoy the magic.

 

[SammieG]

I took my son on aged 3 and soon regretted it.

He was not overly bothered at the time,and even consoled a girl wallking out before us, who was screaming at the top of her lungs... and still crying as we left. he ran up to her and said "Its ok, its only pretend"...

BUT, 2 years later he still talks about it... and wont go on. He remembers it vividly...
there were some bits where I actually covered his eyes as I thought it was too intense for him. He didnt seem to mind that- although he remembers me doing it.

I wish I had never taken him on personally. Now he is 5- I could explain it to him better..

 

[lazarru]

Took both my son and daughter when they were in the 2 1/2 range and neither had any issues at all, both loved it and thought it was great. I guess it all depends on the child, only you can be the best judge of how your child will react, and even then sometimes they will surpise us and we'll guess wrong

 

[MelAnderson]

My DS who was 23 months at the time rode it. He was fine, however he is not afraid of the dark and I don't think that he "knew" that it was a scary ride. We are going again in May (he is 2.5) and I don't know if I will take him on it again as he may be more aware know that he is older. I'll just have to play it by ear.

HTH
Melodie

 

[ChrislovesMinnie]

I would wait. Why chance scaring and terrifying. Yes, it might be okay but remember the word "might". Wait until the ability to know makebelieve and reality is there.

 

[takemetoo]

My son, 3.5 at the time, was very frightened on this ride. I am very sad every time I think about it. He is not what I would call an easily frightened child, but does have a few fears. Just as a related note, he wasn't afraid of any other dark rides, but doesn't like the 3-d part of the 3-d movies (he will watch them w/o the glasses though), and HATED Tough to be a Bug.

 

[beattyfamily]

Every child is different. It's dark and can be scary.

My only advice is if you aren't sure and you choose to do it, do it AFTER some fun rides as we took my niece on it first and then she was afraid to go on anymore rides, even tame ones like Peter Pan, Pooh etc...

 

[lovetheworld]

I just took my 2.5 year on..he LOVED it. He talks about it all the time. We say it is "spooky" I never use the word scary.

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

We had this issue with dd when she was not quite 3. She kept seeing the Haunted Mansion featured on the tv back in the Disneyland Hotel and asking to go on it. So finally the last day of our trip after incessant asking we took her on. It was far and away her favorite ride. She went on it over and over. It just depends on your kid. Ds is now just about the age dd was then and I know he would be terrified. Luckily for him Haunted Mansion was closed in DL last Oct when we were there. However dd, now 4 1/2 is begging to go on TOT (which is to scary for me!, LOL). She was to short last trip, but won't be for our WDW one. Just goes to show how different individual kids are.

 

[Colinsmom]

My 2 1/4 year old was fine on the Haunted Mansion until the very end - there were too many heads popping up at us for his taste. All he did was hide his face in my shoulder, and he was fine once we got off the ride.

 

[BARBARAAPPLE]

The Little Boy That Went With Us Was 3 And He Did Fine Every Once And A While He Would Bury His Head , But He Never Cried

 

[Deesknee]

We took ours on it when they were 3 1/2, throughout the ride we made the scary parts seem silly. like look at that lady doesn't she look like grandma in the morning or I think that guy thinks mommy is cute. and so on. They all loved it. Now, however one of them ( they are now almost 14) hates it. refuses to go on it. Last July I had to wait with him while the rest of the family, including his baby sister went on it. LOL

 

[G&J's Mom]

My DS will be 3 in a couple of weeks, and we took him on it in June and this last weekend. He loves this ride. In June he did get a little tense in the graveyard with ghost popping up especially when the ride broke down there for a brief time. Didn't think I would get him back on there, but I did. Now DD will be 5 in May and she wants absolutely nothing to do with this ride. DS is definitely the more adventurous and fearless type, so I didn't hesitate taking him on it, and it worked out.

Good luck!

Denise