3 Year Old At DL??

[iKristin]

Do you think 3 is an okay age to take to Disneyland?? I really want to take my niece to Disneyland for a few days next year, do you take your three year old and how does he/she react to rides like Haunted Mansion or Pirates???

 

[disneydreamer74]

My 3 yr old didnt like HM or PoC..she was scared. But there are many rides and shows that a toddler can enjoy just the same, like Fantasyland rides, bugsland and the parades of course..she should have a great time!

 

[marcemc]

Usually, the scary part for kids about PoC are the 2 drops in the dark (like a mini version of Splash) and after that it gets to be ok.

For the HM it depends on how she feels about that kind of stuff. We call it the "happy ghosts ride" in my house.

Make sure she rides fun stuff @ fantasyland and toontown first.Both my boys have been to the parks since they were babies and they have always enjoy it @ different stages in different ways.

Just make sure you don't push her into riding anything.

 

[iKristin]

yeah that's the one thing I'm nervous about is taking her and her not wanting to ride ANYTHING, but maybe it's just her attitude at the moment since she's only two and by the time I take her she'll be 3 and a half

 

[DizNee Luver]

When my daughter was not quite 3, she'd ride anything she was tall enough to do. The next year she was 3 1/2 & 40".....her favorites that trip were BTMRR & Space Mtn......so it just depends on the kid. My daughter is obviously a thrill seeker & not much scares her when it comes to rides. My son on the other hand didn't go into the HM until he was 8!! (he only went because his sister wanted to go....lol)

 

[jennifur25]

I've taken my boys at 15 months, 2.5 years and for their fourth birthday. Things they are scared of one trip, they aren't the next and vice versa LOL Just take your cues from her and you'll have a great time

 

[BensWife]

We took our 3 year old this June, and he didn't ride much. His favorite was a tie between Buzz and Autotopia! We thought he would love the Nemo Sub, but he got scared. He did manage to make it through the rest of the ride, but it kinda ruined the rides for him for the rest of the trip. We were only there a day and a half, so we didn't ride many rides because it was crowded. Even though we didn't ride many rides, he LOVED his time there. We did the Jedi Training, and the bummer part was that we was picked, but they asked him his age and then said to come back the next year. He took it in stride through! (Proud Mommy here!) He loved seeing the characters and going to Micky's house. I think he would have ridden some other rides had we the time, but I guess we will just have to take him back!!

 

[Mommy2PrincessAbby]

At 3 my dd loved DL... everything was magic... and HM and POTC were 2 of her absolute favorite rides... every kid is different... one thing we did was you-tube all the rides before we went, so she knew what to expect.

 

[mrswh]

3 is a fantastic age for a trip to DL! (Actually, any age is a fantastic age, IMO.) There is a TON to see and do for a 3 year old - so much that you needn't even find out how she would react to HM or POTC. With our kids, we tell them what a ride is about and describe it the best we can, and we let them decide whether to ride. For the most part, they are eager to go on/see anything that doesn't include the word terror, scary, screamin', haunted, etc.

 

[CaseyK]

DD was just about 3 when we went last year. DS was 5 months. I will never forget the look on her face when we walked down Main Street and she saw the castle for the first time. She rode lots and loved it all. She must have rode the tea cups at least ten times and giggled the whole time! She cried the entire time on PotC. But we've talked about it and she wants to go again this trip. We will be there when HM is set up for The Nightmare Before Christmas. She was 4 in June and have talked about the ride, watched some of the movie- she was more bored than scared! I've also shown her the rides on You Tube. She should be tall enough to meet the 40 inch requirement so she has seen clips of Thunder Mountain, the Matterhorn, and Splash Mountian. She asks all the time to watch the rides on the computer. We did it last trip and she was prepared for the rides but still a bit scared. If you cam, do that with your neice. And get her used to Mascots if she has never seen them before. It took DD a couple characters to warm up- thanks to Goofy she became a pro. I am so excited for this trip. She rode the kiddie coaster at the fair last week 3 times and held her hands up and squealed the whole time.

 

[tkitty]

My grandaughter is already a Disney pro. DL at 15 mo. She was afraid of the characters, but not afraid of any ride she was tall enough for. Even Snow White, and POC. At 2 3/4yr we did WDW. Loved everything, and knew alot of the movies/stories/characters. So she had a ball, and didn't care what we took her on.
In May, at 3 1/4yrs, we did DL again. This was a total win-win. She was really into the rides, and wanted to stand in line for every character! Her only meltdowns were- DL she was too short for Star Tours- (the CM measured her twice) she was upset. At DCL it was GRR- She was even twice as upset! But got over it quick. She rode every ride that was under 40" and loved them all.

 

[skiingfast]

I feel at 3 a child enter the prime age for a visit. Everything is real. Sure some rides are too fast, loud or dark, but there is so much to ride or see that doesn't included that. It's far better at age 3 than 13.

 

[iKristin]

I guess the only thing I get worried about is right now she is scared of a lot of things, she's only 2 and a half but she gets this sad face and just shakes her head and says "no" quietly. I am just hoping this is the age and phase and by the time in a year when she's 3 and a half she'll be ok to do this stuff. Guess we'll find out ) I'll take her on a test run to the Children's Museum in Portland first since that's how she was there lol

 

[skiingfast]

Oh yeah, I would also be cautious about character greetings, since some kids are scared about these. The other thing I would do is model some behavior for her. Tell her you are exited to do this and that, laugh or saw wee on rides. This will help her know how to feel and it's ok to have fun.

 

[pinktink83]

The first time we went our daughter was 3 years old and it was SO FUN! Here is the link to our trip report: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=17369881#post17369881

I wrote about all the rides and her reaction to them. She was actually pretty scared in the dark rides at Fantasyland. Snow White, Mr Toad, and Pinocchio made her cry! She liked Peter Pan and Alice though. Buzz took some comvincig after the scary indoor rides, but once she was on, she loved it! Dumbo was her all time favorite! At DCA, she loved A Bug's Land...all the rides there are perfect. She also LOVED King Triton's carousel, she rode it 3 times in a row! The 3D movies were a bit scary for her though.

We did not take her on Haunted Mansion, I thought it was too scary for her. But she liked Pirates! She rode Splash Mountain (big time freak out!) I forgot about the first dip down and it totally freaked her out before even got to the big one! She wasn't too happy with me, but afterward she was fine (she didn't want to ride it again though!). She didn't want to ride Matterhorn, and I think she would've been frightened by the dark & the snow monster. She rode Thunder Mountain, but didn't want to ride it again.

She loved Tarzan's Treehouse, it was really fun! Also, the Sailing Ship Columbia, the Train, and Tom Sawyer's Island are must-do's. Lots of things to see and do, and its a nice break from standing in line.

We also had to take nap breaks around noon every day for a couple hours or she got CRANKY!!! And by day three, she was done. Two days would've been fine. Three was pushing it, we didn't even stay past lunch.

Definitely bring a stroller, snacks, water. And if you need anything, the first aid station and Baby's Lounge are awesome!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

My youngest is 3.5 and she is really timid and shy around people. Even family... She went through her entire year of preschool last year not speaking to her teachers once! So I am really surprised that she is actually quite the daredevil. She will go on anything she is tall enough for. She has always been fine on POTC and HM. She went on Matterhorn and Gadget's Go Coaster when she was a little over 2. The first time on Gadget's was too much for her, but she was ok on Matterhorn. Last time we were there she cried because she couldn't go on Mullholland Madness.

 

[jennilouwho]

My son was 3 1/2 when we went. He was pretty scared of things, especially the first two days. I had prepped him with youtube and stuff, but I found the rides he knew nothing about were the ones he was the least scared on. If I tried to warn him "it might be a little dark in here, but we'll be okay" he instantly freaked out and wouldn't open his eyes. He wouldn't open them on Winnie the Pooh. It was kind of funny... He rode Roger Rabbit and Pinnochio and loved them, I think because by that point I knew better than to warn him about anything that could be scary. Every kid is different and you'll just have to see how she does.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Wanted to add that I always bring glow sticks so on rides like HM or POTC if my DD got scared, I would just whip out a glow stick and that would distract her a bit.

 

[kailuagirl]

We took DD last summer when she just turned 2. We had a BLAST! She only got alittle scared on Roger Rabbit, loved everything else. We watched video's of alot of the rides on youtube before we went, not sure if that helped or not. I'd say start with the nice mellow open rides, dumbo, casey's, carousel, etc. and move up from there depending on how's she's doing. Hopefully once she get's used to them and realizes they are fun and not scary she will enjoy everything. Good luck and have fun!!

 

[tkitty]

That reminds me when we took my DGS for hi 4th birthday to DL, he was a bit more afraid of the rides. We made the mistake of taking him on BTMR for his first ride. The rest of the day we had to say "This is NOT a fast ride" or he didn't want to ride. He got better with each ride, but we got to Winnie the Pooh, and he was very worried looking and the ride CM handed him a flashlight for the ride. My grandson thought that was the best thing ever.
Now my DGS is 8, and his 3 1/2 yr old sister will ride anything he'll ride! Only time she looked a little scared was on Matterhorn. Her my DD and I would tell her to scream as load as she could to keep her from getting scared.
On scary rides it lets alot of tension go when they let it out with a sceam. Then we all end up screaming and laughing!
By the way, I still can't get my DD29 to ride SplshMt. Not since she was 6 and thought for sure she was going to fall out! In fact I'm the only one that will ride Ca Screamin' with SIL. At least till my DGD is a couple inches taller.