3 year old on thrill rides

[jennilouwho]

Hi there!

My DS will be 3 1/2 when we go to Disneyland in November. He is already tall enough for most of the thrill rides and I'm pretty sure he's going to want to ride them. Help me feel better about that, because I know I'm having irrational fears of him falling out. What are the lapbars like on Space Mountain? If my husband is 6'4" and DS is 41 inches, will he be okay? What do you do on Splash Mountain when you can't sit side by side? Any other tips? Thanks!!!

Jen

 

[evandmp]

My sons gone on the thrill rides since about that age. As soon as he hit 40 inches and rode his first roller coaster he was hooked. Ds knows to hold onto the bars and stay in the seat. DH takes him on all the rides and says they are really secure. I do get a bit nervous especially when he goes on splash mountain and TOT but I figure that disneyland did a lot of research before they set the height requirements and DS always comes out happy and raving about the rides.

 

[bumbershoot]

Space has individual lap bars, and of course the seating is side by side.

Splash has one seat in the very back where a child and regular sized adult can sit next to each other. The other seats are on in front of each other, with a seat back separating each person. DS refuses to go on it, b/c of the drop (he wants to see the inside, just doesn't want to do the drop), so I haven't experienced it with a child yet. (Space either, as he doesn't know what's in the building and isn't interested in finding out)

DS did go on TOT, and although the up and down didn't bother him, the effect *before* the drop where it looks like everyone disappears freaked him right out. He won't do it again. Just b/c of the effect.

re: fears of him falling out...they take their height requirements very seriously, so as long as he doesn't do anything crazy on the ride he will be OK. With Splash, you've got physics in the form of gravity keeping everyone in the log!

If he doesn't mind water and getting wet, take him on Grizzly! DS absolutely loves that raft ride, even when he gets drenched; he and DH went 5 times in a row (I did 4) one day, and we all did another 5 times in a row the next day.


Have fun, but don't be weirded out if he gets worried about the strangest things. DS refused to go on POTC through his 3s. Going through the Davy Jones mist was just too much for him, he couldn't deal with it. Loved the whole ride, but not that. When he turned 4 he was fine with it. The 3s were hard, and I could never anticipate when something would weird him out. So even though your guy is a thrill-kid, start off easy anyway.

 

[mechurchlady]

I have ridden every ride except maliboomer and started at about age 3 on bobleds back in 1960. ToT has lap belts and you cannot fall out. Soarin and some rides even have a loop for smaller guests that go between the small rider's legs.

 

[jolynda]

I took my daughter on just about every thrill ride when she was 3 1/2 and exactly 40 inches tall. She was SO MAD at me about the Tower of Terror, but she was pretty happy with all the attention she got afterward, because the CM gave her a sticker that said "I survived the tower of terror!" and she wore it PROUDLY - everyone kept approaching her to ask her if she really went on it and was she scared, etc. (keep in mind she was dressed as a lovely little girly-girl)! She loved the attention! She LOVED Soarin' and Mountains. On Splash, she rode in the back seat with me. On Big Thunder Mt, she rode in between 2 other people, and on Space Mt, she had her own personal restraint. She did GREAT on all of it and is now a huge coaster fan at the grand age of 8! I think it depends on the kid, though. I kind of used 'reverse psychology' on my daughter to keep her from getting scared - I did this by pretending to be scared myself and asking her to hold MY hand. I also reminded her it was very important to scream on the fast rides. That seemed to do the trick for her! The other thing I did (esp. on TOT and in later years, for Indiana JJones) was to talk about how they did the effects so that she would realize that it is all make believe and there is nothing to be afraid of. We looked closely at paint and illusions and it made her forget to be scared.

PS - though she went on most of the big rides at age 3 1/2 and was fine, she was positiively terrified at the Snow White ride! She totally freaked out! We had to do Small World twice to make up for it! LOL!

 

[noga]

We just got back a few weeks ago and have a total ride freek on our hands.
DD went on everything and loved everything.
SpaceMountain has individual lap bars, but I also kind of held onto her a bit.
TMRR I also held onto her a bit just so she didn't slide so much (she is 41" tall, but only 34lbs).
ToT she just loved and wanted to go back to it over and over again. The same with Soaring.
We had to go on Splash Mountain like 10 times I swear. They won't allow small children in front of the log (just so you know). What we did is that I sat in the way back and she sat in the seat in front of me. Then at the big drop at the bottom I just kind of held onto her shirt so she didn't hit her head by some chance (never happend or even close but just to be safe).
She was about 1/4" too short for the Grizzly and it broke her heart

 

[connie107]

My DD was 4 last year and 42". She loves rides!! Splash mountain scared the poop outta me the first time cuz she sat alone but was totally fine, ended up on it 6 times lol. Tower of terror was completely safe and awesome too. He will be fine and have a blast on them all!!

 

[jennilouwho]

Thanks everyone! I feel better that the space vehicles have separate bars. Now, who is going to help me get over my fear of the gondolas falling off of the sunwheel???! ha ha....

 

[pixiewings71]

Well I'm NO help on the Sunwheel of Death, I hate hate hate that thing!!!!!!! Did I mention I hate it? LOL I sit in the stationary seats and still feel like we are going to fall off. LOL Of course it's being refurbed now so it's down, I can enjoy DCA so much more knowing I don't even have to consider riding it. LOL

As for the other rides, as far as I can remember they all have individual bars or belts....except Big Thunder which only has one for the whole car. But, Space, Soarin', Screamin', Mulholland Madness, ToT, Indy, they all have their own bars or belts.

 

[MommyWithDreams]

My son at 3 LOVED Matterhorn and Gadget go coaster. This year he LOVED big thunder. He refuses to ride Splash due to the hill. He asked to ride Space mountain last year...I am not comfortable with that. Yes the seats are side by side, but there is still a space between them due to a bump between passengers. I don't feel like I could hold onto him enough. And with it being pitch black in there...I wanna see my kid. Just this over protective mommy I guess. When he's older and "bigger" I'll feel better about it I'm sure.

 

[4evrdisney]

Our son was just barely 3 when we went and was tall enough to ride most rides. He loved all of them - even Space Mountain. The only one he didn't attempt was ToT and that was only because I didn't realize he was tall enough for it so we never went back to check it out!

In fact, he loved the rides so much that he was MAD that he couldn't go on California Screamin'. We are going back this year and he still isn't tall enough - and he let's everyone know just how he feels about it. He so wants to go upside down!

Like PP said - he also hated most the rides in Fantasyland - Pinnochio, Mr. Toad's and Snow White. But, he'd go on Space Mtn anyday!

 

[disney-super-mom]

Here's my youngest when he was three years old on BTMRR. Notice where his hands are! He did the same thing on Space Mountain too.....crazy ride toddler.

Good thing my hubby (who is 6'6" tall) is holding on to him in this picture. He could've slid right on out of his seat.

 

[Teki]

When I was two my mom told the Matterhorn guy I was 3 and he let me on and her I still stand having never flown out of any ride lol. Seriously though if your child is tall enough for the ride as long as they follow all the ride rules they should be fine. on splash mountain you could put them between you , same as Matterhorn. If I'm not mistaken Space mountain has a regular lap bar, but I'm not positive. good luck with your little one on your trip

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Here's my youngest when he was three years old on BTMRR. Notice where his hands are! He did the same thing on Space Mountain too.....crazy ride toddler.

Good thing my hubby (who is 6'6" tall) is holding on to him in this picture. He could've slid right on out of his seat.

He is sooo adorable!

 

[bumbershoot]

He asked to ride Space mountain last year...I am not comfortable with that. Yes the seats are side by side, but there is still a space between them due to a bump between passengers. I don't feel like I could hold onto him enough. And with it being pitch black in there...I wanna see my kid. Just this over protective mommy I guess. When he's older and "bigger" I'll feel better about it I'm sure.

Ayden's just a bit older than Eamon, I think? E doesn't want to ride Space yet (I think on our next trip I'll at least have him come in line, and if he doesn't want to ride once he sees the line and the vehicles then we'll take the exit), and if he did I think I'd let him, BUT I have the same sort of "my baybeeeee" sort of feelings. Like I don't want him being scared, or worried or anything. Maybe that's not how you feel at all, though, LOL.

I went on Space twice during the ladies trip with the same ride companion each time (Stacerita!), and she wore this glowy flashy blinky ring, and that allowed me to see her really well (if a bit strobe-light'ish), so maybe if Ayden wears a glow bracelet or something so you could see him easier it would help?

I also noticed that when we rode after dark, I could see MUCH much better on the ride, so either the nightvision was still working even after the line, or they have the lights "up" a bit more, but it might be something to consider.

Here's my youngest when he was three years old on BTMRR. Notice where his hands are! He did the same thing on Space Mountain too.....crazy ride toddler.

Good thing my hubby (who is 6'6" tall) is holding on to him in this picture. He could've slid right on out of his seat.

[/IMG]

CUTE picture and kid! My hubby's not very tall, but he's a bigger bellied guy, and BTMM is the one thing I'm worried about! I really hate that shared lap bar. First time I went on it I went with hubby (we had family with us to watch E), and I was much smaller with a flatter belly then, and I was scared for my life! I don't think hubby would even let DS on with him at this point, LOL.

 

[DahliaRW]

My son was 3 1/2 last fall when we went. He went on everything up to a 40" height limit (since he was 41" at the time) and LOVED it all. Even tower of terror. When we got off, he asked to go back on and even convinced grandma (who was afraid) to go again. But, he is a daredevil. I think it depends on your child's personality. We never pushed him to go on anything. We watched videos beforehand of all the rides, and he willingly wanted to go on them all. So it just happened to work out well that way. If he was scared, we wouldn't have pushed it.

 

[disney-super-mom]

He is sooo adorable!

CUTE picture and kid!

Awww, thanks girls.

He's not that cute toddler anymore though.....now he's almost six. The years fly by.

I do remember not knowing exactly what we should let him try riding back then. He was a TALL 3 year old (with a dad who's 6'6" tall), so it was hard deciding if he was ready for some of the more thrilling rides, even though he was more than tall enough to ride them. Turns out he loved all of them.

We haven't let him ride TOT yet though. The story creeps out my 9 year old, so I've been waiting to let our younger one experience it until I think he can handle the story. I have a feeling he'll be going on that this coming October. I don't think the story would scare him much now that he's older. Knowing him, he'll love it.

 

[pixiewings71]

Here's my youngest when he was three years old on BTMRR. Notice where his hands are! He did the same thing on Space Mountain too.....crazy ride toddler.

Good thing my hubby (who is 6'6" tall) is holding on to him in this picture. He could've slid right on out of his seat.

Oh he is cute!!! I bet he's just as cute at 6 as he was then. Love the look of pure joy on his little face.

When I was two my mom told the Matterhorn guy I was 3 and he let me on and her I still stand having never flown out of any ride lol. Seriously though if your child is tall enough for the ride as long as they follow all the ride rules they should be fine. on splash mountain you could put them between you , same as Matterhorn. If I'm not mistaken Space mountain has a regular lap bar, but I'm not positive. good luck with your little one on your trip

Not sure what you mean by put him between but you can't put anyone between anyone on these rides. Splash does not allow you to sit stacked, each person has their own seat unless you're in the back. Back there you can put 2 people, DD9 and I sometimes share that seat.

OP on the Matterhorn you do sit stacked so you could sit with him and hold onto him. You each have your own adjustable seatbelt but the larger rider gets in first and the smaller rider sits between their legs so he would be secure in the bobsled with you.

 

[MichaelColey]

Our DS5 and DD3 are both tall for their ages (our daughter was 36" when she turned two and 42" when she turned three and our son was 48" at five). They've both been huge fans of thrill rides. Our daugther is actually a little more fearless than her older brother at this point. We have a Six Flags here locally that we go to several times a year and have been to many other parks.

We took our daughter to Universal and WDW the week before she turned two, and she was able to ride both the Goofy Roller Coaster at WDW and the Woody Woodpecker one at Universal. On her first roller coaster ride, I was able to ride in the car in front and turn and get a video of her first ride. She had a concerned look to start, but a few seconds into the ride her expression changes to one of pure wonder with squeals of joy. She probably rode those two roller coasters a dozen times or more that year.

The following year, shortly before she turned 3, she was able to go on Men In Black, Simpsons, Jurassic River, and Spider-Man at Universal Orlando and Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Soarin, Star Tours, Dinosaur and Tower of Terror at WDW. She loved ALL of them! I think Tower of Terrror might have been a little too scary for her. She said she liked it, but that she didn't want to do it again.

Last month we went to DL, Universal Hollywood, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Legoland, and SeaWorld and they both rode everything they were tall enough to ride. My DS5 was tall enough (48") to ride X2 at Magic Mountain. He went, but it was a little too much more him.

 

[Teki]

Oh he is cute!!! I bet he's just as cute at 6 as he was then. Love the look of pure joy on his little face.



Not sure what you mean by put him between but you can't put anyone between anyone on these rides. Splash does not allow you to sit stacked, each person has their own seat unless you're in the back. Back there you can put 2 people, DD9 and I sometimes share that seat.

OP on the Matterhorn you do sit stacked so you could sit with him and hold onto him. You each have your own adjustable seatbelt but the larger rider gets in first and the smaller rider sits between their legs so he would be secure in the bobsled with you.

I dont know what I was thinking either, I ment between your legs, but I haven't been on splash in AGES so I could be wrong about that one. I do know that on Matter horn I had my little sister between my legs and my arms around her.