3 yr. old on Soarin' ?????

[Princess_Michelle]

Hi All,
I have a son that is very tall for his age; he will be 3 this June and is already about 39 1/2 inches without shoes on. I know that when we go to WDW in October he will EASILY meet the 40' requirement for Soarin', Splash Mountain, BTMR, and even Tower of Terror. Has anyone taken a 3 yr. old on these rides? Did it work out OK? My son in general is frighteningly fearless, and I think he would love all of the rides, although, I don't think he would like Tower of Terror. Does anyone think (from past experiences?) that he wouldn't do well on Soarin' and the others??? I can't seem to make up my mind about letting him ride and I don't want to traumatize him or anything What are your thoughts?

 

[flipflop]

I'm curious as well, as I have one who is rather tall and will likely meet the requirement when we go (they will be 3.5 then).

 

[drag n' fly]

We took our ds4 on it in Feb and he turned 4 in December. Generally if you have a kid that is pretty comfortable with the rides I suspect your child will love it. When we took ds4 on it he was clapping his hands and said I want to go on that 80 more times. Each kid is different you will know if they are ready for it!

 

[PoohHappens]

Our DS was 3 (but closer to 4) when he road soarin, and all the other rides you listed except Tower of Terror. He did great and loved them. We chose for him not to ride ToT. I would try Goofy's barnstormer first and if he likes it go for BTMRR, let him see the drop on Splash Mountain and just ask him if he wants to ride it. This time at 5 he met the 44" requirement just barely and he rode Space Mountain and Expedition Everest and loved them. I will warn you about Dinosaur, it is very LOUD. He rode it at 3 and 5 and both times burried his face and when it was over made us promise to not ride it again. So you might ask, why did us,the horrible parents make him ride again the next trip ????????? Because he insisted he just had to ride it......


Have fun

 

[hpygrll]

Now I have just the opposite problem. DS was almost 5 in December - tall enough for Space Mountain, Tower of Terror etc - wouldn't set foot on them. I thought "Soarin'" will be great - he'll love that.

Well as soon as we flew into the fireworks he started screaming bloody murder - he thought he was going into the fireworks - I think I scarred him for life after that....no more "Soarin" for him..

But all kids are different!!

Jenny

 

[dopeyluvsgrumpy]

Last Sept. we took our ds who was three and 41 inches high. He LOVED splash mountain and Soarin, but ToT was too much for him. He also sent on BTMRR but we were a little concerned because he kept sliding down on the seat...the restraints weren't holding him in place as well as I would have liked.
I'd also recommend staying clear of Dinosaur in AK and Stitches Great Escape these were too intense for our ds. Have a great time!!!!

 

[jjms97]

Our very-tall-for-her-age 3 yr old DD absolutely LOVED Soarin' and BTMRR. She had ridden several "kiddie" coasters at Six Flags and was a bit prepared for the whole theme park ride experience before we went. (She wasn't quite brave enough to ride ToT with 5 yr old big sis though!)

I agree with the poster above, if he's OK with Goofy's Barnstormer, then BTMRR should be fine.

Have fun!

 

[Princess_Michelle]

These are great ideas! Now that I think about it, we spent a lot of time at Six Flags last year and he rode all the Kiddie rides and a sort-of flume ride with me. I'll definitely put him on barnstormer first and see how he handles that one. Last year he did great with Pirates of the Carribean and all the others, so we are hoping he does OK with Splash, Soarin', and BTMR. I'll definitely NOT be puting him on ToT, Dinosaur, or Stitch; definitely too intense
Thanks everybody, keep the advice coming!!

 

[Nicolepa]

My son did all of these at 3. Is isn't a thrill seeker and he didn't care for any of them except Soarin. Now my DD rode them at 3 & 4 and loved them all, but she is a dare devil. If you'd like to see a 3yo's reaction to TOT pm me. It is not pretty. I felt so bad. That being said, dh took him back 6 weeks later and he asked to ride it first. He had convinced himself that if he held on tight enough his bottom would stay put. When he got off he said "I held on my tightest and it didn't work". He hasn't really ridden it since.

But at 5 I mustn't have terrorized him too bad because he loves all the other 40'' rides now. (Except dinosaur, both my kids refuse that one, even my dare devil child.)

 

[miraged]

My 15 year old son and nine year old daughter found this to be the most boring ride they had ever waited in line for. So, I don't see a lot of fear factor here. We have only been to WDW twice so they are not what I would think of as jaded. There is nothing frightening at all about this ride.
Have fun,
donna

 

[Skroops]

Our DS(3) loved Soarin'! He also liked Stiches Great Escape, but I have been on it before and I told him what would happen. We asked our son if he wanted to go on Splash Mtn, and he thought the drop looked to scary. Ah well, more rides for next time! I figure if he's tall enough and he knows what the ride does and still wants to go....why not?
Good luck! Have a great time!

 

[estherhead]

The problem with some of them is the dark & loud noise. My 5 yr old went on Space MT. I had forgotten Dinosaur so when we got to it I told her it would be scary & dark & she might not want to. Thinking in her own mind Space Mt she happily hopped on. She started screaming at the very beginning. I put my hands over her ears & she closed her eyes & we made it thru but I'm very hesitant to take my now 5 yr old tho she is insisting that she can handle it. TOT is also on our maybe list. Soarin is on our yes list.

 

[lillygator]

When DD was 3 she went on Soarin and loved it...she is also in the tall camp!

 

[Cruz91]

Our DD had just turned 4 on our first trip and was well over the height limits for all the rides you're talking about. She, like your son, is fearless and absolutely loved everything we did except the Stitch ride (which I don't get). Her absolute favorite ride is ToT, followed closely by EE - which she was tall enough to ride on our last visit.

My son, on the other hand, was 3 on our last trip and was tall enough to ride everything then. He hated BTMR, so we didn't even think about doing ToT or anything more intense.

Bottom line - start small and work your way up. He'll let you know when he's not comfortable on something!

 

[AC7179]

I think my daughter will love it, if she is tall enough.
However, how well are they restrained? If she freaked out during, Soarin' could she possibly climb out?

 

[kaysmommie]

Our DD had just turned 4 on our first trip and was well over the height limits for all the rides you're talking about. She, like your son, is fearless and absolutely loved everything we did except the Stitch ride (which I don't get). Her absolute favorite ride is ToT, followed closely by EE - which she was tall enough to ride on our last visit.

My son, on the other hand, was 3 on our last trip and was tall enough to ride everything then. He hated BTMR, so we didn't even think about doing ToT or anything more intense.

Bottom line - start small and work your way up. He'll let you know when he's not comfortable on something!

You have tall kids! My DD7 was just tall enough for EE and that was wearing sandals since she really wanted to ride. I don't blame your DD for not liking Stitch since no one does .

 

[jfranklyn]

We took my son on Soarin when he was JUST 3 years old - and not quite 40" (the guards weren't paying attention that day). Anyway, he LOVED it. He's 4 now and I would definately take him on everything you listed except ToT. I think that's a little intense for his age. Just my opinion, though.

 

[DIS FANATIC]

I had the same situation last year. My DS, who was 3 at the time, is very tall. He rode Soarin' and loved it! He also rode Splash Mountain. He did great at the time but says that he doesn't want to do that again this year. He also loved Star Tours (which I thought might make him sick). He rode Goofy's Barnstormer and had a ball! I didn't let him do BTMRR, ToT, or Dinosaur. I am scared of those myself!

 

[luvmy3jewels]

My 4 & 6 year olds are both scared of roller coaster type rides. Do you think Soarin' will be too much for them?

 

[Experiment113]

When we went last Sept., my son was 3 (loves the barnstormer) and my daughter was 9 (hates most indoor rides including pirates & haunted mansion). We read alot about Soarin' and we all wanted to try it out. As soon as the restaints came down over their shoulders , they both got scared and wanted out. So, I had to take the kids and exit. They refused to ride. I got to ride it by myself later. My 3 year old would have loved it. I'm not sure my 9 year old would like it or not. The movie is great and you definitely feel like you are flying!