4 year old and TOT

[JenDaveBrendan]

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience bringing a 4 year old on TOT?? My son is set on going on this ride. I have even showed him the ride video on bigfloridacountry.com and he still says he really wants to go on it. (I thought that might deter him..) I have been on it and I am iffy on if he can handle it.... My husband says " There is no way I will bring him on that ride, you are on your own if you do, I won't go on with you two".
I don't want to be looked at as "one of those parents" who drag their little kids on scary rides if he starts crying in the middle of it, but I really don't want to deny him of it if he really wants to try it out.
He has been on small coasters (which he loves), but nothing like TOT...
Any experiences with this are greatly appreciated!!!

Jen

 

[the kabuki]

I have 3 kids, 11, 7, 3, and in all honesty, I would not take a 4 yr. old on this ride. My son was on it for the first time when he was 7, and even then I was kind of iffy. Now, I am not a scaredy-cat mom by any means, have been on TOT, along with every kind of coaster you can think of, Cedar Point is not too far from us, just so you know where this opinion is coming from, but I don't think I'd do it. You know your kid the best though, but if Dad is saying no , I'd agree with him and wait till next time.

 

[lovethattink]

My friends took their 5 year old on it. She couldn't differentiate between reality and fantasy. She thought the ghosts were real, and had nightmares.

 

[Ahrizel]

My nephew rode it at 3. He didn't love it, but no panic or upset either. My niece was riding a 200ft coaster at 5, her idea by the way, I rode it with her she loved it. If he wants to try, let him. If the waiting area freaks him( and it does freak some people) and just take one of the chicken exits. He's seen the ride video, and already rides coasters happily? Give it a shot, just let him out of it gracefully if he changes his mind. Thrill rides only become issues when parents are forcing the issue, if it's their own idea there are far less problems. Hope he enjoys it, it's one of my favorite rides at the world!

 

[BevS97]

No way my 4 year old would go on that, in fact there is no way my 7 year old would handle it. Has he done all the rollercoasters at Disney? Including Space Mountain which is in the dark. How is he in Haunted Mansion? I would want him to be happy on all those rides before we tried Tower of Terror.

 

[F1Julie]

I took my DD4 on it a few weeks ago. Much to my surprise, she loved it and says it's one of her favorite rides. I don't think she really liked the Twilight Zone stuff, but she loved the motion of the ride. I hadn't planned on taking her on it, but she loved BTMRR and wanted to do all the rides she is now tall enough for (this is the first trip she passed the 40" mark). If he really wants to go, explain that it might be a little scary and tell him what's going to happen and that it isn't real. Also, I'd say no crying or screaming once you get on. If he agrees to that, I'd try it. You never know.

 

[turnerx5]

No way for a 4 year old. I went on it with my 9 yr old DS, and I kept thinking that I was glad I kept my 6 yr old DD off of it. The nature of the ride is very rough in the decents and acents, I would be worried about a neck injury. YMMV. Good luck.

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

My oldest DD went on TOT as soon as she was tall enough. I believe she was a few weeks shy of turning 4. She decided she wanted to go on TOT by herself. We did not push her and warned her of how scary it was. She insisted that we do it first thing when we arrived at MGM.

It was so much fun. My DD was very scared but very proud. However, she has not made a second trip yet (too scary).

 

[sha_lyn]

DD rode it at 4 1/2 and loved it, but then again she is a thrill seaker and loves drops and heights. See if you can get a copy of the movie or find it on Disney channel before you go. It will help explain the theming. They run it around Halloween every yr, and usually a few more times too.

 

[AmoDolphin]

My little sister, who was 4 at the time, liked the "dropping part." She did not panic, as far as I rember.She didn't like it when she had to wait in the long line and she didn't like both the starting room (where you watch the movie,) and when you saw all the 3-d parts before you dropped.

 

[pjshaff]

I have to say, only you know your own child. We took our dd(5.5 now) and ds(2.5 now) last Dec. I had figured on my daughter loving the characters and not wanting to ride the rides. Suffice it to say, she hated the characters (is "OK" with them now) and LOVED all the rides she went on. That included: Splash, Thunder, Space, TT, and TOT.

All I told her about TOT was that it was a ride that went "up and down" a few times and that she would love it.(this was after she had been on the other rides mentioned first) She did love it, and went on it again this year. Now she keeps talking about how she wants to go on RNR when she gets tall enough!!

I think DS will be just like her bc if you ask him what his favorite ride was this past trip, it was Goofy's Barnstormer, the only one he was tall enough for.

Good luck.


Pam

 

[2dogmom]

I took my 4yo on the ride in October. I told her if she was scared at any part, to either click her shoes together (they were the blinking shoes) or just close her eyes. She LOVED the ride and went on it a few more times. I know she had her eyes closed tightly when we were at the part where the doors open and the light comes it, but she loved it. That is the one ride she still talks about any time we mention WDW.

 

[swilphil]

My son went on the ride 3 weeks after he turned 4 years old and he was just barely 40 inches tall. He didn't get scared at all, but he didn't want to go on it a second time. "Once is enough," he said. My rule of thumb is I don't force him to go on anything. He had been talking about going on the Dino ride at AK, but changed his mind after seeing a clip of it on the hotel tv. It does help to watch the free vacation video. That's why he decided to go on ToT. He also wanted to go on RnR, but isn't tall enough.

I would suggest letting him ride some other less intense thrill rides first--Splash Mtn., Big Thunder Mtn., etc. I don't think anyone will judge you for taking him on it if he's eager to go. I've heard of 3 year olds loving it! Just hold on to him tight!!!

 

[Buttercup26]

If he wants to ride it (and is tall enough) then I would let him!! All kids are different, my niece loved all thrill rides at a very young age, she would go on anything she was tall enough for. However, my dd still doesn't like them at 12!!

 

[penel3]

We allow my son total control of all rides he does or does not want to ride. We will never try to convince him to go on!! NEVER!!! He wanted to ride ToT. We knew you could back out right to getting on the elevator, but he wanted to ride, so we did. He did not like it....but...after we were off, and DH was going on Rockin Roller coaster, my DS kept looking at ToT. Before DH got off the roller coaster, my DS was asking to go back on ToT!!! I kept asking him, are you sure, and why?? He insisted he wanted to try it again. We were skeptical, but were willing to let him go again. We kept asking at every opportunity, if he wanted to stop, get off, etc. We do the whole, "it is ok to not like a ride, be scared, etc." Nope, he wanted to ride it again. And we did, and he ended the ride screaming and crying....and so was I. I felt so bad that he was upset. I don't want him near it this trip, whether he wants to or not!!
I totally feel that it is OK for you to take him on it. My opinion, as long as you are willing to back out at his first request, then it is ok.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

My son was 4 the first time he rode. We got to the bottom, he grabbed my hand, and the two of us ran right back up to the line. He loved it, and loves it still. He keeps a tally of how many times he's ridden now (50-something).

Let your son guide you. We told ours on that first trip that Mickey made everything for him and that nothing would hurt him. He believed us - go figure.

 

[daisylove]

My 5 1/2 year old decided she wanted to ride it this thanksgiving.She is normally a daredevil. There was a 55 minute wait so the whole time in line I continued to ask her if she was sure. I told her about the ride, the darkness, sghe heard the screams of the people on the ride. She continued to insisit on going. As we get finally up to the doors she still wants to go. She did not make one sound in the ride. The lay next to her told her she did so good that she never even screamed. My DD's reply was that she could not scream because she was too scared and was making the scared face the whole time then showed us this horrible grimace. In other words she ws scared to death and hated it even though she convinced herself to go. My lesson: I am the parent and I need to make the decisions. My only excuse wa sthat I had not ridden it since a couple of years after it was built and I did not really remember how scary it was. I will try out whatever ride it is from now on ieven if I think I remember what it does.

 

[Castlebound]

My kids were 6 and 4 when they went on the ride for the first time. They both wanted that to be the first ride they rode at MGM. They both did really good during the preshow, but they both hated the window breaking. Truthfully I didn't like it either because it was just too loud! When we got to the drops my 4 year old DD screamed like an actress in a horror movie. Every drop was a blood chilling scream, and if you looked at her face you could just see terror. Our 6 year old DS didn't make a sound but looked frozen out of fright. I felt like such a bad mom because my kids looked terrified. We got off the ride and I was prepared to hear how bad it was and they both wanted to get in line again! They loved it! They loved being scared to death! Who knew?! Well DH and I were still a little unsure about a second go around so we told them that we would ride it again later.

We walked over to RNR and I waited with the kids while DH rode it first. Neither of the kids were tall enough to ride it and both of them were a little miffed that they had to wait. They started talking to one of the CMs and told her about how they LOVED TOT and that they were mad that they couldn't ride RNR. She thought that was so funny to see two little kids so excited about TOT. She took four tickets out of her pocket and gave them to the kids. They were fastpasses for any of the "E-ticket" rides in MGM. After I read what they were to the kids they were so excited that waiting for DH and I to take turned riding RNR was no big deal any more. We rode TOT again right after RNR and they still looked terrified and my DD still screamed at every drop, but they loved every minute of it!

That night we called my parents and told them about our day and all the kids talked about was the TOT! My dad asked DD if she screamed like a girl and she said, "Yep, I sure did and I loved it!"

 

[disneyfanintn]

My son rode TOT when he was 4 with his Dad and Dad's friend. He was excited when he got off but did not want to ride it agin on that trip. He told everyone that his booty went flying in the air. When we went back on our next trip which was about 6 months later, he still would not ride but last June, he decided at the last minute that he wanted to ride again. Now, he was 6 on this past trip and had a great trip but he still remembers to booty flying time.

 

[littleprincessmom]

A couple of questions that might help you with your decision

1- Does your child like thrill rides (rollercoasters, etc.)
2- Is your child afraid of the dark?
3- Does your child understand the difference between "real" and "pretend"

We just took our DD5 (turned 5 in Nov.) on TOT last week. She was dying to ride it but is NOT usually a brave child. She loves roller coasters but doesn't like things "jumping out" at her and is no daredevil in real life. I wasn't as worried about the falls themselves as the PITCH BLACK darkness and scary theming. We told her repeatedly that it would be very dark, very scary and would feel like she was falling. We asked her every few minutes up until we actually got into the elevator if she wanted to back out (she didn't). People looked at us like we were crazy for taking her on it - she's 5 but looks 3 1/2 or 4 (barely met 40" requirement).

Long story short, she LOVED it. Cried because we did not have time to ride it again. BUT... IMO she would not have liked it at all even 6 months ago. By the time we rode she'd ridden BTMR, SM, etc. at night. She was also old enough to understand that she wasn't in real danger - that it was a ride. Finally, she is not scared at all of the dark. Be warned, it is pitch black - can't see your hand in front of you dark - at times.

Final word of advice, warm up with other rides and save TOT until at least a little later in your trip. Not only will it help your son be more "used" to the rides but it may help him not be so scared on other rides if he doesn't enjoy it. I have a horrible tale about a 2 year old on E.T. ride - she now won't ride anything she was so traumatized!!!!

You know your child best and I'm sure you'll make the right decision. Have fun!!!