4 year old on RnR

[mamaofsix]

Nope. Way too intense for a 4 year old. Age 6 would be the very youngest I'd try it with my kids - who love thrill rides and rode other coasters like Space Mountain at age 4.

 

[MMR76]

My daughter did it when she was 5 and she liked it.

 

[Fldisneyfamily4321]

My daughter started when she was 4 almost 5 , she is super tall ( she is 12 now and 5’7 ) for her age ... to this day it is her favorite ride and we ride it multiple times each trip she was a coaster junkie ever since lol I think it’s a pretty smooth ride and while dark not scary at all .

 

[Tksolomom]

My daughter did it at 5 and loved it, but she also loved TOT and the other coasters. I wouldn’t push her, but I also wouldn’t forbid it. I agree with another poster and let her see if she likes the other coasters like SP, EE, etc

 

[Davey Jones II]

Has your daughter ridden coasters before? If not, RNR is probably not a good one to start with. Maybe try her on 7DMT and Barnstormer first.

 

[ELLH]

Look, you're really the only person who will know the answer to this question. What works for you kid may not for another so asking an answer like this, as you can see, is bound to give you many different opinions.

On 'technical' merits alone, if your child is only 48" with some big shoes on then I'd be more apprehensive. My daughter - a skinny little thing - was a smidge below 48" when she first rode RnRC but they let her on anyway and she loved it. I hadn't ridden it in a long time and forgot just how much the ride can jostle you around (I'm not saying it's terrible) and with her build, I'm not sure if I'd have let her ride it again back to back. Luckily I didn't have to tell her no; a new CM was manning the line when we came back through and he wouldn't let her through, due to height restrictions, the second time and that was that.

The thing about rides when there's a question of "should I" is this: you can't un-do it. Say your child rides the ride and loves it. Cool! But if he/she doesn't, it may sour them on that ride... and possibly others ... for some time. For example, my DW and I coerced our DD to ride ToT when she was 4 and it took nearly 2 years for her to ride it again thanks to the literal terror she felt from that first ride (though she still loved riding BTMRR and other rides during that 2 year stretch). That was my fault. She wasn't ready for ToT and I shouldn't have convinced her otherwise. Not a proud Dad moment for myself. Had we waited maybe another 6 months or a year then I'm sure it would've been fine. Now, she's totally over it and loves to ride ToT but she absolutely wasn't ready for it on that trip.

So, again, it's really your call. I don't know how your kid would react based on the ride itself but based on the height concern I'd wait. But it's your call.

As an aside, YouTube is a great resource and can give the kid an idea of what to expect which will help lessen their anxiety (if there is any) and should make the experience more enjoyable.

 

[Idoc]

My 4 year old enjoyed it.

 

[MischaOz]

My daughter also went on at 5. I just reminded her to keep her head back at the start since it takes off so fast.

 

[ktmo]

Our first trip was when my DD#1 was 4, almost 5. She loved it. It is still one of her favorite rides.

 

[North of Mouse]

Yes, my kids are giants. DS13 is 5'11" and DD4 is 48" with shoes. Would you take a 4 year old on RnR?

No!

 

[WantToGoNow]

My youngest daughter has been riding it since she was 5 and loves it.

 

[tinkerjo]

Even though my DS loves coasters and has been riding barnstormer from age 2( and was barely 2) I wouldn’t let him go until he was 8 and it still isn’t his favorite. He hates the super fast takeoff. I would be a little hesitant to let a 4yo. Space mountain also always made me nervous with him ( I was dcard the ride would jerk him out) I would hold on to the back of his shirt lol but RnRc is really fast. I wouldn’t take the chance personally

 

[Bork]

Space mountain also always made me nervous with him ( I was dcard the ride would jerk him out) I would hold on to the back of his shirt lol but RnRc is really fast. I wouldn’t take the chance personally

I remember riding Space Mountain when I was 9. I road in front of my mom (2 person seats), when there were no lap bars or seat belts. I had a blast, but my mom was terrified that I was going to fly out.

 

[mimomlile]

Depends on the kid. Our son was 2 (almost 3) when he first rode TOT. He was scared of the pre-show movie each time, but loved the ride-rode it 5X in a row. We got a lot of sideways looks as he was hiding his face in dad's shoulder during the movie, but it was both arms up with a huge grin on his face during the action. You know your kid better than anyone else.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

4 year old's head is typically too large for their c-spine to endure that sort of jostling easily. I'd worry about c-spine injuries since they are still bobbleheads at that age, regardless of height. I wouldn't do it.

 

[Roy Disney]

4 year old's head is typically too large for their c-spine to endure that sort of jostling easiltly. I'd worry about c-spine injuries since they are still bobbleheads at that age, regardless of height. I wouldn't do it.

This is what I would be concerned about more than nightmares or anything else.
I didn’t feel right for about an hour after I got off the ride.

 

[Colleen27]

My son has been doing "real" roller coasters (@ Cedar Point & Michigan's Adventure, not WDW) since the summer he was 4.5, so yes, I would.

The only ride I've ever hesitated on because of age was Tower of Terror, not because of the ride itself (he'd already ridden the Demon Drop, which is an open-air version of the same basic ride mechanism) but because the thematic elements make that one scary in a different sense.

 

[lauraleh]

I would for sure build up to it and not start with that. My daughter loved it but was 6 when we finally did that one. She had rode 7DMT and Space and Everest for several trips before and we had established that she enjoyed roller coasters. RnRC is intense.

I can't speak to the spinal cord issue because i'm not a doctor but it's an interesting point.

 

[DavidNYC]

Depends what else he's been on and how he's reacted. If he hasn't been on anything like that before I'd start with Barnstormer or 7DMT. Then move up to Big Thunder. If he likes that and wants to go on RnR, sure. But if there's any hesitation on the others, I wouldn't.

 

[MSPeeler]

If she didn’t like the dark, I wouldn’t takes her on RnR just yet...

Plus her little body/head probably doesn’t need to be jerked around like that at her age IMO.

My 11yr DD hasn’t even ridden it yet LOL and my 9yr DS won’t even step in the que. I imagine my 3yr DS will be a coaster lover from his actions so far, but I won’t be putting him on anything like that for a number of years.