4 year old on these crazy rides!!!!!

[beebles]

Is it me or what? How do you feel safe putting 3-5 year olds on space mountain, roller coaster in mgm, tower of terror, etc? My girlfriend put her 4 year old on Tof T (because he fit the height requirement) and he was scared afterwards! And he is a little daredevil! ARen't you afraid something will happen in that little body?

 

[lassiem1127]

We went in June and my four year did not ride any of those rides. We did let him ride test track and dinosaur and he loved both of them, but we didn't want him riding the other thrill rides.

 

[Savin4Disney]

Heck I won't get on those and I am 38 years old! I was amazed about how many people let there little ones on some of those rides.

 

[FlowersChild]

When I was 4 years old I was taken on Space Mountain and I was so scared. The only reason I was able to get on is because I have always been tall for my age. But I was safe I mean I could not fall out. I guess they have the height thing because if you are really short you could fall out.

 

[GEM]

If my 4 year old met the height requirement and wanted to ride, I would definately let him. I wouldn't force him to ride anything he didn't want to, and if he hated something I wouldn't make him do it again or anything.

I love all those rides and can't wait until Paul is big enough to enjoy them with me. Of course, at the rate he's going, he'll be married before he meets any of the height requirements!

 

[KeepSwimming]

I'm sticking with my blanket answer for all these "How do you......with your kids?"

EVERY child is different. Some kids (luckily, all of mine) enjoy these thrill rides. However if they ever showed any anxiety we always followed their lead and never made them feel uncomfortable (I can not believe how many parents I hear telling their kids they are acting like babies because they don't want to go on a ride called Tower of TERROR) if they chose not to do it.

To each their own....

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

With my 7 year old DS it was never an issue. He was always taller than his braveness. This past trip, he went on Space Mountain and Rock N Roll. He still won't go on Tower of Terror.

Now DD is whole different issue,. She is little for her age. She pitched a holy fit when she couldn't do Goofys Barnstormer, she's 2 and well under 35 inches. And wasn't real happy she couldn't do the "big" slides at BB either.

If she wants to go though and she's tall enough, that will be fine with me.

 

[Sandcass]

Ummmmm.....

We kinda, sorta, I guess you could say, ummmm, FORCED our DS7 on Tower of Terror and the Rock'n Roller coaster.

(yes, I did join the bad parents group, I promise)

We know our son, he doesn't like the unknown, so we did MAKE him ride those rides so that he could see if he liked them. He kinda liked Tower of Terror and *H A T E D* Rock'n Roller Coaster.

But we were glad he tried. We just don't want him going thru life afraid to try things.

(BTW, you should have seen the look of relief on his face when he saw he was too short for Kraken at SeaWorld!!!)

 

[lassiem1127]

My 8 yo son hated tower of terror but he loved all the coasters he could ride. He told me he thought space mountain was lame...he's too young to understand the nostalgia of it. He was too short however to ride DD and The Hulk at Islands of Adventure and he was SOOOOO upset.

 

[FlowersChild]

I think it's wrong for parents to get mad and their children and say they are acting like babies if they are scared to go on some of those rides. I am 28 years old and I am scared to go on some of those rides * Blushes * So I guess that means I am a baby he he But hey I like being a little baby I call myself Suzy and Perla's little baby ( Suzy and Perla are the 2 female mice from Cinderella ) Anyways if the child is very scared and does not want to go the parent's should not force him/her to go on one of those rides it's just that simple !!!

 

[GammaPro]

My 8 yo son hated tower of terror but he loved all the coasters he could ride. He told me he thought space mountain was lame...he's too young to understand the nostalgia of it. He was too short however to ride DD and The Hulk at Islands of Adventure and he was SOOOOO upset.

I think when it was over, my son WISHED he had been too small or young to ride the Hulk roller coaster!

 

[GammaPro]

I think it's wrong for parents to get mad and their children and say they are acting like babies if they are scared to go on some of those rides. I am 28 years old and I am scared to go on some of those rides * Blushes * So I guess that means I am a baby he he But hey I like being a little baby I call myself Suzy and Perla's little baby ( Suzy and Perla are the 2 female mice from Cinderella ) Anyways if the child is very scared and does not want to go the parent's should not force him/her to go on one of those rides it's just that simple !!!

Nothing about being a parent is that simple. Parents are human, and until such time as we're not, we'll always make mistakes.

The things is, these are the kinds of mistakes we can giggle at and feel bad about all at the same time.

 

[Camping Griswalds]

We let our 4 yo son ride anything he wanted! He is our second child and absolutely fearless!! ( he's now 9) He rode TOT and hated the pre-show and riding through the dark , but the drops were a blast!! Don't know what people thought of us when we kept going on and hiding his face for the tv bit again and again. He went on BIG Bad Wolf in VIrginia at 4 for very first time, and the littlt @$#% actually put his hands up. At the time it was on the top ten list in the US, and when we pulled into the station after the ride, people clapped for him. Our theory is if you are tall enough you can ride!

 

[cleo]

Each child is different. I wouldn't let my 4 year old decide where we'll vacation, but he did get to decide what rides he would do while on vacation. Some he liked, some he loved, some he didn't try, and some he hated. Then, he got to decide all over again the next year.

Isn't it a great country when we all get to decide what's right for our own children without someone else telling us what we should and shouldn't do?

 

[EthansMom]

My DS4 is a speed demon. He WANTED to ride Splash Mountain and BTMRR and ended up riding them each 4 times on our last trip! DS did not, however, want to ride ToT or Dinosaur due to "scary" factor and we didn't force him to ride those rides. On our trip next week, DS wants to be measured to see if he can go on Space Mountain (he may be slightly too small).

I figure that if the child really wants to go on the ride, meets the height requirements, and is appropriately escorted by a parent or guardian, why not? I've never yet heard of a child who was sitting properly in one of these rides and fell out.

 

[VSL]

I figure that if the child really wants to go on the ride, meets the height requirements, and is appropriately escorted by a parent or guardian, why not? I've never yet heard of a child who was sitting properly in one of these rides and fell out.

I agree entirely with this sentiment.

 

[FlowersChild]

My DS4 is a speed demon. He WANTED to ride Splash Mountain and BTMRR and ended up riding them each 4 times on our last trip! DS did not, however, want to ride ToT or Dinosaur due to "scary" factor and we didn't force him to ride those rides. On our trip next week, DS wants to be measured to see if he can go on Space Mountain (he may be slightly too small).

I figure that if the child really wants to go on the ride, meets the height requirements, and is appropriately escorted by a parent or guardian, why not? I've never yet heard of a child who was sitting properly in one of these rides and fell out.

I never said a child has ever fell out of one of those rides. All I said was this must be why they see if you are tall enough to ride some of these rides. If you are so short that you are not tall enough I said maybe you could fall out. But since Disney would never let someone that short on one of those rides it's not going to happen. When I was 4 years old I went on Space Mountain I was tall enough to get on that ride so that means since I was that tall there was no way I could fall out.

 

[FlowersChild]

Nothing about being a parent is that simple. Parents are human, and until such time as we're not, we'll always make mistakes.

The things is, these are the kinds of mistakes we can giggle at and feel bad about all at the same time.

I never said being a parent is simple. I know parents can make mistakes. My dad made the big mistake of taking me on Space Mountain when I was 4. My mom tried to tell him it was not a good idea but he would not listen. After my dad saw how scared I was he was sorry he did that. ( I think my mom was kinda mad at Dad lol )

But we don't think he was an awful parent or anything. We understand that he is human like all of us. So I understand that some parents will make their children go on some of these rides. I don't think they are bad parents I just wanted to say I don't think parents should make their children go on these rides if the children do not want to go. I was just giving my opinion

 

[CinRell]

I rode space mountain when I was VERY young and always loved it... I dont' remember how old but i"m guessing I was 4 or 5... HOWEVER

Parents that force children onto any ride really upset me... not only for the child's sake but darnit for MINE! (and other guests)

While in MK in Mickey's Philharmonic this Sept. parents had an older child and a 3 or so year old with them. The 3 year old was TERRIFIED> apparently from seeing these 3d movies knowing things jump at you, get you wet, buzz you, she didn't want to see it. She screamed. The entire time. Luckily, ex bf and I saw it already we just wanted to see it again or it woudl've ruined the entire experience (and this is one of my FAVORITES)... they kept putting the glasses on her face and she'd scream LOUDER trying to hide her face. They kept telling her she was silly, to watch it, jam glasses on face, SCREAM SCREAM NO NO NO GET ME OUT OF HERE.

#1 poor kid.
#2 poor EVERYONE ELSE IN THE SURROUNDING 4 ROWS

 

[rt2dz]

I have not read the posts so I am not flaming or debating.

I personally think age is not important. Some children are very ready for these types of rides at an early age and some people are full grown adults and not ready for these rides.

Safety is based on height, otherwise the restrictions would have other requirements to meet (age or weight).

My child has gone on rides like ToT at 3 years old (and loved it, especially the standing ovation he received at the end). I have never forced any of my children on anything; same child won't ride Haunted Mansion at 5--go figure. If any of my children want to try a ride and meet the safety requirements, I certainly let them. And they can back out at any time they like.

Also, as a side note, be careful when you evaluate a stranger's child's age. As children, one of my sisters was always estimated to be about 5-7 years younger (depending on her age) than she actually was and people thought I was older than her true age (she was 4 years older than me). I was taller than her. Funny thing is, as adults, people always think she is about 5-10 years older than she is and that I'm 10-15 years younger than I am. I've been 21 for so long it's not even funny.