4 yr old on Tower of Terror?

[AnneUCSB]

So my youngest DS is 4 and definitely the "dare devil" of the group (more so than his two older brothers!). He recently rode BTMRR and loved it and also rides Star Tours any chance he gets. We are headed back to DLR in November and he's convinced he wants to ride TOT. He talks about it ALL the time.

Has anyone else taken their 4 yr old (or younger) on TOT? It's a pretty intense ride! I guess I'm nervous that if he doesn't like it it'll scare him from trying other big rides. I love that he's a daredevil and I don't want to do anything ruin his enthusiasm Thoughts?

 

[zipadeedoodamom]

Our DS first rode Tower of Terror when he was three and it was his favorite ride. He was also a dare devil. He would ride it multiple times in a row with his hands in the air and yell "Again, again!" as soon as the ride came to a stop.

Let him ride

 

[crystal1313]

My DS6 is also a dare devil. He convinced us at 3 year old he wanted to ride TOT. He loved the ride part, it was the pre-show that freaked him out. (and we asked and they said we couldn't skip that part). He rode it a couple times and really like the ride. DH would just cover his eyes and he would cover his ears in the pre-show. Now though, he won't ride it. He rides every other ride in the parks including Indy and Screamin', but won't go on TOT anymore. He remembers the pre-show and doesn't want to go.

 

[ricardol]

My DD did it when she was 5. Agreed that the pre-show can be spooky so just talk to you son about it and have him decide.....


My DD had no issues at all, she enjoyed it.

 

[NewbieMouse]

We have one daughter (10) who will ride and wanted to go as soon as she was tall enough. Her twin was "coerced" into going on at 6 and has never forgiven us. My 42 year old DH wont go near it . I love it! I say if he's up for it, let him go!

But even my daughter that loves it also says that the pre-show is the scariest part for her, and has be known to plug her ears during that part.

 

[AndreAggie]

You know your child best. My son is 4 and we're taking him in January. No way, no how, over my dead body is he going on TOT. He scares easily. This kid cried when Lightning rolled off of Mack during the night and got lost Mack Bless his heart, I couldn't imagine what he would do if he had to go through the intro of TOT. It's ok...I won't ride it either, so he and I will do something else while Daddy rides.

 

[bumbershoot]

I guess I'm nervous that if he doesn't like it it'll scare him from trying other big rides.

Don't take him on TOT *first*. Work up to it.

My DS6 is also a dare devil. He convinced us at 3 year old he wanted to ride TOT. He loved the ride part, it was the pre-show that freaked him out. (and we asked and they said we couldn't skip that part). He rode it a couple times and really like the ride. DH would just cover his eyes and he would cover his ears in the pre-show. Now though, he won't ride it. He rides every other ride in the parks including Indy and Screamin', but won't go on TOT anymore. He remembers the pre-show and doesn't want to go.

Same! Though my son was 4.

He actually LOVED the up and down part, but the show freaked him out.

It's only been in the last year that he doesn't refer to us "turning into blue skeletons and disappearing". Some part of his mind really felt that that part was happening in some version of reality, even though he also agreed that we weren't blue, weren't skeletons, and were still right here.

The TV part of the preshow is dark and loud and some people like to pretend to be scared like in Haunted Mansion's stretching room. Earplugs help, as does holding the child. Earplugs in while in line, by the way, don't try to get them in once you're in that room.

But the story while you're in the elevator is hard for littles who are sensitive to things like death etc.


Now, at TEN, DS loves TOT in its entirety! This *just* happened on our recent Anaheim trip. YAY YAY YAY! The ride part is so fun, so I'm glad to have him back with us.

 

[GatorChris]

My oldest two both rode it at the age of 3. They were both rollercoaster junkies and still are. They begged us to ride it, so we let them try it. I definitely wouldn't force it on anyone. My youngest is 3 and after watching home videos of the dark (which she doesn't like) and the screams, she doesn't seem too interested in it. It's all according what the kids wants. If he wants to ride. let him ride!

 

[disney world dreamer]

the intense part is dropping.
i don't think that BTMRR gives nearly enough of that sensation to jump right to TOT.
i'd suggest splash mountain to test out whether he enjoys drops.

that being said i don't think age has anything to do with when a child should go on a thrill ride.
my niece was 3yrs4mos when she went on tower of terror at WDW for the first time.
she had already been on soarin, test track, and splash mountain.
we had no intention of taking her on TOT to be honest but she saw the rest of us going and wanted to go on.
we let her know what happens on the ride and she still wanted to go on.
she did not freak out or cry but on the pic she did have a look of concern like "is this what everyone else is experiencing".
she did say she liked it and wanted to go on again although once in line she decided she didn't really want to go on again so we did not force her.
she did not go on it again until last year when she was 5yrs8mos and apparently the only reason she went on it was cuz "it will make aunt Dee proud of me" (i wasn't even there so its not like i forced it upon her but she does know how much i love that ride lol).
so clearly going when she was 3 did not "scar her for life".

 

[adventuregirl]

I agree it depends on the child and a "daredevil" that loves star tours and BTMRR sounds like he may like it. My kids went on it for the first time at DD8 and DS4 and both LOVED it. They wanted to go again and again, but my knees were knocking! I go on it only once per trip

 

[jetskigrl]

Both DS and DD have loved the ride part since they first went on it, but both had issues getting past the pre-show. It never stopped DD from riding but she still hated the pre-show for a while and would cover her ears. DS refused to ride it for a couple of years after the first time and then eventually was ready to try it again.

If the child is tall enough and really wants to try it, go for it. Just let him know what to expect so it isn't a total shock the first time (maybe let him see youtube videos of the pre-show, etc).

 

[Mysteryincorp]

My daughter has done all the big kid rides since age 3. Even space mountain ghost galaxy. I think the biggest help as been explaining to her, in great detail, what to expect. With ghost galaxy I explained the music and how it would reach for you but not touch you and it was all pretend and actually very funny. She was cool with that. With tower of terror the preshow didn't phase her at all but I explained in Great detail what the ride was going to do and how it would make her stomach feel funny. She loved it and wants to go over and over and over again. Last time we went so many times I got sick and had to ."rest"

 

[huskerchica]

I'm 35 and was scared out of my mind! Will never ever ride it again!

I took my 5 year old twins. My daughter, who's also a daredevil, was a little scared. Still said she liked it but didn't not want to go again. My son was really scared and still talks about how he didn't like it.

Each kid is different!

 

[disneydadazut2]

I have a four-yr old DD that is tougher than her older brothers, but I'm not going to make her ride it next month. I'm sure she will be fine with the ride itself, but the movie beforehand will spoil everything else, and we are there to have fun.

However, my two boys (ages 9 and 10 at the time) I had to force on it a few years ago. I told them if they wouldn't ride it, we were going home. They finally agreed and were scared out of their minds... so was their dad, but we don't need to let them know that...

Seriously, I love and hate that ride. I hate the anticipation of the heights and the drops, but I absolutely love how I feel during/after the ride. Only my wife knows how truly chicken I am about it - but I try and show the boys how 'tough' their Dad is before and during.

 

[ClosetDisneyJunkie]

my niece who is nearly 8 wont go within a city block of that place. Even the building freaks her out. My best friend's girl who is 4 has ridden it a number of times and wants to ride it with the seatbelt off so she flies around (he doesn't let her, just for the record, haha).

All kids are different. If you're worried about the pre-show you could try showing your son a youtube of it. Sometimes that can help.

 

[Rubygoose]

My kids are 4 (almost 5) and 7 and they love all of the big rides except TOT - when we got off and started walking out, we stopped to sit on a little bench near the exit and both kids just about threw up. DD said that she liked the ride, but she just didn't like that it made her sick. She gets car sick, but is fine on every other ride. Both of them love Splash mountain, and I wouldn't say that the drops are comparable because Splash doesn't give you that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach like TOT does.

 

[LisaT91403]

DS(6) isn't tall enough for Indy or Screamin yet, but otherwise he rides everything in the parks. When he was 5 1/2, he went on ToT with his older cousins, loved it, and then went back on it again later that night.

The next day, he told me that he had terrible nightmares about the pre-show part. He said that he loved the ride and the drops, but NEVER wants to go on that ride EVER again because of the horrible nightmares. He doesn't even like me to mention the name of the ride anymore.

We did watch You Tube before riding, but in this case, it didn't make a difference.

 

[NiceOneSimba]

My DD is 5 1/2, and will ride everything she is tall enough for except ToT. She rode it once when she was 3.5. She still talks about the "lightening and storm people" from the first part of the ride in the elevator.

On her birthday trip in January, we asked if she wanted to ride it. Her response was an emphatic "No."

Nothing to do with the ride motion AT ALL. She loved the drops. But the pre-show and first part of the ride before the up-and-down just freaked her out.

 

[MontanaMickey]

I took my DS14 on TOT the first year it opened when he was about 5 years old. We had not been on the ride yet, and I figured since he was a couple inches taller than the height restriction he would be fine. Walking off the ride I said "I am so proud of you! You didn't scream at all." He replied "I was screaming in my brain--how could you?!". We could not even get him back on Peter Pan after that! I found out later that during the pre-ride show when you wave "goodbye" to yourself he really thought that was the end. I still have not lived it down as the worst Mom moment ever...

 

[corinne76]

DD did it, and loved it, at 5. My bff son's was 3 and also liked it, tho he was a bit scared. Truthfully, DD was more afraid of dark rides like HM and POTC than she was of the thrill rides like Star Tours and Splash Mountain. She's a weird kid