40" preschoolers

[smartlabelprint]

hi everyone. Our 3.5 yo will be able to go on most rides next spring. What criteria do you look at for your kids that were talk for their age? I know each kid is different.

What about jerking their neck around? It's know that until at least 4 the bones in the neck aren't fully formed. That's why we are still rear facing in the car seat. So I'm a little concerned about Star Tours although LO would probably like this ride.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

hi everyone. Our 3.5 yo will be able to go on most rides next spring. What criteria do you look at for your kids that were talk for their age? I know each kid is different.

What about jerking their neck around? It's know that until at least 4 the bones in the neck aren't fully formed. That's why we are still rear facing in the car seat. So I'm a little concerned about Star Tours although LO would probably like this ride.

If my child was still in a rear-facing car seat (due to developmental age, not chronological) , I'd skip any rides that could jerk heads/necks around.

 

[bumbershoot]

Only thing I avoided was teacups when ds was little. But I think that even that was fine by the time he was 4.

Star tours was fine. It's not a car and we aren't going to get into a collision. Rear facing car seats aren't for general driving issues or even putting on the brakes; it's about actual collisions.

This isn't something I would worry about. (Sidenote, I'm a former chiropractor as well)

 

[beachdreamr1229]

My little ones are 3.5 and my boy is over 40". So far, we still haven't let him do any of the rides with height requirements of 40 and above. But, I think most of them would be okay. We took my oldest on BTMRR at that age. He was terrified. At 7, he still won't ride it even though he does Star Tours and Indy without a problem. But yeah, every kid is different.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Only thing I avoided was teacups when ds was little. But I think that even that was fine by the time he was 4.

Star tours was fine. It's not a car and we aren't going to get into a collision. Rear facing car seats aren't for general driving issues or even putting on the brakes; it's about actual collisions.

This isn't something I would worry about. (Sidenote, I'm a former chiropractor as well)

Haha! We've been taking our babies on teacups since they were tiny. But we didn't do extra spins.

 

[smartlabelprint]

My little ones are 3.5 and my boy is over 40". So far, we still haven't let him do any of the rides with height requirements of 40 and above. But, I think most of them would be okay. We took my oldest on BTMRR at that age. He was terrified. At 7, he still won't ride it even though he does Star Tours and Indy without a problem. But yeah, every kid is different.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[3monkeys4me]

Only thing I avoided was teacups when ds was little. But I think that even that was fine by the time he was 4.

Star tours was fine. It's not a car and we aren't going to get into a collision. Rear facing car seats aren't for general driving issues or even putting on the brakes; it's about actual collisions.

This isn't something I would worry about. (Sidenote, I'm a former chiropractor as well)

I agree with this 100%. All of my kids were rear facing in carseats until at least 2 (my youngest was until 4) and that was long before it was commonplace and I don't worry at all about rides for a NT kid. The jerky motion on rides is not the same as the forces in a collision.

As far as rides go, we just started slowly and followed the cues our child gave us. I have 3 kids and they all had different tolerance levels. My middle child is my daredevil and was always begging for rides he wasn't quite tall enough. My oldest was very cautious and just started liking coasters once she was 12+. The youngest fell somewhere in the middle.

 

[agamble]

Of all the height requirement rides of 40"+, I think Star Tours is the least physical. It's not really fast. There are a few moments of jerking around, but nothing major like on a coaster. We took our oldest daughter at three on all the 40" rides, even the TOT. She was fine. I would only be concerned if there was a medical problem. However, I didn't keep my kids rear facing at three, so I may not be a fair judge. Our 4-y/o son is still in his 5-point harness and we let him ride whichever 40" and 42" rides he feels comfortable with. He LOVES Star Tours, but won't try Splash Mountain.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I agree with this 100%. All of my kids were rear facing in carseats until at least 2 (my youngest was until 4) and that was long before it was commonplace and I don't worry at all about rides for a NT kid. The jerky motion on rides is not the same as the forces in a collision.

As far as rides go, we just started slowly and followed the cues our child gave us. I have 3 kids and they all had different tolerance levels. My middle child is my daredevil and was always begging for rides he wasn't quite tall enough. My oldest was very cautious and just started liking coasters once she was 12+. The youngest fell somewhere in the middle.

Mine aren't NT. Good info. Thanks.

 

[smartlabelprint]

Of all the height requirement rides of 40"+, I think Star Tours is the least physical. It's not really fast. There are a few moments of jerking around, but nothing major like on a coaster. We took our oldest daughter at three on all the 40" rides, even the TOT. She was fine. I would only be concerned if there was a medical problem. However, I didn't keep my kids rear facing at three, so I may not be a fair judge. Our 4-y/o son is still in his 5-point harness and we let him ride whichever 40" and 42" rides he feels comfortable with. He LOVES Star Tours, but won't try Splash Mountain.

I think the baby will like TOT @ 40" but not so sure about oldest. If it still gets dark I think that would be the problem. Haven't been on the updated ride. They don't have medical problems thankfully. Just sensory, brain based stuff going on.

 

[Malcon10t]

My granddaughter hit 40" at 2.5yo. I was nervous and only took her on Radiator Springs and Soarin'. The next morning her dad went "Great" and too her on Space, followed by Star Tours. and she never looked back. At 3, she was on Matterhorn and Grizzly. Every new ride is "The best ride ever!" She made Screamin' at 5, and while she made riding the swings non-tandem at 5, we still have her riding tandem at 6. I would go with what your child feels comfortable with.

 

[jina]

My daughter was 40" when went to DL/DCA at 3 yrs old. She went on every ride she could do at 40". With exception of Space Mountain and TOT, after every single ride she said "again, again, let's go again!". After Space Mountain she said "all done" and she was just OK after Tower of Terror - neither loved nor hated. When she was 4 we went to WDW and she went on all the rides she could for 40" - I don't think she was tall enough for Space Mountain (it's 42" there). When she was 5 we went back to DL and she was very hesitant to go on RSR and BTMR even though those were her favorites when she was 3. But we told her she only had to go once and after each ride, "let's do that again!".

But seriously, I'd leave it to your child. If they are tall enough and up for trying it, let them try. If they're not ready yet, do child swap so they can see the queue which may change their mind. The only reason we urged DD to go on BTMR and RSR at 5 was because we knew how much she loved it when she was 3 so we wanted her to try them one more time. These rides are so chill compared to Universal. We went to Universal Hollywood earlier this year and DD (now 7) loved every ride whereas 1/2 of them made me sick. So sad to be getting old...

 

[smartlabelprint]

My daughter was 40" when went to DL/DCA at 3 yrs old. She went on every ride she could do at 40". With exception of Space Mountain and TOT, after every single ride she said "again, again, let's go again!". After Space Mountain she said "all done" and she was just OK after Tower of Terror - neither loved nor hated. When she was 4 we went to WDW and she went on all the rides she could for 40" - I don't think she was tall enough for Space Mountain (it's 42" there). When she was 5 we went back to DL and she was very hesitant to go on RSR and BTMR even though those were her favorites when she was 3. But we told her she only had to go once and after each ride, "let's do that again!".

But seriously, I'd leave it to your child. If they are tall enough and up for trying it, let them try. If they're not ready yet, do child swap so they can see the queue which may change their mind. The only reason we urged DD to go on BTMR and RSR at 5 was because we knew how much she loved it when she was 3 so we wanted her to try them one more time. These rides are so chill compared to Universal. We went to Universal Hollywood earlier this year and DD (now 7) loved every ride whereas 1/2 of them made me sick. So sad to be getting old...

I know! My fave was Ca screaming. Now it's so jerky I don't enjoy it. Or I'm old. Not sure which. I can understand liking at the younger age. It's crazy how experience teaches us fear. I think we'll watch lots of you tube ride videos and let kiddo decide when we're there. Happy to watch the videos. I can't wait for the trip. More than the kids probably. I hope LO remembers the trip this time.