9 year old riding "big" rides for the first time

[kim31kim]

When we take our almost 9yo daughter to Universal in February it will be her first time riding "big" rides. She has been on small rides at our local amusement park that are specifically for kids, but never anything like Forbidden Journey or Escape from Gringotts.

I'm probably over thinking this but since she can't see what a dark ride like Forbidden Journey will be like before she gets on it (vs. an outside roller coaster you can kind of get an idea of what is like), do we just get on like it's no big deal and hope she isn't traumatized? Haha joking kind of. . I'll admit that I'm a bit scared of FJ and EFG but I love Harry Potter so much that I ride them anyway. I won't let her know that I'm scared and she will probably be fine, right?
I've seen in other threads that people sometimes watch YouTube videos of the rides before they go to the park but I feel like that is like reading a spoiler on a good book so I'm thinking we won't do that. Plus all the screaming you hear on those videos would probably scare her more.

Any advice from other parents that have been through this already? I really want her to love the rides.

We are going primarily for the Harry Potter stuff... EFG is a little tamer than FJ if I remember correctly so I guess we will ride that first

 

[bumbershoot]

FJ and gringotts aren’t major rides imo.

Mummy would be bad for a first ride lol. (Better ride imo than FJ or G, but scarier)

Start her with Hippogriff, maybe some other stuff around the parks that isn’t HP (even though that’s what you’re going for), then hit the rides in question.

If she’s afraid of things like the acromantula, YOU should watch the YouTube of FJ to see what’s going on just before they show up, to let her know to maybe close her eyes. That’s what I did for my son.

 

[gotomu212]

We throw the kids on the rides and hope for the best (only kinda kidding). I second starting with Flight if the Hippogriff. It’s outdoors and tame. On the others we’ve just talked about how excited we are and kept the excitement up in line. If they seem a little shaken after a ride we take a quick break and grab a snack and then try to push on.

The only true meltdown regret was Poseidon’s Fury which isn’t even a ride and our 3 year old. He made it through but shook like a leaf the whole time and cried “were trapped forever?!”

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

My DD was 8 on her first trip to Universal. We had been to Disney first that trip, so she had been riding a lot of rides. She had a BIG fear of the unknown (and she still does), but she loves almost every ride after trying it once. She loved Harry Potter enough that those rides were exciting for her rather than scary! She ended up trying everything except the outside coasters that trip.

She did have one negative ride experience; she will still tell you about how we tricked her into going on Doctor Doom's Fear Fall. In all fairness, it wasn't an intentional trick - I didn't understand the ride myself and should have watched before we rode.

 

[soniam]

Gringotts is slightly more exciting than Dinosaur. Forbidden Journey isn’t really describable. I would just throw her on. She’ll be fine. I think FJ is the most thrilling ride between Universal and WDW. However, I won’t ride Rip Ride Rocket, Hulk, or Dr Doom’s Fearfall because I don’t like drops.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Echoing others, the rides are not big coasters in the sense that you are not doing large drops or inversions. They are scary from the point of view of the images being shown on the screens. If your DD has seen and is not scared by anything in the HP movies she should be fine. My DD10 is not a fan of big coasters or scary things and this year was the year she has grown into Gringotts and no longer finds it scary. DS6 has never met a big coasters he doesn't love but doesn't like scary rides like HM. He does not like Gringotts. He wasn't traumatized but also won't go on it again for the time being. He doesn't like scary movies either.

Neither of them like FJ. We did warn DS about the spiders but the dementors were also too much for him. Again, not traumatized but doesn't want to go on it again for now. FJ has more motion to it but is still not a coaster coaster. There is a point where you are tipped pretty far onto your back, a virtual drop, and a pretty disorienting transition from practical set to screen which I think is very thrilling.

FWIW, DD8 adores both rides so it is really kid dependant.

 

[Meglen]

Had my son watch ride point of view videos to get him used to the idea. He's 9 as well.

 

[bchbetha]

My ds2 got scared in the line for the Mummy and bailed. Good choice as the ride would have been too scary. Fantastic ride though!!
He rode everything else and we pretty much just blindly walked on. It was fine.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

DD was 9 when we went last February. She did everything! Went to SeaWorld and did all of those too! She really surprised me with her bravery.

I think as long as you don't make it dramatic while in the line, they should be fine.

 

[kim31kim]

Thanks everybody!! I think she is going to be fine. I just have to remember to not look scared myself. haha