A 2 year old and the Mountain Rides

[skbasnett]

I was wondering what people would do. My son is 2 but he is 40 inches tall. Would you take your child (ren) on the Splash and Big Thunder? I am really torn. If it will hurt him or really scare him then obvisouly I wont.

 

[Zoesmama03]

I voted no.

I see he is closer to 3 which might make a difference. But I still don't know if I would but I do plan to take dd 2 on Barnstormer if she wants to go since she is 36 inches.

I dunno my step brother went on BTM for first time at 12 and was scared to death he was white as a ghost on it. He does fine on Splash and Space Mt. though. Then again I was 10 for my first time and loved it and always have. It really is different for all children. Though I think there are people that will say its just too much for a 2 or 3 year old.

 

[skbasnett]

I voted no.

I see he is closer to 3 which might make a difference. But I still don't know if I would but I do plan to take dd 2 on Barnstormer if she wants to go since she is 36 inches.

I dunno my step brother went on BTM for first time at 12 and was scared to death he was white as a ghost on it. He does fine on Splash and Space Mt. though. Then again I was 10 for my first time and loved it and always have. It really is different for all children. Though I think there are people that will say its just too much for a 2 or 3 year old.

I completely agree with you that it might be too much. I saw another person post that they took their 3 yo on, so I wanted thoughts on taking a 2.5 yo.

 

[Snoopymom]

Not sure, my fearless ds was just tall enough at 3 yrs 4 months when he rode SM and TM for the first time. When he wasn't tall enough, we had to avoid that part of the park, because he would have cried to go on them, LOL He loved TM the most, so I'd maybe try that one first. We rode both several times with him sitting between me and dh, so that he wouldn't hit the sides or fly up if he happened to let go. Before getting in line, I'd probably walk past where SM splashes down and walk up close to TM and let him look and decide without any pressure....you know how they act all grown up and brave when they're allowed to make the decision themselves, LOL. Also, TM is very loud, so that may bother him more than the hills. I agree Barn Stormer is a good start. Have fun!

 

[blessdmommy]

I have a 2 11/12 year old going to WDW in a few weeks and have been thinking about these very same things. He is a daredevil at home so I wonder if maybe he could handle some of these more "wild" rides. I know we plan on doing Goofy Barnstormer as one of the first "test" rides for our youngest. If he passes that then we might give the others a try. I know he will want to go on everything his big brother does.
Hope we get some good advice here.

 

[Tricialiv]

My DD was just under 3 on our last trip and was to short. (barely) She cried and cried. I would have taken her on Splash Mountain for sure. I love all the animals. This Dec she will be tall enough. yeh! She likes the "thrill" rides. She always wants to go on the highest ride she sees. DS wasn't like that at all. He went on some rides for the first time at age 6 that she went on at just 3 last year at Cedar Point. I think you need to look at each child individually.

 

[tracilicious]

For my 2.5 year old, no. He is a daredevil, but also gets scared of some things easily. when he is 35 mos, we'll be at WDW and he can ride barnstormer. When he is 3 I'll let him ride matterhorn because me or dh could wrap our arms around him. We'll see from there. We take too many disney trips to risk scaring him from a certain ride. He's 38" now.

 

[Desnik]

How about trying Goofy's Barnstormer first? It is a kiddie coaster, but it isn't lame. It has a nice drop. My DD loved it at 2yrs 11months old. I was nervous about taking her on but she wanted to and DH took her and she made him take her over and over again. She loved it!!! I think if he can handle that then BTMRR should also be fine. Although DD just road this for the first time last year(she was 6yo)and she hated it! She was scared. I haven't tried the other Mt.'s. DS will be 2yrs 8mo old on our trip in Nov. and I have no intentions on taking him on any of those rides. He was a preemie and is really small for his age so I don't think he's ready. Even if he is tall enough then. I know DH is going to fight with me to let him try Goofy's coaster, we'll see....

 

[JustineMarie]

We took my 2 year old daughter in Splash mt and BTM and she loved both of them - althought the big drop on Splash did scare her, she still wanted to ride it again. BTM was and is her favorite. Now she is 7 and loves Space Mountain, too. I think you know your child best and if you think that he will be ok than I say go for it. If he hates it, you don't have to do it again.

 

[Nicolepa]

I would definitly do Barnstormer first and see how he does. I think I would do Splash next, since most of it is just a water ride. DD rode it at 3 and dh just put his arms around her for the fall. I don't know if I'd do BTMRR. It's pretty bumpy (but my daughter loves it). Test track I think would be fine, Star tours too. I think TOT would be too frightening.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

If my daughter was tall enough, I would.

She loves barnstormer which she finally got to ride recently.

 

[Catie'sMama]

If my daughter were tall enough for Splash Mountain, I would not hesitate to take her. (She's only 36 inches...how close do you have to be?) I remember SM being more cool and interesting that scary or fast paced (except for that incredible drop right after you see the amazing castle! I would, personally, be very hesitant of TM as it has a ton of sharp turns and seems much more intense.

 

[poohguys]

My DS was two weeks shy of his 3rd birthday when we last went. He went on Goofy's Barnstormer, Tower of Terror (he was not impressed) and Splash Mt. He loved Splash Mt. One night we were there late and it was not crowed he went on it 4 times in a row. He would have kept going on if we would have let him, but it was almost closing time. I think you really just have to use your judgement. Try you should have some idea of how your child handles new situations. Try the Barnstormer, then Splash Mt. My son is tall enough to go on Space Mt this year (he will be truning 5 while we are at WDW). We will see how he does on the ones he is familiar with first. I hope you have a great Disney vacation!

 

[Loriannf]

We took our 3.5 year old on both Splash and Big Thunder. She rode BT first, and thought Splash was "boring". It wasn't "fast enough" and "where was the big drop?".
She is 40.5 inches tall and we deliberately waited until she was tall enough to go to MK because she is a daredevil and we knew she would want to go on the "bigger" rides. BT became her absolute favorite, and she had to ride it every day. She rode Splash a few more times and it grew on her, especially if she could ride in the front row.

Just hold on to your child on BT; it gets a little bumpy. My husband actually had more "distress" on BT than my child; he was worried about her, but she just kept laughing and yelling "whee".

Use your own judgment; you know your child the best. If he really is a daredevil, he would probably be fine as long as he meets the height requirements. Bear in mind though, that the height requirements for the water slides at most water parks are 48 inches; we didn't even bother to go as we knew our daughter would be upset because she couldn't get on.

Lori

 

[5kwallace]

My DS was 3 when he rode BTMR and Splash Mountain. He loved them both.
His favorite ride in all of WDW is BTMR. He squeals with delight. The last time we were there we rode it 5 times in a row before we had to drag him off.
He much prefers this ride to Dumbo. But every child is different, I would see what your child wants to do. Have a great time on your trip.

 

[ChiTownZee]

My DD went on the Spash and Big Thunder as soon as she could (she was 2, closer to 3) But my daughter LOVES rides, this is a girl who road Barnstormer 16 times in a row one night while the parade was going when she was still 1. So keep that in mind, and also keep in mind I let her go on Tower of Terror when she was two, so I may be a horrible mother LOL

 

[anabelle]

I had the opposite problem. I had to bribe DD 7 last year to ride the mountains. We now know she is a speed junkie. But she would have NEVER gone on as a 2 year old. She would have been tall enough.

 

[ksc37]

I voted No. I have a 2 1/2 year old and we are going in September. He's not 40" yet, but I don't think he's really ready for those kinds of rides. He's tall enough for Goofy's Barnstormer, and I doubt we'll do that either (I think that's rougher than BTMRR!).

Now, if you're son is almost 3 and is a daredevil, then you may consider working up to it. We took my son when he was a little over 3 and he loved the mountains, especially Big Thunder.

 

[skbasnett]

Thank everyone for their advice and keep it coming!!! I am still torn because I know he gets nervous with some new things but this is a completely different situation.