A Little Tip For Dark Rides And Young Children

[Travelgrrl]

A post about a young child being afraid on Haunted Mansion made me think of a trick I've used in the past for wee ones. I buy glow sticks (not the bracelet, the good chunky glow sticks) at the dollar store - roughly 2 per day of the trip. You can take them out of their individual bags and shove them all into one, and they pack just fine.

Before you go on a dark ride, you activate one and tell your tot that it's their 'magic wand' that will help them see a little bit because the ride can be dark. It will protect them!

You can tuck it in a bag between dark rides, but it's amazing how this can make a small child happy on certain rides. At night, of course, the 'magic wand' can also be merrily waved at parades, and make a wee night light at the hotel.

An inexpensive trick that works with small ones and impressionable kids up to age 5, LOL!

 

[Kate and Family]

A post about a young child being afraid on Haunted Mansion made me think of a trick I've used in the past for wee ones. I buy glow sticks (not the bracelet, the good chunky glow sticks) at the dollar store - roughly 2 per day of the trip. You can take them out of their individual bags and shove them all into one, and they pack just fine.

Before you go on a dark ride, you activate one and tell your tot that it's their 'magic wand' that will help them see a little bit because the ride can be dark. It will protect them!

You can tuck it in a bag between dark rides, but it's amazing how this can make a small child happy on certain rides. At night, of course, the 'magic wand' can also be merrily waved at parades, and make a wee night light at the hotel.

An inexpensive trick that works with small ones and impressionable kids up to age 5, LOL!

And... it does not mess up the viewing of others doing the ride, like a small penlight or flashlight would.

 

[seus-mouse]

Good advice.
We used to grab a box of bracelets and necklaces at the Dollar Store for this and to have into the evening walking around.

 

[Travelgrrl]

I also grab those tubes of glow bracelets (15 for $1) at Michael's or Target and give those out to kids at parades (with their parents' prior approval, of course!)

Little extra things like that make vacations so much more fun, in the planning AND doing!

 

[peaches0313]

Great idea-thanks! Especially hits home as we took our 4 year old on the Haunted Mansion ride last November and she cried when it got dark and the floor dropped.....I felt like the worst parent ever....but then she LOVED the ride itself!

 

[HM]

Great idea-thanks! Especially hits home as we took our 4 year old on the Haunted Mansion ride last November and she cried when it got dark and the floor dropped.....I felt like the worst parent ever....but then she LOVED the ride itself!

In reality the floor doesn't drop at WDW. The walls extend up to look like it's dropping.

 

[peaches0313]

Whatever... you know what I meant Actually though, we were at Disneyland. Is the ride pretty much the same @ WDW?

 

[BrianL]

Whatever... you know what I meant Actually though, we were at Disneyland. Is the ride pretty much the same @ WDW?

At DL the floor does drop. This is because you must be lowered to enter the tunnel under the RR tracks. At WDW there was no such need.

 

[mom2mickeyfan]

And... it does not mess up the viewing of others doing the ride, like a small penlight or flashlight would.

We used the pin light but I pointed it into my lap or at the floor to make sure the light did not disturb anyone else. It just gave a place gor my ds to look and see something.

 

[peaches0313]

Brian: Thanks, had no idea! Guess the 2 have the same effect anyways...

 

[Kate and Family]

We used the pin light but I pointed it into my lap or at the floor to make sure the light did not disturb anyone else. It just gave a place gor my ds to look and see something.

Ahh... that works. Good idea.

 

[figment_jii]

Whatever... you know what I meant Actually though, we were at Disneyland. Is the ride pretty much the same @ WDW?

Yes and no...as BrianL pointed out, the stretching room is a real elevator at DL, whereas it is not at MK. The easiest way is to look down as you enter the room. You'll see the break in the floor boards at DL, whereas at MK, the floor is continuous. In terms of the rest of the ride, yes, it has some similar elements, but the beginning is very different. From the point when you exit the stretching room until you reach the set of armor and the endless hallway, the two rides are different. After that, through the graveyard, they're very similar. The hitchhiking Ghosts sequence (at the very end) is different between MK and DL. Likewise, the queues are different.

 

[bigskip]

A post about a young child being afraid on Haunted Mansion made me think of a trick I've used in the past for wee ones. I buy glow sticks (not the bracelet, the good chunky glow sticks) at the dollar store - roughly 2 per day of the trip. You can take them out of their individual bags and shove them all into one, and they pack just fine.

Before you go on a dark ride, you activate one and tell your tot that it's their 'magic wand' that will help them see a little bit because the ride can be dark. It will protect them!

You can tuck it in a bag between dark rides, but it's amazing how this can make a small child happy on certain rides. At night, of course, the 'magic wand' can also be merrily waved at parades, and make a wee night light at the hotel.

An inexpensive trick that works with small ones and impressionable kids up to age 5, LOL!

^^ Brilliant Idea, and thinking of not affecting other riders - Kudos...

 

[coolbrook]

I would just add, in consideration of not distracting other riders from the ride like you have mentioned, that you tell your child to hold it still on their laps and not wave it around. Save the waving around for outside please. Thank you

 

[BrianL]

Brian: Thanks, had no idea! Guess the 2 have the same effect anyways...

I went to DL for the first time a couple years ago and enjoyed spotting things like this. DL has a limited amount of space. The show buildings for HM and POTC are both outside the berm with the RR tracks on it. So, in HM you are lowered then you walk down that long hallway to go under the berm. At WDW, the stretching room happen, then the door opens and the loading area is right there. POTC at DL does it after you are on a boat, after the drop, making for a longer ride than the MK version because you have to travel.

If you look at a map of MK, you'll see Space Mountain is also outside the normal park borders (the RR tracks). That's why the long "star tunnel" for a queue, that you have to walk the whole way down, even when it's slow.

I'd have explained more earlier, but I was typing on my phone.

 

[Travelgrrl]

Believe me, I've never seen a little one wave their 'wand' around - more like desperately clutching it to keep whatever is in the dark at bay.

The glow sticks I'm thinking of give off a very weak light - and presumably someone could have a glowing necklace or whatnot on at any ride, so that would be similar - it's not distracting to other riders, I don't think - unless it was someone truly looking for insult.

It's not so much that the item gives off enough light to illuminate anything, but rather provides a bit of 'security blanket' - because it's a magic wand, after all!

 

[lroger01]

If you can find red glow sticks, get those. The red light doesn't effect night vision and won't be glaring to others even if waved around. It's why safety lights in movie theaters are red.

 

[peaches0313]

Brian: thanks! So, at WDW, there is no long line section where you walk down a hallway in the HM before you get to the actual ride? (like there is in DL?) I actually liked that--kind of built the anticipation! We have been to DL 2x and this will be our 1st trip to WDW (this Fall) so am excited to see the differences, and especially ride the rides that DL does not have, but WDW does….

 

[Travelgrrl]

If you can find red glow sticks, get those. The red light doesn't effect night vision and won't be glaring to others even if waved around. It's why safety lights in movie theaters are red.

Great tip - Thanks!!! The glow sticks are sold one or two to a bag with the color clearly marked on the bag - so get red ones, and don't let your kids wave them around!

 

[BrianL]

Brian: thanks! So, at WDW, there is no long line section where you walk down a hallway in the HM before you get to the actual ride? (like there is in DL?) I actually liked that--kind of built the anticipation! We have been to DL 2x and this will be our 1st trip to WDW (this Fall) so am excited to see the differences, and especially ride the rides that DL does not have, but WDW does….

There is only a short line once the doors from the stretching room open. You can see the Doom Buggy's right away. The portratis of Sinister Eleven are moved to within the ride somehwere. The actual ride at WDW has some scenes not at DL. They are both great, though I've3 only done the HM Holiday at DL.