? about coasters

[ooobother]

I have a very serious concern, but I may just be paranoid! Here is my concern.....I am the BIGGEST coaster chicken when it comes to drops or hills. I can handle speed and jerkiness, but nothing that is going to resemble a drop. I will make myself sick with fear that there is going to be a drop. DH loves them all, but due to 2 automobile accidents last year resulting in lower back pain, he has been advised to avoid them. My DS9, on the other hand, is going to want to ride EVERYTHING. He is probably tall enough, but he only weighs 50lbs. He is very thin and I am afraid he is going to slip through. He almost did at Six Flags 2 years ago with only a bar that came across his lap. DH literally had to sit on him through the whole ride. DS12 picks and chooses carefully what he is going to attempt. lol This too, could be stemming from my fear. I guess my questions are 1) do you think I should let him ride the rides he wants to? and also, 2) are there normally adult single riders that would be willing to ride with him?
Thanks for your help!

 

[I'mNoPrince]

You should have no problem at WDW with any of it's coasters. The lapbars are very good on all the ones that need them.

On RnRRC and EE they will pair a single rider up with someone else (if he is the only one riding I suggest he uses the single rider line it's very fast ,Dd and I use it to ride multible times instead of fastpass).

Also most of Disneys coasters don't have a big drop (EE has one half way trough the ride but it's still not that big). They are just fast and themed very well..

Welcome to the DIS and enjoy your trip.

 

[dbarker]

I have a differing opinion about EE. It does have a drop. Even though it may not be "big", it is very intense. I do not like drops either. I will not ride EE again. Big Thunder Mountain is as wild as I will get.

 

[northriver]

I agree EE is intense, while I still loved it it definately made my stomach lurch if you know what I mean. My DS 12 rode once and would not get on again because of the drop (backwards).

You should be fine on Big Thunder and Space.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

My 5 yo ds has ridden all of the coasters except PW and RNRC (because he is too short). He is very slim but has never had a problem. Of course, I feel as if I have to hold onto my little guy to keep him safe when we ride together; but dh does not have the same issue. Younger ds has ridden the WDW coasters many, many times with no issues. Enjoy.

 

[MSSANDRA]

WDW coaster are quite different than most theme park coasters and there really are not that many of them. You son should be safe on anything that he is tall enought to ride and assuming he is pretty adverage, that would be most if not all of them. Space mountain has small drops but they are very steep and sudden. you are in the dark so you do not know what is comming. The seats are all single seats so you could not ride beside your child anyway. Ds road it fine at 9.

Big Thunder mountain is quite tame with no big drops. Should be fine for all except DH.

EE I would call moderate. We LOVE it and are not big roller coaster fans. There are some drops. I bet even your older child would enjoy this one.

R&R- Is totaly in the dark so you are quite unaware of what is doing on. There is a loop but you are through it so fast you hardly notice. FAst-Smooth and fun. DS was fine at 9 on this one too.

Splash mountain does have a huge drop but the ride is so wonderful that it is worth it.

In reality you can easily just avoid these few rides all together and not even miss them. Do not stress. It is WDW!!!!!!!

MS SANDRA

 

[Hannathy]

don't worry about your son he'll be fine. He has 10 lbs on my son when he rode RNC by himself! The harness doesn't hold you in that ride anyway it is the centrifugal force so it doesn't matter how skinny you are.

There are no intense roller coaster at Disney, they are all fun and a 9 yr old will love them all. And luckily he is old enough to go on himself yeah for him.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I'm a ride junkie and I don't think there are any real thrill rides IMO at Disney, but I know I'm in the minority. My DD hates RnRC because she doesn't like going upside down. DS hates the initial drop on ToT. EE didn't seem to bother any of us, but its about personal taste.

I wouldn't worry about your child falling out of a ride. As long as they meet the height requirement, I think they should be fine. I mean, I guess anything could happen, but I hadn't heard of anyone being too skinny where it caused an injury or worse at Disney. Not sure I'd depend on a stranger to watch over your child either-yes, there are kind folks that will do that in the single riders, but I don't know that you could count on it. If your really that nervous, I'd probably just try to suck it up and accompany your son-I've done it with Splash Mountain, which I hate, but I go on every time because it makes my family happy. Good luck on your trip.

 

[FloridaTeacher]

I, too, am a chicken but have done most everything at Disney. The biggest drop in Magic Kingdom is, by far, Splash Mountain and you can see it from the outside. Big Thunder Mountain is lots of fun and not scary even to me. Space Mountain has a few drops, nothing too scary, but it is all in the dark. All of these are okay for your 9 year old - my kids have done them all.

MGM - Don't do Tower of Terror if you don't like a drop. I will not even think about riding it! Rockin Roller Coaster has several loops and is pretty dark. It's pretty intense to me, but I will do it again. My youngest (whose 10) has not yet been brave enough to do this one.

Animal Kingdom - I haven't done Everest, but I'm gonna give it a try in Oct. My 17 year-old is dying to ride it and my husband can't ride the coasters due to a neck injury, so it's mom to the rescue.

Epcot - Test track is great, definitely do it. We haven't done Mission to Mars 'cause I'm just too chicken??

 

[MiniGirl]

He is probably tall enough, but he only weighs 50lbs. He is very thin and I am afraid he is going to slip through. He almost did at Six Flags 2 years ago with only a bar that came across his lap. DH literally had to sit on him through the whole ride. DS12 picks and chooses carefully what he is going to attempt. lol This too, could be stemming from my fear. I guess my questions are 1) do you think I should let him ride the rides he wants to? and also, 2) are there normally adult single riders that would be willing to ride with him?
Thanks for your help!

I think he would be fine. I'm sure your son has grown and gotten a lot stronger in the past 2 years. My dd rode Space Mountain when she was 5. Now she wasn't by herself because I was behind her, but because it is a single rider configuration she did sit be herself. I laugh now because I kept my hand on her shoulder the entire ride. I told her it was so she would remember that I was right there, but I think I was also fooling myself into thinking I'd be able to hold her down should the unthinkable happen. She has also ridden Splash Mountain by herself -- but not at 5, and of course, it has no restraints at all. Now, I can't tell you this will happen for sure, but I have seen CMs riding rides with kids who couldn't (or didn't) want to ride by themselves but did want to ride. Maybe 1 would be willing to ride with your son. I know if I were a RNRC CM I'd be happy to ride.

Have a great trip.

 

[SnowWhite12]

I wouldn't advise riding Primevil Whirl or Dinosaur for your DH if he has back probs. I love both, but they are extremely jerky!