Advice on MK Scares for family

[Lawteach]

Hi.

My family (ages 70, 44, 41, 9, 6, 1) are coming to WDW for the first time since the year the park opened. I think I am more excited than the kids. We have limited time in July (3 days to see AK & MK) and want to make the most of it, since we now live in Australia.

I am interested in a scariness rating on Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain and Snow White (or any other big drop/scary/sick making rides in MK or AK). If you have ever been to 6 Flags over Georgia, I love the Dahlonega Mine Train and log flumes but the Scream Machine and Mind Bender are a bit much. (As such I have ruled out TOT). I am concerned about Snow White with my 6 year old daughter, although my 9 year old son wants to go.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[debkorb1]

Welcome to the Board. I know what it was like when I first arrived - so many questions!

May I firstly suggest you buy yourself a Guide about Disney (or borrow one from your library) - it will answer a lot of your questions and provide a fun read. I would recommend Bob Sehlinger's Unofficial Guide to Disney - it is a very comprehensive book and it is very funny too! Just be aware it will give you a frank view of Disney - at first it can make you panic but trust me you'll be pleased you know the info.

Whether something is scary is personal - I read A LOT of reports that young children find Snow White terrifying. There is a lot going on in Fantasyland - if you have only three days for Disney I would say skip it.

If someone can handle Six Flags (I have been to only one) then Disney is tame in comparison. Most don't find Thunder Mountain at all scary, while the Splash Mountain overall experience is worth enduring the drop (which most people enjoy).

Watch out for Dinosaur and Its Tough to be a bug at Ak - the former is loud and intense and the latter is well, full of bugs - spiders and the like - they drop from the ceiling and crawl up your legs!

Enjoy.

 

[Puffy2]

The Snow White thing is really over hyped. It isn't scary at all - at least not for a 6 year old (For a toddler maybe... in my opinion). The ride (a car that moves along a track) goes past many scenes - basically the scariest part is seeing the witch . If your 6 year old can't watch the movie because it's too scary -then skip it otherwise give it a try or better yet, go on it yourself first and then decide.

The Haunted Manison on the other hand, might be too much for your 6 year old.

Coasters - Big Thunder Mtn is probably ok for you. Splash MTn. is ok (but you will get your bottom wet - the seats generally have splashed water in them). I'd avoid Space Mtn because it might cause you motion sickness.

July is miserably hot - be sure to prepare for that (frozen juice boxes , frozen neck wraps in plastic zip locks to use later in the day, hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, water bottles. the MK can also get very crowded because it is a small park - get there when the gates open to get a jump on your day.

 

[dougsmom98]

My kids love Snow White and they were 2 and 4 on the last trip. They are very familiar with the movie and the knew to expect the witch so it didn't freak them out. If your son has never seen the movie or can't sit through the scary parts of it, then skip that attraction. I think if you talk to him about the attractions and let him know what to expect, he will be able to tell you if he is up for it or not.
I think Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain are not to be missed. I don't like roller coasters, but Thunder Mountain is really a great ride. My 4 year old rode both of these rides without any problems. He liked Splash Mountain better than Thunder Mountain though.
I didn't care for the Dinosaur ride at AK. It scared the pants off of me and the jerking movements gave me a headache. My 4 year old rode it, but said he would not do that again.
I agree with the previous poster who recommended a guidebook. My favorite is also the Unofficial Guide.
Have a great trip!
-Amy

 

[Lawteach]

Thanks so much for all the good advice. Your assistance helped to confirm my own thoughts on the subject. I will ask my daughter whether she wants to try the rides like Snow White and Dinosaurs. that's a good thought--gives her more control.

I have the Unofficial Guide from '98 and have ordered the '04 edition, but it takes a while to reach Oz. I have found it VERY helpful. How do people DO this for the first time without any advice/help? I recall a great deal from my visit 30+ years ago, but I remember standing in line in the hot sun a lot. I'm trying to avoid that.

Anyhow, thanks, heaps. Anyone else feel free to make more suggestions--I'm taking it all in.

Cheers.

 

[jpmom97]

My 6 yo DS liked Snow White HATED The Haunted Mansion. I had DD who was 14 mths at the time and she fell asleep but DS went w/ my parents in a Doombuggy and all I heard was "I gotta get outta here!!" DD did not like It's tough to be a bug or Muppet Vision, too loud for her.

 

[HopperFan]

If you like the Dalonega you should be fine on Thunder Railroad, but if you don't like Mindbender stay off Space Mountain.

Flume is about equal in scare as Splash Mtn, but of course, Splash Mtn is so much more entertaining. Don't miss it.

Your youngest can not ride either, but you can do child-swap. Be sure to ask CM how so you don't waste time in line twice !!! One kid can ride twice so the adult waiting behind with one year old has a ride partner.

Personally, our gang thinks Snow White should be replaced. Long wait over nothing. There is so much more to do there.

Have fun !

 

[tar heel]

Your 9-year-old and possibly even your 6-year-old will find Snow White boring, not scary. Some children are afraid of Haunted Mansion -- I think the stretch room is probably the scariest part, but, of course, it's at the beginning. My kids were fine on it.

Big Thunder was all three of my children's favorite ride when they were 5. It is like a larger version with much better theming of the runaway mine train that lots of parks have. Don't miss Splash Mountain b/c it's much more than the big drop.

At AK, if a child is the least little bit timid, they probably are not going to like Dinosaur or It's Tough to Be a Bug. Dinosaur is dark and jerky and huge meat-eating dinosaurs jump out at you. In the bug show, you get to experience lots of darkness and what it feels like being a bug sprayed with Raid. Yikes. My 9-year-old does everything at WDW except the bug show.

No need to worry about ToT (which I consider the best attraction at WDW) if you're only going to MK and AK -- it's at MGM.

 

[Lawteach]

Hi tar heel/jpmom/debkorb:

Re: the Tough to be a Bug attraction,

Are any bugs squashed/eaten etc? My daughter (6) is tenderhearted and cries when the snails or ants in our yard get stepped on. If she gets upset, she will cry/pout and ruin the next 2 hours for everybody. However, it sounds like my 9yo son would LOVE it. Should I send daughter to the shops with Grandma?

Hi HopperFan:

Thanks for the 6-flags expert advice! I feel really confortable now. Can't wait!!!!
Fortunately, with Grandma along, I'm hoping we do not have to swap off much because she does not like big rides and does not get to see the baby much so she'll think babywatching is a treat. (Hey, if you can't take advantage of your mother, who can you take advantge of?)


Cheers, L

 

[Ragmop]

Lawteach........There's one very scary part of It's a Bug's life when a LOT of giant spiders fall from the ceiling to right above your head-that's when most small kids start crying in earnest.

 

[debkorb1]

Originally posted by Lawteach
Hi tar heel/jpmom/debkorb:

Re: the Tough to be a Bug attraction,

Are any bugs squashed/eaten etc? My daughter (6) is tenderhearted and cries when the snails or ants in our yard get stepped on. If she gets upset, she will cry/pout and ruin the next 2 hours for everybody. However, it sounds like my 9yo son would LOVE it. Should I send daughter to the shops with Grandma?

Hi HopperFan:

Thanks for the 6-flags expert advice! I feel really confortable now. Can't wait!!!!
Fortunately, with Grandma along, I'm hoping we do not have to swap off much because she does not like big rides and does not get to see the baby much so she'll think babywatching is a treat. (Hey, if you can't take advantage of your mother, who can you take advantge of?)


Cheers, L

I have to say I haven't seen the film - the warnings were MORE than enough. That said, everyone says the film is pro-bug (and anti the way humans discard them) and I would therefore think it would be very critical of the squishing of them! Eating each other, however, I am not sure.

But maybe someone who has seen it can be more specific.

 

[Daxx]

Remember -- "It's Tough To Be A Bug" is actually 4-D, meaning that things also happen around you that aren't on the screen.

As far as I can remember, there aren't any bugs squished or eaten by others. The film is pro-bugs and, at some points, anti-audience! But not in an evil, bad way.

As for Snow White, when DS rode it at age 3 1/2, he was terrified and was hesitant to go on anything in the dark for the rest of the day! It was the witch's cackle that got him; esp. since you don't see the witch all the time. Now, DS is age 7 and does not want to ride the HM. He did ToT last year and wasn't too keen on that. He has a thing about ghosts, so that's the main reason!

I'd opt for Pooh or Peter Pan or Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin over Snow White. Better rides, imo!

 

[CarolynFH]

Another guidebook you might look for is "WDW with Kids" by Kim Wright Wiley. She works for WDW now so it is not as "independent" a view as it used to be but was very useful to us when planning our earliest trips. She gets a lot of inside information so often is the most up to date of the guides. (We had a copy of the Unofficial Guide once that talked about a ride that had been closed for two years, obviously because printing deadlines didn't allow them to know before they went to press that the ride had been closed.)

Anyway, in "WDW with Kids" there's a chapter titled "The Scare Factor" in which she discusses all the rides in relation to scaring kids. She talks about what parts of the ride might be scary (e.g., it's in the dark, you fall, it's noisy, etc.) so you can judge in relation to your child. We found it to be helpful because it was complete and thoughtful. And since this is information that doesn't change, it won't matter if you find an older version of the book!

 

[ttichenor]

My $0.02....

My DD5 actually tried to get out of Bit Thunder Railroad while moving she hated it so much, but Splash Mountain was her absolute favorite. She loved It's Tough to be a Bug and the other movies. Go figure!

Have a safe trip! Wish my counter was shorter................

 

[twotoohappy]

when my dd was 3 she loved Snow White, my neice at three was terrified and refused to ride any other ride.....

My dd rode Splash mountain at 3 (she's very tall) and loved the big drop but didn't like the drops in the dark in the middle of the ride

my dd loved tough to be a bug- screamed very loud "the bug's under my butt" at the end... too funny!

Haunted mansion - my dd loved it, my 3 year old neice and my 11 year old neice were terrified....

Personally, I'd avoid Space Mountain and Dinosaur.

Good Luck!

 

[Lawteach]

Keep it comin', gang--this is great advice! I'll look for the kids book, CarolynFH.

I did discuss the scary rides with the DD6 (is this the right abbreviation--what's the first "D" for??) yesterday. She said, very sensibly I thought, that it is different what you see on a movie screen to something that seems real life. I think she will probably choose to skip SW and Space Mountain and possibly Splash Mountain (she fell through an innertube flume ride 2 years ago and is afraid of waterslides as a result), but she says she'll see how she feels on the day.

Cheers,

Lawteach