Age Appropriate

[mdargen]

Hi everyone,

When we visit the park in October my daughter will be 6 years old and she desperately wants to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

She has seen all the Harry Potter movies up to the Deathly Hallows so I am wondering is the ride any "scarier" than the movies? I know a dragon chases you and baskilisk (sp) makes an appearance but is it that scary? She is fan of the bad guys and wears her Slytherin robe everyday. So she would probably love it if she saw her pal Voldemort flying around!

Thanks for your advice!!

 

[tinydancer09]

Hi everyone,

When we visit the park in October my daughter will be 6 years old and she desperately wants to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

She has seen all the Harry Potter movies up to the Deathly Hallows so I am wondering is the ride any "scarier" than the movies? I know a dragon chases you and baskilisk (sp) makes an appearance but is it that scary? She is fan of the bad guys and wears her Slytherin robe everyday. So she would probably love it if she saw her pal Voldemort flying around!

Thanks for your advice!!

She should be fine. The real question is if shes tall enough?

 

[mdargen]

She should be fine. The real question is if shes tall enough?

Awesome! She should be tall enough. She turns 6 in a couple of weeks and she already 50 inches tall!! One of the moms at our Irish dance studio thought she was 8! LOL

 

[tinydancer09]

Awesome! She should be tall enough. She turns 6 in a couple of weeks and she already 50 inches tall!! One of the moms at our Irish dance studio thought she was 8! LOL

Oh wow. I envy your daughter. At the age of 6 I was probably 30 pounds and not even 3 ft tall! I'm 20 now and barely 57 inches!

If shes familiar with the book she should be fine. Just talk to her and tell her that some parts might be suddenly scary and that she doesn't have to ride if she doesn't want to. It's very dark in there and the dragon is in your face for a few minutes. Just explain to her that it's not real and if you think shes mature enough to handle it let her on. Only you know how well your daughter deals with things.

For a gullible 20 year old FJ was nothing more than an exciting, "fast", flying ride! Never once was I "frightened".

 

[goscudder]

We just got back from our trip last night. I was also concerned about how my 8 year old would do because he's not really into Harry Potter, but his older brother and sister are. He decided to ride it and loved it!

 

[christophfam]

If she can handle the movies, she should be able handle the ride. First time around I'd have her sit on the right hand seat. The left hand seat which becomes the outside seat as it turns is closer to the dementors and my 12 year old doesn't like that seat!

 

[mdargen]

Thank you all so much! She loves the movies and has a pretty good grasp about what is pretend. However, she can get the pretend part but still thinks all of Harry Potter is real. Like when Dumbledore dies I started crying and she patted my leg and said "Mama, he isn't really dead it's just pretend." but then added "He is at Hogwarts. You should call to make sure he is okay." LOL

 

[tinydancer09]

Thank you all so much! She loves the movies and has a pretty good grasp about what is pretend. However, she can get the pretend part but still thinks all of Harry Potter is real. Like when Dumbledore dies I started crying and she patted my leg and said "Mama, he isn't really dead it's just pretend." but then added "He is at Hogwarts. You should call to make sure he is okay." LOL

That's too funny! I used to be like that as a kid- knew the actions in the movies werent real but thought somewhere these people were walking around in their costumes.

 

[Tink2Day]

Thank you all so much! She loves the movies and has a pretty good grasp about what is pretend. However, she can get the pretend part but still thinks all of Harry Potter is real. Like when Dumbledore dies I started crying and she patted my leg and said "Mama, he isn't really dead it's just pretend." but then added "He is at Hogwarts. You should call to make sure he is okay." LOL

It isn't?

I'd be more concerned that she's a Slytherin.......


If she can handle the movies which are pretty realistic with all of the action and the way they're filmed then I think she'll be okay. Particularly with the darker themes of the latter movies.
The ride lasts about 4 minutes and really it's difficult to take in most of it in just one ride.
Most things are 'in your face' just a few seconds not minutes.

The one problem I can forsee is if she thinks it's real already she'll be even more certain of it after going through the queue which is amazing.
I would take her on the castle tour and I'll bet she can tell you everything about the various locations, classrooms and scenes.

You'll have a fabulous time and will get to see Dumbledore (on screen) so you'll know that he is actually okay!

 

[SmallWorld71]

If she's been on other thrill type rides and been fine, then I don't see any harm in her trying it. The only thing to keep in mind is that you can't put your arm around her if she is scared because of the way the seats are. My DD rode it last year at 7; she didn't like it, but she was fine. She's ridden enough rides to know that just because she doesn't like one ride, doesn't mean she won't like others and she's willing to try them all once. I'm sure plenty kids would be scared (I was) but I don't think there is anything inappropriate.