Appropriate Rides For My 2 1/2 Year Old?

[StepInside]

I'll be going, next week, to Disney World and hitting all of the parks(excluding water) and was wondering what rides were appropriate and which ones were not for my son. I've looked through a bunch of past posts but haven't found many that cater to my position. He's slightly almost 42" with his sandals and therefore can go on most rides, however, keep in mind he is only 2 1/2 and my girlfriend/his mother who is going with me wants to take him on rides like Splash Mountain, etc. I'm just wondering if these rides are safe/appropriate. I also noticed while reading Barnbaum's that the Goofy Barnstormer ride requires riders to be 3 years old but only 35" to ride. Is this ride safe for him and if so do you need to provide a children's ticket for him to ride to prove he's 3 because he'll be going as an infant. Thank you in advance for your help. I've been a lurker for a month now but finally got around to signing up.

 

[Bella2000]

We were in the same situation 2 years ago with our daughter. Just because they are tall enough doesn't mean they are mature enough. That is why they have swtiching off - remind your girlfriend that you have this option as well. We did Goofy's Barnstormer to get our daughter's reaction since it is a shorter ride (she screamed but didn't cry ) . We decided to pass on Big Thunder Mountain which is now her favorite ride at 4. I never considered Splash as an option as I felt it would be a bit much and she finally rode it at 3 yrs 9 months and enjoyed it but I think she would have hated it if she had gone earlier. The gotcha rides for us were actually the dark rides. She didn't like Peter Pan (loves Peter Pan more than the princesses but still won't do that ride). I even brought the little flashlight but she just did not like the dark rides.

p.s. they never asked her age on Goofy's Barnstormer - just looked at height.

 

[AZKathy]

Remember, kiddos that age will usually not like the dark rides, either! <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_3_3.gif' border=0></a> I would try your child on Goofy's Barnstormer and see how he does, but I don't know any other rides that are good for his age except for Big Thunder Mountain Railway or Kali River Rapids (they had a special seat for kiddos his size). You can still take advantage of baby swap for the other rides that he should not ride on.<a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/7/7_2_111.gif' border=0></a>

Have a great trip!

 

[Butch50]

Infact, she turns three the week after we are at WDW. Not only will she get into the parks for free, but she can ride lots of rides (if she wants to) because she is already 40" tall. She will be tall enogh to ride ToT, but we are not even going to consider putting her on there. I hadn't thought about the barnstormer. I think she'll love riding that with her older brother and it should give her confidence going to other rides.

 

[Planogirl]

Our son loved Spaceship Earth at that age. We rode it again and again and again... He also enjoyed the trains and the Jungle Cruise, the Great Movie Ride and Peter Pan too luckily. Pooh should be fine and all of the shows might be too but you may want to use caution with It's Tough to be a Bug and Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I would stay away from Snow White and if you want to try the faster rides, start out with the more moderate ones like Kali River Rapids.

Unfortunately, little kids worry more about what they will see in the Haunted Mansion than what they actually end up seeing if our experience is normal. The same thing with Pirates.

 

[canda]

I have been trying to see how my little one will do in the dark to get ready. So far he is doing well. When I am at WDW I will build up the rides starting with dumbo and then move to buzz for the first dark ride. A gradual increase in the darker and scary one might build him up to love. I would never want to do anything that will put fear of rides in him.

 

[magnumaid]

Take him on the Buzz Lightyear ride! When my DS was that age it was his absolute favorite. We rode it over and over again.

 

[hipporina]

When we went, my ds was 3 weeks short of turning 3. (I loved that because he was still free!) He is very small for his age (he is now 37'' at 4) so the bigger rides weren't a question for us. We took him on everything that we could and he enjoyed it all. We did the Barnstormer too.

He got a little nervous on Haunted Mansion, but not bad. I covered his eyes on the snake part of Honey I Shrunk just to be safe. He loved Its Tough To Be a Bug, but I know many children don't feel the same way. Everything else was fine.

That is such a great age to take a kid. He loved it and still talks about it now, over a year later.

 

[jellydisney]

Originally posted by Planogirl


Unfortunately, little kids worry more about what they will see in the Haunted Mansion than what they actually end up seeing if our experience is normal. The same thing with Pirates.

Tell me about it! It drives me nuts! How can you convince a child it really is a slow ride with those 2? Even some adults I've been with have been wary haha. Waiting in line for the Haunted Mansion, I've seen SO many children crying their eyes out unnecessarily. The sad thing too, is that after the ride is over, the child often thinks it WAS scary simply because they had a bad pre-ride experience and will refuse to ride it again.

Fear is so frustrating sometimes. My younger brother will go on RnR 5 times in a row and is too psyched out to even TRY Space Mountain. ARGH