Aqua duck vs WDW rides

[hcox31]

So, my son, aged 9... LOVES the aqua duck. he went on it multiple times on our first cruise. We are doing 2 days at MK before our next cruise. He is adamant he's not doing a roller coaster ride there. I'm trying to convince him that the aqua duck is equal to one of the roller coasters... a quick spot, then coasting, then quick, then coasting etc. It's a "water roller coaster" is how I'm trying to convince him.

Which ride at WDW would you say is most similar to it?

 

[apathetic]

The 7 Dwarf Mine Train is a good ride to start as a roller coaster. Not very fast with a slow down in the middle. Also, Big Thunder Railroad isn't bad either, maybe a bit faster and bumpier. Neither is over the top and most 9 year olds love them.

 

[starvenger]

Imo once you’ve been on a proper coaster or waterslide the aqua duck is no longer as exciting. Saw that with my daughter, but to be fair, her first real coaster was Expedition Everest.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I’m thinking Barnstormer first followed by mine train. If your son enjoys those then have him go on BTMR which, IMO is far more intense and a lot more bumpier than mine train. If he can handle all of those then Space Mountain it is!

 

[cmph]

Ask him to articulate why he doesn't want to go. Speed? Drops? Something else (like darkness on Space Mountain)? My daughter is weird about rides too. She'll go on any water park ride aside from those ultra-vertical ones, but at 9 - she would never ever have gone on Space Mountain or Expedition Everest b/c of the combo of darkness/unknown drops. She's still mad at us for not properly prepping her for the Pirates drops in Disneyland!! She refuses to go on Splash Mtn, has something against those log flume drops, but otherwise has gradually worked her way to all the other rides. I think you'll get better guidance on which one is best if you know why he's nervous.

 

[starvenger]

I realized that I didn’t answer the question.

Probably mine train is the best but hard to get on that one. Maybe Big Thunder Mountain then.

 

[dcassetta]

So, my son, aged 9... LOVES the aqua duck. he went on it multiple times on our first cruise. We are doing 2 days at MK before our next cruise. He is adamant he's not doing a roller coaster ride there. I'm trying to convince him that the aqua duck is equal to one of the roller coasters... a quick spot, then coasting, then quick, then coasting etc. It's a "water roller coaster" is how I'm trying to convince him.

Which ride at WDW would you say is most similar to it?

I would walk by Barnstormer, Seven Dwarves and Big Thunder in that order. You can see quite a bit of the ride and it will give your son a chance to decide if that's something he'd like to do. I would not walk him by Splash Mountain, as really the only part of the ride you can see clearly is the scary part.

 

[roomsrviss]

I may have a sensitive kid but he was fine on the aquaduck but had a complete meltdown on the barnstormer. I think the motion of rollercoasters is really different than the aquaduck. For some reason we had much better luck on the Universal rides like Spiderman and Transformers (which are no less intense, but a smoother ride IMO). I think the jerkiness of the barnstormer was what freaked him out. As PP said, maybe find out what your son's worry is and pick the rides based on that?

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If he'll do it, I would actually recommend you start with 7DMT. There aren't any big drops on it and it's very smooth. Barnstormer is shorter, but it's really jerky. If he likes 7DMT, I'd move up to BTMRR. If he really objects to it, maybe to 1 day at MK and 1 day at Typhoon Lagoon where he'll get rides very similar to AquaDuck!

 

[FigmentSpark]

My obvious choice would be Splash mountain. There are a few bumps around on a water ride. It's only the end that has the big splash.

 

[mmouse37]

I think Barnstormer and Splash Mtn would be the most comparable to Aqua Duck.

MJ

 

[truck1]

Haven't been on it yet but I'd throw in Slinkeys dash at DHS. it looked relatively tame and on par with Big Thunder.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

Three things.

The first is, IMO, water slide type rides are completely different than roller coasters or even flume (Splash Mountain) rides. No comparison. But the process for getting him to try roller coasters might be similar, and that could be helpful. He likes Aqua Duck. Was he nervous the first time? Was it different than he thought it would be? Once he rode it he thought it was great and wanted to go again and again. Isn't he glad he tried it while he could and didn't skip it? So too it could be for roller coasters. If he would try one (even a small one) he might like it, and he'll be glad he did.

Second thing is Disney roller coasters are all pretty tame by roller coaster standards. So if roller coasters are something you want him to try, this is a great opportunity. Show him what to expect, but not too much detail. As others have said, find out his particular concerns and address them. And finally, take him there and see if he'll try it. For many kids, even if they won't do it, the moment after they pass it up, and you go on alone, then they'll regret it and want to go. WDW had (still has?) great parent rider policies, where you all wait in line and then one parent goes on the ride with the willing kids and the other parent waits with the unwilling kids, and then the other parent gets to ride when the first group gets back. This is great because it gives the unwilling kid a second chance to say yes. Worked often for my kids.

And finally, it is all part of the growing up process. At 9 he may flat out refuse, by 10 he might be gung ho. Who knows, missing out might stick with him in a good way. My son at age 5 or 6 refused Expedition Everest (I think it was) and we've never been back there, so he's never done it. But that stuck with him and as he grew he never passed on a Roller Coaster again because he remembers that feeling.

 

[lklgoodman]

A little OT, the first and only time I've been to WDW was over 25 yrs ago, I was in my late 20s. I didn't know anything about the rides. I went on Space Mountain. There was a young girl(probably around 10) sitting in front of me and her mom sitting in front of her. I yelled during the entire ride, and not in a "this so so much fun, but in a get me off of this now" kind of way. We get off the ride and her mom was very concerned thinking it was her dd who was screaming. Her dd told her she thought it was fun. The mom kept asking her if she was sure she was ok, I told her it was me who had been screaming. I haven't been on a roller coaster since then. My dd LOVES all thrill rides, I make my dh go on them with her!!