Are parental reviews of Disney attractions available anywhere?

[jessmsw]

Hi all--

I'm curious whether there's a site where I could read reviews-- written by parents of young kids-- of the various rides at WDW. We're going for our first trip in February, and I've read a couple of books, but still am uncertain whether to take the kids (DS, age 6 and DD, age 4) on a few rides. I'm particularly wondering about Pirates of the Carribean-- if there are shoot-out scenes or really violent scenes, etc. then we will avoid it (DS does NOT need any encouragement in the aggression department, LOL!!). And I'm also wondering about the Haunted Mansion-- how scary it is and if it's at all gory.

Anyhow, if you could comment on these two rides or direct me somewhere to read parent reviews, that would be great!! Thanks so much.

Love,
Jess

 

[powellrj]

the passporter book has Allie reviews. They are reviews from the authors DD.

 

[LaraK]

POC has a couple "fighting" scenes, but nothing any more intense than the average PG film. The dark scares kids more than the action I think. I took both kids on both of these rides. DS was 16 months old last time we went and a little frightened initially of all the dark rides, but he did fine once we got started. DD went on HM for the first time when she was 2 and a half....she didn't love it, but she wasn't terrified. She is chomping at the bit now to try it again.

Overall, I'd say it depends on your kids. If they tend to be fearful of things, they may be afraid. If they're more adventurous, I think they'll love it.

The rides that really scared my kids are as follows:
DD (the daredevil)
Afraid of Snow White (the witch) but made us take her on it 3 times (takes after mom and faces her fears to concur them)
Terrified on Test Track...I think that it reminded her of her morning commute

DS (the more cautious one)
Ellen's energy adventure...cried when the dinosaurs came in
Snow White...terrified, did NOT take him back on it!
Buzz...started scared, then loved it

We did not take them into Honey I Shrunk the Audience or Bug's Life, because we heard it scared kids silly. DD tried to get me to take her on ToT, but we avoided MGM last time (when she was tall enough) so that we wouldn't have to tell her no (we thought it'd be too intense for a 3 year old)...we may let her go this time. The big fight this time will be Dinosaur. She wants to go, I think it will be too intense.

 

[Nanu57v]

POC is really not appropriate for young children. We took DD on it and I kept thinking I was a bad parent for exposing her to this. I had been on it tons of times before, but never looked at it in that light. It has scenes of women being auctioned off and theivery, etc. The cannon fire was really no big deal. The line is rarely long, so I'd recommend previewing it first.

I haven't ridden Haunted Mansion in years, DH and I just don't like ghosts, but its really not gory at all. Just depends on how you feel about ghosts.

Stitch is not appropriate for young children either. It was formerly Alien Adventure and it quite frightening to young children.

Also, Snow White is scary. Pooh is the same style ride, but much friendlier.

 

[GEM]

My 3 year old DS just got back from his 4th trip to Disney World in September. Pirates and Haunted Mansion were two of his very favorite rides this trip! He loved them both and begged to ride them again and again and again. He really isn't afraid of much, though. I can't think of a single ride that scared him on any of our trips and he's never been afraid of characters, fireworks, etc. Honestly, I think it has more to do with the individual children's personality and temperment than anything else.

(P.S. We are "those" parents who don't let our DS play with any toy guns, etc. and we certainly haven't let him watch the Pirates of the Carribean movies, but he does know about pirates from Peter Pan and some of his books, etc. The very mild violence in Pirates didn't bother us in the least. Never even occured to us that we were bad parents for letting him enjoy it.)

 

[all4fun]

ITA with GEM. I think a lot depends on what kind of temperament your kids have.

I'd agree with Nanu57v about Snow White. It can be kind of scary for little ones - that rides tends to focus on more of the darker parts of the story IMO.

Like GEMs ds though, my 3yr old also doesn't find anything to be scary. He loves POTC, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion and especially loves Stitch's Great Escape. He wanted to do that attraction over and over. Stitch is one of his favorite characters though. And SGE is way toned down from it's "Alien" predicessor which was far scarier. My ds is definitely and "adventurer" though. He loves fireworks too. On our last trip we were there at the same time as dh's coworker friend who's dd's are scared of just about everything and he was so jealous of us, lol.

Someone mentioned the passporter for Allie's reviews. She's the author's daughter. You can also look at Burnbuam's WDW for Kids By kids book, but that is also through the child's eyes. I'm not sure where you'd go for parental reviews of the rides. I think technically Disney tries to keep them G rated but it's kind of up to you if you feel that way about it. POTC has some gun battles but there's no blood and gore. It's more implied violence.
Like a pp said the line is rarely long so you could preview it.

hth.

 

[GEM]

My little guy would have loved Stitch, I'm sure, but he was (of course) still way too short. We just barely squeaked onto the Barnstormer this time - which absolutely made his whole trip. He even got to ride in the front car with Goofy one morning. Oh well, he's getting there. Maybe he'll make the height requirement for Tower of Terror by the time we take him on a high school graduation trip.

 

[jessmsw]

Thank you all so much for the info. I think we'll keep the kids off POC based on your info-- our kids are cautious, for sure. I will check out the Passporter book as well!!

Thanks again!!

xoxo
Jess

 

[NotUrsula]

Well, *do* at least swap POTC if you can; especially if you have never ridden it. It is one of the best attractions in the parks, a classic that has absolutely AMAZING atmosphere. It would be a crying shame if the adults had to miss it.

As to the lines being short -- that used to be true, but not any more. Thanks to the popularity of the movies, the ride has been re-discovered by a lot of people. It is still a very fast-loading ride, though, so the lines do move rather quickly.

The shooting in POTC is at a distance, but via cannons; the pirate ships fires blank "broadsides" over your boat. There are no swordfight scenes. My DS was frightened of the ride for a long time, but his fear was due to the opening scene, where the skull intoned "Dead men tell no tales ..." and there was a lightning-lit scene of a skeleton steering the ship, followed by a sharp drop of about 8 ft. or so, in pitch darkness. (My DS has a really deep-seated fear of thunder and lightning.) The opening has changed a bit now.

You can easily see the entire ride yourself online. YouTube has a whole lot of ride-through video (illicit, yes I know, but it's there): do a site seach for "Pirates ride world" and you will get several of them to choose from. (You don't want to do the ones from Disneyland as that ride is different -- even better, and much longer.)

 

[all4fun]

Well, *do* at least swap POTC if you can; especially if you have never ridden it. It is one of the best attractions in the parks, a classic that has absolutely AMAZING atmosphere. It would be a crying shame if the adults had to miss it.

As to the lines being short -- that used to be true, but not any more. Thanks to the popularity of the movies, the ride has been re-discovered by a lot of people. It is still a very fast-loading ride, though, so the lines do move rather quickly.

That is true...all of it. About the lines being short - we were there in September and we rode it three or four times and only once was the line really long. But that is technically "off season" so if you'll be there during a busier time then you can expect to see longer lines there. NotUrsula is right about the movie making the ride even more popular.

Whatever you do, make sure to see the live action Pirate Show just outside the ride. They do it a few times a day. Ask the CM outside the rides when it is. We thought it was really cute, and ds enjoyed watching the pirates in training.

 

[crisi]

There is a better kids guide out there - I think Allie is too old to do preschool reviews. Birnbaums is ok - but really targeted to the self readers - eight to twelve or so. Kim Wright Wiley writes it - and it looks like Fodor's publishes it nowadays. She does a good job breaking down into age groups and the concerns.

Rides have different factors - Dark, Bumpy, Content.....my son was very freaked out by the Haunted mansion at 3 (didn't make it in), made it through at 5 (but wasn't thrilled), and was still spooked at 7. He barely made it through PotC at 3, had fun at 5, but was nervous, and loved it at 7. He is more frightened of content - he loved Mission:Space and TestTrack, but the simple idea of Space Mountain or even Splash Mountain is scary. We haven'tbeen able to walk by Tower of Terror yet - the kids won't even go down to that part of MGM (I have a six year old as well). Other people have tall three year olds that LOVE ToT.

Without going into the obviously "big" stuff.

AK: I wouldn't put little kids on Kali. Dinosaur can be dark, rough and scary. I've always loved the Safari, as have my kids - some kids get concerned over the baby elephant plotline (better since they no longer kill off the mom). Lots of kids get spooked by Its Tough to Be a Bug - my scardicats never had an issue. But don't skip it, even putting kids in the stroller and just walking the animal trails here is a great way to spend a day.

MGM: Fantasmic and the Great Movie Ride both have overwhelming content (or at least content that a lot of small sensative kids find overwhelming - other kids love them). I believe guns are involved in both Indy and the Lights Motor Action stuntshow. Star Tours definately involves a spaceship battle.

Epcot: My scardicats still won't do Maelstrom - rode it when they were younger and its still the "scary monster ride." It shouldn't be, its easy. Energy has pretty safe and uneventful dinosaurs, but there is a t-rex and thunder and lightening, IIRC. Test Track and Mission Space are both fairly "intense" rides. Soarin involves heights, but 80 year old women ride that one.

MK: Haunted Mansion and Pirates both have content that can scare younger guests. Snow White is deceptively scary - definately don't make it your first stop. You get a cannon "shot" at you in Peter Pan (just the light and sound effects) - if you are absolutely anti-gun, same with Jungle Cruise - harmless, but there are the headhunter jokes. Buzz scares some kids, but its brightly lit and everyone is so busy shooting it clears up fast (but note the gun thing again). Pooh has a thunderstorm.

 

[NotUrsula]

Note re: ITTBAB and HISTA. Little kids do best in both these shows when they sit on an adult's lap. The reason for this is that there are startle effects built into the seats in both theatres, but the kids will not feel those effects if they are sitting on your lap. You might also consider skipping the 3-D glasses for the tots, too -- that way nothing actually jumps out at them.

Older kids who don't like being startled should probably sit forward in the seats with their legs folded crosswise; that should eliminate contact with most of the scarier seating effects.

Also, re: Kali. I think that children who are used to boating will be perfectly fine on this as long as they meet the height requirements. Always a good idea to "poncho" younger kids for Kali the first time out. (My DS insisted on wearing a poncho on it when he was 3 because he didn't want to get wet. Naturally, the first thing he did when he got off and ditched his poncho was to run right into a splash fountain until he was soaked to the skin. Kids )

 

[tiff211]

I pretty much agree with everyone else. I regret taking DD6 and DD3 to ITTBAB because it pretty much scared them of all shows, including the muppets and even Mickey's Philharmagic. That was last year, this year it still took a lot of convincing to even make them set foot in Mickey's. I knew they would love it, that's why I forced the issue. They were still nervous and sat on the floor, peeking between the seats.

The big surprise for me was "The Great Movie Ride". I had no idea this one was as scary for little ones as it was. DD3 nearly imploded and DD6 tried to crawl back inside me! I am afraid they may be permanantly scarred from that one!