At what age is Haunted Mansion ok for kids?

[laura428]

Hey neighbor (elkhart here) may I suggest the soft foam ear plugs for your trip they were vacation savers for us. My kids even used them at the movies at home. HM my kids have been going on it since DD 18 mths & DS 4.

Kae

Hey neighbor! Small world, huh? We actually live just a 1/2 mile from Elkhart, and our kids went to Montessori there.

Love the earplugs idea, especially for DD6. She really does startle quite easily, and plugs her ears at time you'd never suspect she needs to. Thanks for the tip!

I think we're going to give it a go, as long as the kids are both up for it when we're actually standing in front of the ride. I showed them a few videos, and both were begging to go on. Isn't the bride similar to the one in Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas?" Thought it looked that way from the videos. If so, that'd be an easy win for DD6 - she and DD8 both loved that movie and have seen it several times.

 

[kirstenb1]

We've taken both dd's on it since they were babies. Both kids had a year right when they were 4-5 when they refused to ride it. I think it was the age they realized some things are spooky, and started becoming wary. But the following year, each was right back to it being one of their favorite rides.

 

[jbschafer]

Like several PP said, it really does depend on your child. AND like several PP said, my kids always found the dark walk from the stretching room to the actual ride to be the worst part (they never were bothered by the stretching room).

When DD was 4 we were riding it for the first time and she was getting nervous in line. Someone behind us noticed and told her "Honey. These are friendly ghosts. If you start to get scared just reach out and try to tickle them!!" She found that idea so hilarious she spent the whole ride trying to tickle the ghosts. To this day when we get in line she says "time to go tickle the ghosts" and taught it to her then 3 year old brother last year.

Both list HM in their top 3 rides for when we return next month!

 

[ReneeA]

Mine rode it their first times at 2 & 3 years old, and did just fine.

 

[nemofans]

You may have seen the Nightmare b4 Christmas version of Haunted Mansion ride which is at Disneyland for Halloween & Christmas. Make sure you are watching the Haunted Mansion ride at WDW.

 

[needtoplan]

DS at age 2 1/2 said " I love that scary ghosty ride"
We rode it several times with him.
Even when we got back he would repeat
"I just loved that scary ghosty ride"
Clearly it was his favorite ride!

 

[rt2dz]

Seven months for the first ride and basically every year since for all four of my kids. It never would have occurred to me not to take them on it. I'd been on it almost every year of my life.

Now, DS#1 was a chicken when it came to the queue, but not the actual ride itself from ages 3 - 9. DS#2 was scared a bit at age 2, but looked at us once we got to the dining room scene and said, "Oh, it's a Halloween party..." and it has been his favorite ride since.

 

[Miss Marie]

I think we're going to give it a go, as long as the kids are both up for it when we're actually standing in front of the ride. I showed them a few videos, and both were begging to go on. Isn't the bride similar to the one in Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas?" Thought it looked that way from the videos. If so, that'd be an easy win for DD6 - she and DD8 both loved that movie and have seen it several times.

I think you mean Burton's Corpse Bride? My brother is a Nightmare Before Christmas freak, so I have a copy of that movie on DVD, and there is no bride.

No, this bride is not similar to the Corpse Bride one. She's a murdurous bride actually. Her backstory is (and don't tell the story to the kiddies) that she married and then murdered her husbands for their money. Her 7th/8th groom found out about what she was doing and killed her first. In Corpse Bride it's actually flip-flopped. The Groom murdered the bride for her money.

The bride's room has several pop-up ghosts who yell "I do!" when they pop-up. There are also wedding photos that have her and the unlucky groom, who appears first with a head, and then headless. There are different grooms, I think there are 5, 6 photos. When you approach the ghost, an axe appears in her hand as she says something like, "I do, I did" or "You may now kiss the bride" I'm not actually scared of her, because in my head I know the she is dead and that she murdered her HUSBANDS and not any innocent female. I do use her to scare my brother though, telling him that she'll marry and kill him next. We're older though, so that's not so appropriate.

If you mean that your daughters are familar with Burton's Corpse Bride, then maybe they'll be okay. I'm not sure though. Girls shouldn't be as scared of her.

My brother is a Tim Burton film and Haunted Mansion fan. He raids the HM merchandise stand.

 

[Belle83]

I first went on HM when I was 7 and it was my favorite! I still love it.

 

[hookedonears]

Our daughter rode it perfectly fine at ages 2 & 3, though at ages 4 & 5, she didn't want to ride it. At age 6, she rode it again, loved it and has been good ever since. Of course it's up to each individual child.

 

[W.E.D.]

My first ride was at age 5 in 1976. I loved it! Our kids took their first ride at about the same age.

 

[ZehnJahren]

I rode it at 3, and was fine up until the point where they said a "ghost would follow you home". I was TERRIFIED after that, sobbed uncontrollably about the ghost following us home, cried on and off for a few days, and had nightmares for a long, long time. Even some of the nightmares I have as an adult could have stemmed from that one 20 second part of HM!

It's all about your kids. You know if they freak out easily, or over odd things. I don't think it works to say "I'll be right here with you" or "it's Mickey magic" - I knew all those things, but was highly imaginative as a child and was CONVINCED that once I went home, there would be a ghost there and that there was nothing at all Mom or Dad or ANYONE could do about it.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I was 3. I screamed bloody murder at one point. Within 30 seconds of exiting, it was my favorite ride. Still is.

Personally, I would say it is appropriate for any age.

 

[xrobx]

I rode it for the first time at age 6. I'm usually pretty scared of things, I don't even watch horror movies. But I remember thinking it was neat and it was one of the most memorable experiences as a kid. It would be cheating them to not let them experience it, in my opinion.

 

[mom2minniemouse]

On a fright scale of 1-10, I'd say Haunted Mansion is *maybe* a 3. DS was 14 months old on it, and he had about as much reaction to HM than he did the Pooh ride. DD (12) started going on HM on her first trip when she was 5 and was never once even close to being scared.

It's a very, VERY tame ride with little cars that roll around a track. Nothing jumps out at you. There are no scary screams. There are no loud bangs. It's just looking at things glowing and looking "see-through."

 

[xrobx]

I rode it for the first time at age 6. I'm usually pretty scared of things, I don't even watch horror movies. But I remember thinking it was neat and it was one of the most memorable experiences as a kid. It would be cheating them to not let them experience it, in my opinion.

To add to this, I found Snow White's scary adventure a lot more terrifying.

 

[DisneyMamaof3girls]

Our girls were 10, 8, and 4 our last trip and we couldn't get them to ride HM. They will be 11, 9, and 6 when we go in May and we are really hoping to ride the HM this time. We are always stressing that ghosts don't exist and it is just make believe, but they are very afraid.

Like others have said though, they will ride Tower of Terror and Expedition Everest. Go figure!

 

[#1PoohBearFan]

It all depends on the kid! I've been riding HM since i was 5 or 6, but my 14 yr old sister has gone on once and swears never to go near it again. She's just not a fan of anything remotely creepy or scary. (Even though i think it's more corny than creepy.) Plus she's a chicken.

 

[DisneysPrincess25]

a cast member at MNSSHP in October said it best. "it's not scary...it's just haunted"

 

[AJA]

My DD rode it for the first time at 4 and was fine.