attractions for almost 3 yr old?

[Jenny]

i was wondering if my almost 3 year old DD will wear the 3D glasses & enjoy Honey.. at Epcot, ITTBB at AK, Phil at MK, etc. - also, will Haunted Mansion & Pirates scare her - should I prepare her or just go on? some posts have said these rides can be big mistakes - any input appreciated. thanks. p.s. I plan to bring our 7 month old DD also on these rides/attractions but don't think there'll be a problem there. my DH will put her in the Bjorn.

 

[turnlisa]

Let's see -- last year my youngest DS was 2. He watched Phil once without the glasses. We finally talked him into putting them on and he loved it. This being said, I think Honey and It's Tough to be a Bug would have been too much for him with the glasses on. He loved Pirates. We didn't try Haunted Mansion but this year at 3 is very eager to give it a try. We have explained that it is in the dark and all pretend. If your child has never been there, it might be a little scary.

 

[Lollipop Mom]

My youngest is 2½ and just returned from his third trip. His first was at age 21 months. This kid is not afraid of anything though. I take that back...he's not afraid of anything except the vaccum cleaner. :lol:

We've done Philharmagic three times. The first 2 times he slept through it. This last time he wore the glasses through the whole thing and LOVED it. Sat there saying "silly Donald!" over and over again. We did ITTBAB for the first time and just made sure we sat near an exit. He wore the glasses about 90% of the time and did fine with it as well. I held him in my lap so he didn't have the sensory effects. We haven't done HISTA yet.

He loves Haunted Mansion too. When it ended he turned to look at me and said "FUN, Mama!" His older brother is not always good with dark so the first time we took him on it we told him it was his job to scare all the "silly ghosts" before they could scare him. We went through the ride saying "BOO!" at everything. That "tradition" has continued so that may have been part of the fun.

Pirates he was fine with but quieter than usual. I don't know if it was a little bit scarrier or if he was just getting tired as it was sort of late when we went. He did giggle through the little drop though.

If you can find the Disneyland Fun singalong video, that is a good way to prepare them. There are scenes shot inside both Pirates and HM at Disneyland. I've seen it at Toys R Us before. My oldest calls Pirates the "yo ho ho pirate life ride" because the video has that song on it. Hearing the song and seeing a bit of the inside of the ride in the video I think helped them feel more at ease on our first trip.

 

[bettyann29]

Personally I think it depends on the child.. What is scary to one child may not be to another.. When we went as a family in 2000 my son who was 7 at the time got scared in Its Tough To Be a Bug.. But he loved Tower of Terror.. You have to know what works for your child.. You can always try it and by their reaction you will know not to try your luck with other rides that are similar.. By the way he loved Haunted Mansion.. If some of these rides dont work there is always the rides in MK that any child is sure to love such as Dumbo, Winnie the Pooh ride, etc.. Good luck!

 

[sarahsmom73]

We took dd who was 2 1/2 in April and she LOVED Muppets 3D, Philharmagic etc... She also loved Pirates (we rode it 4 times) The Haunted Mansion (3 X)... She wasn't quite tall enough and was quite annoyed she didn't get to ride Splash Mountain.... I think that you can gage how your child will do on certain rides... I also think the Plannig DVD helped.. SHe was so excited to actually ride the rides she had seen on TV...

Don't forget all of the great shows too!!!

(And Pooh, Peter Pan etc... I could go on and on all day)

HAVE FUN!

 

[Practicallyperfect]

We took my niece when she turned 4 to WDW. We made the mistake of doing ITTBB first thing. It freaked her out to where she wouldn't go inside for many of the other rides. My mom ended up waiting with her while we rode on things. I agree with the others that it does all depend on the child, but start out with the happy indoor rides (Pooh, Peter Pan) before the 4D ones.

 

[kyirish25]

Last year at 2 my DS did great with the 3D glasses. We only did Philharmagic and Muppets though. We tried Snow White and that didn't go over very well so we didn't attempt Haunted Mansion. He loved Pirates and even the Great Movie Ride.