Best first dark ride? Best first coaster?

[aleighc1]

I'm trying to figure out which dark ride would be best to do first? I have little ones and while I really do think they'll handle dark rides just fine (except maybe Snow White and Pinocchio), I would like the first dark ride we do to be a gentle, not so scary ride.

Also, is Gadget's Go Coaster the most basic coaster in the park? My kids have never been on a roller coaster, and I want to work them up from the most basic so they don't get too scared on the bigger ones. (I'm most concerned about my 5 year old. He can be quite timid, but once he warms up he becomes very outgoing and adventurous. I know he'll love the bigger rides, I just know we will need to build up to them a bit so he's comfortable) Would Goofy's Sky School be a good step after Gadget?

 

[rowan1813]

I think Peter Pan's Flight would be the best dark ride to start out on. Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toad's do have some scary elements (although the whole ride isn't scary). Its pretty gentle and it will be fun for your kids to be in a flying pirate ship. Try to hit that ride early in the morning if you can cause the line can get pretty horrendous (I've seen it 1.5 hours during the day).

Gadget's Go Coaster is the most basic and kid-friendly in the park and a great way to warm them up to the bigger ones. Be forewarned on Goofy's Sky School if your kids have any fear of heights. I am a BIG!!! scaredy-cat when it comes to heights and I usually freak out on that ride. The top is pretty high up and when the car swings out on the curves on the track at the top, I feel like I am going to fall out (that's the only way I can describe what the car does but it doesn't actually leave the track). Your best bet would be to search on Youtube for a video of what the ride actually looks like and let that be your judge (more than my decidedly biased opinion).

I know its not a lot of info, but I hope it helps in some way. Have fun!

 

[wallawallakids]

I think Peter Pan's Flight would be the best dark ride to start out on. Snow White, Pinocchio, and Mr. Toad's do have some scary elements (although the whole ride isn't scary). Its pretty gentle and it will be fun for your kids to be in a flying pirate ship. Try to hit that ride early in the morning if you can cause the line can get pretty horrendous (I've seen it 1.5 hours during the day).

Gadget's Go Coaster is the most basic and kid-friendly in the park and a great way to warm them up to the bigger ones. Be forewarned on Goofy's Sky School if your kids have any fear of heights. I am a BIG!!! scaredy-cat when it comes to heights and I usually freak out on that ride. The top is pretty high up and when the car swings out on the curves on the track at the top, I feel like I am going to fall out (that's the only way I can describe what the car does but it doesn't actually leave the track). Your best bet would be to search on Youtube for a video of what the ride actually looks like and let that be your judge (more than my decidedly biased opinion).

I know its not a lot of info, but I hope it helps in some way. Have fun!

Completely agree!!! I was going to second Peter Pan.

 

[kangamama]

Re the dark rides in fantasyland -- do any of them have unexpected drops? I'm thinking along the lines of the descent into POTC -- that stop freaked my DS5 out, and he wants to know what to expect on modes like Alice, Snow White, Peter Pan, Mr Toad. Any answers would be appreciated!

 

[mgrace79]

I saw watch video on YouTube. That's what I did with my dd5. It helps her see the see ahead of time and judge for herself if she'd like the ride. Turns out she is a roller coaster junkie and her favorite ride was the tower of terror. Buy I truly believe that watching videos ahead of time helped her. She doesn't do well with new things sometimes so this helped he to know what to expect. Otherwise she can be VERY timid which happened on a few that we hadn't watched a video for and took her awhile to warm up to the idea of trying it. That's my experience.

 

[kangamama]

We watched several videos before our trip in December, but for some reason didn't think to watch these, because they werent on the list. I wish I had thought to do that again, but it's too late -- we start our drive to Anaheim in about 10 minutes.

 

[rms123]

My DD4 was freaked out by Peter Pan because the ships go up in the air in the queuing area. I would suggest Alice or Winnie the Poo to start off. No drops or anything on either one. Alice just has a moment that could be scary when the Queen says Off with their heads.

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

What about it's a small world? I agree with Pooh as well.

 

[kangamama]

We did pooh and small world in dec -- both were fine. Are there any drops in snow white?

 

[MinnieMom13]

We first took our daughter when she was four. She had no fear of the dark whatsoever, so we were stunned when she buried her face in her hands on the Fantasyland rides.

We solved this problem by taking her on Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. My son and I were together in the car just in front of theirs. My daughter again buried her face in her hands, but my husband narrated the action like he was Al Michaels: "Good shot Sam!" "Mom's winning!" Her curiousity got the best of her so she looked up, grabbed her laser blaster, and started shooting. She never had a problem on a dark ride after that--whew!

You may want to consider Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters as the first dark ride. Having something to actively do--shoot targets--is a great distractor from the dark.

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

We did pooh and small world in dec -- both were fine. Are there any drops in snow white?

No drops just the witch that turns around suddenly. It's kind of creepy. It's a strange ride. What you should think about doing since the line is never that long for that one is ride it first without kids and see what you think. It's pretty short so it won't take you long to get a feel for it.

 

[mmmears]

Pooh is a sweet, fun dark ride. Peter Pan is especially nice. And (if you count it) It's a Small World is, too. I would think these would be the safest choices (less jerking around, nothing really scary in them for little ones).

 

[MateasMom]

My votes are small world, pooh, mermaid, buzz, or toy story.

 

[wallawallakids]

We did pooh and small world in dec -- both were fine. Are there any drops in snow white?

Snow white can be scary. My twins HATE that ride. It's funny because they love Bugs life, Splash Mnt, the materhorn, POTC. But I can't get them to go on Snow White. They are so scared of that witch. I would not start with that ride. After we took DD on it she was scared of all dark rides for the rest of the trip (she was 3 then). She even cried through Winnie the Pooh because she was so scared there would be a witch. She is awesome about rides now but she still asks if there are any witches on the ride before we go on!

 

[Melidef3405]

Re the dark rides in fantasyland -- do any of them have unexpected drops? I'm thinking along the lines of the descent into POTC -- that stop freaked my DS5 out, and he wants to know what to expect on modes like Alice, Snow White, Peter Pan, Mr Toad. Any answers would be appreciated!

No drops on any of the mentioned rides. Alice & Peter Pan have an angled, controlled descent but it's not a drop, more like driving downhill very slowly. I know how he feels, I've been terrified of that drop on PoTC since I was a little kid!

 

[bcla]

My two year old loved Gadget's Go Coaster, but your results may vary.

We also tried a local kiddie coaster closer to home, and I had no worries about freaking out after DL. However, now my kid is terrified of merry-go-rounds. Not sure why since they used to be a staple of our entertainment options. Now my kid freaks out once they start moving.

 

[Rubygoose]

Took DS almost 2 on Alice as our first dark ride because the line was short. He freaked out. I think it was sensory overload. Also it's a very jerky ride. And since it goes inside then outside, he would think it was over and wanted to get out, only to go back inside and get freaked out again. He rode it again the next year and didn't have any trouble with it. I won't ride Snow White (even though she's my favourite princess) because it's scary the whole way through. I don't like that freaky witch!

Peter pan, little mermaid, monster's inc. and winnie the pooh are good started dark rides.

 

[Midnightred]

I think IASW would be my first choice. Monsters Inc. is very nice. Pooh is loud, but wonderful-any of those three would be good. My fav is Peter Pan. My 2 boys adore Alice!

Midnightred

 

[aleighc1]

Thank you for all the replies! We've been watching ride videos on YouTube for the past couple weeks, and it's been great for my 5 year old to decide ahead of time which rides he does and does not want to go on. (I was so bummed when he told me the Haunted Mansion looked to frightening for him!!) It's also been awesome for my older kids too, because they are getting so excited for some of the bigger, more adventurous rides.

I can't believe that after having to reschedule this trip so many times, we are finally less than two months away from our first trip to Disneyland!!!!!! (Ok, well first trip for my kids and hubby- but it's been over 20 years since I've been there)

 

[spellhex]

Remember that the full name for Snow White is Snow White's Scary Adventures - it's definitely one of the more intense dark rides. Peter Pan is probably the most tame. Mr. Toad's ends with you going to hell, so be sure to keep that in mind.

Gadget's Go Coaster is easily the best coaster for beginners - it's maybe a 30 second ride and you can see the entire track from the queue. I might have to go with the Matterhorn as the next coaster; the yeti does make several sudden (and possibly scary) appearances, but the coaster itself is pretty tame and slow. I'd recommend going on the Fantasyland side first - there are two tracks, one closer to Alice in Wonderland and Fantasyland and one closer to Nemo's Submarines and Tomorrowland - because the Fantasyland side is slower and doesn't have the big dip that Tomorrowland's side does.

Goofy's Sky School is a Crazy Mouse coaster. Those are meant to whip riders around with really tight turns high up to give the appearance of possibly falling off the track. The cars and size of the coaster give it the appearance of being a tamer coaster, but it really isn't.