Best rides for kids at DL?

[seagodess]

We are taking DS (5yr) to DL for the first time. I have only been one other time (7yrs ago for our honeymoon) and DH went when he was little. So, It will kind of be knew to all of us. DH and I have kind of thought about what rides we really want to go on, but we dont really know what DS would like best. Here are the ones we want to go on that we can think of.
Grizzly river rapids (is that what its called?)
Small world
Dumbo
Finding nemo sub (never done it)
Jungle cruse (never done it)
Mark Twain (never done it)
Toy story in CA
Hollywood tower of terror
Big thunder mt.
Haunted mansion
Tea cups
Mickeys wheele of fun
Pirates
Splash Mt.
Star tours
Are there any other things that are must do rides for small kids?
Also, last time we went I got REALLY bad motion sickness from star tours. If it had lasted a minute longer, I probably would have made a big mess. So I wont be going on that one. However I was wondering if any other rides had that same sort of feel to them? I was thinking of maybe Soaring?

 

[skiingfast]

Tower of Terror may be too intense for the 5yo. They would like Redwood Creek Challenge Trails and Tom Sawyer Island. Also the rides in Flik's Fun Fair and Turtle Talk with Crush.

The new Star Tours is commonly reported to be better for people in your position.

Soaring is usually fine.

 

[jennabennabofenna]

i agree with skiingfast, TOT might be too much for a 5yr old.

There is also:
Gadgets Go Coaster
Astro Orbitor
Autopia
Buzz lightyear astro blasters
Alice in wonderland
casey jr circus train
jumpin jellyfish
many adventures of winnie the pooh
matterhorn
monsters inc
mr toads wild ride
peter pans flight
Pinocchio's daring journey
roger rabbits cartoon spin
silly symphony swings
snow whites scarey adventure
soarin over california
storybook land canals
fliks flyers
heimlichs chew chew train
francis lady bug boogie
tuck and roll's drive em buggies

i know im missing a few.... oh, i dont think you had space mountain on your list! MIGHT be too much for a 5yr old. depending on the child.

Hope this helps

 

[dchatelain3]

Soarin and Star Tours both make me sick

 

[Mugglemama]

I might be in the minority here...but I went on the new version of Star Tours in January (last time I was on it was just before it closed down for the change), and I got sooooooo much more motion sick on it this time, as did my 14 year old son. I found that if I looked at the c3p0 robot thing on the side of the screen (the one that moves and talks...), I was able to hold it together until the ride was over. Blech, but I will NEVER go on it again (good thing I'm not a Star Wars fan! Too bad for DS14 who is a huge SW fan.)

Soarin' is fine for me as long as I close my eyes during any "turning" portions of the film...like at the beginning when it "turns" to go over the Golden Gate Bridge, and later when it's the helicopter "turning" to fly over the aircraft carrier.

I agree with PP's....it takes a certain type of 5 year old to enjoy TOT. My DS7 rode it at 5, and he continues to choose to ride it every time we go even though I don't think he's actually enjoying it (lol) - and he knows I would happily sit out with him if he didn't want to go on it.. I'm at a loss to explain why he chooses to torture himself, but whatever...(he also loves rides like Haunted Mansion and Pirates too, though, and has been riding them since he was a baby...if your DS isn't keen on those, I wouldn't personally attempt TOT.) I'm sure there are plenty of 5 year olds who do enjoy it....I would just recommend evaluating whether or not you think your DS is one that would, because otherwise it might scare the heck out of him and make him leery of other, less intense rides.

 

[HydroGuy]

One big one not mentioned:

Animation Studios at DCA
Turtle Talk With Crush (part of Animation Studios)

 

[jdb in AZ]

It really depends on the personality of the 5-yr-old. When my niece was little her mom started her out on Alice in Wonderland and the kid hated it. Everytime they went on an inside ride after that she screamed.

So, I would start with something easy like It's a Small World so your son knows that even rides in the dark are fun.

 

[Lissame]

Don't forget that some of those rides do have height restrictions. Depending on the height of your 5 year old, Grizzly River Run has a height restriction of 42 inches, which some 5 year olds don't quite meet. Just a head's up!

Don't forget Autopia...adults don't love it, but kids adore it.

 

[Pesky]

Also, can't tell when you are going, but CarsLand opens in June and that will have 3 rides that your son would probably like. And I am very prone to motion sickness and didn't have a problem with Soarin' as there is a horizon to focus on. Good to know about the refurb though on Star Tours! I've heard recommendations for taking some bonine before hitting the rides just in case so might do that!

 

[Lissame]

Also, can't tell when you are going, but CarsLand opens in June and that will have 3 rides that your son would probably like. And I am very prone to motion sickness and didn't have a problem with Soarin' as there is a horizon to focus on. Good to know about the refurb though on Star Tours! I've heard recommendations for taking some bonine before hitting the rides just in case so might do that!

My husband and 13 yo son get quite motion sick...in fact my husband can't watch Dumbo or the teacups it bothers him so badly, and in the past hasn't been able to go on Star Tours, and Space and Soarin really bother him. This past year he wore SeaBands, and they helped immensely. He wore them in combination with taking Bonine on our cruise and didn't have any seasickness, and both he and my son just wore the bands at DL. It's a great option to try for motion sick people, they deal with acupressure points.

 

[starshine514]

My older daughter rode TOT at age 5 at WDW. She hated it! She didn't ride it again until January when her almost-5-yr-old sister decided to take the plunge and ride it. Her sister loved it, but she still hated it. It really depends on the kid. My little ones favorite ride is BTMRR, but SM scares her, so I was shocked when she loved TOT.

My DD5's favorites are (in no particular order):
BTMRR
Alice in Wonderland
Casey Jr Circus Train
Gadget's Go Coaster
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Haunted Mansion (with Holiday Overlay)
TOT
Toy Story Mania
Goofy's Sky School
Grizzly River Run
Little Mermaid
Silly Symphony Swings

She's also traditionally been fond of the Matterhorn, but we'll have to see with the new cars...

 

[mmlover74]

My son is 6 and I plan on taking him to Tom Sawyer Island so he can run around and be in a place where he is not standing in line. Check the height restrictions and I am excited to introduce him to Space Mtn (he's never rode it before) I will tell him we are going to look for aliens. Best part: he doesn't know we are going to DL and DCA.

I will let him look at TOT before deciding whether he wants to ride.

 

[PigletSeeker]

My 5 year old likes all the ones you mentioned except for ToT. I would recommend not doing it this trip. My DD is up for just about anything, and loves Space Mountain and Splash. Everyone warned me not to do ToT because it's such a different, intense ride...kind of hard for a kid to imagine what it will feel like beforehand. I should have listened...she went happily on with me, saying she loves scary rides. When it ended and the lights came on, she had a look of sheer terror on her face and I literally had to pry her hands off the bars!

 

[seagodess]

Don't forget that some of those rides do have height restrictions. Depending on the height of your 5 year old, Grizzly River Run has a height restriction of 42 inches, which some 5 year olds don't quite meet. Just a head's up!

The only ones DS is to short for is Indiana Jones and Screaming. He's pretty tall for his age.
We will have to see about the TOT when we are there. He's watched the DL vidio and it shows it and he said he wanted to. If he doesn't want to we wont force him.
We are going in a little over 3 weeks !

 

[Malcon10t]

When my wild niece went on ToT at age 4-6, she hated it. This past trip, she was 7, and actually liked it this time.

 

[Isatricia]

Like others said, every kid is different. Last week we took our 6 & 8 year old girls. We went on everything. The 6 yr old loved things her 8 yr old sister did not. The 8 yr old still went and if there was something she at first hated and we went on it 2-3 times she began to like it. Example: Thunder Mountain Railroad - the first time on it 8 yr old hated it, second time it was a little better, after the 3rd time she was begging to go on it and even rode by herself one time. We ended up going on it at least 12-14 times last week. My advice is to not let one time on a ride set the course for what a child likes or doesn't like.

 

[LucasandMickey]

My DS who was just 2 when we went last time loved Pirates, Astro Orbiter, Astro Blaster and Matterhorn.

 

[canadian_ehngel]

When my DD1 was 4 she was tall enough for ToT... and she LOVED it. She went on it 3x in a row. DD2 is looking forward to trying it out the next time we go (she'll be 4).

 

[PineapplePrincessCA]

I have a 5 year old, 6 year old and 7 year old.

Space Mountain and Tower of Terror were the favorites with my older girls last year.

My 5 year old loves Haunted Mansion, Buzz Lightyear and Big Thunder the best.

Oh, and they all have loved Soaring over California the past couple of years.

 

[Rescue Pooh]

I don't think I saw one of my favorites mentioned Pirates of the Caribbean. Not sure if that would be good for a 5 yo? I haven't been in years and years, but hoping to take my kids soon.