Blizzard Beach, A 7 Year Old and the Big SCARY Thing!?

[chrisn]

My 7 year old DS is a thrill seeking Evil Kinevil (just like Daddy). We watched the new WDW Planning Video over the weekend and he desperately wants to ride that big, scary looking slide. The one that goes straight down at like 55 miles per hour . The height requirement is 48. He is 48 1/2 barefooted. I am freaking out here! First of all, there is no way that you could get me on that thing and I am not a chicken, I LOVE rollercoasters but I am terrified that he would get scared or hurt. Have any of your children done this at his age/height and how did it turn out? Maybe it's called Summit Plummit or something like that???

 

[Bellefan66]

I would say it depends on how good of a swimmer is he? Is he confident in the water? When we were there last, DS was 15, and DD was 12 and they loved it. DD who was 5 did not go on it. Good luck

 

[Ilovestitch]

Everytime I'm there, I see tons of kids getting on Summit Plummit. I wouldn't worry about it, they are never in deep water anyways- no more than 2 or 3 inches. -Steph

 

[eeyore0062]

I would say that the kids do better on Summit Plummit than the adults. If he gets up there and decides not to do it, he can always turn around, but if he decides to go for it, why not let him?

 

[kirbsam]

My 7 year old dd did this last january and cant wait to try it again. she loved it.

 

[kilee]

I know how you feel I'd be a nervous wreck watching DS. Fortunately, we stick w/ TL because it's our favorite. I can't wait to try the new water coaster there this spring!

 

[NotUrsula]

Swimming skill is pretty much a non-issue on SP; the whole thing is a shallow trough, no pool at the bottom at all. Essentially, it's a straight-line luge with no sled and a little bit of water instead of ice. You end up lying in a puddle at the bottom.

Kids won't go down nearly as fast as adults will, since they are so much lighter. Just as with Splash Mtn., there is a bit of an optical illusion in terms of the angle of the descent, it's not quite as steep an angle as it appears to be. It *looks* like you are actually free-falling away from the surface of the water, but you are sliding the whole time, the angle is 70 degrees. The drop is roughly twice as tall as Splash Mtn.

With a 7 yo, my biggest issue would be how to handle the waiting line. The tower is quite a distance from the end of the slide, so you would almost need to have one adult climb with him and another wait at the end. This is fine if you have adults who want to do it, but a little more complicated if he would be the only one in the group doing the slide.

 

[seashoreCM]

Going down a 70 degree slope gives you 93% of the sensation of free fall.

The water in the channel is also flowing down and is there to lubricate the channel and prevent friction burns, so there is very little if any retarding of your fall.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[DBC]

The scariest part of the Summit Plummet is walking up the last few steps and looking down. It's terrifying to me.

I don't think there is any chance he'll get hurt from the ride though.

 

[chrisn]

DH and DS wants to ride and DD and I don't. He will take DS up first think and DD and I will wait at the bottom for him holding our breath. It might be a bad idea to let him though, he will probably want to run up and do it again!