California Screamin' for a 6 year old - Screamin' fun or Screamin' 'Lemme off?!?'

[jory29]

Question for all DISers who have let their children ride California Screamin'.
How did your 6 year old or younger child react to the ride? Love it? Hate it? This is the first time our DD will be tall enough to ride on it, and she loves BTMR, LOVES Mulholland Madess, and does well on the Tower of Terror. She said the best part of Mulholland Madness is the 'swoooop' down part. I think she will like it, (the rest of us in the family have gone on CS and all love it) but just a few months ago, she had some hesitation. Lately, she is gung ho, and has been watching youtube POV's, and saying she'll go on that ride. She doesn't seem afraid of it now. Of course my fear is, she'll be on the ride, hate it, and won't be able to get off of the ride until it's over. She doesn't like Space Mountain, but did o.k. with it, calmly asking white-knuckled me if it would be over soon. I had read that the age requirement for CS when it first opened used to be 48" AND 8 years old, but not sure why.

So, please spill your child's first time on California Screamin' and please do say how old in years and months they were, and if they were boy or girl. By the way, she seems to be a thrill-seeker, as she holds her hands up in the air when she's on coasters.

 

[avalon451]

Oh, bet she'd love it! Although if she loves BTMRR (and ToT, wow! ), I'm wondering why she didn't like Space? Space seems much smoother to me. Screamin', while very fast and twisty, is quite smooth.

My kids didn't go on it; only the oldest likes roller coasters, and she was sick that day and resting back at the room. She and I are going in Oct., and though she's nervous about it, she has promised to go on it.

However, my brother and his wife took my 5 year old niece on it, in May. Guess what, she LOVED it! Rode on it 3 straight times and begged to go again!

 

[jory29]

Oh, bet she'd love it! Although if she loves BTMRR (and ToT, wow! ), I'm wondering why she didn't like Space? Space seems much smoother to me. Screamin', while very fast and twisty, is quite smooth.

My kids didn't go on it; only the oldest likes roller coasters, and she was sick that day and resting back at the room. She and I are going in Oct., and though she's nervous about it, she has promised to go on it.

However, my brother and his wife took my 5 year old niece on it, in May. Guess what, she LOVED it! Rode on it 3 straight times and begged to go again!

Cool!! Thanks for your input, we really appreciate it! I think in SM, the 'not knowing where you're going so fast in the dark' is the thing that does some people in. At least, it does for me.

Our DD also didn't like the Sun Wheel very much, but my own terrified face likely influenced her (I had no clue I was scared to go on it until I was waaaaay high up. It was night time, and I felt I couldn't get my bearings. And I didn't mind the maliboomer either, but just don't like the sun wheel.) I think the sun wheel goes to slow though to be as fun as a ride that's high like CS or ToT.

Good luck with your daughter going on it in Oct. Your love of the ride is contagious, she'll probably follow suit.

She likes the ride part of ToT but doesn't like the part where they say to wave good-bye....

 

[dizneygirlz3]

We just got back and my DD5 who is very tall for her age rode it for the second time and loved it. She is my youngest of 3 girls and is not fearful at all when it comes to rides or anything. It scares me more, but if she is o.k. with it I try to be, I don't want her to be scared of things. Good luck...

 

[Sienna]

We took our 5 (almost 6)-year-old girl on it, and she did fine. Once was enough for that trip - she didn't want to do it again. However, on our next trip, she just turned 7 and wanted to ride it multiple times.

 

[BlueBayou]

Oh, bet she'd love it! Although if she loves BTMRR (and ToT, wow! ), I'm wondering why she didn't like Space? Space seems much smoother to me. Screamin', while very fast and twisty, is quite smooth.

I bet the dark/disoriented feeling of Space is why she did not like space mountain. My DD7 LOVES space - but my thrill seeking 5 year old hated it. I recall hearing the a little voice say - "I don't like this mommy" early on in the ride. She was not upset... she just did not like it. When I talked with her afterwards... she said it was the darkness.

I have very tiny girls. I think my now 8-year-old is finally tall enough for California Screamin' and my 5 1/2 year old is nowhere near tall enough yet. I think they both would LOVE it.

They ride the Sun Wheel with their dad... making him go in a swinging car. I won't go near that ride. I am odd - I'll ride roller coasters... but not the Maliboomer or the Sun Wheel of death.

 

[Mugglemama]

So far only my two oldest children are tall enough for it...both of them were 9 before they were tall enough to ride it. And hands down, it is their favorite ride of the entire DLR. They would go on it 2 dozen times a day if they could.

I don't know though, 6 is young!

 

[bumbershoot]

Every time I read Sun Wheel of death I crack up. I love that name. Kinda wish they'd call it that.


jory, I like Screamin', but the take-off hurts my chest. I think it's b/c I'm prone to asthma, and my lungs are my "achilles heel". If she has asthma or if she gets sick in her chest, you might want to let her know about the pressure in the chest on take-off, so she's not surprised. I mean, it *shouldn't* be surprising that you'd feel such pressure, but I was surprised, and I'm much older than 6.


sidenote:
DS is nowhere near Screamin' height, but he is just yearning to go on Indy (closer to that height but still far away). And he hasn't even seen the inside of Indy! Kids.

 

[Mugglemama]

I am odd - I'll ride roller coasters... but not the Maliboomer or the Sun Wheel of death.

LOL, I won't ride the sun wheel either! I did once, my first time at DCA in 2002, and we got a swinging car. Although I love Screamin', I'll never go on that sun wheel again, either.

I like Maliboomer, but last year when I was on it, I got to the top, and the restraint started to pop up! It came completely un "clicked", and was only held down by the seat belt strap thing. Ugh, that was scary. I told the operators as soon as I got back down to earth, but they didn't seem troubled by it. They also kept loading people onto the same seat immediately afterward. I'd been on it dozens of times before, but am thinking that we'll probably skip it next month when we are there.

 

[bumbershoot]

I like Maliboomer, but last year when I was on it, I got to the top, and the restraint started to pop up! It came completely un "clicked", and was only held down by the seat belt strap thing.

OK no wonder they have the strap. Which is what is keeping hubby off of it, b/c his belly is too big still. I will let him know it's an absolute part of the safety system and he will be happy they won't let him on without the strap.

SCARY!!!!!!

 

[Mugglemama]

SCARY!!!!!!

Yeah, it kind of freaks me out just thinking about it. Can you believe I went on it one more time right afterwards anyway? Just figured if I didn't, I'd be afraid forever. This time, I'm just hoping my son won't want to go on it (he's the only one who rides it with me anymore - dh and dd16 are freaked out because of what happened to me), because I don't think I'd let him on it again. I heard they are taking it out, and I hope it's done before our next trip to DLR in June.

 

[DangerMouse]

I took my ds to DLR for his 6th birthday for a special mommy and me trip. He was just tall enough to ride Screamin for the first time and before he would even let us go into DL, he said he wanted to go straight to Screamin and ride it first! He loved it straight away and we rode it another 2 times that day. The same trip he refused to ride Indy because he said it was too scary (he had ridden it on a previous trip). He also won't do ToT because the theming is too scary (he doesn't mind the drop at all).

Side Note: The next day we went to ride Screamin again, and the CM at the loading area said he was too short. They slipped a piece of paper between his head and the bar and wouldn't let him ride. When I explained that he had ridden 3 times the day before, they asked if he had different shoes on. I said nope, same shoes. So I asked if he had shoes that made him touch the bar, would you let him on? And the CM said, yes. So I took my ds to the bathroom, and slid a piece of paper towel in his shoes. We went straight back to the same CM, measured again, and got right on. I was a bit frustrated, but at the same time thankful that the CM basically told me how to jump through the hoops in order to get back on the ride.

Hope your dd loves Screamin as much as my family does. I have one more dd(6) that has yet to ride it. Hopefully December will be her chance!

 

[DorkyDisneyMom]

I took my DD 7 almost 8 year old thrill seeker on it. She loved every minute of it. I am not sure how many times she rode it but it was a bunch.

I also took my DS5 almost 6 timid guy on it. He loved it even more than she did. He rode it as many times as she did. He is always asking about next time when we go and California Screamin'. He didn't like Space. He requested that we never go on that ride again. I don't like Space so that was fine by me.

 

[jernysgirl]

I am odd - I'll ride roller coasters... but not the Maliboomer or the Sun Wheel of death.

I agree!!!!

 

[grumpyvet]

We grow them big at our house, so my DD was tall enough for CS about 3 months before her 5th birthday. She had ridden an upside down coaster at Hershey park when she had just turned 4, and loved it, so we didn't hesitate to let her ride it!! Loved it. ToT is her favorite, but CS is right up there.

When she reached Maliboomer height, at nearly 6, I was worried. I didn't want to go on it, but it was okay.

Same kid used to cry at TOugh to be a Bug, until our visit this June for her
8th birthday!!!!!

AMY

 

[Robert TG]

Space Mountain is dark (scary), while Screaming you can see ahead where your going. You will experiance G forces a few times during the ride.

My advice is that each rider should know that if it gets too scary...shut your eyes and it will be all over in a minute.

 

[joeysmommy]

Question for all DISers who have let their children ride California Screamin'.
How did your 6 year old or younger child react to the ride? Love it? Hate it? This is the first time our DD will be tall enough to ride on it, and she loves BTMR, LOVES Mulholland Madess, and does well on the Tower of Terror. She said the best part of Mulholland Madness is the 'swoooop' down part. I think she will like it, (the rest of us in the family have gone on CS and all love it) but just a few months ago, she had some hesitation. Lately, she is gung ho, and has been watching youtube POV's, and saying she'll go on that ride. She doesn't seem afraid of it now. Of course my fear is, she'll be on the ride, hate it, and won't be able to get off of the ride until it's over. She doesn't like Space Mountain, but did o.k. with it, calmly asking white-knuckled me if it would be over soon. I had read that the age requirement for CS when it first opened used to be 48" AND 8 years old, but not sure why.

So, please spill your child's first time on California Screamin' and please do say how old in years and months they were, and if they were boy or girl. By the way, she seems to be a thrill-seeker, as she holds her hands up in the air when she's on coasters.

My 6 year old was tall enough to ride CS 2 yrs ago and he loved it. It's still his favorite ride.
We tried all the little roller coasters first to see how did and then he couldn't get enough of CS. When we wree in that crazily long line for Toy Story Mania in June he said 'Let's skip it and just ride CS a few times instead"

 

[caligirl stuck in va]

Our first trip with the girls, DD7 was 5. I would have described her then as quiet and timid - not one to love a rollercoaster (not that she had ever had the chance to ride one). I figured she would be in love with Dumbo and Teacups (which she liked) but lo and behold she turned into a rollercoaster freak that trip!!! She rode CS multiple times with DH plus BTMRR, Matterhorn, Mulholland Madness...everything. Her fave was CS. We were completely shocked but happy!

Our second trip, DD7 was 6. She WOULD NOT ride CS (and this trip I rode it for the first time! My Dnephew swears I promised him I would and how could I break that heart?)and she would not ride Space Mtn (we got all the way to the little trains and we had to duck out). She missed out on Matterhorn (it was down for the first 3 days of our trip and when we finally got on our last day, she missed it for a bathroom break. Why oh why don't they have more bathrooms at DL?). She still enjoyed BTMRR but cried all the way through Splash Mtn. I am not sure what happened in between trips - she claimed she wanted to go on these rides and that she loved them, but her actions proved otherwise.

 

[edit1]

My daughter was 7 when we first went to Disney, and she absolutely loved it. She kept lining up and going on it again and again, must have been at least 4 times that day!

 

[jory29]

Thank you everyone, for your really nice and detailed replies!! I really think our DD will love California Screamin', too. For some reason I have not read anything on this forum about little ones riding on that ride, so wanted your take on it, so thanks so much for the responses, and keep them coming, if you'd like!

Every time I read Sun Wheel of death I crack up. I love that name. Kinda wish they'd call it that.


jory, I like Screamin', but the take-off hurts my chest. I think it's b/c I'm prone to asthma, and my lungs are my "achilles heel". If she has asthma or if she gets sick in her chest, you might want to let her know about the pressure in the chest on take-off, so she's not surprised. I mean, it *shouldn't* be surprising that you'd feel such pressure, but I was surprised, and I'm much older than 6.


sidenote:
DS is nowhere near Screamin' height, but he is just yearning to go on Indy (closer to that height but still far away). And he hasn't even seen the inside of Indy! Kids.

Excellent advice Re: the breathless takeoff - I had forgotten about that, and I have asthma (exercise induced only, though) as well... I remember it now! I'll mention that to her, so it won't alarm her.