Children afraid of Dumbo

[lntsmom]

My older son wouldn't ride this type of ride when he was between 2 and 3. Why? Because when he was a toddler he got in a kiddie airplane ride and the kid in the front had the joystick. He got one very bumpy ride...and the lack of control and bumping made him terrified of anything made in this style.

It took me awhile to convince him to give it another go. When he agreed, I insisted that HE be the child in the front of the plane. One of the attendants at Worlds of Fun got snippy with me about it, but I didn't feel the need to explain myself to a clueless teenager. I just had my son get off the ride and wait for the next cycle. The ride operator wasn't happy, but my son enjoyed the ride and that's what mattered.

So, if you ask why kids might be afraid of Dumbo, it may be life experience, young as they are.

Or, it could be that they're toddlers or preschoolers who live in a universe separate from the one those of us over the age of 5 reside in. Little kids can develop phobias for no good reason what-so-ever. It's all part of being their age!

 

[carj]

My DD4 is afraid of pretty much any ride that goes off of level ground. She likes trains, if they aren't too loud, she likes cars if they don't go too fast, she likes boats, if they go slowly and smoothly. The thing is that she WANTS to try them, but then gets scared once she is on them. She will beg to ride something and then cry the whole way through it. She isn't being contrary, she just is really afraid.

DS7 is a whole other story. He rides anything that he is big enough to ride! In my opinion, it is just a difference in personalities. Some of us enjoy the rides more than others.

 

[minkydog]

I dunno, but my oldest didn't care for Dumbo when he was little. We have old video of DS & me riding round and round in circles near the ground All the other elephants were flying up & down, but we never varied from our route. Round and round and round, DS with a little grim face and mouth set.

 

[Keara'sMom]

When my dd was 5, she wouldn't ride anything at WDW, aside from the Carousel and Small World. Frankly, she got extremely upset on a merry-go-round when she was 2, and she wouldn't ride the little cars at our mall until she was 4, but she would go ripping down the driveway on her tricycle as fast as she could! I believe it's a control thing with her. If she can control it, she's fine, but when she lacks control, she freaks! She's 11 and will ride many more rides at WDW now, but she still won't try the biggies (any of the mountains, for example), and she HATES Barnstormer because it's jerky and goes too fast.

Each kid is different--we've learned (after some forcing and bad parenting moments) to roll with it and let her do what's comfortable for her.