Children and Dark Rides.....

[sbouncer]

Good morning all.... We are heading to Disney in 21 days, this will be our second trip in the last year and I have a problem...My DS 5 has now all of a sudden developed a fear of anything dark...dark bedrooms, dark ride entrances you name it and he doesn't want to be there...Once he get's on the ride though, after assuring him that everything is fine, he enjoys every minute of it....I was just wondering if anyone else ever had anything like this and how they remedied it...

I don't want to be that parent that is dragging their son through the line while he is kicking and screaming but I know that once he get's there he loves it and wants to go again......help?

 

[kaweb]

..she was fine once through the "dark" parts of some ride (i.e. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad), or once she knew that nothing would jump out at her (big mistake, we let her talk us into taking her on Dinosaur on Day One. Yikes!!! That was nearly a trip-buster, made her terrified of any dark parts the rest of the week).

Anyway, we gave her a light up necklace (hers had Princesses on it, but you could find other characters, or even a small "glow" flashlight that doesn't give off a wide beam) that she could turn on upon entering a dark segment--it sort of "flashed", enough to give her a little security w/out really lighting up the ride for those around us. I was usually right next to her, and didn't even notice the light (she kept her hand cupped around it, so she could look down when she needed the reassurance).

This really worked well for her, and us, and I think for those around us.

Good luck! It's hard when they are frightened, and yet still want to ride and you don't want to force them...and still know they'll like it once they try it!!! Yep, we've been there

 

[all4fun]

We took our step-nephew (8) once and one of the first rides we went on was the Great Movie Ride at MGM. Big mistake because he absolutely freaked when he saw the Alien creature and from then on he was afraid of everything.

We still took him on most attractions, talking him thru everything, and like your ds, once he'd been on it once he wanted to go again usually. One ride he was terrified of because of the dark was Space Mtn however after we told him it was like being an astronaut flying through outerspace he really wanted to go on it and that became one of his favorite rides at MK.

I never thought about the flashlight idea the pp mentioned at that time, but that's definitely something that is do-able... one of those little keychain or penlights would be great (nothing too bright of course). Or buy the glow sticks or bracelets to use (we find them locally at the Dollar Tree).

Hth and best of luck...

 

[meghan74]

We always pack a bunch of those glow bracelets (I get mine at Walmart) and DD holds them up by her face on the dark rides. They keep her happy without bothering anyone else.

 

[cour10ee]

Hi, we gave our DD (she was 5 at the time,) a little pen light flashlight that really helped with this. She shone it DOWN into the car of the ride so it only lit up the inside of the car or her feet. Whenever the dark or scary parts got too realistic or overwhelming, she could look down and be reminded that it was just a ride.

 

[shellyfive]

when my youngest was little we clipped a tiny penlight(type that hang from keychains)onto the beltloop of his shorts each day-----enough light that he was comfortable and not too much to bother anyone. It was always on his person too, so he had the control to use it or not-----towards the end of the trip he really didn't use it all that much......just remember that the pan ride , snow white, etc. have all dark moments too-----i think if you just prepare them a little and them let them control their situation(with the light)it will all work out!! have a great trip!

 

[mecllap]

Start with the least scary ones, and use a little light as suggested. DGS goes on roller coasters, including Space Mtn, but really doesn't want to do Haunted Mansion again -- so that might be one to avoid on this trip for you.

And don't bother with Stitch attraction!

 

[sbouncer]

Thansk for all of your replies....I plan on the glow necklaces that sounds like a great idea....I knew I could get help here...