Children riding rides?

[Lynne M]

A little nervous because I have read that the Rock n Roll rollercoaster goes upside down and TOT lifts you out of your seat.

Millions of people have ridden both of those rides, over several decades. No one has fallen or flown out of either one. I can't imagine that Disney would even consider operating a roller coaster that someone could fall out of.

Even though centripetal force keeps you in your seat when the coaster goes upside down, there are heavy over-the-shoulder-restraints as an extra precaution.

As for ToT, you get lifted an inch or two out of your seat when the ride vehicle is pulled down. You're in a seat in an enclosed box. There's nowhere to fall.

She'll be fine.

 

[KorbensMomma]

A lot of kids seem to get really scared in the Stitch ride. It's really dark and things bump you.
Every time I ride a little one starts screaming when the lights go out. Terrified screaming, and it is kinda long in the dark part.

I would definitely not do it at the beginning of the trip, she might think all rides will turn in to it.

 

[ineedavacation33]

I'd stay away from Mission Space from a physical standpoint. There are many threads where you can read discussion on this ride in more detail.

From a scariness perspective, just let her do the rides when she is ready. My son was quite tall and could do ToT at 3 years old. Took him a few days to agree to try it, but then he very much enjoyed it. We didn't push anything on him, and he rode everything that was 40 inches for height requirement.

 

[Princess Roo]

I agree that it depends on what the kids likes/is afraid of, and also that it's a good idea to "ramp up". If she hasn't been on a roller coaster before, don't start with Space Mt where it's dark and you can't hold her hand. But if she loves BTMR and doesn't have fears of the dark, I wouldn't hesitate to do any of the other coasters.

I know Stitch, Haunted Mansion, ToT would freak my DD7 out, because she will burst into tears when her big brother jumps out and scares her. But my DS4 would be fine on them most likely, because he screams then laughs when that same big brother does the same thing. That same DD loves Space Mt because the dark and thrills don't bother her - just being startled.

 

[AngiTN]

DGD rode every ride at Disney as soon as she was tall enough, mostly on her 5th birthday trip.
Some she's ridden every time, some she dislikes and haven't ridden again. Some she didn't ride, tried again and now loves.
I say let them ride if they want
At 7 she rides quite a few rides alone, at her request, and she LOVES it.
DH and I love that we don't have to ride Barnstormer or Aladdin with her every single time (she rides those over and over again)

 

[ktlm]

I would let her do whichever rides she wants to try. At age 6, my niece's favorite ride was RNRC. DD is now 9, and she has always refused to set foot on RNRC. It really just depends on the kid.

 

[LBlovesM&WDW]

My niece was turning 7 on our first trip and was ready for whatever until we got there. She was terrified for the HM and Dino, but we reminded her that she was safe and that it was all make-believe. She conquered her fear several times over that trip. As long as the child is tall enough and wants to ride, I would let them.

 

[bumbershoot]

Regarding the mention of a thin child and bigger adult, that can be a concern on Big Thunder. Is heard of it and totally thought those people were just making things up. And then DH and DS rode for the first time together (I usually go with DS but I had a headache and didn't ride) and DS started slipping way way down. To a frightening point. DS was 9 and tall but not heavy, and DH is a big guy, over 300, and the differential was too much. Also DS was used to riding with me and not bracing himself much bc he usually jams us in lol.

You're in a seat in an enclosed box. There's nowhere to fall.

Yep.

I'd stay away from Mission Space from a physical standpoint. There are many threads where you can read discussion on this ride in more detail.

The orange side can be really bad. But the green side is just action simulator. Can get to some people with strong claustrophobia but relatively few others.

I won't even think about orange side.

 

[elaine amj]

Totally dependent on your kid. I always let my kids ride what they feel they want to (and i'm open to bribing them!) and opt out of what they don't want (although a couple of times I will insist they ride - for various reasons).

What I do when they're unsure is show them a ride video. That way they (and you) know what's going to happen throughout the whole thing. I just spent a couple of days in Universal with friends. The mom and the son are super nervous so it was interesting. A couple of rides they were iffy about so I showed them the ride video and really tried to explain as much of the ride as I could remember. Then they could make the decision for themselves.