Dark rides & small children

[MusiqChic99]

My son will be 3 when we go to Disney in October. It's his first time and I'm a little worried about some of the rides because they are "dark".

Any ideas to maybe ease this for him??? Glow bracelets?? Maybe a mini flashlight that isn't bright enough to annoy other guests??

Thanks in advance.

 

[RMulieri]

We did glow sticks and a tiny penlight. The only time they made us put the penlight out was in the Haunted Mansion

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

My son will be 3 when we go to Disney in October. It's his first time and I'm a little worried about some of the rides because they are "dark".

Any ideas to maybe ease this for him??? Glow bracelets?? Maybe a mini flashlight that isn't bright enough to annoy other guests??

Thanks in advance.

I like the glow bracelet idea. Stock up at Dollar Tree or Target. Does your child normally get scared in the dark? At 3, my DD loved every single ride and the dark rides have NEVER bothered her. At 4 she was on Space Mountain and EE though so I have a daredevil! Only you know your child. I would start with one of the rides that isn't so dark (maybe IASW) and try that first. Don't start with Peter Pan, Snow White, or Pirates, or Pooh. There are parts of those that scare some kids.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I wouls start preparing now for dark rides. There are a lot! DGS is afraid of the dark and we are trying to eliminate this fear. We plan fun things to do in the dark. We take glow sticks into the dark bathroom or even on the porch. We "watch" my DS use sparklers outside at night, we catch lighting bugs, we take a flashlight to bed and shine it all around the room and look how different things look in the dark.
We go into a dark room and turn the light on, then off to see that things are still the same.

Glow sticks really do not give off much light but can be a distraction in a dark ride. I have heard people using small flash lights but not sure how that would effect other poeple.

Just reasure him that it is all disney magic and everything will be ok!

 

[MusiqChic99]

I wouls start preparing now for dark rides. There are a lot! DGS is afraid of the dark and we are trying to eliminate this fear. We plan fun things to do in the dark. We take glow sticks into the dark bathroom or even on the porch. We "watch" my DS use sparklers outside at night, we catch lighting bugs, we take a flashlight to bed and shine it all around the room and look how different things look in the dark.
We go into a dark room and turn the light on, then off to see that things are still the same.

Glow sticks really do not give off much light but can be a distraction in a dark ride. I have heard people using small flash lights but not sure how that would effect other poeple.

Just reasure him that it is all disney magic and everything will be ok!

He loves flashlights and things that glow in the dark. I think I will consider the glow stick idea and buy them in advance and make it fun for him at home first. I never even thought of that.

Thank you!

 

[MSSANDRA]

And to add.. the glow stick can break open. They are non toxic so do not worry but it is kinda a shock to look down and see your child glowing all over. It washes off really easy( though we had to go into a dark bathroom to be able to see where to wash), and washed out of the PJ's.

 

[asoko]

My MIL got us tiny lights that go on fingers. I also picked up some disney flashlights at Target. My kids do NOT like the dark rides at all, so we have to be prepared.

 

[shoppgirl]

Dark rides were a serious problem for my DD who was 4 last year on her first trip. The sad thing is that the best rides there are practically all in the "dark"! She screamed bloody murder on all of them with the exception of Its a Small World. The worst rides for her were Pooh, Jungle Cruise (because you go through a dark tunnel/cave!), Peter Pan. And at Epcot, she was a complete wreck in Nemo! I never made it onto to Toy Story Mania or even Buzz Lightyear, and forget about the Haunted Mansion!

I thought just covering her eyes would help, but it didn't. I have been told to try bringing a small flashlight pen, glow sticks too, but knowing my daughter, that wouldn't have helped her. She had up to that point always slept with a night light on and the hallway light on. So she has no experience being in the total darkness. The way the cars move along in the dark is also what scares her because she has no idea which direction she will be heading towards , so it was a combination of the two. We are headed back this year and she says she still doesn't want any dark rides, so we shall see.

My suggestion would be to show some video clips of the dark rides on you tube, practice being in a dark room, try those glow sticks/light pens etc.

We had to keep reminding ourselves that we were in Disney for the girls, and if they didn't like a particular aspect of a ride (too scary, too dark), we had to skip it, even if it was a favourite of mine. We stuck to things that they liked and never forced them to try a ride they didn't want. And if they did go on a ride and discovered they hated it, we of course would never go on it again! Have a great trip!

 

[mmcphee]

Thanks for these great tips. My 6 year old still hates dark rides. I think I will give her a pen light this time and see if it helps.

 

[Microcell]

Another idea.. two fold use..

Have him wear white or light colored shirts! It will reflect sun, and be cooler than dark shirts, and when you are in those black light rides (and there are many) you can point out how his shirt glows in the dark!

We used that many times with DS to redirect him!

I would also suggest starting with Dumbo, Aladdin and Carousel... those are tame and he will hopefully look forward to other rides.. We started our poor son with Buzz Light year and he was doomed the whole trip... though that is a good glow in the dark one!

 

[Kims09]

Our daughter was afraid of the dark rides too. We used the glow bracelets and called them her "bravery bracelets." For whatever reason, it worked.

 

[Addicted2Disney:O)]

I think that kids at that age read a lot of how they feel off of how their parents are acting. If you act like he should be scared, he will.
My DS is 3.5 & rides everything, we never even entertained the thought of him being scared. He is a daredevil

 

[Addicted2Disney:O)]

BTW the flowers in your avatar are beautiful

 

[cmusschoot]

All of your tips have been helpful, I too have a son who is not thrilled by dark rides...at 2 he did okay, now he refuses to go on the Haunted Mansion. He is 4. We brought cute Disney themed mini flashlight keychains to help with his fear. The kids didn't use them much, and they annoyed my DH...funny!

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Our daughter was afraid of the dark rides too. We used the glow bracelets and called them her "bravery bracelets." For whatever reason, it worked.

That's a really sweet idea! If kids watch Dragon Tales (is that still on?) you could point out the glowing in the dark and say their "dragon badge is glowing" because they're brave, LOL!

 

[aliceindisneyland]

I think that kids at that age read a lot of how they feel off of how their parents are acting. If you act like he should be scared, he will.
My DS is 3.5 & rides everything, we never even entertained the thought of him being scared. He is a daredevil

I totally agree. We have raised DS5 and DD2 without urging them to be scared (in fact we didn't let people use the word "scary" around DS until probably age 4)and they don't know they're *supposed* to be scared!
Both kids' favorite rides are Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Don't warn your kids that a ride may be scary or dark or fast--even talking over them to other adults--unless you want them to freak out in line or during the ride. Nothing kills fun like a parent
If your kid is scared of the dark, point out the points of light.
If your kid is scared of skeletons, point out the silly parrot standing on the skeleton's skull.
If your kid is scared of hills, hold him tight and yell, "WHEEEEEE!" all the way down.
And if your kid gets scared of the Yeti because a 7 yr old is freaking out next to her in line for the Matterhorn, tell her to growl back at him! DD2's new fave ride: the Matterhorn--complete with "the Grumpy Snowman"!

 

[cuppycake]

When my girls were younger, and didn't like the dark stuff (not sure they were actually SCARED, but they weren't happy that they couldn't see anything)....DH would push the light on his watch. It would stay on for a bit, and it was enough to distract them. They started looking forward to the dark so that they could push the button on his watch themselves to light it up!