Dinosaur for 5 yr old?

[AtlantaSue]

My 5 year old DD thinks she'd like to try Dinosaur -do you think it's too scary? She meet the height requirement. Any experiences? I've never been on it.

 

[MinnieM3]

My 5YO loves dinaurs, but has no interest in going on this ride yet. It is scary and VERY dark and jerky. I love it. You may have an adventurous 5YO! View the video of the ride at the official Disney site. That might help.

 

[Pocahontas1]

My son likes dinosaurs and is tall enough, but no way I would take him on this yet. Maybe seven or eight would be a better age. I know there will be people who will disagree with me, though. Personally, I think it would be best to wait until they are old enough to really understand the difference between real and make believe. If he rode it and had a terrible experience, it could ruin the rest of your vacation if he didn't want to ride anything else. Even if it wasn't the least bit scary. (Not that I'm speaking from personal experience or anything after I let my four year old ride the Flying Unicorn and the Cat in the Hat at IOA and he wouldn't ride anything else the rest of the trip.)

 

[JESW]

I wouldn't. It is a very dark and jerky ride. My DS went on when he was 8 (he's now 10) and didn't like it. My DS is 6 and she wants no part of it. But there will probably be others who post here that their kids liked it. You know your DD best and what she can handle. My DD is a tough kid but she doesn't like anything that is in the dark. Watch out for Tough to be a Bug at the AK too...

Jill

 

[HomeSweetDisney]

My godmother's nephew was 5 the first time they rode it and he loved it! It just depends on your child and how well they handle rides like that. It's pretty jerky at times, loud, and can be dark with flashing lights and such. Her brother and sister in law thought he was going to be scared but as soon as they got off he wanted to ride it again! And some other friends of ours took their 6 year old on it and he loved it as well. But we've seen kids come off of it crying so like I said, it just varies with each child. Some love it, some hate it.

 

[AtlantaSue]

hmmm - not sure what we'll do...We did view the video on the Disney site and she says yes, but I'd hate to have a horrible experience...

Thank y'all for responding though!

 

[Micca]

Some little folks aren't phased by much. If he loves dinosaurs and thinks action/excitement is cool, he'll be ok. It is a rough and jerky ride, but if you know that at the outset, and you think that's fun, it's a great attraction.

 

[donnac48]

We went last December and my 2 daughters 5 and 8 loved it. But they had already gone on many of the big rides in the other parks. It all depends on the child.

 

[3for Me]

I don't know if this will help, but my son, the dinosaur FREAK went on this ride at age 3.5 - yes he was tall enough! He LOVED it, so I foolishly thought I could handle it - NOT!

Very jerky and LOUD - with things jumping out at you from every direction. If she can handle that, I say go for it - otherwise - even 37 is too young for this ride!!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

It really depends on the child- I totally agree with that statement.

My son rode it at age 5 and 6- totally loved it. The very FIRST time he rode at age 5- he was scared in the beginning and hid his head in my armpit (LOL) but so did my 9yr old on her first ride (same time). LOL Our picture on that ride was with both of them hiding their faces under each of my arms. LOL

He's into dinosaurs though- so that's why he wanted to ride it in the first place and after the first ride where he knew what to expect- he wasn't scared again. (neither was my oldest daughter after the first time)

But my youngest daughter now 4yr old? No WAY will I be taking her on that ride for a long long time. Even the snow white ride scares her. LOL

 

[TDC Nala]

Depends on the kid. It's very dark, very loud and the dinosaurs jump out at you. If any of this bothers her, she probably ought to wait.

 

[Kallison]

Very loud, very bumpy. I took my DS on our first trip when he was 8 - he HATED it, well he just went on it again for the first time last week, he is now 14!! He still talked about how scared how was and how I psychologically damaged him for life! I didn't enjoy it all that much.

 

[tar heel]

My youngest ds was a couple weeks shy of 5 the first time he rode it. He absolutely HATED it and refused to ride it for the next four trips. He started riding it when he was 8 and is okay with it now. He also really HATED the bug show that first trip, and he still doesn't do it.

My advice is to play this one by ear and wait until later in your trip if possible. If she is at all scared by the Energy show in Epcot or concerned about Space Mountain or Star Tours, I'd save this one until she's older.

 

[calena]

We took our whole family on this. DS was then 3 - almost 4 - and he did not like it. He did not cry, but he did not want to go again, and when I asked him if he wanted to go this year, the answer is NO! I liked it. I would go on it again. I think the kids did find it scary, but not nightmare scary or anything.
I thought Splash Mt. was scarier because of the big drop!

 

[marypops!]

im 12 and im not going on the ride
i had a bad experience on back to the future on our 1st trip with the dinosaur in it
i am never going on a ride with a dinosaur again (except primeval whirl or tricetop spin)

 

[beattyfamily]

My 8 year old tried it this past August and didn't like it. She was afraid.

I don't even like it as it gives me a headache with the bumps and all.

 

[Lawshark]

Where is the video of the Dinosaur ride? I found the attraction listing on the site with a brief description...but no video...

 

[26555]

I wanted to ask the same thing? I've been searching but can't find the video. I like to preview things I'm not sure of with the video ..... easy to find for IOA/US on their website but Disney always loses me........

 

[t-roy]

I totally agree that it depends on the child.

My ds (5) saw this ride on the Disney video and couldn't wait to go on it. Knowing that he doesn't like the dark I didn't think this was going to be a good ride for him. He still wanted to go on. He started to get a little anxious when we walked up to the ride and he saw the huge dinosaur outside. Once you get inside it looks like a museum so he relaxed quite a bit. As we moved through the line and were about to board, I let him know we didn't have to go on but he still insisted. Needlesstosay, he held on to me and yelled and screamed through the whole thing. The first thing he said when we got off was can we go on again!! Now it's one of his favorites.

 

[ckoncurat]

My 5 year old DD went on this twice and loved it, while my 7 year old DD HATED it. I would advise you to try it first yourself- you can take your 5 year old right back on using the baby swap door if he decides to go. I think this is the scariest ride at WDW.