DL with an anxious child

[PigletSeeker]

We did WDW when my oldest was almost 4 and had no issues...she rode everything she could. Now she is 6 and has become pretty anxious and worried about many things. A few weeks ago she saw the Fantasmic Dragon on the website and ran and hid in her closet then couldn't sleep that night.

Now she's getting nervous about the trip. We also have a 4 year old and a 1 year old and my parents are going with us as well.

Anyone have tips for helping an anxious child enjoy DL and DCA. We'll avoid the castle walkthrough, HM, POTC, Pinnocchio and Snow White, obviously.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Add Mr. Toad to your list of rides to avoid. Peter Pan and Alice are also dark rides that may frighten her. With my girls I brought along glow sticks so in the dark rides they had those to look at. That seemed to help them a bit.

 

[PigletSeeker]

Oh, yes...definitely skipping Mr. Toad. Alice is closed anyway. She rode Peter Pan at WDW, so I'm gonna try to get her on it again...if I recall it's not really scary, just dark. Wonder where I can find glow sticks this time of year?

 

[jenniferrose]

My son doesn't do indoor rides at all. He also got very anxious just going into the park. We took our jogging stroller (BOB) to the park for our 2 year old and he actually used it more than she did (he was a little over 5). When we would go to the park (after he told us "I NO go to Disneyland!", I would calmly tell him there was no one at the hotel to stay with him and he could sit in the stroller and if he didn't want to do anything, he doesn't have to. The sunshade on the BOB covers A LOT, so he would pull it all the way over and just kind of hide out. After a little while we would see his head popping out looking at things and he would want to go on rides.

 

[LavenderPeach]

Start with just the outside rides to see how she feels about those and then you can work your way up to more intense rides (either scarier rides or dark rides). Just ease her into it and she should be fine. Once you're there you'll be able to tell what she'll want to try.

My DS4 is scared of most of the dark rides and won't go on any of the bigger roller coasters and we still find lots to do. Here's the rides/attractions we usually do (or at least the things i can think of right now):

Dumbo
Casey Jr
Carousel
Teacups
IASW
Jungle Cruise
Tarzan's Treehouse
Disneyland Railroad (althouth there are dinosaurs on one part)
Tom Sawyer's Island
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Sometimes winnie the pooh but he gets a little nervous about it
Everything in Bug's Land, except the movie
Monster's Inc - sometimes but he gets nervous on this one too
king triton's carousel
Toy Story
Redwood Creek Challenge Trail
He likes watching the boats go down GRR where you can get splashed
Mickey's fun wheel - the regular gondolas, not the swinging ones

Hope that helps a little.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Wonder where I can find glow sticks this time of year?

Dollar Store often has them year-round. I was in CostCo over the weekend, and they already had Halloween stuff including some sort of bulk package of glowstick looking things.

 

[marcemc]

We did WDW when my oldest was almost 4 and had no issues...she rode everything she could. Now she is 6 and has become pretty anxious and worried about many things. A few weeks ago she saw the Fantasmic Dragon on the website and ran and hid in her closet then couldn't sleep that night.

Now she's getting nervous about the trip. We also have a 4 year old and a 1 year old and my parents are going with us as well.

Anyone have tips for helping an anxious child enjoy DL and DCA. We'll avoid the castle walkthrough, HM, POTC, Pinnocchio and Snow White, obviously.

My best friend's dd8 gets very anxious too.

I would recommend ordering one of those Disney Vacation Planning DVD's (they are free). The color and the music is very nice and it will give your daughter a happier feeling about the parks.

On your first day @ the park, start with really simple friendly rides: carrousel, dumbo,teacups, maybe Toontown.

Oh, and one more thing. I would avoid riding Nemo.

 

[Brady's Mom]

If you do want to ride Nemo - do the handicap experience. They have a room that is outfitted to look like the inside of a sub, with benches to sit on and a screen to watch the "movie" on. It's the same as the ride - only further away from the portholes and not as in your face. I am VERY claustrophobic and this was a perfect solution to riding this ride. Don't wait in the loooonnnngggg Nemo line - go to the handicap entrance and a CM will help you.

My younger kids really like Nemo, but DH and I both can't ride it because we are claustrophobic, so this was a great compromise.

 

[Kayla's Mom]

Dollar Store often has them year-round. I was in CostCo over the weekend, and they already had Halloween stuff including some sort of bulk package of glowstick looking things.

We always get our glow sticks at Dollar Tree - they usually have a variety of necklaces, bracelets, etc. I believe Michaels has them too.

 

[tholczer]

I wonder if you have a few hours to spare where you can hand her the map and tell her she's in charge. So if she wants to ride IASM four times in her two hours, so be it. Sometimes fears and anxiety are all about control and if she's controlling her world for a short period of time, that might lesson the stress.

On a side note - my daughter and husband's very favorite trip to DL was when she was four. It was just the two of them. DH handed her the map and told her she was in charge of the day. We have several pictures of her seriously considering the map (upside down). All she did that day was read the map and ride the same three rides, but DH said it's his favorite trip. I think sometimes, we get so focused on having to go, go, go, that we forget we can have just as good a time in different ways.

Just a thought.

Tracy

 

[disneydreamer74]

I agree with LavenderPeach, her list is the exact list of rides my DD3 (soon to be 4) enjoys. My DD has an anxiety disorder and is a sensory kid, so we are not able to watch the fireworks or F! in the park. We do watch Fireworks from the hotel when possible though. But as the others posters mentioned, start with outside rides and those that are not intimdating to anxious children. Then, over time, they will be more open to new things. My DD talks about DLR all year long until we go again, she loves it. It took a while to figure out what was scary for her, and what was fun, but now we have it figured out. I think with children being at DLR is fun because of the whole experience. DD likes to have breakfast at Riverbell Terrace and just people watch and would just ride the trams all day back and forth from the parking structure if I would let her..haha!! With a little configurations and accepting that mom and dad may be riding IASW several times per day, it can be a great family trip!!! Good luck!!

 

[Kayla's Mom]

We have several pictures of her seriously considering the map (upside down).

That is so cute!!

 

[Lissame]

Michaels has a tube of glow bracelets--15 of them for $1. It's great deal, better than the one at the dollar store here.

 

[Lissame]

I also forgot to say--I have a very anxious 6 yo nephew, and although he wouldn't go on most rides other than what you mentioned above, he did really enjoy Gadget's Go Coaster.

Don't forget Autopia too, kids love that one.

 

[LavenderPeach]

I agree with LavenderPeach, her list is the exact list of rides my DD3 (soon to be 4) enjoys. My DD has an anxiety disorder and is a sensory kid, so we are not able to watch the fireworks or F! in the park. We do watch Fireworks from the hotel when possible though. But as the others posters mentioned, start with outside rides and those that are not intimdating to anxious children. Then, over time, they will be more open to new things. My DD talks about DLR all year long until we go again, she loves it. It took a while to figure out what was scary for her, and what was fun, but now we have it figured out. I think with children being at DLR is fun because of the whole experience. DD likes to have breakfast at Riverbell Terrace and just people watch and would just ride the trams all day back and forth from the parking structure if I would let her..haha!! With a little configurations and accepting that mom and dad may be riding IASW several times per day, it can be a great family trip!!! Good luck!!

Hey, you know riding the tram all day would be a lot cheaper than actually going to the parks! $14 for all of you to have fun on the tram. I can just picture the CMs.. "oh no, here's that family again that's been riding the tram all day."

My DS has sensory issues too and is on the spectrum so he gets anxious about things. Plus he's at that age where things sometimes seem more scary.

Oh, OP, that reminds me, if you go on Tom Sawyer's Island, be careful of touching the pirate's gold in the caves. There's a scary skeleton head that pops up. Ironically, my DS thought it was funny but it's actually kind of scary looking.

 

[SGDisneyFam]

Thanks for the glowstick idea. Our son has severe anxiety issues and gets overwhelmed very quickly.

So nice to know there are other parents that have kids just like ours and have some awesome ideas so our kids can enjoy the parks as well.