Expedition Everest and Dinosaur for 5 yo?

[amandaraye]

Anyone have experience with a 5 year old on these rides? My sister is bringing her DS down for his 5th birthday and he's asking her to bring him on these rides. She's unsure if they're suitable for him given his age. he does meet the height requirements.

To give you an idea...There's a ride at Six Flags called Pandemonium that he loves. It's a small coaster (not kiddie, but small--no big drops, does not go upside down) but the cars you ride in spin around as you ride. He gets the biggest kick out of it.

Oh, and he loves dinosaurs.

Any advice?

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

Dinosaur is more the shock part than the physical throwing around part so alot will depend on how he scares with that one. (ETA- these are not smiley, disney Alasaurus type happy dinosaurs, this is scary, spikey, more scary jurrasic park style dinos!)

EE is just the adrenalin and you best like heights!

We took DS5 (he'll be six in march) on both and he thought they were great... he does zone out/blank out/switch off alot though when it comes to rides (he has high functioning autism & dyspraxia) so he wasn't all that clued in to the fright/adrenalin rush side of things and just took them as another ride.

DD4 (5 in march) there was not a cat in h*lls chance we were getting her on either of them but then again she didn't like big thunder mountain, space mountain, snow white or quite a few other rides either.

I felt quite safe DS5 being on the rides with us- he is tall enough and quite stockily built.

 

[nikkistevej]

We take DD5 (she just turned 6) on anything she is tall enough for, if she doesn't like it, we won't get on again until our next trip(we go about once a year). She didn't care for Dinosaur, but loved Expedition Everest. Next time we go to AK- we'll try Dinosaur again.

 

[ERMama]

agreed about dinosaur. we did not take our 5 yo on it but did it for the first time this year when he was 7.5yo. he did NOT like it at all. much too dark and loud for him. plus with the people eating dinosaurs after you, its a bit scary even for some adults.
honestly, ride on it yourself first before putting a 5 yo on it. i dont care how much the kid loves dinosaurs.

as for EE, first time this year for me, dh and 7 yo ds. hes done an inverted coaster at six flags before MANY times (its his fave. plus hes done the mountains at WDW several times). we researched ahead of time and told him it went backwards in the dark. when we got on the ride we reminded him what was going to happen and to push his head back against the seat when it went backwards.
it is a VERY fast but smooth coaster. i was a bit shocked at how many dips and drops there were in that dark, backwards part.

again, try him on big thunder, space mt, or splash mountain before taking him on EE.
we enjoyed EE but it is a SERIOUS roller coaster. NOT a first time coaster.
my 7 yo didnt freak and kind of liked it but also said it was terrifying.

 

[jellybeans0607]

We took both my son and daughter when they were 4. Neither liked dinosaur. both loved everest.

 

[Jen117]

We took DD5 on Dinosaur and she was freaked out a bit. Thankfully DH is big and wrapped his arms around her to keep her from bouncing so much. She didn't like how rough the ride was. The next day she proclaimed she liked it... apparently she quickly forgot how rough it was.

We did not try EE with her as roller coasters still freak her out. If you child is OK with roller coasters, then I don't think EE would be so bad. I really don't think the getty is that scary, but there are a couple of drops. It's a smooth ride.

 

[caribear]

When dd was 5 I took her on Dinosaur....I think her head was under my armpit the whole ride!! It was the combination of the darkness, the way the ride moves and the dinosaurs popping out that scared her....she is not afraid of the dark though....but was afraid on this ride. I tried to talk to her through the ride, but it is so loud that we could not hear each other. We went back about 6 months later and she wanted to try it again....same reaction.

She is still too short for Everest......but keeps saying how she cannot wait to go on!

 

[brockash]

We rode Dinosaur last month. My DS was 6 and DN 5. They didn't hate it, but also didn't have a need to ride it again. I just thought it was very loud. We also rode EE, and my DS loved it and went about 3 more times, my DN did not like it, but he's not a fan of rollercoasters.

 

[amandaraye]

we researched ahead of time and told him it went backwards in the dark. when we got on the ride we reminded him what was going to happen and to push his head back against the seat when it went backwards.

EE goes backwards?? In the dark? Or are you referring to the coaster at Six Flags?

Also, my nephew loves the other mountains if that gives any more insight. My sister is leaning toward holding off on Dinosaur thanks to all your input. She also says she'll likely let him watch EE first then see what he'd like to do. They're going back in April with us so he can always ride then if he wants with my DS7.

 

[ERMama]

Yes, EE goes backwards in the dark, very fast with lots of dips (all while going backwards). I was honestly very surprised at how long the dark part was.

So even if he can watch EE (the big drop you see isnt even the scariest part I dont think), he cant see the scary part.

I think theres some video on youtube if you type in EE.
It is a very fun ride but I can see a kid getting majorly freaked very easily.

 

[5 for WDW]

My boys are 11 and 8. The love EE, as well as all of the other mountains but, they have always hated Dinosaur. They refuse to go back on it. No problem for me.

 

[TK Brown]

Dinosaur is tough. No matter how much they love dino's. Its mostly in the dark, or near nark, and its loud. There are some videos on youtobe, but they are pretty poor due to the darkness. But if she really wants him to go on, you can at least hear whats going on to get an idea of the rides intensity.

Same goes for EE. There are a bunch of vidoes on youtube from the ride. It does go backwards for a bit and there is the "big drop" coming out of the mountain. My wife and I love it.

 

[dramaticmissy]

Last year when went went we went on both and my daughter was 5 she loved everest, and was a little scared at dino but I held her close, and she says she wants to go on it this year as well. Now if I could just get her to go on, of all things the haunted mansion

 

[musclemouse]

My husband and I loved the dinosaur ride! Well now that we are taking our boys for the first time I was wondering the same thing.

Tristan may do fine, Aidan I'm not sure. Though he acts tough, still. He says he wants to go on it. But he has no idea what I'm talking about. Even the video doesn't show how LOUD it is and how much the cars jerk around. Some of the dinosaurs seem like they come in real close to you.

I have a feeling he might like it. I guess we'll find out!

Last year when went went we went on both and my daughter was 5 she loved everest, and was a little scared at dino but I held her close, and she says she wants to go on it this year as well. Now if I could just get her to go on, of all things the haunted mansion

 

[lucigo]

My DS5 was SO excited to go on Dinosaur he bounced all the way in there, but from the time it started he was terrified. When we got off the ride he just wanted to go home, and kept trying to leave the park. He really didn't want to go on anymore inside rides after that!

 

[Crystal824]

I love Dinosaur, but it is scary. I would think about taking children younger than 6 or 7 on it. EE probably depends on if they like roller coasters. It is something you should build up to though...not a first roller coaster by any means.

 

[Colinsmom]

My 5yo DS was scared on both. He also loves dinosaurs and roller coasters (Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain and Rock n Roller coaster are favorites) but those are both pretty scary situations. I would use the scare factor, vs. the motion or theme, to judge whether he is ready to ride those rides.

 

[KAMLEM]

This question makes me think of something that happened when we were going on Dinosaur. There was a dinosaur character hiding behind a post outside of the ride, and when a Mom and her 2 kids walked by he jumped out from behind the post. The 2 kids completely freaked out. They were screaming and crying hysterically and they wouldn't let go of the mother. Well, the mother let the dinosaur character have it! She was screaming at him, chasing him with her two kids latched on to her telling him how awful he was to do that. She said that he should know better, that he should be fired and she wanted to know who his boss was. I did feel bad for the kids, but I have to admit that it was very comical to watch the mother. My first thought was that if her kids are that afraid of a dinosaur character, she should not be taking them on the ride because they will be terrified!

 

[marcyinPA]

If he likes roller coasters, then I think EE will be fine.

I think I'd skip Dinosaur. It's pretty intense. My 13 and 9 year olds refused to go on it....DH and I went, and I was freaked out by it!

 

[SmallWorld71]

Going by my own DD5, I would skip Dinosaur. It is the one ride at Disney that DS9 thinks is too scary.
As far as EE, DD5 tried it this year. She didn't cry, but said it was too fast and she didn't really like it. She was proud she tried it, though. Of course, every kid is different.