Expedition Everest for 6 year olds?

[mom2willnash]

I saw the earlier post about EE not being great for "chicken riders". My son will be 6 years old when we go to Disney. None of us have been on EE yet. Is it too intense for a 6 year old boy? Is it too jerky? We went to Busch Gardens last spring and he loved the Log Ride and Escape from Pompeii (which had some drops) but he did not go on any rollercoasters. He's dying to go on a coaster and am not sure what this one is all about. I will let him go on Splash Mountain and Thunder Railroad. Has anyone taken their kids on this ride yet??

 

[pickles]

If he likes thunder and splash, he should be ok with EE...there is some dark spots, and one point you feel like you are upside down, but it never goes upside down.

 

[DisneyDad in PA]

My ds9 and dd7 loved EE last week. I agree if he likes BTMRR he should be okay with EE. But all kids are different. My DD7 handled the coasters better than my DS9. However by the end of the trip my DS was riding everything, except Tower of Terror. He did that once and not again.

 

[Rowlf]

There are too many curves/g-forces in EE for my taste. I LOVE roller coasters, but EE made me feel sick. And the yeti could be scary for younger ones, depending on the kid.

 

[ChrisFL]

I dont understand why people think they're upside down, I've ridden it a few times and never felt like that

 

[Quinn222]

I was terrified on this but there was a six year old girl in the line with me riding for the tenth time. She loved it.

 

[M 'n C]

I would start out on space mountain and btmrr and see how he did. I know that when I was in line for the rock n roll coaster there was a 8 or 9 yo behind us and once she saw the "take off" of that ride she went into hysteria and refused to get on. So each kid is different. There were others her age that were fine with the coaster.

 

[Cool-Beans]

I dont understand why people think they're upside down, I've ridden it a few times and never felt like that

I don't get that, either. I always wonder if these people have actually ridden the ones that go upside-down. It isn't even close. But I grew up living near two amusement parks and have ridden rollercoasters thousands and thousands of times, so maybe I'm just more in tune with them?

As far as the kid, I dunno. Every kid is different...and what scares each kid varies. Of my 3 boys, even the scaredy-cat - I probably would have taken on EE at 6 years. I don't know how he'd have reacted, but I'd have taken him and found out. The other two would have had no problems. I don't know if that helps any.

If you take him, come back and let everyone know how it went.

Have a great trip!

 

[bartleby1]

Add me to the list that thought it went upside down. My 6 yr old thought so too.

My DD (6) went on but told me she wouldn't go again until she was MUCH older. It made me very disoriented and my DD complained of a headache for the rest of the day after riding it.

 

[Disneymucks]

My 6 year old son loved it!

 

[°O°Joe]

Roller coasters do not have any kind of disorienting effect on me, however, I was riding with a good friend of mine and he said the part going backwards through the dark really did a number on him. I could see how that could happen - that part is pretty intense.

Another thing to think about - is how your 6 year old handles big, loud, scary monsters. Because that's basically what the Yeti is and the part where he swoops down and tries to claw you could probably be pretty intense for a 6 year old.

Every kid is different. Some would probably LOVE the thrills. Some, like my DD5 would be absolutely terrified. My DD5 is terrified with BTMR, which sucks because I love the thrill rides... She also was terrified with Dinosaur, which also has loud, scary, realistic looking dinosaurs, which has a tendancy to scare not only children, but some adults as well...

I personally would start him off with BTMR and then Space Mountain. If he really loves those two, then he probably would be alright with EE...

As far as "thrill factor" goes, I would rate the Disney coasters in the following order:

1.Goofy's Barnstormer
2.Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
3.Space Mountain
4.Expedition Everest
5.Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster

 

[hunter1722]

I am wondering about this too... My daughter (also 6) has been on Thunder MT (loves this), Splash MT (did not like the drop), Universal's Flying Unicorn (her favorite), Woody Woodpecker (loves this) & Jurassic Park (did not like the end drop or the TRex), TOT (did not like it), Test Track (liked it), Norway (loves it... even that drop). Should she ride EE??? She has a pattern of loving roller coasters but not huge drops or large monsters that you have to go at or through.

 

[hunter1722]

BTW, we won't put her on Space MT yet since it is a one seater. EE is not a one seater is it?

 

[TomD]

My youngest DD is that age is and is kinda shy on fast rides. Saying that Everest is her favorite ride. In fact I bought the picture they sold at the end of the ride due to the HUGE smile she had on her face in the picture. My wife had her eyes closed with a look of terror on it,my oldest had a ho hum look and my youngest was grinning ear to ear.

 

[dsnymomof4]

I would compare the ride to BMTR. You sit side-by-side and have a lap bar. The backwards part and through the dark tunnel part might be a little scary, and the Yeti himself, of course. But after us taking turns going on a few times with our older children, we finally "bribed" DD5 into trying it (we wanted to get a good family picture with the coupon we got) and she was ok with it. Not her favorite, but I think she'll go on again next time.

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

I rode EE twice when we were there 2 weeks ago. The first time we rode we were near the front and we liked it. The second time we were near the back and both DH and I felt sick and lightheaded afterwards. We also felt like we were going upside down. I woud not take a 6 yr old on it, but that is JMHO. Maybe you could try it first.

 

[VolleyballQt07]

My 5 yr old brother loved it..He went on it twice in a row and wanted to ride more.

 

[DBC]

BTW, we won't put her on Space MT yet since it is a one seater. EE is not a one seater is it?

There are 2 seats per row on EE

 

[missymagic]

if you go to google.com and type in expedition everest video you can see the entire ride. There are alot of dark spots while rding. This may help to determine if you think your little one is ready. It is your typical roller coaster but you do go backwards for a portion (this is where every becomes a little funny). My 6 yr old can't wait to ride and I know she will be fine as I have ridden this past April.

I would definitely suggest watching the video it may help your decision.

 

[cats04]

We were there last week. My dds (6 & 8) loved it. My dh took them 3x's. I sat out after the first time because I'm a big chicken! I did try everything except Tower of Terror. So, I figure I'm good for the rest of my life.