Expedition Everest in AK - too intense for an 11 year old with special needs?

[oceanmarina]

Hi all,

Am here now, am thinking of doing AK tomorrow. My 11 year old has autism , the most intense ride he has ever been on is 7DMT , and he loves it and does not get spooked on that st all. He is wanting to try something new.

How intense is Expedition Everest? How young are kids on it?

Thanks so much for any advice,

Marina

 

[ddluvsdisney]

My son went on EE when he was 4 yo. He is a thrill ride junkie though. He has ADHD.
I don't think it's that intense, but it does go backwards up hill for a short period of time.

 

[AngiTN]

DGD has been riding EE since 5 but she's not special needs.
EE does go backwards in total darkness and then forward again in nearly total darkness
So take that in to consideration. It's not intense so much as it is dark

 

[jkh36619]

I don't think anyone can tell you it's ok I n good conscience

 

[ArwenMarie]

I don't think Mine Train is a good judge of whether he will enjoy Everest. I mean, it's good he enjoys Mine Train, but it's way less intense.

My kids did Big Thunder Mountain, then Space, then Everest. Has he done those?

 

[DLgal]

He should do all the other coasters at WDW before Everest. IMO, it is the most intense. Even more so than RnR.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

He should do all the other coasters at WDW before Everest. IMO, it is the most intense. Even more so than RnR.

I agree he should do other coasters before EE.

But I would disagree with EE being more intense than R-n-R.

 

[tsme]

Why don't you go online & view the ride for yourself. There are some videos on youtube. Only you know your child's limits, so that would be a good way for you to gauge the intensity.

 

[IrishNYC]

I think this is something only you can answer for your child. EE and ToT were DD's favorites ride when she was 5, 44 year old DH couldn't handle the intensity of either.

 

[3Gsandme]

My 7 year old who also has ASD LOVED EE. She won't even look at the haunted mansion, but likes thrill rides. She is definitely the kind of kid who seeks physical sensory stimulation, so YMMV on that.

 

[picklethings]

I'm going to echo what the others said- only you will truly know the answer to that question. I also have an 11 year old with special needs (Down syndrome), and she did EE 5 times, but she loves that type of ride, including SM, BTMRR, and RnRC. If you think he can handle it, go for it, but if he's easily stressed/upset, or it could potentially ruin the day if he didn't like it, I'm not so sure. It's not the most intense coaster we've ever done, but it doesn't really compare to 7DMT at all.

 

[RedOnion]

Why don't you go online & view the ride for yourself. There are some videos on youtube. Only you know your child's limits, so that would be a good way for you to gauge the intensity.

This; you might consider watching with your son to gauge his reaction/interest.

 

[tigerwolf]

I'm with the PP who said to try the other Disney coasters first; especially Space Mountain. I think SM would be a good gauge for whether or not he could handle or enjoy EE.

 

[mickeychick]

EE is much more intense. It's faster, with steeper drops including a backwards drop in the dark.

Depending on where you sit in the train, you might feel a bit of pressure of your head being pressed back against the headrest during the backwards drop.

Here's a link to a video of the ride that someone posted on YouTube, might give you an idea (spoiler alert!):

 

[JessicaW1234]

I think he may find it too intense.

 

[mrocco90]

Last year my 5 year old loved thunder mountain and mine train. We decided to give Everest a try and he hated it. The entire ride he had a look of fear on his face and when it was over he said never again. I think the darkness scared him.

 

[minorthr]

Our son went on Rocking Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror when he was 7 and went on EE when he was 11 he has autism as well. He also did the mummy at universal at 12. That being said he only went on all of them once and won't do it again.

 

[aretha30]

Our oldest son is 13, ASD, TS, ADHD, OCD loves all the thrill rides. EE is one of his favorites, we built up to it though. We did all the other ones first, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and ToT. You know your child and what he can handle, my advice is to watch the video with him and see if he wants to do it.