First ride at MK for preschoolers?

[momimouse27]

I vote for either Pooh, Its a Small World, or the TTA. My personal fave is Pooh, though I love that ride, even at my age. Its everything Disney!

 

[firefly_ris]

We started with Peter Pan, but should have started with Small World. I didn't realize just how terrified my 5 1/2 year old (now 6 1/2) would be of it being sort of dark... it was her first experience in all of disney and she was very wary of all the indoor rides thereafter. On day 3 I did get her on to Small World and she loved it.... rode it 3 times. At the end of the trip I got her to do Big Thunder Mountain. My younger two (4 and 2 at the time ) were not scared by the rides. I just didn't think she would react that way and PP is one of my favorites, so I was surprised... I guess I'm saying you just never really know how they're going to react until you try!

 

[Dug720]

It may not be "wow", but I remember waiting in line for probably at least 45 minutes (this was before FP and I'm fairly sure line estimate signs or I doubt we would have done it) for Dumbo for our first WDW ride because my 4 year old sister wanted to ride it first.

 

[akemom]

My 3 year old DD favorites were small world, dumbo and the carousel. Anything dark was scary- especially pooh. She tolerated Peter Pan and Ariel. She was in tears after splash and barnstormer, we didn't try anymore "big" rides after that! On the same trip my 4 year old niece loved all the rides especially barnstormer, SDMT and BTMR! Guess it just depends on the kid.

 

[Karl66]

DD was 4 on her first trip. We took her on PP her first ride. She loved it.

 

[Tondee]

There used to be a Dumbo do or Die plan. I forget who had it. Starting with dumbo is an easy and simple ride. I would FP PP for a little later. Dumbo, barnstormer, pooh, little mermaid, pp, small world...in that order. On the way to MK, put on glow bracelets. (on ankles too) Be mindful of the black-lights so that you can play with those. (clothing) We like glow in the dark nail polish. Bring extra glow bracelets because you will need to change them out later on.

The thing with dumbo, it is a bright ride with a dark playground that is fun. So you introduce light and dark in a fun way. It is a great ice breaker. On another note, when my son was younger, I gave him a ring pop for PoC and HM. Gave him something to focus on if the ride got too dark for him. Have fun with whatever you decide!!!

 

[Surgie2]

It may not be "wow", but I remember waiting in line for probably at least 45 minutes (this was before FP and I'm fairly sure line estimate signs or I doubt we would have done it) for Dumbo for our first WDW ride because my 4 year old sister wanted to ride it first.

LOL this was us in the mid-1980s with our daughter who was 4 and HAD to ride the pink Dumbo elephant so not only did we have to wait forever for our turn, but we had to let others pass in front of us so DD could get the pink one.

 

[Surgie2]

I appreciate all the opinions! I'll ask the parents but thinking we may start with Small World...nice and gentle for everyone. And then we can have the song stuck in our heads for the rest of the day

 

[g-dad66]

Almost any ride can be potentially "scary" to young kids. And no predicting which ride will be scary to which kid. My grandkids have surprised me more than once in that department.

You're smart to not want to get off on the wrong foot. If the kid gets scared, he/she may balk at most everything after that.

I'd start with the Carousel. It seems the safest to me.

 

[Shellyred8]

Perhaps the Carousel. It will be one of the first rides they see once you walk through the castle. On the plus side, it's usually a pretty short wait.

 

[bluemoon9]

There are a lot of great options, but my initial reaction was Winnie the Pooh. My kids are now 11 & 9 and we still love to ride it.