For children that are afraid of the loud rides... I think that I found the answer!

[jjan]

For our first trip last year as a family with my DD who was 6, we quickly discovered that she was VERY bothered by the noise of all of the loud rides and a lot of the other rides that even I (who is also bothered by loud noises) didn't feel were loud. I swear that she spent the entire week with her fingers in her ears which really made me sad and I wanted to find a solution that she would be happy with. After reading posts here about earplugs I went to Wal-Mart and bought a generic brand of EarPlanes which seemed great because they had 2 pairs in 2 separate cases... one for adults and one for kids for around $3. But, the more that I thought about these the more that I realized that they would get lost in said dark, loud rides within the day. So I discovered these...

http://www.dickssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=852797

My DD is thrilled and thinks that they are neat. They fit VERY well and she can insert them herself. The ear plug itself is VERY flexible and easy to make small enough for little ears as well as adults and you can wear them postioned as a headband or hanging in the front or the back of your head so they are very comfy even with a hat or whatever hair style. You can also buy the little cords for sunglasses and just always leave them around your neck. Just thought that I would share since I know that there are a lot of kids with this sensitivity.