Freaked out about kid on the big rides

[housetomouse]

My 7 year old will make height for almost everything (48") but I think he's going to be in over his head on the Rock N Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror, and possibly also on Mission:Space and Expedition Everest (I haven't ridden those so I'm not sure). He will want to ride them, though. I'm even a little freaked out about him on Space Mountain, in the single seat, although logically I know he did that ride 3 years ago and survived it. Do you think these rides will be okay? Are there any rides I should really be concerned about? I know he's fine with things like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but I've seen him look a little shaken up after a big coaster at another park.

 

[Twoboysnmygirl]

Those rides secure the riders really well. I was only nervous with my dd on ONE RIDE... SPLASH MOUNTAIN! Can someone tell me why, oh why they don't have any kind of restraint for a drop that significant??? Yes, I understand you are leaning back a bit, but I was terrified she would fly out!

It's her FAVORITE ride. Typical!

 

[princessmom29]

He will be fine. My 5 year old did ToT and was fine. I have ridden the others and I say you have nothing to worry about. Just let him enjoy the park. The height requirements are there for a reason. Anyone over that height without a medical condition is safe on that ride.

 

[lisa-upnorth]

I thought my 5 year old daughter was going to fall out on the drop on Splash Mtn too!!!I freaked and grabbed her!

 

[ilandrazdsw]

DS5 was able to just about everything except RnR. He is a fraidy-cat! BUT he rode EE *several* times, ToT 2 times, Space Mtn 3 times *and insisted in sitting in the front all times*, and Mission:Space (the mild one). The rides are safe as long as the riders follow the rules!

 

[princess&her4princes]

I hear you, my 5 year old did Splash and Space Mountain and did great but I was more afraid than he was cause I was SO convinced he would fall out!!!! It was SO stressful for me to really enjoy the ride...but he DID!!! That's what counts, right? LOL!!

 

[dawn1620]

My 7 year old daughter who just made the 48 inch requirement rode EVERYTHING and it was fine. I was really nervous about the Rock & Roller Coaster but she absolutely loved it!!! When we took off she was screaming her head off - DH was in the seat beside her and I was behind her. I thought she was scared to death but just the opposite - loving every minute. I was even scared about the restraints keeping her in but it was nothing to worry about.

She and DH rode the Tower of Terror twice more after our first ride- I just could not do it again.

 

[PrincessBrideJo]

I am taking my 4 year old and at 43 inches without shoes he makes every ride except RnR and primevil whirl. I plan on explaining EVERY ride to him and sometimes even showing him youtube videos of them before letting him decide if he wants to go on them. I also plan on starting off slow and seeing his reactions as this is first trip! Brainstormer - here we come! haha. I even plan to start off with rides like pirates and snow white to see how the scary factor contributes also.

 

[MickeyMomOfThree]

My kids all were tall enough for the "big rides" (except RnR) at the age of 3 and went on no problems including "the mountains" and ToT. I wasn't nervous and they loved them. I can feel for you though. Last summer my baby (she was 6) wanted to go on the Boomerang at Darien Lake. It goes upside down so I assumed she wasn't tall enough and didn't bother checking. Well, he sisters went and when they came off said "hey mom, she's tall enough!!!" Well, or course she wanted to go, and I was terrified, she seemed too small, but my DH convinsed me to let her try. I was so scared. I had visions of her falling out when it went upside down. Guess what, she was fine and she loved it. I know accidents happen, but they are very cautious about safety (at these reputable places) and I can assure you, if 3 year olds are ok, your 7 year old will be fine. My girls are now 14, 9 and 7 and ride everything.

 

[iheartdisney]

I'm in the same boat as the PP- my kids were riding everything at age 3, no fear in them! The only ride my DD6 hasn't been on are the 48 inch-ers, and Dinosaur! She is very freaked out by loud noises (she can't stand the sound of the bathtub filling) and that ride is all noise, no thrills. So I'm not pushing it, since one time, 7 years ago was good enough for me!

 

[ilandrazdsw]

I am taking my 4 year old and at 43 inches without shoes he makes every ride except RnR and primevil whirl. I plan on explaining EVERY ride to him and sometimes even showing him youtube videos of them before letting him decide if he wants to go on them. I also plan on starting off slow and seeing his reactions as this is first trip! Brainstormer - here we come! haha. I even plan to start off with rides like pirates and snow white to see how the scary factor contributes also.

I lied to DS. His first ride was Kali RR and the second was EE...I told him it was like a train ride up a mountain. Hey, he saw all the camping gear and the train...and it worked. I think after the Yetti he rode the rest of the ride with his eyes closed. We didn't prepare the kids for any of the rides. If they started to get scared we would point out the fun or funny aspects of the ride. The only one that they asked to not go on again was Dinosaur.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

Probably not the popular opinion here, but there's nothing wrong with saying "yes, you are tall enough, but that's not a ride I'm comfortable with you riding." There's plenty to do with out them having to do those if it makes you uneasy.

 

[housetomouse]

Thank you all so much! This puts my mind at ease a lot. And I didn't know about Splash Mountain - I assumed it was a pretty mild ride, but I'll make sure an adult is beside him to hold onto him on that drop.

How is Primeval Whirl, is that intense? Are there any other really intense rides I didn't mention that I should know about?

MichelleInMaine, I hear you - I did that once last year at another park. I'll do it again if I get to a ride and my instincts are screaming. I think I'm going to say no to both kids on the more intense version of Mission: Space (although I've never been on either version of it).

 

[crisi]

Probably not the popular opinion here, but there's nothing wrong with saying "yes, you are tall enough, but that's not a ride I'm comfortable with you riding." There's plenty to do with out them having to do those if it makes you uneasy.

Agree.

And know your kids - if your seven year old won't stay seated, Splash Mountain isn't a good ride - but most pin them in so they can't hurt themselves.

Also, start small. There is no reason why need to get on Space Mountain before riding the tamer Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. If they seem shaken or you aren't comfortable climbing up the "thrill ladder" you can redirect them to tamer rides.

Another thing I like - and other people are different - I like that my kids (who are now nine and ten) have always had some ride they haven't been on yet to look forward to for the next trip. My daughter in particular spends a lot of time planning which rides she will be brave enough to tackle next trip (then chickens out).

I'd be comfortable from a safety perspective with my own kids at seven years old on any ride at Disney except RnR - which I don't like myself and which has a lengthy queue, so they'd have to go completely alone. My ten year old ALMOST did it this year, but we didn't plan for it and FastPasses were too far out, so probably next time. From a maturity perspective, I don't push them, they go when they are ready.

 

[crisi]

How is Primeval Whirl, is that intense? Are there any other really intense rides I didn't mention that I should know about?

Disney doesn't have a lot of "intense" rides. Primeval Whirl is a spinny "mouse" coaster (lots of tight turns while the car you are in spins) and can be intense. Dinosaur would be another that a lot of kids find intense at that age - but note that all kids are different - we went with a seven year old who was frightened of Mickey's Philharmagic (3D Movie). And there are plenty of people on this board who have three year olds that ride Tower of Terror.

Some kids find Test Track in Epcot frightening. And Soarin if you are afraid of heights (it isn't really intense).

At the Studios the thrill rides are Tower of Terror and RnR. But the car stunt show is really loud - if your kids don't like loud noises it might be better avoided. Also, a lot of people bring younger kids to Fantasmic who are frightened, but most kids would be fine with it at seven.

 

[Faldred]

Probably not the popular opinion here, but there's nothing wrong with saying "yes, you are tall enough, but that's not a ride I'm comfortable with you riding." There's plenty to do with out them having to do those if it makes you uneasy.

DS3 is tall for his age (just missed 44"), and pretty much rode everything he was eligible for -- Dinosaur was a bit much for him, but everything else was fine. Height restriction aside, he was not going to be allowed on Space Mountain or Expedition Everest this trip, however.

Best bet is to "ramp up" with the child if you're unsure. Get their feet wet on tamer rides, then try something like Barnstormer to see how they react. If that goes well, you can attempt some of the thrill rides like Splash Mountain or BTMRR. Just keep an eye on 'em and stop escalating when it begins to be too much for them.

Heck, the same strategy can apply to skittish adults, even.

 

[crisi]

Its pretty easy at seven still to use psychology and distraction to keep a kid from wanting to go on a ride. With my son and RnR it was "oh, I don't know about it this trip - that line is always really long." By the time we got to that end of the park, the line WAS really long and the Fastpasses were for much later that evening. With the kids and Kali, they just didn't even know it was there until we were ready to take them on it - we'd just choose a path where the ride wasn't obvious. My daughter didn't know you could eat dinner in the castle until she was too old to really care about it because I didn't want the bother of the reservations. And they just found out about SpectroMagic after six trips watching the travel channel - their parents aren't parade people and we aren't in the MK at that time of night.

 

[trennr]

Chances are...if you act scared after the ride...the kid will be too. So give it a little whoohoo after you get off.

In 2007 my DS9 (DS7 at the time) rode just about everything...with the exception of the RnRRC...because the wait was too long and fast passes were finished.

He loves all the coasters.
So your 7yo should do fine.

However DS14...He likes Space Mountian, he's kinda iffy on Splash...was scared (a little) by ToT. We've forever said he's an old man trapped in a kids body.

 

[housetomouse]

Agree.

And know your kids - if your seven year old won't stay seated, Splash Mountain isn't a good ride - but most pin them in so they can't hurt themselves.

Also, start small. There is no reason why need to get on Space Mountain before riding the tamer Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. If they seem shaken or you aren't comfortable climbing up the "thrill ladder" you can redirect them to tamer rides.

Another thing I like - and other people are different - I like that my kids (who are now nine and ten) have always had some ride they haven't been on yet to look forward to for the next trip. My daughter in particular spends a lot of time planning which rides she will be brave enough to tackle next trip (then chickens out).

I'd be comfortable from a safety perspective with my own kids at seven years old on any ride at Disney except RnR - which I don't like myself and which has a lengthy queue, so they'd have to go completely alone. My ten year old ALMOST did it this year, but we didn't plan for it and FastPasses were too far out, so probably next time. From a maturity perspective, I don't push them, they go when they are ready.

He thinks he is ready for everything, unfortunately. He is fearless; I'm the one with the fear issue :lol: I like your idea of saving something for the next trip. Thanks!

 

[housetomouse]

Disney doesn't have a lot of "intense" rides. Primeval Whirl is a spinny "mouse" coaster (lots of tight turns while the car you are in spins) and can be intense. Dinosaur would be another that a lot of kids find intense at that age - but note that all kids are different - we went with a seven year old who was frightened of Mickey's Philharmagic (3D Movie). And there are plenty of people on this board who have three year olds that ride Tower of Terror.

Some kids find Test Track in Epcot frightening. And Soarin if you are afraid of heights (it isn't really intense).

At the Studios the thrill rides are Tower of Terror and RnR. But the car stunt show is really loud - if your kids don't like loud noises it might be better avoided. Also, a lot of people bring younger kids to Fantasmic who are frightened, but most kids would be fine with it at seven.

Thanks, I appreciate the info! I feel better prepared to prepare them or decide for them, after reading this thread.