Good News, which is leading toward a new question... (Advice Welcomed)

[AnthonyAllShore]

I have great news that upon thinking about it may cause a bit of a hiccup for my upcoming Disney World trip. The great news is that we are expecting our second child. Mom is only 7 weeks, but things seem to be looking good. We have an 8 year old son. So, all great!
Except, Mom is the "brave one" who goes on the roller coasters and tower of terror with my son. I DO NOT LIKE those rides. Even the idea of going on those rides bother me. My comfortable limit is Splash Mountain, Test Track, Mission Space (Easy One), Kali River Rapids are good. My son has literally no limits, he would take an actual rocket to the moon if he could.
We have a trip coming up in April, and assuming all goes well with Mom and baby, she will not be able to go on any rides. So I guess my questions is, what options do I have? My son is 8 years old and about 49-50 inches tall. Rider swap wont help. He is basically old and tall enough to go on rides by himself, but i feel kinda guilty about that AND i dont love the idea of him solely being responsible to strapping himself in correctly. Yes, i understand there are cast members to help and check... but still.
Any words of advise?
PS, at this point I have researched a bunch, and I probably could suck it up and do the mine train roller coaster. I think it would feel a bit better for me because it is kinda running through a mountain as oppose to slinky dog dash which is the traditional roller coaster set up. Just typing this is bothering me.

 

[karen4546]

OP, TOT was the only ride that terrified me. One day, I said to myself "Come on it's Disney-they pride themselves on safety." I made myself ride it back to back 3 times (I did this with RNRCoaster also). And now, TOT is my 2nd favorite ride in HS with Slinky Dog being my favorite.

And I remember being so anxious the first time i rode Soarin' and Splash...it really made those rides not enjoyable. I just had to relax.

IMO, if you let the 8yo ride alone then you must stay in line with them until the boarding process starts. Don't leave him to wait in line alone.

Start with Thunder Mountain, then 7Dwarf Mine train, and since Space is in the dark it really isn't "scary". I don't like it for the spiral turns-i don't like tea cups either though. But i do like alien flying saucers-so idk

I want you to know i have felt your anxiety. You won't regret riding the coasters and TOT with your son. And, the memories you make together are going to be AWESOME !!

 

[MNDisneyMommy]

You're right he can ride by himself at that age, so that really helps you out. I'd wait in line with him, when you get to the front say you aren't riding, and you can likely wait for him at the ride vehicle exit. The cast members will do a great job making sure he buckles safely.

To increase your comfort level, before you do something like that you could ride on something where you and your wife (with babe in arms) ride in one vehicle and he rides behind you or in front with a 'stranger' a few times on non-thrill rides. Just might give everyone some practice & comfort on how he can handle that kinda thing before you're not in the ride with him at all. We went on a family trip with my 7 year old, and in a few instances she wanted to ride by herself and we were an odd number so we let her. She was in a vehicle behind us with a stranger and we were in the car in front. It made me more comfortable that she would be OK if we had to do that.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

DD13 and I have never been brave enough to ride ToT, either. I wonder if,when you get in line, perhaps purposely try to step in line behind a family that has a mom and kids. Perhaps you could strike up a conversation in line and let them know your son will ride by himself and maybe she would offer to let him tag along with them. I think most moms have a mother hen mindset if there is ever an unattended child nearby. That might ease your mind a bit while waiting for his ride to finish.

 

[serenitynow]

I have great news that upon thinking about it may cause a bit of a hiccup for my upcoming Disney World trip. The great news is that we are expecting our second child. Mom is only 7 weeks, but things seem to be looking good. We have an 8 year old son. So, all great!
Except, Mom is the "brave one" who goes on the roller coasters and tower of terror with my son. I DO NOT LIKE those rides. Even the idea of going on those rides bother me. My comfortable limit is Splash Mountain, Test Track, Mission Space (Easy One), Kali River Rapids are good. My son has literally no limits, he would take an actual rocket to the moon if he could.
We have a trip coming up in April, and assuming all goes well with Mom and baby, she will not be able to go on any rides. So I guess my questions is, what options do I have? My son is 8 years old and about 49-50 inches tall. Rider swap wont help. He is basically old and tall enough to go on rides by himself, but i feel kinda guilty about that AND i dont love the idea of him solely being responsible to strapping himself in correctly. Yes, i understand there are cast members to help and check... but still.
Any words of advise?
PS, at this point I have researched a bunch, and I probably could suck it up and do the mine train roller coaster. I think it would feel a bit better for me because it is kinda running through a mountain as oppose to slinky dog dash which is the traditional roller coaster set up. Just typing this is bothering me.

Congratulations!

 

[tinkerjo]

Does he have a close friend or a cousin that could go with you to keep him company? We have found that helps a lot!!!

 

[disneyseniors]

I have great news that upon thinking about it may cause a bit of a hiccup for my upcoming Disney World trip. The great news is that we are expecting our second child. Mom is only 7 weeks, but things seem to be looking good. We have an 8 year old son. So, all great!
Except, Mom is the "brave one" who goes on the roller coasters and tower of terror with my son. I DO NOT LIKE those rides. Even the idea of going on those rides bother me. My comfortable limit is Splash Mountain, Test Track, Mission Space (Easy One), Kali River Rapids are good. My son has literally no limits, he would take an actual rocket to the moon if he could.
We have a trip coming up in April, and assuming all goes well with Mom and baby, she will not be able to go on any rides. So I guess my questions is, what options do I have? My son is 8 years old and about 49-50 inches tall. Rider swap wont help. He is basically old and tall enough to go on rides by himself, but i feel kinda guilty about that AND i dont love the idea of him solely being responsible to strapping himself in correctly. Yes, i understand there are cast members to help and check... but still.
Any words of advise?
PS, at this point I have researched a bunch, and I probably could suck it up and do the mine train roller coaster. I think it would feel a bit better for me because it is kinda running through a mountain as oppose to slinky dog dash which is the traditional roller coaster set up. Just typing this is bothering me.

LOL, I had to laugh at this because my then pregnant t daughter and soninlaw had a similar problem. Except my son in law couldn't ride coasters or TOT either. The 2 older boys were at an age where they loved thrill rides.
So, good ole gramma and grampa (me and my husband), went on vacation at that time too. We took the boys on the all the thrill rides at Disney AND at Universal! It was a blast and we had a lot of fun with the boys. Maybe you have a close family member or friend who would want to visit Disney with you and take over the thrill rides??? Good luck either way

 

[Mommb]

At 8, your son should be fine if, as someone suggested previously, you wait in line with him and just tell the cast members that you would like to exit before riding. Your wife could wait with you as well, if it won’t be too frustrating for her to be so close and not go on the ride. The queues for Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and Expedition Everest are well-themed even if you don’t ride.

For what it’s worth, I won’t do Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Space Mountain, or Expedition Everest and am not a fan of Tower of Terror, but had no trouble with Big Thunder Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train since they go around (like Test Track) rather than straight down. You have do only what you’re comfortable with, though.