Haunted Mansion with a 2 year old?

[Mainebound]

My 2 year old went on it with no problem, because he didn't "get" the scary stuff. He was fine afterwards, saying it was "funny." But he hasn't been brave enough to go on it since, and now he's 5!

My other son has never made it past the "stretch room" -- there's an easy exit if he gets too scared at that preshow.

 

[disneymom225]

We are going to try both HM and POTC w/ our 18 month at the end of August but I don't think we will do them the 1st day--give her some time and see how she does. I think at 2.5- she may be starting to get some of the fears that older kids have so I'd feel her out. I think the older the kid, the more the imagination has developed and they "understand" and are scared. Good tip aout the exit after the stretch room!! THanks! Hope I don't have to use it but good to know!

 

[Leota]

I agree - It totally depends on the child & only a parent knows their child that well. I took my son, then 4.5 on HM when we went the first time as a family. I only remembered bits & pieces of it as my favorite ride from when I was 8. He hated it. He loved PotC, but cried a bit after the stretching room & before the doom buggies. He was pretty ok being held & consoled until we got to the attic, which he disliked until he was probably 10. Then he loved the graveyard & the hitchhiking ghosts.
I felt like the worlds worst Mom when he got scared & cried "This is NOT a good ride"
Lucky for me he was resilient & went on other rides after that with no problem.

We are taking my Grandsons, who will be 3 & 5 in Dec, to WDW. The 3 yo would love HM & the 5 yo would be terrified. Different personalities.

 

[slp87]

I agree that some will find HM okay and others will hate it. At 2.5 my DD loved Scooby Doo. So when we went to WDW I told her what the ride was going to be about and what was going to happen. She loved it. In fact, we rode it 6 times that first trip. She rode it many more times on different trips and when she was 7, she finally noticed the person hanging at the top of the stretching room. I didn't know she had never seen it. She was so sure that it was new.

 

[Sheaboys]

I have taken all my boys on both of those rides ever since they were 6 months old. Never bothered them. The beginning of HM scared our youngest who at the time was 1.5 when we went, but not so scared he cried or screamed, just held on a little tighter. The all really enjoy the ride part of it.

 

[SugarMomma]

The first time we took our DD she was 21/2 and she was a little freaked out on Haunted Mansion...but I took a tip I think I got from this board and had brought some tiny little penlight flashlights and anytime the darkness made her uneasy I handed her her light and she was fine. The good thing is its not bright enough to disturb anyone else.

 

[Family 1st]

I think it's according to the child. Everyone is different and the parents should make the choice best for their own child, but never force the child.

 

[Jackie H.]

My kids loved POTC from even younger than 2....but they would not get anywhere near HM until older. They could hear the "ghostly noises"...my son at 4 flatly told us "I'm not anywhere near that place!" So I can offer no advice about that!

If you take her on POTC, just explain fully what it is like before you go. The beginning is dark and then it gets totally dark and you go down a little hill - which is fun - and then you are back into a pirate scene with pretend people and everything is fun again. Can you purchase a Disneyland Sing-A-Long DVD? If so, it has POTC on it and she can watch it beforehand and know what to expect.

I think with toddlers it is the unknown that gets them. I strongly agree with the previous poster that suggested a pin light for toddlers. I did this with mine when they were this age. There are many dark rides at WDW - and many of them are not the least bit frightening.....but the dark is what gets some kids. The light gives them a measure of control. Just warn them not to shine the light at other people or at the ride scenes (mine would just shine it at their feets or lap).

 

[erinz]

IMO....If you have doubts, don't take her on. If she has been exposed to darkness and loud noises and scary images and seems totally fine with them, then it's probably OK. But unless you are sure, it's just not worth possibly scaring the little one.

 

[ShuisFan584]

Well I went in 1986 when I was 2 years old, when all they had was Magic Kingdom and Epcot. My dad recorded it's a small world, Pirates and Haunted Mansion over and over and over again, because those are the 3 rides we constantly went on. I don't know about Haunted Mansion, but I know that Pirates was one of my favorite rides. The only reason I know this is because on one of the tapes I'm telling my aunt's how my 2 favorite rides were it's a small world and Pirates.

 

[05ChristmasSurprise]

DD begged, begged, begged to go on HM her first trip. She was 6.

We got there and it was all she talked about - how it's Mickey Magic and she won't be scared, etc.

So, she gets in the elevator and things change. By the time they're in the Doom Buggy she's in tears, and she's hysterical through the whole thing. She walked around crying for a good ten minutes even after that. Poor kid.

She loved it this year, though - she's now almost 8.

Probably not for a two year old, I've heard it's rather jerky and it might be rough on an under-developed spine/neck. However, if placed between Mom and Dad (and they were there to shield the kiddo's eyes if need be) it MIGHT be okay. You'd just have to judge by the child. My younger ones tend to not feel scared by things at Disneyworld because it's all so surreal. The older one really *believes* in things, though, kwim?