Haunted Mansion

[jme829]

My middle child is a little nervous nellie about everything new...our last trip she was only 3 but the only rides she "screamed" on was buzz and ITTBAB and spaceship earth (the dark scared her more than the rides themselves) she didn't get scared until we actually got on the rides so it was hard to leave (except for ITTBAB)...for the haunted mansion we just gave her a blanket and her brothers pacifier (i know gross but it worked) and she covered her head and sucked away and she did fine...this year she is 5 and we have been preparing her in advance...she is (so far) acutally excited to go on buzz (we've explained its just a big video game) and we have watched haunted mansion and explained the ghosts are just like the movie and they aren't real . I think she will be ok..we are still bringing a blanket though and maybe a sucker instead of the pac. now lol)..Still not sure how she will do at ITTBAB..she loves bugs but that one just did both my younger ones in the last time. My oldest is a trooper...she is 11 and will try most rides at least once (started "big kid" rides at age 2 at Cedar Point) and then decide from there. THe only disney ride she hates is Dinosaur in AK. (we haven't done TOT cuz I won't ride that ..I hate that "free fall" feeling). IF my child is screaming before we even get in line that is one thing I won't force but once you are on and moving and they freak out there really isn't anything you can do. Mine are ususally fine until we are already on and going.

 

[petula]

Hey, jme829. just out of curiosity, what set her off on the Buzz ride? I've only been on it a couple of times, but I don't seem to remember anything that isn't cute and friendly on that one.

 

[jme829]

Petula...I really think it was just the dark and the noise..it was really really loud. she was fine when we got on and as soon as we went thru the door she freaked . It wasalso the first thing we went on so I think it just took her by surprise. SHe had been there when she was 19 months but she was fine...she got a little goofy (oops pardon the pun ) when she turned 3 but now she is a mature (lol) 5 and she is excited and ready now...we've got buzz covered now and I think we'll be safe with HM but we are still working on Its tough to be a bug rolleyes: I think the big key will be to hit this stuff way before or well after naptime she tends to freak out easier when she is tired! SHe was even a little (well ok a lot) leery of going on Pooh but she ended up doing ok..

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

OOGIEBOOGIE, DECKER, SEANB....and anyone else...Please Help

My oldest gets very nervous about new things, too. She is 5 1/2 -- she'll be 6 for our next trip. Any tips, hints or tricks to ease the nervousness? We see everytime we go somewhere new or where we haven't been in awhile. She'll do most rides, but is pretty uneasy about things for awhile. She grinds her teeth and worries about things more than a 5 year old should, but she has agreat sense of humor and loves to have a great time -- once she warms up. We try to watch the planning video from time to time and look through our photo albums to talk about what we'll do this trip. Any feedback and other ideas are appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Serenity]

It definitely depends on the child. My son 7 is nervous about anything new. But he has been many times and we always just tell him he can do it now or on a later trip when he feels better. We have always been this way - everything at his pace.

However, 2 trips ago, we took my sister and niece (who have been with us before) and another sister and nephew who have never been. My niece just about freaked out before going on everything. I mean she would scream, cry and beg not to go on. She had been on all these same rides just the year before. Well, if it were me, I would not have forced her - I never force my son. But my sister did - and the weird thing was after the ride was over, my niece would say she loved it. But would then scream again at the next thing. It was almost like she was psyching herself up for the ride and this was part of the fun for her. It got REALLY annoying after the first few rides - I mean she did this on everything including Pooh and Peter Pan not just HM and BTMRR. I felt really bad for my other sister and nephew. Since he had never been he did not know what to expect. Well, with my niece freaking out, he would get scared too. Luckily, he was able to express it better and was still open to going on and really enjoyed everything. We eventually put my niece and sister first, then my family, then my other sister and nephew so that there was some space between the kids and my niece's reaction wouldn't affect my nephew.

The long and short of this is simply, each child is different and it is up to the parent to know what it best for them. While I would not have taken my child on things if they were acting as my niece was, my sister did and my niece was fine and loved everything. LOL.

 

[oogieboogie]

Originally posted by SnoWhiteRabbit
OOGIEBOOGIE, DECKER, SEANB....and anyone else...Please Help

My oldest gets very nervous about new things, too. She is 5 1/2 -- she'll be 6 for our next trip. Any tips, hints or tricks to ease the nervousness? We see everytime we go somewhere new or where we haven't been in awhile. She'll do most rides, but is pretty uneasy about things for awhile. She grinds her teeth and worries about things more than a 5 year old should, but she has agreat sense of humor and loves to have a great time -- once she warms up. We try to watch the planning video from time to time and look through our photo albums to talk about what we'll do this trip. Any feedback and other ideas are appreciated!

Thanks!

What seems to work for Eric (DS 6 yrs old) is that I go with him on the ride and hold his hand the whole time. We also explain first of all that mommy and daddy would never let him go on a ride that will hurt him, and that we'll be there throughout.

We also always say to him, just try it. If you try it and you find you absolutely do not like it, then that's it, he doesn't have to do it anymore.

A lot of times we go thru what the ride entails first. For example, on Test Track, we told him that the cars run on tracks, that although it seems fast, it's not as fast as Daddy driving our car. That certainly calmed him down.

 

[SeanaB]

I have been dealing with a child afraid of everything for a long time now. The only thing she is fearless about is being on stage. She is a great dancer and can't wait for her first solo.

On big rides she would scream and cry. When she wasn't screaming she was shaking like you wouldn't believe. I just reminded her of all of her fears that she has conquered ( and believe me there are quite a lot of them). that almost always calmed her down. I went on all the rides and held her hand. That worked most of the time. When it didn't I lied. For example I told her Rock and Roll Coaster didn't go upside down. That worked for my daughter because I know she would love the ride afterwards. I also told her to be brave and if she didn't like the ride she never had to go on it again. I told her this thinking that we would not be able to go to disney again for a long time, but now it looks like I might be going this summer. Now she said she doesn't have to go on the TOT (the only one she really didn't like) but that was my MOST FAVORITE ride EVER!!!!!! Oh well. My older son 15 didn't like it either so they can go on Rock and Roll while I ride TOT ( I just giggle so much just thinking about that ride

Good luck and have fun