Helping kids get over coaster fears

[Metalliman98]

So this isn't your traditional kid coaster fears question. 5 yo DS has been going on coasters at DL since just before his 4th birthday, and has gone on all of them multiple times. The last one he got to go on was of course Screamin', which he was finally tall enough for this past March. Loves all of the rides.....except ToT.

Now here's the thing: on that trip just before his 4th birthday, he went on ToT. Five times. And loved it every time. But since that trip in May '15, we've made five trips and each time he is "scared" of the ride and won't go on. I like the ride, and with it usually being just me, DW and DS on our trips, if he doesn't want to do a ride then it means none of us do it, so DW and I don't usually get to do ToTunless my family or in-laws come along on the trip. Not a huge deal, but I do enjoy the ride and miss not going on it. More concerning is that we are going to DW next March and I definitely want to do ToT there, but it will be just me, DW, and DS, so unless we can get him over this newfound fear, then we're out of luck.

Any advice? Any one else have this experience, with a kid loving a ride and then all of a sudden next time being scared of it?

 

[offwithyourhead]

This is typical with kids for all kinds of fears, it happened to me with multiple things. I suddenly refused to go into Value Village for 2 months at a time around Halloween because I was deathly afraid of the scary outfits, lol.

Is it the ride or the theme that scares him? I'm betting it's the theme, if he's ok with other physically-as-scary rides.

Maybe play some Twilight Zone in your home? Use the soundtrack for the ride? If he can hear something 'scary' in a safe place, it may make him feel more comfortable.

The hotel is supposed to be spooky, but remind him that it's all pretend. You could also take him on HM beforehand if he's ok with that, and then remind him how it's the same and everything is pretend and he is always safe. There are no 'real' ghosts, it's just Disney magic, just like HM.

 

[DLgal]

Why can't you and your wife just take turns riding solo? Do child swap, or just use Fastpasses. Not a big deal.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Try a bribe.

No, I'm serious. I'm terrified of roller coasters and dropping rides. Terrified. I'll never forget being eight years old and my dad, jokingly, saying he would give me $20 if I would ride a certain roller coaster. I was very scared of that ride, but not losing out on $20 scared. He almost certainly would not have offered if he'd thought I'd take him up on it, but I did immediately. After that first ride, I realized it wasn't all that bad. I ended up liking it a lot.

30 years later, I'm still terrified of roller coasters, and TOT, but I ride them. All of them.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

When my younger DS was 4, he went on Space Mountain and said he loved it. For months, he told everyone it was his favorite ride ever. Then when we went back to DL, he wouldn't ride it. Every time he was asked, he said, "I just don't feel like it right now". We didn't push him since there was plenty else to do and DH, the only one really interested, could go ride it on his own if he wanted. I think it was about a year after the first time he rode it that DS rode it again. We would just ask him each day of each trip if he wanted to ride Space Mountain, and eventually he answered yes one of the times and did it and continued to ride it regularly thereafter. It was better not to make it into a big deal or a power struggle or something we too obviously wanted him to do. He just needed some time to process the experience and decide when he was ready to do it again. Older DS probably hadn't even ridden Space Mountain by that time; he was a ride scaredy cat for the longest time. We encouraged older DS to ride the "scary" rides but generally tried not to put too much pressure on him and just waited it out until he was ready. We were fortunate enough to have the luxury of visiting the parks a few times a year for the last 10 years, so we never felt any gotta do it now or never pressure. Of course, both my boys are teenagers now and love all kinds of rides.

I would say to just not make a big thing of it. If you want to ride, grab some fastpasses for the ride and when it's time to go, just ask your son if he wants to ride with you. If he says no, then take turns with your wife so you each get a chance to ride it and move on to something else when you're done.

 

[bumbershoot]

In my experience this is totally normal and will change naturally.

Ds had a year around 4 where he didn't want to ride anything. Everything he had loved how scared him. It was not fabulously fun.

Then we visited on his next birthday and boom it all lifted. He was back to normal. Wild.

 

[bcla]

My kid had a fear of carousel horses. Really odd too, as they were a favorite type of ride until maybe 2-1/2, when a panic set in. And it really only got bad once they started moving. We could ride on benches just fine.

Then all of a sudden it was "I'm not afraid any more" and it hasn't been a problem since.

 

[smartlabelprint]

So this isn't your traditional kid coaster fears question. 5 yo DS has been going on coasters at DL since just before his 4th birthday, and has gone on all of them multiple times. The last one he got to go on was of course Screamin', which he was finally tall enough for this past March. Loves all of the rides.....except ToT.

Now here's the thing: on that trip just before his 4th birthday, he went on ToT. Five times. And loved it every time. But since that trip in May '15, we've made five trips and each time he is "scared" of the ride and won't go on. I like the ride, and with it usually being just me, DW and DS on our trips, if he doesn't want to do a ride then it means none of us do it, so DW and I don't usually get to do ToTunless my family or in-laws come along on the trip. Not a huge deal, but I do enjoy the ride and miss not going on it. More concerning is that we are going to DW next March and I definitely want to do ToT there, but it will be just me, DW, and DS, so unless we can get him over this newfound fear, then we're out of luck.

Any advice? Any one else have this experience, with a kid loving a ride and then all of a sudden next time being scared of it?

At dw you can get rider swap.

 

[707MickeyGirl]

My granddaughter was the same way. She LOVED ToT, Screamin', and Splash. Then she "just didn't feel like" riding them. Since it's usually just the two of us for a good portion of our visits, this meant I couldn't go on them either, as she is only now 8 years old. I hated missing Splash. It's one of my very favorites. But I reminded myself why we were there - to spend time together and make some happy, indelible memories. I talked to her about the rides and how much she enjoyed them before, but I didn't press her. We still had a fantastic time! I guess it's like when she was younger - she went through the same fear with the costumed characters.

My advice to the OP is that you aren't out of luck... you can use rider swap if your DS still doesn't want to ride. In fact, you can tell him how much fun it was when you come off the ride, and maybe he'll want to go again. You can also get in line and see if he changes his mind. If he still doesn't want to ride, one of you can exit the line with him. My granddaughter enjoys talking to other kids in line now about whether or not they're scared, or how scared they USED to be... it's like a little peer counseling session.

 

[columbusdizfan]

Our DD, 5, who loved the fast
rides at WDW that she was tall enough to go on at age 3 and a half (test track, 7 dwarves mine ride were her favorites) now refuses to go on anything fast. If we want to do the ride, my wife and I just child swap and ride separately. We go on IASW and Dumbo multiple times a trip. So she's patient and waits for us to do the rides we want to do. It makes her happy to send us off to have fun and have us report back. We were very pleasantly surprised at her great attitude about it. I think she liked having the chance to just rest while waiting.

 

[avalon451]

I like the peer counseling idea The other thing about ToT, is that she can go through the line and the theming with you, and then you or DW can take her out via the "chicken exit" (so-called, but of course nobody would call her a chicken!) just before you get on the elevator. A CM will escort you out. When DD13 was reluctant to do ToT, even though she'd loved every other thrill ride, I explained that we could do that. I also explained about the mechanics of the thing-- you're not really being dropped in free-fall, the cables are pulling you downward very fast, so the ride is never "out of control"-- that made her feel better. She decided to try it, got on the elevator with me, and ended up liking it just fine.

 

[bumbershoot]

At dw you can get rider swap.

you can use rider swap if your DS still doesn't want to ride.

Not when they are tall enough to ride.

That's not how the CMs are trained, and you're unlikely to find a CM who will budge on it. (I haven't checked the DL or WDW sites recently but for a few years now they've had the exact WRONG info...but the people who make the website aren't the ones running the rides, and the ones at the rides have been trained that swap is NOT for tall-enough-but-scared people)


OP, I realized that DS's birthday makes it easy for me to remember when our experience was. His b'day hits around Mem Day weekend twice every few years, and one of those years was "free on your birthday". Since family and friends kept forgetting that they had a birthday party to attend, and kept booking campsites for themselves, we just went to Disneyland for both his 4th and 5th birthdays. Like a switch he hated everything as the trip for his 4th started (he went on TOT and hated the illusion of "turning blue and dying" even though he liked the up and down), and like a switch he liked everything again during the 5th birthday trip. So we're slightly off in ages, but that's pretty close. Close enough that it feels like an age-appropriate thing to do, themepark-wise.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We did a few trips with our oldest where we just watched a lot of rides, rather than actually riding those rides. Oldest was afraid to ride, but loved watching and talking about the ride, e.g. how did it work, colors of the vehicles, theme of the ride, etc. I told DH and the grandparents not to push this, but to let him take it at his own pace. We did this several times during one year, and by the next year he felt comfortable enough from all the watching and discussing that he wanted to ride all these rides. Going through the lines with the promise that we really would exit if he didn't want to board the vehicle was helpful, too. (We did that often enough, much to DH's chagrin!) I agree about not making a big deal about the fears or about not turning anything into a power struggle. After oldest grew out of this, he never looked back!

 

[bcla]

Not when they are tall enough to ride.

That's not how the CMs are trained, and you're unlikely to find a CM who will budge on it. (I haven't checked the DL or WDW sites recently but for a few years now they've had the exact WRONG info...but the people who make the website aren't the ones running the rides, and the ones at the rides have been trained that swap is NOT for tall-enough-but-scared people)

It's been a while since I've done it, but I thought that the rider switch pass was obtained just before boarding the ride. I thought they had no idea that it might be a kid too short to ride, a kid not willing to go on a ride, or just sleeping in a stroller. And they might not even know for sure that there is a kid involved at all. However, there probably isn't much of a point in a group of adults lying about it. Maybe one adult through the single rider line.

 

[Metalliman98]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I am always hesitant to go on the ride by myself (not just ToT, but any ride), as I feel guilty about leaving DW and DS while I go "have fun". We're a family, we're on vacation together, and for me to go off on my own just doesn't feel right. I know just because we're a family doesn't mean we have to do everything together; when my in-laws come along on our trips we often break up and do our own things, and we don't all go on rides together if one of us isn't feeling it. But for some reason, when it's just the three of us, doing a ride solo feels wrong. I think if my son were older and more independent, say 12 or 13, I would be comfortable, but at 5.......just doesn't seem like the right thing to do.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

It's been a while since I've done it, but I thought that the rider switch pass was obtained just before boarding the ride. I thought they had no idea that it might be a kid too short to ride, a kid not willing to go on a ride, or just sleeping in a stroller. And they might not even know for sure that there is a kid involved at all. However, there probably isn't much of a point in a group of adults lying about it. Maybe one adult through the single rider line.

There have been recent reports of CMs cracking down on rider switch abuse, so the CMs have been asking to see the child in question. That's how they would know if the child is tall enough or not.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

I am always hesitant to go on the ride by myself (not just ToT, but any ride), as I feel guilty about leaving DW and DS while I go "have fun". We're a family, we're on vacation together, and for me to go off on my own just doesn't feel right. I know just because we're a family doesn't mean we have to do everything together; when my in-laws come along on our trips we often break up and do our own things, and we don't all go on rides together if one of us isn't feeling it. But for some reason, when it's just the three of us, doing a ride solo feels wrong. I think if my son were older and more independent, say 12 or 13, I would be comfortable, but at 5.......just doesn't seem like the right thing to do.

I know it can feel weird, but is there something like a treat, e.g. ice cream sandwich or churro, that your son really enjoys? Our oldest was fine with enjoying a MM ice cream bar while watching the rest of the party ride. I never made him feel like he was missing out and he never complained. He enjoyed waving at the others, when the ride was outside.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I know it can feel weird, but is there something like a treat, e.g. ice cream sandwich or churro, that your son really enjoys? Our oldest was fine with enjoying a MM ice cream bar while watching the rest of the party ride. I never made him feel like he was missing out and he never complained. He enjoyed waving at the others, when the ride was outside.

I did the same thing when I would go to Disneyland with my two. My son didn't want to go on a few 'big' attractions, so we'd all walk through the queue, and I gave him up to the loading zone to decide whether or not he wanted to go on. He didn't want to, so crossed to the other side, and my daughter and I went on the attraction while he waited the couple of minutes for us to finish. Except he didn't have a treat. He was perfectly fine waiting for us, and it was only a couple (Splash and Space Mtn). One time he said he wanted to go on, and that was that. If the child is on the timid side, or you don't want to do that (and I can understand that), then maybe get fastpasses and take turns going on the attraction... or, wait until he is ready, and concentrate on the other fun attractions in the parks.

 

[tarheelalum]

I think you have three choices. Give up the ride, ride it by yourself or bribe your kid. Personally for me, I think the first 2 stink so I'd bribe him.

 

[Disneyluvr]

Well I thought I heard that ToT was going away this fall so no one will be riding it next March. But as for scary rides in general, you know your son best, if you think he'd like it once he got on, keep reassuring him and hope that by the time you go he'll be a bit more mature and open to trying it. If not do as some other posters have suggested and use the single rider line.