How do you convince a 9 y/o to ride rides??

[marcyinPA]

My son is turning 9 on our trip in May. On our last trip 2 years ago, he did ToT, Thunder Railroad (is that what it's called?)(he rode this about 5 times!) and Splash Mountain.

We've been talking about our upcoming trip, and he keeps saying he won't ride those rides, nor will he even consider trying Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, or Mission Space. He knows the difference between real and pretend...he just has this fear for the unknown. I know that once I get him on the rides, he'll be fine and probably even say he liked it. It's getting him in line and into the seat of the ride that's the problem.

My 4 y/o ds, on the other hand, is ready to go and can't wait for the "fast" rides. Go figure

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

My DS was/is just like that . . .

He always informs us well ahead of time what he will not even consider riding . . .We have yet to go on Splash Mountain because he doesn't like "dropping".

At 10 we finally got him on Test Track and he LOVED IT!

He will be 11 in July and for our next trip in October he's already run down his "I'm not going on" list:

Splash Mountain
Space Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain (he went on this at age 9 and felt he was going to fall out so he doesn't want to ride that again)

Although I'd like him to try all the rides, I'm not going to push him into it . . .when he's ready he'll come around . . .just like he did with Test Track.

The only advice that I can offer is just wait and see when you get there and then approach the questions . . ."Would you like to go on that with us?"

Have a GREAT vacation!

 

[georgina]

My DS is my middle child, and is the same way. We let him skip whatever he wants to skip.

Let him watch the rides for a while, whichever ones you can see from outside.

I know someone who bribes her son to try new things. If you are determined to get him on one - you could try an offer of ice cream or something. I prefer to just wait it out.

 

[crusoe2]

Our DS is the same way. We don't push him to do anything that he is really adamant about but we do encourage him to try at least one or two new things each trip. We've learned to let him "warm up" with the things he is comfortable with and then try moving on to some new things after that. Don't lose hope - last trip our DS finally did the Great Movie Ride at MGM. Trying to get him to do it on a previous trip nearly caused a major meltdown. Now he loves it and has asked that it be on our "must do" list for next time. Good luck.

 

[kaygela]

My DS8 is exactly the same way. He refuses to go on Splash Mtn, Space Mtn,BTMR, Tot, , haunted mansion,etc. He finally went on The Great Movie Ride this past February and now regrets not ever going on it before. We don't force him although we always offer these rides. I think, eventually, there might come a day when he'll go on it, but till then, it's not the most important thing. There are so many things in the parks that he loves and enjoys.

 

[newholiday]

When DS was 10 DH & I got on line for RnR w/him
He asked if the roller coaster goes upside down and we told him "we didnt think so"
welllll after he got off he wanted to go on again and again and again

We're going to Universal & IOA this Oct. Since he can actually see the coasters Im not so sure we can get him on. But they have chicken exits so he can wait on the other side if necessary.

 

[blondie2356]

Hello;

My son is going to be 13 and he doesn't want to ride the Haunted Mansion. I got him on Pirates of the Caribbean though when we went last yr. He didn't want to go on Test Track
because he doesn't like roller coasters I told him it wasn't a roller coaster. he was scared about it but went on it now he loves it.

My mom is going with us this time to wdw so I think she will get him to ride the Haunted mansion.

Kay

 

[Qwackertoo]

My daughter is like that too and has been since our first trip when she was 6 and she is now just turned 10. In December '03 she wanted to finally try ToT, her brother has been riding it since he was 3 1/2, we were just about to be next and she starting crying and carrying on and people were looking at us! It was sort of embarrassing, like they thought we were forcing her against her will which we were not! We tried to tell her it was ok and thankfully a nice CM came and said he would take her down the chicken elevator and she would be there waiting for us with a CM when the three of us finished the ride. She did this one year in the middle of the Splash Mountain line AND in the Kali River Rapids line, she really wants to go but she doesn't want to go, fear of the "drop" kinda thing!!!

Deana

 

[goofy4tink]

Well, I'm the 'bad' mom. I did force my dd, then 6, to do Star Tours. I knew she would love it. Yep, she did. Said she was sorry she did all that crying. Then, when she was 8, again I made her do TT. I thought my dh was going to report me to Youth Services!!! Yep, again, she loved it. Can't do it enough at this point. I've been trying to get her to do RnRC but not yet. Won't force that one.

DD had a friend, 10, that refuses to do any ride other than the carousel!!! Even Winnie-the-Pooh scared her. Now, her brother, 6, did it all. If he was tall enough, he did it!!! Because he did ToT, my dd just had to do it last summer. We have done it twice now and that's enough for her.

I guess you know what your child will handle. Just don't lie about what the ride involves. My dd knows that I'm telling her the absolute truth now. If I say she will like it, then she figures she will.

 

[dcentity2000]

I guess you just have to wait until they're ready

If you really want them to go on them, though, always assure them that there is a way out of them and - maybe - take them to the security office in the ride to watch it over CCTV (they all must have them - health and safety regs).



Rich::

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Originally posted by newholiday
When DS was 10 DH & I got on line for RnR w/him
He asked if the roller coaster goes upside down and we told him "we didnt think so"
welllll after he got off he wanted to go on again and again and again

We're going to Universal & IOA this Oct. Since he can actually see the coasters Im not so sure we can get him on. But they have chicken exits so he can wait on the other side if necessary.

On IoA's two big coasters (three really since Dueling Dragons is really 2 coaster) there is a child swap area near where you board where a child could wait, assuming that you thing he's ok waiting there by himself. The Hulk's waiting area is on the other side of the track from where you board, but I'm assuming they would let him walk through the coaster to get to the waiting area. The child swap room for DD is easy to get to before you board.


My 10yo won't do upside down roller coasters, but other than that I've never had a problem with my kids not doing rides. Last year at Universal my then 3yo did everything that he was tall enough for, but got scared and didn't do a lot of things a second time. He's turned into a daredevil at 4yo, though, and rodes everything that he was tall enough for at Universal and WDW last month, including Big Thunder, Splash, Tot, etc. He was worried before going on Splash, though, and I told him that we were going on a boat ride. I know, not the whole truth, but I'd knew he'd love it after doing it, which he did and wanted to go on again right away. If there was really something that he didn't want to do, though, I wouldn't have forced him.

T&B

 

[Robinette]

I bribed them. At the time my girls were 9 and 6. We offered them $100 each to spend at Disney anyway they wanted if they would go on the rides. We did not include TOT since they already did that one.

It worked and they loved the idea. Now they want the same deal every time we go to Disney.

 

[Kaycee]

I guess you know what your child will handle. Just don't lie about what the ride involves. My dd knows that I'm telling her the absolute truth now. If I say she will like it, then she figures she will.

This is absolutely the best advice anyone can give you. My older DS hates roller coasters and most thrill rides, he always has, and he still does at age 14. We've never intentionally tricked him into riding anything, but on our first family WDW trip (he was 11) we made the mistake of taking him on Space Mtn first thing and I kept telling him it would be great. I wasn't trying to trick him, I just always loved this ride on my pre-children visits, and I honestly thought he would too. Well, he positively hated it, and he kept saying "You tricked me!" It took a lot of talking and coaxing to get him back on anything, even a mild ride, after that. Over subsequent visits, I've rebuilt his trust to the point where he'll give a ride a chance if I tell him it's okay, but it took him a long time to get back to that point after that first disasterous SM ride.

My advice is to start out on the tamest rides (not Space Mtn!) and build up to bigger rides. Once he gets to the point where he starts balking, don't force the issue. Not everyone has to ride the big thrill rides to have a great time at WDW, contrary to what some of us believe. My DS loves WDW, and he has found the rides that are in his comfort zone. He loves POC, HM, Star Tours, Great Movie Ride, El Rio del Tiempo and Spaceship Earth. Notice there aren't any coasters on this list, and he still won't go near TOT or Test Track. He's actually very excited about trying Mission: Space though since he's found out it's not a coaster but is more of a simulator like Star Tours (his favorite ride).

 

[sk!mom]

My DD celebrated her 5th birthday on our last trip. We talked up the rides during our planning and agreed that she would ride "everything that she was tall enough for." We talked about Disney magic and she was great. She rode Test track, Tower of Terror, Splash mountain, Thunder Mountain.

She will be turning 8 on our upcoming trip and is excited that she is now tall enough for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and probably everything else. The only ride that she is feeling reluctant about is Dinosaur, but she keeps telling me "I'm riding it, but I may not open my eyes." My kids have always been great about trying everything once. I tell them that thousands of $$ have been spent to bring them to WDW so they need to give new things a try, and they always do. In almost all cases they have been glad that they did.

My daughter is, by the way, easily frightened. She hasn't seen Harry Potter, for instance, too scary for her.

Good Luck!

 

[jl3614]

Is there any rivalry between the two boys. Five years may be a little much age difference for that.

Anyway, I bet the 9 year old will be embarrassed into trying some rides after his little brother rides something that he is afraid of riding.

You may have to skip a few things early but I bet the older boy will get into the swing of it. Maybe start each day with some milder attraction and build up to the "faster" things.

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by sk!mom
The only ride that she is feeling reluctant about is Dinosaur, but she keeps telling me "I'm riding it, but I may not open my eyes." My kids have always been great about trying everything once. I tell them that thousands of $$ have been spent to bring them to WDW so they need to give new things a try, and they always do. In almost all cases they have been glad that they did.

ok - way to guilt trip them! heheh

But you can tell your daughter that 27 year old Stinkerbelle here keeps her eyes closed in Dinosaur too! I've only kept my eyes open ONCE through the entire rided.

And I've been riding it since it was called "Countdown to Extinction!"

 

[Disneyland_emily]

One thing we did was make a rule they cant hate it until they've tried it. We encouraged them to try it once and if they hated it we'd never make them ride again, but if they did they would get something from that ride as proof they rode it, when Jake went to WDW he got this fear (that was a little strange as he's gone to DL often and rides everything there) so we started the just try it once, well he loved all the stuff we "made" him ride.


If ya push your kids too hard then they'll never like it, but not trying to push them at all they may never know the fun of it- But yes try the kids on rides like Thunder before Rock n Roller or Space- small steps lead to great strides.

Another thing one of my friends parents did was that every time they had to choose one thing to ride theyd never ridden and ride it once. Once they did that ride there wasnt any pressure to ride anything else for the day/trip.

-em

 

[Jordan's MOM]

If he has already ridden them and knows how he likes them, i say leave it along. It's his choice. Now for things they have never tried, I am all for encouraging and even a little bribe to get them to try it. i have taked DS into a lot of stuff when he was younger, and the deal is always, if you do not like it, you do not ever have to do it again. At least he knows then. He has never had a problem on any ride. I "talked" him into R&R at 8 and he absolutly loves it to death. Also talked him into TOT and he said it was OK, but has choose not to go back on it to this day and he is11. That is his choice and ok by me. My DH will not ride any thing even close to a thrill ride so I have to respect DS's wishes too. I also belive it is so important to be honest with your child about what the ride is really like. I would hate the idea that my child could not trust me. It's ok to say, yes this ride is scary but very safe and I think very fun. Good luck and just relax and have fun.


Jordna's mom

 

[MELSMICE]

My 11 yr. old DD is the same way. If she's not sure how it operates, she doesn't want to ride it. However, once she rode ToT, Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain & Splash Mountain she loved them all.

We had the hardest time getting her on RnR even though we all told her that ToT was so much worse (at least I think so). Anyway, I finally bribed her in Nov. because I knew once she tried it she would love it. She had started collecting pins so I told her if she rode it she could have any pin she wanted from the gift shop.

Well, she wrung her hands through the whole line, swayed back & forth & almost turned around numerous times, but I held her hand & got her on. (poor kid).

Long story short - it's now her favorite ride. Of course, now she won't do Space Mountain again because she thinks that's worse than RnR

Honestly though, you just have to let them go at their own pace. When they're ready to ride they will. I knew she wanted to ride RnR - her fear was falling out of car when it went upside down.

Good luck with him. When he's ready he'll ride. Remember, it's his vacation too. I know that I don't ride the things I don't want to (although I have to try everything at least once!!! )

P.S. Of course, she picked the most expensive pin in the gift shop too & we had to buy the picture to show everyone she rode. It's the most expensive ride I ever took in WDW!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I bribed my son. I knew that he loves roller coasters (he loves Goofy's Barnstormer, Big Thunder) and my husband wanted someone to join him on RnRC. I can't ride them because I get sick. I've tried the patch and OTC meds to avoid the motion sickness, but they haven't worked on me.

My son kind of wanted to go, but wouldn't. So I told him that I would buy him something neat if he would ride with his Dad. So he did. When he got off, I had the Stitch Santa plush waiting for him. He loved RnRC, too.