How old for Tower of Terror?

[vinotinto]

My DS is 4 and while he was not scared at all at ToT, he was quite indifferent. He just wanted to go to the Rock n Roll coaster, and he was too short for that. But scared, no.

 

[puffkin]

DS was 2 1/2 and had just hit the 40" mark. He wanted to do ToT in the worst way.....we decided to wait until the end of the week to see how he did on the other "big" rides first. When we went back to let him do it at the end of the trip, the line was well over 60 minutes and no FP so we skipped it.

We were back 6 months later when he just turned 3....he insisted we ride it. He was shaking during the ride and real quiet when we got off. I asked him if he liked it and he said yes but he didn't want to ride it again. We are now preparing for a trip in early December and he is 3 1/2. He talks every day about wanting to ride it and that it is his favorite ride

 

[xDisneyAngelx]

I was like 14/15 when I first rode ToT. I don't know when I was younger it looked way to scary. I cried the first time because I never knew what to expect but look at me now I ride it like 10 times in a row when I go lol.

 

[IndySam]

Last year, my younger son was almost 6 and we didn't make him ride it. This year, when he was closer to 7, we took him on it, and he did not like it. He also did not like Splash Mountain or Big Thunder Mountain. But he liked Haunted Mansion - thought everything was funny. He also loved Soarin', but wouldn't ride Test Track. Depends on the kid - my older son loves thrill rides, my younger son - not so much.

 

[wmharley]

DS was 2 1/2 and had just hit the 40" mark. He wanted to do ToT in the worst way.....we decided to wait until the end of the week to see how he did on the other "big" rides first. When we went back to let him do it at the end of the trip, the line was well over 60 minutes and no FP so we skipped it.

dang, what do you feed your kid????

however I may be in the same boat. our DS at 15mo was 33", an increase of 2" from his 12mo checkup. I estimate that come sometime between 2-3yo we'll have another RollerCoaster Partner, as I tell my daughter...

She (5yo) just rode is last week, although she could have ridden it last year. She got spooked at the dark parts, so I continuously talked to her throughout and explained what was happening, and prepping her for what would be happening. At the very end, as the car was going back, she grabbed my arm and said she was a little scared, but just at the darkness.

This was the 1 ride she kept talking about for days though.. She did enjoy it as I kept watching her through the bounces for her reactions (smiles and squeals)...

So if you reinforce as you do the ride, you should be ok

 

[kohlby]

My DS1 was 40" and barely 3 for our first trip. He was all excited to do the ride at home when he saw the video - but he changed his mind when he saw it. He didn't want to do it when we went back when he was 3.5 either. I'm hoping my daughter is tall enough to do it when we go in two months. She'll be almost 4 but she still has an inch to grow before our trip! She'll likely want to do it - which will convince our oldest to do it!

*My son did do Spiderman at Islands of Adventure when he was barely 3 and that was a little too intense for him. He did want to do it again at 3.5 and did fine with it. So you never know what they can handle. I think the important thing is to let them decide.

One thing I do keep in mind is how the seats are. As long as I can sit right next to a young child who is tall enough, then I let them do it. Something like space mountain I'm more cautious on because of the toboggan style seats. I want to be able to hold my child's hand if needed for a little bit more comfort. It wasn't ever needed during my son's first two trips, but I still want it as an option for the next time with my daughter.

 

[allyphoe]

How old was your DS or DD when they first rode ToT?

Three. She drags me on it with teeth-gritted determination every trip, too.

She's going to be 48" this next trip, so I'm going to have to suck it up for RnRC.

 

[BenA81]

My DD4 heard the word "terror" and pretty much said "no thanks."

 

[wmharley]

My DD4 heard the word "terror" and pretty much said "no thanks."

we call it the Tower.. she calls it the bouncy tower

 

[3floridarays]

Our DS was 2 months shy of 3yo when he rode it for the first time. As soon as he got off, he yelled "Do it again! Do it again!". The CM actually cracked up. So we did it again. And again. And again.

 

[jamstew]

My DGC were 3-1/2, 4 & 5-1/2 and they all liked it, but I can't say that anyone other than the 5-1/2 year old loved it. The 3-1/2 year old now says that the "scary elevator ride" is his favorite The 4-year-old really didn't like Dinosaur. He didn't get freaked out, but as soon as it was over he said "that was not my favorite ride."

 

[DisneyFamily123]

Went Oct. 2009, DS turned 4 in Sept. He was OK with the ride, mostly because he didn't know what to expect. Asked him if he liked the ride, he said yes. Asked if he wanted to do it again, the answer was a big NO.

I liked TOT but I really don't think it's for young kids. There's not much to see. It's all very dark. And the drops can vary quite a bit. I was told by co-passengers who did the ride many times before that our ride had the largest drops.

If a 4 yr old can tolerate huge drops, I'd say no harm done... but I can't say there is anything amusing or exciting about it for a 4 yr old. Haunted Mansion at MK is much better - my opinion.

If I had done the ride by myself first, I would not have taken DS4 on it. I was also worried about him coming out of the seat because there's only a bar and you really come out of your seat on the big drops so my enjoyment was a little limited by my desire to hold on to DS4 during the drops.

 

[CampingBandit]

When my son was 4 I had read on the internet (don't remember which site) that TOT was "like a giant frog-hopper" and not scary at all. Um, TOT was one of the first rides he went on and he was traumatized. After that ride he wouldn't go on anything despite our promises that they wouldn't be scary...because he felt we lied to him about that. It took 4 days for him to work up the courage to ride Buzz lightyear and Peter Pan...

 

[golden6911]

My 4.5 year old daughter rode it on my 2006 trip and on this last trip my son rode it at age 5.5. Neither of them really liked it but neither freaked out on it. I tried to prepare them for how scary it was and didn't make them go on it. They decided on their own. My now 7.5 year old daughter liked it a little better this time but she actually likes Rock N' Roller coaster more.

 

[Tuliplvr]

My son was 4 when he first went on.. he LOVED it! He went on 4 times and held my hand.

 

[jaysbabe]

My DS was 5 when he rode it but I think only because his slightly younger 5 yr old friend was going on it.. (peer pressure starts early). He rode and told me he would never ride it again.. No crying or anything -- just said he's done it and that's enough. He is not the adventurous ride type so I kind of figured it would go that way. I was proud of him for riding it the first time.

 

[disney1990]

We took our Granddaughter at age 5 on TOT. She was white as a ghost when we got off. We have been to Disney twice since then, at ages 7 and 10. She wouldn't ride again when we went back and said she would never ride it again.

 

[EvilQueenT]

i think it really depends on your child. my youngest child/daughter rode it the month she turned 6 and now at age 20 is still the most outrageous of my kids when it comes to riding anything. my sons daughter was 4 months past her 5th birthday and loved it as well but she started out on splash mountain and thunder mountain and was ready for more. we also had to tell her about the story leading up to it (she was more likely to be afraid of the spooky lobby). i think a lot of the time we're the ones to scare our kids. my granddaughters mother would have had her afraid of dumbo with the way she acts if other family members hadn't stepped in. i'm old enough to have a now almost 6 year old granddaughter and ToT still scares the heck out of me so i'd say let them see the videos on youtube, explain the story/scary part of the lobby and decide from there. good luck

 

[Pjimmeyer]

I will never go on it and I am 24

Yeah...I'm 42 and in my opinion you have to be AT LEAST 43...probably a little older before you can ride it.

 

[punkinsmomma]

Just thought I would update since we're back from our trip. DS was so excited to ride ToT, he rode it twice back to back!
HS was the last park of our trip and we talked about it everyday leading up to that day. He wanted to ride it again after dark, but we didn't have time.
He also rode BTM, Soarin, Test Track and Star Tours. He loved them all! I'm so glad we have an adventurous little rider!

He thought it was funny that he was fine on ToT, but his aunt's boyfriend (who is 24) lost his breakfast on it!