How scary is Haunted Mansion for a DD8?

[EsmeraldaX]

I don't think it is that scary now , but I was terrfied of it when I was a child.

I too don't enjoy having things pop up at me and even though the ghosts in the HM don't really look scary, they can be startling in places.

A good think to do is have her look at http://www.grimghosts.com/wdw/page2.html with you.

This is a virtual tour of the HM. I think if she familiarizes herself with the ghosts and what they will look like, it might make it less scary. This site is amazing and I'm fairly certain that it has pictures of the entire ride, in order.

Another thing that I know helped me get over my fear was I learned about how the effects were done. The only drawback to learning how the effects are made is that you don't get as lost in the wonder, but it's still a way to appreciate the ride.

Have a great trip!

Sheri

 

[PlutoPony]

This was the first ride we took 9 yo DS on when we went to MK and he LOVED it (he's not exceptionally brave) Why? Because the first part of the ride is pretty corny (in a good way) and it's obvious that nothing in the ride is "real" - especially if you've given your child a basic idea of the ride. Afterwards we talked a lot about how they did some of the special effects...you might try talking about that before the ride so your child is watching out for things and wonders how things are done, rather than being concerned about what's coming next....

Hope you get to go on it - it was my son's 2nd most favorite ride, after Splash!

 

[BeamsofLight]

I posted in another thread about the 'chicken exit' that I was too afraid to ride when I was little. My mom took me out that exit a bunch of times before I finally got up the courage to ride. I believe I was 5 when I made it through.

What frightened me was the picture in the foyer, that transforms from a young man to a skeleton. It didn't matter what happened in the stretching room after I saw that picture, I didn't care, I wanted out! lol The first time my mom said 'Just keep your eyes closed' until we got in the stretching room, I was fine, and I loved the ride. (Except the original faceless bride, which scared me to death until they took it away a few years ago.. heh)

I think it depends on your child, especially if she's afraid of the dark or something. But I agree with the others, try introducing her to the ideas first, and see how she reacts. I loved it by the time I was 8, but every little girl is different.

Good luck!

 

[jtm1631]

As everyone has said, all kids are different. My 10 yo and 6 yo DD's love HM and this year my 3 yo is excited to ride it as well.

Part of the 3 yo excitement is from her love of the HM movie.

In addition to all of the other tips, I would also add that the ride has a heightened sense of "scare" during the day. With the brightness of the afternoon sun, it takes our eyes a long time to adjust to the darkness of HM. The result of this is that the "mechanicals" of how things are done in the ride can't be seen because your eyes have not adjusted.

Now, since we usually ride HM 3 or 4 times in succession, our eyes have adjusted by the second time through and we can now see how the effects are done.

With a first timer, an evening ride may be best since your eyes will be better adjusted to the dark and if the child is scared, you can point out that the floating instruments are on strings because you can see them.

JT

 

[ZIPBAGS]

Every kid is different. But, I first took my DD's (when they were 5 & 8) and they loved it. The only thing that was a little freaky for my youngest. Is the first room that streches.

 

[RickNWendy]

if they can watch the movie, they can ride the ride. IMO the movie is much worse, especially with the crypt scene...

If they are unsure, rent/buy the haunted mansion DVD and if you have a computer, put it in the DVD Rom - let the kids see how the ride is made and that will prob make it not so bad- they know what to expect (and it can be a game of 'hey I remember how they did that!'

 

[minniegirl101]

my little sis whos 8 went on and hated it.
but when i was little i loved it
nothing really jumps out at you but
before you get on the ride you go into a room
and the lights go out but once your on the ride it is good

 

[WDWprincessloyola]

The best thing to do in a "haunted house" is to laugh it up...such as "Why is there a ghost hanging on the chandelier? I also thought the ballroom scene was really cool so I would sit through the whole ride just for that. When you go through the attic and the graveyard things do pop up behind gravestones and scream or whatever. This still makes me jump and is not exactly what I enjoy. I do like looking at the ghosts to see what they are doing. Like I have said before that if you can break that sense of "reality" and keep reminding one another that it is just a ride and the ghosts are only having a bit of fun the ride can be really enjoyable!

 

[Gales4Goofy]

we took DS6 and DD8 on the ride last week. Both of them absolutely LOVED it. Truthfully, we did have to drag DS6 into the doom buggy, but after about a minute he was laughing...particularly in the attic where he shouted "that's just a jack in the box ! Is that all you've got?"

Trust us....your daughter will be just fine !

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Just depends on the child. Mine were all fine with things like this, except for a short time at around 3yo for my now almost 5yo. He now like scary and is begging me to bring him to a real haunted house. I told him he can go to our neighbors "haunted garage" that he decorates very well for Halloween, but Jake wants something scarier. Last year he insisted on going in the haunted garage by himself, so maybe he's not a good indicator of most kids. lol

I would think that by 8yo your child would understand "Disney Magic" and pretend. Maybe work up from smaller dark rides and then judge it. I always tell my children to try things once and then they don't have to repeat it if they don't want to.

Have fun! T&B

 

[jacksonsmom]

I hope your daughter gives it a try. It might end up being one of her favorite rides.

I always suggest to my DS (5) to try a ride & if he doesn't like it he doesn't have to ride it again. He has even ridden Tower of Terror, although he did OK on the ride, he told me he doens't want to ride it again (this was last year). I figured once he is a little older he will probably give it a try agiain.

ANyway, my son has been riding the Haunted Mansion since he was 3 yrs old. He has always LOVED it. It really is one of his favorite rides. He knows everything during the ride is just pretend & we have fun laughing at the "ghost" or looking at the different ghost in the ballroom & graveyard.

Last summer we went on this ride 8x in one day!!!! Like I said he REALLY loves this ride.

Just have your daughter try it once, if she doesn't like it, she doesn't have to go on it again.

 

[CaipiraBob]

It depends on the child. My children started at early ages. My younger daughter wanted to ride it because she felt "as big as my son". My son did it because I asked him to go with me even though it's scary.

Now whenever we see something scary all they can talk about is something along the lines of "I saw that at HM!"

Don't push them if they're not interested.