how to convince kids who refuse to try a ride

[theworldneedscolor]

Don't judge the parents who make their kids go on rides too harshly. I personally am very thankful my mom pushed me when I was younger. When I was eight or nine, my mom took my sister and I to Disneyland. One of the first rides we went on was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (now one of my absolute favorites!), and it scared me silly. I didn't want to go on any rides at all. This was a problem for my mom, because my dad wasn't there, so her and my sister wouldn't be able to go on anything. But she also really did want me to have a good time, and she knew I would love the rides if I gave them a try. I did wait with Cast Members at PotC and Roger Rabbit, but she made me go on Splash Mountain. And she was right, I loved it!

So, the point is, yes, some kids will never like some rides. But don't judge every parent who makes their kids ride; they usually do know what they're kids will like, and they are trying to make the most enjoyable vacation for themselves and their kids. I for one am extremely glad my mom made me try rides as a kid!

 

[theworldneedscolor]

I'm in the same boat! My DD is scared of EVERY dark ride in WDW. Even Peter Pan!! Terrified! We got her on Peter Pan with my dad once and she just cried the whole time. When your child has that fear, you start to realize theres actually few "kids" rides she can enjoy there! A LOT of them are dark and I think its sad she cant go on so many of these great rides because of her fear. I wish Disney would make more lighter brighter rides geared towards very small children who might have fears of dark and loud noises. There's only so many times I can go on Dumbo and Small World!! I was so excited about the new Ariel ride til I read that yet again, its another dark ride! She wont be able to go on that either!

I went on Ariel at Disneyland, and while it is technically a "dark ride", I didn't think it was very dark inside. Definitely more like IASW level of brightness. You might want to give it a shot, after all.

 

[TJDisneymama]

i dont think anyone is saying they drag their kids on kicking and screaming......if i could convince mine with bribery, i' ll do it, even if i have to nudge him along. if the waterworks start, i would give up.

 

[Jacquie668]

I don't want to switch this thread around, but my experience (EVEN AS A LITTLE KID) was convincing my MOTHER to go on rides she found too scary haha.

What I would do was try to talk some sense into the woman, you know, give it a chance and you'll see, but then she became too smart for that and would "give it a chance" until the last minute and leave me as I was boarding the ride...yeah she was an expert at that with her 'Good luck sweetie' as she ran to the exit lol.

What you can try though is getting a cast member involved as others have suggested, or try a compromise. Say if they try this ride or this ride they can do A, B, and or C. I did try that with my mom. I said I would go on the paddle boats IF she road a roller coaster with me and etc. That worked somewhat as she liked those kind of rides and things. It was nice so we could do things together and it turned scary rides and such into "mother daughter fun time."

 

[SpectroMagic*o*]

I went on Ariel at Disneyland, and while it is technically a "dark ride", I didn't think it was very dark inside. Definitely more like IASW level of brightness. You might want to give it a shot, after all.

Really?? Well thats good to know! But I heard theres a scary part with Ursula and the villains (if really scary) will prob upset her...any info on that?

i dont think anyone is saying they drag their kids on kicking and screaming......if i could convince mine with bribery, i' ll do it, even if i have to nudge him along. if the waterworks start, i would give up.

I actually DID witness a mother drag her young child on HM kicking, screaming, hysterically crying. It was so sad, I couldnt believe this mother was doing this to her child. I dont judge but this kid wasnt just nervous, he was TERRIFIED and the mother didnt care even an ounce. Finally a cast member came up to them and offered the chicken exit to which the mother finally agreed, but she was actually PISSED at her son for making them exit.

 

[Canooknic]

We have talked through all the rides with our boys, they are nervous about some of them and we have shown them video from you-tube and they are willing to try but one of them has made it very clear that he will not even consider HM. Regardless of bribery etc it's not going to happen, and that's ok. When we go back and they're older maybe he will try but if he doesn't why should I make him?
Of course all kids are different and only a parent can decide what's best for them but as long as they are willing to try more new things than not I think we'll have a great trip, I'll sit and have an icecream with him while my fiancé takes our other son.

 

[showers2flowers]

We never forced our kids to ride anything, but we did sometimes talk them into it. I knew my son would love POTC, but he refused to try it. We bribed him with the promise of purchasing a sword in the pirate store - that boy could never resist a sword . He loved the ride and was sorry he didn't ride it before. We gave him a little money to ride Splash Mountain (maybe about a dollar in change) - and he hated it. It was no big deal though - because we didn't force him - we offered him a business deal .

Still, all kids are different. I think you have to decide if your child is ready and if you think he is, then a little bribe or a soft push of encouragement may be the best thing. As long as you're doing it to help the child and not yourself, I think it will work out.

This is what I did. I offered my six year old a 'business deal'--a dollar to ride with me on BTMRR. He took me up on it and loved it.

OTOH, no matter how much I upped my offer, he wouldn't take the deal on HM, so we just skipped it. Just another reason to visit again when he's a bit older.

 

[jenniy122]

Don't force him into riding it.

Once at Cedar Point my friends forced me to go on the power tower. I had a panic attack and passed out before the ride even started. Ruined the rest of the trip, which are all rides I would go on. Not worth it for one stupid ride.

 

[smidgy]

Fears are very real to the person that has them. I am terrified of heights. There are several rides I refuse to try. My husband use to get very upset I would not go on the rides with him. I felt when he got mad that he had no regard for my feelings. I wanted so bad to make myself go on the rides with him. I final asked what one ride he wanted me to go on with him. He choose Everest. I was so scared I had an asthma attack. My husband finally realized it was not just me being stubborned. We now bring cell phones and I look around and he calls me when the ride is over and we do things together. If the ride has a photo screen I wait there and enjoy seeing him on the ride. I use to feel sad and bullied, now we both have a great vacation. Is always plenty of other things to do.

boy, can I relate!!! fears are very real. it is my opinion that someone who forces someone else to go on a ride they are scared of is sadistic. one person loves thrills, finds it fun.. another is terrified.

why would you want someone you love to be terrified? I have read posts where people say "in our group of frineds or family , you have to try a ride once. then, if you don't like it ok, but at least you have tried it".

to me that is just mean. I don't have to "try" Rockin rollercoaster to know I don't want my body thrown upside down. if I am afraid of heights, any NEW ride isn't going to suddenly make me NOT afraid of heights.

you force a child to go on a ride they don't want to go on, chances are you will greatly damper the chances they will ever change their mind as they get older.

a while back there was a high ride at magic mountain ? I think, a swing type ride. it broke down and people were stranded up there for 3 hours.

the news shared a "funny"anecdote about a couple. the wife had a fear of heights and the husband convinced her going on this ride would cure it. they were stranded.

so NOT funny! he would owe me big time for the rest of his life. a dvirce would probably be more pleasant.

 

[smidgy]

It's not that they are going to miss a life experience it's just, in my situation any way, if my ds didn't go none of us could go.

so suck it up and miss the ride. you're the parent, for crying out loud.

Leave it alone. My 9 year old is scared of it too and he loves all the thrill rides.

We made a deal last year that if we stood at the entrance and he saw three people who were younger than him go in, he would try it. Three young kids passed us, we went in and got to the stretching room, he nearly started having a panic attack and tearing up. I immediately found a CM and we were led out of the exit.

He did start crying then because he thought I was disappointed in him - I hugged him and told him I would never force him to do anything that scared him. I like the ride and I hope he tries it someday, but is a ride worth forcing my child to do something that may stick with him in a very bad way for years to come? Absolutely not. He apologized to me several times (which was unnecessary) apologized to DH when we got back to him (again, we told him it wasn't a big deal) and then we went to Big Thunder Mountain where he had a great time.

A theme park ride is not worth making my child worry for one single minute.

bless your heart!!!!! I am 56 and stressed over harry potter forbiden journey for a year. when we finally were there, I chickened out, sorry, just didn't want to do it.. I don't give a rat's whatever about missing some kind of "life experience".. not fun for ME.
such a weight lifted off my shoulders the day Idecided I was NOT going to ride. I only wish I had back all the time I stressed over it. what a waste.

people!!! leave other people alone and let them make their own decisions about something as trivial as a theme park ride. sheesh when we used to raise corn snakes, I would never in a million YEARS think of forcing someone with a fear of snakes to hold my pet, or even be in the same room with it.

 

[BeachGirlFLA]

Leave him be. My DD, who is 18 now, didn't ride HM until she was 15. There's a nice porch that she waited for the rest of us to exit the ride. Her cousin finally talked her into it. We'd been telling her about the ride for years, but we couldn't convince her. Your ODS will be ready when he is ready.

I was 17 before I could go with my eyes open...My parents forced me on when I was 12 and I had my eyes closed the entire time. At 17, I was at Disneyland by myself and just decided it was time.

 

[smidgy]

The first time I went to WDW I was 8, and scared of a lot of things. But I ended up riding everything. My parents never forced me to ride, but they told me that if I didn't ride I'd never know what I was missing out on, and I could only really know if I liked a ride or not by experiencing it. They said I didn't have to if I really didn't want to, but they thought I'd enjoy it if I did. The idea of not knowing what I was missing seemed to intrigue me enough to try all the rides, and I'm glad I did, because I loved them all and I'm now a fearless rider. But not every kid will try the rides and like them, some just really aren't thrill seekers.

your parents were very wise. great approach.

 

[Stitch407]

I see parents force their kids onto HM all the time and I always feel bad for them. I was forced on HM when I was little, but it didn't scar me for life. I kept my eyes closed and then when I got older I was ready for it.

I think it looks scarier from the outside because the building looks normal and not cooky at all from a distance.

 

[smidgy]

But you can't dread anything if you don't try it.

Of course you can.

I dread any thingthat involves heights. It is MY decison if the pay back is worth the fear. (ie, airplanes).

I don't understand the need to force a child into doing something they don't want to do. I wouldn't care of the child was 5, 15 or 55. I wouldn't force my mother onto a ride if she didn't want to go, what right do I have to force a child? It's a ride, it's not like it's a trip to the doctor where they might have to go. Even if we don't understand the fear because it is a "ride", to a child the fear is very real. particularly if you're looking at a ride like Haunted Mansion. I've seen son many kids really terrified after being forced onto the ride my parents. why upset your kid for nothing?

words of wisdom..I despised being forced to go on rides as a child, I despised being coerced as a teen, or shamed. and hubby has learned (finally!!!) that I despise being shamed, etc. into rides as an adult.. I will wait for him to go on the rides. I will walk him through the line. he is alone for all of 3 minutes (on the ride)...

my fears will never hold anyone else back from enjoying a ride... see that word there? ENJOYING. it is not enjoying for me. and anyone who enjoys something,a dn forces someone else to do it, who hates and fears it, is just plain sadistic.

I dont' mean parents who try to convince kids they think might like it.. but if they are petrified, for crying out loud, your kids is shaking, crying, trembling, do they look like they are having FUN?

 

[Jacquie668]

words of wisdom..I despised being forced to go on rides as a child, I despised being coerced as a teeI dont' mean parents who try to convince kids they think might like it.. but if they are petrified, for crying out loud, your kids is shaking, crying, trembling, do they look like they are having FUN?

My friend's child, when she was younger (she is approaching those teens years now...dun dun DUNNNN) didn't want to go on rides because of the usual fear. My friend, a father, convinced her to try a roller coaster. She shook, cried, sobbed, was trembling during the entire ride and before the ride she trembled and sniffled. As she sobbed, and I don't mean cry, I mean sobbed, over every hill and the ride came to an end. She sniffs, turns to her dad and says...

"Can we go on it again?"

Did she look like she was having fun? Probably not. She went on the ride 4 times that day and it is favorite story for her family to share with others now... She wears her motions out on her sleeve, often she needs a push to try new things, but 9 times out of 10 she loves what she tries or is thankful for trying it.

Not all kids are the same, so I can understand if someone was upset later in life for being forced on rides and being dragged on rides, well that isn't exactly positive for some people so I get that. But that doesn't mean that every child is the same. Just saying.

 

[smidgy]

there is a difference between convinicing someone( child or adult) and forcing. talking them into it for their benefit (you are pretty sure they will like it,) and making it a rule, making them go on it so mom or dad can go on it, forcing them cause you don't want you child, wife, friend, whatever to be a "wuss".

 

[hookedonears]

it' s maddening to me that ODS (9.5) WILL not give Haunted
mansion a try. refuses! thinks it will be too scary. he goes on just about everything else and his irrational fear of HM drives me crazy. his 3.5 y.o. sister went on and that didnt even sway him. ive showed him videos of the ride but theyre mostly pretty dark which doesnt help much. how can i convince him to go on it?

When our daughter was 7 she didn't want to try Tower of Terror. She had a friend however, that had a T-Shirt that said; "I survived the Tower of Terror" and she wanted one. I said no; if you ride it, you can have one. She rode it, had a great time and it's been one of her favorites ever since.

 

[graceandhayes]

The best advice I can give you is every child is different, and they have different fears. My DD5 loved Splash Mountain, but my DS7 hated the drop because it "made him so sick he almost threw up". My DD5 hated POTC because of the noise from the cannons, my DS7 loved it. We forced both of them to ride Dinosaur - big mistake - they both were so scared they were practically in tears after the ride. Heck it was the only ride at WDW that scared me a little bit. It is sometimes hard to figure out why a child is scared of something, but most of the time that fear is real, and forcing them to ride usually doesn't work. I tried to force my DS7 to ride the shamu kids coaster at Sea World. He was so upset when we got on the ride that the staff made me take him off before it started. Very embarrassing for me, and very upsetting for my son. We all want our kids to ride all the rides - usually because we love them and we think they will to if they just try it. I believe if you force them to ride the odds are they will be so nervous they will not enjoy it, and it may take a while before they get over the experience and try again. Its a tough call. Just remember, Rider Swap is a great thing for parents with young children.

 

[disneydee6]

Our first year, we went on the line for BTMRR with every intention of doing the 'child swap' with my youngest sister, who was 9 at the time. My dad had to go to the bathroom, so he left the line. As we waited, we could tell he wasn't coming back (he isn't the type to cut his way back through). So now we had to convince her, while on the line, to go on the ride. People all around us on the line were telling her it was fun and she would love it. To this day we always joke about how we had said to her, "So...are you gonna go on?" and she folded her arms and pouted her lips, "Yea, cause Mom's FORCING ME!" That line had even the people in line laughing at our situation. Such a drama queen.

We 'forced' her on the ride. It ended up being her favorite ride in disney (like many others here). Perhaps you just need to make a situation where they need to try it out.

That same year, we convinced my Mom (who is not all that into thrill rides) to try Tower of Terror. Well, she ended up being the terror, because the moment we went on, she was cussing her head off. We were like, Ma, there are children on this ride! That didn't seem to stop her from cursing all kinds of...er..not disney appropriate words. This is a case where forcing someone to ride didn't work to our advantage. But, she can say she rode it, and learned she didn't like it.