How To Get Scared Child Onto Rides!!!!!!!

[kandb]

No, I'm not a mean Mommy and I just want my daughter to be able to go onto Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, it's a small world, jungle cruise etc. We were at a amusement park today and she started crying on the slow train. Then she wouldn't go on any other rides. I put her on a ride (had to be under 36 inches to ride -kiddie ride), which was oval shaped and the cars went around and at the end kind of whipped around (not really that fast), I saw her start to cry and had the attendent stop the ride. She was fine and said it "was too fast". I'm just panicking because we're going to disney in September and I want her and the family to enjoy the little rides. Should I try bringing her on even if she cries a little? Any suggestions? Thanks, Linda P.S. She is 3 years old.

 

[kstinw19]

My dd is the exact same way (and my ds4 too, for that matter). We went to an amusement park last week and she wouldn't ride anything.

BUT...we did Disney last year and the year before and she went on all of those rides. I think the fact that they are going slow when you load, and there is so much to look at, will have them distracted enough to get them on the ride. And another thing that helped us was that we had the baby with us and she figured that if the baby could ride, it must be tame.

Maybe you could point out kids and babies that are younger than her and show her that they are allowed to ride? Or you can go on allearsnet.com and view some of the rides as you go through them. I did this with dd this year to try and get her on Splash Mountain. We will see if it works

Good luck!

 

[slo]

Hi there!!

My 3 year old is very nervous about trying new things too, and luckily she was always fine at WDW. She has a security blanket (a cloth diaper) that I always let her take with her so she can cover her face when she feels uncomfortable. Does your DD have any security type items that she can take with her on rides? If not, maybe you can buy her a little stuffed Mickey Mouse, or whatever character she wants, at a gift shop when you first enter the MK so she has something to hold. Maybe that would give her a little more security. I wish you luck, and to answer you question if you should take her if she's crying - I say use your gut feeling. If you feel wrong taking her, then keep her off, you'll know what's right when you get there

Have a great trip!!

 

[dtndfamily]

Hi there!!

I wish you luck, and to answer you question if you should take her if she's crying - I say use your gut feeling. If you feel wrong taking her, then keep her off, you'll know what's right when you get there

Have a great trip!!

When we went in 2003 our then DS3 was tall enough to ride some of the bigger rides, including TOT and Star Tours, which he rode both. We were in line for Star Tours and he was getting anxious and started crying like someone was beating him. We knew he would like the ride and we insisted he go on. We got the dirtiest looks from others in line as to why we would be doing this to this poor kid. After we got off the ride he was all excited and yelled that it was the best ride ever, much to the surprise of the other passengers on the ride. Basically, you need to know what your child can and can not handle. It may even vary from day to day. If it will affect her and your trip negatively the rest of the way, I wouldn't do it, but if you really believe she can handle the ride, I would go for it. Parents know best. Best of luck.

 

[laughinplace199]

Your DD may surprise you. When my DD was 3, she was afraid of those little coin-operated rides that you sometimes see outside stores or in malls. She hated them! We went to Disney thinking we might just people watch, enjoy the parades, and swim in the pool and we were ok with that. Well, DD loved everything she went on! We were shocked. She even went on Goofy's Barnstormer 10 times in the course of a week!

 

[connorlevismom]

I am so glad that someone else is having the same worries as I am. My DS is 2 1/2 and seems to be fearless to others. However, he is scared of EVERYTHING! At daycare the fire truck came to visit and he was to scared to get on it. Then yesterday they had a magic bounce and he was to scared to do that to. How can you be scared of a magic bounce? So I am a little nervous about WDW as well but all the people on this thread are giving me hope!

Kristine

 

[alloyd1170]

If when you arrive she seems nervous, maybe start off on Its A Small World. The little people and the cheery song might just be enough to show her the rides arent all scary. Do avoid Snow White though. Peter Pan may be scary too since it goes up in the air. Jungle Cruise-havent been on that in ages, but if the animals sort of jump out that may be scary for her.

alison

 

[pixiewytch]

I think having your little one look at all of the attractions in advance online is a fabulous idea. We have done that with ours (he is 4 now) and he has no problem telling us which ones he does or doesn't want to see.

However, I will say this. I was one of those small children who was petrified of almost every ride. My father worked at WDW and I made them very miserable with my embarrassing outbursts on some of the attractions around the same age. I really don't think you should push the issue. If she wants to ride fine, if she doesn't, save yourself the pain. Trust me. You and I may think cute singing figures in small world are harmless but she may think they resemble creepy puppets. You never know.

Of course I'm sure I'm in the minority here but DH and I went to many WDW trips and left our son with the grandparents until he was around 4. I just don't think they can truly enjoy the experience a lot earlier than that, not to mention that it makes it even harder for mom and dad. Of course not everyone has the luxury of a babysitter either. Just my two cents. Now that he is 4, almost 5 he loves everything there and it is a great age to take him.

 

[SueM in MN]

One BIG difference with the kiddie rides at most amusement parks is that the rides small children can ride can only be ridden by small children. So, the child is a bit afraid and then has to ride all alone. There are no rides like that at WDW. If your child is riding, you are right there riding with them. Re-assuring her of that should help a lot.
There is also a Disney singalong DVD/tape called something like "Disneyland Fun." It actually shows children getting on and then riding some of the rides (they are ar DL, not WDW, but most people won't notice the difference). Some of the rides are things you may not go on - like Big Thunder Mountain RR, but just seeing video of actual kids on those rides having fun helps a lot of kids. That DVD is also helpful because it shows the kids interacting with characters, so the child can see they are big, but not bad.

Another thing that she is too young for by herself, but might help is a book called "WDW for Kids by Kids" or something like that. It is written on a kids level and has quite a few pictures. The thing that might be helpful for you is that the have a sort of 'scare meter' for different attractions - the kids rate the attraction and tell what we scary on them. That might be useful for you to be able to prepare her.

 

[FlyingBelle]

A woman I work with told her grandson that the 3-D glasses were "safety glasses" and would keep him safe from all the things coming out of the screen. Worked for her!

 

[SueM in MN]

However, I will say this. I was one of those small children who was petrified of almost every ride. My father worked at WDW and I made them very miserable with my embarrassing outbursts on some of the attractions around the same age. I really don't think you should push the issue. If she wants to ride fine, if she doesn't, save yourself the pain. Trust me. You and I may think cute singing figures in small world are harmless but she may think they resemble creepy puppets. You never know.

I agree that some of the things we think our kids will be fine with, they aren't.

My youngest DD haas never really liked Small World. I think it's because it is a totally overwhelming ride. Where ever you look there is something and it's not just something to look at, most everything is moving. And the music just goes on and on. We knew when she was little, that she would agree to go on that ride, but as soon as she did, out came the blanket, the thumb went into the mouth and she somehow arranged her arms to cover her ears and eyes.

My oldest DD didn't want to go on Haunted Mansion when she was 4, but we told her if she didn't like it, she wouldn't have to ride it again, but she would be fine and she would like it. She didn't think so, but went on anyway. She didn't cry on the ride or anything, but she hated it - especially the part about a 'ghost following you home' at the end of the ride. It took many years before she would get on it again.

 

[SuzieQMomof3]

This worked for us like magic:

Take your child to the ride's exit and ask a few of the people, especially kids that are your child's age, if they liked the ride.

 

[wendy46001]

I'll have to agree with the people who said let the kid decide...if they dont want to go ...dont wait the hour in line only to get to the front and your kid freak...

What we found always worked...is take it slow...visit some character stops...take pictures with pooh and then ask your child if they want to see where pooh lives...

Or start at mickeys toon town, where there are just playgrounds (kiddy slides etc)..to get them warmed up to the idea of rides

A plus is most rides have gift shops at the end...bring your child into the gift shop...let them see all the stuff....then they will get a good idea of whats inside...

 

[WantToGoNow]

On our last visit, I tried to make my ds3.5 at the time ride Splash Mountain. He was exactly 40" tall but the CM measuring him checked it multiple times and he got in his head that he was too little. So he whined all through the fastpass line. When we loaded the boat, he started screaming. I knew if they just started the ride he would be fine. But they wouldn't do that. They asked him if he wanted to ride and he said no. They made me get off with him. Our upcoming trip in November he will be 5.5. All he's talked about for months is riding Splash Mountain. He does ride the more "intense" kiddy rides now at festivals/amusement parks so I know he'll like this now.

 

[puffkin]

If you know your child will enjoy the ride and is just scared of initially getting on it, you can always try bribery. I know, not the best tactic, but it may work. One idea is that they sell pins of all the different rides, so if your daughter goes on ride, then she gets the corresponding pin. She could wear them on a lanyard as a symbol of achievement.

Another thing a lot of people have suggested is taking a small flashlight, glow sticks or something like that onto the darker rides. Sometimes the kids need that little sense of security before trying something out.

 

[tmarquez]

Although DD (3.5) is my only child, it seems like 3 is a very weird age. We live close by and go to Disney alot, and she is scared of the Snow White ride and to a higher degree the little Goofy rollercoaster. With Snow White she is scared, says she is scared, but insists on going on it every time. With the rollercoaster she is actually so scared that she cries, yet she still wants to go on. When she gets off of it she says how scary it is and she doesn't want to go again (of course we go through the same thing each time).

Last weekend she cried and wouldn't get on the little roller coaster simulator ride they have at the mall! It's stationary and you just watch a video screen.

It seems like on every other Tuesday she's scared of something different. The dark, thunder, our super friendly dog (only at night), one type of bug at a time, the garbage truck, it could be anything.

My advice is to wait and see. She may surprise you. I would let her choose, I know it's hard when you spend alot of money on a vacation, but if you make her go and she is REALLY scared, you could potentially ruin it for all the rest of the rides, even the tame ones.

 

[littleelvis]

When we went in Feb 06, I asked my DS 6 what he wanted to ride and DD 3 wanted to ride everything her brother rode. But there were a couple of things that DS didn't want to ride we asked him if he would try them for us and if he didn't like them he didn't have to ride them again. That worked! Some things he liked and others he didn't but at least he tried.

 

[Scutapipig]

My son was 7 years at our last visit and he went ballastic during "It's A Small World", much to our dismay and those riding with us. By the end of the ride, he was fine, but did not want to do it again.

He'll be 10 years this time and tells us he's going to ride everything this time so we picked up a small fan with lights on it to wear around his neck. If he gets afraid of the darker rides, he can turn it on and watch the lights as a distraction.

I'm also thinking of ear plugs to soften the loudness of some of the rides.

And if those things don't work, then we'll be spending quite a bit of time people watching.

 

[isla bonita]

I do not have any answers for you but do understand.

We love the parks so much we bought a rental home so you know where we stand. Our 2 sons love anything matter of fact my son went on TOT at 4.

We take my daughter down at 4 and she road WTP and PPF and stated all the way thru she wanted to go home. She enjoyed dunbo if we stayed on the ground she loves the horses merry go round and she listened to belle read her a story but did not want to see her for a pic. We would cross the street if any characters where around we are hoping this year it is better for her but I just let her lead and maybe she will enjoy the what we have loved for years.

 

[3boyzmom]

Hi. My DS5 is fearless at home, loves going to WDW & the characters ... but hates almoat all the rides. He really does not want to go on them. After a few times of "encouraging" to ride thingd we thought he'd like (and didn't) we have decided to let him decide what he wants to ride. It's his vacation, too, ande an enjoyable I want him to have an enjoyable time. It's also less stressful on the rest of us if he's not crying and grumpy! We've been going to WDW since he was 3, and so far, his attitude hasen't changed much.