I don't think you should take little kids on rollercoasters, do you agree?

[winifredweasley]

I am currently 13 and when i was 5 and 6 my parents took me on rollercoasters. i thought it would be fun but it terrified me. This year i will go on all the big rides at WDW(which are all pretty tame)But until this year I was too scared to go on any scary rides from my experiences when i was little. This was bad becacuse i probably would have had a lot of fun. I also have a friend going to disney world whose parents took her on the scary rides when she was 7 and now she's too scared to go on any of them this time. I don't think you should take young kids on rollercoasters unless you know for sure that they don't get scared, are big and strong enough to hold on properly, and have a very coaster-loving personality. otherwise, that bad experience will stick with them.Do you agree or disagree?

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I agree that you need to assess your own children. My DD 6 begs to go on space mountain and both of my DD's 6 and 4 beg to go on the "train" - BTMRR.

No way would I drag them on something if they are terrified. They hate the HM, so why torture them?

 

[FatCow]

It really depends on the kid. My daughter, 5, loves BTMRR. Not too scary to begin with, but we rode BTMRR 7 or 8 times during the time we were there, Goofy Barnstormer twice, Splash Mountain 4 times.

Oh, and she also likes Haunted Mansion.

 

[Mermaid02]

It's a judgement call- my ds did NOT want to ride ToT but I KNEW he would love it.... turned out to be his FAVORITE ride... he rode 3 times with his Dad and I only rode it the 1 time!

 

[Kaycee]

It does depend on the child, and some kids absolutely love coasters from the time they're tall enough to ride. I know exactly what you're talking about though. I've seen parents practically drag a kid onto the coasters, saying all the time, "You'll love it, just wait and see." Well, if the child is that hesitant, chances are they aren't going to love it.

You make a very good point, and you're speaking from experience, so I hope the parents who read this are listening. Unless you're sure your child is ready, don't take them on the thrill rides. Wait until you're sure they're ready.

 

[meganbear]

Definitely depends on the kid---I have a son and two nieces, ages 9, 7 and 5, they ride anything and they love them!!!! But I rode my first big roller coaster when I was about 10 (that was 31 years ago) and it scared me to death---I'm still not a fan of roller coasters will big drops.

 

[georgina]

Even within my own family, each child is different. The youngest couldn't wait until she was big enough to go on the rollercoaters, and finally got on rockin'roller coaster last summer at age 8. My son, who was 11, still hasn't gone on it, though he might try next time. He didn't like space mountain at age 8, but loved it at age 10. I remember being the youngest child in my family, finally being old enough to go on the blue streak at Cedar Point (that was the only roller coaster they had then!) It was a big deal for me, a sign I was growing up. My two DD's (13 and 8) and I went on Dueling Dragons, the Hulk, and Kraken too last summer, DS didn't want any part of them.

 

[poohtown]

I totally understand where you are coming from. I don't remember exactly how old I was, (around 6) but I have a perfect memory of my first rollercoaster experience. I was sitting between my mother and her jerk of a boyfriend. Right at the top, he tells me to look at that beautiful dog (knowing how much I wanted a dog). I leaned over so excited just as the car dropped. I have have been afraid of falling ever since. When I was in highschool, all my friends would go on the rollercoasters and I was afraid, so I asked my mother to take me to get over my fear. Well I made it to the top again and that's all I remember. From what I've been told, I passed out, my mother had to use all her might to try to hold on to me because I was just dead weight and she thought I was going to fall out. To this day she won't go on any rides with me. On the other hand, my husband loves rollercoasters and introduced our children early. I am so glad he did. They love them and have no fear. So I guess depending on the child and how you treat their first experience is what really matters.

 

[marv]

Yes i agree that you should make no child go on rides that they dont want to go on. My 12yr old loves any thing that scares the liveing daylight out of her. My 2 10yr old's havn't experienced the big roller coasters yet, but if they dont want to go on them i certainly wont make them. I know that one of my10yr old's wont go on certain rides that are high and ime afraid she may have picked this fear from me. I think Kraken will be no no! for me and i have been known to pass out on certain rides. I dont know where the fear has come from it may be just getting older that does it ,as when i was young i was like my 12yr old and nothing frightened me.

 

[goofy4tink]

Only one or two times have I 'forced' my dd to ride something. First was StarTours. I knew she would love it but she cried the whole time in line. She was 6 at the time. As we were leaving, after riding it, she says..."Hey, I loved that. Let's do it again!" The second time was TestTrack. Again, she was distressed. She was 8 this time. My dh was thinking about calling child services about me I think! But, when we got off, Katie turned to me and said..."Well now. That sure wasn't worth all the tears!! Can we try it again later?" So, know your child. We have friends with a 6 y/o d/s and a 10 y/o dd. They went to WDW last year. Ds was angry that he wasn't tall enough for RnRC. Loved ToT!!! But, dd, couldn't get up the nerve to try Winnie-the-Pooh!! She went on a total of 3 rides the whole time!! You just can't tell.

 

[mom-2greatkids]

I think it totally depends on the child. When our DD was 4 her favorite rides were BTTM and Splash Mountain. When she turned 5 her favorite ride was Space Mountain. She has also been on ToT and Test Track and enjoyed them both as well.

Notice I didn't say anything about Dinosaur. DD loves fast rides, but she does not like dark, scarry rides. She has sworn it will be years before she rides Dinosaur (she saw the preview on a disney planning video). In fact, the HM still kind of gives her the willies.

That being said, each child has their own idea of what is fun and what is scarry.

 

[disney4us2002]

Goofy4tink, I'm surprised the Disney CM's let your dd board. I have been on several rides at Disney where the parents with crying children have been asked to exit the ride. I'm glad it turned out okay for you and your dd but I don't think I would've forced one of mine when crying. It could've turned out terribly.

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

Well said Winifred. I agree with everything you said.
I have 1 "coaster loving" personality kid and 1 not so much-Barnstormer was a big deal and Splash Mt TERRIFIED her--learned my lesson! Daddy will go on the big girl rides with one and Mommy will go on the almost big girl rides with the other.

 

[ArielsDad]

You've got to know your kid.
I "talked" DD onto Space Mtn when she was 5.
LOVED IT-LOVED IT-LOVED IT
She's my coaster buddy now. At 8 she faced 3 of the 4 at Busch Gardens, Va (Big Bad Wolf was closed for repair). We've done them all at Six Falgs, NJ and Dorney Park, Pa.
DS will do anything the park lets him. No problem there

 

[BonnieA]

I was taken on a roller coaster by my mom many moons ago. I wanted to get off after the first ride but we went again. I didn't go on coasters for a long time after that. I outgrew the fear and now will go on just about anything.
Took my son on his first coaster when he was 5. He wanted to go on but came off white as a ghost. He also outgrew it.
Guess we weren't traumatized enough .

 

[Buzz2001]

I usually wait until my DD tells me she is ready. At 5, she would go on everything. What ended up happening was that she became afraid of the dark rides. She will be 11 this year and still hasn't been in the Haunted Mansion but she loves RnR. She claims this is the year that she will go on HM. ToT is another thing. Like someone mentioned above, I know she would like the ride but not necessarily the dark portions.

 

[liznboys]

My parents took me on Space Mountain when I was 6 yrs old-scared me to death!!!!! I HATED it. Luckily, it didn't ruin the rest of our trip! I was so scared to ride any roller coaster type rides after that. UNTIL I was 13 and forced myself to ride one of the biggest roller coasters at the time (the Magnum at Cedar Point -in case anyones curious). Well, I LOVED it! Became a roller coaster fanatic from then on.

Anyway, I certainly think it depends on the child. But you still never know if they will like it or not, it's a tricky thing! I have no idea when we'll take our boys on thrill rides for the first time, we'll have to wait and see...

 

[cleo]

One of the beauties of being a parent is that you come to realize how easy it is to make 'mistakes' when judging what your children will and won't enjoy.

My son wanted to go on Big Thunder Mountain when he was 3. He was a tall guy, so we took him on it and he absolutely loved it! Wanted to try all the coasters (I drew the line at Space Mt. at that age). About 2 years later though, he developed a fear of the drop on Splash, so we took a year or two off of the coasters until he was ready to try again. Now he loves them!

When they ask, I think they're ready. That doesn't hold true for everything, obviously, but if they ask to try a coaster I'm all for it.

 

[winifredweasley]

When i was 5 i went on a pretty tame roller coaster. i remember it being beautiful beacuse it was like we were riding on the tops of the trees. (poetic, ain't it?) But when we went down a hill my head knocked against the front of the cart and I knocked a tooth loose. Then when I was six I went on a roller coaster at Six Flags called the Mindbender. I really wanted to go on it. I couldn't reach the bar you grip though so i couldn't hold on. I went down the first hill and I wasn't scared at all. it had a lot of loops though and those terrified me. I had my eyes closed the entire time and i was bent down in my seat. My mom kept telling me to sit up but i suppose the g-force was pushing me down too much to sit up straight at all so i was bent over in my seat the entire time.plus, i was terrified that i would fall out. Most 6-year-olds don't understand gravity. When we got almost done with the ride we started pulling into the station and i saw that same first drop that i had thought was fun when i started the ride but it now terrified me and i thought we were going again so i screamed for dear life. I didn't go on another rollercoaster again until i was 12. That was a tame indoor roller coaster with only a couple of drops. but me and my twin brother were sitting in the back seat and it jerked us around so much that when we got off we both had bruises on our backs. This year at disney though i'm very psyched about going on RnR. I can't wait! That has loops, so i guess the only part tht scares me is being upside down high up in the air with miles of concrete below me.My friend is going to go on the scary rides at WDW now, but only so she can make the friends she's going with happy and not slow down them down. she'll still be scared.

 

[PandyPaws]

All kids are different and yes, it's a judgement call.
Older DS's first ride on BTMR at age 4 resulted in the comment "THROW that ride in the garbage!" when we got off. Although at that same age, he absolutely loved TOT. Also, he was scared to death during his first ride on Space Mountain, at age 7. He is 11 now, and loves all the rides at WDW.

Younger DS also disliked/feared BTMR at age 4, as well as Test Track, but rode TOT like it was nothing. By age 6 he came to love BTMR and Test Track is now his favorite, but had been hesitant about Space Mountain. About a month ago he decided out of the blue that he wanted to try it, and I allowed him, simply because he was ready on his own to try. He absolutely loved it and rode it a second time. That very same day he decided to try Mission: Space and came off shrugging "it was OK"