Is 3 years old too little for "big" rides

[arielmomma]

I agree with everyone else in that it really depends on the child. My son was 4 1/2 before he hit the 40 in mark. He went on nearly all of the "big" rides that he could and loved them: Soarin', test track, Big thunder Mt, Splash Mt, Kali River Rapids, however, I did not feel that Dinosaur or Tower of Terror were appropriate for him. I know that he would have been terrified. But that is my child. I have seen parents take their children on those 2 rides very young and more often than not I've watched the children come off with tears streaming down their faces asking not to do that again. Otherwise, its really up to you and your child. Start with something smooth like Soarin' and work your way up from there - that's basically what we did. I'm sure that you'll have fun no matter what!

 

[katybugsmom]

My son just turned 3, and he is exactly 40 inches tall, which is the height requirement for splash mountain, thunder mountain railroad, test track, soarin, and tower of terror. I suppose if 40 inches is the requirement, then it must be safe. Still he seems so little to ride some of those rides. Is there anyone out there who has been in a similar situation?

Our DS was 3 and 40" tall when we went to WDW last June. To this day if he sees a measuring stick or sign he stands and waits patiently to be measured! All children are different and only you know your child the best. Our DS rode the following rides: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Goofy's Barnstormer, and Haunted Mansion just to name a few. He has already said he will not ride TOT again when we go back this summer because he doesn't like going up and down. He never cried when we got off, but stated the above very matter of factly and kept right on going. Both of my children have always been daredevils and have never been afraid of any type of ride. I know some 43 year olds(myself included) who can't ride Splash Mountain because of the dip. Again, only you can make the ultimate decision. Hope this helps!

 

[CampbellScot]

a friend of mine takes her 3 year old daughter and 6 year old son on ToT...they love it! My 10 year old step daughter cried.



depends more on the courage factor than the size factor I think!

 

[kgle]

ot- but I am sad to see that Disney's measuring system is a bit off My son was 37 inches in January and will be a month past turning 3 when we go and I know he has grown a lot as well. I will be sad if he is measured at 40 inches when we go but Disney measures him differently. He has his 3 year checkup right before vacation...

 

[puffkin]

My DS did the 40" rides in October at 2 yr 7 mo. He is very tall for his age and is definitely a "rider".

He loved Soarin', Test Track, Big Thunder and Star Tours. Actually, I think Star Tours was his favorite. I was a bit concerned about Dinosaur, but he thought it was great. He still talks about it 6 months later. He wanted to do ToT in the worst way, but the lines were always too long or no FP's when we were in that area, so we didn't do it.

The only issue he had was Splash. He went through a faze where he was terrified of frogs for some reason He wasn't scared of the ride really, just the dumb frogs