Is Haunted Mansion too scary for dd5?

[gilesdad]

First....haven't been to WDW since 1970's and I don't remember a lot of it. This will be our first trip as a family.
I've read some posts on the DISboards that imply younger kids might not fare well at the Mansion. I was not aware there is a "chicken escape door" available before the really good stuff begins. This leads me to wonder if maybe our 5 (6 in Feb) yr old daughter might not really enjoy the Haunted Mansion.
No question her 8 yr old brother will love it. He's always slept in a dark bedroom with the door closed and no night light since the day he was born.
She's more of the type to want the door open and the night light left on in the hallway bathroom, with the bathroom door open, etc...
Just wondering if there is anything involved that could really ruin my good night's sleep later that evening if she were to join us in the Mansion?

So....how bad can it be?

 

[2belles'mom]

I think it depends on the child and her imagination!

My two DDs have been on in it over and over, and were never scared. My younger DD was 17 months old, then 2 years old, and didn't bat an eye. My older DD first rode when she was 3 years old, and every year since! She LOVES it! Same girl, however, was absolutely PETRIFIED of It's Tough To Be a Bug--near hysteria every time and we never made it through a full show until she was 8 years old!!!!

 

[It's A Happy Day]

DD3 wouldn't even try it but DS4 Loved it and went on a few times, It really depends on the child. Let them look at and make the call.

 

[kilee]

I'd try and describe it to her too and see how she feels about it. Each child is different- so it will be a tough call.

 

[DisneyElf]

It really is up to the child.

In 1986 - my first trip to WDW w/My sister and her two kids - 6 & 8 - we had to drag them onto the ride (they didn't like the haunted mansion at the local county fair). By the end of the trip - it was their favorite ride - and choose it as their last ride at MK before we left.

Last year - we meet more family down there for a day. Youngest nephew Brian (age 18 mos) rode it 4 times in a row - other than a little jump in graveyard .. and trying to climb out of his fathers arms and change vehicles to my sisters during the ride -- no probs. His 4 yr old sister - loved it also.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Totally agree with the other posts, depends on the child. My DS (7) will not go on it, but rides Space Mountain and Rock N Roll Coaster. My DD (2) loves The Haunted Mansion and giggled throughout the whole ride.

 

[tiki23]

My DK's first time on a Doom Buggy was at ages 5, 7 & 8 and they loved it!

I had to leave "Honey, I Shrunk the Audience" though with the 7 year old; it scared him to death!

 

[Lord Fantasius]

How many times do you plan on taking her on the ride? Does she have too active of an imagination? Does she get separation anxiety easily (this is usually a key indication of underlying or latent phobias)?

It kind of depends on whether you believe the psyche and imagination of a 5-yr can be influenced by what they see and experience at that age. With that being said, on one hand I think adults make more of things that are frightening than kids do. In some respects, kids live in a surreal world and believe nothing can hurt them; ergo, very little real fear may register with them long term, though they might have nightmares for a few nights short-term. On the other hand, at 5 kids are just starting to retain long term memories (think back to your earliest memories) and consistent terror definitely would have an impact on them. However, I don't think you're talking about staying on the ride for 12 hrs straight.

I think mostly it depends on the attitude and fun that the parents put into it. I've seen some parents taunting their kids (especially "macho" dads with their young sons) and try scaring them continuously while waiting in line (which annoys me to no end), and others I've seen having fun in the same manner they would at Halloween. However, while the original HM doesn't rely on gore and bloody disembodiment to produce fright, I really loathe the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay they put up on the HM at DL for the "holidays" (October through January), not sure whether they do it at the MK as well.

As an adult, and being more sensitive to certain things, I'm more uneasy going through the HM now than I ever was when I was younger; however, when I bring my daughter in a few years I'll enjoy it with her as just a "spooky" ride.

In some case you may never know until you actually take her.

Snow White on the other hand I wouldn't be so generous with....

-R

 

[Barbers2005]

If it's going to be awhile before you go, I would recommend checking out the Travel channel for WDW specials. One of them has an overview of all three parks and shows part of the HM ride. You could show it to your daughter to guage her reaction and help her become more familiar with the ride so she will know what to expect when she's on it. We taped this special and my daughter loves to watch it and get excited about the things we will see/do on our trip. Hope this helps

 

[dwkwootton]

Tough call here cause you just don't know till you get there. My kids loved it when they were little but I've seen so many kids totally scared to death of it. It is scary! I remember one boy in particular that was bordering on hysteria waiting in line outside the attraction and his parents weren't about to change their touring plan. (It was awful, poor kid!) Or maybe they figured as the attraction got scarier, he'd feel better about it? This strategy, I would not recommend!! I think if the waiting area and the first stage of the attraction sit well with her, the rest of the attraction should be just fine too. Maybe head into the ride with the idea to use the escape plan if she gets scared.

 

[Leota]

HM was my favorite ride when I went as a child in 1973. Fast Forward to 1993 & I have a 4 year old & we're down in WDW for his first time. I'm all excited to go on HM again & telling my guys what a great attraction it is & how much they're going to love it.

We get thru the line fine, we get into the Stretching Room & things are goin ok.....then the lights go off & there's screaming & my DS bursts into tears & says "This is NOT a good ride" He did calm down quickly & wanted to continue the ride & was ok until the Attic scene with the Pop-Up Screaming Ghost Heads & the Thumping Heartbeat of the Bride, at which point he buried his face in me.

He refused to do the ride again that trip, but did it again at 7 & loved it.

So, every child is different & I think that while a Parents attitude going in to things does have an effect, what happened to us blew that theory all to heck. No matter how excited Mom was & how wonderful she built the ride up to be, it just didn't override the fear induced by screams in darkness for my then 4 yo DS.

We will be guaging our Grandsons reactions to other attractions carefully before we decided if we're taking them on HM or not. I think the 3 yo will be fine with it, but am worried about the 5 yo as he's a bit more cautious type of kid.

 

[sarahsmom73]

Our dd first rode it at 2 1/2 and LOVED it... She has been singing Grim Grinning Ghosts ever since! I do think it depends on the child though.....

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

The only bit that upset my DD(4) last year was the stretching room - we'd already anticipated this though and DH had her in his arms and told her to bury her head in his shoulder if there was anything scary! It was only the lights going off and screaming that bothered her. After that she skipped happily along to the doom buggies. During the ride itself, we got 'stuck' right by the pop-up ghosts but my DD studied it carefully and announced loudly (so that all the surrounding cars could hear too) - "It's not really a ghost Mum, I can see the stick coming out of the ground!" Okay so some of the 'magic' was gone but she certainly wasn't afraid!

I should add that my DD is a 'nightlight on/ door open' child too but wasn't fazed at all by HM!!!!

HTH!

 

[kmkja1]

I agree with the other posters. It depends on the child. My DD10 got scared but she hid in my shoulder and covered her ears and was OK untill it was over. Same thing for Dinosaur Ride.

 

[madgomez]

Not only does it depend on the child, but also on the age. At 2.5yo, my older DS rode HM (and every other ride he could) with only one reaction - at the end of every ride, he would say "More dat!"

Fast forward to him just turning 6 and the "atmosphere" at the que started making him uneasy - he said he didn't think he wanted to ride it because it was scary. With a smile I told him it was all make-believe and not really that scary - some of it is kind of funny. But if he was afraid, that was OK, Daddy would wait with him while I rode with Julian (his little brother 2.5yo at the time). Well, the thought that Julian would ride quickly overcame the fear, even tho I asked him a few times before we went in if he wanted to skip it.

Afterwards, he said it was funny and he enjoyed it.

Like the other posters said, you have to play it by ear - personally I think it is pretty tame for most kids, but I know some I'm sure would freak out on it.

 

[disneyfreak74]

Like everyone has said it depends on the child. I on the other hand have a chicken little DS (6). He is protesting Halloween among other things this year. But HM is one of his best rides. He has road it since he was 2. DD (2) rides it. I ask her questions when we ride (usually just me and her) (DS rides with DH).

By the way, she LOVES the doggie and the kitty cat Don't ask why.

I made sure way back that I explained that I would never let him do anything that I thought would hurt him and would definately NEVER put him on anything that would GET him.

 

[Tinkbellfan]

Thank you OP for your questions. I am in the exact same position as you. DD5 (6 in Dec.) wants to go on, but has some reservations. Reading thru this thread has given me some ideas on how to handle it. I agree that explaining exactly what happens and then letting them decide is the best route to go.

If you have another adult with you, you can always do a child swap. You can go on the ride with your DS while the other adult stays with DD. Then you can decide if it is appropriate and immediately ride again with DD. Just ask the CM at the entrance and they will help you.

Have a great trip.

 

[Amyg]

My son was the same age when we took him into HM, he has always been afraid of the dark and afraid of shadows. I explained to him that the house was just pretend and just a trick that Mickey had for fun. Although he agreed to try it, he was apprehensive when we went into the stretch elevator. Me and DH had him between us with my arm around his shoulder. I pointed out some other little kids and kept assuring him that it would be an adventure. I would point at the "ghost" and say "Look, that's a funny ghost!" and he was okay. The only thing he was uncomfortable with was the head inside the crystal ball. After the "ride" he said it was okay but he didn't really like it.

It will depend on your DD since every kid is different. If you really want to go I suppose you could have her close her eyes (for me it helps to close my ears, it's always the sounds that spook me)

 

[gilesdad]

I think we'll give it a shot. As a dad of a little girl I'm probably just trying to protect her too much. I have a hunch that she'll actually enjoy it. If I remember to do it I'll post the results on this thread in early December!