SDSorority
Traumatized by Magic Journeys and Haunted Mansion
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2009
Okay, splitting hairs here a little bit aren't we? They won't let my dog ride either, and he's a member of our family.

Okay, splitting hairs here a little bit aren't we? They won't let my dog ride either, and he's a member of our family.
I'm not sure how that helps? All of these rides are, after all, very fast, so anything scary up ahead is overwith as soon as your brain recognizes things like "Oh crap, a big drop!"I would rather see what's next so I can brace myself.
Fffft-HAHAHAHAHA!!!Okay, splitting hairs here a little bit aren't we? They won't let my dog ride either, and he's a member of our family.
If you thought BTMR is scary I feel bad for you. I'm not saying that to insult you, I'm saying it because I feel pity for you for all the awesome rides you will miss out on. Yes, in your case Space Mountain is scary and you should never ride on it. BTMR is actually the tamest rollercoaster in WDW (besides the barnstormer) and it's actually one of the most fun because it's not scary at all to most people.My DS and I are both in our early 30s. We're not big thrill seekers. We tried Big Thunder Mountain on our last trip. It was a little scary for both of us. Is space mountain worse than that? We might try BTMR again this trip since it is fixing to go under a refurb but how bad is space mountain? I've watched some videos on youtube. But I did that for BTMR and it really didn't show me just how fast it went.
When we got off BTMR my sister and I both said "Never Again." We might just have to pass on some of these rides because I don't like drops.. How bad are the drops? TOT sounds really neat.. but I don't like drops. I think I might pass out! LOL. TIA!![]()
HINT: Request the front seats (still not what I would call smooth, but certainly less violent than the back seats -- I learned quickly last trip -- went on SM about 10 times with my 6 yr old who kept chanting AGAIN AGAIN each time we exited.)I think the DW version of Space Mountain is very jerky (Disneyland's is smooth - I could stay on it all day) so for that I don't care for it too much...no fun to walk out in pain. Jerkiness aside, I think Space is more intense since its in the dark.
Oh brother.Okay, splitting hairs here a little bit aren't we? They won't let my dog ride either, and he's a member of our family.
My dad who was 70 the last time he went, loved Rock'n Rollercoaster, his favorite ride at the Magic Kingdom by FAR is Splash Mountain. I loved It's A Small World when I was 11 and our whole family still loves it today. I never said that everyone will like every ride. There are many attractions that I’m not particularly fond of. Though if you meet the height requirement, (FOR THE MOST PART) the rides are constructed for the entire family to enjoy. Disney doesn't have roller coasters that have the 200 foot drops like the Titan at Six Flags, or the Texas Giant wooden roller coaster that completely beats you up. Disney does an excellent job building attractions that the entire family (can) enjoy. You can always find exceptions, like my 100 year old great grandmother who's in the nursing home on oxygen, but the use of the word (entire family) has to be taken with some reasonability.Oh brother.
Call it splitting hairs, whatever, but it's basic business 101. In fact, the customer service and management training material that Disney themselves teach discusses, in depth, what it means to be "family friendly." I think it's "Be Our Guest: Perfecting the Art of Customer Service" by the folks at TDI or maybe "The Wonderful World of Customer Service" has a whole huge section of the book that is devoted to addressing the whole "family friendly" aspect of their services.
The fact is definition of "family friendly" (by most people in a business world, but more importantly without a doubt Disney since Walt talked about it when creating the park and it's the mantra of the park now) is that the overall theme, service, experience offered, as well as the level of safety, is suitable and accomidates the needs for all members of your family without exception. And by family, one means people, not your dog, your goldfish, your favorite stuffed animal, your beloved houseplant, or whatever random factor it is you wish to include in there as "family." The goal of the park through their model of meeting the needs of guests (safety, courtesy, showmanship, and efficiency) is that the park as a whole is "family friendly," as in it is something that, overall, has offerings that will appeal to all segments of people. However, the Disney principle is that to do so, parts of the parks and their services will be catered or customized to the needs of only some of the family. I forgot the name of it that the Imagineers use, but the principle is that the patchwork of services geared to the various segments of people come together to form the unified and more comprehensive whole. Simply, they have offerings that appeal to all segments of guests, but not all offerings will appeal to or be available to all segments guests.
The examples people like to point out all the time as an example of this are, in fact, the thrill rides which are aimed at more adult thrill seekers. The flagship example is, of course "Alien Encounter," which was a very not family friendly ride but was developed and installed to appeal to the people who wanted something more. And "Space Mountain" is one of the rides that falls into that catagory. In fact, if you read the history of "Space Mountain" (and the ride concept it was loosely based on at DL), the whole point of putting it in was to appeal to those that Walt felt didn't have any real ride representation in the park: thrill seekers and teenagers. Walt himself said to Imagineers after "Matterhorn" was opened and turned out to be so popular that he wanted to do another ride that was a "thrilling coaster" because the guests showed him that something that wasn't a ride appropriate to everybody still had a place in his parks. I think it was one of my classes I took that even shared that the unexpected (for Walt) success of "Matterhorn" is what led him to the revision in the park's philosophy that was essentially along the lines of that adding attractions not suitable to the whole family doesn't mean that the park as a whole isn't for families, it just means the needs of the whole are met by addressing the wants of each personality.
So, even according to Disney himself, WDW and all the other parks were designed as a whole to be "family friendly," but only by including attractions and services that are not suitable for the whole family. Not everybody can enjoy or do everything, and some rides like "Space Mountain" or ToT or EE are not family friendly (and in fact very specifically exclude people from even riding). The fact you see people saying they can't/won't/hate doing X ride goes to show that all rides are not "family friendly," especially rides like "Space Mountain" as, by the words of Walt himself, they weren't designed to be.
And it has nothing to do with your beloved hamster Muffin, a long-standing and beloved member of your family, not being able to ride.![]()
I guess you're not getting into the Salty Spittoon?I've ridden SM three times in all my trips to DW. Every single time, I've gotten off completely shaking.
That ride terrifies me. It's jerky and you will feel it later in the day in your lower back. You're thrown all over, as well as jerked up and down.
This last time (a couple days ago), I really believed I was going to be thrown out of the car, that's how jerky it was. I was sitting in the front seat of the second car, which has no protection around your legs.
I'm certain my face looked like this ~.
It's LOUD and disorienting.
So why have I ridden it three times you ask? The first time I didn't know any better, the second time, three years had gone by and I thought I was ready for it again (nope!) and just this last time, DS had never ridden it and I apparently lost my mind and told him I would do it once.
That said, I love BTMRR and Rock n Rollercoaster and can handle EE a couple times. But SM is OUT of the line up for me, for now and forevermore.
If BTMRR scares you, STAY AWAY from SM.