Kid who does not want to ride

[MommaBerd]

@wilkeliza , @Klayfish and @disnut8 - I have been proven wrong because I made an assumption that rides like POTC, HM, GMR (yes, this one too!) or even FEA would NOT have a chicken exit since they are pretty family friendly or that kids would decide beforehand (especially for HM). So, in all honesty, I never checked.

And I know the OP was asking about HER situation, so advice given was geared toward her. But, I will say that DS13 (now) truly has severe anxiety over the rides, no matter how much we try to convince him that his fears are irrational. It is both sad and frustrating as the rest of us LOVE WDW.

@Calee - I truly hope your DS is able to overcome some of his anxieties and y'all have a wonderful trip together!

 

[wilkeliza]

@wilkeliza , @Klayfish and @disnut8 - I have been proven wrong because I made an assumption that rides like POTC, HM, GMR (yes, this one too!) or even FEA would NOT have a chicken exit since they are pretty family friendly or that kids would decide beforehand (especially for HM). So, in all honesty, I never checked.

And I know the OP was asking about HER situation, so advice given was geared toward her. But, I will say that DS13 (now) truly has severe anxiety over the rides, no matter how much we try to convince him that his fears are irrational. It is both sad and frustrating as the rest of us LOVE WDW.

@Calee - I truly hope your DS is able to overcome some of his anxieties and y'all have a wonderful trip together!

Totally get the frustration. Just so you know for future trips if you want them to stay in line with you POTC they are taken through a path that leads to the shop (same path they move wheelchairs through), FEA they just open a gate if I'm not mistake and let them into the unload area, GMR again they just point to the exit and have you walk past the load path to the exit, HM is a chicken exit right before the stretch room (I believe there is one past it as well). A lot of rides the chicken exit is just walking across the platform.


OP you can have your son stand in line and maybe once he gets to the ride vehicle they will change their mind. If not let the load CM know and they will either direct him to the shop or the unload area. Most of the time as long as he is behind the yellow lines or safety gates he can just wait in the unload area.

 

[disnut8]

But, I will say that DS13 (now) truly has severe anxiety over the rides, no matter how much we try to convince him that his fears are irrational. It is both sad and frustrating as the rest of us LOVE WDW.

My late father-in-law had issues with rides and when I couldn't go on Twilight Zone (my favorite attraction), I talked him into going on it and we would exit the alternative way together. I think his reaction to the whole thing was just as good as the preshow as he couldn't understand how we were going to get out of the thing without having to ride the elevator. But, once we were on our way out, he totally relaxed and enjoyed our little waiting spot. You might consider having another person in your party exit so the one wouldn't be alone.

 

[BrianL]

What is a dump shop?

Most attractions lead into a store. Most of the stores are small with very little room for "standing around" with the flow of traffic, but he can easily walk around and look at things.

You answered your own question. It's the store the ride "dumps" you out into. I don't think that's official parlance though.

 

[elaine amj]

My son doesn't like big rides. At 14, he says no to Splash (he tolerated it when he was younger), Space, and definitely no to RnR, ToT and EE. All these years, he has just hung out in the gift shore or a nearby bench. That said - he's not the kid who would wander away (never has been). Now that he carries his own phone, he will likely just find a bench and play on his phone. He never went through the lines with us.

At 10, unless he has anxiety about being left alone or serious wandering tendencies, I can't see why there would be any issues telling him to wait for you in a shop.

 

[Senk]

I worry about this. This is our first visit and DS10 is not a thrill seeker at all. We watched some youtube ride videos to get excited and he got anxious just watching.
DD8 is much braver and while she may be nervous she will have no trouble facing her fears. DS is not like that at all. DH wants to force him on the rides because he thinks it will be fine. I'm ok with that for a few just to try but not the whole trip. Of course if he endsells up liking it then we will continue that but if not I'm glad to know there will be a place for him to wait. Even if it is just wandering around a gift shop. I'll give him a cell phone and tell him to stay close.

 

[TJDisneymama]

I worry about this. This is our first visit and DS10 is not a thrill seeker at all. We watched some youtube ride videos to get excited and he got anxious just watching.
DD8 is much braver and while she may be nervous she will have no trouble facing her fears. DS is not like that at all. DH wants to force him on the rides because he thinks it will be fine. I'm ok with that for a few just to try but not the whole trip. Of course if he endsells up liking it then we will continue that but if not I'm glad to know there will be a place for him to wait. Even if it is just wandering around a gift shop. I'll give him a cell phone and tell him to stay close.

My DD(almost 10) has always been wary of thrill rides and also new rides that she doeesn't know how "thrilling" they will be. In the beginning I forced her on a couple (not really physically forced, but she was younger and plus she didn't know what the rides would be like anyways, but I was able to talk her into trying them). THen after she realized there were some she didn't like, I bribed her with a stuffed animal a couple times. Some she decided never to go on again (Splash), no matter how much I beg or bribe. Others she won't try at all (7DMT, ToT, Exp. Everest). I just gave up and now if she doesn't want to go on something, she doesn't have to. Also, she doesn't trust me anymore either, after I told her Gringotts was a slow calm ride (I really thought it was). She is very stubborn and once she makes up her mind to not do soomething, there's no changing her mind. She says she isn't "scared" of the rides, she just doesn't want to go on them.
Now we are going in August - just me and her - and I'm trying to ease her into the idea of the new Pandora rides. Her immediate initial response was NO but I'm hoping she'll give in

 

[BrianL]

...I'm trying to ease her into the idea of the new Pandora rides. Her immediate initial response was NO but I'm hoping she'll give in

FYI the Na'vi River boat ride is supposed to be pretty calm, at least no more thrilling than POTC. There is no height requirement for it. The Flight of Passage is supposed to be much more intense though.

 

[Klayfish]

I worry about this. This is our first visit and DS10 is not a thrill seeker at all. We watched some youtube ride videos to get excited and he got anxious just watching.
DD8 is much braver and while she may be nervous she will have no trouble facing her fears. DS is not like that at all. DH wants to force him on the rides because he thinks it will be fine. I'm ok with that for a few just to try but not the whole trip. Of course if he endsells up liking it then we will continue that but if not I'm glad to know there will be a place for him to wait. Even if it is just wandering around a gift shop. I'll give him a cell phone and tell him to stay close.

It is a tough call, for sure. As I said earlier in the post, I am more on the side of your DH. I forced our kids...no choice. It was almost comical how DD was crying crocodile tears. Since I knew it was just anxiety of something unknown, not a physical issue, I insisted they try the rides. It has always worked out great for us. Worst case scenario, they really don't like it and they don't do it again.

 

[Lothlórien]

You answered your own question. It's the store the ride "dumps" you out into. I don't think that's official parlance though.

Never heard the term before.

 

[TJDisneymama]

FYI the Na'vi River boat ride is supposed to be pretty calm, at least no more thrilling than POTC. There is no height requirement for it. The Flight of Passage is supposed to be much more intense though.

yes, i think I can convince her of that one. The other will have to wait until we can see some video of it.

 

[elaine amj]

FYI the Na'vi River boat ride is supposed to be pretty calm, at least no more thrilling than POTC. There is no height requirement for it. The Flight of Passage is supposed to be much more intense though.

My thrill seeker DD has declared that it is creepy (case in point, she still cringes on Jungle Cruise!). However, she will be 16 and I'm forcing her on Na'vi River (she's welcome to stay in the gift shop - but if given that choice, she'll come with us).

It is a tough call, for sure. As I said earlier in the post, I am more on the side of your DH. I forced our kids...no choice. It was almost comical how DD was crying crocodile tears. Since I knew it was just anxiety of something unknown, not a physical issue, I insisted they try the rides. It has always worked out great for us. Worst case scenario, they really don't like it and they don't do it again.

It's hard with some kids. I used to drag my thrill seeking DD onto rides (crying) because I knew once she was riding, she'd be fine as it was a fear of the unknown that she didn't like. And she would come off with huge smiles. On the other hand, my DS14 has hesitantly tried a few coasters and really really hates the feeling of the drops. So I've coaxed him (didn't force him though although some bribes were involved!) on a few after showing him ride videos and now he's making the choice himself. I'm OK with that and he just sits and waits for us.

On the good side, that's a big reason why we love WDW. We only have to split for a few rides. Most things, we can enjoy as a family.

 

[Lynzer4]

I think leaving him in a certain spot with a cell phone is fine while you ride if you know it won't be a long wait. I would have a hard time doing this if it was a 15+ wait. I have a 10 year old and I would be okay with this but he would be warned that he was to STAY there until I came back. Mine would if given a phone to play games on.

Last time I was there with my nephew he wanted to ride a few rides again (EE/ RNR). I walked him to the entrance and then waited at the exit for him.

 

[bopper]

I agree that you have to know your kid....but
1) Can you "work your way" through types of rides and see what he could do? So like if you want him to be able to ride roller coasters, you start on the smallest one, like Goofy's Barnstormer. Then you move on to an outdoor one...see how that goes. Then part indoor part outdoor. Then all indoor like Space Mountain. And you stop if it gets to be too much.

2) Can you have him watch videos of the rides ahead of time so he knows what to expect?

3) What about bribes? Like with my youngest, she has some anxiety. We are a roller coaster family so I wanted her to be able to ride them too. i know she would like them once she got on it...we finagled her to ride the first one with a combo of bribes + her not really knowing what ride she was going on. Once she did it, she was fine.

 

[KrazeeK120]

I think leaving him in a certain spot with a cell phone is fine while you ride if you know it won't be a long wait. I would have a hard time doing this if it was a 15+ wait. I have a 10 year old and I would be okay with this but he would be warned that he was to STAY there until I came back. Mine would if given a phone to play games on.

Last time I was there with my nephew he wanted to ride a few rides again (EE/ RNR). I walked him to the entrance and then waited at the exit for him.

The problem is, you never know when a ride will break down and suddenly the kid being alone for 10 minutes turns into the kid being alone for an hour.

 

[JenLovesMM]

We have a daughter that loves rides and a son who doesn't. Since DH loves rides and I don't really care for the bigger ones, he usually does rides with our daughter while I do something else in the parks with our son. Disney has so much more to offer than just rides, it's easy to find other fun interesting stuff to do. Of course, cell phones and wifi makes this easier, when they are done riding, they can text us and we can join up again and do stuff as a family. Each kid then gets to do what they love and it makes for happier kids and happier parents too!

 

[disnut8]

The problem is, you never know when a ride will break down and suddenly the kid being alone for 10 minutes turns into the kid being alone for an hour.

But, the parents and the child will have cell phones so a simple call can be made to the child to let him know. Also, since the child will be waiting at the exit (or somewhere close), they would be able to see a backup of guests waiting to get on even if they are outside the building. And in all my 60 some plus trips to Disney World, I have gotten stuck on a ride - once.

 

[wilkeliza]

I'm shocked at how many parents have been allowed to force crying children onto rides. I distinctly remember part of my attractions training was that we were not allowed to let people ride who were clearly agitated. You see this the most at RnR where they direct kids to a room (it use to be the child swap room but now has the transfer practice car) where the kid was allowed to collect themselves and stop crying before they could be loaded into a ride vehicle. I've even seen them pull crying kids off Everest and Splash. They were told they had to wait to the side until the kid stopped crying or at least was able to verbalize that they did indeed want to ride. I guess maybe the difference is the red faced crying screaming I don't want to ride versus just tears. Just seems so different what happens in practice versus what the training is.

 

[Ava]

I'm shocked at how many parents have been allowed to force crying children onto rides. I distinctly remember part of my attractions training was that we were not allowed to let people ride who were clearly agitated. You see this the most at RnR where they direct kids to a room (it use to be the child swap room but now has the transfer practice car) where the kid was allowed to collect themselves and stop crying before they could be loaded into a ride vehicle. I've even seen them pull crying kids off Everest and Splash. They were told they had to wait to the side until the kid stopped crying or at least was able to verbalize that they did indeed want to ride. I guess maybe the difference is the red faced crying screaming I don't want to ride versus just tears. Just seems so different what happens in practice versus what the training is.

I'm kind of shocked by that too. On our last trip when we were boarding Soarin, there was a little girl in our row who was crying as her mother was buckling her into her seat. A CM came over and spoke to the girl to make sure she was okay and wanted to stay on the ride. (She did and was fine once it started.) I also saw a CM tell a father he had to take his son off of Barnstormer because the little boy was crying and trying to climb into his dad's lap after they were seated but before the ride started moving.

I'm trying to be prepared for all possibilities with my DD4 this summer. She's over 40" but has been very timid with rides so far, so I'm not sure how she'll react once we're actually there. I plan to show her ride videos and talk up how she's big enough now to ride these fun rides with us, so hopefully she'll agree to at least try them. But I will also not be surprised if I'm that mom taking her crying child out through the chicken exit. My older DD is a thrill lover, so I never had to worry that she'd refuse to even try a ride.

 

[wilkeliza]

I'm kind of shocked by that too. On our last trip when we were boarding Soarin, there was a little girl in our row who was crying as her mother was buckling her into her seat. A CM came over and spoke to the girl to make sure she was okay and wanted to stay on the ride. (She did and was fine once it started.) I also saw a CM tell a father he had to take his son off of Barnstormer because the little boy was crying and trying to climb into his dad's lap after they were seated but before the ride started moving.

I'm trying to be prepared for all possibilities with my DD4 this summer. She's over 40" but has been very timid with rides so far, so I'm not sure how she'll react once we're actually there. I plan to show her ride videos and talk up how she's big enough now to ride these fun rides with us, so hopefully she'll agree to at least try them. But I will also not be surprised if I'm that mom taking her crying child out through the chicken exit. My older DD is a thrill lover, so I never had to worry that she'd refuse to even try a ride.

I guess the deciding point is if the kid says they want to ride even through tears then they let them. Again my attraction was a walking attraction so even though we had that training we never had to put it into practice as we didn't load other attractions. Heck I even had to play the guess their age game (meaning manager sent kids they knew that were to young to sign up to test if you were guessing ages right) even though there honestly was nothing unsafe about the attraction. We had to do it because still kids under 7 were not allowed to have the cell phone unless we saw and spoke with their adult as well.