Kid who does not want to ride

[Calee]

Our trip is in Sept. My oldest will -be close to 10. He is very cautious and there will be rides I will encourage him to try that he will decide to not do. Our other kids who are 5 and 7 will do most things.

If we all go through line together and oldest decides to not ride, where will a CM direct him? To the dump shop? Somewhere else? He is quiet and well mannered and I do not fear him getting into trouble, I just would like to know what to expect. With two younger kids who will want to ride I am trying to determine if the almost 10 year old can reasonably wait.

 

[bumbershoot]

Most rides do end in the gift shop (as the Simpsons ride at universal mentions hilariously) so yes that's generally where you go if you exit.

Maybe give him one if your cellphones if he doesn't have one so you can contact him in case there's a ride stop or you don't know er actor where he is when you exit.

 

[gap2368]

Yes he will be directed to the exit to wait for you but some rides like POTCB get out at another building al together

 

[Calee]

He's done POTC so I think he will again. I know he will not do SPace or Splash or 7DMT.

 

[MommaBerd]

I may get flamed for this, but truth be told, we had our DS, who had just turned 10 at the time, wait for us at a designated bench or other spot because not every ride offers a chicken exit. We did leave him with a cell phone. I felt like he was capable to wait and he did NOT want to go with us in the line.

ETA: Sadly, he still will only ride a very few rides. He just has too much anxiety over them and maybe motion sickness - but mostly anxiety.

 

[Calee]

I may get flamed for this, but truth be told, we had our DS, who had just turned 10 at the time, wait for us at a designated bench or other spot because not every ride offers a chicken exit. We did leave him with a cell phone. I felt like he was capable to wait and he did NOT want to go with us in the line.

ETA: Sadly, he still will only ride a very few rides. He just has too much anxiety over them and maybe motion sickness - but mostly anxiety.

I won't flame you! I'm wondering if he will be nervous to go into the lines even, so this is a good thought. My son has a lot of anxiety surrounding rides too. He doesn't even want to do dumbo bc of the height.

 

[disneyvoice]

I was that kid when I grew up right by Disneyland! When I didn't want to ride something I used to sit on a bench right outside the attraction where my family/friends knew I would be waiting. I was even younger than 10 and did this MANY times. I never thought it was that bad - Disney is the BEST place to people watch so I had fun watching everyone.

Just a note - my teenage son gets on everything at WDW except Tower of Terror, he is literally petrified of the ride. We went with his girlfriend a few years ago and he was going to use the chicken exit so he could wait in line with us but he started to panic while waiting in line and ran out! I remember being that way with some rides when I was little. Even thought of waiting in line was terrifying to me, so looking back I am happy that I just sat outside on a bench.

 

[tjmw2727]

My nephew did this often - if your son wants to stay with you as long as possible then let him stay in line and meet at the exit or a bench just outside the exit, you could scope it out beforehand. If he is comfortable waiting elsewhere set him up on a bench with an ice cream or snack and a cell phone?

My nephew was responsible and familiar with the parks so my sil let him do alternative activities nearby. He would hit the shooting range or play the SOMK game at mk, Agent P in Epcot, there is video game section at the exit of Mission Space - things like that.

 

[TJDisneymama]

My YDD is the same way. On our most recent trip, she was just turned 9, and gave her the option to come through the line with us and use the chicken exit, but she chose to just wait in a designated spot (right where we would be exiting the ride). She was fine.

 

[Donnainnj]

Might want to have an alternate spot for it the weather goes bad. Thunderstorms come up so fast there.

 

[bumbershoot]

I may get flamed for this, but truth be told, we had our DS, who had just turned 10 at the time, wait for us at a designated bench or other spot because not every ride offers a chicken exit. We did leave him with a cell phone. I felt like he was capable to wait and he did NOT want to go with us in the line.

ETA: Sadly, he still will only ride a very few rides. He just has too much anxiety over them and maybe motion sickness - but mostly anxiety.

I do t care about where he was, but I would have left him with a phone especially with that level of anxiety. That's why I mentioned it.

Weather can happen and he might have had to move indoors. Ride stops are real and *can* take a long time to resolve. That's what the phone is for, so anxiety can be relieved if something different comes up.

My son has been doing some rides at universal and Disneyland alone since he was eligible. At uni that means when he was at least 48", which was when he was 6.5. At Disney you can go in the line and ride alone at 7 (and match the height req). So it's not the being alone part I care about, but making sure people know they can keep in touch if the unexpected happens.

 

[scrapquitler]

He's done POTC so I think he will again. I know he will not do SPace or Splash or 7DMT.

My 14yo DS hates Splash and won't ride, so he usually waits for us on the bridge where you can watch the drop.

 

[wilkeliza]

I may get flamed for this, but truth be told, we had our DS, who had just turned 10 at the time, wait for us at a designated bench or other spot because not every ride offers a chicken exit. We did leave him with a cell phone. I felt like he was capable to wait and he did NOT want to go with us in the line.

ETA: Sadly, he still will only ride a very few rides. He just has too much anxiety over them and maybe motion sickness - but mostly anxiety.

I won't flame but every single ride does have a "chicken exit". What rides were you led to believe don't?

 

[piglet1979]

I have a 11 and 10 year old. I would never leave my 11 year old by himself in the park. He is the kids that would wonder off. He is a good kids but if something catches his eye he is gone. My 10 year old is very scared to be by herself so I would never think of having her wait by herself. I would say as long as you know he will be fine by himself I think it would be ok. You can always do rider switch too if you feel more comfortable with that.

 

[Sunny521]

I have had some CMs allow my son to sit in the child swap area to wait, but that was a while ago. Not sure if this is still allowed at Disney. Last time we were at Universal (6 months ago) they were enforcing a 14 and up age to wait alone in this area. He was 12 so I was going to let him go the gift shop area.

 

[wilkeliza]

I have had some CMs allow my son to sit in the child swap area to wait, but that was a while ago. Not sure if this is still allowed at Disney. Last time we were at Universal (6 months ago) they were enforcing a 14 and up age to wait alone in this area. He was 12 so I was going to let him go the gift shop area.

There are no child swap areas at Disney. Anyone over the age of 7 is allowed to be in the park alone they just can't enter or exit alone (not that anyone actually is watching that closely unless there is a lost child warning out).

 

[china mom]

At age 10, he will be allowed to take the chicken out exit along and the CM will not bat an eye. Children can be without a parent at age 7. All rides have a chicken out exit but you should scope out the ride exit and have a meeting spot just in case it dumps you out somewhere other than you expect. For example, Tower of terror has two different elevators so he needs to sit and wait far enough down to be past the merge point so that he won't miss you if you are on the other side. I think Space Mountain is the same.

On rides that don't have a separate door as the chicken out exit, the chicken just enters and then passes through the ride car and continues to the exit.

 

[Klayfish]

I won't flame but every single ride does have a "chicken exit". What rides were you led to believe don't?

Right, as far as I'm aware, they all have a chicken exit.

As I've said before in similar threads, for my kids (this was mostly with DD9, but my boys a bit too), if I was sure it was just anxiety, I forced them to ride at least once. In their mind, they think the ride is a lot worse than it really is. I walk them through the reality..."Do you think WDW would let people on the ride if it was going to actually injure them?" "What's the very, very worst that's going to happen", etc... I've dragged them on a few rides in complete tears. But those tears turned to absolute laughter and love of the ride most of the time. SM is a perfect example. DD9 and DS12 were terrified of it (DD9 is a dare devil). I dragged them on, both in tears. Now, they insist on riding it multiple times...by themselves. Worst case, they don't like it after trying it and we don't ride it anymore. ToT is a good example. My boys don't care for it, so they really don't ride it...DD9 will guilt trip DS9 into doing it, but it's not his favorite. DS12 won't do it anymore.

If I knew for sure it were actually going to make them vomit because of motion sickness, then certainly I wouldn't do it. But if it's anxiety over the unknown, they're riding at least once.

 

[disnut8]

Every single Disney attraction has an alternative exit. You are not required to ride anything once you get to the boarding area. Now, after you are into the ride vehicle, that's another story.

To the OP - if your child is even the slightest bit apprehensive about an attraction, ask the Cast Member at the entrance where the ride will let off. Some are easy to find yourself but if you can't find the exit, ask. Then, before you enter the queue, go to the exit and find a spot for your child to wait for you. If it's a gift shop, pick a rack for him to hang out near. If it's somewhere else, pick a spot. All of you will on the same wavelength then and it will be much easier than saying "oh, just sit over there and we'll find you". Then, all go through the queue together, have him leave if he wants and he just has to wait for the length of the actual ride to meet up with you. I would also suggest that your younger children participate in the entire thing so they can see how easy it is.[/QUOTE]

 

[Lothlórien]

Our trip is in Sept. My oldest will -be close to 10. He is very cautious and there will be rides I will encourage him to try that he will decide to not do. Our other kids who are 5 and 7 will do most things.

If we all go through line together and oldest decides to not ride, where will a CM direct him? To the dump shop? Somewhere else? He is quiet and well mannered and I do not fear him getting into trouble, I just would like to know what to expect. With two younger kids who will want to ride I am trying to determine if the almost 10 year old can reasonably wait.

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.