Kids that are afraid of rides?

[mookie]

I posted this as a response to another post, but in thinking about it, I thought I'd start my own thread on this, as well. Hope I don't get flamed for it, thanks for listening!!!



Here is my problem...



Our dd is 2years 4 mos. old right now, and we took her to a few local carnivals, and she absolutely HATED all of the rides, producing screaming and crying fits! (This is the same kid last year that LOVED it!)

I'm trying to figure out when to book our next Disney trip, but I'm worried that she might be scared of the rides, and might not even go on IASW. DH seems to think that she won't react the same at Disney, because Disney is WAY more magical than (sometimes scary) carnival rides. I'm not so sure. Do kids really react differently to the characters and rides at Disney, because it's Disney?

She loves characters and shows, but the rides (even Dumbo and IASW) I'm afraid might send her freaking out. I don't want her to be scared, so I would obviously want to wait to go to Disney until she's ready, but DH seems to think that once she gets to "Mickey's House," it will be familiar, and she will be fine. She is in love with anything Disney, and is very familiar with all of the movies and characters, so he might have a good point, but I just don'w know. Any thoughts?

I'm thinking that we should wait until next summer to see how she does on the carnival rides again, and then book disney after we see how she responds. But with having to plan our trips so far in advance - if we do that, we might not be going for another 2 years, and the selfish part of me wants to take her to at least enjoy the shows and characters, and just the experience of "being in Disney," but should we wait until it's worth spending the money and she can enjoy everything?

I guess bottom line, after all of that rambling, is this: So you think there is a possiblity that dd would act differently towards the Disney rides instead of the carnival rides, because they are themed to be things she knows and is familar with? Has anyone had their kids be scared of carnival rides but still enjoy Disney?


Thanks for the help and advice, would love to hear any experiences with this, and how you handled it!

 

[purplepixie]

I think it's possible she could react different at Disney. Some of the rides are more like a story you ride through not so much a miny thrill ride like at carnivals. It's hard to know at that age unfortunately. She could love it or hate it and you wouldn't know until you got there. The one thing with Disney is that there is a lot of different things to do and she may enjoy things that she can walk through or sit and watch if she doesn't enjoy the rides.

Hope she has a good time whenever you decide to go. Good luck planning.

 

[BelleBeautyandtheBeast]

Last summer my DS (who was 2 years then) loved all the Disney rides but refused to ride anything at our local amusement park.
It is possible your DD would act differently at Disney than she did at the carnival.
I would say go and have fun. Even if DD decides she doesn't want to ride many rides there is plenty to keep her busy.

 

[Camping Griswalds]

It is entirely possible that your DD will enjoy Disney. It is a totally different experience than any other theme park or carnival. Proof of that is these discussion boards. However the more sensible option could be to wait. Then maybe you all we be guaranteed a more friendly fun time. Of course there are so many attractions at Disney that you actually go on with your daughter that it could take quite a bit of the fear completely away. Maybe get one of those free videos on the parks and show them to her and seee if she seems the slightest bit hessitant. Good Luck!!

 

[amw]

She might react differently, but prepared to not be disapointed if she's still afraid. There's still plenty to do at WDW. I took my daughters when they were 3 and 18 mths. I didn't expect the baby to go on many rides, but I was surprised how frightened my then DD3 was of the rides. She tensed up during It's a Small World, and actually came to tears on Peter Pan and Winnie-the-Pooh But, on that same day, she asked to go on those rides two more times -- incidentally, the baby loved the rides from the get-go I think at that age, it's the fear of the unknown. Once my DD3 knew there weren't any dark surprises around the corner, she relaxed and enjoyed the rides.

Besides the rides, there are many things to keep them enjoyed:

At MK, she loved the show in front of the castle, Mickey's Philharmagic, Toontown, the parades, Bear Jamboree -- and we didn't even get to Ariel's meet-and-greet, and Belle's storytime.

At MGM, she loved Bear-and-the-Big-Blue-House, The Little Mermaid, the Muppet Show, the Beauty and the Beast Show, the parade, even the Walt Disney 100 years display

Most of the time, we left the parks before 4 each day. As long as you're not gung-ho about going on the thrill rides yourself, you can have an amazing time seeing WDW through the eyes of your preschooler. Just do everything at a slower pace.

She also really enjoyed dinner at Chef Mickey's - as long as your daughter isn't afraid of characters, I highly recommend a meal there followed by a monorail ride.

I'm taking my now DD5 and DD3 to WDW in September, and look forward to visiting AK and trying the kidcots at Epcot. I've never missed the "older" rides, well maybe Space Mountain and Haunted Manision.... but there are many years to come still

 

[Merriwind]

It's so hard to tell at that age; they change almost weekly. Your DD's experience could be totally different at WDW. It could also be very similar.

The nice thing about WDW is that there is so much more than just rides there. We first went when DD was 25 months old. I think we only rode the carousel and maybe the People Mover. Rides just weren't her thing. She wasn't scared, just not interested. So, we met a lot of characters, watched a parade, went to character meals, watched the castle show, went to Downtown Disney, played on the playground in toontown, just walked around, etc.

If you will be ok if your DD doesn't want to go on rides, I think a trip to WDW would work at any age. If you feel that the rides are necessary to make DD's and the rest of your family's trip complete, then I would wait to be sure that she's over whatever caused her fear at the carnival.

Whatever you decide, I hope you all enjoy...

 

[mookie]

Thanks so much for all of the responses, they are very helpful. There are so many things to think about, and I guess you are right...we probably won't know until we truly get there.

Time to start looking into next year!

Thanks again for the replies!