Little kids on scary rides....!!!

[Del]

PG--

Thanks for answering--Have a great day!

Del

 

[jacksonsmom]

Originally posted by Rapunsel
Can anyone tell me where I can find out the height requitements before we go. My DS2 loves "rolley coasters" and I don't want to tell him about a ride and then find out that he is not tall enough. I mainly want to find out about TT at Epcot as he loves racecars.


Thank you!

I know there is a website out there with the height requirements, but I don't have it. Hopefully someone else does.

I can tell you Test Track has a 40" requirement though!

 

[ducklite]

The Passporter has good tips on how scarey a ride might be for some kids, and also the birnbaums WDW for Kids offers a lot of advice geraed directly at kids.

Rapunsel--At two your child will be too small for all the "thrill" costers at WDW, but will be able to go on the Barnstormer at the MK. My nephews LOVE that coaster, it makes them fell like a big kid to be able to ride it, and they imitate by putting hands in the air, etc.

Anne

 

[mom2alix]

I am so thankful for CMs who stand up to these horrid parents. It spoils the attraction for everyone else when we have to listen to a miserable child crying and screaming. How sad that their own parents are the only ones who seem immune to the sound.
Why spend a fortune to take your child to Disney just to make them miserable?

As a quick note - My DD is not afraid of much, BUT she is a big sympathy crier. I intend to avoid these parents like the plague since I don't want a child who is crying the whole time because they've chosen to make their children sad at the happiest place on Earth. Why would anyone think that would make for a good family vacation?

 

[FayeW]

I have another side to the screaming child issue. This summer we took our children to a popular theme park about 6 hours from our home. We bought a family season pass, and spent 4 days at this park.This was their first theme park experience. Everyday in the park we would hear the screams of the people swooping overhead on a suspended rollercoaster. My DH & I commented several times that we had enjoyed this ride 10 yrs previous when it was a new attraction, but I was firm in saying that it scared me and I would not be riding it again. My 8 yr old daughter was very interested in the ride but not brave enough to try it out until about day 3, however several times during the trip she would comment about how if she was brave enough to ride "such and such" then she most certainly would be brave enough to try this other ride. My DH, who quite enjoyed this particular ride, would always ask her if she wanted to try it telling her "you don't have to but I'll go with you if you want to" but she always declined.
Finally, one evening, hearing the laughter and screams of the riders got to be too much and she asked me to take her on the ride. My DH had taken our son to ride some of the smaller rides so it was just the 2 of us. I agreed but reminder her that I really didn't want to go on the ride but if she was brave enough then I would be too. We waited in a long line, and a few times she said she didn't want to go and I offered to take her out of the ride, but I did tell her the ride was not dangerous, we would never put her on anything that would hurt her, and that some of the other rides she'd been on were actually scarier, however she decided to stay UNTIL we got to the front of the line. When it was our turn she screamed and cried so much that they held up the line to remove her. I was absolutely furious with her because I ended up on a ride alone that I didn't want to be on at all. I am sure other guests talk about me as being "this horrible parent I saw forcing her child" when it was the furtherest thing from the truth, she in fact, forced me!

 

[Mike Jones]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/height.htm links to a calculator for height requirements.

 

[BevS97]

could you have got off the ride as well? I wouldn't have been happy on a scary ride on my own!

Snow White
Haunted Mansion
Test Track
Honey I Shrunk the Audience
Star Tours



My dd wouldn't ride any of these at 3 1/2 or 4 1/2, She might manage Test Track on our next trip (age 6) but I doubt she will do the others. She has never been on any of them, but has seen the witch from SW and bits of HM in a planning video and is absolutely positive that she wants nothing ot do with them.

She loves Goofys Barnstormer though, and Splash Mountain, and would probably manage Big Thunder Mountain, but nothing 'scary' in terms of ghosts or witches.

Bev

 

[mom-2greatkids]

Our DD was 4 when we were there last year. She is a thrill seaker--loved Splash Mtn, went on BTMRR more times than we could count, etc. She happily got on Test Track, but I could see she didn't like it and was kind of scared by the end. I asked her what was wrong, and she said she was afraid our car would crash. I looked around and realized she was referring to all the crashed cars you see during the ride. She was fine after I explained the theming to her, but I wish I had realized it BEFORE we got on the ride. She would have enjoyed it so much more!

 

[diane1102]

Just a comment on the height calculator-- I had seen that before, and noticed the Rock N Roller Coaster (which I think has a 48" requirement) did not show up on the list when I entered my DD's height (45"). I'm not sure if others are missing, but that was one that I knew she couldn't ride, and it wasn't listed.

I also found this link: http://family.go.com/travel/disney/tool/thrillseeker_tlp/
It gives 'thrill ratings' for various rides so you can see if your kids (or you!) can handle it.

 

[Ursula]

FayeW,

I can relate. I have a similar story. All through the planning of our WDW trip, my then 7 year old DD was most excited about TOT. She would read about it, and look at pictures of it and just could not wait to do this ride. She even bet her Aunt $20 that she would go on it because her Aunt did not believe she would go on such a scary ride.

Well, we went to the Magic Kingdom first. She was scared in Snow White, and terrified in HM! I was really suprised because this kid is never afraid on rides! When we went to MGM, I told her TOT was not a good idea since she was afraid in HM and TOT was also a dark scary ride. She insisted she wanted to go on and would be OK. At first in line, she's a little nervous, not saying much. We get inside the room for the pre-show and now she is really scared. In line to get on the ride after the pre-show she starts to cry. I told her repeatedly we did not have to go on & there was an exit we could take & that if she is so scared that she is crying, then we are not going on. She holds back the tears as much as she can, and insists she wants to go on. She made the bet and she REFUSED to back down.

I'm sure other parents in line saw her crying and scared and thought I was an awful parent making her go on, but really I was trying to convince her it was not a good idea.

Well, she went on, she hated it, but she was no worse off for the experiance. She got an "I Survived the Tower of Terror" tee-shirt and $20 from her Aunt

 

[bigOlkid]

Our oldest DS, now 6, absolutely refused to even look at Dinosaur last year but has loved Haunted Mansion since he was 2. He has also been skittish about Pirates too. On our trip this year, ( 2 weeks to go!!) he claims he wants to ride everything! One thing I think has helped his courage, besides getting older, is since our last visit, we have watched every documentery we could find about rides and theme parks on the travel and discovery channel. Now he is so interested in how all these things work, he cant wait ride them! Only problem is, trying to enjoy the ride while having a deep discussion about audio-animatronics!

 

[Rodrigo]

This link is interesting for parents who want to know more about the "Fear Factor" of the WDW rides.

http://www.mouseplanet.com/dtp/wdwguide/7_Children/older_kids/fear_factors.htm

 

[mommyflower]

I can really relate to these posts. When I was a kid my parents were (and still are) the kind who forced us to go on a ride even crying and terrified. To this day I still don't understand why. It made my sister and I very upset and my parents very angry at us. My ds is 2 1/2 and my problem now is possibly being to cautious. He isn't big enough to tell me before hand if he might like something or not. He isn't scared of the dark, but is scared of some loud noises. I would like to take a chance on HM maybe, but I don't want to end up with him being terrified and possible afraid of other non-scary rides. What do you think?
Also we are going in december just me, DH, & DS. In february we will be there again with my parents. Any one have suggestions on how to handle them trying to bully me into taking ds on rides he isn't ready for? I don't want to end up having a terrible time because of this. Thanks!

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by KAH
Speaking of scary rides, any opinions on the following:

Snow White
Haunted Mansion
Test Track
Honey I Shrunk the Audience
Star Tours

I've been wondering if my kids will be up for these? I think the 5 year old will be fine, maybe not the 4 year old. I definitely wouldn't ever force my child to go on a ride like those parents you described. That is awful.

DD 4, has been going on HM since she was 1 1/2 and loves it. She was telling her 20 y/o sister, who is going on this trip, not to be scared of the ghosts because they are not real. She thinks Snow White is boring. She was scared of Honey I Shrunk the Audience and doesn't like any 3D movies even Muppets. She has never been on TT although she would probably find it boring after riding with me! I wouldn't take her on Star Tours as it makes me sick and she would probably be pretrified. On our last trip in May she was kind of scared of Goofy Barnstormer and hesitated. I knew she would love it as she goes on other coasters at other parks. She wimpered about it but I told her she would like it. We ended up going 3 times in a row as it is her new favorite ride!

 

[strawberryblonde]

Terry -

Try her on Mickey's PhilharMagic . This is the first 3-D movie my DD3 has worn the glasses to. She loved the movie and wasn't scared. She did not like the bug movie at AK or muppets at MGM. The ending is extra cute, the entire family loved it. Enjoy your trip.

 

[edie w]

Mommyflower, I don't think there are loud noises on HM or even any real surprises. You feel quite secure in a high backed chariot and you can easily hold a small child close to you. I've heard of other people letting their child carry a light-up toy to comfort them and wave them at the ghosts/monsters etc. I'd take a small child on there before I'd consider Snow White. My DNi 10 (at the time) screamed when she saw the witch. She laughed as well, but it's pretty intense.

 

[Selket]

I had to coax my son (almost 6 yrs old) quite a bit to get him on Splash Mountain but after he did it once we ended up going to 2 eride nights just to ride that and Buzz...cause he loved those two so much. I wasn't doing the "you're riding this or else!" type thing...he was clearly on the fence with Splash Mountain. Other rides he definitely was nowhere near the fence! (like TT, all the coasters, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids, etc) Much to my complete surprise he insisted on riding Tower of Terror AFTER I had ridden it alone while DH kept the kids. I ended up making a special trip back to MGM with him the next day just to ride that...halfway thinking no way would he get on it once we got up there...but he did. He never protested once. After he got off he said he'd never ride it again either - LOL! I think he probably will when he is older.

You really have to be in tune with your kids...know when they need a bit of coaxing and when to back off. One last and final test is if they are screaming as you're trying to get into the ride....you definitely take the exit.

 

[Danemom]

I confess, I was afraid this post might be about me at first! My DD10 is a nervous rider. She wants to ride things but really worries about what will happen, even though we tell her what to expect and that she can always change her mind. Last week, she stood in several lines with tears running down her face! Especially for RNRC - which she loved and rode 4-5 times.

She did not really enjoy HM. It is intimidating and the graveyard scene can be scary, especially with the heads popping up from behind the headstones.

Also, my DS8 was briefly scared in ITTBAB even though he was unfazed at 3 and 5. Later, he was very unhappy with me because I would not allow him to do Alien Encounter. That could've looked like a parent trying to force a child on a ride.

My family sees almost nothing scary about Snow White. There is one scene with the witch looking in the mirror. She turns and is the hag. That is a little scary, adults should sit on the right side of the car. It's funny how people interpret rides differently.

I would skip Dinosaur for all but the bravest kids even though I don't think I've ever seen much of it because I'm getting jerked around too much. I've ridden it 3 times and I've still not seen the almost-eaten-by-a-dinosaur finale, even with my best effort!

 

[onecoolmama]

I am one of those parents. My DS2 turned 3 last week in the "world". We took him on Imagination..I had no idea that there was a blast on it..but he did ok until that point. Later we met up with my mom and she asked him if he wanted to go on it...he said yes, but when we started on the ride he started crying saying he wanted to get off...but we were already on the ride. Then, we sat to watch Illuminations...he became deathly afraid of fireworks...but we were on the far side of Epcot so by the time we got out of there..he was shaking!

Then he wouldn't do anything! It took 3 times on IASW before he could sit back and really enjoy it. He liked the train and he liked Indy Speedway right away.

He loves shows and he loves going to the movies and loves the characters...so we took him into Mickey's Philharmagic...scared the daylights out of him...but I truly would have never thought that giving that he loves all of this at home..he didn't even have the 3d glasses on!

So, when it came time to go into Bear in the Big Blue House, I knew he would love it. We got the front row..and we had to leave becuase he wouldn't stop crying. Now, I knew he was exhausted, hungry, ect. So we took a day off from everything..we just went to the pool and hung out a the resort. The next day, rested..fed...I forced him to go to see the show. he was upset, he kept pointing to the door and saying he wanted to leave..I made him stay. By the end of the show...he was dancing, singing and jumping around..but I did force him.

In my defense, he told me he did not want to go on Peter pan..never took him. He didnt want to ride Dumbo or the tea cups, he never rode them. He made almost all the decisions on what he wanted and didn't want to see, but I am glad I forced him to stay in Bear in the Big Blue House!

 

[~Czarina~]

I had a problem once with a little girl behind me crying her head off. She was extreamly afraid of dinos and they were putting her on a ride with Dinosaurs. An adult male with the child told her that it's okay, shortly after the ride starts one of the dinos will eat you and it will all be over. I was shell shocked. He then told her he wasn't going to miss the ride because she didn't wish to ride it. I offered to stay off with her and he gave me the evil eye. I knelt down explained the whole thing and she calmed down. When it came time to bord the CM put her on the end of my row while the rest of the part was in the row ahead. I moved her over a seat so I was on the outside and explained that they were only fake. I wispered silly things to her like, "Look, that dino is scratching his head." I had her laughing the whole was through and totally calm. Why was it so hard for her parents to do that?

Anyway, I do have to say that my first year at Disney (when I was eight) and coming from the Roller Coaster cap of the world I was caught sobbing on a number of rides but only after they had started. I seemed always wondering when they were going to drop me. For some reason I would board the ride without fear right up intil the point I could hear the track or some other roller coaster type thing. Those cries I can understand but forcing a fearful child onto a ride does nothing short of make them scared and distrustful of you. I am so glad other seem to find parents forcing kids on ride equally as...as....cruel as I do.