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

[ineedpixiedust]

Just got back from WDW and had to vent. I can not believe all the parents I saw frocing their young and obviously very scared children onto big and scary rides! I was so angry at a couple of parents I seriously wanted to yell at them! My DH and I were in line for Dinosaur (MIL waited w/the baby), and could not help overhearing the family behind us. Dad, Mom older Sis (10?) and little Bro (6?). The little boy was crying and absolutely hysterical (sp?) and kept saying "I don't wanna go, don't make me go, I'm scared, ect". Mom kept telling Dad "It's ok, I'll wait with him and we can switch". Dad keeps telling his son, "stop crying it's not scary. Stop being such a big baby. You're big enough to go on this ride, so you're going." Well IMHO Dinosaur is a very scary ride! I mean, I enjoy it, but I wouldn't expect a very scared 6 year old to! The family boarded the "jeep" right behind us. Little boy is screaming by this time. I can hear Dad teling him "See, it's not scary just a bunch of nice dinosaurs" Just then we come around the corner and there's a big T-rex EATING a "nice" dinosaur. That poor little boy just lost it. I could hear him sobbing the whole way through. While waiting to unload, I could hear Mom saying over and over "I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was gonna be so scary" and Dad kept telling him to "Stop crying and be a big boy". Urgh!!!! I felt so horrible for that little boy! THat was probably the worst one I saw, but it seemed like almost every big and scary ride we wnt on there was a terrified child and a parent pushing them on! There was a 6yo girl on TOT that was absolutrely terrified! And almost every time I heard a parent tell their scared child "It's not scary". Yes it is! Maybe not to an adult but rides like TOT, Dinosaur and even RNRC are scary for most (not all) little kids! Just because your kid meets the height requirement does not mean they are ready for the ride!! Sorry for the long post, but this made me so mad and completely ruined a couple of rides for me! Maybe instead of a height restriction they should also have a "fear factor" posted befor every ride....

 

[sue1013]

I experienced the same kind of parents on TOT. This poor little boy crying all through the line both parents telling to stop being such a baby. Thankfully for the little boy the CM putting us in the elevator told the parents they could not take him on the ride. The father was not happy told the CM it was his kid and he'd do what he wanted. The CM told him he wouldn't close the doors until they exited. Which they finally did. I kept thinking about that poor little boy, if the parents act that way in public what does he have to endure in private?

 

[frannn]

I will not go on TOT myself, let alone force my children to. I am all to happy with IASW and the like. Now, if any of my DD's did not like the HM, they would have to stay behind with DH while I braved it!

 

[MinnieGi]

I have witnessed that sort of thing too and feel so awful for the child and also feel like you in wanting to yell at the parents. Many times I feel it is for selfish reasons the parents drag jr. on the scarier rides. A parent may not want to sit out the ride or take turns with spouse or ride alone so jr. gets dragged on too. And now b/c of the awful experience with the ride the poor child will be even more frightend of other perceived scary rides or dread a vacation all together knowing a parent will force them to do things against their will. How awful.

 

[Mike Jones]

...we've all seen it, have n't we? It's actually called child abuse in law. Very sad.

 

[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.

 

[spr0m]

My DD 3 had issues with the HM and said she would not like to go she didn't want to go on it the last trip even though she went on it 9 months prior. She didn't cry or panic but said no . Over lunch I explained to her that is was a silly spooky kind of house like halloween then she agreed to go and kept her eyes closed at first but later said that it was funny not scarey and went on it again. I wouldn't take her if she was crying and protesting loudly but if a little coaxing and the promise of holding daddy's hand for the ride get her to go willingly then we'll go on the ride. She really wanted to go on BTMRR but I explained she was to short and had to settle for the Barnstormer which we rode 8 times in a row since there was no line. Funny part is without my prompting she put her arms stright up and screamed ahhh with a huge smile during the ride each time . I wish I had my video camera for that one. My wife didn't belive it but the last time she went with her and came back laughing. I think she picked this up from the yop 10 coaster on travel channel which we watched a few days before.

 

[HappyMommy2]

How sad! I'm glad we didn't see anything like that when we were there.

We recently went to our State Fair and all the kiddie rides had a sign on them that said something like, "Do not force your child to ride. A child who is frightened in line may well panic during the ride." I thought that was a good warning to have out there. They shouldn't have to put a sign, though--parents should know not to force their kids to do a ride!

 

[spr0m]

DD3 loves snow white and is a must ride for her. Small world used to be her fav and I had to endure it 6 times in one day in 1/03. I can take it 1 maybe 2 times a day but after that then it's parent abuse LOL. This past visit she was content with once a day thank goodness. Maybe we can punish the parents who insist on dragging a crying kid into something to ride small world 25 times in a row for each offense

 

[ducklite]

I've regretfully seen this way too many times as well.

It's one thing to give older kids (teens and young adults) a ribbing about a ride being "too scarey" (nicely and with a smile on your face, and of course not making them ride), but I agree, FORCING a younger kid (or anyone!) to ride is abusive.

As far as these rides:

Snow White --IMHO can be VERY VERY scarey, especially for kids who don't like the dark or witches.

Haunted Mansion -- Scarey for kids who do'nt like the dark or "ghosts"

Test Track -- I wo'nt ride it, scarey for kids who do'nt like loud or fast rides

Honey I Shrunk the Audience -- Scarey for kids who do'nt like loud or dark, or are afraid of snakes and/or mice

Star Tours -- I wo'nt ride this one either, scarey for kdis who do'nt like loud or rough or fast rides. I feel sick to my tummy on this and Body Wars

Hope this helps.

Anne (A ride chicken LOL!)

Anne

 

[Jynohn]

I saw this happen a couple of years ago at Alien Encounter. A mother was trying to force her obviously terrified son (about 8 or 9) to go on. The boy kept saying he didn't want to, and the mother and brothers were teasing him saying "don't be such a baby." After all the teasing, the boy agreed to go, but he was crying and still very upset. Luckily, a CM had overheard the whole thing and told the mother that the boy couldn't go in.

I give a lot of credit to CM's who have to stand up to those kinds of parents. It must be very difficult, but I'm sure the children are so grateful!

 

[Liv2CdWorld]

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.

In May we went with DS4 and DS8months.

Snow White - DS4 didn't like it at all. Too dark and the evil queen / witch scare him.

HM - Didn't even try it. We'll be going again in December (his 5th bday) and we may give it a shot. Totally up to him though.

Test Track - He went on this twice - once with daddy and once with mommy. Loved it.

Honey I Shrunk the Audience - he liked this as well, but DH and I have seen it enough that we knew when to cover his eyes.

Star Tours - Haven't done.

 

[CEDmom]

This kind of thing really upsets me as well. DD who is 4 doesn't like most rides (the merry-go-round is more than she can handle) but she loves shows, entertainers etc. I can't imagine ever saying something wasn't scary when I knew it probably would be for her. I guess these parents don't realize that they've lost all credibility with their child. It's really sad. I do commend the CM's that won't permit the child to ride.

 

[jacksonsmom]

This upsets me when I see a child that is really frightened & the parents not listening to the child or lying to the child, saying it's not scary.

My son was 3.5 yrs old when we went to WDW in June. He is a daredevil. He did go on all the rides he was able to (height wise) and did wonderfully.
I told him exactly what will happen on each "scary" ride. Like the Dinosaur ride, I told him it is bumpy, dark & the dinosaurs sometimes roar & jump out at you...but in the same breathe I told him it is just pretend.
I left the decision on what he wanted to ride & what he didn't. He rode every ride he was tall enough for, including ToT, TT, Splash Mountain, HM, etc.
The only rides he wasn't able to go on was Space Mountain (missed it by an inch) & RnR.
btw--I was NOT going to let him go on Alien Encounter, felt he was too young for it.

We are going back in December. I don't expect him to be afraid on any rides since he is already talking about Test Track & the Haunted Manison (two of his favorites) BUT if for some reason he decides he doesn't want to go on any ride, we will RESPECT his wishes....no way would I take a screaming or crying child on ANY ride!!!!

 

[jacksonsmom]

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

Only you know your children best. My 3.5 yr old son was on each of those rides & did fine.

Snow White, my DS thought was "boring" but if your children was scared of witches & such you might not want to take them

Haunted Manison was my son FAVORITE! We did have a little hestitation during the preshow but I held him & reminded him that it is all pretend. He enjoyed the actual ride though. He ended up going on this 4 times. Each time he wanted to be held during the preshow...he didn't cry or anything, just wanted to be held during it.

Test Track...I don't think there is nothing really scary about this, it is fast & at spots jerky.

Honey I shrunk..This was the only ride where my son jumped & actually got scared. It was during the snake part. He was fine but he did tell me afterwards the snake scared him. He wanted to go on it again, but this time he knew the snake part was coming so he covered his eyes.
Personally, if your child is even a little frightened I would NOT take them on it, it can be very scary for little kids

Star Tours....my DS enjoyed it. It is bumpy but I don't think nothing really scary...my son says he is driving a space ship during that ride

Like I said you know your children the best. If you are in questioned the best thing is for you to go on the ride first & check it out.

 

[Del]

My dd was 4 at the time and she was scared on Snow White. It is just not worth it. We leave next month and my now 2 dd will not be going on.

Question: What is the full name of the dinosaur ride you all are referring to? I don't think my girls would like that and want to read about it some more/make sure it isn't on the itinerary. Thanks!!

Del

 

[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!

 

[sha_lyn]

I have 2 stories.. the first another side to the screaming child story...

Last yr DD was 5 1/2 and is very much a thrill seeker. We were in line for test track and my then 10 DNi had promised DD she would sit by her. As we boarded our car DNi decided she wanted to sit between 2 adults (she isn't a thrill seeker). Well DD lost it. She screaming crying etc. I'm getting made at DNi for breaking her promise and DSi is getting made at me for getting made at her DD (after all she is just a kid . LOL... Well then what is my DD who is 5 yrs younger than her?).... Anyway the CM refuses to let DD ride (should have refused to let DNi ride IMHO). After speaking to the CM's they agree to let DD ride with DH after DD calms down. When we returned the CM's let DNi ride with DD also since it meant so much to her. DD also will get spooked in line for some rides and begins to get nervous (I do the same during the incline for coasters but by then it is too late).
The only time I remember having to apologize to her for a ride was this yr at Free Fall at SF over GA. I explained Free fall as being like TOT without the theming, scary story etc. She watched the ride and knew she would be able to see all around etc. Well the one thing I forgot was that when the drop ends, you go onto your back (the end of the drop is curved ). Well when we "landed" she thought it had derailed or something. I didn't live that one down for the rest of the day. She was good sport about it, but boy did I feel bad.


OK the other story DS and I witnessed in 2001 at SW. We were in line for Journey to Atlantis and noticed that one of the girls in front of us was too small for the ride. They actually managed to sneak her past all the height checks, at would lie to her that she met the height at the self checks. I really should have said something, but from the way the parents were acting I knew it would only spell trouble for me. Well as soon as the ride started she started screaming. After the first drop the mom lied and told her it was over. Well we could plainly see that it wasn't. There were several more drops left, including on that makes Splash mountain look like a kiddie ride. When we start up for the last drop the girl was completely losing it. At the end of the ride she's screaming " I hate you, I will never trust you again". The parents actually seemed to thing it was very funny.

 

[Planogirl]

Originally posted by Del
Question: What is the full name of the dinosaur ride you all are referring to? I don't think my girls would like that and want to read about it some more/make sure it isn't on the itinerary. Thanks!!

Del

The ride is the old Countdown to Extinction ride which is now simply called Dinosaur. It's located in Animal Kingdom.

Another attraction to consider is It's Tough To Be A Bug. My son was always OK with this one but I saw a lot of kids getting upset.

The only ride I talked my son into riding was The Haunted Mansion. It worried him a little because of the idea of what it COULD be. Once he rode it, we rode it over and over and over... Of course, I would never have forced him to go but a little gentle persuasion is OK IMO.

 

[KAH]

Thanks for all of the great feedback. Guess I will just have to wait and see how each day goes.