Magic Kingdom with a fearful/nervous child

[Verstehen]

Hi all,

I'm an Orlando local with an AP. I don't have children yet, so my time at Disney is mostly spent with like-minded adult friends and family who are generally up for anything. Over the past year I've been volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters and have a Little Sister who's just awesome. She's eight, very fun, and has expressed a desire to go to Disney. I wanted to wait to take her until we knew each other better and the weather got cooler, and tomorrow is the day we'll be going to Magic Kingdom. I would have liked more lead time, but with my schedule that's just not always possible, so tomorrow it is!

My issue is that even though she's sweet and awesome and has asked me multiple times to take her to Disney World, she claims she won't actually do any rides because they're too scary. I mean ANY. No Small World, even. I took her to Typhoon Lagoon last summer and she loved the wave pool but the raft slides scared the heck out of her and she started crying. I don't want to make her cry but I do want to encourage her to try new things. In general, she likes sticking to what she likes. She always wants to eat at the same place, for example.

Obviously I'm not her mother, nor am I meant to be, but I'm also encouraged to get her to experience new things. I'm not thinking Big Thunder or anything, but maybe just Buzz Lightyear would be thrilling enough for her.

On the other hand, it's her day, and I'm also trying to prepare myself for the possibility that we may end up just doing characters and shows. She wants to meet the Princesses, and I'm sure Philharmagic would be fine, along with the Laugh Floor.

I guess all this rambling is to say, I feel out of my element and appreciate any experiences people can share about traveling to Disney with a school-age child who is fearful or nervous to try new things!

 

[nco91590]

My daughter is a nervous Nelly and we just started off slowly. Did the carousel, Small World, Peter Pan, Tea Cups (minus all the spinning), Dumbo and met some characters. By the end of our trip she worked her way up to Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion.

Like you said, if she just wants to meet characters and see shows, that's cool too!

And BTW that's pretty awesome of you to get involved with Big Brothers/Big Sisters!

 

[Ceilidhscot]

Have you tried showing her videos of the rides (like small world) so she can see in advance exactly what will happen once she’s sitting down on the ride?

Maybe if she sees (and hears) what’s involved the fear factor will fade.

Good luck

 

[piglet1979]

I agree with the previous post. I would encourage the small rides but don't push too much. Start with the a character or two and try a ride. I would start with ones she can see the full ride. I was never much for rides and used to only ride the ones I see everything so I wasn't surprised. Carousel might be the best and then work up from there. You can also show her videos of rides like a small world while standing in line. Maybe seeing how tame they are will help her.

 

[hllb]

I would focus on outside rides that she can see ahead of time. The problem with indoor ones is that you can't see what's it like while you're waiting. I agree though that videos of the rides might help.

 

[Soarin4us]

I took a 5 year old who was fearful of everything. He loved people mover, small world and Buzz (which he tried after looking at it during 4 peoplemover rides). That's it. But, he had a great day.

2 years later, he was fearless and happily rode everything in all the parks, and he explained his fears: he over-thought it. For instance, on Splash he thought the boats went under water like a submarine, into a real briar patch. You never know what's going on in a kid's head. Just roll with it and enjoy the day. You're giving her a wonderful experience!

 

[sponica]

I took a 5 year old who was fearful of everything. He loved people mover, small world and Buzz (which he tried after looking at it during 4 peoplemover rides). That's it. But, he had a great day.

2 years later, he was fearless and happily rode everything in all the parks, and he explained his fears: he over-thought it. For instance, on Splash he thought the boats went under water like a submarine, into a real briar patch. You never know what's going on in a kid's head. Just roll with it and enjoy the day. You're giving her a wonderful experience!

I feel like this is a common theme with that ride, where kids thing the big drop ends under water and they try to hold their breath or something like that.


ETA: Obviously an 8 year old is too big to put in a laundry basket for practice, but I'd definitely try to figure out what freaks them out about the rides. Or just enjoy the day with characters. Whatever you do I'm sure it will be a blast.

 

[AngiTN]

In this case, I would go and let her drive everything you decide to do, 100%.
Let her spend lots of time watching/observing. Especially the other kids as they come out of the exit of the rides and let her see how happy they are.
Stay away from all the rides that go through the dark, unless she changes her mind drastically during the trip. If she thinks she may want to try a coaster, walk back and watch Barnstormer.
Thankfully, there are quite a lot of things that y'all can do that aren't rides.
Videos are a great idea but I really think, letting her see the kids in action in the park may also help a lot. Seeing kids aren't afraid will go far. If she's never seen Disney or anything similar she may not realize just how tame most of the rides are

 

[kj2mom]

You are awesome for being a Big Sister and taking her to Magic Kingdom! My first thought was the videos. Maybe while waiting in line for a character or show you could show her IASW, for example, and see what she says. If she still says no then I would continue on with what she is requesting but you never know, it might open a whole new world for her! Whatever you do tomorrow, I hope you enjoy your time together! I am sure she is going to treasure every second whatever it is you are doing!!

 

[BrianL]

I agree with most here in thinking you should let her do what she wants to do. You can always offer a mild ride as you pass by. Just ask "This is it's a small world. Would you like to do that?" Don't put any pressure on her. Who knows? She may decide she wants to give something a shot. Either way you're going to have a great day and a lot of fun! Enjoy.

 

[Bete]

Don't forget the Halls of President which is now open again. Maybe, you can get her on the Steamboat. Go to Tom Sawyer's Island, too.

You've got the parade and there's street entertainment like the barbershop quartet.

Is she actually scared of the ride or is she scared of what she sees? If she's scared of the actual ride then I would try to convince her that Disney could not afford to be sued all the time if someone got hurt on their rides all the time. Show her all the people waiting to get on the ride as an indicator that the ride is safe.

Furthermore, maybe get into a reward system. Like if you ride this ride then you get a dollar. If she rides a very daring ride maybe two dollars. If she has a favorite candy use it to your advantage. Bribe her with an ice cream or whatever. Sometimes rewards can overcome issues.

 

[Verstehen]

Is she actually scared of the ride or is she scared of what she sees? If she's scared of the actual ride then I would try to convince her that Disney could not afford to be sued all the time if someone got hurt on their rides all the time. Show her all the people waiting to get on the ride as an indicator that the ride is safe.

At Typhoon Lagoon specifically it was the tunnel. She wasn't scared of the waves, so I'm guessing it was because she could see them. She would have been happy to spend her whole night there, with just a couple of stops at that kiddie slide to the left of the wave pool.

 

[Elleshoodat]

First, it's so generous of you to give your time to your Little Sister. I'm sure she appreciates all of the experiences, as well as the friendship.

She sounds similar to my oldest, who on his first few trips to the parks wanted nothing to do with ANY rides or characters. What he did enjoy was the play areas, so that's what we focused on. We are fairly local, too, so we're able to visit several times a year, and gradually he's grown to enjoy the character meets and rides -- in fact, he's become quite the daredevil!

Given our experiences, my advice is to let her take the lead, try to expose her to as many outdoor attractions as possible and take it slowly. This is what worked for us.

Good luck!

 

[Magpie]

At Typhoon Lagoon specifically it was the tunnel. She wasn't scared of the waves, so I'm guessing it was because she could see them. She would have been happy to spend her whole night there, with just a couple of stops at that kiddie slide to the left of the wave pool.

Personally, I wouldn't try to get her on Buzz yet. The music as you're going in is very martial and ramps up the tension, plus she won't be able to see what the ride is like before she gets on.

Walk around and look at things. Talk to her about trying them, but don't push. Start with something she can see - like (edit: not the Peoplemover, it has a dark tunnel part) Aladdin or Dumbo. And check out characters and shows and the afternoon parade and castle stage show. Explore Tom Sawyer Island together! Did you know there's a "secret" tunnel exit from the fort? See if you can find it.

If she's the kind of kid who likes to just settle in somewhere and hang out, then you may find yourself spending a lot of time in the splash pad or on Tom Sawyer's Island. And that's fine! This is her special day, so make it fun.

A related story for you....

The first time my mum took me to the beach, I was SO excited. So, she assumed I'd jump right into the waves. I didn't. I looked at the water, decided it was way too scary, and happily settled down to play in the sand at the water's edge. After a little while, and after having failed to convince me to get into the water, my mother got bored and decided we were wasting our time and should go back to our friend's house (where we were staying). I got upset. I didn't want to go. She said, "If you get in the water, then we'll stay. Otherwise, we're going!" I melted down and started screaming. She ended up carrying me back to the house, under her arm, like a very loud and weepy sack of potatoes.

I don't know why she couldn't have just read her book and let me play on the edge of the water. To this day, she complains that she'd brought me all the way out to the shore (we lived in Trenton, New Jersey, and she was a single working mum) and I wouldn't get in the water. Like I was deliberately being ungrateful, or something!

Eventually, I did learn to love swimming in the surf. But, it took a few visits. And, having raised two kids of my own to adulthood now, I'm quite certain that pushing me did nothing to speed up the process. In fact, I think everything my mum did only made me dig my heels in, slow down, and take longer about it. With my own kids, I learned to go with the flow. Ask myself, is this really important? Does the kid HAVE to get in the water to justify the trouble and expense of coming all the way out to the shore, or can we have just as nice a time sitting on the beach and playing with hermit crabs?

 

[scrappinginontario]

I think starting with things like the Carousel, Teacups, Dumbo, Speedway, Aladdin are great ideas. My only concern with the People Mover and Buzz are that they are in the dark. She might be ready for them part way through the day but possibly not at the beginning.

My parents took my 6yo brother on Pirates at the beginning of our trip and that was it. He was done for all water rides! (Mind you, this was 40 years ago so nobody knew what we were in for.)

Anyway, I agree with videos if you're able to show her, choosing rides you can fully see and then letting her lead the way. She might enjoy Swiss Family Treehouse if heights are okay with her.

 

[acwsmom]

DD had severe anxiety problems when we first took her to WDW at age 6. She hyperventilated at Chef Mickeys because she was scared of the characters, and on the Jungle Cruise because she thought the animals were real. We didn't even attempt big rides. The only rides she was really willing to try were the teacups, Small World, and the Carousel. The second time we went, a year later, we used the trick of showing her YouTube videos for all of the rides. We also stood outside each ride and gave her time to think about it and watch people getting on and off and enjoying the ride. Once she could process that it wasn't hurting others and everyone enjoyed it, she was usually ready to ride. The first trip I pressured her too much to try things and the second trip gave her space to think about it and make the decision on what she wanted to ride, and that made a HUGE difference! Definitely show her the map, show her some videos and let her guide you around to what she wants to do. It'll make for a slow day for you, but it'll mean the world to her!

 

[disneyvoice]

It's so great that you are a Big Sister!!! What an awesome thing to do!

If she is open to the idea I would show her videos of the tamest rides at WDW. Let her see what the ride is like before riding. For many kids with fears of the rides, it's really the fear of the unknown that concerns them. Then maybe start her out with shows, not actual rides. Like the Country Bear Jamboree, Tiki Room, and Carousel of Progress (you can point out how the building moves from outside). Mickey's Philharmonic might be a bit intense if she is really nervous because of the 3D. The Liberty Boat might be a good ride to start with. She can watch other people ride it first so she will know what to expect. If you show her a video of a ride as you come it you can let her decide if she would like to give it a try.

I was always afraid of rides I hadn't been on before when I was young because I hated any rides that had a drop, no matter how small. So my parents used to ask the CMs to describe the ride to me and would ask if there were ANY kinds of drops. It took me a long time to get up the courage to ride Pirates because of the drop - even though it was always explained to me as very small. Looking back I think the CMs did a great job of encouraging me to give a ride a try without pressuring me at all and were very kind and understanding when I was still too scared.

There is so much to see and do at MK even if she decides not to ride anything. She might have fun watching people on the rides - I used to love to watch people on Thunder Mountain even though the thought of getting on it myself scared me to death. There are the various performers on Main Street and the afternoon parade, character meet and greets, walking through the shops, having lunch, getting a snack. Maybe you could get her a starter pack and lanyard for pin trading and she could spend time trading pins with the CMs. There is the Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom game. The Pirate Show in Adventure Land. Do you have the Hidden Mickey App? You could search for Hidden Mickey's together.

I'm sure no matter what she decides to do she will have a wonderful time with you. It warms my heart that this little girl has someone who cares about her as much as you clearly do to introduce her to the joy of Magic Kingdom! Have a great time and please report back to let us know how it went!

 

[glvsav37]

If she has fears of dark areas....My daughter was very scared of anything dark, even remotely dark. So for the next trip we went to the $1 store and bought some glow bracelets. We called them 'magic bracelets' and whenever we went on a dark ride, we made sure both she had one or 2 on and so did we. They were bright enough that she could see that were were right there with her but not so much that they ruined anyone else experience around us. If she was ever too scared she could just look down at her bracelets and avoid anything on the ride.

 

[skyblue17]

Agree that you should just let her lead the day, based on what she observes and might find intriguing. You'll have a great day just walking around the park and looking at everything, in the stores, the parades, the characters, etc. If she does decide to try a ride, something that she can see is likely best. The carousel, the tea cups, Aladdin, etc. I'd stay away from anything that goes dark, including Pooh, Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, even Small World. It doesn't matter that the ride itself is smooth and not thrilling, it gets SO dark in there even I, an adult who isn't afraid of the dark, can totally sympathize with why some kids are terrified by otherwise harmless rides. There's a lot of stimulation even in the slowest, calmest rides so finding anything that is more simple and "what you see is what you get" is probably best. Have a great time, it sounds like she is a great kid!

 

[AngiTN]

Until you know just what it is that she's unsure of, don't do People Mover. Yes it's tame but it does go in to total darkness. That segment inside Space Mountain could really scare her, if it's screaming and dark/loud that she finds intimidating. I think you'll get a handle on her thoughts regarding rides after a pretty short time in the park. Then you'll know more about what is a go or a no go.