Matterhorn for 3.5 year old?

[maddiesmommie]

Just wondering how my 3.5 year old will react to matterhorn.. he is well over the height requirement....anyone else take someone this young?

 

[abookworm]

I'd say no. It starts out very dark, it's an extremely jerky fast ride with loud "howling" or "roaring" noises from the snow monsters that may scare him when he sees them with their red glowing eyes. They are in there 2 or 3 times.
It scared my 5 yr old DD and she rode with her head buried in my arm. My 8 yr old wasn't scared but he didn't like it much.
There was a little boy of about 3 or 4 yrs coming out after us crying. I felt bad for him.
just my .05

 

[figment_jii]

It would probably depend on your child. I had a cousin, who was probably about 4, that took one look at it and refused to get on. You might start with something smaller (like Gadget's Go Coaster) and see how he likes that before taking him on the Matterhorn (I remember the glowing eyes scaring me when I was younger).

 

[azmomma]

I'd definitely agree, it depends on the child. I took my son at 3.5 on the Matterhorn and other than the beginning he didn't mind it. In fact he talks about the "scary monster" but not in a bad way and said he wants to go on it again when we go back next month.

 

[UtahMama]

I took my 2 1/2 year old who is a few inches taller than the ride requires on it and she LOVED it!!!!!! She wanted to go again and again!

It depends on the kid!!! Some kids freak on Snow White or Dumbo...

She loved the "mominal" snowman! There were lots of little ones a little bigger than Norah and they all loved it (at the time I was there)

 

[familyoffiveAZ]

This is one ride none of us have ever been on but I might like to try on our next visit. How does seating work? Can I fit one adult and two small kids in one seat or is it strictly one adult, one small child to a seat? Could I safely put a 6yo and 4yo in one seat together? Also how does child swap work on this ride?

 

[bumbershoot]

I recently asked almost the same question on another board, when I realized that my not-yet-3 year old is almost 38 inches AND found out about the height requirement on the ride. Some said yes, some said no (seemed to match up if their kiddo liked it or not), most said "depends on the child". I'd add, it depends on the kid's mood at that minute, which I've figured out over months of figuring out why my brave boy started falling apart in line at the Halloween-theme Haunted Mansion (tired, tired, people screaming at the top of their lungs in the stretching room, and more of being tired).

Since the height is only 35 inches, that does indicate they are cool with a younger kid. I was told elsewhere that the original limit on the ride was 3 years, but there were parents lying about much obviously younger children, so they put in the height restriction instead. That's what I was told, at least.

I have NO idea if this will be useful, but I noticed that the attraction page for the Matterhorn on disneyland.com has a little quicktime movie of the ride. Maybe 5 seconds, but it shows the jittery ride, shows a little bit of what the speed is, and it shows "Harold" (what I've been told his name is!) the yeti/abominable snowman. I've been showing it to DS every so often, to sort of familiarize him with it, while explaining that it's MUCH bigger than that. Again, I don't know if it will help with us, or with anyone else, but it's something I'm using to sort of familiarize him with it, just in case he seems in a brave mood when we're near the ride.

 

[JennyW]

Our 2 1/2 year old son loved it, too! It's all in the kind of kid you have and the attitude you take. If you say to them, "Now, don't be scared!" of course they'll be scared. If you say, "Wow, this is so much fun!" the kid might take a more positive attitude.

 

[jensmom]

Our DD was 6 when we first went on the Matterhorn with her. We told her that there was a giant snowman inside and he had a bad toothache just like the abominable snowman in Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. We told her he would be howling in pain because of his tooth. Worked for her!

So, every time we went back she would say, "I want to go on the toothache ride." People used to look at us kinda funny

Oh, and Space Mountain is the Cookie Ride, but that's another story

 

[AskTheChief]

My then three year old LOVED it. It was probably one of his favorite rides (that was our first trip). He wasn't the bravest kid at that age either.

 

[Dukland]

My 2.5 year old ds liked it last summer, but my6 5.5 year old dd was scared of it. So it definitely depends on the child. I agree with taking him on other dark rides first, like Mr Toad's Wild Ride, and see if anything there scares him.

 

[TeamTnC]

I agree with everyone else. My DD (3) LOVED it, but my DS (5) was scared to death afterwards. He still two years later talks about it. He said he will not ride it again when we go in July. But who knows, things change. Just make sure they know what to expect.

 

[cruiser2two]

I agree, it depends on your child. We were there last week with my just turned four year old and six year old. Both of them absolutely loved it. The four year old wanted to go again and again. He also loved space mountain. On the other hand, our friends had a 3 1/2 year old girl and she wouldn't dare go on it again. The snowman is what scared her the most, not the speed. Once she went on the Matterhorn it kinda ruined her day and she was too scared to try any other rides after that.

 

[dwelty]

Be aware, if you take them on and they get scared, they may never go on another new ride with you, Once the trust has been broken, it can take a long time to get them to go on another (New) attraction.

 

[NVDisMom]

My kids were a little older we went to DL the first time, But my then 7yo dd loved the Matterhorn, but was scared to death of Snow White. More of a psychological, bad dream kind of ride. We thought we'd start with the Fantasyland rides and work our way up. Oops, should have gone straight for the adrenaline! It made me realize that I should have prepared her for DL with the statement that "Everything in DL is make believe, just like the movies and books." I was a little too late on that one. I was thinking we weren't going to be able to ride anything, but boy was I wrong! She got over it and wanted more of the rollercoasters and such. TOT is her favorite. You just never know. I'd say go for it, prepare him in line(I liked the toothache story...very cute) and let him make the decision. Have fun!

 

[wendypooh22]

I agree with the others that it depends on the kid... Both of my kids LOVED it from the very 1st time... We took them on the right side which is a little slower and they laughed and had their hands in the air in some places.. This is one of their favorite rides and my DS8 is proud that he can ride in a seat by himself while his DB6 has to ride with mom.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

OP, thank you for asking this! I was wondering the same thing. We did not go on this ride on our last trip, and I was thinking about it for our next one. I actually think DS2 (who will be 3 by then) would be fine, but DS6 (then 7) might be a bit nervous. The younger one is not afraid of ANYTHING. Well, except ladybugs.

Since I've never been on the ride, it's hard to say whether it would be scary to either boy, though. (I think I'm going to try the 'toothache' thing!)

 

[HydroGuy]

Yep, it depends on the kid. I took our boys on the Matterhorn for the first time when they were three - and they all liked it. But I remember my youngest keeping his down the entire time.

 

[maddiesmommie]

Y'all.... I have discovered "Youtube"....yes, I know, you are wondering where I have been! Anyway, DS has been watching the matterhorn videos with me, and Big Thunder Mtn RR and Dumbo...he loves it..I think this will help! But I love the Toothache Story, too. I think it is going to work out. We will try Go Gadget, then Big Thunder, and later in the day, Matterhorn!!
(oops, I better check my Unofficial guide to see if that will all work out.......)
We can't wait for our trip!

 

[NAOMIPPB]

I Took Our 3 1/2 Year Old On It Last Year. He Did Not Scream Or Anything, But When We Got Off He Just Said He Did Not Want To Go On It Again. So That Was Fine. I Was Glad He Tried It. We Will Try Again This Year. I Think It Just Depends On The Kid.