My 6yo DS is TERRIFIED of rides!! Can we still have fun?

[kermittheturtle]

I LOVE all your ideas!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my dilemma!! I love the idea about rewarding him for trying a new ride. That just may work for one ride as long as the ride is enjoyable for him and not scary at all and then I might talk him into trying another one and so on ... So what ride do you think I should start with?

He's always been kind of a "scardy cat" about EVERYTHING and does NOT I repeat NOT like to try anything new (food, babysitters,routines, etc...)so I struggle w/ that everyday. I do hope he grows out of it some.Once again Thank you all so very much

TTFN

Kermit

 

[LAinSEA]

MK:
the train (source of transportation - not a ride) take it to the first stop and then get off. The horse drawn trolleys would be another good start - again not a ride but a source of transportation.

Dumbo (allow him to move the ride up and down, if at all) - this ride is not enclosed, not real high in the air, not in the dark and he can watch what it does while in line.

Tea Cups (no spinning allowed, unless he does the spinning)

The Mark Twain - almost source of transportation like the ferries from the TTC

Jungle Cruise - boats are outdoors, its like cruising through a "zoo"

The Merry-go-round - again he can watch what it does before he tries it

AK:

The safari ride (again outdoors - its a "car" through a zoo)

The train to Conservation station (source of transportation)

Dinoland rides - anything he can watch first and isn't too wild

Just some ideas - start with anything that is outdoors, visible from the line, not too different from a source of transportation and work from there.

 

[Twigs]

Someone in an earlier post mentioned to go on Small World first. I definately agree with that, it is slow moving and brightly lit. When twin DS's were 4 we went in Haunted Mansion as they were very eager to do this from seeing scenes of it on a Disney Halloween video they had. Well, they freaked out in the stretching room and would not go on anything dark after that. I asked the CM's before a ride how dark it was. But they did love the shows, Small World, the jungle cruise, the speedway was a big favorite and the one they loved the best was Buzz Lightyear. We couldn't get them off of this one, I can't count the number of times we went on it! All of the playgorund attractions at the park were also big hits when they were young - Tom Sawyer Island, AK's boneyard, MGM's Honey I shrunk the kids playground. Ak's safari ride although a bumpy ride, isn't scary, I would be careful with It's tough to be a Bug, it is a show, but it is loud and intense, my kids tolerated it, but weren't thrilled with it when they were young(now they love it) you might want to feel him out about this one. At MGM we did child swap for Star Tours, one of my sons went on with DH and the CM let my other son watch them on his monitor, so he got to see them for the enite ride while we were outside, and he decided to try it afterwards. They were fine with most of the attractions at EPCOT, though we did stay away from Malesrom in Norway. I too didn't force them to go on anything they thought they wouldn't like, and when it was something DH and I wanted to do we did the cild swap so everyone was happy.

 

[jann1033]

Tom Sawyer island is fun, my kids always loved the floating bridge ,but the cave is very dark and scary... you can use an alernate exit.

 

[drcmk]

Every kid is different. The one ride that my 7yo rode when she was 4yo but absolutely REFUSES to ride again is Small Word. She says she is afraid of one of the dolls she saw (a Sphinx, she says) and she still talks about how scary that ride was.

My kids are still ride-shy and there are lots that I won't even try with them. But I have told them that since they are older this time (5&7), they do need to make some compromises and do a few things that Dad and I would like and that they probably will enjoy too, if they give it a chance. The two rides that they are wary of, but I am insisting on this time are the Haunted Mansion and Star Tours. If we get to go on anything else that has a height restriction, it will be an unexpected bonus.

 

[jann1033]

you are right, every one is different, I can tack a zero on to your 5 year old's age and still hate HM and IASW ( first one creepy, second one is probably how all those dead people got in the HM...they went on iasw and were bored to death or did them selves in to escape that song)

 

[kermittheturtle]

Once Again.. You all are the BEST!!

We will be at AK first so we will probably start w/ the safari and then I will let him decide on one he feels comfortable with. The child swap thing will work great!! If I had known about it my MIL would be staying home!!! (Just kidding)

Jann1033, You crack me up!! Maybe we will just skip IASW!!


Thanks Again!!!

Kermit

 

[MKFan]

We are driving down tonight but last time we flew down our pediatrician recommended Giving Nightime Triaminic to our kids (we had 4 under 6years) 1hour before we were to board the plane and worked like a charm the younger 2 slept through it all and the older 2 were calm and relaxed.

Also some dramamine may help calm his nerves at the parks.

Sometimes it is the fear of the unknown or not being able to control what is happening.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

Just a warning to be careful with the dramamine. It always makes my DS sleepy, grumpy and zaps all his energy. He loves all the rides but will get sick on many of them. We are declairng a a non dramamine trip this year and using sea bands, ginger, and the anti-nausa syrup.

It's a good idea to try any medication at home before giving it to your child on vacation. What reacts one way on some children, may react very differenty on another child. I learned this the hard way several times!! Guess i am a slow learner!!!

Good luck.


jordan's mom

 

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by MKFan
We are driving down tonight but last time we flew down our pediatrician recommended Giving Nightime Triaminic to our kids (we had 4 under 6years) 1hour before we were to board the plane and worked like a charm the younger 2 slept through it all and the older 2 were calm and relaxed.

Also some dramamine may help calm his nerves at the parks.

Sometimes it is the fear of the unknown or not being able to control what is happening.
GOOD LUCK!!!!!

I have to respectfully disagree here, although I am sure you meant to be helpful I would never medicate my children unnecessarily. Even a night time cold medicine can make a child hyper or casue a child to suffer other potential side effects. Dramamine can make a child very sleepy (not good for a day at the parks) or very hyper as well. There are so many risks and side effects even with OTC medicines that you should be very sure of the symptems and side effects when a child is ill and avoid them when a child is well.

I also thing think, although you probably didn't mean this, that we are teaching our children to medicate themselves instead of addressing the problem.

In the OP's case it seems her 6yo can understand the situation and behave appropriately on the airplane. Activites and appropriate snacks and drinks will help keep children happy and well behaved.

I also think that the OP can keep her child entertained and happy in the parks while addressing his fears without dramamine. Sorry if this is a bit long but as you can see its a "peeve" of mine.

ITA about the fear of the unknown and lack of control. Again I think the OP has some great ideas about how to prepare her son and give him as much control as she can.

TJ

 

[daannzzz]

My nephew went to Disneyland when he was 3 and was taken on most everything. The next year, at 4 he was terrified of everything and would only do the Steamboat and Jungle Cruise. He loved all the characters though. But for some reason he was interested in the Submarine and waited in line and and was so excited he didn't want any help going dow the stairs. You would be surprised at some things the kids end up wanting to do. He has been 2 times more and will do a few more things but doesn't do Pirates or Haunted mansion of Peter Pan. He is 11 this year and we are going down for Christmas. He made a trade with his grandma that if she held his pet rat and pet snake that eh would go on any ride of her choosing. She has held the pets but he is already backing out of the deal! He seems to be more afraind of being afraind than of the actual things in the rides.