My 8 year old would LOVE your opinions...

[RamseyTrio]

Thanks guys My DS has enjoyed reading everything you've had to say

I have to clarify one thing though - we never force him to ride on anything that he doesn't want to go on. If he adamently says "no" we accept and move on. He does need a bit of prodding to do just about everything for the first time though - he's really shy and has PDD tendencies. When we don't prod he gets upset with himself later on for not doing something he said he didn't want to do and has regrets. We've learned that if we can talk him into doing something that we know he'd enjoy doing then he's really happy and proud of himself afterwards - he just beams with excitement.

Thanks for the great info!!!

 

[FanOfStitch]

My son went on TOT for the first time when he was 8. Whenever we try a new ride, I always make a deal with him. Try the ride once, if he doesn't like it, I don't ask him to go on it again. He went on TOT once, and now I can't keep him off of it. For your son's first time, I would suggest asking a CM for the back row in a corner. That's where we sat the first time. Now we like either the front row or the middle back seat.

 

[ChickieToo]

My DD went on TOT last year when she was five. She loved it! We turned around and went again right away. We commemorated the event by buying the photo in POSTER size. Anyway, my husband and I love rollercoasters, and she's a lot like we are, so there was no problem. She wasn't tall enough for RnR so we don't know about that one yet.

TOT happens to be my favorite WDW ride, and I always tell everybody what a hoot it is. Funny things is, I rode Drop Zone at Lake Compounce last year, and it scared the bejeezus out of me (and my sister too) more than TOT ever did.

Tell your son that if he likes Drop Zone, TOT will be a piece of cake. But I am also of the mind that you shouldn't force a kid. (My little daredevel won't get back on POTC--go figure!)

 

[rifamtrav]

My DD's were 5 the first time they did ToT. They would like to pass on the following advice to your DS "its more fun to sit next to Daddy than Mommy, because he's bigger and when puts his arms across your shoulders it acts much more like an anchor and keeps you from getting too airborne. Mommy is too small and her arm doesn't make as good an anchor so we move around too much."

Sorry, all three of mine were below the 48" height requirement the last time so they haven't tried RnR. We're going in Sept. (1st time in 4 yrs) and we were just discussing whether they will try it this time. They're not quite sure yet and I said that's fine. My advice for RnR is when you start, lean your head back against the rest, that way you don't get pushed back by the acceleration!

Good luck, enjoy!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

My 7, almost 8 yr old twins have been going on ToT for a while now. DS liked the ride itself but what scared him a bit when he was younger was the ghostly people that disappeared when the doors to the elevator open, LOL. This year they both loved all of it.

This past January was the first time the kids had made the height requirement for RRC. In two EMH nights we rode 14 times, it's all they wanted to do!! I myself was a bit nervous about it but turns out I liked it a lot too. The members of Aerosmith live near us and we see them around town so the kids got a kick out of the fact that our "neighbors" would have their own attraction at WDW!!

 

[MiJo]

ToT is the coolest ride at WDW! I don't know if EE will surpass it when that opens. And, my DW and I always ride RnR at least twice! If your DS has done those other things, he should have no problem with these two! GO FOR IT!