Preparing Kids for "scary rides"

[DisneyMama811]

How do you all prepare younger kids for potentially scary rides? I'm trying to think of a balance between emphasizing how much fun the rides are and trying new things but at the same time feel like it's important to prepare them for things that might be a bit scary

for example because I know my kids I'm pretty confident in saying my oldest will probably be ok on ToT but I think my youngest would be really scared. I don't want to just assume that and not let her ride but I also don't want to traumatize her you know what I mean??

we have been watching lots of ride videos on YouTube but a video just can't convey that weightless feeling as you plummet on ToT or that absolutely gut dropping feeling as you reach the top of Splash Mountain

 

[DisneyMama811]

I should add - we are hoping to go in February at which point the kids will be 5 and 7

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

I’m not sure how to “prepare” them other than watching the videos and talking about it, and gauging their reactions while in line.

I wanted to chime in that my daughter who is typically pretty calm and cautious LOVES thrill rides. We were shocked! She was 4 on her first trip to WDW and I was prepared for her to maybe ride the Barnstormer. She ended up riding 7DMT with her hands up in the air! And she can’t wait to ride ToT as soon as she is tall enough. Kids can surprise you, I definitely thought my daughter would be timid about rides but it turns out she’s a roller coaster queen!

 

[DisneyMama811]

I’m not sure how to “prepare” them other than watching the videos and talking about it, and gauging their reactions while in line.

I wanted to chime in that my daughter who is typically pretty calm and cautious LOVES thrill rides. We were shocked! She was 4 on her first trip to WDW and I was prepared for her to maybe ride the Barnstormer. She ended up riding 7DMT with her hands up in the air! And she can’t wait to ride ToT as soon as she is tall enough. Kids can surprise you, I definitely thought my daughter would be timid about rides but it turns out she’s a roller coaster queen!

this is encouraging to hear!! my youngest is already telling me she wants to sit with Daddy on HM so she can hide her face in his shirt haha. hopefully she will change her mind as she gets a bit older.

I vividly remember being 8 on my first ever trip to WDW and keeping my face buried in my dad's shirt on Snow White's Scary Adventures... that witch!! I'm not sad it's gone lol

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

this is encouraging to hear!! my youngest is already telling me she wants to sit with Daddy on HM so she can hide her face in his shirt haha. hopefully she will change her mind as she gets a bit older.

I vividly remember being 8 on my first ever trip to WDW and keeping my face buried in my dad's shirt on Snow White's Scary Adventures... that witch!! I'm not sad it's gone lol

Haha I was five and still recall the pure terror of Snow White’s Scary Adventures! Yeah with my daughter I honestly would not have predicted that she’d love thrill rides. She is usually cautious and can be anxious sometimes. It has been a joy to see her let loose on a roller coaster we went to an amusement park when she was 5 and she asked to wait in the extra line so she could sit in the very front row of an inverted coaster

 

[Betty Rohrer]

How do you all prepare younger kids for potentially scary rides? I'm trying to think of a balance between emphasizing how much fun the rides are and trying new things but at the same time feel like it's important to prepare them for things that might be a bit scary

for example because I know my kids I'm pretty confident in saying my oldest will probably be ok on ToT but I think my youngest would be really scared. I don't want to just assume that and not let her ride but I also don't want to traumatize her you know what I mean??

we have been watching lots of ride videos on YouTube but a video just can't convey that weightless feeling as you plummet on ToT or that absolutely gut dropping feeling as you reach the top of Splash Mountain

you never know how kids will react to any ride. had a grandson who was 4 at time of trip who thought TOT was the best ride of the trip. he called it an indoor "Frog Hopper" which is a kiddie ride at our local park. which was one of his favorites at the time. he cared nothing about the story leading up to the ride he just put up with that so he could ride. he hated Haunted Mansion that trip too boring. second favorite of trip was Dino. do you have any local parks with a kiddie drop ride, if so how do they do on that

 

[Timandalicia]

How do you all prepare younger kids for potentially scary rides? I'm trying to think of a balance between emphasizing how much fun the rides are and trying new things but at the same time feel like it's important to prepare them for things that might be a bit scary

for example because I know my kids I'm pretty confident in saying my oldest will probably be ok on ToT but I think my youngest would be really scared. I don't want to just assume that and not let her ride but I also don't want to traumatize her you know what I mean??

we have been watching lots of ride videos on YouTube but a video just can't convey that weightless feeling as you plummet on ToT or that absolutely gut dropping feeling as you reach the top of Splash Mountain

Try using this term- “pretend scary”

I have 3 kids that are older now. Leaving Tower of Terror up to them was a big mistake for us. They sucked it up and it sucked. The other 2 big attractions to watch out for is Dinosaur and Tough to be a Bug. When my daughter was 5 she begged to go on Expedition Everest yet was terrified of Tough to be a Bug.

 

[Timandalicia]

you never know how kids will react to any ride. had a grandson who was 4 at time of trip who thought TOT was the best ride of the trip. he called it an indoor "Frog Hopper" which is a kiddie ride at our local park. which was one of his favorites at the time. he cared nothing about the story leading up to the ride he just put up with that so he could ride. he hated Haunted Mansion that trip too boring. second favorite of trip was Dino. do you have any local parks with a kiddie drop ride, if so how do they do on that

Lol so true. All depends. I just finished posting what they didn’t like. Yet they couldn’t get on the rollercoasters soon enough.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

Lol so true. All depends. I just finished posting what they didn’t like. Yet they couldn’t get on the rollercoasters soon enough.

as I said he called TOT an indoor Frog Hopper which only one adult can ride at a time with 6 kids which he loved at local park. other than being a drop ride nothing like TOT. people riding with us thought I was crazy "making" him ride. line happened to be short that day I think we circled it 3 times till I couldnt take it any more

 

[DisneyMama811]

you never know how kids will react to any ride. had a grandson who was 4 at time of trip who thought TOT was the best ride of the trip. he called it an indoor "Frog Hopper" which is a kiddie ride at our local park. which was one of his favorites at the time. he cared nothing about the story leading up to the ride he just put up with that so he could ride. he hated Haunted Mansion that trip too boring. second favorite of trip was Dino. do you have any local parks with a kiddie drop ride, if so how do they do on that

unfortunately we don't have a theme park near by, we live in a very small town a few hours east of Toronto Ontario. there is a fairly big amusement park called Canada's Wonderland (not big by Disney standards but maybe like a six flags?) a few hours away, we had planned to go last summer but then...well I'm sure you can imagine how that turned...so we are hoping to go this coming summer... she's been on a few spinning tea cup type rides at local fairs but that was pre covid when she was too small for anything more intense. thank you for your great feedback

 

[Betty Rohrer]

unfortunately we don't have a theme park near by, we live in a very small town a few hours east of Toronto Ontario. there is a fairly big amusement park called Canada's Wonderland (not big by Disney standards but maybe like a six flags?) a few hours away, we had planned to go last summer but then...well I'm sure you can imagine how that turned...so we are hoping to go this coming summer... she's been on a few spinning tea cup type rides at local fairs but that was pre covid when she was too small for anything more intense. thank you for your great feedback

I work at a small park in Lancaster, Pa. Check out Dutch Wonderland you might see a picture of Frog Hopper, not the circle frog ride. wish you lived closer to me as this would be a great park to try them out on. we are smaller than 6 Flags and your guys are the right age for us. I do know the park you mentioned and that would be a good start for your guys. good luck

 

[Olaf Myfrenzargay]

Haunted Mansion was way too scary for mine when they were 7. Tower of Terror too.

I have more than a few ride pics with little kids behind us with looks of sheer terror on their faces as their parents seem oblivious.

 

[unrequited23]

OP, I feel like you've prepared your kids the best you can with ride videos. Also, remind them that they can change their mind anytime in line before they get on the ride. When my oldest was 5, we had to bail after the stretching room because he was too freaked out.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

How do you all prepare younger kids for potentially scary rides? I'm trying to think of a balance between emphasizing how much fun the rides are and trying new things but at the same time feel like it's important to prepare them for things that might be a bit scary

for example because I know my kids I'm pretty confident in saying my oldest will probably be ok on ToT but I think my youngest would be really scared. I don't want to just assume that and not let her ride but I also don't want to traumatize her you know what I mean??

we have been watching lots of ride videos on YouTube but a video just can't convey that weightless feeling as you plummet on ToT or that absolutely gut dropping feeling as you reach the top of Splash Mountain

We didn't really do any prep work for our kids and some rides they were blindsided and others like TOT, it was tears until they rode it and then loved it. I think it just depends. And our braver ride child still doesn't do certain rides while my not as brave ride child will, so ir really just depends. I never forced my kids to ride anything they didn't want to, we always gave them the choice to duck out even if we were in line already and let them know that's ok.

We always keep pretty calm (even though I'm a baby and am crying on the inside from fear) and I think our girls kind of modeled that behavior for most rides. Now that they're older, we all scream and freak out together.

 

[scrappinginontario]

For the 'scary' portion, I gear it by how she reacts to movies, tv shows, etc. My daughter who loves thrill rides often doesn't like the scare factor so I take that into consideration. While she started riding Big Thunder Mountain at age 3 and Expedition Everest at age 4, at 12 she still will not ride Haunted Mansion or Tower of Terror due to the story lines and I respect that. As much as I know HM isn't scary, to her it is so I let her make that call.

 

[MickeyMouse3!]

How do you all prepare younger kids for potentially scary rides? I'm trying to think of a balance between emphasizing how much fun the rides are and trying new things but at the same time feel like it's important to prepare them for things that might be a bit scary

for example because I know my kids I'm pretty confident in saying my oldest will probably be ok on ToT but I think my youngest would be really scared. I don't want to just assume that and not let her ride but I also don't want to traumatize her you know what I mean??

we have been watching lots of ride videos on YouTube but a video just can't convey that weightless feeling as you plummet on ToT or that absolutely gut dropping feeling as you reach the top of Splash Mountain

On our first trip with our kids, we kept telling them, "There may be things in here that will scare you, but nothing will hurt you." This seemed to work really well for 4 & 6 year olds. We even laughed at some of the scarier things to calm them a bit more. We are taking our 5 year old GD to WDW in two weeks and will use this same phrase on her.

 

[Rory607]

First, don’t force them to ride anything if they’re saying no. Start with smaller rides and work your way up. Once they’ve ridden a few things you will have a sense of what they can handle.

We try to be upfront and honest and let them judge if they want to try it. I hate big rollercoasters and all my life people have tried to force me on them. I would never do that to anyone else. My oldest will try most roller coasters and I’m glad she’s braver than me, lol.

Our kids just rode Haunted Mansion for the first time at 9 and 5. I remember being terrified of it as a kid, but they loved it! However, my DS absolutely hates Pirates because of the initial drop. He hates that the drop is in the dark and refuses to try it again. It’s my favorite ride, so we just take turns (Ironically, he loves the Pirates movies).

 

[CheshKAT]

Hey fellow Canadian here I'm not sure if you know that Canada's Wonderland has about 25 safe rides for "littles" and most of the other rides are pretty thrilling to total craziness We took our 3 1/2 and 5 year old to Six Flags Darian Lake in NY to get them used to an amusement park. They also have a great selection of kiddy rides and older more thrilling rides to try out. The following January we headed for Disney. For the bigger rides, we let them stay in the queue with us as far as they wanted to go. If it was a no at any point, one of the adults exited with them before the actual ride or we did rider swap. We never demanded they stay in the line. I'm positive you will all have a great time. *O*

 

[DisneyMama811]

thank you everyone for all of your advice so far! you make me feel so welcome. this is a special community

 

[Edeyore]

As a parent of two children, they are now grown up, don't take kids on scary rides. If you consider the ride to be scary why put them through that.
A trip to Disney is supposed to be fun. Unless they enjoy being scared don't do it. If it is a ride you just have to go on, switch off with your spouse
and each ride as single riders.