Ride strategy for 3yo

[boscov]

Hey everyone,
So we are getting down to the wire here for our next vacation. We are VERY excited! My question is, we are going with my 8yo(DD) and 3yo(DD) and I wanted to see what rides you all thought would be appropriate or inappropriate for my 3yo. She is approaching 40" in height and I see that a lot of rides open up at that height, but I wasn't sure if they might be too scary for her. I don't want to be that dad that has a screaming kid on a ride. So, help me out. What do you think? Here is a list of my concerned rides:

Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Soarin
Test Track
Dinosaur
Kali River Rapids

I already nixed Tower of Terror, that would freak her out, but she is fairly adventurous for her age. I know she would love to do rides with her sister, so I don't want her to miss out on much if she doesn't have to. Thanks for your input!

 

[Alesia]

The only one I would worry about is Dinosaur, mostly because it's dark, loud, and the dinosaurs are pretty realistic. I recommend showing her a youtube video and seeing how she feels about it.

 

[sherezada]

I just showed my 5-yr old (who usually LOVES anything with dinosaurs) the DINOSAURS ride POV video on youtube and he said no, he doesn't want to go because it will scare him. So I'd say nix DINOSAURS.
My plan in terms of thrill rides is to take him to 7DMT with us and see how he reacts. If he enjoys it the we will consider other thrill rides. Otherwise we'll skip them on this trip.

 

[tlmadden73]

I would think that 3 year olds are blissfully ignorant of the "scariness" of thrill rides.
I was scared to go on Big Thunder Mountain when I was like 8 years old (but my dad dragged me on it anyway) and I am not sure why .. the noise? The speed?

Just depends on your child I guess.

I would think that Dinosaur would be too scary .. the rest may be okay (though there may be some crying afterwards on Splash Mountain as that big drop may just frighten them as it happens)

I would also probably avoid things like Haunted Mansion and Pirates as those are "creepy" scary which could be more jarring to a 3 year old than a plummet down a mountain.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I have always taken my child to a ride when they were tall enough. I let them dictate if they are ready. So far, all rides have been tried without incident.

Of what you listed, some people freak about big drops like on Splash Mountain. My brother was one of them. He declined to ride and we finally did get him to ride and he still hyperventilated. But he did Thunder Mountain just fine which has more twists and turns.

Soarin', to me is a non issue unless a child has an exceptional issue with heights.

Test track is a non-issue, IMO. It is merely a convertible doing what cars do on the highway. All our kids have loved it.

Kali--as long as they don't hate water--should be fine. If they don't like getting wet, they will hate this ride. But then again, they may love it.

Dinosaur freaked me out as an adult the first time I rode. (The dinosaur tries to her you at the end.) but either I have been desensitized from so many repeat visited or they tamed it a little bit. It is dark, the vehicle makes a lot of very sudden and jerky movements. I would see that as a big candidate on scare factor for little ones.

TOT is my favorite. I encourage all my kids to ride it with me once. I have only one kid who chose not to do it again and it had to do with her motion sickness. But now she takes Dramamine before heading to the park because she loves thrill rides and has since added that back into her rotation.

 

[cakebaker]

We have a just turned 3yr old who's at the 40" mark. He's pretty adventurous, but more to the roller coaster type rides and not so much dark rides. We also want him where he can sit right next to someone if he gets scared so any ride that he sits by himself is out- TOT is out for the dark, not the drops. He'd love the drops. He was crazy about SDMT last trip so he'll definitely get to try BTMR.

Kids are so funny about what scares them and what doesn't. He would've ridden any coaster they would've let him on, but cried that he was scared getting on IASW. We just take it ride by ride and if he shows any sign he doesn't want to, we don't put him on it. He rode Haunted Mansion last October and still comes running from his room claiming there's ghosts- never showed a sign he didn't want to ride it or that it scared him while he was riding it.

 

[MrInfinity]

My question is, we are going with my 8yo(DD) and 3yo(DD) and I wanted to see what rides you all thought would be appropriate or inappropriate for my 3yo.

Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Soarin
Test Track
Dinosaur
Kali River Rapids

TOT is a good one to nix, as you've done.

At 3 (just turning 4), our DD was the girl screaming... "THIS IS SO AWESOOOMMEE" on Soarin, making everyone's day. So everyone will be different. If she makes the 40" height, she'll probly be fine on the rides. BTM is a good one to try first. If that goes well, press your luck w Space Mtn or Test Track. Kali is not a big deal. Dinosaur is scary, but fun too. It can scare parents more than kids.

If your DD is a younger 3, there is a good chance she won't make the 40"... then Space Mtn, Test Track, and Soarin are moot. I would still start with BTM and Splash and go from there. You haven't mentioned the Mine Train. This should be your first priority. It probly already is, thus you haven't mentioned it.

 

[Cinderella91]

I'd try out 7DMT and take it from there depending on her reaction. I'd avoid Dinosaur though, as it can be really realistic. I wouldn't worry about Haunted Mansion too much my grandmother took me when I was 3 and she told me the ghosts were playing peek-a-boo with me, I loved it. Hope you all have a great time!!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

What are her specific dislikes/fears?

The kids in our family have been pretty much fine riding everything they are tall enough to ride. The best approach in our extended family has been to let each child decide for themselves what they want to ride....with a little encouragement when they are iffy. If you say she has a specific dislike: darkness, loud noises, drops, spinning, or monsters/beasts - then we could help you avoid that specific. WDW is fun! It isn't a place to fear. Truly, compared to many other parks, it is a bit tame.

You know the child better than us.

Of the rides you list, only ToT and Dino are actually mildly scary. I might possibly add It's Tough to Be a Bug. ITtbaB isn't all that scary, but it has spiders, and sometimes the audience gets a bit crazy. When the audience behaves it is not big deal. But sometimes you get a bunch of teens screaming for effect.

Kali isn't scary, unless she is afraid of water. Someone on your raft will get wet. Drenched actually. Odds are slim it will be the lightest person, but she should probably know how to put her face in water/hold her breath to ride.

Here are a few tools everyone can use:
1.) Time: The big drop on splash lasts about 4 seconds. Have her watch and count to four and it is over. There are some smaller drops inside the ride. Also, people scream for a reason. Yelling =exhaling
2.) LOUD: if you know LOUD noises bother her, then some attractions you don't list could bother her. Try earplugs.
3.) Simply closing your eyes is a powerful tool.
4.) Chicken exit - All attractions have a chicken exit. You can ALWAYS go through an attraction queue/pre-ride, then leave before boarding the ride. Even if you KNOW she doesn't want to ride an attraction, the family may want to do the preshow together if she is tall enough.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Years ago, we rode pirates in Paris. The Paris version is a bit stronger than the WDW one. It starts with a big roller coaster-type hill. The young girl behind us cried though the whole first half of the ride, while her parents talked her through it. Slowly, she calmed down. She even started pointing out details she saw.

Near the end though, the girl started bawling loudly!

So her concerned parents asked, "What is wrong? What is scaring you?" They assumed the problem was a skeleton.

Her answer, "No it's not that. I'm crying because I can see the end of the ride, and I don't want it to be over yet!"
Go figure!

 

[boscov]

I will say, we took her when she was 1.5yo and she went on Pirates just fine. She had a minor issue with the cannon balls, but other than that fine. She normally is pretty daring. I showed her Thunder Mountain and she almost got upset that she couldn't ride it. I'm most concerned with Dinosaur and Splash Mountain. I think she'll be fine with Splash for the most part. She LOVES dinosaurs, but I think it may be a bit too scary for her. My thoughts were, we'd try Barnstormer, 7DMT and just keep bumping it up from there.

 

[k_null81]

My twin boys were just shy of turning 5 when we went last May and were right at the 40 inch mark. We rode everything including Tower of Terror and Dinosaur. Neither of them liked Dinosaur and one claimed he didn't like TOT but said he would ride it again. Fingers crossed they will be tall enough to ride Expedition Everest this coming May as they were upset our past 2 visits because they weren't tall enough.

 

[Meech Loves Mickey]

I might be in the minority here, but as long as your 3 yo DD fits the height requirement, then I say take her on all of them. Kids take their cues from the adults and other people around them and if you act scared or act like she should be scared, then she probably will be. I would not worry about her screaming on a ride, people scream on rides all the time, especially thrill rides.

If she meets the height requirement, she will be physically safe. If she does get scared, then it would only be for a few minutes.
(Ride length time can be found here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/ridelength.htm )

Obviously you know your child best and you should use your judgement.

 

[ghtx]

Dinosaur is the scariest ride in all of WDW so I would caution against that one. As for the others, if she is tall enough and willing, I would try them out.

For the coasters, the rule of thumb has always been to start them off on Barnstormer, then move on to Big Thunder. I haven't yet been on the Mine Train, but that one might fall in between those other two.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

My oldest was 3 when she first rode Space Mountain and loved it. However, she's 19 now and is still terrified of Dinosaur. The only thing we wouldn't let her do at a young age was Alien Encounter. You don't have to worry about that one any more.

 

[DisneyFive]

Well, I can tell you what not to do with OUR 3 year old… Splash Mountain!!!


He was JUST tall enough, and it was his very first ride at any Disney park. We arrived to MK early and went straight to Frontierland and BTMRR; rode that a few time while he stayed in the stroller. (We swapped who watched him.)


Well, we decide that we wanted to get a family photo in the log going down the drop on Splash Mountain, so we bring him along. We thought he would be o.k. with it. BAD MOVE. You see, the problem with Splash Mountain is that it is tame the entire ride, until near the end with the big drop. So, he was shocked/quiet after the ride, but wasn't crying at all.


…but then, for the next four park days at least, he would FREAK OUT crying when trying to get him on ANY ride where he couldn't see the whole thing. He loved Aladdin’s Magic carpet for example, since he could see the whole thing at once. He didn’t want ANY surprises like on Splash. Even Winnie the Pooh’s Adventure had him crying to start with, since you couldn't see what you were heading into.


Over our annual trips after that, he’s now done all the big rides TOT, EE, and yes even Splash. I know every kid is different, but WOW was that a huge mistake.



Dan

 

[hookedonears]

Hey everyone,
So we are getting down to the wire here for our next vacation. We are VERY excited! My question is, we are going with my 8yo(DD) and 3yo(DD) and I wanted to see what rides you all thought would be appropriate or inappropriate for my 3yo. She is approaching 40" in height and I see that a lot of rides open up at that height, but I wasn't sure if they might be too scary for her. I don't want to be that dad that has a screaming kid on a ride. So, help me out. What do you think? Here is a list of my concerned rides:

Splash Mountain
Big Thunder Mountain
Soarin
Test Track
Dinosaur
Kali River Rapids

I already nixed Tower of Terror, that would freak her out, but she is fairly adventurous for her age. I know she would love to do rides with her sister, so I don't want her to miss out on much if she doesn't have to. Thanks for your input!

All that she's tall enough to ride.

 

[cakebaker]

…but then, for the next four park days at least, he would FREAK OUT crying when trying to get him on ANY ride where he couldn't see the whole thing. He loved Aladdin’s Magic carpet for example, since he could see the whole thing at once. He didn’t want ANY surprises like on Splash. Even Winnie the Pooh’s Adventure had him crying to start with, since you couldn't see what you were heading into.

And that's exactly why we take it very slow on the rides. He can always ride it another time, but we can't undo it if he doesn't like it once he's on it. I'd rather skip a ride he would've been ok on that risk having issues after one he didn't.

 

[DisneyFive]

And that's exactly why we take it very slow on the rides. He can always ride it another time, but we can't undo it if he doesn't like it once he's on it. I'd rather skip a ride he would've been ok on that risk having issues after one he didn't.

Yep, we were Disney noobees caught up in the moment. Glad he came around in the following years. Don't make our mistake!

Dan

 

[DisneyBeef]

TOT is a good one to nix, as you've done.

At 3 (just turning 4), our DD was the girl screaming... "THIS IS SO AWESOOOMMEE" on Soarin, making everyone's day. So everyone will be different. If she makes the 40" height, she'll probly be fine on the rides. BTM is a good one to try first. If that goes well, press your luck w Space Mtn or Test Track. Kali is not a big deal. Dinosaur is scary, but fun too. It can scare parents more than kids.

If your DD is a younger 3, there is a good chance she won't make the 40"... then Space Mtn, Test Track, and Soarin are moot. I would still start with BTM and Splash and go from there. You haven't mentioned the Mine Train. This should be your first priority. It probly already is, thus you haven't mentioned it.

I'm 38 and even I think Dinosaur is a little "intense"