Rides/attractions for Scardy-Cat kids under 38"

[nu2dis]

I am wondering if any disney expert could give me a list of their scardy-cat, under 38" kids liked?

 

[ilandrazdsw]

DD3 was just over 40" so she could ride jsut about everything.

I found the key to getting DD and DS5 excited about the rides was to build up the fun or funny aspects of the rides rather than the scary parts. Like we would laugh at the way the ghosts were dancing in HM or they would sing along with POTC (sorry to everyone else). If they didn't wan tot go they had to go at leat once to see if they liked it! With the exception of Dinosaur (which they asked please no more after the second time) they liked everything else...O except Stitch, but DH and I hated it too!!!

 

[nu2dis]

My 3 year old is pretty excited and I think he would be a good sport about it. But my 2 year old really doesnt get it and she is going through her frightened phase. Maybe by the time we get there she will be over it. I am thinking I would try much less scary rides first and work up to louder and dark ones. I dont think either of them would mind motion too much (they love going super high on the swing and being thrown around). But we cant even go to the movies now because the 2 year old flips out. Too dark, too loud.

 

[asoko]

DD3 was just over 40" so she could ride jsut about everything.

I found the key to getting DD and DS5 excited about the rides was to build up the fun or funny aspects of the rides rather than the scary parts. Like we would laugh at the way the ghosts were dancing in HM or they would sing along with POTC (sorry to everyone else). If they didn't wan tot go they had to go at leat once to see if they liked it! With the exception of Dinosaur (which they asked please no more after the second time) they liked everything else...O except Stitch, but DH and I hated it too!!!

I completely agree. This is how my dad calmed my fears when I was little and I've done it with my kids. My husband took my DS5 on a few bigger rides and he came out crying. DH didn't forewarn him something loud/scary was coming up or try to focus him on something fun. I took him on some and talked to him and made things fun. He was still nervous and didn't want to ride again, but he made it through with no tears and even said he liked it. The young men in front of us even laughed at some of my commentary. DS5 and DD4 did pretty well on POTC and HM because we were all together and I was singing, ducking from cannon balls and watching the ghosts dance and making jokes about things.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

Maybe a ride like Pooh which is dark with bright colors would be a good way to ease her into it. Snow White may be a little too scary. Peter Pan may be fun with being a little dark. IASM isn't very dark but it is enclosed. I don't remember if Buzz Lightyear had a height restriction, but she may like the game effect of it to not notice the darkness. Nemo and Figment (ep) are both kind of dark, but withthe characters and bright accent colors you focus on them, not the dark. Does she like the Little Mermaid? That show is dark at the begining for the puppetry, but again the focus is on the characters.
Good Luck...Have a great trip!

 

[CCCNSmom]

I'm not a Disney expert by far, but I have a few tips from a tips from taking a scaredy-cat a few years ago!

I'm not sure what your child is afraid of, but for my son it was more afraid of what he was seeing than the ride itself. If this is the case I would avoid the 3-D movies, my in-laws (without me knowing) took my son to one of those first and I think that set us off on the wrong foot. If we had started with some of the outdoor tame rides at MK I think we would have been better off. He did end up liking most of the ones where he could see what the ride was doing. Also, I think watching or rewatching some of the movies that rides are based on can make them more excited about the rides (Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear...). That said, I have to say the Winnie-the-Pooh ride has a section with black light and neon colors that frankly kinda freaked me out!

 

[Suziqzer]

We are in the same situation with my son. He loves movies and 4 wheelers at home, but get him in a new environment and he's afraid of everything. He won't even let the characters come near him, or at least he wouldn't last year.

We went 1 yr ago, he was 2 1/2, and he loved the Safari ride at AK, teacups, train, Small World at MK, Mexico boat ride, Living Seas boat ride, and Crush at Epcot. He also like Monsters, Inc (can't remember where that's at)

He was afraid of much of everything else. Nemo had a scary point for him, and anything that started out dark. We tried to be upbeat about the rides, but that didn't help much. We attempted 3 3-D shows and were only able to sit through Honey I shrunk the kids with him.

DH & I had to take turns on lots of things, while making sure he had a good time on the things he enjoyed.

We are going back soon, and hope he is better about it this year. We've taken him to several more movies just here before our trip, hoping to get him used to the dark and the volume!

HTH! Have fun!

 

[las3888]

I think you are talking to an expert on how to handle the rides with a scaredy-cat! Mine is over 42" now but we have to tiptoe around the park very carefully so as to not cause trauma! DS finally rode "it's a small world" and enjoyed it this past fall...baby steps!

Part of his problem is that he doesnt' like to go into a building for a ride. He does great at fairs and carnivals on the rides because he can see what's going on. He also doesn't like dark or loud or surprises and much of Disney is exactly that.

That said, these are some suggestions:

MK:
Dumbo
Indy Speedway
Rockets in Tomorrowland (don't know if there's a height limit?)
Tom Sawyer's Island
Swiss Family TreeHouse
The Railroad around the park
Teacups (maybe--height?)
Merry-go-round
Winnie the Pooh playspot (playground)
Aladdin's Magic Carpets
Jungle Cruise (maybe)
Country Bear Jamboree
These may or may not not bother your DC: small world, Dumbo, Peter Pan, etc.

HS:
Playhouse Disney
He did OKAY with Muppets, we told him it was a movie only
Walt Disney Story (don't know the official name of this)
Animation Tour
Stunt Show (although it's loud)


EPCOT:
France movie
China movie
Canada movie
Boat ride in Mexico (iffy though)
The Land
Nemo (iffy)
Turtle Talk with Crush

Animal Kingdom:
Lion King Show
Nemo show
Dinoland playground
Triceratops Spin (like Dumbo)
The Safari (can't remember the official name)
Bird Show
Pocohontas Show


That's all I could think of from the top of my head. Good luck!!!

 

[thepeach80]

I was going to say stay away from the Winnie the Pooh ride, my 2 hated it (Evan got off crying!). AJ was almost 4.5 and Evan was almost 3. We're planning to go at the end of the year again and he still won't be tall enough to ride the 'big' rides which is o.k. w/ him. I'll be happy if he's 39" then!

 

[carj]

My daughter was 4 when we went but she definitely qualifies as a scaredy cat.
She enjoyed:
Small World
Pooh
Peter Pan
Philharmagic
Train
Buzz Lightyear
Toy Story Mania (Hollywood)
Carosel of progress (Both of my kids really enjoyed this one)
Tomorrowland Transportation Authority (She loved this one)
Nemo ride (Epcot)
Dumbo

She rode without a problem but declined the opportunity to ride again.
Teacups

She did not like:
Soarin' (Cried at the end with the fireworks.) She is not scared of fireworks but I think that she was nervous about the whole experience and that was just a breaking point.

 

[1LuckyMom]

Don't forget to try Cinderella's Golden Carousel! Stay away from Stitch!!!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I think it helps if your child can tell you why they're scared (it may not always make sense to you). We went to a theme park in Idaho last summer and my 4yo DS freaked out on a ride similar to Dumbo, but then he went on another ride that was the same thing, except they sat in helicopters. We had thought he was scared of going up, but he loved the helicopters so we asked him why he was so scared of the "elephants" and he said "because elephants don't fly". That really helped us because we had been trying to avoid anything that went up with him.