Rides for a 4yo

[eileen2664]

We're leaving on Saturday, for our first trip I'm trying to figure out which rides might not be appropriate for ds (4 1/2). He's 42" tall so technically he *can* ride most of them, but that doesn't mean he *should*. He's pretty fearless though, so he'll probably be ok w/ most. We live near Cedar Point and he was bummed this summer when he couldn't ride the big rides, but he loved the spinny rides and the kiddy coasters. I'm sure he'll love Test Track b/c he's quite the backseat driver, always wanting me to drive faster.
I don't even know what to expect from most of the rides, so I have no way to prepare him for what a ride might be like. Any tips like: if he doesn't like X, definately don't try Y?
We're planning on doing the parks in this order: MGM, MK, AK, Epcot. So if anyone can offer any advice on which rides/shows to do first in order to prepare for the more intense ones, I'd appreciate it.

 

[dougsmom98]

I know you are leaving soon, but I would really suggest that you get a guidebook and read through all the ride descriptions so that you can explain what each ride entails. If he is a thrill seaker, then he may want to ride everything. My boys have done most rides except Rockin Rollercoaster and Tower of Terror in MGM. They did Star Wars and didn't care for it because it is so jerky. In AK they did everything except they didn't like how jerky the Dinosaur ride was. They said they were glad they did it once, but won't do it again for a while. They haven't done Space Mountain yet, but the oldest (7 year old) may this trip. We haven't done Epcot yet, but I think they will ride everything except Mission Space on this trip. There is a book called Disney for Kids by Kids, it is a Birmbaum guidebook. Your son might enjoy looking that over to determine whether or not he wants to do a ride.

 

[Tegra89]

I think it all depends on how mature his is and what scares him. We went when our oldest was 4 yr and he rode everything that he was tall enough to do. He loved Space Mountain!

 

[PrincessLindy]

Start small and work up. Don't let anyone tell you they shouldn't ride because they are too young. You know your child and you know what they can handle. He is too small for the most intense rides anyway. I agree with trying a guide book that says which ones are dark or loud etc.


If he is fearless let him go on what he thinks he can handle. Tell him it is dark, loud, or scary, whatever. Tell him Haunted Mansion has ghosts that are not real but scary. Tell him POC has pirates and guns etc. If he still wants to go then try it. We were always honest with our DD and it didn't scare her, it got her excited. She is fearless and TOT has been her favorite since she was 4. We got nasty looks from a couple people walking on that. I was a little worried but when the door opened at the top I looked at her and she was laughing. She went on three times in a row.

My point is that some kids are ready at 4 and others are too scared still at 14 so you are the one that knows your child. Sounds like you have already ridden some so I bet you already have an idea, just follow our instincts. We actually have trouble getting her on the kiddie rides now! Enjoy!

 

[Goofy Rulz]

We took our kids (DD 8 and DS 4) last year to MK & MGM. Our son (same age and height as your's it seems) did Star Tours & Tower of Terror at MGM. We are going again in June and he says he's going on them both again. Since that is the first park you are hitting, you won't get that much of a "guide" as to how he will handle other rides since there aren't that many there. As for MK he did Splash Mountain but got scared w/the big drop. He also claims he is going on that again (he talks a big game 1200 miles away; we'll see how he handles it when he's standing right in front of it). Perhaps you can start w/Big Thunder Mountain. If he likes that, then move to Splash Mountain. He may be able to handle the ride of Space Mountain, but the darkness may scare him. I found that darkness on the rides scared my son more than the ride itself. My son is dying to go on Dinosaur @ AK in June. I'm hesitant because it's in the dark, although I think he can handle the "ride" itself. On Pirates of the Caribbean there is a small drop in the dark that he didn't expect, so for every ride after that it was "is there a hill?" Overall, he enjoyed the rides and I'm sure your son will too. Best thing to do is explain what is going to happen on the ride so he'll be prepared for it when it happens.

 

[la79al]

We went last year with DD who was 4 and one month at the time, very brave and about the same height as your son. She loved Goofys barnstormer or whatever that ride is called. We had to do the transit authority ride 3 times. Stitches great escape she could have done without, as could most of the screaming kids in there apparently. Buzz's space ranger spin is a definite. she is scared of the dark so there was no way she was trying space mt. and she was terrified of haunted mansion but wanted to go on it again and named it one of her favorite rides. she did tower of terror, laughed the whole time, said it hurt her belly and begged to go on it again. her big brother went on the dinosaur ride and said it was VERY scary, way too scary for her. although she likes roller coasters she did not care for thunder mountain as it shook her around a lot. all she talks about now is going back and riding haunted mansion and seeing the bugs life movie inside the tree at animal kingdom.

 

[disneymomof5]

The last time we went my daughter was 4 1/2. she rode everything except, RR, Space mountain(would have, but wasn't tall enough), and mission space. I would not go on TT and she loved it. She also loved Dinasaur. Actually she loved everything and was very upset when she was too small to ride a ride. I think it is different with every child. My son is 4 now and we are going in 3 weeks. The most exciting ride he can handle is goofy barnstormer. And he hates all the 3D attractions. So I would just see how well he does and take it from there.

 

[AJMlovesRLM]

Our last trip in Jan. 2006 was right after my son turned 4. He loves Sorin, Talk time with Crush, Splash Mountain, Tea Cups, Goofy Roller Coaster, The Jungle Cruise; really he was in for just about anything. You can find a list of appropriate preschoolers attractions for each park on the Disney website.