Rides ok for a 5 year old??

[mousefan4ever]

We are going to Disney in May and I am traveling with my mother and my older son(12)...he is so excited to ride Splash Mountain and Kali River Rapids. The last time we were there, we just ran out of time!!
My question is...would you put a 5 year old on those rides? She has seen pictures and videos and seem ok, Im just wondering what other peoples experiences or opinions are...
Thanks!!!

 

[wdwrich]

When my oldest was 5, he absolutely loved thrill and water rides. That being said, every child is different, so what my 5 year old loved could very well terrify another child.

 

[hakepb]

Yep

(And if height is OK, EE, BTMRR... I'd hold off on SM, RnR. TOT is with the child's personal preference)

 

[rotlex]

On our last August trip, our son was "almost" 5. (Turned 5 last October).

He pretty much wanted to ride, and loved, everything he was tall enough to ride. The only thing excluded was RNR I believe. He rode the things you mention, and pretty much everything else. His favorite being Everest.

Yeah, he's a dare devil, and pretty much the same as our daughter was, now 11. I say let him ride everything he meets the height requirement for. He'll love it.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

my 2 grandsons aged 4 years rode everything that they made the height for. younger one can not wait to go back and ride tower of terror again. the one thing I would remind her about is the special bar that has to be in place on Kali as that upset one grandson since brothers did not need. he was upset that he had to have it. if she needs the bar she will be first to board so they can be sure she gets the special seat with the bar. if she wants to ride and she makes the height she will be fine

 

[Dis703]

Our oldest was 4 when we went last year and tried Barnstormer, BTMRR, Test Track, Soarin and Kali River Rapids and LOVED them all. He also did Dinosaur in the Fall after he turned 5. Next month we'll be going again (he's still 5) and all he keeps talking about is trying Splash Mountain. So far he seems to love the thrill rides so we are giving it a shot. I'm not however putting him on Space Mountain or ToT yet as I think being in the dark and on SM how he'll sit alone might not go over well yet.

Really it's very individual but if she really wants to I'd let her.

 

[mikeyg1479]

Once he/she hits 40 inches tall, that opens up Soaring, Test Track, Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain. My five year old went on all of these when we last visited and loved them. He is a little sound sensitive more than anything, and while the clacking tracks of TMR, and the loud noises of test track alarmed him a littlle, the ride itself he found fun and says he'd ride again.

The rides I 100% she won't be big enough yet for, are Rock N Roller Coaster, Mission Space, Space Mountain, and Expedition Everest, all of which require 42 inches or higher (pretty sure the RnRC requires 48 inches)

In the end, I'd say just ask your kiddo if they want to ride. If so, go for it, as while ridges like Splash Mountain and TMR are lightly thrilling but nothing that should cause major trauma. Soarings thrills are all simulated, and the last part ofTest Track looks gnarly but in reality is no worse than driving on a real life highway with the top down- very smooth, not rough.

 

[Love Tink]

Depends on the kid. All rides at Disney are very safe if the child meets the height restriction - so the only reason not to do it would be if the child was scared.

My oldest rode Kali when he was 2, and two of my sons rode Splash Mountain at 3 (my youngest son is smaller than them and had to wait until he was 4).

 

[Andrea464]

DD was four when she rode a lot of those. We didn't put her on Space Mtn or RnR that year.
She's since ridden Space Mtn. at both parks (WDW and DL) and only wants to ride the DL version (since the seats are side by side, not front/back).

 

[disney1990]

We are going to Disney in May and I am traveling with my mother and my older son(12)...he is so excited to ride Splash Mountain and Kali River Rapids. The last time we were there, we just ran out of time!!
My question is...would you put a 5 year old on those rides? She has seen pictures and videos and seem ok, Im just wondering what other peoples experiences or opinions are...
Thanks!!!

This really depends on "your" child. Our daughter road Space Mountain at 5, but she was a real daredevil.

However, my granddaughters went on Tower of Terror at about the same age and were scarred for life. They are now 14 and 16 and won't get back on "Tower of Torture"!!

 

[Crystal824]

I wouldn't have a problem with my 5 year old riding those attractions.

 

[allysetraskos]

My son is 4 and he has the most fun on splash mountain road 4x and thunder mountain road 3x... He also road tower of terror with us once but wasn't a fan of that I think it was because my DH was screaming "when will it stop", DH was more afraid then him lol

 

[eliz603]

As the others have said, depends on your child. My daughter shocked us last year by riding and loving everything! SM, EE and ToT were her favs. She wasn't tall enough for RnRC but hopes she is this year.

 

[HM]

When we first went, my kids had just turned 4 and 6. We took them on every ride (except RnR and Space Mtn which they were too short for). They liked everything except Haunted Mansion, ToT, and Snow White (no longer exists). Their favorites were Splash Mountain and BTMRR.

 

[mousefan4ever]

Thank you for all the replys!! I want her to experience everything that she can and to try and ride what we ride. I don't want her to be afraid to try them.

 

[chocovrdmicears]

When they were tall enough, my kids wanted to try it all. The only ride they didn't love on the first pass was Tower of Terror. They are 12 & 10 and now they drag me on that thing.

 

[Winnowill]

My daughter rode Splash Mountain at DLR last April, at the age of not-quite 5. It was funny. The first ride, you can tell from the ride photo that she was utterly terrified. Abject fear. Tears, vows that she would never do it again, and more. Since Winnie the Pooh at DLR is right next to Splash, we did that next to calm her down a bit. And, after a little time, she thought a little bit, and wanted to do Splash again. Well, you can see from that ride picture that, while there was still some trepidation, she was beginning to enjoy it.

By the end of our trip (three days at DL), she'd ridden it six times, and declared it her favorite ride - and the six ride pictures really tell a story! Now, mind you that, while we were there, both of the other Mountains weren't operating, so that's the only one she experienced.

 

[ariel326]

at 3 1/2 my son rode every ride he was tall enough for (40 inches)
MK- thunder mountain
would have done Splash but it was closed
tomorrow land speedway
I am sure if he had been tall enough he would have been up for Space Mountain too


Epcot- Soarin and Test Track (this was his least favorite but he still went on it)

DHS-Star Tours, Tower of Terror

It really depends on your kid. BTMRR was one of the first rides when we went on, so when we survived and was loving it, we figured we were pretty golden and tried more and more things. IT was a lot of fun!