Rides Too Scary for a 2-Year Old

[JulieMoe]

Does anyone have a list or a link to a list of attractions that could be too scary for a two-year old? Mine isn't afraid of the dark (per se), but can be frightened easily. I know I'll inevitably scar him for life by taking him on some traumatizing ride/show during our trip, but I'd like to minimize the freak outs.

So far, I'll avoid:

A Bug's Life
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Pirates of the Carribbean
Fantasmic

Any others? I'm debating going to the Little Mermaid show.

 

[beccamarie]

A lot of little kids were crying when we went on Stitch's Great Escape (it is dark in there).

 

[GBBTomorrow]

I agree with Bug's Life, especially. Another one that might not be as obvious is Ellen's Energy Adventure. While it's so pleasant to be off your feet in the air conditioning for 45 minutes, there are some rather large dinosaurs and some very loud noises.

 

[CajunMomof3]

Dinosaur- DS9 said he will never ride it again and he was 6 when he rode it!

 

[nytimez]

At 2, my daughter was a little spooked by the "heffalumps and woozles" section of the Pooh ride.

She was also terrified of the Little Mermaid show in DHS.

She liked Pirates, though... loved it, in fact. So you can never really tell...

 

[AlixaLock]

Hey! Obviously, every two year old is different and mommy instincts are to be trusted in this situation. But, I'll tell you about my 2.5 year old daughter ...

We took a "go for it" approach. She's been to Disneyland three times and Disney World once and she's been on pretty much everything her height will allow. She loves Pirates (calls it the Pirate Boats) and the Haunted Mansion. Yes, of course, she clings to me in the stretching room and we carry her to the Doom Buggy, but I think from this she has kind of learned that there is scared and then there is "fun" scared. We rode Snow White and all the dark rides over and over ... Of all things, she's a little afraid of heights, but she had no issues with Dumbo or the like.

To be honest, we really encouraged her to ride even when she was hesitant. We took her through the queue, telling her that she never HAD to go, but she had to check it out and by the end she always wanted to go on. Obviously, I'm not saying that everything is appropriate for a 2 year old, but you'd be surprised at how much they can enjoy.

We haven't done Fantasmic ... we've got ressies for the Fantasmic dinner in February ... we'll see how it goes! Have blast!

 

[nytimez]

Dinosaur- DS9 said he will never ride it again and he was 6 when he rode it!

I don't think I've ever seen a two-year-old tall enough to ride Dinosaur... but yes, if he was, that would be a no-no for sure.

 

[flicx]

Does anyone have a list or a link to a list of attractions that could be too scary for a two-year old? Mine isn't afraid of the dark (per se), but can be frightened easily. I know I'll inevitably scar him for life by taking him on some traumatizing ride/show during our trip, but I'd like to minimize the freak outs.

So far, I'll avoid:

A Bug's Life
Snow White's Scary Adventures
Pirates of the Carribbean
Fantasmic

Any others? I'm debating going to the Little Mermaid show.

Depending on the kid here.My son liked everything on the list you are skipping when he was two, minus fantasmic(wasn't available).I might try one of them and if he is alright with it try another, he may surpise you!

 

[CajunMomof3]

I don't think I've ever seen a two-year-old tall enough to ride Dinosaur... but yes, if he was, that would be a no-no for sure.

LOL! Didn't even think about that! I just remembered how upset my son was at the time....

 

[The 4 "Quay"balleros]

Oh-yeah learned the hard way with POC and Bugs Life(DS 4.5 at the time was scared to death) Also be wary of the fireworks and other loud or dark events/rides!

 

[IllumFan]

In Magic Kingdom, I would avoid:

Astro Orbiter (Height)
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of Caribbean
Snow White
Stitch's Great Escape!

Epcot:
Ellen's Energy Adventure (the dinosaurs are scary!)
Maelstrom (the trolls can be scary)

Hollywood Studios:
The Great Movie Ride (Alien scene and some of the gangster scenes can be scary)
Sounds Dangerous (most of the show is in the dark)

Animal Kingdom:
DINOSAUR
It's Tough to be a Bug (very cute for adults, can be scary with the bees and spiders for kids)

Have a great trip!

 

[thunderbug548]

They are all so different. My dd is almost 2.5 and the only thing I would really avoid is Bug's Life. It always scared my older kids when they were little (3-5yr or so). I think my 8yr old would be okay with it now, not so sure his brother.

I really though dd would hate Teacups as she hates spinning. We went on today and she threw a fit when it was time to get off. She went on Snow White, Peter Pan, Pooh, Haunted Mansion and Pirates today too (not the 1st time) and she's fine with all of them. Last weekend we went on Ellen and she had no issues there either. Loud noises are no biggie, she has 2 older brothers.

Try something mild like Pooh and take it from there. Have fun!

 

[Hannathy]

In Magic Kingdom, I would avoid:

Astro Orbiter (Height)
Haunted Mansion
Pirates of Caribbean
Snow White
Stitch's Great Escape!

Epcot:
Ellen's Energy Adventure (the dinosaurs are scary!)
Maelstrom (the trolls can be scary)

Hollywood Studios:
The Great Movie Ride (Alien scene and some of the gangster scenes can be scary)
Sounds Dangerous (most of the show is in the dark)

Animal Kingdom:
DINOSAUR
It's Tough to be a Bug (very cute for adults, can be scary with the bees and spiders for kids)

Have a great trip!

I disagree with so many on your list. The dinosaurs in Ellen are scary? where? when?

My DS went on all of those when he was 2 except for Dinosaur in AK wasn't tall enough and Stitch wasn't tall enough.

We warned him about the alien on the great movie ride but he loved almost all the rest of it especially the Wizard of Oz and Tarzan!

I don't think Pirates is scary at all, When is it scary?
Snow white is flat wooden shapes they aren't even dimensional.

I really don't get how most of these rides are scary. Even haunted mansion isn't scary.
He went on everything he was tall enough for.

Fantasmic was just loud at times but he just covered his ears if it got too loud.
I would take him on everything and if he doesn't like it don't go on it again but you could have a little guy like mine who liked everything and you would end up missing a lot.

 

[tr-ray]

My DD will be just over 2 in December when we go, and honestly, I'm going to try to take her on everything she can go on. If she doesn't like it, then we won't take her on it again.

 

[JulieMoe]

Thanks for all the great replies. Lisa- I just finished reading your book today! It's a great guide for parents of preschoolers!

 

[g-dad66]

I would take him on everything and if he doesn't like it don't go on it again but you could have a little guy like mine who liked everything and you would end up missing a lot.

The risk is that if a child gets traumatized on a ride (like my 4-year-old grandson did on Haunted Mansion), then he/she might refuse to go on most everything after that, and then everybody really misses out on a lot!

 

[DisneyLuver02391]

Let me just say that when I was little, I was terrified of most rides. Most of the rides I was scared of had height requirements anyway, so I did not include them in my list.

The things that I couldn't handle were:

MK:
Pirates of the Caribbean (Two words. Canon. Balls.)
Jungle Cruise (I know, but the cave scared me and still kind of does...)
The Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management (The Tiki Gods were loud and scary.)
The Haunted Mansion (Obvious reasons.)

Epcot:
Maelstrom (Trolls always scared me.)
Well, everything else that scared me in Epcot has closed. Too bad. I would probably enjoy them now.

MGM:
The Great Movie Ride (The Alien scene always did me in. Still makes me nervous.)
Muppets 3D (I LOVED the show, but I was terrified of the glasses... Not sure why...)
NOTE: Try to avoid the Streets of NY at night. When I was little, the night sounds of a city frightened me.

AK:
It's Tough to Be a Bug (Bugs are NOT fun. Still.)
NOTE: Animal Kingdom was just opening when I was six, so I didn't get the chance to be scared of anything. Haha.

 

[sjrogo713]

The Bug's Life ride - my 4 1/2yo son and my 6yo niece
screamed through the whole thing and would not go on any
other dark theater thing for the rest of that trip. My son
is 16 now and still is not too thrilled with 3D/4D rides.

 

[troyseyfert]

I'm surprised no one has said CAPTAIN EO!
Do NOT take your kid to see that 3-D show...it might look cool, but it is too scary to take a 2 year old too...
I was in elementary school and I was still freaked out by the octopus monster thing...just giving you a fair warning...

I think this is the BIGGEST no-no by far!

 

[honeydiane1953]

A lot of little kids were crying when we went on Stitch's Great Escape (it is dark in there).

Lot's of adults and teens cry too it's an AWFUL ride.